With the sad demise of Kuldip Nayar, India has lost a great pillar of journalism. He can be rightly called as the soldier of the pen. His last column was published just two days before his death in various newspapers. Kuldip Nayar has also seen the time before and after the partition of India. He stepped into the field of journalism in 1948 with Urdu daily Anjaam. His journalistic career is spread over 6 decades.
Besides writing for over 80 newspapers without break, Kuldip Nayar has also compiled 15 books. He led a very simple life. He was minority-friendly. Kuldip Nayar hated RSS agenda. Two weeks ago on August 5, he had written in his column ‘A not so pluralistic India’ ‘According to data available on blood-thirsty mobs striking fear in the hearts of minorities for some time now, 86 per cent of those dead in cow-related violence since 2010 are Muslims and 97 per cent of the attacks took place after 2014. Whenever such happenings took place, including lynching or attacking people, invariably the Muslims and the Dalits had borne the brunt in the name of so-called cow protection.
No doubt the journalistic legacy left behind by Kuldip Nayar can never be replaced.