Senior Journalist and Padma Bhushan awardee HK Dua passes away at 88 | India News
Veteran journalist and Padma Bhushan awardee HK Dua passed away at the age of 88 in New Delhi on Wednesday, The Tribune reported. He was admitted to a private hospital three weeks ago and was ailing. His last rites will be performed at Lodhi Road crematorium on March 5 at 12 noon.Dua was the former editor-in-chief of The Tribune and served as media advisor to former prime ministers HD Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He represented India as Ambassador to Denmark.He led The Tribune from 2003 to 2009 and is credited with increasing the newspaper’s national standing and editorial credibility. In a distinguished career spanning decades, Dua held senior editorial positions at The Indian Express, Times of India and Hindustan Times.In 2009, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, where he participated in debates on media freedom and public policy. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2008 in recognition of his contribution to journalism.Congress MP Manish Tewari mourned Dua’s death, calling her “an editor when it is still important to be an editor.”In a post on X, Tewari said that Dua stood by her beliefs, refused to compromise editorial freedom and never sought favors from political leaders or media owners. She described him as a warm and unpretentious person who spoke his mind with clarity and honesty. “Sad to learn of Shah HK Dua’s death. He was an editor when an editor was still important. Editor-in-Chief of Times of India, Hindustan Times, Indian Express and The Tribune. He chose to live his faith instead of being a broker of owners and approached politicians for Prime Ministerial advertisements. Ambassador of Denmark and Prime Minister Late Dr. Manmohan Singh. A very warm man and completely unpretentious he knew how to call a spade a spade,” Tewari wrote in ‘X’.
