The Editors Guild of India mourns the demise of Prabhash Joshi

The Editors Guild of India deeply mourns the untimely demise of veteran editor, columnist and Gandhian activist Prabhash Joshi in New Delhi on the night of November 5.

Joshi was one of the active members of the Guild, who had strived hard throughout his career in journalism to uphold freedom of the press and worked for perfecting professional standards. He was one of the pioneers of Hindi journalism, who introduced new styles of writing both in political and sports fields. Joshi launched Jansatta and, as its editor for 12 years, broke new ground in journalism. He continued as its chief editorial adviser. He was also very adept in English journalism, as he served the Indian Express as Resident Editor at Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Joshi’s column Kagad Kare and his commentaries on proceedings of Parliament and State legislatures were eagerly anticipated by readers of the newspapers he served. Recently he had launched the weekly column Aughat Ghat in Tehelka Hindi.

Joshi had led the struggle against repression of press freedom during the Emergency. He always believed that freedom of the press was not only for journalists and editors, but it was a right enjoyed by the citizen. Hence he was always insistent that journalists should use press freedom only on behalf of the people, and not on behalf of any vested interest.

The Guild conveys its heartfelt condolences to Mrs Usha Joshi and other members of the bereaved family.

Rajdeep Sardesai (President, Editors Guild of India)

K.S. Sachidananda Murthy (Secretary General, Editors Guild of India)