Nilabh Mishra Will Be Dearly Missed

TRIBUTE

At a time when the voice of justice and social concerns is getting weaker in the media, the sudden departure of Neelabh Mishra, Editor of National Herald, at the age of only 57 is extremely tragic. He will be dearly missed by a large number of friends not just in the media but perhaps even more so among social activists and civil liberties activists. He along with Kavita Srivastava made an important contribution to many important social causes.

Neelabh wrote several important articles and reports on social issues, one of which played an important role in the food rights case in the Supreme Court. Later his role as reporter and columnist was overshadowed by his role as Editor, first of Hindi Outlook and later of National Herald. He was equally at ease in his writings in Hindi and English which appeared in recent years in Hindi and English editions of Outlook.

Neelabh was closely associated with the civil liberties movement in Rajasthan, more particularly with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. He was close to several leading social organisations of Rajasthan like the MKSS. Health problems intervened in a cruel way to cut short a life of great promise and potential. I pay homage to his good work done in difficult conditions and to his relentless social commitments.

The author is a free-lance journalist who has been involved with various social movements and initiatives.