Veteran Indian journalist Vinod Dua has passed away at the age of 67, his daughter confirmed on social media.
“Our irreverent, fearless and extraordinary father, Vinod Dua has passed away,” Mallika Dua, an actor and comic, announced her father’s death in a post on Instagram on Saturday.
Dua, a pioneer in Hindi broadcast journalism, rose to prominence in the 1980s starting his career with state broadcaster, Doordarshan, moving on to other outlets including NDTV and Indian digital news platform The Wire.
“He lived an inimitable life, rising from the refugee colonies of Delhi to the peak of journalistic excellence for over 42 years, always, always speaking truth to power,” his daughter wrote.
Dua along with his wife Padmavati “Chinna” Dua had contracted COVID-19 during India’s devastating second wave in April-May. Chinna Dua died in June. The veteran journalist had not been keeping well since then. He was moved to the ICU of Apollo Hospital on Monday.
Dua had been showered with multiple awards during his career including in 1996 when he won the coveted Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award.
The government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008.
‘The greatest’
Friends and colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to Dua. NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy called him “the greatest of his time”.
“An amazing talent I admired and respected-and from whom I learnt a lot in the many years we worked closely together,” he tweeted.
Deeply mourning the loss of Vinod.He was not just one of the greatest,he was THE greatest of his time.I have always said that:THE greatest An amazing talent I admired and respected-and from whom I learnt a lot in the many years we worked closely together Rest in peace my friend
— Prannoy Roy (@PrannoyRoyNDTV) December 4, 2021
Arfa Khanum Sherwani, an editor at the The Wire, said Dua was “more than a colleague, he was a friend, philosopher and guide to me”. “There was no one like him.”
The passing away of Vinod Dua, the pioneer of TV News in India, is a personal loss.
I worked with him in NDTV & The Wire. But more than a colleague, he was a friend, philosopher and guide to me.
There was no one like him,there’ll never be one.
End of an era!
Khuda Hafiz,Dua Sb ! pic.twitter.com/NkjNy9n7RW— Arfa Khanum Sherwani (@khanumarfa) December 4, 2021
Dua was accused of sedition in 2020 by a member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for making remarks critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Even at your weakest, you gave Indian Journalism a landmark judgment. No journalist will be randomly slapped with a sedition case because Vinod Dua fought that fight for them, as he always has,” Mallika said in reference to the now-defunct case.
Indian Supreme Court dismissed the charges against Vinod in June this year.
