Durga Das

Durga Das (Punjabi: ਦੁਰਗਾ ਦਾਸ; 23 November 1900 – 17 May 1974) was a veteran Indian journalist, author and a social worker[1][2][3][4] who was the founding president of the Press Club of India.[5] A longtime parliamentary correspondent and editor with the Associated Press of India,[6] he worked in several newspaper publications, including The Statesman, The Times of India and lastly the Hindustan Times,[7][8] serving as its editor-in-chief from 1957 till 1959 before he went on to establish his own news agency, India News and Feature Alliance (INFA) in late 1959.[9] He had famously authored three books, Ram Rajya in Action (1956), India and the World (1958) and India From Curzon to Nehru and After (1969).[10][11][12]

Not to be confused with Durga Das Basu.
Durga Das
ਦੁਰਗਾ ਦਾਸ
Born(1900-11-23)November 23, 1900
Aur, Punjab Province, British India
(present-day Punjab, India)
Died (aged 73)
New Delhi, India
NationalityBritish Indian (1900–1947)
Indian (1947–1974)
Alma materDayanand Anglo Vedic College
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • author
  • social worker
Years active1918–1966
Notable workRam Rajya in Action (1956)
India and the World (1958)
India From Curzon to Nehru and After (1969)
SpouseRatan Devi

Early life and education

Durga Das was born on 23 November 1900 in Aur, a village in present-day Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab. He attended an Arya Samaj-run school in Jalandhar[13] and graduated with a bachelor's degree from Dayanand Anglo Vedic College (now Government Islamia College) in late 1910s.[14]

Career

After graduating from Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, he joined the Associated Press of India in 1918 and served as its Parliamentary Correspondent till 1937. He later joined the Calcutta-based The Statesman as its Special Representative[4] and worked there till 1943. In 1944, he joined the Hindustan Times[15] and went on to serve as its editor-in-chief from 1957 till 1959, before taking temporary retirement to establish organizations like the Press Club of India and India News and Feature Alliance (INFA).

Personal life

Das had married to Ratan Devi,[16] and had four sons and two daughters from her. He liked playing tennis and enjoyed swimming.[17] Due to his five decades long journalistic career, he personally knew numerous political figures, including Viscount Chelmsford, Louis Mountbatten, Bal Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.[1]

Death and legacy

Durga Das died on 17 May 1974 due to cardiac arrest in New Delhi, India. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent condolences to his family. President V. V. Giri sent also sent condolences and described him as "one my best friends in life" and a "great journalist".[18] The New York Times described him as the "Chronicler of the Freedom Movement for 50 Years".[18] In 2003, nearly 29 years after his death, the Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee released a commemorative stamp in his honor.[19]

References
  1. "DUNA DAS DEAD; INDIAN NEWSMAN". The New York Times. 1974-05-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  2. Times, Bernard Weinraub Special to The New York (1973-12-17). "India's Journalists Worry They Have Become Timid and Dependent on the Government". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  3. Vadukut, Sidin (2014-06-27). "Déjà View | A Nehruvian tragedy". mint. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  4. Assembly, Meghalaya (India) Legislative (1974). Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Debates. Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
  5. "Shams Tabrez Qasmi is Felicitated with Amar Shaheed Molvi Baqar Award 2021 | Millat Times | Multilingual Digital Media House". Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  6. Famous India, Nation's Who's who. Famous India Publications. 1975.
  7. "EDITOR SAYS INDIA IS FOR DEMOCRACIES". The New York Times. 1950-06-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  8. "Leading the change, again". Hindustan Times. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  9. "India News and Features Alliance (INFA) - INFA". www.infa.in. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  10. Das, Durga (1985). Eminent Indians who was Who, 1900-1980, Also Annual Diary of Events. Durga Das Pvt. Limited.
  11. Das, Durga (1956). Ram Rajya in action. Coronation Print. Works.
  12. "In Patel vs Nehru saga, remember that India's first PM wasn't elected unanimously". ThePrint. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  13. Sethi, Devika (2019-05-23). War over Words: Censorship in India, 1930-1960. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-48424-4.
  14. "A Superior Person, Thorough Professional". Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  15. "Lessons from 1952, 1967, 1977". The Indian Express. 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  16. The Illustrated Weekly of India. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. 1975.
  17. Personalities: A Comprehensive and Authentic Biographical Dictionary of Men who Matter in India [Northern India and Parliament]. Arunam & Sheel. 1950.
  18. "India News and Features Alliance (INFA) - INFA". infa.in. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  19. Khanduri, Ritu Gairola (2014-10-02). Caricaturing Culture in India: Cartoons and History in the Modern World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-04332-9.
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