Condolence meeting for BG Verghese

A meeting was held in New Delhi on Saturday to condole the death of BG Verghese, veteran journalist and Ramon Magsaysay award-winner.

Speaking at the meeting organised by Press Club of India, H K Dua, himself a veteran journalist and a Member of Parliament, said "I have worked with Verghese who showed how journalism can benefit India."

Verghese died at his Gurgaon house on December 30. Verghese was diagnosed for dengue a month back and was suffering from low-grade fever and weakness for last couple of weeks. He was survived by his wife Jamila and sons Vijay and Rahul.

Verghese, who authored many books, was editor of Hindustan Times from 1969 to 1975 and The Indian Express from 1982 to 1986. He was also information adviser to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1969 but was critical of her for imposing the Emergency in 1975.

Born on June 21, 1927, Verghese did his schooling at the Doon School. He had graduated in Economics from the St Stephen's College, Delhi and did his Master's degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. A crusader for civil rights, Verghese has long worked on problems of development. He was part of the Editors Guild of India Fact Finding Mission after the Gujarat riots in 2002.