K.K. Katyal, veteran journalist and former Delhi Chief of Bureau of The Hindu , who led the newspaper’s wide-ranging coverage from the national capital during a particularly eventful phase of political change, passed away in hospital on Wednesday after a brief illness.
He was 88.
In the 28 years from 1976 that he spent at The Hindu , Mr. Katyal built his work on access to a wide body of political and diplomatic sources.
In the 1980s and 1990s when The Hindu expanded its reach and presence in the national capital, he led the growing team in Delhi from the front. During this period, The Hindu launched its edition in Delhi in 1986. He superannuated in 1995 and continued till 2004, finally as Consulting Editor.
Mr. Katyal, who earlier worked with The Statesman and Hindustan Times in Delhi, had started his career in the News Chronicle soon after Independence.
Originally from Jhang in Pakistan, he was deeply interested in Pakistan’s politics and was founder of the India chapter of the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA). A widely travelled man, Mr. Katyal was a regular in Prime Ministerial entourages.
The ideals of the Non-Aligned Movement were a passion for him and he invariably covered its summits. Memorably, he was part of a group of journalists who accompanied Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Lahore in a significant Prime Ministerial outreach to the neighbouring country.
“He was a thorough professional and great colleague, who had remarkable sources in the Congress,” S. Nihal Singh, his former colleague at The Statesman , said.
“Among the deans of the New Delhi press corps. The best informed political/gov reporter of his times,” Shekhar Gupta, former Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express , tweeted. President Pranab Mukherjee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled Mr. Katyal's passing away.
He is survived by his wife Darshan and daughters Anita and Sugita. His elder daughter Anita performed the last rites at the Lodi Road crematorium on Wednesday evening.
