Vice-chairman of the India Today Group and former Editor-in-chief of The Indian Express Shekhar Gupta will be the first recipient of the newly instituted ‘best journalist’ award named after the yesteryear doyen of journalism Rangaswami Parthasarathy.
The award comprising a citation and a cash prize of Rs. one lakh to be conferred on Mr. Gupta on May 17 was in recognition of his consistent efforts and leadership to ensure “fairness and balanced approach” in reporting the Gujarat riots, the Malegaon blasts, among others, Madhav Narayan, the grandson of Mr. Parthasarathy, said.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mr. Narayan said that a committee consisting of eminent citizens of Chennai decided to perpetuate the memory of Mr. Parthasarathy (1915-2003) by recognising talented journalism students and one best journalist from across the country in the centenary year.
Five journalism students from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai would be financially supported with Rs. one lakh each from the next academic year. Nalini Rajan, Dean of Asian College of Journalism, said that the scholarship would be given to needy students on the basis of merit.
R.P. Ram Mohan, the only son of Mr. Parthasarathy, said that the family wanted to encourage young talents in the field of journalism who have exhibited objectivity, accuracy and a sense of responsibility while reporting.
Mr. Parthasarathy also known as ‘Mail’ Parthasarathy commenced his career with The Mail as a sub editor in 1935 before joining The Hindu in 1944, where he went on to become the news editor in 1960. He penned A Hundred Years of The Hindu: The Epic Story of Indian Nationalism (published by Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Chennai in September 1978), which was released by the then President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.
