Veteran Journalist, writer K.G. Joglekar dies

NEW DELHI: Media veteran and writer K.G. Joglekar, who served in a variety of positions in the government and outside, has died following a heart attack, his family said Sunday.

Jogelkar (83), whose wife had pre-deceased him, is survived by two daughters and a son.

The end came at his son's residence in suburban Gurgaon late Saturday evening. Joglekar was cremated here Sunday.

Known for his wit and humour and his ability to write on a variety of issues, Joglekar hailed from Varanasi, where his father was a well-known lawyer.

Beginning his career with the Allahabad edition of the Amrit Bazaar Patrika, Joglekar joined state-owned broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) in 1953 and served its bureaux in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi and Lucknow.

He was also AIR's South Asia correspondent for four years and covered the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

On his return to India, he was named director (public relations) to the then prime minister Morarji Desai. He later became the director of AIR's news services division and retired from government service in 1982.

In between, Joglekar was also the information officer in the ministries of agriculture and defence.

On retirement, he joined as editor of Univarta, the Hindi service of the United News of India (UNI), where he served for five years.

Joglekar was the author of a number of books, including "Ek Divasacha Pahuna", a compilation of stories from the region now known as Maharashtra.

Most stories were based on historical incidents. The book covered stories from the time of Shivaji.

His other books include "Press Freedom" and "Patra, Patrakar, Sarkar", which dealt with the interaction between newspapers, journalists and the government.