Kuldip Nayar: A man who chose the right way over the easy path

In a world too often governed by corruption and arrogance, it can be difficult to stay true to one’s philosophical and literary principles.

Kuldip Nayar is among those few men who have weathered all storms to stay true to their belief in peace, equality and free speech. Despite having witnessed the horrors of Partition on both sides, he always chose peace. Despite the back-breaking days spent in jail during the Emergency, he did not allow it to break his spirit and continued to champion the freedom of press.

In essence, Kuldip Nayar was a man who always chose to do what is right, over what may have been easy.

Not just in India, Kuldip Nayar was one of the most acclaimed journalists and authors in the subcontinent.

Nayar was born at Sialkot, Punjab, British India on 14 August 1923, in a Punjabi Hindu khatri family. He completed his B.A. (Hons.) from the Forman Christian College Lahore and LL.B. from the Law College Lahore. In 1952, he studied journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University on a scholarship.

Nayar was initially an Urdu press reporter. He was editor of the Delhi edition of the English newspaper The Statesmanand was arrested towards the end of the Indian Emergency (1975–77). In 1978 he founded the Editors Guild of India.

He was a member of India's delegation to the United Nations in 1996. He was appointed High Commissioner to Great Britain in 1990 and nominated to the upper house of Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha in August 1997.

 He wrote syndicated columns and op-eds that were published in over 80 newspapers in 14 languages including the Deccan Herald (Bengaluru), The Daily Star, The Sunday Guardian, The News, The Statesman, The Express Tribune, Dawn and PrabhaSakshi.

Every year since 2000, Nayar had been leading peace activists to light candles on the Independence days of Pakistan and India (14/15 August) at the Attari-Wagah India-Pakistan border near Amritsar.