- LPC President Azam Chaudhry presents letter of honorary membership to Mandira Nayar during her visit to Lahore
LAHORE: Indian journalist Mandira Nayar received the honorary membership of the Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Friday, as club president Azam Chaudhry delivered the membership letter to her during her visit to the provincial capital.
Mandira is one of granddaughters of late Kuldip Nayar, who was the first Indian journalist to get this honour in his lifetime. “It’s really a great honour for me to be a part of this prestigious club,” she said, adding her grandfather was a seasoned journalist, but no one offered him this (membership) in India.
“Like others, the journalist family has always given us unconditional love,” she said. “I am lucky that I always received bundles of love here and I have never felt that I am away from my home,” she said. To a question, she said that she would continue her grandfather’s legacy – peace mission.
“Lahore Press Club is an independent institution and we have a membership of responsible journalists here. So, we know the importance of peace and coexistence,” said Azam Chaudhry, president of the press club.
“I am happy that Kuldip Nayar Sahib was honorary member of this respected club,” he said. being the champion of the South Asian solidarity, Kuldip sahib was equally loved and respected in Pakistan, and every place where his writings were published and translated.
He said that he (Nayar) was a courageous spokesperson for press freedom as well as an important promoter of India’s secular tradition.
Born in Sialkot and educated in Lahore, 95-year-old Kuldip Nayar passed away on August 23, 2018, in New Delhi.
In the presence of his family members, friends and activists, his ashes immersed in the Ravi River as per his desire. It is pertinent to mention here that ashes of former Indian lawmaker and peace activist Nirmala Deshpande and journalist Praful Bidwai were also immersed in the Indus River in Sukker and Jamshoro, respectively.