Veteran Journalist N Rajan's demise

Senior Journalist N Rajan's death has come as a shock for the fraternity of journalists. Through out his career, Rajan remained deeply committed to the social cause and wrote with concern for the poor and the underpriviliged.
A die-hard communist but absolutely free of any biases, his commitment so secularism was exemplary. For a long-time Rajan Sahab was editor of The Hitavada, Bhopal. He joined National Mail, the now defunct-English daily of Dainik Bhaskar group. A fighter to the core and an honest man, he used his pen to fight the corruption in the government and corrupt politicians.
No wonder, successive Chief Ministes admired and respected him for his integrity. He championed the cause of journalists at all for and fought with the owners of the newspapers towards getting better deal for the journalists. His book 'Without Fear' was published a couple of years back.
This writer has fond memories of Rajan Sahab. I had the privilege to talk to him on numerous occasions and soemtimes for hours. He use to wonder how there was so much lumpenism among the urban middle-classes. The demolition of Babri Masjid hurt him. He still dreamt of a nation where casteism and communalism had no place. Rajan Sahab groomed many journalists but his demise has left a void that can't be filled.