Leaders hail veteran journalist Prem Prakash at his book launch
LUCKNOW: Senior journalist and founder of Asian News International Prem Prakash released his book ‘Reporting India: My Seventy- Year Journey as a Journalist’, chronicling his experiences over 7 decades of journalism, at a book launch event held at a hotel here on Sunday.
The event was organised by Prabha Khaitan Foundation, a non-profit organisation that works on humanitarian issues. Deputy chief ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya and reputed folk artiste Malini Awasthi together with Prakash launched the book. They also spoke about their impressions of the book, which was followed by a question and answer session between the audience and the author.
Pathak, in his address, marvelled at the fact that the author Prem Prakash had in his lifetime seen each and every Prime Minister the country had had. “Very few people alive can say that they have reported on Gandhi
and Nehru,” he said. He also pointed out that Prakash was one of the stalwarts of video journalism in the country. Maurya appreciated the book, saying that it set an example for future generations of journalists and inspired them to pursue truth, since the book covered a multitude of topics from Indian history.
The book has also been translated into Hindi.
Prem Prakash, now 93-yearsold, regaled the audience with anecdotes from his days in the field - from intimate conversations
with politicians, to warnings to leave the country and disappear to his memorable interactions with Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He spoke on the dangers facing journalism, like corporate or political ownership and the diverse challenges thrown up by social media platforms.
Malini Awasthi spoke about the issue of increased unreliability when it came to news, and by referring to an excerpt of the book, praised Prakash’s mission to change the western perception of India and its people.