S Nihal Singh
{{Short description|Indian journalist, foreign correspondent, columnist and newspaper editor}}
Surendra Nihal Singh (April 30, 1929 - April 16, 2018 ), commonly referred to as S Nihal Singh, was an Indian journalist, foreign correspondent, columnist and newspaper editor.{{cite web | last=Gupta | first=Smita | title=Surendra Nihal Singh: the editor who fought the Emergency | website=The Hindu | date=16 April 2018 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/surendra-nihal-singh-the-editor-who-fought-the-emergency/article23564332.ece | access-date=28 January 2025}} He remained the editor of The Statesman, The Indian Express, Indian Post and Khaleej Times. As a foreign correspondent mostly for the Statesman and later for Khaleej Times, he was posted in Moscow, London, the US, Netherlands, Singapore, Pakistan and Indonesia and, in time, became known for his commentary on national affairs, foreign policy and international affairs.{{cite web | last=Sahay | first=Anand K | title=Tribute: A gentleman editor, elegant writer and a liberal to the core | website=Deccan Chronicle | date=17 April 2018 | url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/170418/tribute-a-gentleman-editor-elegant-writer-and-a-liberal-to-the-core.html | access-date=28 January 2025}}
He is most noted for his coverage of the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965,{{cite web | last=India | first=Press Trust of | title=Journalist S Nihal Singh dies at 88, editor was known for opposing Emergency, coverage of 1965 India-Pakistan war | website=Firstpost | date=16 April 2018 | url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/journalist-s-nihal-singh-dies-at-88-editor-was-known-for-opposing-emergency-coverage-of-1965-india-pakistan-war-4434313.html | access-date=28 January 2025}} and his role in opposing the Emergency (1975–77) imposed by then prime minister Indira Gandhi, while he was editor of the Statesman. At that time, it famously published a black front page as a mark of protest. For this, he was awarded the prestigious International Editor of the Year Award in 1978 by World Press Review, New York.{{cite web | title=International Editor of the Year Award: Previous Recipients | website=Worldpress.org | date=28 January 2025 | url=https://www.worldpress.org/award2.cfm | access-date=28 January 2025}}{{cite web | title=Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh no more | website=The Economic Times | date=16 April 2018 | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/veteran-journalist-s-nihal-singh-no-more/articleshow/63789329.cms?from=mdr | access-date=28 January 2025}} In 1994, he became the president of the Press Club of India, and later Director, Press Institute of India.{{cite web | last=Tribune | first=Qatar | title=Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh dies | website=Qatar Tribune | date=17 April 2018 | url=https://www.qatar-tribune.com/article/121114/INDIA/Veteran-journalist-S-Nihal-Singh-dies | access-date=28 January 2025}} In 2016, he was awarded the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award for 'outstanding contribution to journalism', given by the Press Council of India{{cite web | title=Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh dead | website=The Tribune | date=17 April 2018 | url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/nation/veteran-journalist-s-nihal-singh-dead-575130/ | access-date=28 January 2025}}
Career
At age 18, his first article was published in The Tribune. He started his career in 1951 as a sub-editor with The Times of India. This was followed by a two-and-a-half decade-long stint with The Statesman. Starting as a staff reporter with The Statesman, Calcutta (Now Kolkata) eventually became its Resident Editor in 1973 and Chief Editor in Kolkata in 1975. A short stint as Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express (1981–82) led to becoming the founding editor of The Indian Post, Mumbai, in 1987. After it closed, he became the Editor of the Khaleej Times, Dubai (1994). During this stint, he was again a foreign correspondent in many countries.
Once he returned to Delhi, he remained a syndicated columnist well into his late 80s, with several publications, including The Tribune and Asian Age.{{cite web | last=Kapoor | first=Coomi | title=Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh (1929-2018): Among the last old-school titans | website=The Indian Express | date=17 April 2018 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/veteran-journalist-s-nihal-singh-death-among-the-last-old-school-titans-5140168/ | access-date=28 January 2025}}{{cite web | last=Sahay | first=Anand K | title=A gentleman editor, elegant writer and a liberal to the core | website=The Asian Age | date=17 April 2018 | url=https://www.asianage.com/opinion/oped/170418/a-gentleman-editor-elegant-writer-and-a-liberal-to-the-core.html | access-date=29 January 2025}} In 2011, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to the field, by Indian Journalists' Association in UK "This was intended to recognise an exceptional person who has either served as an Indian Journalist in the United Kingdom or as a British Journalist in India,{{cite web | title=Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh honoured in UK | website=DNA India | date=6 December 2011 | url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-veteran-journalist-s-nihal-singh-honoured-in-uk-1622345 | access-date=29 January 2025}} In the same year, he published his autobiography Ink In My Veins – A life in journalism.{{cite web | title=Book reviews: Ink In My Veins – A Life In Journalism, From the Streets of Kathmandu | website=Hindustan Times | date=24 June 2014 | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/book-reviews-ink-in-my-veins-a-life-in-journalism-from-the-streets-of-kathmandu/story-UD2WnpX4hOa53Nk65obD0K.html | access-date=28 January 2025}}
During a career spanning several decades, he wrote 14 books, including The Rocky Road to Indian Democracy: Nehru to Narasimha Rao, The Yogi and the Bear: A Study of Indo-Soviet Relations’', ‘'Ink in My Veins: A Life in Journalism (autobiography ) and The Gang and 900 Million: A China Diary.
Personal life
He was born in Rawalpindi to Gurmukh Nihal Singh, who remained the Chief Minister of Delhi (1955-1956) and later Governor of Rajasthan, and Lachchmi (Devi) Singh.{{cite web | title=In memoriam | website=The Statesman | date=22 April 2018 | url=https://www.thestatesman.com/features/in-memoriam-9-1502626073.html | access-date=28 January 2025}} After finishing his school, he did his Bachelors degree with Honours from Delhi University in 1948.{{cite web | title=SURENDRA NIHAL SINGH | website=One India One People Foundation - Patriotism Redefined | date=2 July 2018 | url=https://www.siesoiop.in/surendra-nihal-singh/ | access-date=28 January 2025}}{{cite web | title=Veteran journalist Surendra Nihal Singh dies at 88 | website=Zee News | date=16 April 2018 | url=https://zeenews.india.com/india/veteran-journalist-surendra-nihal-singh-dies-at-88-2100593.html | access-date=28 January 2025}}
He died in New Delhi, after suffering from renal failure for several months, at age 89.{{cite web | title=Veteran journalist S Nihal Singh dies at 88 | website=Hindustan Times | date=16 April 2018 | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/veteran-journalist-s-nihal-singh-dies-at-88/story-5VsqbNxewL9KpBTmwIYmXN.html | access-date=28 January 2025}} He is survived by his sister-in-law Indoo Nihal Singh and two sisters, Tej Khanna and Satwant Pritam Singh. His wife, a Dutch national, died much before in the 1990s, the couple had no children. Upon his death, noted newspaper editor and former Rajya Sabha MP, H.K. Dua called him the “last of the liberal, democratic editors”. A Hindustan Times obituary called him a "pioneer in journalism".{{cite web | last=Duggal | first=Saurabh | title=Obituary: Remembering a pioneer in journalism S Nihal Singh | website=Hindustan Times | date=16 April 2018 | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/obituary-remembering-a-pioneer-in-journalism-s-nihal-singh/story-zEde3jD1dZ7srVaBCIIo3K.html | access-date=28 January 2025}}
Books
- [https://archive.org/details/from-the-jhelum-to-the-volga-s.-nihal-singh/page/n1/mode/2up From The Jhelum To The Volga]. Nachiketa Pub., 1972.
- [https://archive.org/details/malaysiaacomment0000niha Malaysia -- a commentary]. New York, Barnes & Noble, 1971. ISBN 0389045799.
- Indira's India : a political notebook. Nachiketa Publ, 1978.
- The Gang and 900 Million: A China Diary. Oxford. 1979.
- My India. Vikas Publishing House, 1982. ISBN 0706917707.
- The Rise and Fall of UNESCO. Riverdale Co Pub, 1988. ISBN 0913215309.
- [https://archive.org/details/yogibearstoryofi0000niha The Yogi and the Bear: Story of Indo-Soviet Relations]. Riverdale Co Pub, 1988. ISBN 0913215120.
- Indian Days Indian Nights. South Asia Books, 1990. ISBN 8170312477.
- Count Down to Elections. Allied Publishers, 1991. ISBN 8170232740.
- [https://archive.org/details/yourslipisshowin0000niha Your Slip Is Showing: Indian Press Today]. South Asia Books, 1992. ISBN 8185674159.
- I Discover America. Chanakya Publications, 1993. ISBN 8170010950.
- The Rocky Road of Indian Democracy: Nehru to Narasimha Rao. Sterling Pub, 1993. ISBN 8120715268.
- Blood and Sand - The West Asian Tragedy. CBS, 2003. ISBN 9788123909592.
- People And Places, 2009. Shubhi Publications. ISBN 8182901987.
- Ink in My Veins: A Life in Journalism. Hay House, 2011. ISBN 9381431019.
- The Modi Myth. Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. 2015. ISBN 9789384439545.
- Love in the Time of Emergency. Authors Upfront. 2017 ISBN 9384439967.
References
{{reflist|2}}
- [https://theprint.in/politics/i-had-pretty-good-access-to-everybody-surendra-nihal-singh/50200/ S Nihal Singh, 2013 interview with Professor Sue Onslow]
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Category:Indian political journalists
Category:Indian newspaper editors
Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers
Category:20th-century Indian journalists
Category:Indian political writers
Category:Foreign correspondents
Category:Indian foreign policy writers
Category:Indian autobiographers
Category:Delhi University alumni
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