New Delhi : Consulting Editor of HW News Network and Reputed Indian Journalist Vinod Dua, passes away at the age of 67 (11 March 1954 to 4 December 2021). He was admitted at the Parmananad Hospital on November 28 and was in extreme critical state health wise. Later on November 30 due to his critical condition he was shifted to Apollo Hospital, where he passed away today.
Reputed Indian Journalist Vinod Dua, is well known for his election analysis with NDTV’s Dr Prannoy Roy. He was awarded the Padma Shri for Journalism in 2008 by the Government of India. The Padma Shri is given by the Government of India to Indian citizens to recognise their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity, including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, sports, social service and public life. It stands fourth in the hierarchy of civilian awards after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan.
Sachin Tendulkar and Viswanathan Anand have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan for sports discipline.
He became a familiar face on television in the early 80s on Doordarshan’s Sunday morning programme called ‘Aap Ke Liye’. He regularly hosts two TV shows in Hindi news channel NDTV India – Khabardar and Zaika.
Since 2018, Dua was associated with HW News Network. The Vinod Dua Show went on air, on December 2018. The series had 464 episodes.
In November 1974, Vinod made his first television appearance in Yuva Manch, a Hindi-language youth program which was aired on Doordarshan (formerly called as Delhi television). Yuv Jan, a youth show for the youth of Raipur, Muzaffarpur, and Jaipur for Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), was anchored by Vinod in 1975. The same year, he began anchoring Jawan Tarang, a program for youth which was telecast on the newly commissioned Amritsar TV. He continued his job until 1980.
To produce the shows based on current affairs, budget analysis, and documentary films, he launched his production company, The Communication Group, in 1988. Vinod anchored the show Chakravyuha, the channel Zee TV, in 1992. Between 1992 and 1996, he was the producer of a weekly current affairs magazine, Parakh, which was telecast on Doordarshan.
In 1996, he became the first electronic media journalist to be bestowed with the esteemed Ramnath Goenka Award for excellence in the field of journalism. Vinod was an anchor for the show ‘Tasveer-e-Hind, which was aired on Doordarshan’s cerebral channel, DD3 Media. In March 1998, Vinod anchored the Sony Entertainment Channel’s show, ‘Chunav Chunauti.
He was linked to the Sahara TV from the year 2000 to 2003, for which he used to anchor Pratidin.
He started anchoring Jan Gan Man Ki Baat for The Wire Hindi. The show is a 10-minute current affairs program which telecast on The Wire’s website where he often took a critical of the government led Narendra Modi, but with the required facts and numbers.
In October 2017, Vinod Dua had lashed out at actor Akshay Kumar for passing a vulgar remark on his daughter, Mallika Dua, during the shoot of an episode of the comedy show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. A year later, October 2018, India’s award-winning film director Nishtha Jain, famous for Gulabi Gang, published a long Facebook post alleging Vinod Dua of harassment and passing a ‘lewd’ joke at her. Vinod Dua refuted the allegation and termed it as highly absurd and baseless.
The Supreme Court had quashed the sedition case registered against journalist Vinod Dua in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The case was filed against Dua by a local BJP leader in Himachal Pradesh over his YouTube show.
A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Vineet Saran had on October 6 last year reserved the verdict on the petition after hearing arguments for Dua, the Himachal Pradesh government and the complainant in the case.
On the issue of protection of freedom of speech and expression of media personnel, it said, “Every journalist is entitled to protection under the Kedar Nath Singh judgment (the famous verdict of 1962 on the scope and ambit of offence of sedition in the IPC).”
Dua was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 268 (public nuisance), 501 (printing matter known to be defamatory) and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) on the basis of a complaint by BJP’s Mahasu unit president Ajay Shyam. The BJP leader claimed that Dua made bizarre allegations on his 15-minute YouTube show.
Awards
- The first electronic media journalist awarded by esteemed Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 1996.
- Awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.
- In 2016, ITM University, Gwalior awarded him the D. Litt. “Honoris Causa” (an honorary degree in Doctor of Letters).
- In 2017, for his lifetime achievement in the field of journalism, Mumbai Press Club awarded him RedInk Award, which was presented by Devendra Fadnavis, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
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