JOIN USMadhav Vittal Kamath, popularly known as M V Kamath, veteran journalist and former chairman of Prasar Bharati, died of cardiac arrest at Kasturba Hospital here on Thursday. He was 93.
“He died of cardiac arrest at 7.30 am. He was suffering from spondylosis for sometime,” Kasturba Hospital Medical Superintendent & COO Dr (Col) M Dayananda said in a statement issued by Manipal University.
“He was admitted two days ago and was to be discharged today (Thursday),” said Jayaram N Kamath, nephew of M V Kamath, who was with him Wednesday evening. Condoling the death, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said M V Kamath had contributed immensely to journalism for nearly four decades and it was a loss which will be felt immensely.
Kamath was honorary director of School of Communication, Manipal University, since its inception in 1997, and had celebrated his 93rd birthday with the faculty and students last month.
Kamath served in several papers beginning with Free Press Journal in Bombay as reporter and subsequently as Special Correspondent in Delhi, editor in succession of Free Press Bulletin, Bharath Jyothi and editor-in-charge of Free Press Journal from 1950-55.
A special correspondent of Press Trust of India at United Nations, New York, from 1955-58, he was contributing editor of United Asia, Bombay (1958-59), European Correspondent of Times of India at Bonn, Germany, from 1959-63, Sunday Editor of The Times of India from 1967-69, and Washington correspondent of the paper from 1969-78, editor of Illustrated Weekly of India from 1978-81 before retiring in 1981. He was awarded Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian journalism in 2004.
Author of over 45 books on a wide range of subjects like journalism, history, politics, biography and fiction, he has written the history of six banks and had authored a book on Narendra Modi - The Architect of a Modern State (2009).
The youngest of two brothers and four sisters, after early education at St Cecily Convent, Udupi (1925-29), Christian High School (1929-33), Board High School (1933-37), Government College, Mangalore (1937-39) and St Xavier College, Mumbai (1939-41), he graduated in chemistry and physics from Bombay University in 1941.
Last rites
His body was kept for public viewing at Nutana Ravindra Mantapa in MGM College in Manipal from 1.30 pm to 4 pm and taken to his ancestral house at Kadabettu in Udupi, as per his last wish.
The funeral was held at Beedengudde crematorium. The last rites were preformed by his nephews.