Govt. mulls instituting award in memory of journalist Surendra Dani, says Minister

Minister for Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation, and Tourism H.K. Patil has said that the State government would consider instituting an award in the name of journalist Surendra Dani, who was known for unbiased journalism and followed Gandhian principles throughout his life.

He was speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of TSR awardee Surendra Dani at Sawai Gandharva Hall here on Saturday. Sri Surendra Dani Birth Centenary Committee organised the event in which several senior journalists attended.

Recalling his association with the journalist, Mr. Patil described Mr. Dani as a simple, principled individual who followed Gandhian values throughout his life. “His thoughts and views remain even more relevant today,” he said.

Veteran journalist Narayan Ghalagi said that although he differed with Mr. Dani on some issues, he learnt a lot from him.

Writer Shamsundar Bidarkundi said the committee would be conducting various programmes in his memory in the days to come as part of centenary celebrations.

Releasing the book that chronicled the life and works of Surendra Dani, Former Member of Parliament and his one-time close associate I.G. Sanadi briefed about the contents of the book, which he said, threw light on various facets of the veteran journalist’s life.

Senior journalist Babu Krishnamurthy and other guests reflected on Dani’s professional integrity, dedication to journalism, and contributions to the field of Kannada journalism.

Earlier, the dignitaries from Pranavananda Theertha of Advaita Vidyashrama, Hubballi, offered floral tributes to the portrait of Surendra Dani.

In the subsequent sessions Srinivas Wadappi, Bharati Joshi and Srikrishna Sampgaonkar spoke on Mr. Dani’s literary works, his achievements and his love for ‘Gamaka’.

In the concluding ceremony, senior journalists Venkat Narayan, Arunkumar Habbu, Vishwanath Kulkarni, Mohan Hegde, Bandu Kulkarni, Mallikarjun Siddannavar, advocate Sudhindra Deshpande recalled their association with Surendra Dani and gave suggestions on organising various activities particularly for the young journalists.