Veteran Journalist RK Misra Passes Away After Six Decades in the Field

Ahmedabad | Gujarat — Indian journalism lost one of its most colourful, fearless and field-hardened reporters as veteran journalist RK Misra breathed his last at his Ahmedabad residence on February 23. With his trademark Ray-Ban glasses, imposing moustache and an upright bearing reminiscent of an army officer, ‘Misraji’ was more than a reporter — he was an institution shaped by six decades of relentless pursuit of stories.

Born on February 5, 1950, in Agra, Misra grew up in the shadow of his grandfather Dwarka Prasad Mishra at their sprawling Taj Road bungalow — a property with its own fascinating legacy linked to senior military and political figures of the time. But destiny had scripted a different battlefield for him — the newsroom.

Though he moved to Gujarat to study at the prestigious LD Engineering College, journalism soon claimed his heart. A passionate admirer of film icon Dev Anand, young Misra’s encyclopaedic knowledge of cinema caught the attention of Rajendra Seth of Gujarat Samachar during a tea-stall discussion. That chance encounter opened the doors to his first job at the Gujarat Herald in 1967-68 as a part-time assistant proofreader.

“I did not even know how to proofread,” Misra would often recall with a laugh. “But newspapers are the best universities. If you survive the night shift, you survive anything.”

At Gujarat Herald, under the stern mentorship of editor Someshwar Rao, Misra learned the craft the hard way. His first article — on James Bond — was reportedly torn up 18 times before approval. “The 19th copy survived. That’s when I understood journalism is discipline before glamour,” he would say.

His career trajectory soon expanded. After stints at Western Times, he joined The Times of India in 1973 during the formative years of its Ahmedabad edition. In 1987, he moved to Delhi as assistant editor at Probe India, reporting from Punjab and Kashmir during the peak of militancy — assignments that demanded courage and precision.

Returning to Gujarat in 1991 as special correspondent for Pioneer, Misra became a respected political observer. Later, he served as roving editor at Indo-Asian News Service and contributed to national and international publications including Associated Press, Gulf News and Arab News.

Colleagues remember him as a “field journalist till the last breath.” He wore that identity with pride. “Desk journalism can inform you,” he once said, “but the street teaches you truth.”

Beyond reporting, Misra nurtured journalistic communities. He served as president of the Gujarat Union of Working Journalists and became the founding president of the Gujarat Media Club in 2007, advocating for press freedom and professional solidarity.

For many young reporters, Misraji was a mentor who believed in rigorous fact-checking, fearless questioning and ethical clarity. “He belonged to a generation that believed journalism was public service,” a former colleague said.

During his last days, Misraji pioneered the launch of the Free Press Journal (FPJ) in Gujarat in 2021.