Senior journalist and Indian Express national bureau chief Ravish Tiwari died on Saturday after battling cancer for nearly two years. Tiwari, 40, is survived by his wife Poojya, parents and a brother. He was taken to a hospital in Gurugram on Friday afternoon and died in the early hours of Saturday, his family and friends said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind were among the many who condoled the death of the journalist, always seen with a smile on his face. He had been associated with Indian Express for 12 years following his stint in an economic daily and a magazine. The prime minister spoke to Tiwari’s wife to offer his condolences while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited the family in Gurugram. “For Ravish Tiwari, journalism was a passion, and he chose it over lucrative professions. He had an enviable knack for reporting and incisive commentary.
“His sudden and shocking demise silences a distinct voice in the news media. My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues,” the president said on Twitter. The prime minister described Tiwari as insightful and humble. “Destiny has taken away Ravish Tiwari too soon. A bright career in the media world comes to an end. I would enjoy reading his reports and would also periodically interact with him. He was insightful and humble. Condolences to his family and many friends. Om Shanti,” Modi tweeted.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed his pain at the untimely demise and said “he was a young, bright and professional journalist, full of life. Union Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur tweeted that Tiwari was “a scholar with a sharp mind and had deep insights into the socio-political events of our times. As a journalist he was a thorough professional; his writings and opinion will be missed. Sincere condolences to his family and friends,” he added.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha also sent in their condolences. Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh said Tiwari was critical of him during his tenure in the environment ministry but the two were nevertheless the “closest of friends” and had a long chat just four days ago.
“Ravish Tiwari, a product of Navodaya Vidyalaya, IIT Mumbai & Oxford, was amongst the finest, scholarly & objective journalists,” the Congress leader said. The Indian Express website quoted its chairperson Viveck Goenka as saying, Ravish was a rare, unique voice in our profession. Never once seeking the comfort of an echo chamber, he listened to all because he knew that was the best way and the only way to keep a finger on the nation’s political pulse and explain it to our readers and audiences.” “We deeply mourn his loss. As a reporter and an editor, he led from the front. Ravish will live in his work which will be an enduring inspiration for the newsroom and beyond,” he added.
Raj Kamal Jha, chief editor of the newspaper, said Tiwari’s shoes cannot be filled but they shall sit in a very special corner of the newsroom for ever. “In the newsroom, each one of us has lost Ravish and one way to remember him is by keeping a little of Ravish alive in us, in the way he asked the hardest questions with respect and humility, both of his subjects and of ourselves…..I became more aware of how much a privilege it was to work with him, Jha said in his message.