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{{short description|Indian journalist}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
'''Gunupati Keshava Reddy''' (1923–1987), better known as '''G. K. Reddy''', was an Indian journalist who attained national and international acclaim for his articles and news stories.{{sfn|Rao|2000|page=222}}<ref name=awardpanel>
{{cite news |title=GK Reddy memorial award panel reconstituted |newspaper=The Hindu |date=26 June 2014 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/gk-reddy-memorial-award-panel-reconstituted/article6152433.ece |access-date=1 November 2014}}
</ref> He was a major contributor to the newspaper ''[[The Hindu]]'' for more than two decades, becoming a household name with his front-page articles every day. Reddy was also involved in the nascent [[Kashmir conflict]] in the early years of his career, working for a Kashmiri newspaper in Srinagar and later the [[Pakistan-occupied Kashmir]] provisional government.

The G. K. Reddy National Memorial Award for Journalism is given in his memory.

== Early life ==
Reddy was born in [[Nellore]], [[Madras Presidency]] (now in [[Andhra Pradesh]]), in British India in 1923.<ref name=Blitz>"Remembering G. K. Reddy" in {{harvnb|Bhagyalakshmi|1991|pp=423–424}}, reprinted from ''Blitz'', 29 August 1987.</ref> He was of [[Telugu people|Telugu]] origin.<ref name="Narayan1983">{{cite book|first=S. Venkat|last=Narayan|title=NTR, a Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQIMAAAAIAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Vikas|isbn=978-0-7069-2404-6|page=107|quote=He was flanked by M. Chalapathi Rau, the former Editor of the National Herald who passed away a few weeks later, and GK Reddy, the New Delhi Bureau Chief of The Hindu. Occasionally, he exchanged a few words in Telugu with Rau, Reddy and another Telugu journalist among the invitees.}}</ref>

== Career ==
=== Kashmir and Pakistan ===
Reddy's journalistic career began as the editor of the newspaper ''Kashmir Times'' in the then princely state of [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] in the 1940s. Reddy also served as the correspondent for the [[Associated Press of India]] in Srinagar, reporting to its Lahore chief Malik Tajuddin.<ref name=Aziz>Mir Abdul Aziz, [http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/gk-magazine/good-old-days/87251.html Good old days], Greater Kashmir, 3 January 2011.</ref> ''Kashmir Times'', owned and published by Abdul Rahman Mittha in Srinagar,{{refn|Mitha is said to have been a native of Bombay, the son of its former mayor Suleman Qasim Mitha.}} advocated accession of the state to the [[Dominion of Pakistan]]. Reddy's coverage of the events in Kashmir was highly prized in Pakistan and regularly reported on [[Radio Pakistan]] in Lahore.<ref name=Aziz/>

By 7 October 1947, the Government of [[Maharaja Hari Singh]] imposed rigorous press censorship in the state and told ''Kashmir Times'' to cease the publication of accession matters. The newspaper suspended publication in protest.{{sfn|Snedden|2013|p=40}}<ref name="Defence Journal"/> Reddy was detained at Domel near [[Muzaffarabad]] for 10 days in mid-October. After that, he was transported to [[Kathua]] under military escort and expelled from the state at the [[Pathankot]] border.{{sfn|Snedden|2013|p=51}} Mitha was also externed at the same time and sent to Pakistan, where he worked with the [[All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference|Muslim Conference]] leader [[Sardar Ibrahim]] leading a rebellion against the Maharaja's government.<ref name=Aziz/>

Reddy went to [[Lahore]], Pakistan, by 19 October,<ref>{{citation |last=De Mhaffe |first=A. |title=Road to Kashmir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hnoeAAAAMAAJ |date=1948 |publisher=Ripon Print. Press |location=Lahore |page=179}}: "Mr. G. K. Reddy, former Editor of the Kashmir Times who has been externed from Kashmir for advocating the State's accession to Pakistan, arrived in Lahore on Sunday."</ref> to work for the [[Associated Press of India]], which was still a united agency across India and Pakistan (but would later split into the Associated Press of India and the [[Associated Press of Pakistan]]). Reddy was incensed with the treatment of Muslims by the Maharaja's government. On 26 October, he gave a detailed interview to the Lahore-based daily ''Civil & Military Gazette'', where he described the `mad orgy of Dogra violence' against unarmed Muslims in the [[1947 Jammu massacres|Jammu province]].{{sfn|Snedden|2013|pp=51-52}}

While in Lahore, on 21 October 1947, Reddy received a phone call from Lt. Col. Alavi, the Public Relations Officer of the [[General Headquarters (Pakistan Army)|Pakistan Army headquarters]] in [[Rawalpindi]], stating that the Ramkot post of Kashmir was being attacked that night and the news should be published as coming from the [[Pakistan-occupied Kashmir]] Headquarters in [[Palandri]]. He was also told that all further news of the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|invasion]] would come from the Rawalpindi headquarters and the practice of a Palandri dateline should be maintained.<ref>
{{cite book |first=Brigadier Jasbir |last=Singh |title=Roar of the Tiger: Illustrated History of Operations in Kashmir by 4th Battalion |publisher=Vij Books India |year=2013 |isbn=978-9382652038 |pages=4–5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9mcXVjswUrcC&pg=PA4}}
</ref>

He was subsequently forced into the position of Director of Public Relations for the rebel forces in Kashmir and only managed to escape seven months later.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thorner|first=Alice|date=1949|title=The Kashmir Conflict|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322039|journal=Middle East Journal|volume=3|issue=1|pages=22–23|jstor=4322039|issn=0026-3141}}</ref> Sardar Ibrahim was proclaimed as the head of a provisional government of [[Pakistan-occupied Kashmir]] on 24 October, with nominal headquarters at [[Palandri]] but real operations based in Rawalpindi. Mitha and Reddy worked with the new government to create press releases. They stayed at the 'Poonch House' in Rawalpindi.<ref name="Aziz" />{{efn|The 'Poonch House' was one of the palaces of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, which was apparently usurped by Pakistan.<ref name="Naipaul2012">{{citation|last=Naipaul|first=V. S.|title=Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW7q5sM9JZ8C&pg=PT69|date=2012|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4472-0936-2|page=69}}</ref>}} They were also close to the Chief Minister [[Abdul Qayyum Khan]] of the [[Northwest Frontier Province]], and acted as press advisors to him as well.<ref name="Defence Journal">
{{cite book |title=Defence Journal (Pakistan), Volume 11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3zfAAAAMAAJ |page=4 |year=1985}}
</ref> At some point, Reddy is believed to have been interned by Pakistani authorities who regarded him as a spy. He escaped to India in 1948, and the evidence he carried with him of the US and Pakistani involvement in the invasion of Kashmir was published in the weekly [[Blitz (newspaper)|''Blitz'']] in a series of articles starting 9 June 1948, causing a national and international sensation.<ref name="Karanjia">B. K. Karanjia, "G. K. with ''Blitz''" in {{harvnb|Bhagyalakshmi|1991|pp=xxii–xxiv}}</ref>

=== India ===
Reddy worked for the ''Blitz'' from 1948 to 1951, writing incisive articles that put him up against the Government authorities. His journalistic accreditation was cancelled twice by the authorities due to his irksome coverage.<ref name=Blitz/> While at ''Blitz'', Reddy also wrote a "Delhi Daily" column with humorous coverage of Delhi's developments, which used to rock the capital into splits of laughter. [[B. K. Karanjia]] mentions that Reddy's output from Delhi was so prolific that they had to sometimes produce mid-week editions of ''Blitz''.<ref name=Karanjia/>

In 1951, Reddy became the foreign correspondent to ''[[The Times of India]].'' He reported from various locations such as [[Korea]], [[Beijing]], [[Taipei]], [[Bandung]] and [[London]]. His lively "Letter from London" was published in ''The Times of India'' every week. In 1962, he returned to Delhi to become the chief of the news bureau, and is said to have taken up political reporting with "panache".<ref name=Malhotra>Inder Malhotra, "Remembering G. K." in {{harvnb|Bhagyalakshmi|1991|pp=xxv–xxvi}}</ref>

In 1969, Reddy moved to ''[[The Hindu]]'' as its chief of news bureau in Delhi, a position that he developed into one of "considerable power and prestige." He was widely read, and enjoyed the confidence of many in the corridors of power.<ref name=Verghese>B. G. Verghese, "G. K. Reddy: A tribute" in {{harvnb|Bhagyalakshmi|1991|p=xx}}</ref> According to [[Inder Malhotra]], "he made it his business to explain every complexity with clarity."<ref name=Malhotra/> President [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]] summed up the nation's feelings in the words, "G.K. Reddy's rich experience mellowed his political reporting and analysis so much so that his byline meant authenticity, in depth reporting, an eye for detail and above all fairness and balance."<ref>Foreword by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy in {{harvnb|Bhagyalakshmi|1991|p=vii}}</ref>

==Honours==
* He was the recipient of a Fellowship from [[Nieman Foundation for Journalism]] in 1957.<ref>[http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/NiemanFoundation/NiemanFellowships/MeetTheFellows/AlumniFellows.aspx#1957 Recipients of Nieman Fellowships.]</ref>
* He was awarded Honorary Doctorate by [[Andhra University]] and [[Sri Venkateswara University]].
* He was awarded the [[Raja-Lakshmi Award]] in 1986 by [[Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation]] Chennai.

==Death and memorial==
Reddy died of cancer in 1987 in [[New York City]].
===Memorial award===
In his memory, the G.K. Reddy Memorial National Award for journalism was established by [[T. Subbarami Reddy]], whose recipients over the years include:<ref name="awardpanel" />
* [[Prabhu Chawla]], Editor-in-Chief of the ''[[New Indian Express]]'',
* [[H. K. Dua]], former Editor-in-Chief of the ''[[Hindustan Times]]'',
* [[Aroon Purie]], Editor-in-Chief of the ''[[India Today]]'' magazine,
* [[Shekhar Gupta]], former Editor-in-Chief of the ''[[Indian Express]]'',
* [[N. Ravi]], Editor-in-Chief of ''[[The Hindu]]'',
* [[Vinod Mehta]], Editorial Chairman of the ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]''<ref>{{cite news |title=G. K. Reddy Award for Vinod Mehta |newspaper=The Hindu |date=3 September 2014 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/gk-reddy-award-for-vinod-mehta/article6374619.ece |access-date=1 November 2014}}
</ref>
* [[Karan Thapar]] in 2018, Senior journalist and television presenter.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{citation |editor-first=J. |editor-last=Bhagyalakshmi |title=Capital Witness: Selected Writings of G. K. Reddy |publisher=Allied Publishers |location=New Delhi |year=1991 |isbn=9788170233169 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.219756 |via=archive.org}}
* {{citation |title=G. K. Reddy, Dhilli Andhra Pramukhulu |first=R. Ananta Padmanabha |last=Rao |language=te |publisher=Potti Sriramulu Telugu University |location=Hyderabad |year=2000}}
* {{citation |first=Christopher |last=Snedden |author-link=Christopher Snedden |title=Kashmir: The Unwritten History |publisher=HarperCollins India |year=2013 |isbn=978-9350298985 |pages=51–52}}
{{Refend}}

{{authority control}}
{{Indian journalism awards}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy, G. K.}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1987 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:Indian political writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Nieman Fellows]]
[[Category:People from Nellore]]
[[Category:People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict]]
[[Category:Telugu people]]
[[Category:Writers about the Kashmir conflict]]

G. K. Reddy - Revision history

Bot at 03:41, 5 February 2022