The Indian Journalists Union (IJU), one of the oldest journalist bodies in the country, has elected its two principal office-bearers.The President of the Chandigarh-Punjab Union of Journalists and a Press Council of India member, Mr. Vinod Kohli, was unanimously elected as the President of IJU. He was the lone candidate in fray.
The President of India’s oldest journalists union, Indian Journalists’ Association (IJA), West Bengal, Mr. S. Sabanayakan, was unanimously elected as the Secretary General of IJU. He too was the lone candidate in fray.Mr. Habib Khan, Central Returning Officer for IJU Election 2022, declared the election results recently at Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh).
The two principal office-bearers of the IJU will have the onerous task of not only rebuilding the Union into a vibrant one but also have the tough task of spreading the Union to all parts of the country. Shri Kohli, who would be leading IJU for the first time in over four decades of journalistic life, said, “The primary task is to rearrange the priorities of the IJU.
Unionism in the country is in shambles as there are too many splinter groups operating without any aim or agenda. Our task is to bring all likeminded Unions under one umbrella and give a momentum to the movement.”
Elaborating further, he said, “IJU would like to walk the thorny path to achieve its goals nationally.
IJU would also focus on its state unions and encourage them to renew their drive to bring in more journalists under their ambit so that a greater cause can be served.”Shri Kohli has more than 48 years of experience in journalism having worked in various print outlets.
A graduate in psychology and journalism, he had been the General Secretary, Chandigarh-Punjab Union of Journalists; General Secretary of The Tribune Journalists Guild and presently the President of Chandigarh-Punjab Union of Journalists.He has been made a member of the Press Council of India (2021 onward).
He is also a member of Election Commission of India, Level Committee on Paid/Fake News (April 2022 onward), he was also a member the Central Press Accreditation Committee (CPAC), Govt. of India (2004 to 2007) and was an IJU Convener, Majithia Wage Board Committee for Working Journalists.
Shri Sabanayakan has nearly four decades of experience in journalism after joining Indian Express Kolkata bureau in 1980. After four and a half years, he joined The Telegraph, Kolkata. After spending exactly a decade, he joined The Hindu, Kolkata news bureau and served the institution for a little
over two decades. Thereafter, he began to contribute to The Assam Tribune group and in 2018 he joined Eastern Chronicle when it opened its Kolkata edition.Shri Sabanayakan was a member of West Bengal Union of Journalists for 10 years before joining IJA on assuming office in The Hindu.
After being in the Executive Council for many years, he accepted to head Indian Journalists’ Association in 2013. After a break of one year in 2016, he returned to head IJA from 2017.