Indian-origin journalist conferred with V K Krishna Menon award

G D 'Robert' Govender, an Indian-origin journalist in South Africa, has been honoured in the UK with 2019 V K Krishna Menon award for his outstanding contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism.

The South Africa-born journalist was awarded posthumously during an event here on Friday to mark the 123rd birth anniversary of Indian diplomat and politician V K Krishna Menon.

During a career spanning nearly 60 years, Govender developed a reputation as a campaigning journalist and author and was also the first journalist to call for an international boycott of South Africa's whites-only sports teams.

Speaking after the event, V K Krishna Menon Institute (VKKMI) Board Member Tony Slater said the board decision was unanimous to name Govender as the first posthumous recipient of the award.

Menon stood for something other than himself and spent his entire life trying to achieve that. Govender's work over 60 years displayed similar qualities of selflessness and a determination to do the right thing, Slater said.

He ensured that the authentic voice of the Indian diaspora was heard wherever he worked.

While he may have been reluctant to accept such an award during his lifetime, it is fitting that his memory and his outstanding contribution as a pioneer of decolonised journalism gets honoured by the Krishna Menon Institute, Slater said.

Govender's books include 'The Martyrdom of Patrice Lumumba' which exposed the role of Western intelligence agencies in the murder of the Congolese independence leader.

Menon served as India's first High Commissioner to London.

Mohan Kaul, a former Director General of the Commonwealth Business Council, said Menon was a formidable statesman who served India in a number of roles and earned the epithet "the Hero of Kashmir" following his passionate defence of Indian sovereignty in Kashmir during a historic eight-hour speech to the United Nations in 1957.

Born in South Africa in August 1930, Govender passed away in the UK in 2016.