Veteran journalist Sachidananda Murthy passes away

Bengaluru: Veteran journalist and former Delhi Resident Editor of The Week magazine and Malayala Manorama daily K S Sachidananda Murthy died at a private hospital here on Friday.

Murthy, 68, had recently undergone a lung transplant surgery, and was on ventilator for the past few days, sources close to him said.

Popularly known as ‘Sachi’ among friends and in the media fraternity, he is survived by wife and two sons, they said. His family was originally from the Ashtagrama villages in Karnataka’s Kolar district.

Murthy had joined The Week in November 1982 as its Bangalore correspondent and stayed with the Malayala Manorama group until his retirement in September 2022, the magazine said on its website.

In February 1989, he became the magazine’s special correspondent in Bangalore, and moved to Delhi in April 1990 as the chief of the national capital bureau. In April 2000, he was appointed resident editor, according to The Week.

Expressing shock over Murthy’s death, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recalled him as his dear friend and a well-wisher.

Murthy was one of the very few senior Kannadiga journalists active in Delhi’s media circle, the CM, in a post on social media platform X said. ”The death of Sachidananda Murthy, who was like an encyclopedia on state-national developments, is an irreparable loss to the media world. I share in the grief of his family and friends.” The Karnataka government has decided to accord full state honours to the departed during his cremation.

”Veteran journalist K S Sachidananda Murthy, who passed away today, will be cremated with full state honours, considering his long service to the press,” the Chief Minister’s office said in a post on X.

According to sources, the last rites will be performed later this evening.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in his condolence message said, ”With his death, a sincere talent has disappeared from the media world.” He recalled that Murthy had served as the General Secretary of the Editors Guild of India, as a member of the Press Council, and was one of the most famous journalists from Karnataka in Delhi.

BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, recalling the prominent journalist’s contributions, said on X, ”The news of the death of veteran journalist Sachidananda Murthy (Sachi) is very painful.”

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy have also expressed grief.

Murthy was a recipient of the Durlabh Singh Media Award and the Karnataka Media Academy award award for lifetime contribution to journalism at the national level, among others.