, Nov 26 (KNS): Former union minister and senior congress leader, Prof Saifuddin Soz on Sunday expressed grief over the demise of veteran journalist, Om Saraf.
“I express extreme sadness on the demise of Om Saraf, a doyen of Journalism, but, above everything else, a great human being. All through his life, he continued to fight all kinds of parochialism and sectarianism. He was one of the warriors following the leaders like Mahatma Budh Singh and others, seeking emancipation of the masses, especially, in Jammu. In 50s, 60s & 70s he was fighting shoulder to shoulder with youngsters like Balrajpuri, Ved Bhasin, Amrit Malhotra and others,” Soz said in a statement issued to KNS.
Soz said that he was not a communist but for the cause of labour and downtrodden, he was one with people like Krishan Dev Sethi and Ram Pyara Saraf.
“Though he remained wedded to his pen as a journalist with a deep sense of commitment to the professional ethics, he was an enthuastic member of social movements to fight against any kind of sectarianism and for a time, he was one of the torch-bearers of these values along with other youngsters of 60s & 70s,” Soz said.
“I saw in him a mixture of Karl Marx and Mahatma Gandhi. People of Jammu and Kashmir should fee proud for a man who lived for noble causes and high human values.
I sincerely share my condolences to Pushp Saraf and other members of his family,” he said. (KNS)