Ved Pratap Vaidik (1944-2023) was an Indian journalist, political analyst and freelance columnist. He is known for creating history by bestowing the right to all Indian languages to be the medium of expression at the highest academic level. He was the Chairman of Bhartiya Bhasha Sammelan, an organisation to protect the rights of Indian languages. On 14 March 2023, he passed away at the age of 78.
Wiki/Biography
Ved Pratap Vaidik was born on Saturday, 30 December 1944 (age 78 years; at the time of death) in Indore. He pursued BA in Political Science, Philosophy, Sanskrit, Hindi, and English at Vikram University was established in Ujjain in 1963. He did his master’s degree in Political Science at Indore Christian College, Indore University in 1965. He learnt the Russian language in 1967 and the French language in 1968 from the School of International Studies, JNU. He completed his PhD in International Affairs at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1971. During his research work on Afghan Foreign Policy for his PhD thesis, Vaidik studied at Columbia University in New York, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and the Institute of the Peoples of Asia in Moscow. He also went to Afghanistan for extensive fieldwork for his research.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Hair Colour: Bald
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings.
Wife & Children
He was survived by a son and a daughter.
Career
Dr Vaidik was the founder of the Hindi news agency of Press Trust of India (PTI) ‘Bhasha’ and worked there as an editor for more than a decade. He has also worked as an editor (views) at Navbharat Times of the Times Group. In 1999, Ved Pratap Vaidik became a member of the Indian Delegation to the UN. He has worked as a lecturer of Political Science at Motilal Nehru College, Delhi University. He has also been a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses and SIS Jawaharlal Nehru University. Dr Vaidik has also served as a member of several Advisory Committees of the Government of India.
Publications
- Soviet-American Rivalry in Afghanistan
- Hindi Journalism : Various Dimensions
- Indian Foreign Policy : New Pointers
- Bhartiya Bhashayen Lao : Kyon Aur Kaise
- Hindi ka Sampurna Samachar Patra Kaisa ho ?
- Afghanistan : Kal, Aaj aur Kal
- Mahshakti Bharat (All in Hindi)
- Ethnic Crisis in Sri Lanka : India’s Options (In English)
- BJP, Hindutva Aur Mushalman.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- In 1976, Ved Pratap Vaidik was awarded with the Govind Vallabh Pant award.
- He was presented with the Purushottam Das Tandon award in 1988.
- He was honoured with the Hindi Academy Delhi award for Journalism in 1990.
- In 1990, he was honoured with the Ram Manohar Lohia award.
- In 1992, he was awarded the Lala Lajpat Rai award.
- He was honoured with the Vishwa Hindi Sammalan Samman in 2003.
- In 2022, he was presented with Newsmakers Achievers Award.
Death
Ved Pratap Vaidik died on 14 March 2023 due to cardiac arrest. Reportedly, he fainted in his bathroom at his residence in Gurugram after which he was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Facts/Trivia
- He is also known as Dr Vaidik.
- His PhD thesis titled ‘A Comparative Study of Afghanistan’s Relations with the US and the Soviet Union’ was rejected by JNU because he wrote it in the Hindi language and was also expelled from the university for the same.
- He was well-versed in various foreign and Indian languages including Russian, Persian, German, and Sanskrit.
- In 1999, he inaugurated the Annual Conference on South Asia, which was organized by Wisconsin University.
- Dr Vaidik was a travelled scholar-journalist and has visited more than 80 countries.