Indian Embassy hosts memorial ceremony for 2 stalwarts of India-U.S. journalism

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The Embassy of India in Washington, D.C., organized a memorial ceremony Feb. 21 to condole the passing away of two stalwarts of India-U.S. journalism – Warren Unna, former South Asia Bureau Chief of Washington Post and longtime columnist for the Statesman and T.V. Parasuram, a veteran Press Trust of India/Indian Express correspondent. Unna, 93, died Feb. 9 of congestive heart failure at a retirement community in Mitchellville, Md, while Parasuram, also 93, died at his home in Bethesda, Md., Feb. 13.

The event saw participation of the families and close friends, old India hands among the media and members of the Indian-American community, an embassy press release said.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of India to the United States Navtej Sarna, highlighted the stellar contributions of Parasuram and Unna in the field of journalism and promotion of greater empathy and deeper mutual understanding between the people of India and the world. The Ambassador also drew attention to the passing away of another legendary journalist – Ambassador Sarna also paid trubute to (1961-78).

Condolence messages penned by editors of the Press Trust of India and The Statesman- two organizations with which Parasuram and Unna were closely associated, were also read out.
The event concluded with fond recollections by families, friends and colleagues.

Unna covered national news after joining The Post in 1952. His aspirations were to cover South Asia, where he had served with the Army during World War II, a Washington Post obituary on Unna said. In lieu of a Post bureau there, Unna made a specialty of writing about Asian affairs from Washington by cultivating sources at embassies and international organizations.

He was bureau chief in New Delhi from 1965 to 1967, then returned to cover national affairs in Washington.

He joined the Statesman in the early 1970s and remained with that publication for approximately the next two decades. Parasuram was a renowned foreign correspondent who was well known in press circles between 1963 and 2006. He interviewed many major dignitaries and political figures including Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Marin Luther King, President John F Kennedy, a Washington Post obituary said. He is survived by his wife Ananthalakshmi; son Ashok (Alpana); and daughter Anita (Ganesh); grandchildren, Nina and Adit.