Overview
- George died on October 3 in Bengaluru at 97, with family saying he had been hospitalised at Manipal Hospital and succumbed after a second cardiac arrest.
- The Karnataka government directed full state honours for his final rites, with the funeral scheduled on October 5 at the Hebbal crematorium.
- A Padma Bhushan awardee, he served as editorial advisor to The New Indian Express and wrote the ‘Point of View’ column for about 25 years until June 2022.
- His international career included founding Asiaweek in Hong Kong and contributing to the Far Eastern Economic Review and other outlets.
- A defender of press freedom, he was jailed for sedition in 1965 while editing The Searchlight, and leaders across parties paid tribute; he is survived by Sheba Thayil and author-poet Jeet Thayil.