Mizoram: Assam Rifles felicitates 94-year-old Padma Shri awardee Lalbiakthanga Pachuau in Aizawl

AIZAWL: Ninety-four-year old journalist Lalbiakthanga Pachuau, who was awarded recently with the country’s fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri, was facilitated by Assam Rifles on Saturday.

A brief felicitation function was held at Assam Rifles base in Aizawl’s Khatla locality on Saturday during which the war veteran turned journalist was honoured with a trophy and other rewards.

Pachuau was declared the “oldest working journalist in India” by Mizoram’s Information and Public Relations Department and Mizoram Journalists' Association (MJA) in 2016. Assam Rifles DIG Digvijay Singh and other AssamRifles officers attended the event.

Pachuau was accompanied by leaders of MJA, including the organisation president Zonunsanga Khiangte.

MJA is the umbrella body of all journalists in the state, which has nearly 200 members.

Pachuau was named a winner of Padma Shri in 2020 on Literature and Education-Journalism along with litterateur C Kamlova (Literature and Education) from Mizoram.

Both received the award from President Ram Nath Kovind during the award ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on November 8.

Apart from Pachuau and Kamlova, social worker B Sangkhumi, who was named a winner this year, also received the Padma award from the president.

Pachuau joined the Assam Regiment of the British Indian Army in 1945 and fought against the Japanese force for the British during the Second World War and won many military medals.

The 94-year-old had a passion for journalism even during his service and started his journalism career after his retirement in 1953 with a relatively small paper Zoram Thupuan.

Later, he started his own local daily “Zoram Tlangau”, which he has been editing since 1970.

Besides being a journalist, he was an active social worker.

He was the founder president of Mizoram Social Defence Union during the 1990s and campaigned vigorously against alcohol and drugs.

Pachuau was one of the founder members of Association for Voluntary BloodDonation (AVBD), an Aizawl-based philanthropist organisation working for voluntary blood donation.