Rich tributes paid to senior journalist

CHENNAI: Journalists, scientists and doctors belonging to a number of anti-nuclear armament groups came together on Tuesday to pay their respects to senior journalist J Sri Raman, who passed away recently.They recalled his contribution to journalism as well as his efforts to create awareness among journalists of the pitfalls of lending jingoistic support to the India’s nuclear weapons programme.Sri Raman had pioneered the creation of a group called Journalists Against Nuclear Weapons in the days following the nuclear test at Pokhran in 1998. The collective merged with similar initiative among doctors, scientists and the like, under the aegis of Movement Against Nuclear Weapons (MANW), to campaign against both nuclear weapons and the unquestioned support they had received at the hands of the mainstream.“Sri Raman referred to himself as an India-Pakistan journalist. His three big concerns were nuclear weapons, rise of fascism and Indo-Pak relations. We will fondly remember his organisational skill and his campaigns against nuclear weapons,” said Dr Amalorpavanthan Joseph, Vascular Surgeon and Cadaver Transplant Coordinator, Tamil Nadu, who is an active member of the MANW.