One of India’s leading journalists who reported events around the world, Arun Chacko, Nieman Fellow 1978,  passed away in New Delhi in June after a long battle with cancer. He was 66.

Chacko began his reporting career at the Indian Express newspaper in 1971, and quickly rose to the position of chief reporter. He contributed reportage to India’s “Emergency,” the 21-month period of political unrest in the 1970s when the entire country was under a declared state of emergency, with elections suspended, civil liberties stifled, and many political opponents of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imprisoned.

During his Nieman Fellowship, Chacko studied relations between China, Russia and the U.S. He went on to provide global coverage for publications such as the Boston-based South Asia World Paper, Asia Week, and India Today, where he was a senior editor. From 2004 to 2008, he served as director of the Press Institute of India and later consulted for Indo-Asian News Service, India’s largest independent newswire.

Chacko is survived by his wife Arathi and son Aadil.