Renowned Indian journalist and commentator Praful Bidwai died in Amsterdam on Monday night, The Wire reported.
Bidwai, who was 65, died after choking on his food, a close friend of his said. He was in the Dutch capital for a conference.
The veteran journalist’s syndicated columns on politics, foreign policy, the environment and political economy provided a critical, left-wing perspective on national and international developments for over four decades.
He wrote regularly for magazines and newspapers across India and the world, besides being an anti-nuclear activist and campaigner. He was a founding member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Peace, the group set up after the 1998 Pokhran tests.
Bidwai worked in the Times of India for many years as a senior assistant editor before embarking on a freelance career that made his byline a household name across India. He wrote a regular column for Frontline and Hindustan Times for several years.
A bachelor, Bidwai had also worked as a professorial fellow at the Centre for Social Development, New Delhi, and as a fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
He was a long-time fellow of the Transnational Institute, the Amsterdam-based organisation of international scholar-activists including Susan George and Walden Bello.