Dr David Page, a towering figure in South Asian journalism, passed away in London earlier this week, after a brief illness.

He was a passionate South Asia watcher throughout his career, and his interests ranged from cricket to politics in the region. In the mid-sixties, he spent a year teaching at Edwardes College in Peshawar.

He returned to Oxford thereafter to do his doctoral thesis on the partition of India and later wrote the book Prelude to Partition, which was published in 1982.

Dr Page worked for the BBC World Service for over two decades, and was directly responsible for all radio broadcasts in South Asian languages, including Urdu and Hindi.

From 1977 to 1985, he was the editor of the BBC Urdu Service and also served as editor of the BBC’s first Pashto Service in 1981. He would later write the book Satellites over South Asia: Broadcasting, Culture and the Public Interest based on his experiences.

In 2015, David Page went on to work on a book on Sri Lanka’s precarious media freedom scene. He co-edited the volume titled Embattled Media: Democracy, Governance and Reform in Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan was also within his area of interest, and he also served on the board of trustees of the UK-based NGO Afghanaid.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024