Vijay Kumar Chopra (born 31 January 1932, inLahore) is the chief executive officer andeditor in chief of thePunjab Kesari print news organisation. He is involved in social welfare work and has received aPadma Shri award (Literature & Education : 1990). In August 2009, he was elected by the Chairman of thePress Trust of India.[1]
Chopra is a member of theKhatri clan of Punjabi origin and a follower of theSwami Dayanand (orArya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement). He is the second child ofLala Jagat Narain and Shanti Devi. Lala Jagat Narain was killed in September 1981 by Khalistan supporters in Punjab,[2] while his brother Romesh Chander was killed by Khalistan Supporters in Jalandhar in May 1984.[3] Chopra has two sons, who both work in the family business.
In 1955, Chopra graduated fromDoaba College, Jalandhar.[citation needed] In 1967, Chopra trained in the field of printing technology inLeipzig, Germany. In 1972, he underwent further training in the Thompson Foundation Newspaper Management Course in the United Kingdom.
Punjab Kesari header with the photos of Late founders Lala Jagat Narain (father) & Romesh Chander (elder brother)
Chopra is the chief editor and CEO of Punjab Kesari Group, a newspaper organisation. He publishes three vernacular papers: thePunjab Kesari (in Hindi); theJagbani (in Punjabi); and theHind Samachar (in Urdu). The Punjab Kesari Group has eight locations: Jalandhar, Patiala, Ambala, Palampur, Ludhiana, Panipat, Hisar, Jammu, and Mohali.
The "Tama Patra". A recognition by the government for suffering during the National Movement for Independence. (Imprisonment for one year at age 15).
1990. ThePadma Shri. The fourth highest civilian award given by the president.[4]
1990. "FIE Award". Given by the "FIE Foundation". (For eminence in journalism).
1990. "F.F.I. Award". Given by the "Foundation of Freedom of Information", New Delhi. (For eminence in Journalism).
1991. "MunshiPremchand Award". After the Hindi-Urdu writer. (For fearless and impartial journalism).
1994. "Sant Namdev Award". Given by the "Vande Matram Sanghatana" social organization, inPune. (For safeguarding the unity & integrity of the nation through fearless journalism).
1994. "Saraswati Award". Given by the "Haryana Accredited Press Reporters Union" (Haryana Union of Journalists, HUJ) inKurukshetra.
1997. Entry in theLimca book of records. (Writer of the longest travelogue).
"Punjab Ratan award." Given by the "Punjab Writers' Forum" inPatiala.
2005. "President’s Print Award" given at "PRINT 05" trade show inChicago, USA.
2006. "Rashtriya Ekta Samman" by National Unity Conference, New Delhi.
2007 "Suryadatta Life Time Achievement Award" given by the Suryadatta group of institutes in Pune. (For fearless journalism).
"Samaj Rattan award." Given by the Punjab Gayatri Foundation & Shri Gayatri Jan Kalyan Samiti, Ludhiana. (For religious, cultural and social activities).
2007 "Maulana Mohd. Ali Jauhar Award". Given by Maulana Mohd of the Ali Jauhar Academy, Delhi. (For journalism)
2007 "Bhagat Munshi Ram." Personality of the year. Given by the N.T.A.S. Patiala.
"Guru Padam Jain Memorial Welfare Award."
"Dr. D. R. Garg Memorial National Integration Award." Given by the Himotkarsh Sahitya, Sanskriti Avem Jan Kalyan Parishad (Regd.) in Una. (A social welfare organisation).
"Bhagat Munshi Ram National Integration Award." Given by the National Theatre Arts Society, Patiala. (For journalism).
"Manvadhikar Shiromani Award." Given by the Global Human Rights Council (R&C), 3234, Sector 44-D, Chandigandra
Akhil Bhartiya Valmiki Shakti Dal (Regd.), Delhi. Chief patron.
"Shaheed Parivar Fund". This fund has raised over INR 111.6 million for dependants of victims of terrorism. Over 99 functions have been held. 7,667 families have benefited from UTI certificates to a value of INR 89,141,122.
