AIZAWL: Ninety-four-year-old journalist from Mizoram, Lalbiakthanga Pachuau, who was awarded the Padma Shri in Delhi on Monday, said he would continue to work for as long as it was possible.
He was in 2016 declared the "oldest working journalist in the country" by Mizoram Information and Public Relations Department and Mizoram Journalist Association (MJA).
Speaking to PTI over the phone from Delhi, Pachuau said he would "remain indebted to his colleagues and well-wishers" for the support they extended to him over the years.
"I never expected that I would be receiving the Padma Shri. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally congratulated me during the award presentation ceremony. I will continue to be a part of the journalism profession for as long as I can," he stated.
Born in 1927 at Saichal village, 80 km away from state capital Aizawl, Pachuau joined the Assam Regiment of the British Indian Army in 1945 and fought against the Japanese during World War-II.
He started out as a journalist with a relatively small newspaper Zoram Thupuan in 1953 and then went on to run his own local daily Zoram Tlangau.