T.J.S. George, the giant of journalism who filled a gap in Malayalam

Ending the stellar 25-year-run of his popular column ‘Point of View’ in The New Indian Express daily in 2022, veteran journalist T.J.S. George wrote: “But there is something not right if a country and its rulers start feeling that they should not be criticised at all -- and especially by newspaperwallahs.” To colleagues and newspaper readers spanning decades and nations, Thayil Jacob Sony George - better known as T.J.S. George or simply TJS, such a remark was typical of the man who many consider the epitome of what journalists should aspire to be. It could be said that during an eventful career, Mr. George, who passed away on Friday aged 97, straddled many lives -- that of a journalist, writer, an incisive and witty social commentator, and a global citizen who was quite at home with the big picture.