Veteran journalist Gopal Misra succeeds Late Dr. K. Vikram Rao, who chose prison over press censorship during the 1975 Emergency, in the federation’s first leadership transition since the passing of its most towering figure, as IFWJ confronts economic upheaval and AI disruption in India’s newsrooms.
New Delhi, 6 April 2026: The Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) today elected Gopal Misra as its National President, following a unanimous mandate from an Electoral College spanning 14 of the federation’s 27 states. The result was declared at the Journalist Union of Delhi (JUD) premises in B-35, Nizamuddin, New Delhi, under Section 49 of the IFWJ Constitution.
Misra succeeds Late Dr. K. Vikram Rao, who authored 11 books and as a member of the Wage Boards and Press Council of India secured improved wage conditions for journalists across 27 states. He endured 13 months of imprisonment during the 1975 Emergency for defying press censorship; Prime Minister Narendra Modi honoured him at Vigyan Bhavan in 2016 for that courage. Dr. Rao passed away on 12 May 2025.
The election was initiated in September 2025 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Scrutiny was conducted by Com. Santosh Chaturvedi (Uttar Pradesh)CRO, Com. Somaiah Mamidi (Telangana) ACRO, and Com. Maroof Raza (Delhi) ACRO.
“The working journalist today faces pressures on two fronts: economic precarity from the collapse of traditional revenue models, and the existential challenge of artificial intelligence reshaping every newsroom. Our first task is to ensure no journalist loses their livelihood to an algorithm without a negotiated transition, and our second is to secure wage protections that reflect the reality of digital labour,” said Gopal Misra, National President, IFWJ.
Senior IFWJ Working Committee members present at the declaration included Vice President Upendra Rathod ; Treasurer Rajat Mishra; Secretary P Anandam, K. Vishwadev Rao; State Presidents Salman Khan (Madhya Pradesh) among others and members of the Journalist Union of Delhi.
Comrade Shivgopal Mishra General Secretary AIRF was present on the occasion and he fondly remembered Dr Rao and congratulated Gopal Misra for becoming the IFWJ President. He wished his success and asked him to continue the path shown by Dr K Vikram Rao.
Misra held senior editorial roles at The Times of India and National Herald, launched India’s first internet news portal, founded the Pioneer Employees Union acknowledged by former President V.V. Giri and has taught at IIMC for over a decade.
Founded in 1950 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, IFWJ is the largest journalist organisation in the non-aligned world, with bilateral ties in 47 countries and the driving force behind India’s first parliamentary legislation on journalist working conditions (1956).
Congratulations were received by telephone from: Haseeb Siddiqui (President) and Devraj Singh (General Secretary), Uttar Pradesh; Pramod Dutt (President) and Sudhir Madhukar (General Secretary), Bihar; C. Bhoopati, Tamil Nadu; Bharat Bhushan (President) and Deepak Kumar, Jharkhand; Namita Bora, Assam; Shanta Kumari (President) and Narayan Vaidya (Secretary), Karnataka; Om Prakash Singh (President) and Mukesh Kumar, Maharashtra; P. Anandam, Telangana; Bijoy Paul (President), Tripura; Amit Rai, West Bengal; Arun Sharma (President) and Prayag Pande (General Secretary), Uttarakhand; and senior journalists Prem Kant Tiwari and Nitin Srivastava, Uttar Pradesh.
Media Contact: IFWJ National Secretariat, B-35 Nizamuddin West, Top Floor, New Delhi – 110013 | ifwj.media@gmail.com | +91-9415010300
