Senior investigative and political journalist Abhay Mokashi passed away in Mumbai on May 2 after a months-long battle with terminal-stage stomach cancer and non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. He was cremated on May 3, his 69th birthday, at the electric crematorium in Borivli, in the presence of around 100 family members, friends, colleagues, and students.
Mokashi spent a significant part of his career at mid-day, first as City Editor (head of the reporting section) and later as Political Editor. Before joining mid-day, he blazed a trail at The Indian Express with a series of investigative reports, one of which brought down a sitting chief minister.
In early 1986, Mokashi published a series of reports exposing how the grades of Chandrakala, daughter of then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, were altered from F-minus (fail) to F-plus (pass) in the postgraduate gynaecology examination at Seth GS Medical College, KEM Hospital. The manipulation was carried out with a simple alteration on paper — a scheme so deceptively simple that proving it would have been nearly impossible without Mokashi’s meticulous, multi-source reporting.
Weeks later, in March 1986, his reporting led to the resignation of the governor (the chancellor of all state universities), the vice-chancellor, and the chief minister himself. Appointed in June 1985, Patil Nilangekar became Maharashtra’s shortest-serving chief minister, lasting only 277 days. Mokashi’s work also led to significant reforms in the way medical examinations are conducted and evaluated.
At mid-day (see former mid-day Editor Ayaz Memon`s tribute alongside), which had established itself as Mumbai’s leading investigative newspaper by the early 1990s, Mokashi broke what remains one of the state’s biggest medical rackets: the kidney transplant scam. His investigation exposed how unscrupulous doctors coerced poor labourers into parting with their healthy kidneys for a pittance. The reporting prompted stricter monitoring of organ donations across the state.
Pradyuman Maheshwari, deputy editor of mid-day in the 1990s, said, “So much of our communication never needed words. The nod, the half-smile, the squirm, the slow shake of the head. My heart goes out to his family, his friends and the countless journalists who relied on his instincts, his stubborn integrity, and his deep insight into Maharashtra politics and Mumbai.”
Krishna Warrier, News Editor of mid-day in the 1990s and later its Editor, “Abhay was one of the bravest journalists I have met. Everyone knew him as a strong reporter; on the News Desk at mid-day, we soon realised he was also an excellent editor whose copy hardly needed any work. So much so that he went on to teach editing to journalism students at the Xavier Institute of Communication (XIC).”
After his stint at mid-day, Mokashi taught journalism at several institutions, including the Xavier Institute of Communication (XIC) at Dhobi Talao and the Harkisan Mehta Foundation Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (HMMIJMAC) at Mithibai College, Vile Parle. He was known for mentoring scores of students who went on to become leading reporters and editors.
Veteran journalist and PR consultant David D`souza, Mokashi`s former colleague, said, “We worked together in The Indian Post (1987-1988) although I knew him as a good friend long before that. The messages today are filled with the usual words: “Good human being. Super journalist. Fine teacher.” In his case, they aren’t clichés. They’re accurate. He had seen enough of power and politics to turn cynical. He never did. Some people don’t get replaced. Abhay won’t.”
