India, July 5 -- Veteran journalist Amalendu Kundu, one of India's most respected chroniclers of Sikkim and the Eastern Himalayan region, passed away on Saturday evening at his native residence in the Howrah Maidan area of West Bengal. He was 80+ and had been ailing due to age-related health conditions for the past few years. Surrounded by his family in his final moments, Kundu peacefully departed for his heavenly abode, bringing to a close an illustrious journalistic career that spanned more than five decades.

His passing marks the end of an era in Indian journalism - one defined by integrity, quiet perseverance, geographical depth, and an unwavering commitment to reporting from one of the country's most strategically significant yet of...