Senior journalist and editor of the oldest Khasi daily newspaper, U Nongsaiñ Hima, Lambok Thabah passed away on Tuesday morning following sudden illness. He was 52.
Thabah’s sudden demise came as a shock to all his journalist colleagues in Shillong. He was an active member of the Shillong Press Club.
Journalists in Shillong told Northeast Now that till 1 am on Tuesday, Thabah was busy texting in a WhatsApp group of media persons.
No one realised that they would wake up on Tuesday with the news of Thabah’s death.
Lambok Thabah was extremely popular among the journalists and politicians, and was a perfect gentleman.
During his 27 long years of service, Thabah started his career in journalism as a reporter of the Khasi daily Rupang in 1993.
In 2003, he took over as an Editor of U Nongsaiñ Hima. He had also worked with The Shillong Times for a brief period.
As an editor, Thabah was hard working and honest. He is a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award instituted by the Indian Express Group in 2014.
Thabah was awarded for his series of stories on denial of PDS items including rice and sugar to more than 20 families for years at Mawsynram village in East Khasi Hills.
The families who were ostracized for demanding their rights, however, finally got justice after Thabah had written a series of reports on the issue.