Priya Marwah, who helped launch the International News Media Association (INMA) in South Asia over the past 12 years as staff division manager, died Tuesday in New Delhi after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was 47.
Marwah joined INMA in April 2007 as South Asia Division manager shortly after the association launched operations in India. Over time, she helped build a community of leading news publishers in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh that evolved into an idea-sharing network connecting with peer media companies worldwide.
Working with a volunteer board of directors, Marwah produced 12 major news media conferences in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru during her time with INMA. And she introduced many from around the world to India.
A graduate of Hindu College at the University of Delhi, Marwah earned a post-graduate diploma in marketing management and public relations from The Times School of Marketing before spending eight years at Bennett-Coleman & Company Ltd. At BCCL, she managed a Newspaper In Education (NIE) program run by the Times of India, where she championed the art of concept selling to top educational institutes.
In 2000, Marwah collected 11,000 signatures in New Delhi during a campaign for peace organized by UNESCO—one of her proudest achievements.
“Priya single-handedly built the INMA South Asia division, the hallmark event in her legacy that will live forever,” said Rajiv Verma, volunteer president of the INMA South Asia Division. “She will be sorely missed and remembered for her passion and dedication.”
“Priya brought passion, tenacity, heart, and soul to everything she touched,” said Earl J Wilkinson, executive director and chief executive officer of the Dallas-based INMA. “She helped birth INMA in South Asia, interacting with thousands of media executives. She helped lift the aspirations and expertise of the South Asian media industry, and she was a mentor to many. And she brought all of these attributes to bear in her final battle with cancer. What a great life to celebrate. She will be dearly missed by so many people.”
