New York, April 10 (IANS) Gopal Raju, the pioneer of ethnic Indian media in the United States, and founder of the well known India Abroad newspaper as well as IANS, died here early Thursday after a brief illness. He was 80. A bachelor, Raju died of complications arising from a sudden bout of jaundice.

The soft-spoken shy publisher, who became an institution in the South Asian community in the US, was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for his contributions to India and its diasporas by then president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2007.

Till his death, he was editor and publisher of the New York-based News-India Times, Desi Talk and Gujarat Times.

The Bangalore-born Raju was also the founder of the Indian American Centre for Political Awareness (IACPA), a well-known non-profit organisation in Washington that sought to empower Indian Americans, especially the younger generation, and helped create a distinct Indian voice on Capitol Hill.