Ravi Zacharias, 74, a renowned author-speaker and Christian apologist died on Tuesday at his house in Atlanta, Georgia, after a short battle with cancer. He was the founder of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Born in Chennai, he grew up in Delhi and later migrated to Canada. As a speaker, he travelled across the world and addressed U.S. military bases and students in several universities, including St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; Uppsala University, Sweden; Harvard University and Yale University. He has held several open forums and addressed the Annual Prayer Breakfast at the United Nations.

Zacharias wrote several books — The Grand Weaver, Cries of the Heart and Walking from East to West. He started Wellspring International, a humanitarian arm of his organisation RZIM and reached out to vulnerable sections of the society, particularly women and underprivileged children. He is survived by his wife Margie and three children.