IOS Mujaddid Centre for Arts and Literature organises discussion on the future of Urdu Journalism”

IOS Mujaddid Centre for Arts and Literature organises discussion on the future of Urdu Journalism”

New Delhi: A discussion on the future of Urdu journalism was organised by the IOS Mujaddid Centre for Arts and Literature at the auditorium of the Institute of Objective Studies here on March 2, 2023.

The discussion began with the recitation of a verse from the Holy Qur’an along with its Urdu translation by Hafiz Athar Husain Nadwi.

Introducing the topic, the Convener of the Centre, Anjum Naim, outlined the aims and objectives of the Mujaddid Centre. He said that the Centre was founded to hold serious discussions on literary and cultural issues. This also coincided with the special guest of the occasion, Dr. Syed Fazil Husain Pervez receiving the prestigious National Award for Excellence in Journalism by the Press Council of India. He said that Dr. Fazil Husain Pervez was the first Urdu journalist who was honoured with the award. He was confident that the young Urdu journalists would emulate him in their profession.

Dr. Shafi Ayyub, in his inaugural speech, observed that in India, journalism started in 1780. Urdu journalism started its journey in 1822. Since then, caravan of Urdu journalism was wading its way through thick and thin. A debate too started if journalism was a profession, business, a mission or service. When the radio service was started, it was feared that the print media would be finished. So was the care with radio which was feared to be replaced by television. Now, the people were saying that only digital media had a future. The media mogul, Murdock, however, held that all those who carried news of death, would die but journalism would remain alive.

Participating in the discussion, Dr. Abrar Rahman observed that journalism was not confined to newspapers alone. He stressed the need for focusing on other forms of writing. Earlier, senior journalist and the representative of the Voice of America, Urdu service in India, Suhail Anjum, remarked that Urdu journalism would remain alive so long as the print media was there. He disagreed with the view that the future of Urdu journalism was bleak. He also did not subscribe to the theory that Urdu journalism had no avenues for employment. Today, non-Muslims were also bringing out Urdu newspapers. In this connection, he especially mentioned the name of the Roznama Inquilab. He said that Syed Fazil Perwez formed an organisation called ‘Media Plus’. There was a difference between the ownership of a newspaper and its workers. The famous Urdu magazine of yesteryears Shama survived only on its sales. He insisted that several newspapers were still alive due to political patronage. This was the case with non-Urdu newspapers as well. He noted that boys educated in madarsas were also joining Urdu newspapers, but the language they used in writing was not as good as those of journalists. He favoured use of chaste Urdu words or else Urdu as a language would die. He complained that today’s journalists hardly read books. They also did not read old newspapers and the writings of eminent journalists, he added.

President of the Urdu Media Association, Dr. Muzaffar Husain Ghazali, held that due to wrong information, several issue created confusion in the country and society. To avoid such situations, all the news should be doubly verified before being filed. He said that Dr. Fazil Husain Pervez re-produced the writings of unknown journalists and introduced them through his newspaper. That was the reason why he was chosen for the PCI’s national award for excellence in journalism. He was the first Urdu journalist to receive the prestigious award. This was the age of fast communication and the social media platforms had made it faster. Urdu journalism had created now areas by using new techniques. Owing to its usage in a big way, the future of Urdu journalism was safe and secure. Fazil Husain Pervez brought several documents to light, he said.

Senior journalist, Ahmed Javed, observed that Fazil Husain was among those journalists who rose from below and reached the top. He said that the said award was instituted in 2015 in memory of the great social reformer, Rajaram Mohan Roy. Struggle was the rule of the nature because nobody could sustain without struggle. He likened the condition of the youth today to the condition of young people in Europe during the first half of the last century. Today’s restlessness, tension and strangeness among them was symptomatic of the last century. A little bit of positivity filled them with enthusiasm. But faced little difficulty, they became disappointed. He advised the youth to wriggle out themselves of this bi-polar syndrome. This was necessary because the youth was the future of the community, its language and its journalism. He noted that media was a business proposition which required big capital investment and a viable market. Syed Fazil Husain was a case study which should be undertaken. There were a number of challenges today and the people like Fazil Husain were always there to face them.

Editor of the Urdu weekly, ‘Gawah’ published from Hyderabad, Dr. Syed Fazil Husain Pervez, pointed out that Urdu journalism had a better future in India, but this depended on sincerity and the labour of Urdu journalists. Urdu journalism was marked by fear which destroyed it. What was needed was to come out of the politics of fear and the journalism of fear. He said that Urdu belonged to a large population and so long as this population continued to read, write and speak the language, its journalism would sustain itself. In the light of the experiences of his practical life, he could safely conclude that the opportunities in Urdu and its journalism had also increased. Urdu newspapers published from Hyderabad were a link between non-resident Indians and the country and its society. NRI boys were seeking the help of Urdu newspapers for matrimonial alliance with Indian girls. NRIs subscribed to Urdu newspapers in their homes as a good omen and accessed them on websites. He opined out that a journalist had to grapple with odd situations. If it were not true then the owners of the widely circulated Hindi daily, Jagran would not have purchased the leading Urdu newspaper, the Roznama Inquilab. This was the age of digital media, but it was not worthy of trust. One could not view a video clip for more than a day. Ultimately, he had to fall back on the print media. Referring to the artificial intelligence, he said that one could easily access a 500-page article from the website within no time. Every institution needed a spokesperson to reach out to the people, he said.

Dr. Husain Pervez emphasized that a journalist should be an all-rounder. In order to keep pace with time, one should use necessary tools. Medical and health business flourished during the COVID-19 period due to the opportunities it grabbed. He observed that the Urdu journalism created anti-Muslim environment by exploiting the community’s sentiments. He asked the journalists to display courage and write about inadequate facilities available in government-run hospitals compared to corporate hospitals. In Telangana, an amount of Rs. 1.5 lakh each was being spent by the government on residential schools. He advised against writing news stories based on sentiments and hatred. He called for creating a team that should be aware of the current situation. In Hyderabad, he said, journalism had been made a part in the madrasa curriculum. In this respect, the madrasa run by the general secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani was doing a yeoman’s service. Today, resources were in abundance and a trained teacher could teach anywhere. There was a need for awareness and labour. This could be started from home itself. He observed that if the future of Urdu journalism was not bright, it was also not bleak. Every party required newspapers to reach out to people. He asked the Urdu journalists to tell the newspaper owners that they were not the dispenser of their destiny. He concluded by suggesting that a corpus should be created to help journalists.

Vice-Chairman of the IOS Prof. M. Afzal Wani expressed happiness that Fazil Husain Pervez was being felicitated by the Mujaddid Centre. He insisted that things were in the air till they took a concrete shape. He urged that Urdu journalists to sincerely engage themselves in promoting Urdu so as the make it an international language. He said that a core group for the purpose could be formed. He termed Urdu journalism as Ibadah (Prayer) and not a profession. Besides being a sweet language, Urdu was a sprit. He suggested that an endowment to work for the welfare of Urdu journalists be created. Funds for such an endowment should be collected from different sources. Journalists who were in need should be identified to provide them financial assistance. He opined that journalists could become relevant by way of their capacity and capability. He said that they could develop good material on subjects like science, literature, general knowledge, etc. A journalist was like a researcher who invented one thing or the other every day. A pen could do what a weapon could not, he added.

In his presidential speech, eminent Urdu writer and ex-bureaucrat, Azim Akhtar, remarked that the future of Urdu journalism was no different from the future of Urdu as a language. He said that Urdu was caught up in the vortex of the three-language formula. Commenting on the plight of Urdu, he said that not a single board in Urdu was visible in Delhi’s Zakir Nagar market area from one end to the other. Urdu journalism turned into Muslim journalism in India. Urdu held no future till it was made a regional language, he concluded.

At the end, Anjum Naim extended a vote of thanks to the audience. A good number of Urdu journalists and writers were present on the occasion.

A view of Audience