“Journalism for me is neither a profession nor business but a holy mission to fight against tyranny, arbitrariness, injustice, and exploitation of every kind and achieve the objective of building a new social order based on equality, justice, peace, and human brotherhood.”
I had started The Kashmir Times in 1954 as a weekly after my Urdu weekly “Naya Samaj”, started by me in 1951 and which had emerged as the powerful voice of dissent against the authoritarian regime and entrenched establishment was banned by the Government in 1954 under the infamous Defence of India Rules.
My earlier attempt to publish a Hindi Weekly “Naya Kashmir” in 1949 could not succeed when the newspaper was closed down after a few issues.
While launching The Kashmir Times, I had declared that journalism for me is neither a profession nor business but a holy mission to fight against tyranny, arbitrariness, injustice, and exploitation of every kind and achieve the objective of building a new social order based on equality, justice, peace, and human brotherhood.
I had also promised to make the publication free, fearless, and forthright in pursuance of its objectives. How far I have been able to achieve this objective is for the readers to judge. But there is no denying the fact that withstanding all pulls and pressures, offers of baits, threats of intimidation, and other authoritarian measures like denial of advertisements and normal facilities, we kept the banner of independent, free, and fearless press aloft, and the Kashmir Times emerged as a symbol of the freedom of the press and an uncompromising champion of the people’s rights, human values, and freedom.
This policy, I am confident, will continue to be followed by my successors with even more vigor, determination, and sense of purpose than I commanded.
Over five decades of my journey in this noble profession has been arduous, difficult, and full of discomforts. It was the continuation of the struggle for a new social order in which I plunged at the tender age of 14.
I have the satisfaction that even under trying circumstances, I neither succumbed to any pressures nor was lured by any inducements. We have not compromised on basic principles and never wavered from our declared path and goal. From a humble beginning,
The Kashmir Times has grown into a powerful institution and a strong watchdog of democracy and social justice. I have the satisfaction that the sapling that I planted five decades ago and nurtured with blood and sweat has expanded manifold and grown into a powerful tree.
From a one-man show, the Kashmir Times family now comprises over a hundred men and women on its staff who are contributing in no small measure to keep this banner of free press aloft. Besides, there are thousands of its readers and scores of patrons who have backed our efforts to pursue our objective and have been a source of strength and inspiration for us.
I salute all of them with the hope that they will continue to stand by the Kashmir Times Group of Publications.
In this long and hazardous journey, many friends and colleagues who joined me have been a source of my strength. What we have been able to achieve is due to their collective efforts. Some of them left us midstream, others who left for better prospects and have risen to high positions in the profession still proudly call themselves as members of the vast Kashmir Times family.
(This note is undated but is purported to have been written between 2007 and 2012. It mentions as a footnote all the publications of the Kashmir Times Group of Newspapers-Kashmir Times, (English Daily), Dainik Kashmir Times (Hindi Daily), Jammu Prabhat (Dogri Daily) and Springer (Children’s Magazine))
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The post Why I started Kashmir Times? first appeared on Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform..
The post Why I started Kashmir Times? appeared first on Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform..