Nagpur: Babasaheb Ambedkar’s writing bound this country in unity and came to the aid of abolishing discrimination against minorities, said former minister for social justice Rajkumar Badole on Friday. Representation of people from the Bahujan community is important in the present times, he added.
Badole was speaking at the 100th anniversary of ‘Mooknayak’, Ambedkar’s first newspaper, being published. The programme was jointly organized by Yugandhar Creations, Vandana Sangh Deekshabhoomi and Lord Buddha Maitree Sangh to felicitate nearly 50 journalists, from across the country, who follow the principles of Ambedkar that challenge the dominant social problems.
Badole congratulated the awardees and inspired the journalists to be more vocal by quoting the first few lines of Javed Akhtar’s ghazal, “Jo baat kehte darte hai sab, tu woh baat likh. Itni andheri thi na kabhi pehle raat, likh.”
Criticizing the current scenario of journalism, senior journalist SN Vinod said, “100 years ago, Ambedkar wrote about how despair and injustice can be observed when we look in all four directions. We are witnessing the same situation at present. Even though politicians are responsible for it, media is one of the biggest complicities. We, as journalists, have become unreliable and it is shameful for me to admit in the society that I am a journalist.”
He said, “We saw absurd reporting in the recent occurrence in Delhi where a man took out a pistol and shot at people in which a student was injured as the police stood like bystanders. The editor-in-chief of a news channel said he had seen the video closely and that he believed blaming the police was wrong. Another anchor of the same channel said inaction of the police must be investigated. Yet another anchor revealed that the man was a minor. If journalists kneel before the power, we will be untrustworthy.”
Addressing the aspiring journalists, he said, “You will face several obstacles and this line of work will demand several sacrifices. But journalism is a field that requires sanctity.”
In his introductory speech, Bhaiyyaji Khairkar said, “Taking inspiration from Ambedkar’s journalistic values, there are countless newspapers who have been running for many years in the country. The current situation of counter-revolution in the country calls for today’s ‘Mooknayak’. We stand in need of people to speak out and write fearlessly and take the revolution of newspapers forward through Ambedkar’s lens because newspapers is a medium that can guide people on the right path at a time when the Constitution is being ripped apart.”
Present at the programme were journalists Baban Wadke, Gajanan Nimedeo and Babanrao Taywade, among others.
Artistes of Yugandhar Creations presented songs based on Ambedkar’s life. Anil Khobragade, Anil Hirekhan and Akanksha Nagarkar were the singers. The music was composed by Prabhakar Dhakde and Bhupesh Sawai.
Badole was speaking at the 100th anniversary of ‘Mooknayak’, Ambedkar’s first newspaper, being published. The programme was jointly organized by Yugandhar Creations, Vandana Sangh Deekshabhoomi and Lord Buddha Maitree Sangh to felicitate nearly 50 journalists, from across the country, who follow the principles of Ambedkar that challenge the dominant social problems.
Badole congratulated the awardees and inspired the journalists to be more vocal by quoting the first few lines of Javed Akhtar’s ghazal, “Jo baat kehte darte hai sab, tu woh baat likh. Itni andheri thi na kabhi pehle raat, likh.”
Criticizing the current scenario of journalism, senior journalist SN Vinod said, “100 years ago, Ambedkar wrote about how despair and injustice can be observed when we look in all four directions. We are witnessing the same situation at present. Even though politicians are responsible for it, media is one of the biggest complicities. We, as journalists, have become unreliable and it is shameful for me to admit in the society that I am a journalist.”
He said, “We saw absurd reporting in the recent occurrence in Delhi where a man took out a pistol and shot at people in which a student was injured as the police stood like bystanders. The editor-in-chief of a news channel said he had seen the video closely and that he believed blaming the police was wrong. Another anchor of the same channel said inaction of the police must be investigated. Yet another anchor revealed that the man was a minor. If journalists kneel before the power, we will be untrustworthy.”
Addressing the aspiring journalists, he said, “You will face several obstacles and this line of work will demand several sacrifices. But journalism is a field that requires sanctity.”
In his introductory speech, Bhaiyyaji Khairkar said, “Taking inspiration from Ambedkar’s journalistic values, there are countless newspapers who have been running for many years in the country. The current situation of counter-revolution in the country calls for today’s ‘Mooknayak’. We stand in need of people to speak out and write fearlessly and take the revolution of newspapers forward through Ambedkar’s lens because newspapers is a medium that can guide people on the right path at a time when the Constitution is being ripped apart.”
Present at the programme were journalists Baban Wadke, Gajanan Nimedeo and Babanrao Taywade, among others.
Artistes of Yugandhar Creations presented songs based on Ambedkar’s life. Anil Khobragade, Anil Hirekhan and Akanksha Nagarkar were the singers. The music was composed by Prabhakar Dhakde and Bhupesh Sawai.
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