‘For the interests of Hindustans’, with this objective, the foundation of Hindi journalism is laid in India on 30 May 1826. The first Hindi newspaper ‘Udant Martand’ is published on the birth anniversary episode (Vaishakh Krishna Paksha Dwitiya) of Journalism, Devarshi Narada. On this occasion, the editor Pandit Yugalakishore expresses his happiness on the first page of the newspaper on the beginning of Hindi journalism. Earning profit like today was not the purpose of journalism of that time. Most of the newspapers published before India’s independence became the medium of freedom movement. The British remained vocal against the government. Udant Martand adopted the same stance. Even after extreme difficulties, Pandit continued to publish Yugalakishore Udant Martand. However, this struggle did not last long. This seed of Hindi journalism was 79 points and about one and a half years. Taking inspiration from the livelihood of this seed, later other Hindi newspapers started. Today, Hindi newspapers are being read the most in India. In terms of spread numbers, there are Hindi newspapers at the top. But, today there is no longer the case in Hindi journalism, which was in Udant Martand. The lack of struggle and courage appears somewhere. In fact, the lack of ‘for the interests of Hindustans’ is seen in today’s Hindi journalism. Although this sentiment is not completely eliminated, but the market burden is buried. Personally, I believe that as long as the share is in the priority of ‘country interest’ journalism, only then journalism is alive. There is a need that in priority this sentiment is confirmed, its quantity should increase. The time has come for us to overcome our journalistic journey once. A little bit of the priorities of your journalism. Remove the toxinates with the slap of time. Newspapers or say the entire journalism has to save its existence, then the purpose of Udant Martand will have to be adopted again today. Otherwise, due to increasing digital medium of information, there is a danger of irrelevance on all journalism.
In fact, many types of challenges are standing in front of today’s journalism. These challenges have arisen due to the basic principles of journalism. The principles and values that the ancestors had established, along with the journalism mission, would go from the mission to the profession, then there would have been less problems. Because in the presence of values and principles, dignity and morality are taken care of in every business. But, as soon as we move away from the prescribed principles, cross dignity, then naturally challenges start coming up. Questions of morality also begin to arise. This is happening today with the media. There are many questions before the media. Question of ownership. Question of corruption. There are questions of exploitation, self -respect and freedom of journalists working in media institutions. There are questions of ideological advocacy. The question of disappearing ‘Indian sentiment’. The biggest question arising due to these questions is of credibility.
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All these questions have arisen from the abdomen of capitalism and communism. The common result is that large capital is invested for great profit. Today we all know how expensive the operation of the newspaper and news channel is. That is, in the current era, media has become a game of capital. At one time, money was ‘by product’ in journalism business. However, a big change has come in the media after liberalization. Dhannaseths have commercialized the news to generate more and more money by considering ‘by product’ as prominent. This is the reason that the holiday and corruption in the media has now taken institutional form. At the same time, the communists adopted journalism as a means to weaken the spread and Indianness of their ideology. Even today, the hold of communists in the media is clearly visible. So whenever they want, they create anti -India discourse.
Communist journalists have put a lot of emphasis in covering Islamic aggression and proving Hindus communal. Recently, a big case of ‘Love Jihad’ came to light in Bhopal, in which the accused Muslim boys are also admitting that it is a work of the Sawab for them to cheat Hindu girls and sexually abuse them. When the major Hindi newspapers published this confession of Muslim boys, the media persons of the Communist Mindset felt very bad. He started writing against it in digital and print institutions of his institutions. Meaning the truth should not be revealed. Even if Hindu girls keep falling victim to religious poor. Do not know why they see the truth, communalism and Muslim opposition? In order to cover up Islamic crime, similar communists show more than one cleverness. When a cleric is caught in rape or a criminal act, then they use the word Sadhu or Baba for him, not a maulvi or auliya. Communists have done journalism to confuse people in this way. The news of the mob lynching of Hindus is hidden somewhere in a single column, while the Muslim person’s mob lynching is composed from the first page of newspapers from India to the US to editorial page. This dual conduct spreads hatred between the two communities.
Some such so -called scholars have also created confusion that the role of journalism in the democratic system is the opposition. Just as the opposition has taken up a ruckus and raising questions and running away and running away, in the same way some journalists have also considered the religion of journalism to create sensation. Do not know why journalism is being tried to make a ruckus opposition by removing the fourth pillar of democracy? It is of course that to maintain balance in democracy, the four columns have to monitor each other. Journalism also has to review the functioning of power and show a mirror. We see this role of journalism, then we see that commotion, but a solution. From the Indian point of view, when we see the tradition of communication, every form of communication in every period appears public interest. The purpose of communication has been to solve problems.
There should be only one side of journalism- country interest. The pen of the people and the country’s interest is its meaning. In journalism, we must keep in mind that our words and questions do not afford the nation’s reputation. The section of journalism flowing out of our pen should not be against Indian self -respect, respect and security. It is enough to say that in our journalism, the feeling of ‘nation first’ should be awakened. The absence of this sentiment is visible in the current journalism. If the sense of ‘nation first’ woke up in journalism, then most of the challenges came out in front of journalism. The motto of Udanta Martand, the first newspaper of Hindi, was ‘For the interests of Hindus’. That is, the interest of the countrymen. This is the feeling of ‘nation first’. To worry about the interest of the normal person of the society. To give him justice. To be helpful in solving his basic problems. To say justice.
– Lokendra Singh
Assistant Professor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National Journalism and Communication University, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)