प्रभात खबर के 25 साल पूरे होने पर दिग्गजों की राय (2) : A span of 25 yerars is not a long period in a newspaper’s life. But the difficulties that the ‘Prabhat Khabar’ has faced must have made the journey arduous. That it is number one paper in the Jharkhand despite a tough competition speaks volumes about the paper’s integrity and objectivity. A newspaper is hard to sell. But if it builds the reputation of service to the people, it becomes their guide and philosopher. ‘Prabhat Khabar’ has stayed independent when pressure or prize was exerted to tilt it. The credit for it goes to Harivansh, the Chief Editor, who has stood his ground and has not compromised.
His writings are a reminder to the people that a newspaper is a sentinel which emits light to shatter the darkness of crime and corruption which is overtaking the society. As regards the role of press in nation building, there is no doubt that the contribution made by the print and electronic media is significant. It is one of the pillars on which the edifice of democracy rests. It represents the people’s aspirations. But when the trust put by the society is violated, as it is happening today, one wonders whether the press has lost its ethos of faith or whether the ethos of faith has ever inspired the press. It can revive the drooping spirits and reinvigorate the confidence that the society needs the most.
True, the country is sliding down the hill and the ideals that the independence struggle or the Jaya Prakash movement gave it to inculcate a sense of commitment are rapidly vanishing. The media is also reflecting the ills of other profession, whether of law, medical or politics. Anxiety to survive at any cost forms the key-note of approach to the problems that come before many of us. The fear generated by the mere threat was become so pervasive that the general run of public acts as willing tools of tyranny. That the primary and not infrequently the sole motivation in the case of a number of people who act unlawfully, to the prejudice of the right of citizens, is the desire for self-protection-desire for survival may be regarded as some extenuation of their conduct. .Yet, if the nation is to preserve the fundamental values of a democratic society, every person whether a public functionary or private citizen must display a degree of vigilance and willingness to sacrifice. Without the awareness of what is right and a desire to act according to what is right there may be no realization of what is wrong. So long as Prabhat Khabar live, there is no fear that the nation would die.
लेखक कुलदीप नैय्यर देश के मशहूर पत्रकार और स्तंभकार हैं।
