Platinum Jubilee celebration planked on environment protection
SHILLONG: The year-long Platinum Jubilee celebrations of The Shillong Times began here on Friday with a call for protecting the environment in the city and the state.
DoNER Minister, Jitendra Singh who was present on the occasion as the chief guest urged the proprietor to start New Delhi edition of the newspaper which has been in publication before the Independence of the country.
He recounted his age-old relation with the newspaper and informed that he heard of The Shillong Times when it became a daily newspaper in 1987 and that during those times he used to write articles in syndicated column which was run through a news agency.
Few of them had been published in The Shillong Times, he added.
As far the Print Media is concerned, the minister said that he would rather agree to some extent that the concept of mainland and hinterland is more of a manufactured one.
Adding to it he said, “A newspaper has to be the signature of its times which could be used as reference centuries later and a stage comes when it does not make much of a difference whether it was published from Shillong or Delhi.”
He exclaimed, “Newspaper and those dealing with the newspaper industry have opportunities to go down history, ultimately it is up to them to ensure their own growth, but what is more important is clarity about oneself and that it applies to journalist as well”.
Advocating the need for unbiased reporting, the minister exhorted that a reporter has never to be a participant of the event that he is reporting and this detachment helps in the growth of journalists and journalism.
Expressing his concern over the recent competitions among media houses, the minister said that lot of the casualties in reporting happens because of the deadlines and breaking news. He said print media had little advantage because they did not have to break stories above one another.
He however added that most print media houses have also come up with online portals, which have become an added responsibility. Applauding the service offered by The Shillong Times, the minister said that for many years before independence and immediately after independence, journalism was more out of passion and attitude which applies as much to The Shillong Times and therefore it also gave them clarity in prioritization.
Hinting at the close relationship between Press and the government, the minister said that lawmakers and media can supplement each other’s roles, also going to the extent of correcting each other posturing and positioning, the two can together actually play a much more meaningful role in the development of society and the development of India as a whole.
Acknowledging the uniqueness of the Northeastern region, Dr Singh said that as far as the region is concerned there is much more to learn from Northeast for rest of India than Northeast has to learn from the rest of the country.
“In the last five years Northeast has come more in focus and that has been possible because the Central government is actually moving in that direction. The government is always committed for making more avenues for the youth who comprises 70 percent of the total population of the country,” he said.
Complementing the youth from North Eastern region for their diligence and aspirational focus, Dr Singh said, the “Start-up India, Stand-up India” programme initiated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been implemented in the North Eastern region, with an added incentive from the Ministry of DoNER in the form of “Venture Fund” to be provided to any young entrepreneur or Start-Up who wishes to pursue it in the region.
The response to this, he said, has been very encouraging and in the years to come, Northeast may become a favourite destination for young Start-Ups from all over India.
For the youths of the Northeast, the minister added that they are at the one of the best times in the journey of India and news media like The Shillong Times is there as a supplementation to their endeavors.
“Every youngster from across India will come forward to Northeast as his destination and that it is for people living in the Northeast to rise upto that occasion and to cultivate the capacity of being able to make the best use of these new opening of vistas of development that is happening rapidly,” he added.