Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 14.8.22
75 Years of Independence
As
we celebrate ‘Azadi ke Amrut Mahotsav’ along with putting up triranga in every household- we should
be discussing about the vision for a nation which has recorded history going
back to over 5000 years and a present mired with several problems and pressing
issues.
Contrary
to conventional belief, vision is not a gift with which a select few are
endowed. Neither does it entail an aha
moment that comes out of the blue. It comes about as the result of the focused
thinking – sometimes stretching to several years – that goes into searching for
a solution to a serious challenge.
Having
a vision is like looking at the present from the future’s standpoint – putting
one’s mind in the future, imagining it, and then looking back to the present to
see how to get there. This “time-forward thinking” is not easy as it may seem
because of the way we are wired -
seeking comfort in the “familiar present” while dreading the unknown
future. One needs to be bold to explore new horizons and a new reality. It is
also important to fight off “anti-visionary” forces, external as well as
internal, such as ego, negativity, lack of confidence, shortsightedness,
looking for immediate transitory gain and so on.
A
carefully crafted vision demands compelling communication too – in language that is clear and simple so that
everyone understands. That is when it
becomes a collective property and generates shared passion and commitment. It
is then the leader’s responsibility to maintain the team’s focus.
A
powerful vision, then, becomes a magnet and pulls everyone towards it. It becomes
a unifying force for those who subscribe to it.
We
are waiting for that vision- which would take the country forward. We have got
a glimpse of the goal thanks to the immortal line of Rabindranath Tagore- but
we need a road-map to reach there.
“Where the
mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by domestic walls;
Where words come out from the
depth of truth;
Into that heaven of freedom,
my Father, let my country awake”
Prajatantra@75
Prajatantra, which used to be one of the front ranking newspapers
of Odisha turned 75 on August 8. It not only played an active role in the
freedom struggle, it also worked as a training ground for many journalists and
broadened the scope of journalism in Odisha.
.jpg)
Prajatantra
first started publication as a weekly from Balasore on October 2, 1923. Dr.
Harekrushna Mahatab (Nov. 21, 1899-Jan. 2, 1987), freedom fighter, author,
historian and politician published the weekly from Town Press with twin
objective of portraying the condition of people and to carry on the campaign
against British imperialism. Its publication was planned at the Swaraj Ashram,
Cuttack, which was one of the centers of freedom movement. Jatiya Kavi
Birakishore Das was associated with Prajatantra
from the planning stage. Prajatantra started publishing form its own
printing press from January 27, 1926. It was priced at 2 paisa. It stopped
publication on December 28, 1930 in protest against the Press Ordinance of
British government. The printing press was seized on 1932.
However, after one and a half decade, it
reappeared on August 8, 1947 as a daily with renewed vigor and strength under
the fostering care of Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab, the first premier of the State
on the eve of the transfer of power who became Chief Minister of Odisha after
independence. Besides Dr. Mahtab as the editor, it had the services of Jatiya
Kavi Birakishore Das, Gopabandhu Choudhury, Niranjan Pattanayak and
Kulamani Samantray.
Prajatantra
played an important role during the crucial period of the integration of the
princely states of Odisha with the province under the guidance of Dr. Mahatab.
Besides being an influential newspaper, Prajatantra was also the
training centre for journalism for aspiring journalists. It was one of the
first Odia newspapers to have emphasized on feature writing and investigative
reporting. It introduced contents for different segments of readers. It had a
page for children titled Meenabazar,
a page for women titled Narijagata.
It introduced contents on entertainment, business, science and sports. It tried
to provide the readers a wholesome editorial content. Dr. Mahtab’s column ‘Gaon Majlish’ was a trend setter in column writing. It won him
Sahitya Academy award in 1983.
Prajatantra was
also a training centre for statecraft for many journalists who later occupied
important positions in public life and politics. Janaki Ballav Pattnaik
(January 3, 1927- April 21, 2015), who started his career as a journalist with Prajatantra
went on to become Chief Minister of Odisha for two terms in 1981 and 1985. He
became the Governor of Assam from 2009-2014. In fact, Dr. Mahatab brought
journalism and body politic- closer. In many people’s opinion, it was too
close… at times even indistinguishable. This aspect of Odia journalism - a very
close relationship between politics and media- is one of its unique features.
It has been discussed at length in my book History of Journalism in Odisha
(Sephali, 2013).
After
Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab, Bhairab Chandra Mohanty, Chintamani Panigrahi, Nilamani
Routray, Janaki Ballav Pattnaik, Sriharsha Mishra, and Chandrasekhar Mohapatra
were the editors. After Chandrasekhar
Mahapatra, Dr. Mahtab’s adopted son Bhartuhari Mahtab became the editor. He is
continuing except for a short period when Biswambhar Parida and Mahasweta
Mahtab were the editors. Bhatruhari Mahtab is a five time MP from the ruling
BJD party.
How much land does a man need?
My
friend Samir Ranjan Das is a banker by profession. But his long time
fascination and love for the writings of writer-philosopher Manoj Das has
turned him into quasi-philosopher. Presently he is in Gujarat. And this is what
he wrote on his social media platform:
“Today throughout the day I was in a Sub
Registrar office in Ahmedabad for some official work. People after putting
thumb impression on land documents rub their fingure in this pillar. As if this
pillar is made for that purpose! I was thinking someone should paste the story
"How much land does a man need?" by Leo Tolstoy in all Sub Registrar
offices where people go to sale and purchase land.”
 |
| Photo: Samir Ranjan Das |
Photo: Samir Ranjan Das
To know more about Manoj Das see this: http://www.worldofmanojdas.in
To read the story by Tolstoy surf:
https://www.academia.edu/25613577/How_Much_Land_Does_a_Man_Need
++
The
columnist a journalist turned media academician lives at Dhenkanal, a central
Odisha town. He also writes fiction and translates poetry.
mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment