Urdu Editors Conference Inaugurated

Vice President of India Hamid Ansari expressed concern over the decline in the percentage of Urdu speakers in the country.

Speaking after inaugurating the World Urdu Editors conference at Jubilee Hall in Hyderabad on Friday, the Vice President said that despite the overall increase in the country's population, the percentage of Urdu speakers is facing a noticeable decline.

Hamid Ansari advises Urdu editors to focus on young readers, in order to remedy the situation. He said that Urdu newspapers focus too much on the older age groups.

"The development of stories of particular interest to the youth tend to be down-played; by the same logic, older and familiar grievances remain disproportionately in focus. Responsible publications can perhaps do more to mold tastes and cajole the readership in the direction of contemporary issues," Vice President Ansari said.

The Vice President also elaborated on the problems and challenges facing the Urdu media, which, according to him, are related to resources, advertisements, news-gathering methodology and adaptation to new technology.

"Each of these is related to the size and demands of the readership. A good newspaper, however, should cater both to public demand and to the need to shape this demand. Only then will it be in the position of the opinion-maker," he said, adding that news coverage needs to move away from purely sectional interest to what would satisfy a wider audience.

Governor E S L Narasimhan reminded Urdu papers that they were the first vernacular media to experience the rigors of censorship in British India.

"After the first war of independence broke out in 1857, English newspapers of the day campaigned for strict restrictions against Urdu media outlets. Obviously, they wanted to crush Urdu newspapers, which had adopted an anti-British tone as well as an anti-colonial disposition," he said.

The Governor hoped that Urdu editors would play an active role in protecting the high standards of Urdu journalism.

ARY Group Editor Tariq Mahmood Sham from Pakistan praised the work being done by the editors of Urdu newspapers in India, for the protection and promotion of the language.

"Despite being the official language, Urdu could not be implemented across Pakistan due to various factors," he admitted.

He also stated that Pakistan would not be able to implement Urdu as the official language by 23 March 2012 as mandated earlier.

Siasat Editor Zahed Ali Khan demanded that the AP government amend the Official Languages Act for the effective implementation of Urdu as the second official language in the state.

He also announced that the Siasat Daily was planning to form a consortium of editors of all Urdu newspapers. The members of the consortium would be provided with translated and ready-to-use news material to ensure that the high standards of Urdu media are maintained, he said.

Further, all members of the consortium would be eligible for insurance worth Rs. 1 lakh each, the premium for which would be paid by Siasat Daily.

Siasat News Editor Amer Ali Khan welcomed the gathering, which included eminent personalities and editors from across the globe. Civil Supplies Minister D Sridhar Babu, CPI MP Aziz Pasha, former MP M Afzal, former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir and others were also present. (INN)