I have been reading the internet edition of Dawn, the Pakistani newspaper for the last eleven years. Except for a brief break during the Kargil war when access to the paper by Internet was denied by VSNL, this has been a regular habit with me. My colleagues warn me of the inadvisability of reading it, working in the Indian Ministry of Defence and all that. I earnestly believed that seeing another point of view does not in any way dilute one’s commitment; rather it enriches the person. I also believe that the greatness of India lies in its’ ability to accommodate a million viewpoints within its’ social discourse.
Well, why do I read it? I am no sentimental Punjabi or Bengali, misty eyed about one nation divided by two faiths, one language divided by two scripts and one people divided by politicians. I am no candle light vigilante at the Wagah border or peacenik in seminars. I am no hawk who gloats at the troubled times of the enemy nation or who makes odious comparisons of two countries. I am no Arundhati Roy or Pankaj Mishra who thinks that jehadi attacks in India are stage managed by Indian Intelligence agencies. (Napoleon famously said, don’t ascribe to conspiracy what can normally be explained away by incompetence). I am not one of those dreamers who imagine a world where partition never happened and the subcontinent has the best cricket team. Or of the minority community in India which hadn’t slowly got ghettoized by unimaginative politicians and hawkish religious preachers. (Take a look at the Kerala Christians- One can discern how education can be leveraged for a minority community's well being)
If I say that I read it out of curiosity alone, it would be incorrect. In the early eighties, as a college student, I have read Indian journalists writing about how better off Pakistan is. How their roads are better, their women are better looking and there is less poverty. The argument went that India had backed the wrong horse in global power equations. I also read with great interest the weapon systems at the disposal of Pakistan out of professional interest. I loved the columns by Ayaz Amir and Cowasjee in Dawn. I liked the opinion column, which accommodates rather extreme view points. This was remarkable for a country ruled by Military dictators for a large part of history. I remember being impressed with the erudition of Hameed Haroon, the publisher of Dawn. He was speaking on the history and the many unknown details of the Taj Mahal on TV when he visited India along with the delegation of journalists along with Musharraf for the Agra summit. I felt that the democratic spirit and freedom signified by Dawn along with the quality of the journalism puts it on par with the best in the world. That is saying much in the modern world when most Indian and western newspapers have turned into tabloid with an editorial policy of writing what people want to read.
A little bit of history would be in order. It was founded in October 1941 by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan. The newspaper was the mouth piece of Muslim Leage and its’ objective was to counter the propaganda by Hindu dominated press during the run up to the freedom of India. Dawn was originally a weekly publication, published in Delhi. It became a daily in 1942. Jinnah summed up the paper's purpose when he stated:
"The Dawn will mirror faithfully the views of Muslim India and the All India Muslim League in all its activities: economic, educational and social and more particularly political, throughout the country fearlessly and independently and while its policy will be, no doubt, mainly to advocate and champion the cause of the Muslims and the policy and programme of the All India Muslim League, it will not neglect the cause and welfare of the peoples of this sub-continent generally".
In the early years, the paper had its’ office in Darya Ganj. Darya Ganj is today home to the Second Hand Book market every Sunday, where I spend many a winter morning browsing for books and picking up bargains. It is a poorly maintained street where the History of Old Delhi sleeps. A Delhi, where life was vibrant….vividly described in Ahmed Ali’s “Twilight in Delhi”. One of the early editors of Dawn was Pothen Joseph, a Malayali Christian. The journal won wide acclaim under his stewardship. Pothen Joseph is credited with bringing Shankar, the cartoonist from obscurity to fame. Pothen Joseph’s brother George Joseph was the editor of “Young India” and was closely associated with the freedom movement. Dawn was eagerly awaited each day by Muslim League branches to see whether Jinnah has issued any fresh statement or statement. “ How glorious it is to be in communion with you ……” wrote the President of the Muzaffarnagar Branch of Muslim League. After independence, the paper shifted its’ operations to Karachi and has been there ever since.
Newspaper prices in India are going down. Increasingly the cost is recompensed by advertising revenue. Hence there is a mad rush to increase readership and ad revenue. At peril is quality journalism. One offshoot of a troubled history and stunted institutions in Pakistan has been the steady strengthening of mass media. It is not only judiciary which has found its’ feet in the recent turmoil. Mass media along with private television channels could yet turn Pakistan into a vibrant country- and I earnestly believe such a development means well for India. There are many such regional groups of nations, which have taken similar paths to democracy and development. ( We can see Malaysia replicating many successes of Singapore’s infrastructure, civic administration and liberal economic policies)The strengthening of mass media in South Asia would in the long run give a voice to the dispossessed and aid their upliftment from lack of education and poverty.
One couldn’t escape feeling how better off we could all be if we could travel without passports to each others’ countries, see the sights and enjoy the good life & culture that the other has to offer. How we could co exist as good neighbours. How we could avoid spending outrageous sums on military hardware which are largely gobbled up by global bigwigs.
Well, why do I read it? I am no sentimental Punjabi or Bengali, misty eyed about one nation divided by two faiths, one language divided by two scripts and one people divided by politicians. I am no candle light vigilante at the Wagah border or peacenik in seminars. I am no hawk who gloats at the troubled times of the enemy nation or who makes odious comparisons of two countries. I am no Arundhati Roy or Pankaj Mishra who thinks that jehadi attacks in India are stage managed by Indian Intelligence agencies. (Napoleon famously said, don’t ascribe to conspiracy what can normally be explained away by incompetence). I am not one of those dreamers who imagine a world where partition never happened and the subcontinent has the best cricket team. Or of the minority community in India which hadn’t slowly got ghettoized by unimaginative politicians and hawkish religious preachers. (Take a look at the Kerala Christians- One can discern how education can be leveraged for a minority community's well being)
If I say that I read it out of curiosity alone, it would be incorrect. In the early eighties, as a college student, I have read Indian journalists writing about how better off Pakistan is. How their roads are better, their women are better looking and there is less poverty. The argument went that India had backed the wrong horse in global power equations. I also read with great interest the weapon systems at the disposal of Pakistan out of professional interest. I loved the columns by Ayaz Amir and Cowasjee in Dawn. I liked the opinion column, which accommodates rather extreme view points. This was remarkable for a country ruled by Military dictators for a large part of history. I remember being impressed with the erudition of Hameed Haroon, the publisher of Dawn. He was speaking on the history and the many unknown details of the Taj Mahal on TV when he visited India along with the delegation of journalists along with Musharraf for the Agra summit. I felt that the democratic spirit and freedom signified by Dawn along with the quality of the journalism puts it on par with the best in the world. That is saying much in the modern world when most Indian and western newspapers have turned into tabloid with an editorial policy of writing what people want to read.
A little bit of history would be in order. It was founded in October 1941 by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan. The newspaper was the mouth piece of Muslim Leage and its’ objective was to counter the propaganda by Hindu dominated press during the run up to the freedom of India. Dawn was originally a weekly publication, published in Delhi. It became a daily in 1942. Jinnah summed up the paper's purpose when he stated:
"The Dawn will mirror faithfully the views of Muslim India and the All India Muslim League in all its activities: economic, educational and social and more particularly political, throughout the country fearlessly and independently and while its policy will be, no doubt, mainly to advocate and champion the cause of the Muslims and the policy and programme of the All India Muslim League, it will not neglect the cause and welfare of the peoples of this sub-continent generally".
In the early years, the paper had its’ office in Darya Ganj. Darya Ganj is today home to the Second Hand Book market every Sunday, where I spend many a winter morning browsing for books and picking up bargains. It is a poorly maintained street where the History of Old Delhi sleeps. A Delhi, where life was vibrant….vividly described in Ahmed Ali’s “Twilight in Delhi”. One of the early editors of Dawn was Pothen Joseph, a Malayali Christian. The journal won wide acclaim under his stewardship. Pothen Joseph is credited with bringing Shankar, the cartoonist from obscurity to fame. Pothen Joseph’s brother George Joseph was the editor of “Young India” and was closely associated with the freedom movement. Dawn was eagerly awaited each day by Muslim League branches to see whether Jinnah has issued any fresh statement or statement. “ How glorious it is to be in communion with you ……” wrote the President of the Muzaffarnagar Branch of Muslim League. After independence, the paper shifted its’ operations to Karachi and has been there ever since.
Newspaper prices in India are going down. Increasingly the cost is recompensed by advertising revenue. Hence there is a mad rush to increase readership and ad revenue. At peril is quality journalism. One offshoot of a troubled history and stunted institutions in Pakistan has been the steady strengthening of mass media. It is not only judiciary which has found its’ feet in the recent turmoil. Mass media along with private television channels could yet turn Pakistan into a vibrant country- and I earnestly believe such a development means well for India. There are many such regional groups of nations, which have taken similar paths to democracy and development. ( We can see Malaysia replicating many successes of Singapore’s infrastructure, civic administration and liberal economic policies)The strengthening of mass media in South Asia would in the long run give a voice to the dispossessed and aid their upliftment from lack of education and poverty.
One couldn’t escape feeling how better off we could all be if we could travel without passports to each others’ countries, see the sights and enjoy the good life & culture that the other has to offer. How we could co exist as good neighbours. How we could avoid spending outrageous sums on military hardware which are largely gobbled up by global bigwigs.
