Press Club of India on Sunday marked 200 years of Urdu journalism. On this occasion, the Club organized a discussion attended by prominent individuals from Urdu journalism including journalist cum politician Shahid Siddiqi, Qurban Ali, and Shams Tabrez Qasmi. Upender Rai, CEO of Sahara News Network which runs multiple editions of Rashtriya Sahara Urdu was the chief guest. The speakers discussed the “Role of Urdu Media in Making of India”.
The meeting was presided over by Umakant Lakhera, President of Press Club of India. Vinay Kumar, Secretary General of PCI also participated in the event. On the occasion the portrait of Moulvi Mohammad Bakar, probably the first Indian journalist who laid down his life during the call of duty.
Unveiling the portrait of Moulvi Bakar was a reminder of the long and glorious history of Urdu journalism in India that dates back to 1822, much before newspapers in English and other languages came up.
Bakar through his newspaper called “Delhi Urdu Akhbar” was amongst the very few to report on India’s first freedom struggle of 1857. His newspaper is known to have played a pivotal role in creating political awaking and denouncing the action of the British Raj. He participated in the freedom struggle with the might of his pen, till the time he was tied and shot at by Major William S.R. Hudson on September 16, 1857.
The occasion was also a reminder of the glorious days of Urdu journalism in the Indian subcontinent when several including Bhagat Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai and Maulana Azad would pen their thoughts in Urdu. – INDIA NEWS STREAM
