Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Contributions of RG, LN Phookan recalled in Bhopal

By DALIM PHUKAN

BHOPAL, Dec 1 - Madhav Rao Sapre (MRS) Museum of Newspapers and Research Institute, Bhopal, founded in 1984 has preserved the copies of The Assam Tribune of 1946. The founder of the museum, the 80-year-old Vijay Dutt Sridhar, a senior journalist of Bhopal is still working for the preservation of old newspapers of the country.

The former editor of Navbharat Times, Padma Shri Awardee Sridhar, met the Goodwill Mission team of Assam comprising 14 journalists of the State on November 29 at his museum and participated in an indepth deliberation on the topic, �Past, Present and Future of Indian Newspapers�. The octagenerian who has collected hundreds of copies of newspapers published since 1780 AD till today said that true journalism will always prevail through newspapers.

Referring to Assam and Assamese journalism, he said that Radha Govinda Baruah and Soneswar Baruah, who published The Assam Tribune from Dibrugarh town of Assam before India�s independence had to face many odds to establish their newspaper. �The pioneer of the newspaper industry of Assam, RG Baruah was a man of extraordinary calibre, who took all the challenges of his time head-on, to establish the industry in the State,� he said.

�Lakshmi Nath Phookan, the founder editor of The Assam Tribune, was formerly a senior reporter of The Statesman, the Calcutta-based newspaper, but due to his anti-British sentiments, he left The Statesman and joined the then nascent The Assam Tribune. Phukan, an experienced journalist had met towering personalities like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and many freedom fighters of Bengal, had dedicated his service to the freedom-loving people of the land,� Sridhar said. LN Phookan never compromised with the ethics of journalism, he said. The Assam Tribune has its name etched in golden letters in the annals of Indian journalism, he said adding that it should serve as a role model for journalism in Assam.

Next Story