ITANAGAR, Nov 20 - Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today launched the State�s first Hindi daily, Arun Bhoomi, at a ceremony here.
Congratulating the Arun Bhoomi team, Khandu called the day �historic� and a new chapter in the evolving history of the media in the State. He said the absence of a local daily in the Hindi language has been made up for, with the launch today.
Marking Hindi as the lingua franca of the State, the Chief Minister termed it the bond that unites the diverse ethnic tribes of the State which speak diverse dialects. He lauded the initiative to start a newspaper in Hindi, stressing that it would strengthen the bond between the people.
The Chief Minister hoped that the major population of the country, who speak and read Hindi, would get easy access to news, information and knowledge about Arunachal Pradesh.
�Hindi was born in India. Therefore, it is our responsibility to promote and protect it. As Arunachalees, we are proud that we have protected it in our own way,� he said, pointing to the typical Hindi spoken in Arunachal Pradesh, which defies rules of grammar.
The Chief Minister admitted that at a time when existing newspapers of the State find it difficult to sustain themselves due to lack of private and corporate advertisements, it would be an uphill task for a newly launched daily. He, however, assured that the State Government would soon review its advertisement policy.
Publisher-cum-chief editor of the daily, Takam Sonia, stated that Arun Bhoomi would be flexible as far as grammar is concerned and patronize writings in Arunachalee Hindi. �There is no such thing as pure Hindi. We will welcome writings in Arunachalee Hindi as people connect with it,� he said.
The launching ceremony was also attended by State Assembly Deputy Speaker Tesam Pongte, Nampong MLA Laisam Simai and chief adviser to the Arunachal Hindi Sansthan, Tai Tagak, among others.
