All the dignitaries present,

I congratulate those who have won the awards. I also congratulate those who were close to the award but could not achieve it. This should continue. Everyone's pen, his thoughts and hard-work should continue to contribute in some way to the country's progress.

There are many who curve a niche for themselves in their field during their lifetime. There are some who make their place outside their field during their lifetime but there are very few people who continue to occupy a great space in their field even after their lifetime. One such personality is Ramnath Goenka ji.

It was a great privilege to have got the opportunity to meet Ram Nath ji. He had come to Gujarat. Since he was at such a great position, it was natural that the people with whom he had come to meet ranged from the leaders of the political parties to Chief Minister to well-known editors from the field of Media. I did not have any identity at that time. Probably I would have to wait for a month to get an appointment from an editor of the City. But I got the opportunity to meet Ramnath ji. That was a period of JP Movement. We could feel the fire within Ramnath Goenka ji. It was not only for the Indian Express newspaper. He was not satisfied with whatever used to be expressed through newspapers. Even the newspaper was not enough to express his thoughts and ideas. Hence, he wanted to do something outside the periphery of newspapers. Someone who had stood up for Jayprakashji at that time was none other than Goenka ji. He always used to stand by his principles. Everyone knows about a family. Those who had known that family closely were very much aware about the principles of that family. There was no dearth of people who tried to obtain that family's favour and blessings. Goenka ji had close relations with that family but he had shown the courage to break that relation for his principles and ideals.

Therefore, it was not limited to the news articles written with a journalistic expression and read by the people in newspapers the next day. If we look at India's history, I don't know the syllabus for journalism course today but the history of journalism and its development is associated with the history of the freedom struggle. There was no such freedom movement in the country that was not connected to any newspaper. This was one of the media to fight against the British rule. Most of the people from the field of journalism who had fought against the British through this medium had to languish behind the bars for a long time. But they did not stop the fight. The great personalities such as Tilak ji, Gandhiji, even Sri Aurobindo and others used newspaper as a strong medium for spreading the struggle for freedom. Another important feature of India is that there are the children of Goddess Saraswati. There were people who could pen simple poetry and spontaneous literature. They were blessed by mother Saraswati. 

But there was a time when all the major writers preferred joining the field of journalism and journalism is not learnt. They used poetry to express themselves but through journalism they could instil such a zeal which inspired the movement. At that time, they could feel the power of journalism more than that of poetry. The path of poetry was for entertainment; but the path of journalism was for the welfare of the nation. This entire generation of literature has been left for us. This, in a way is the journey of India. The British also saw some areas of crisis. This was one such field - the educated class. They used to think that there should be a system against them and to fight against them.

The country became independent. After independence, India's journalism has played an important role in strengthening the democracy. It was not for criticising anyone or to say ill of anyone. But we know that if there is an epidemic, everyone thinks of the first major disease; because going from the known to the unknown is easier. Hence, to understand the importance of threat to democracy, it is important to understand the significance of the emergency period. People associate emergency with a bad feeling. They weigh it on political scales. I think that the game of politics has ended. It should be neutrally reviewed, I am not using the word 'criticism', but it should be reviewed in every generation so that such a person is not born in this country who desires to commit such a sin. It is important to remind the people like us of the emergency period again and again to keep us alert. It is also true that the immensely capable media the world was scared of could not prove to be effective in that period. Very few had the courage to challenge the decision to impose emergency and one of the few was Ramnath Goenka ji, and the Indian Express. He did it without any fear. I believe that this chapter of history is important for the democracy. There is a need to sharpen the democracy in every era.

Today, there are new challenges before the media which were not there before. Probably these challenges were not there in the entire century. The major reason is technology. Technology has created a major challenge especially for the media. Earlier, even if the news arrived 24 hours late, it sounded like news. Today, just after 24 seconds the news becomes stale. A person is heard saying, "How come you don't know of the incident?" He has news updates on his mobile phone. News around the world is known in a fraction of a second. When TV media came into existence, the governments were worried. The government needs a response time for any incident or news on the television. Suppose there is an epidemic, then the people need to be mobilized; or during a riot, the police force has to be sent. Media do not give enough time for all this. For them it's news - 'Breaking News'. Even before the government could cope up with it, the period of social media arrived - time is now reduced to fraction of a second. Earlier the field of journalism was mainly for well-educated or those associated with some organisation but now even a person from a village posts some photo which he likes. Hence, people have a lot of information. In such a situation, credibility is important. Reading newspaper in the morning is a habit just like having tea. Even if the people watch news on the television; they will definitely read the paper at least once in a day. Now one verifies the news. Whether the news he has seen on his mobile phone yesterday has appeared in the newspaper today or not. Whether it is a different story.  Then he calculates the amount spent on the newspaper is worth it. So, I believe that there is a greater challenge. How to deal with this challenge? Then we have a feeling that our country is talented and also filled with emotions. People analyse every issue minutely.

I clearly remember one incident. I was the CM of Gujarat at that time. Newspapers usually carry news articles regarding the politicians. News appears on almost every politician, once or twice. For example, regarding the VIP culture, using several cars and issues like that. These are interesting topics and sometimes the news we get are ready-made. I also used to read. I used to tell the officers why do you use all these? They said that it is given in the Blue book. We cannot compromise with it. I couldn't make them understand. But once my convoy was passing from Ahmedabad, one youngster started recording the fleet of vehicles and simultaneously started counting the number of cars, one, two, and three, etc. He uploaded the video. Even I was active on the social media. It reached me within 2-3 hours. It had a deep influence on me and more than the criticism in the newspapers. The uploaded video had such a strong impact. With my example I want to prove the point that social media is so powerful. Empowerment of people is a good thing but at the same time maintaining credibility is the need of the hour. 

This is a field where everyone can freely say anything. No one can obstruct. If someone does then we all know the consequences. But I am thankful to the media. Otherwise no one would have known me. No politician since independence would be so fortunate like me. So, two things I want people to give a thought about. The world has transformed. Not only the economy but our lives have globalised. The entire world is now inter-connected and inter-dependent. What is the reason that there is no place for the Indian media in the world arena? There are channels like BBC, AL Jazeera and CNN. People of this field should understand this challenge. We are one of the global players. So, our influence should be there on the world in every field. We should have that dream whether one likes it or not. I believe our country should have an impact. We have tremendous potential and strength. On the receipt of an award on environment, I had asked Vivek, whether this reporting is on pollution or on environment? I asked jokingly. The world today talks of global warming and environment. India knows how to survive alongside nature without harming it. It is in the blood of Indians. We know the significance of nature, accepting its power. If we had a strong media we could have explained to the world that you are major cause of the destruction. We have destroyed everything to save ourselves. We have harmed ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi used to live on the banks of Sabarmati. At that time, in 1930s the river used to be full. If someone used to give him a glass of water, he would tell him to keep half the water back into the container. He used to say that water should not be wasted. He was sitting beside the flowing river. The discussion on natural resources is in our bloods. Since our childhood we are taught that we should seek forgiveness from Mother Earth for keeping our feet on the ground after getting up from the bed. These are our values. Howsoever educated our mothers are, they will tell the children that the sun is your grandfather, the moon is your uncle and the entire universe is your family. Why can't we use the power of journalism or a global institution to tell the world that this is the right path? But this is extremely difficult. Can we do something in that direction?

I believe that somebody will definitely emerge but he should not be from the government. It should not be the government at any cost. Like Vinoba ji used to say….he was extremely skilled in playing with words. I loved reading him. He had once written – a-sarkari (non-governmental) is asar-kari (effective). This should be our dream. Media should be of that level. Those who are engaged in research of the media world would know that all the top countries of the world are engaged in the field of finance, budget and to build a level of communication agencies. The governments are also engaged. Everyone feels that it's not only a globalised economy but the entire world is shaping up like this. It is important for us to be visible. This is an opportunity as well as a challenge. We should think over it.

Secondly, more the criticism of the government, the better it is. I don't have any problem with it. There should not be any error in reporting. But India is a diverse country full of specialities. The country's unity is news for you and you immediately jump in search of another news item. But sometimes it deeply hurts us. It does not mean that others don't commit this sin. The people from our background commit it more than you do. But how to strengthen the country's unity and integrity is a cause of serious concern. I will give you an example. If I am wrong, then some of the people sitting here would comment, not now but after a month or so. Earlier in case of an accident, the news reporting used to be - 'in a certain village, an accident has taken place between a truck and a bicycle. The injured bicycle owner dies'. Then   the reporting changed like this:- 'an innocent man killed in a rash driving by a drunk driver'. Gradually the reporting has changed to- ' BMW car kills a Dalit'. Sir excuse me, but the BMW owner didn't know that the victim was a Dalit'! But we sensationalise news. Whether we should have such reporting on accident?  If a news deserves to be a headline, surely you should go for it. After the government presents the Budget, how the reporting is done? Is there a deficit or not? A tax of 2000 crores , 1000 crores has been imposed... This is news. But today we don't get to read news per se. The news flashed is - 'Modi government's back-breaking budget;' or 'Modi government's budget keeping an eye on UP elections'. Anyway, we all know this story. But this is not for criticism but is extremely necessary for us.

Such a vast country cannot be run by government alone. All the institutions can keep the country united and carry the nation forward. There is no reason for our country to lag behind. My best wishes to the youngsters who have used their lives brilliantly by religiously following Journalism. A new generation will also get inspired by them. My best wishes are also with them. Brother Vivek invited me.  My relationship with the family is very old. But today I am really grateful for inviting me to this event. I am very grateful to the family.

Thank you!

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AKT/AK/IG/MG/AK