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| Tribune launches Jammu edition, indicates growing prospects | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Dec 9
Still another prestigious English daily of Northern India, The Tribune is launching its Jammu edition tomorrow. Having invited a large number of guests on the launching function, with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to be the chief guest, the management of the paper have selected a spacious place, General Zorawar Singh auditorium, in Jammu University for the purpose.
The Tribune happens to be one of the oldest newspapers of Northern India, published from Lahore before the partition of the country. Whereas most of the language newspapers, mostly published in Urdu, in Lahore before the partition, had shifted to Jullandhar, the Tribune started coming out from Ambala Cantt, from where it was again shifted to Chandigarh, in mid 1960s.
Adding to the already mushroom growth of English dailies published from Jammu, Tribune will be the third English daily from outside the state, after Indian Express and Hindustan Times, to have its separate edition and sixth one out of the overall outside daily newspapers publishing their editions from Jammu. Three Hindi newspapers, having their headquarters in Northern India, namely Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran and Punjab Kesri are already bringing out their Jammu editions.
Besides these six newspapers of Northern India publishing their Jammu editions, there are already about two dozen daily newspapers coming out from Jammu city, of which not less than twenty are in English language. Most of these local English dailies are being run by the non professional journalists, who have however engaged the services of some professionals in the field.
Obviously it indicates a considerable increase in the number of readers of English language newspapers and further scope for the same that one more English newspaper from outside the state has embarked upon the venture to launch its Jammu edition. This also indicates growing business prospects in Jammu, where the corporate sector in the rest of the country finds good market of their products that they would like to reach to the notice of consumers in Jammu, through advertisements floated in growing number of newspapers here.
It is however a paradox that this mushroom growth of newspapers published from Jammu, has come into being during last a decade and a half amidst presence of militancy and disturbed conditions in J&K. Of course the militancy in J&K during last two decades has made Jammu and Kashmir as a fertile field for the news hunters and hence potential for more newspapers to come up. But if these considerations have weighed with the managements of the newspapers to launch their editions from within the state, Srinagar was the more fertile ground. Besides generating more news daily, which can be to the interest of the readers all over the country, Srinagar, rather Kashmir valley has more business prospects. Paradoxically again, the valley has prospered commercially during the present militancy, with more and more institutions and business houses of the country setting up their branches or franchisees in Srinagar as well as other towns of the valley.
From the point of national interest also there is dire need for the newspapers from various parts of India, to launch their Srinagar editions, to help promote emotional integration of Kashmiris with the rest of the country. Further, the newspapers published from Delhi or other parts of Northern India reach Srinagar only in the evening and as a result these have only limited number of readers, with most of their readers depending more on the local newspapers, most of which are in Urdu language and one or two in English language. Barring a daily newspaper or two, the standard of newspapers published from Kashmir and almost all the Urdu newspapers is very low. All the newspapers brought out in the valley do advocate and highlight pro separatist and pro secessionist view points and extenuate the separatist tendencies and alienation among the Kashmiris from the Indian mainstream.
Disturbed law and order situation and uncongenial atmosphere for the outsiders in the valley and intolerance among the separatist, who hold sway over the masses in Kashmir, of pro India and nationalist twist to the news and write ups, perhaps is the reason for the newspapers from other parts of the country, to feel discouraged and reluctant to launch their editions from Srinagar, despite better business prospects there. |
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