Kartik Lokhande gets Marpakwar Award for excellence in journalism

Dear friends, 

I feel proud to share with you that on December 12, 2014, I got prestigious Dalit Mitra C K Marpakwar Memorial Journalism Award-2012 at the hands of Maharashtra Governor Shri Ch Vidyasagar Rao. Acting Vice-Chancellor of RTMNU Dr V S Deshpande, Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust chief Pradip Maitra, Nagpur Union of Working Journalists chief Brahmashankar Tripathi, and senior journalist Prafulla Marpakwar also shared the dais on this occasion. Apart from myself, two other journalist friends of mine namely Gajanan Janbhor (Lokmat) and Nitin Totewar (Maharashtra Times) were presented the award for the year 2011 and 2013 respectively. 

Instead of uploading the news of the ceremony, I feel it appropriate to upload the text of Honourable Governor's address at the function. Here is the text: 

Address by Shri Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra at the presentation of the late Shri C.K. Marpakwar awards for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 to three journalists at Convocation Hall, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur at 11.00 AM on Friday, 12 December 2014

Shri V S Deshpande, Acting Vice Chancellor of Rashtra Sant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Shri Prafulla Marpakwar, Senior journalist, the President and office bearers of the Nagpur Union of Working Journalists,  trustees of the Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust, members of the Awards selection committee, members of the Marpakwar family, distinguished recipients of the award, editors, eminent journalists, ladies and gentlemen,

At the outset I thank Shri Prafulla Marpakwar, Nagpur Union of Working Journalists and the Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust for associating me with the presentation of the awards instituted in memory of the late Shri C.K. alias Anna Saheb Marpakwar.

I understand that the late Anna Saheb Marpakwar was a socially committed person and freedom fighter who was way ahead of times in terms of progressive thinking and outlook. He had a genuine concern for the welfare of the backward classes and had started Schools for Dalit girls and boys. By instituting the awards for journalism in his memory, the Marpakwar family and other organizations have perpetuated the memory of late Shri Marpakwar in an appropriate manner.  

Vidarbha is a goldmine of journalists. There are many journalists from Vidarbha who are holding important positions in various media organizations all over the country. Shri Prafulla Marpakwar is one such journalist, Vidarbha should feel proud of. For the last three decades, he has consistently given insightful stories, day after day, and year after year, often holding public authorities to account.  

Shri Marpakwar has used his influence as a journalist for the betterment of society and for improving the lot of journalist fraternity in the State.

I was glad to know that Shri Gajanan Janbhor, Assistant Editor, Lokmat, Shri Kartik Lokhande, Chief Reporter, Hitavada and Shri Nitin Totewar, Special Correspondent, Maharashtra Times, were chosen for the awards by an independent panel based on their consistent work for the development of the region.

I understand that all the three journalists have written extensively on the socio-economic problems of the region, problems of farmers, problems of regional imbalance, the issue of backlog, Naxalism and other issues of direct relevance to the people and to the region at large.

I congratulate the three awardees for setting standards for fellow journalists and I do hope that they will continue their good work in future also.

I also take this opportunity to convey my deep appreciation to the distinguished members of the Selection Committee who chose the award winners.

Friends,

I took charge as Governor of Maharashtra a few days before assembly elections in Maharashtra. This enabled me to watch the coverage of the elections by the media in Maharashtra. I wish to compliment the media for its excellent coverage of the elections, and importantly, for encouraging young voters to cast their votes in the elections. The media has thus played an important role in strengthening our democracy.

As a man from politics, I have watched with great admiration, and sometimes with trepidation, the role of media in the making and in some cases, breaking of political icons.  You love it or you hate it, but you cannot ignore the media in today’s world.

I am glad to note that most of the newspapers published from Vidarbha have maintained their tradition of giving prominent space to news relating to development, the working of the State Legislature, debates on developmental backlog, problems of farmers, problems of tribals and other issues.

I am particularly happy to note that news from rural parts of the State are also given a prominent space in newspapers.  It is the duty of media to lend its voice to the unrepresented and voiceless sections of society, and I am happy to say that the media in Vidarbha has been discharging this duty faithfully.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Globalization is still to benefit large sections of our society including the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and economically backward classes. During the last three months, I have travelled extensively and seen for myself the varying levels of development in different parts of the State. Needless to say, media has to play a critical role in bringing these regions on par with the developed regions of the State.

As I understand it, print media has a distinct advantage over the electronic and digital media. The advantage is that, the print media can put an issue in a proper perspective, bring about an informed debate on the issue, analyze the issue, and offer probable solutions.  

I do feel that the print media should leverage this advantage by pursuing stories linked to the welfare of people to their logical conclusion.  There has to be a proper follow up of important stories.

As Chancellor of Universities in Maharashtra, I do feel that our universities and institutions offering journalism courses must identify and nurture students who have potential to become good journalists.    

Youths from rural areas have better understanding of the problems of governance, and hence I do feel that we have to encourage and enable more youths from rural areas to become journalists.

Quite often, journalism courses are offered only in English language which acts as a deterrent for students from rural areas who wish to pursue a career in journalism. We must offer journalism programmes in regional languages also.

Syllabus in journalism must be modern and need based. Even today, some of our institutions are prescribing old text books authored by foreign writers to teach journalism to our students. I do feel that we also have to encourage our academicians in journalism and mass media to write good books on journalism based on experiences of working journalists both from the print and the electronic media.  

I understand that Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University was among the first few universities in the country to start journalism courses soon after Independence.

I will call upon the University to take up the task of bringing out good books on journalism based on Indian experiences.

I am glad that veteran journalist from PTI Shri Joseph Rao is also being honoured for his long and distinguished services to journalism. My congratulations to him.

I congratulate the Nagpur Union of Working Journalists, the Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust and the Marpakwar family for honouring excellence in journalism and congratulate today’s awardees once again.

Thank you all.