Bakhabar, April, 2013 - Bihar Anjuman

EditorialEdit April -2013Me too!This month of March , I remember hadarrived in a hurry and marching its marchpast quickly enough too. Now the month ofApril is here and the great English poetT.S.Eliot had famously called it the cruelestmonth of the year .Don’t exactly rememberwhy he so fumed and fretted over this prettymonth of April , it has been a long time sinceI read his epic poem, The Waste Land.But I am sure if I go a bit late today [March29, 2013] in sending this edit piece to oureditor Seraj bhai , he would be fuming andfretting a bit more. Already our brothersShakeel bhai and Seraj bhai both seem tohave lost their battles with me; which isabout making me computer literate or atleast putting me to grasp the nuances ofmaking a folder for all the requisite files forBakhabar.Yeah, like you, Me too ,have sympathies forthese two of my finest [and patient]brothers.So rest of the story, next monthTill then take care and enjoy!Bakhabarہے جو ہنگامہ بپا يورش يلغاری کاغافلو ں کے لئے پيغام ہے بيداری کاتو سمجهتا ہے يہ سامان ہے دل آزاری کاامتحان ہے تيرے ايثار کا خود داری کا2Media mostlyspread bitterness,says columnist Soroor Ahmed… By M Naushad Ansari,Patna: “Role of media in promoting peace and communal harmony ismostly negative. Media, indeed, spread bitterness”, believes seniorjournalist and eminent columnist of The Telegraph, Soroor Ahmad.Addressing a talk on ‘Role of media in promoting peace and communalharmony’ at Patna Book Fair on March 23, Ahmed, in his scholarly speech,said that peace and communal harmony is essential for development, butunfortunately, media sabotage it.As long as media remains silent on social issues, peace and communalharmony will be present. The moment media starts playing things, mostlyfor sensationalization and susceptibility to market forces, peace getsdisturbed.Today is the time of explosion of information, particularly by electronicmedia and socialnetworking. Egypt’sT a h r i r S q u a r ep r o t e s t s , I n d i a ’sA n n a H a z a r e ’ sm o v e m e n t e t cdemonstrate thats o c i a l m e d i a i ng e n e r a l , a n dnetworking portalsin particular, providen e w s o u r c e s o finformation, which isa l m o s tuncontrollable.National problems are being decided by whims of few individuals. Thisrapid diffusion of the internet and the rise of dedicated social platformsdramatically changed the infrastructure of social connectivity. Todayanybody is capable to plant news, without knowing its far reachingrepercussions.Loyalty to the public interest and social values has taken back seat, hesaid. The advancement in technology media has become all-pervasive,wide and deep.Maulana Abdul Majid Qasmi, Secretary General of Shanti Sandesh Kendr,Patna, stressed that though there are various writers and journalists whoare honest, truth loving and unbiased, there is, unfortunately, a section inthe media, which is less responsible and they believe in promotingdisintegration.Quoting from Geeta and Holy Quran, Maulana said that speaking truth isthe essence of all religions in the world. Over the years, the problem ofcommunalism has adversely affected progress of this country. Timedemands that social values and loyalty to the public interest is givenprime importance. ‘Development will be rapid only in a peaceful society’,he asserted.Dr. Abdul Hai, a renowned surgeon and social worker presided over thefunction. He emphasized that various clashes take place because ofmisinformation about the issues. It has now been widely recognized thatthe print, electronic and other forms of social media can effectively play avery significant role in promoting communal harmony and peace. Weneed to use all possible sources of media to clear the cobwebs ofmisunderstanding among different communities.The organization’s website www.shantisandeshkendr.org was alsolaunched by Dr. Abdul Hai on the occasion. The theme of Shanti SandeshKendr is ‘learning and sharing in the light of scriptures. The Kendr isworking for communal harmony, peace, national integrity and universalbrotherhood.The program was organized by Shanti Sandesh Kendr, Patna, Bihar.(http://twocircles.net/2013mar25/media_mostly_spread_bitterness_says_columnist_soroor_ahmed.html)