A secular voice of the people, says Justice Pathak

Chandigarh, September 24
Over a century and a quarter ago, The Tribune was brought out with the goal of raising the level of education in the region. The vision of Sardar Dayal Singh Majithia for the newspaper was to act for public welfare, present public opinion, and advocate the cause of the masses. The newspaper has striven hard to meet this objective. It has recorded ups and downs of the history of this sub-continent yet consistently and fearlessly followed the policy laid down by its founders.
Stating this in his Presidential address at the inaugural session of the 125th anniversary celebrations of The Tribune, Justice R.S. Pathak, former Chief Justice of India and President of The Tribune Trust, said that the newspaper continued to reach out to the common man with news, which bears imprint of painstaking accuracy and of editorial opinion, which possessed the merit of independence, impartiality and maturity of wisdom.
He recalled the role The Tribune played during the freedom struggle as a staunch nationalist paper. “It reported faithfully, later on events, giving rise to the division of the sub-continent and the violence and agony amidst which independence took birth,” he said. He went on to say that during the last five decades the newspaper had recorded the success of the Green Revolution on one hand and the dark period or terrorism on the other. “And throughout all this, it remained steadfast in its duty to the people,” he added.
Reminding the august gathering about The Tribune’s role as the ‘Voice of the People”, he quoted the editorial policy of the newspaper as announced by the founding editors. It read: ‘’As the mouthpiece of the people, The Tribune will be conducted on broad and Catholic principles. The Tribune will not be identified with any particular race, class or creed, nor seek to give prominence to the views of any particular party. The paper, as the champion of the people, will not scruple to speak plainly against class interests, nor shrink from boldly assailing them whenever they should happen to deal with the welfare of the masses. In religious matters, we shall maintain a strictly neutral position.’’
The Tribune Trust President said that the newspaper was not merely a purveyor of news and information. The newspaper had always played an important role in highlighting issues of significant public interest affecting the daily lives of the people. The newspaper, he said, had encouraged public debate time and again, stimulates awareness in the common man of political, social and economic issues and invites them to share their opinion.
Complementing the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the chief guest on the occasion, Justice Pathak said that the Prime Minister had “pioneered dramatic changes by initiative and promoting economic reforms” that had brought India into the mainstream of the global economy”. This, he said, had further brought about a revolution in the attitude and perspectives in which the people of India now look upon their relationship with the rest of the world. On the other side, the world outside has come to look at India with a new-found respect”.
He reminded the journalists that it was also the duty of the newspapers to acquaint their readers of the new dynamism, which was emerging in the relationship between India and the outside world. “In many areas of global inter-dependence, the print media can serve as an effective publicist in the interests of public health and welfare in India, especially in areas such as environment, protection against AIDS and measures intended for the removal of poverty.”
On the occasion Justice Pathak asked members of The Tribune to “rededicating ourselves to the objectives and values with which the newspaper was founded” adding that this was an opportunity for stock-taking, for the review of current procedures and practices for facilitating a closer identification of The Tribune with the needs of the Indian people.