Tribune News Service
Phagwara, December 13
Calling journalism as the soul of society, popular Punjabi poet and Punjab Arts Council chairman Surjit Patar said a journalist’s call of duty is more difficult than that of a poet.
Patar said this while addressing a gathering of prominent writers as chief guest at a function by Punjabi Virsa Trust, Phagwara, on Sunday at an award ceremony for three journalists.
Organised by Trust’s president Prof Jaswant Singh Gandam and general secretary Gurmit Palahi, the award carried a shawl, a citation, a memento and Rs11,000 each. Patar argued that a journalist has to be clear, straight, factual and fearless in reporting issues on daily basis and, like poets, has no escape routes in the form of symbolic or metaphorical expressions.
Asserting that a journalist plays a stellar role in changing public thinking, Patar said a journalist has to be bekhof and bebaak in calling a spade a spade.
“In doing so, journalists have to face a lot of dangers and difficulties as they did in the days of Emergency and are doing so even now,” he remarked, adding several writers also face these. “Varvara Rao is still in jail”, he said to substantiate it.
Patar said: “Democracy has four pillars – judiciary, legislature, executive and press. The first three have in-built legal strength, but the strength of media was only its words, logic and arguments. Though journalists don’t have any in-built legal strength for their safety, but their words and writings become strength of peoples mind that act as shields. Actually, journalism and literature both play a big role in changing thoughts and mindsets of peoples.”
He said pattarkari is our zameer while shayari'(poetry) is our soul as it stirs in us a feeling for others peeda (pain). Patar also distinguished between a khoti siyast and khari siyast, claiming that the former was vote-specific while the latter was issue-centric.
Claiming that a debate keeps going on his mind about merits and demerits of ‘Parvas'(migration abroad), Patar quoted his old and later stage couplets to drive home his point: Jo badesan ch rulde ne rozi layi, jad partange apne desh kadi, kuchh ta sekange maa de sivey di agan, kuchh rukhan di chhan heth ja behnge. Patar regaled audience by reciting his other poems too.
Speaking on the occasion, Satnam Manak dubbed Partition as unnatural and a monumental blunder. Among the founders of Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, Manak, while expressing grave concern over forced conversions of minorities in Pakistan, demanded implementation of Nehru-Liaqat Ali pact in toto for safeguarding interests and human rights of minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
Demanding MSP for farmers, Manak equated agriculture with army. “One provided food security while the other provided geographical security. They can’t be treated as per trade terms anywhere in the world and governments should shoulder the entire expenses of both.”
Referring to problems and concerns of journalists, Manak said peoples’ problems were ‘sarokar'(concerns) of journalists. He said all journalists and writers must fight to keep up ‘sanjha-manjha'(common and colourful) character of our country and be watchdogs of peoples human rights, especially minorities.”
Dr Lakhvinder Johal, secretary, Punjab Arts Council, called journalists as the permanent opposition of the establishment. Dr Swaraj Singh dubbed migration from Punjab to abroad as the worst ever curse for Punjab. Dr SS Chhina and NRI Ashok Bhaura also spoke on the occasion.
Surjit Patar: A journalist's call of duty more difficult than poet
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