Varanasi. Under the joint auspices of Maithil Samaj, Uttar Pradesh, and the National Journalist Association, the Editor-in-Chief, Pt. Dinesh Dutt Jha Memorial and Honor Ceremony was held at Paradkar Bhawan, chaired by senior journalist Dr. Atri Bhardwaj, the founding president of the Kashi Journalist Association.
The ceremony began with the chief guest, senior journalist Saurabh Chakraborty, and the guests garlanding and lighting a lamp on the portrait of Pt. Dinesh Dutt Jha.
Following this, Nirsan Kumar Jha, Advocate, State President of Maithil Samaj, Uttar Pradesh, honored the Chief Guest, senior journalist Saurabh Chakraborty, with the Editor-in-Chief Pt. Dinesh Dutt Jha Journalism Gaurav Samman, a turban, scarf, and garland symbolic of Mithila culture, and a portrait of Pt. Dinesh Dutt Jha.
At the ceremony, the Editor-in-Chief Pt. Dinesh Dutt Jha Sajag Prahari Samman was presented to journalists who have made significant contributions in the field of journalism, including Varanasi Press Club President Chandan Rupani, PTI’s Naveen Pandey, Inext’s Vikas Singh, Hindustan’s photojournalist Aman Mansoor Alam, Amar Ujala’s Abhishek Mishra, Den Kashi News’ Sujit Patel, IANS’ Anuj Singh, Dainik Jagran’s Rajendra Srivastava, and KTV’s Managing Director Pankaj Singh W.
Speaking as the Chief Guest, senior journalist Saurabh Chakraborty said that the late Pt. Dinesh Dutt Jha was a generous, fearless, and self-respecting journalist who never compromised on his principles. Due to his uncompromising principles, Late Jha had to struggle throughout his life. As a result, he left his railway job and moved to Calcutta to work for a daily newspaper called “Samachar.” However, later, he also left “Samachar” and published his own magazine, “Shanti.” Late Jha’s life was full of struggles. Dinesh Dutt Jha was the sun of Indian journalism. Today’s journalists need to learn from the life of such a pioneer and a soldier of the pen.
Speaking as the keynote speaker, Banaras Bar President Satish Tiwari said that Late Pandit Dinesh Dutt Jha was a staunch supporter of language purity. A staunch believer in Sanskritized Hindi and grammar, Jha would become enraged at even the smallest mistake. Even minor errors in proofreading would bother him. He was a staunch opponent of the Hindustani language. Through “Aryavarta,” he opposed the Hindustani language so strongly that the Bihar government ultimately had to abandon its language policy. He was always active in protecting the spelling, language, grammar, and character of Hindi. With an investigative mind, he was interested in giving Hindi journalism a new direction. He had a keen eye for the fluidity of language in English-to-Hindi translations. He often said that the nature of Hindi is different from English, and therefore, its nature must be protected.
Special guest Rakesh Kumar Gupta, National President of the National Journalist Association, said that while James Augustus Hickey is called the father of Indian journalism, Pandit Dinesh Dutt Jha is the father of modern Indian journalism. Jha’s journalism encompassed elements such as innovation, proximity, prominence, influence, struggle, and uniqueness. Furthermore, he presented news in a simple, clear, and logical manner.
Presiding over the ceremony, senior journalist Dr. Atri Bhardwaj said that Jha was a man of extraordinary talent. He consistently ranked first in all examinations from primary school until the end. After leaving his job as a headmaster, he worked in the editorial department of the daily “Aaj” in 1940, sometimes as a reporter, sometimes as a postal editor, and sometimes as a managing editor. Jha also wrote for various newspapers and magazines. Jha greatly respected scholars. Therefore, he received literary and journalistic lectures at his residence. Dinesh Dutt Jha was a protector of the spelling, language, grammar, and nature of Hindi in journalism.
Impressed by Dinesh Dutt’s personality and work, the then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, along with his wife Kamala Nehru, visited Jha’s residence during a meeting of the Razakar Rasik Mandal. Dinesh Dutt Jha was the father of modern journalism. Young journalists of today need to learn from the life of such a great personality.
Advocate Gautam Kumar Jha conducted and coordinated the event. Advocate Nirsan Kumar Jha, President of the organization, welcomed the gathering, and Nand Kumar Singh delivered the vote of thanks, and Manoj Mishra introduced the topic. Nand Kumar Singh, Shivendra Pathak, Natwar Jha, Brijesh Pandey, Rajendra Trivedi, Prem Prakash Gautam, Deenbandhu Singh of National Journalist Association, Niranjan Kumar, Raghavendra Dubey, Satya Prakash Singh Sunil etc. were mainly present in the function.
