Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Agradoot group of newspapers of Assam via video conferencing on Wednesday.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is the chief patron of Agradoot’s Golden jubilee celebration committee, was also present at the occasion that was held at the Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra in Guwahati.
Addressing the gathering, the PM Modi congratulated the ‘strong voice of the Northeast in the Assamese language’ Dainik Agradoot and complimented them for keeping the values of unity and harmony alive through the medium of journalism.
The Prime Minister underlined the sterling contribution of Indian language journalism to Indian tradition, culture, freedom struggle and the development journey.
He said, “Assam has played a key role in the development of language journalism in India as the state has been a very vibrant place from the point of view of journalism. Journalism started 150 years ago in the Assamese language and kept on getting stronger with time.”
He also recalled that the journey of the newspaper in the last 50 years narrates the story of the change that has taken place in Assam.
“People's movements have played an important role in realizing this change. People's movements protected the cultural heritage and Assamese pride of Assam. And now Assam is writing a new development story with the help of public participation,” he said.
He further said, “When there is dialogue, there is a solution. It is through dialogue that possibilities expand. Therefore, along with the flow of knowledge in Indian democracy, the flow of information is also flowing continuously. Agradoot is part of that tradition.”
Underlining the biodiversity and cultural richness of Assam and the Northeast, the Prime Minister said that Assam has a rich legacy of music and that it needs to reach the world at large. He said efforts of the last eight years with regard to physical and digital connectivity of the region will be hugely beneficial for the tribal tradition, tourism and culture of Assam.
Modi said that the positive role played by our media in campaigns like the Swachh Bharat Mission is appreciated all over the country and the world even today.