Nikita Buragohain, Guwahati News Desk: The Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of the prestigious Tezpur University in Tezpur, Assam, celebrated the National Press Day 2021 with great enthusiasm on Tuesday.
The celebration was divided into two sessions and the online mode was also made available for the 1st semester student’s, who were logged in from their respective homes. The first session for the day began with a welcome speech delivered by a 3rd Semester student of MCJ dept., Zeenat Mazid, who was also the host for the day.
The welcome speech was followed by a brief history of how the press was established in India delivered by the foreign-exchange student, Kayanna Lashanna Lloyd from Guyana, in South America.
Next in the list was a panel discussion, on the themes “Indian Press never succumbs to any enticement or threats” and “Indian Press has slipped at times from its path of objectivity.” The groups included of two members, each belonging to 3rd semester. The group who went ‘For’ the motion included of Akanshya Bhagabati and Parthona Phukan, and the ‘Against’ group included of ‘Siffer Nandi’ and ‘Arpita Deb.’ In addition, the discussion was moderated by the research scholar of MCJ dept. Geeta Zirdo.
The Dean of Students Welfare (DSW), Tezpur University, Dr. Dhanapati Deka, was invited to share a few words on the occasion. He emphasized on the importance of media practitioners in the world and particularly on the importance of journalists, in order to know about the truth. He summed up his speech by advising the students of the MCJ dept. to turn into promising honest journalists if they entered the field in the coming years.
The speech was then followed by the launch of the department’s 2021 newsletter and wall magazine, done by the honourable DSW and respected Head of MCJ Dept.
The programme also included of a short but very insightful skit, organised by the students, showcasing the present scenario of media in the society.
In addition, several speeches were delivered by the students on topics including “Press Freedom Scenario in India: History, Challenges and Way Forward” delivered by Nilutpal Timsina (3rd Semester MCJ dept.); “Press Scenario in Assam and North-East” delivered Gaurav Gautam Saha (3rd Semester MCJ dept.) and “Present Media Scenario in Guyana” delivered by the foreign-exchange student Kayanna Lashanna Lloyd (3rd Semester MCJ dept.)
Towards the end of the first session, Head of MCJ Dept. Dr. Joya Chakraborty congratulated the students and thanked them for their sincere contribution and efforts. In addition, referring to the theme set by PCI for 2021’s National Press Day, ‘Who is not afraid of media?’, she asserted that media gives a voice to the voiceless and so, the citizens of a democratic country like India should not be afraid of media.
She added that only those who are afraid of the truth should be afraid of the media.
She further thanked Dr. Abhijit Bora of MCJ Department for taking up the role of the event coordinator and for guiding the students.
The second session included of a workshop on “Fact Checking For the Future” by the senior journalist and Editor of NEZINE.com, Sushanta Talukdar.
Moreover, the other prominent guests who graced the session with their presence, included of the Vice Chancellor of Tezpur University, Dr. Vinod Kumar Jain; Dean of School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Dr. Prasanta Kumar Das; District Development Commissioner, Sonitpur, Dipshikha Dey; DIPRO, Sonitpur, Neena Baruah (alumni of Tezpur University) and journalists from various media houses.
In addition, the prominent guests delivered speeches relating to the importance of Press in India and its impactful role, and emphasized on how the future generations could bring a change in the media field, particularly, journalism, by remaining true to their ethics.
The second session continued with the prominent journalist, Sushanta Talukdar’s workshop on fact checking, where he emphasized on the importance of verifying information before publishing and also discussed in brief the different roles played by print media and new media in the present times.
The session ended with a lively interaction among the students and the eminent journalist, who then answered to the queries raised by the students.
The concluding speech was delivered by Dr. Abhijit Bora who thanked the guests for their valuable presence and also the students, for the handwork and efforts which they put towards organizing the day’s events.
Furthermore, a second workshop session by Sushanta Talukdar was held on Wednesday that further turned out to be a very fruitful event, which provided the students with immense knowledge to develop their minds as blooming journalists from the MCJ Dept. of Tezpur University.
