Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan at Organiser @80 event in Delhi
The Vice-President of India, C. P. Radhakrishnan, today said that democracies flourish when the press informs, questions and encourages informed public debate while respecting facts, maintaining credibility and adhering to the highest professional standards. He added that the freedom of the press is meaningful only when exercised with courage and responsibility.
Addressing the 80th Foundation Day celebrations of Organiser Weekly at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, the Vice-President described the publication’s 80-year journey as one of “continuity, resilience and sustained commitment to public discourse across generations.” Referring to its legal challenge against censorship in 1949, he said the episode became a landmark in the evolution of media freedom in independent India, reinforcing the importance of an independent press willing to raise difficult questions.
The Vice-President noted that over the decades, Organiser has actively participated in national debates concerning unity, integrity, security, culture and governance. He referred to its engagement with issues relating to Jammu and Kashmir, the PrajaParishad movement, national security during the wars with China and Pakistan, Swadeshi, the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and several other significant developments in India’s public life.
Paying tribute to the publication’s role during the Emergency, C. P. Radhakrishnan noted that Organiser and its sister publication The Motherland became rallying points for those committed to safeguarding constitutional democracy. He observed that such moments remind us that press freedom derives its true value when exercised with courage.
The Vice-President also released the books ‘Hindutva Discourse After Independence – Reading With Organiser Pages’ by Prafulla Ketkar and Gautam Choubey, and ‘Temples Beyond Bharat’ by Dr. Ujwala Chakradeo. Referring to Hindutva Discourse After Independence, C. P. Radhakrishnan said that Organiser’s eight decades of documentation constitute an important archival record of India’s political, social and intellectual evolution and provide a valuable window into the evolution of Hindutva discourse in independent India.
Congratulating Bharat Prakashan Limited, the editorial team and readers on this significant milestone, C. P. Radhakrishnan said that true to its enduring tagline, “Voice of the Nation”, Organiser has consistently brought to the forefront issues that many preferred to overlook. Referring to the observations made by Dattatreya Hosabale during the programme, he noted that Organiser has served as the “voice of the soul of the nation”, guided not by any narrow or self-serving motive but by an abiding commitment to the larger national interest and the vision of seeing Bharat emerge as a strong, prosperous and self-confident nation.
Among those present were Sarkaryavah, RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh, Dattatreya Hosabale; Managing Director, Bharat Prakashan Limited, Arun Kumar Goyal; Editor of Organiser, Prafulla Ketkar; and Sanghchalak, Delhi Prant, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Dr. Anil Aggarwal.
