A team of prolific writers re-launched the Viewpoint on May 21, 2010,
as an e-zine with the purpose of building and strengthening progressive forces,
not merely in Pakistan, but in the region. Their ideology is the same: they are
opposed to militarism, fundamentalism, or imperialism. According to the editor
of the Viewpoint, Adnan Farooq, the re-launch signifies a re-emergence of left
ideas in Pakistan. It is an attempt to build a space for alternative voices,
dissidents, radicals, feminists, democratic socialists, environmentalists, trade
unionists, nationalists, minorities and all those who are ignored in mainstream
media. In his words, the motivation behind the re-launch "is an attempt to say:
struggle goes on!" He is extremely humbled to be a part of this venture and,
according to him, this is too big a legacy for the present team to justifiably
claim as its own, especially at such an early stage. They are trying their best
to uphold the journalistic traditions of late Mazhar Ali Khan. -- Minahil Zafar
Pakistan: The non-conformist Viewpoint
A group of energetic journalists
and activists have relaunched Viewpoint as an e-magazine with the same ideology
as before
By Minahil
Zafar
An alternative to the corporate
mainstream media, the Viewpoint's pages have been safe havens for rebellious
voices. They have a long history of a struggle for democracy and retaliation to
military rule. Mazhar Ali Khan launched the Viewpoint in
1975.
With major media houses either collaborating with the military
dictatorship or practicing self-censorship, the Viewpoint emerged as a major
pro-democracy outlet. Under the leadership of Mazhar Ali Khan, this magazine
proved remarkably successful in conveying rational opinions despite a stringent
press censorship. It survived the military dictatorship of that era, but did not
outlive its founder Mazhar Ali Khan, who died in 1993.
The very mention of the
Viewpoint brings to mind names like Mazhar Ali Khan, I A Rehman, Hussain Naqi,
Shafqat Tanveer Mirza, Alys Faiz, Zafar Iqbal Mirza, Zafaryab Ahmed, Amin Mughal
and many more. These intellectual giants remain an inspiration for any
journalist committed to the idea of social change through
pen.
With spirits rejuvenated, a team
of young journalists and activists have decided to revive Viewpoint and carry on
the legacy of these brilliant academics.
A team of prolific writers
re-launched the Viewpoint on May 21, 2010, as an e-zine with the purpose of
building and strengthening progressive forces, not merely in Pakistan, but in
the region. Their ideology is the same: they are opposed to militarism,
fundamentalism, or imperialism. According to the editor of the Viewpoint, Adnan
Farooq, the re-launch signifies a re-emergence of left ideas in Pakistan. It is
an attempt to build a space for alternative voices, dissidents, radicals,
feminists, democratic socialists, environmentalists, trade unionists,
nationalists, minorities and all those who are ignored in mainstream media. In
his words, the motivation behind the re-launch "is an attempt to say: struggle
goes on!" He is extremely humbled to be a part of this venture and, according to
him, this is too big a legacy for the present team to justifiably claim as its
own, especially at such an early stage. They are trying their best to uphold the
journalistic traditions of late Mazhar Ali Khan.
Farooq Sulehria , who is part of
the core team that has relaunched the Viewpoint and a regular contributor says,
"It is an idea to capitalise on the potential the internet is offering in order
to revive the glorious traditions set by pioneers of Pakistani journalism like
Faiz, Hasrat, Sibt-e-Hassan, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Mazhar Ali Khan to name a few.
These traditions imply reason, scientific inquiry, decency, commitment to
people's cause, resistance . Above all, for them journalism was a social
responsibility."
The relaunched Viewpoint has run
four issues up till now and each has addressed various concerns, ranging from
feminist issues to worker's causes. The third issue focused on the persecution
of Ahmadiya community and published what most of the media outlets avoid even
mentioning. Shakil Chaudhry's article on the issue has attempted to provide an
alternative outlet for information, news and opinions like these, which are
otherwise hushed up by mainstream media due to their corporate interests and
ideological leanings. It has become a taboo to even point out the oppression
Ahmadis suffer in Pakistan; he is proud to break such
taboos.
Currently the Viewpoint is
dependent mostly on volunteers and partly on freelancers, but the initial
success of the re-launch indicates that there is a need for full-time staff as
well as professional contributors. Adnan claims there were two hundred thousand
hits in less than a month, and with this enthusiasm from readers and supporters,
it is bound to grow and establish itself. In the words of the editor, "Hope and
commitment keep idealists go on." We hope that the print version of this
publication sees the light of the day soon.
Source: The News,
Islamabad
11:24 PM
Sultan Shahin
0 comments:
Post a Comment