Telangana Urdu daily publishes blank editorial over govt ads cut, says 'Journalism won't be silenced'

The Munsif Daily wrote a special feature today besides the blank editorial.

A Telangana Urdu daily, Munsif Daily, published a blank editorial on Thursday in protest against the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government for allegedly freezing government advertisements.

The move is reminiscent of the press censorship during the Emergency, which had prompted certain newspapers to print blank editorials.

The Munsif Daily wrote a special feature alongside the blank editorial claiming that it was being punished for writing the truth instead of government propaganda and for its reportage that focussed on its shortcomings.

"The newspaper has exposed incidents of communal unrest that have taken place since the Congress government came to power, highlighting police failures and the state's inaction. It has reported on the demolition of an abandoned mosque in Chilkur, the removal of the dupatta from minority schoolgirls' uniforms, and the government's failure to protect Waqf properties. Munsif has also raised delayed salaries of imams and muezzins, non-payment of stipends for divorced women, and the Congress's failure to include a Muslim representative in the Telangana cabinet-just as it had criticized the Modi government for the same," read a statement by Ather Moin, the newspaper's Executive Editor, according to NDTV.

In his statement, the Executive Editor claimed that the cuts in government advertisements came after it reported about the two dozen communal incidents that took place in Telangana after the new regime took over and how miscreants demolished an abandoned mosque in Chilkur at night and the government avoided its reconstruction.

"If the Revanth government expects us to convince our readers that Telangana has turned into a land of milk and honey under Congress rule, then that is something we cannot do. Instead, we shall continue to ask: Why have lands turned barren? Why has starvation forced the poor to the brink? Why have helpless daughters been violated?" the statement further read.

The feature claimed that the government decided to hurt it financially as Indira Gandhi had done during Emergency because it could not stop the newspaper from divulging the truth. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Washington DC, in December, 2023, when he had stated, “Freedom of press is under threat in India, and the world can see it,” the daily wrote that his own party was strangling the press in Telangana.

It said though every Urdu newspaper in the country criticised the Modi government, their share of central advertisements was never withdrawn.

“Perhaps the authorities thought they could force Munsif into submission by cutting off this financial lifeline…We have neither surrendered nor reduced our coverage… As a mark of protest against this unjust treatment, today’s editorial is intentionally left blank,” stated the newspaper.

"In 1975, Indira Gandhi tried to silence the press-and failed. Today, her party is repeating history. But let it be known: The pen is still mightier than the sword. Journalism in India will not be silenced," it added.

The blank editorial by the prominent Urdu daily created a sensation in the state, particularly among the minorities.