Statues of press liberty
Intolerance towards contrary opinions, collection of personal data by technology giants, ‘paid’ news on TV networks — it’s no surprise that freedom of expression and the press is under threat. As a symbolic gesture, Lokmat Media Pvt Ltd unveiled two unique sculpture that represented the freedom of press. The first sculpture, standing at seven feet tall, is of a man and woman reading a newspaper together, symbolizing the freedom of press and the wide reach of print media in today’s day and age. It also symbolizes women’s keen involvement in pursuit of knowledge alongside men. The second statue of a newspaper boy on a bicycle with a hand raised to throw a paper, represents the unsung hero of the newspaper universe. Carved by sculptor Kiran Adate, both statues are placed under the open sky, right outside Lokmat’s printing plant at Butibori, Nagpur. They were unveiled on October 13, 2013 by Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Minister of Home, Government of India. “We are fortunate to be living in a country where media is free to a great extent. The credit goes to the Indian Constitution, but in most countries, the media is muzzled. Newspapers have had to wage several battles for their freedom. As many as 141 journalists have lost their lives in the line of duty,” said Vijay Darda, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Lokmat Group, who hopes that through media, democracy would prevail across the globe. At the unveiling ceremony, 16 senior journalists from the state were felicitated for their contribution to journalism, including included Rambhau Joshi, Vilas Zunzar, Datta Saraf, Umesh Choube, Kamlakar Dharap, Meghnad Bodhankar, Madhukar Bhave, Sudhakar Doiphode, Arun Tikekar, Olga Tellis, Vidyadhar Panat, Cyril D’Cunha, Suresh Bhatewara, M G Vaidya, UttamKamble, Shankar Mahakalkar. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Shinde said that the statues were true representations of the freedom of the entire media. Also, the curtain that veiled the statues carried mastheads of all major regional, national and international dailies.
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