Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Even during the 1975 Emergency, when the freedom of thought and expression in the press was brutally suppressed, Marathwada newspaper set an example of fearless journalism. On Sunday, senior journalists Gopal Sakrikar, Nilu Damle, and Arvind G. Vaidya who played a vital role in that period were felicitated by the Anant Bhalerao Foundation at the Govindbhai Shroff Academy of Fine Arts auditorium, under the S.B. Education Society. While expressing their thoughts, all three remarked that the Emergency period was not only one of struggle but also of creative growth.
In his introductory speech, Nishikant Bhalerao recalled that during the Emergency, a special Diwali issue titled “Dictatorship - A Study” was published, featuring articles on autocrats from around the world. He explained the idea behind the award. The felicitation ceremony was presided over by retired Justice Sunil Deshmukh, who honoured Sakrikar, Damle, and Vaidya. The event was also attended by Mangesh Pant, Sanjeev Kulkarni, Dr. Ajit Bhagwat, and Radhakrishna Muli.
---------
A period of courage and resilience
Vaidya said that after the arrest of Anantrao Bhalerao, running the newspaper became a major struggle, yet it was also a time of growth. “There was constant fear, but the work we did then has become gold today,” he remarked. Damle recalled how Marathwada fought a major battle by leaving blank columns in protest and publishing symbolic pieces like ‘Lekki Bole Sune Lage’. Sakrikar said, “We often wondered if we would survive in such unstable times. When everything came to a halt, the challenge was how to fill eight columns daily but we never compromised.” Justice Sunil Deshmukh lauded the awardees for their firm and principled stand during a period of severe press suppression. Editor of Sadhana, Vinod Shirsat, while speaking on the topic “Emergency: Then, Now, and Tomorrow”, described the Emergency as the “Third World War” within democracy. He said the novel Pailateer, which he had read in his youth, helped him understand that period through the story of an editor’s struggle under censorship. Quoting Indira Gandhi’s media advisor Sharada Prasad, Shirsat said that the decision to lift the Emergency may have stemmed from her regret and expressed hope that no future prime minister would ever repeat such a mistake.