Tewari, who was addressing the All India Urdu Editors’ Conference organized by the Lucknow based Jadeed Markaz, urged the editors present to place their views before the panel.

On the demand for capacity building for staffers of Urdu newspapers, the Minister said that the Director of Indian Institute of Mass Communication Sunit Tandon was formulating a scheme for language specific capacity building. He urged the editors to follow up Tandon.

On the issue of Urdu newspapers being discriminated in disbursement of government advertisement, the General Secretary of the Congress party, Dijvijay Singh said “after 1977 people with a different mindset have infiltrated the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and these people are creating problems.”

He said that communalism was the biggest threat to the country. There are communal elements amongst both Hindus and the Muslims, he said.

The Lok Janshakti Party leader and MP, Ram Vilas Paswan urged that at 25% of the government advertisement should be reserved for Urdu and small newspapers. He said that most of the Urdu newspapers cater to specific regions of the country and therefore “there is an urgent need for a national Urdu daily.”

Paswan was of the view that if Urdu develops Hindi would also develop as both the languages are interlinked.

The Conference condemned all acts of violence emanating from communalism and terrorism.

It lauded the National Investigating Agency (NIA) for carrying out proper investigations in Malegaon and Makkah Masjid blast cases as a result of which several innocent people were released from custody.

NIA has also proved its fairness and objectivity in the case of Liyaqat Shah of Kashmir which resulted in his release, the resolution said.

The editors urged the government to set up a mechanism to check irresponsible journalism and sensational reporting.

The Conference urged the government to reserve a quota for disbursement of advertisement to Urdu newspapers.

As the Urdu newspapers in Kashmir are facing threats from the militants and harassment by the police, the Conference urged the Government to provide security to journalists and allow newspapers to work in a free and fair atmosphere.

The Government should encourage universities, major Madarsas, seminaries and other leading institutions to start courses in Urdu journalism, page-making and designing.