Kamalabari (Majuli): Kishori Mohan Paul, a former schoolteacher in his sixties, is the force behind Majuli News, the island's first and only English newspaper.
Majuli News, a "progressive" fortnightly that promotes democratic ideals to divisive politics, is being solely run by Paul's limited resources. It was first published in March. Paul feels that with the rise of the BJP and the RSS in the past few years, the island is not immune from such influence, and hence, it is necessary to keep the island's inhabitants abreast with news focusing on "progressive" issues and keep the ideas of secularism, democracy, peace and progress afloat.
"It is sad that a shadow of ethnic and religious identity is looming large over the island. With so many issues playing at the fore more than ever, informing people about the right perspective is important. Lately, people are being questioned on the basis of their ethnic or religious identities because of the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016," said Paul, who serves as the editor of the fortnightly.
The first issue, which came out on March 1, had paid tributes to the slain journalists and thinkers like Gauri Lankesh, M.M. Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar, and Govind Pansare.
Besides politics, Majuli News carries articles on culture, education, historical studies, editorials science, agriculture and also has a slot for poetry. But even with the objective to create conducive atmosphere based upon the ideals of democracy, Paul has faced the wrath of Internet trolls .
The former teacher sells his paper for Rs 10. Without any proper outlet, he made arrangements with local schools. Paul said around 1,000 copies of the paper are distributed on the island with the focus on schools and educational institutions.
Paul, a CPI member, lodged an FIR in January against an Internet troll, who had called Mahatma Gandhi a coward. "It is sad that voices are getting stifled. But I will not stop. Majuli is a reflection of Assam, and Assam stands for pluralism just like India."
After the publication of the sixth edition of the fortnightly, Paul will get Majuli News registered.
