Khabar Lahariya - News Paper

Khabar Lahariya

I am pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Community Media. I am presenting a paper on Khabar Lahariya which is a a weekly newspaper in Bundeli (local dialect of Bundelkhand) which is run by a group of women from various sections of the society from the interiors of a place called Chitrakoot and Banda in the state of Uttar Pradesh. This newspaper initially started in the Bundelhi dialect but later the editions were also available in Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Hindustani and Bajjika. Their main objective is to reach out to the nearby villages and provide them with ‘infotainment'.

The main focus of this newspaper is gender and education. Initially this newspaper was started by a bunch of women hailing from Chitrakoot which spread to the other neighbouring places. It now covers local political news, local crime reports, social issues and entertainment, all reported from a feminist perspective. As of September 2012, its total print-run was around 6000 copies including all the editions but the management claims an estimated readership of 20,000.

The distinctive feature of this newspaper is that the intellectual input for the newspaper is provided by a collective of 40 rural women journalists. The newspaper is written, edited, produced, distributed and marketed entirely by rural women from backward communities belonging from SCs, STs, Dalits and Muslims group. The women who report the stories also edit, produce, distribute and market the newspaper. Meera Jatav is the Editor-in-Chief and has been working from Karwi since the newspaper was launched in 2002. Khabar Lahariya carries out news that is of primary importance to the masses in and around these areas. Although they do have sections regarding current affairs, national and international news, they strongly highlight the cases of violence against women, important issues on Dalits and more news related to such topics. This 8-page newsletter also covers issues on institutions like schools, marriage, health care and more. In 2009, the newspaper was awarded the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize following this, planned to expand the newspaper were made.

Even though these journalists have not received formal education but they make it a point that their literary work is not compromised upon. They make significant and relentless effort to enhance their technical skills, writing and reporting skills so that people get a better perspective of what news is delivered to them. Apart from the above, they also encourage public interactions and gather inputs to cater to the specific needs of the women. They try their best to reach out to those women who are unable to raise their voice in the society and get them a platform to speak out their heart and mind. These women have obtained a medium to reach out to the general mass, by way of expressing their views through this newspaper.

The website of Khabar Lahariya, www.khabarlahariya.org