From: Indian Express
Faizabad: ‘Secular’ weekly victim of riots
Faisal Fareed : Lucknow, Wed Oct 31 2012, 00:56 hrs
For six years, the bilingual weekly Aap ki Taaqat, published from Faizabad, carried the slogan ‘Hindu-Muslim do bhai, Hindi-Urdu do behen’ on its masthead. The slogan could not save the weekly when communal riots flared up in Faizabad on October 24.
The newspaper’s office on the premises of Chowk Masjid was gutted in the fire during the riots. Press Council of India chairman Justice (retd) Markandey Katju on Tuesday set up a committee to probe the attack on the mosque and the weekly.
The eight-page Aap ki Taaqat, with four pages each in Hindi and Urdu, had a small circulation, but was “a flame of communal harmony”, said Iqbal Mustafa, who manages Faizabad Public School.
Manzar Mehdi, who launched the weekly said, “It survived on support from Hindu doctors, businessmen and leaders. I can’t imagine why it was attacked... There was never any threat to us. Nobody raised an objection to our reports.” He said it was likely that people in the mob that ransacked the weekly’s office and set it on fire were not outsiders.
Despite offers of help, he is unsure whether things can return to normal soon.
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