Amit Shah Celebrates 200 Years of Mumbai Samachar

Image Credit: Economictimes

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, today launched a special documentary titled ‘200 Not Out’, celebrating the 200-year journey of Mumbai Samachar, Asia’s oldest newspaper. The event took place in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and was attended by many important dignitaries, including Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Shri Eknath Shinde.

In his speech, Shri Amit Shah praised Mumbai Samachar for running successfully for over two centuries, which is a rare achievement. He said it is very hard to keep an institution like a local newspaper running for that long, especially while maintaining its credibility. Shri Shah explained that the newspaper has set an example for how to earn trust through hard work. He also added that politicians and newspapers need to have strong values. Newspapers that are tied to any political ideology cannot truly do good work. Mumbai Samachar stood out because it remained connected to its readers without taking sides and always delivered the truth.

Shri Shah shared a unique piece of history, saying that Mumbai Samachar was the only newspaper that covered both the oath-taking of a Gujarati leader in 2014 (referring to Prime Minister Modi) and the sacrifice of Jhansi Ki Rani during the 1857 revolution. He praised the newspaper for reporting on key historical moments, from the 1857 rebellion, the formation of Congress, Ganesh Utsav started by Lokmanya Tilak, the freedom struggle, to modern events like India’s 75 years of Independence.

He further acknowledged the challenges of running a newspaper for such a long time while sticking to the true ethics of journalism. Mumbai Samachar survived and thrived through major events like the 1962 India-China war, the Kutch earthquake, and even the freedom movement. Shri Shah appreciated how the newspaper has kept the Gujarati language alive in journalism, allowing people to continue using Gujarati in their daily conversations.

Shri Amit Shah also took the opportunity to highlight the important role of the Parsi community in India’s progress. He mentioned how the Cama family, the original founders of Mumbai Samachar, played a huge role in the development of journalism. He praised the Parsi community for their contributions to the law, industrial development, fintech, and IT sectors. He added that the Parsi people are a minority within a minority, yet they never demand anything for themselves and always fulfill their duties to the country.

The Union Home Minister emphasized the importance of India’s languages as part of its rich heritage. No other country in the world has so many languages and dialects, he said. That’s why, in the New Education Policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made primary education in the mother tongue compulsory. Shri Shah urged everyone to speak their native language at home, especially with children, so they can learn and preserve their culture. He said that if we lose our language, we will lose our culture too.

Shri Amit Shah also spoke about efforts to preserve and enrich Indian languages. The Ministry of Home Affairs has added 22,831 words from local languages into the Hindi dictionary, helping make Hindi a more complete language. He encouraged people to work hard to keep their mother tongue alive.

During the event, Shri Shah proudly mentioned that Mumbai Samachar is not only the oldest newspaper in Asia but also the third-oldest newspaper in the world. Despite many ups and downs in Indian history, the newspaper has always stayed true to its mission of delivering credible journalism.

He suggested that the 50-minute ‘200 Not Out’ documentary should be dubbed in Hindi and English so that the entire country can learn about the newspaper’s incredible journey. Even after 200 years, Mumbai Samachar is still thriving and ready for its third century.

Shri Amit Shah also talked about the economic progress India has made under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He proudly shared that India has risen from the 11th to the 5th largest economy in the world and has the highest growth rate among the G-20 nations. Shri Shah is confident that India will soon become the third-largest economy globally. He called the period between 75 and 100 years of Independence as Amrit Kaal, a time when India will reach new heights in every field by 2047.

This inspiring event not only celebrated the 200-year legacy of Mumbai Samachar but also highlighted the bright future that lies ahead for India as it continues to grow on the world stage.