Daily News

Eighty Nine years ago today, the evergreen of Sri Lanka's newspaper world the Daily News was brought to birth by the doyen of this country's newspaper business, the eminent D. R. Wijewardene. He was a man with an exceptionally lofty mission.

That was, to use his newspapers as a medium of conscientizing the local public on the need for national independence and liberation. His aim was to make the Daily News and its sister newspapers, published at the citadel of local journalism, the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd, vehicles of debate and discussion on the core socio-political issues of the day which essentially revolved around this country's political independence and its complete decolonization.

Judging by the epochal political changes of 1948, the Daily News has played its role admirably well in the immediate tasks fashioned for it. We are a free people today enjoying the right of political self-determination to the fullest.

However, attaining political independence is one thing, accomplishing national development in all its dimensions, another.

Thanks to great lovers of their motherland, such as D. R. Wijewardene, the people of Sri Lanka enjoy the right to elect a government of their choice but national development in the fullest sense of the phrase is continuing to elude us and very unfortunately so.

On this there cannot be a dispute. Sri Lanka is now ranked among what are called Middle Income Countries but there are still people in their tens of thousands living below the poverty line in this country.

There are whole provinces, such as the North Central and the Uva, which need to be regarded as abjectly poor, while the Western Province enjoys disproportionate wealth and progress. Two Southern youth rebellions have already accentuated these glaring inequalities while a third youth rebellion, sparked by ethnic disaffection and disgruntlement, continues on a wasteful, murderous course in the North-East.

So, national liberation and development in the truest sense, remains to be achieved and to that extent the Daily News too should regard its mission as not having been fully accomplished. Useful work of monumental dimensions remains to be achieved and the Daily News too could regard its plate as heaped with chores that need to be carried out, enterprisingly and untiringly.

The Daily News should accomplish these tasks daringly and resourcefully if it is to achieve the historic mission assigned to it, fully.

The need of the hour is nation building and the Daily News unhesitatingly steps out to help in this momentous undertaking. Not only must equitable development be achieved but an honourable and just peace made a reality as well. The State could rest assured of the assistance of the Daily News in meeting these twin challenges.

The Government under the guidance of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has formulated a ten year development plan and we consider it our bounden duty to help in raising public awareness about its contents and implications for the public weal.

Equally, we support the State's efforts in resolving the ethnic conflict by political means. For, there cannot be national development and nation building without ethnic peace.

Needless to say, many a brickbat and barb has been aimed at us and would continue to be aimed at us by those who lack an understanding of these finer issues. We forgive them this ignorance and assure them of our forbearance.

However, it must be realised that the Daily News cannot drift in the direction of those sections of the media which misconstrue press freedom to mean the proverbial freedom of the wild ass. We need to wield the pen cogently and tellingly for the greater good but should also guard against going to the degenerate extremes of the gutter press who sensationalize issues with a vengeance for the purpose of propping dropping circulation of their rag sheets.

No Dear Readers, that is not the way of the Daily News. It will instead stick ardently to its standards of balance, poise and clarity of perception, while keeping its vision firmly planted on the greater good of the Lankan family. We are 89 years young and are able and willing to take on the challenges thrust on us by history.

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