President Pranab Mukherjee disapproved of ‘award wapsi’, asking national award winners for excellence in journalism to cherish and value their awards.
Appealing to the recipients of the national honour, he asked intellectuals to not let emotions “overrun reason”.
Sensitive minds sometimes get disturbed by some incidents in the society. Expression of concern over such events should be balanced. Emotions should not overrun reason, and disagreement should be expressed through debate and discussion.Pranab Mukherjee, President of India
He spoke about ‘The impact and import of cartooning and caricatures as a medium of expression of opinion’.
He presented national awards of Press Council of India to journalists and news photographers.
Prestigious awards such as these, are a public recognition of talent, merit and hard work by peers and leaders in the profession. Such awards should be cherished and valued by those who receive them.
At the function organised by the Press Council of India (PCI) on the occasion of National Press Day, Mukherjee paid tributes to legendary cartoonists like RK Laxman and Rajinder Puri.
This open-mindedness and appreciation of genuine criticism is one of the lovable traditions of our great nation, which we must preserve and strengthen. We must ensure that the letter and spirit of the law always remains a living reality.
In a democracy, he said, various challenges will emerge from time to time and these should be addressed collectively.
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore and PCI chairman Justice (retd) CK Presad were also present at the event.
(With inputs from PTI)
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