A 72-year-old newspaper is ready to shave off its white beard. Helping it speak to the hep and happening young readers is the equally old editor-politician-author Shahid Siddiqui.
Starting in 1950 as an eveninger, Nai Duniya was among the first victims of COVID-induced restrictions and challenges. Now it is poised for a comeback albeit as a weekly in digital format. Siddiqui says, “At a time when it is difficult for even English magazines to find vendors, and given the increased online traffic, it makes sense to re-launch Nai Duniya in the language of the new world. We will revive Nai Duniya as an Urdu weekly in digital format.”
Siddiqui is the right person to revive the paper. He had re-launched it in 1973 after his father Abdul Waheed Siddiqui had to pay the price for skirmishes with the government. Recalls Siddiqui, “I was still pursuing my Master’s degree from Delhi University when I realised there was a demand for Nai Duniya. I revived the paper a little before Emergency and took on an established paper like Blitz which was quite popular among Urdu readers. At the time of Emergency, we were the only Urdu newspaper to criticise the government. Incidentally, Indira Gandhi gave us an interview soon after losing power in 1977.”
THOSE WERE THE DAYS Staff of Nai Duniya in 1951 with the founder Abdul Waheed Siddiqui (seated in the centre). Young Shahid Siddiqui, the present editor, can be seen in the lap of his brother. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Though Nai Duniya developed distinct political contours over time, it started as a hangout zone for the best Urdu writers and poets of Old Delhi. Shortly after the paper went to press around 3 p.m., the poets and writers would gather at its office in Haveli Hisamuddin in Ballimaran. Over endless cups of tea, they would recite poetry, crack jokes and take a dig at the society and polity. Among them were the likes of Zubair Rizvi, Salam Machchlishahri and Josh Malihabadi.
As Siddiqui says, “My father had worked with Al Jamiat. After Independence, the newspaper refused to speak against the Congress party. He parted ways and started Nai Duniya instead.”
The good times of soirees and gentle jokes did not last long. Soon the paper found itself embroiled in a controversy related to Kashmir. The paper had opposed the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah. Its entry was banned in the State. The declaration of the paper was cancelled, its security forfeited and in 1964-65, the paper had to fold up.
“My father brought out two other papers instead – Himmat and Taqat. They did not last long. Then Nai Duniya was revived after Feroz Gandhi introduced a private member’s Bill in Parliament against asking for a security deposit for a newspaper. The Bill was passed. Nai Duniya once again raised its voice against the ongoing riots and paid the price. There were raids at our place, all the stuff was checked, even the pillows were ripped apart to see anything suspicious hidden there,” recounts Siddiqui.
Milestone: Nai Duniya issue of 2002 | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Finally, Nai Duniya came back in a new avatar as a weekly. Within six months, it became the highest-selling weekly in the country, selling from stalls in Kashmir to Karnataka. Denizens of Old Delhi, in particular, used to wait for it and would discuss its stories over endless cups of tea all over again. The government took note too. Its founding editor Abdul Waheed was arrested during the Emergency.
The Kashmir challenge remained for the paper. Siddiqui received death threats from Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, etc in the mid-80s. Recalls Siddiqui, “I was arrested under TADA after Farooq Abdullah’s government was felled.”
Yet amidst all the challenges, Nai Duniya flourished. Its office moved from the cultural hub of Old Delhi to the more upmarket Nizamuddin. From an eight-pager, the paper grew into a 24-page tabloid with stories carrying a punch. Along the way, it was the first to introduce computers in Urdu newspapers, started the concept of theme-based pages and invited the best journalists to write for it.
It worked well until the pandemic enforced its closure. Now at 72, it is set to revive again, this time as a digital newspaper, yet with the same old fire and punch.
