Real scribe in true sense

He has all the zing and zeal to publish probably the only hand-written weekly in the country.

Launching his weekly “Deen Dalit” on October 2 -Gandhi Jayanthi- 24 years ago, Razak has brought out over 800 issues so far. Surprisingly, the weekly is not for earning profits. He runs a roadside laundry to sustain his living and pursue his journalistic interest. Razak is all rolled into one-proprietor, editor and reporter- and even sells his paper!

Just a matriculate, Razak sets out from his home everyday on a bicycle carrying loads of clothes to launder in his hometown Dumka in Jharkhand.

While earning his living as a dhobi, he is alert to developments as he keeps his ears and eyes open. He immediately reacts to developments. Once his ‘edition’ is ready, he photocopies them and starts ‘selling’ them. He persuades people to buy his ‘weekly’. On some occasions, he pastes the ‘weekly’ on walls to popularise his publication. 

Razak religiously sends his ‘registered’ weekly to offices of the Prime Minister and President of India and late K R Narayanan had even acknowledged the receipt of the weekly and sent him a letter praising his services.

He claims that idea behind bringing out the manuscript was to ensure that the voice of the poor, downtrodden and have-nots is heard in the corridors of power.

A determined Razak says that he will not accept advertisements or monetary help for his weekly. Because of funds crunch, he could not bring out some issues.

He said he started his weekly after he saw an officer asking his class IV employee to do menial work on a Sunday. “I decided to expose such incidents and that’s how Deen Dalit was born,” he added.

 He claimed that his weekly carries articles on social problems. There is no place for sensation and gossip here.  He has the support of his wife and six children, who have been living independently.