Jawaharlal Nehru established newspapers ‘National Herald’ and ‘Navjivan’ will resume publication in “coming months” with publishing house Associated Journals Limited (AJL) appointing senior journalist Neelabh Mishra as its new Editor-in-Chief.
AJL Managing Director and Congress treasurer Motilal Vora announced Mishra’s appointment as Editor-in-Chief of its English and Hindi newspapers and digital properties without specifying the exact date of resumption of publication.
“Both newspapers shall resume publication in the coming months, followed by ‘Quami Awaz’,” Vora said. ‘Quami Awaz’ was the Urdu newspaper from the AJL stable.
Founded by Nehru in Lucknow in 1938, National Herald was banned by the British during the 1942 Quit India Movement.
It faced brief shutdowns in the 1940s and 70s. It ceased to publish in 2008.
The AJL has been in the news recently over allegations of land grabbing levelled by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and four others.
Swamy had moved court claiming that the Gandhis were eyeing the multi-crore properties of AJL, a public limited company, through their private company Young Indian.
Sonia Gandhi had told a local court in December last year that the newspapers would resume publication. Mishra, a former Editor of ‘Outlook Hindi’, has been tasked to build and lead a team for ‘National Herald’ and its Hindi cousin ‘Navjivan’.
He was also actively involved with the People’s Union of Civil Liberties in Rajasthan.
Vora stressed that both the newspapers will have a strong digital presence.
