By: Shafqat Tanveer Mirza

The year 2008 was not good for the Punjabi publishers, both of books and magazines, on many counts. The first and the most important factor was the starting high prices of paper and other printing materials. Not only had the prices gone up because of the power crisis forcing the printers to raise there charges, their working hours were reduced to 15 to 30 percent. That was a big blow to the publishing industry. There was no control on quality and prices and therefore the size of the paper of different quality was reduced, just as was the case with roti (bread) sold at tandoors. The price of a roti and its weight attracted the attention of the Punjab administration but the price hike in the field of printing and publishing was totally ignored. And just as the prices of publications went up the purchasing power of the keen readers came down leading to a fall in the number of subscribers. The reading hours have also been reduced because of the power crisis.

Despite all these obstacles, it was remarkable that the Punjabi magazines appeared regularly in 2008. Some of them were deprived of the small income which they used to get from publishing the official advertisement. Two dailies, one from Lahore and the other from Multan, badly suffered because of this. The previous government of the Punjab under Pervaiz Elahi had fixed five percent quota of the official advertisement for the Punjabi publications. It was obviously meant to encourage the Punjabi print media which was perhaps not liked by those who published in other languages. It could also be that the new government has no love lost for Punjabi. Moreover, it has become a tradition to undo all that has been done by the outgoing political rulers whether good or bad.

This question of official publicity was raised in many literary functions in the presence of former secretary information Oriya Maqbool Jan (who has since been thrown out of the department and made an OSD). Mr. Jan's response was positive all the time. But, perhaps, he was helpless in that respect. Some of the publishers staged a demonstration against the Punjab Public Relations department, but something went wrong on that side also. Consequently, the case was hushed up. All the magazines which were given small ads have been denied their share till the end of the year. This issue concerns the Punjab government.

Another issue related to the Government is that of the Punjab Institute of language, Art and Culture to which the last government had given utmost attention. A new institute was a good addition to the cultural capital of the country. Apart from its cultural functions and publications of books, it initiated publication of a monthly magazine Trinjan through which the writers were also paid for the creative pieces included in the magazine. This was the first time that a Punjabi publications concern was extending remuneration to creative writers. Though not a perfect venture, the magazine was offered in presentable from. Moreover, with a view to popularize the printed word in Punjabi its distribution was made on larger scale and another characteristic of this magazine was that almost all the dialects spoken in Punjab and the neighboring provinces were represented, especially in the prose, in the publication which did not appear for last few months. The question is that why its regularpublication has been stopped?

The institution was perhaps made a scapegoat in the case of explosion during the last days of the World Performing Arts Festival. The government has so far not come out with the final investigation and bring the culprits before the law. Publication of another art magazine Naagmani has also come to stand still. Reasons not known.

As far as other regular magazines are concerned, they are being published regularly. They include monthlies, Sver International, Lehran, Likhari from Lahore and Mehkaan from Sahiwal. The publisher-editor of Sver International intends to bring out a full-fledged daily Lokaai from Lahore. Its publicity campaign has started for the last one year.

Another monthly, which is appearing regularly, is Pukhairu for children. Its latest issue is devoted to the children poetry by Muhammad Iqbal Najmi spread over 160 pages. The special issues during the last years. This is the 15th year of its regular publication.

One quarterly magazine, the Punjabi Adab is regularly being published by the Pubjabi Adabi Board from Lahore. There are two bi-annual research magazines Lekh and Khoj from Lahore. The former is being published regularly by a teacher and scholar of Punjabi Dr Nasir Rana while the latter is the publication of the Punjabi Department of the Punjab University and its appearance is not so regular.

Another quarterly magazine Saanjh did appear regularly from Lahore with the cooperation of US-based Punjabi organization APNA. Safir Rammah from US is the man behind. This magazine appears simultaneously from the Pakistani Punjab and the Indian Punjab. Last year's best and public level function was arranged by the Lok Boli people at Jaranwala and was dedicated to Bhagat Singh who was born in a village near Jaranwala. Almost all the publication concerns continued their programmes. Saanjh from Lahore was on the top. Hafeez Khan from Multan also remained active on this front.

The single publication which needs special mention was a 1100 pages novel, "Wahga" by Nazeer Kahut, which has been written in the political perspective of Punjab from the 18th century. Kahut from Sargodha had already contributed a novel, "Daryaburd", two years back. The copies of the novel were presented to major writers of Lahore at a well attended function. The author will formally launch the book in March this year.

On the political front there is a strange contradiction and that is with reference to Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer. He declared with a bang that he would out rightly promote the Punjabi culture and literature. On the other hand he contemptuously nominates the Muslim League Nawaz as "Punjab Party".

(Dawn Lahore, Sunday, January 4, 2009)