Today, the reach of the Dalit-Bahujan media extends up to the middle class and the process of its ‘mainstreaming’ in also on. This is the time when an ideological magazine like FORWARD Press becomes important. Presently, FORWARD Press might be a small magazine but in the times to come, it will force the mainstream media to change and will become a part of the mainstream as well.
How this can be done is a big question. Internet and other means that can link it to a bigger readership can play a vital role in this. Now that the magazine seems prepared for a take-off, it should try to link up with universities because they are the biggest centres of knowledge and learning. Such thoughts should reach the varsities through this magazine. The students should read it, faculty members should read it and seminars should be organised on issues raised by it. It should be kept on the stalls there. The next battle would be to find a place on the library shelves. It will become a part of academics only when the thought it represents gains ground. So, establishing links with the varsities is a must.
This magazine should also been seen more on the internet. If someone Googles ‘Phule’, then at least two-three issues of the magazine should appear in the search results. Now, people have started imbibing knowledge and information differently. So, we should ponder upon how to make the publication Internet-friendly. It should turn up as frequently in search results as possible. This is a huge task – putting all old FP PDFs on the internet – but this should be done. How can we help? This is a common challenge for all of us. This magazine is conserving history. Whatever is happening in society is being mirrored in the magazine. Internet is a cheap medium. If there are five to ten lakh words on the magazine in it, we need to do more.
Published in the June 2013 issue of the Forward Press magazine
