A vision called freedom

The birth centenary of Ramnath Goenka is, of course, a special occasion for the several thousand men and women associated with this newspaper. The Express embodies his imagination, his labours, his dreams. But if that were the only significance of the occasion, it would not have merited more than a passing mention.The fact remains that Goenka was not just another successful entrepreneur who built an empire. For him, running a newspaper was not just a matter of totting up profits and losses. It was a life’s mission, another way to serve the nation. He was not prepared to compromise, even in the slightest, on this project. It was this single-mindedness, this vision, that helped him to build a newspaper like no other, and indeed be a newspaper proprietor like no other.

Two elements made Goenka an Indian Original — a sense of history and a patriotic instinct. An active participant in the Independence movement, he could have settled down to enjoy the fruits of that freedom as a great many “freedom fighters” did. He preferred, instead, to patrol the corridors of power. By the late sixties, he discerned that the Congress leadership was betraying the vision of the nation’s founders. From then on it was, for him, a relentless campaign against corruption in public life. The persecution he suffered in the process has since become the stuff of legend. But by emerging from that trial by fire with his integrity and courage intact, he set an example for the rest of us. He demonstrated that standing up for probity and fairness in politics always brought with it a rare reward: The power to change history.

What was it that motivated Goenka to take up positions that threatened his peace of mind, and put at risk the interests of his family and newspapers? It was an unswerving belief in the nation. It may appear trite to say that nothing mattered more to him than India. But in a very real sense, all the risks he ran, all the fights he fought, all the fortunes he lost, were ultimately aimed at defending the idea of India from those who sought to attack it, damage it, defame it. He was prepared to lose everything he held dear, if his nation could gain in the process. His efforts did not go in vain. To this day, the spirit he brought to his enterprise will inspire all those committed to the idea of a free press in the service of the nation. It has been 13 years since he passed away. Today, more than ever, we need to remind ourselves of the spirit and courage that drove him to take on the establishment without flinching. Today, more than ever, we need to work like he did for a progressive, vibrant and united India. Ramnath Goenka will be remembered because he was the first to conceive of one newspaper addressing the whole of India. But he was always more than being just a newspaper owner because he used that newspaper enterprise for the larger cause of the country, and its freedom.