By Farooq Tariq
Daily Jeddojehad (Urdu) online launched as a progressive platform of socialists. A socialist alternative cannot be built without an alternative socialist media. These views were expressed by speakers at the launching of “Daily Jeddojehad Online”.
Addressing the ceremony, Farooq Sulehria, editor of the online magazine, pointed out that social media have been wrong projected as tools of empowering the oppressed. Fact of the matter is, he claimed, that technology is grounded in a given social system and those in control of the society ultimately control the society. He pointed out the case of Kasur videos ,whereby children were abused, and the online harassment of women to suggest that such aspects are usually ignored in mainstream discourses on media. He further said that the aesthetics of social media promotes narcissism and individuality while a change demands collective action.
Editor Asian Marxist Review, Dr Lal Khan, while addressing the ceremony claimed that a functioning and stable democracy in Pakistan or any third world country is not possible because of the belated capitalism and its crisis, the historical disqualification and backwardness of the bourgeoisie and the imperialist interventions. He also spoke on 102nd anniversay of great Bolshevik Revolution and it’s relevance. The class struggle is inevitable and Bolshevik Revolution proved that another socity is possible.
Farooq Tariq, Convener Kissan Rabita Committe, informed the meeting about the history of Jeddojehad (Struggle) publications. He said Jeddojehad was launched in 1980 in Amsterdam and was smuggled to Pakistan because at the time media were gagged and no oppositional voice was possible. He said later it was started from Pakistan and weekly Mazdoor Jeddojehad was published for 15 years while Tabqati Jeddojehad is published regularly as a fortnightly.
The ceremony was also addressed by Aminah Waheed by a leader of the Progressive Students Collective.
