Shribhoomi: The Hindi Fortnight organized by the Hindi Department and Official Language Cell of Assam University ended ceremoniously in the Pramendra Mohan Goswami Auditorium on Monday, 28 September. On this occasion, a national seminar was also organized on the topic 'Indian Journalism in Current Perspective'. The changing nature of Indian journalism, commercialization, TRP race, social media and the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) were discussed in detail in the seminar. The program started with Vande Mataram and Saraswati Vandana after the guests took their seats.

Official Language Cell officer Dr. Surendra Upadhyay gave the welcome address. Mili Rani Pal conducted the program and introduced the guests, while at the closing ceremony, Preetiraj Gwala gave the vote of thanks. Chief guest of the national seminar, senior journalist Padmapati Sharma, while discussing the current state of Indian journalism and the growing influence of AI, said that it is a matter of pride to organize Hindi Fortnight for the upliftment and upliftment of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states.

He said that Hindi is no longer limited to India only, but its recognition is continuously increasing in foreign countries too and it is making its place as a global language. He said that the impact of commercialization and TRP race is clearly visible in mainstream journalism. Due to this, many times human sensibilities are left behind in journalism and the priority of news becomes TRP focused. Social media has taken advantage of this change, but the challenge of credibility and fake news remains serious.

Describing AI as an important change in journalism, Padmapati Sharma said that earlier people used to take help of Google for information on any subject, but now they can get information by communicating directly in their own language through AI chatbot. Giving an example of the utility of AI, he said that his son had suggested him to get information through AI.

He then asked AI about good chaat in Banaras, to which he got an immediate reply. However, he also expressed the need to be cautious about the potential dangers of AI. He said that incidents of fake videos, changed faces and misinformation being created through AI are coming to light. In such a situation, fact-checking and caution is extremely important while using technology. He said that after Internet and social media, AI has opened a new dimension to journalism. Its use is increasing rapidly in various fields including agriculture and education.

In the times to come, it will be important for journalists to maintain factuality and credibility along with technical proficiency. Special guest of the seminar, Acharya Anand Shastri, discussed in detail the ancient tradition of Indian journalism and its development. He said that it is not appropriate to see journalism only as a tradition that started during the British era. There has been a tradition of exchange of news, dialogue and information in Indian society since ancient times.

He highlighted the historical roots of journalism by referring to the Indian knowledge tradition, Sanskrit language and ancient texts. He presented Narad Muni as an important symbol of dialogue and news tradition in the Indian context and by mentioning the grammar tradition of Panini, he linked the development of language, dialogue and communication to the Indian knowledge tradition.

He said that the objective of news should not only be to provide information, but also to inform the society about right conduct and right direction. Journalism should move forward understanding its social responsibility and moral responsibilities. Hindi Fortnight started in Assam University from 14th September. Various cultural programs including letter writing, dictation and Antakshari competitions were organized during the fortnight.

Programs to mother tongue were also organized. It was told by the Official Language Cell that earlier its activities were mainly limited to the employees, but now officers, students and students of various departments are also being included in it. There are plans to expand these activities further in the future. In the closing ceremony, the winners of various competitions organized during the fortnight were honored with prizes. On this occasion, the first issue of the Official Language Cell's magazine 'Barak Bharti' was also released by the guests.

Also, 'Debate Competition on AI' was organized, in which students expressed their views on the benefits and possible challenges of Artificial Intelligence. The function was presided over by Assam University Vice Chancellor Rajeev Mohan Panth. University Registrar Dr. Pradosh Kiran Nath, Professor Avinash Kumar, Alfred Hussain and university teachers, officers, researchers, students and people associated with journalism were present in the program.

Organized at the conclusion of Hindi Pakhwada, this program brought together the changing impact of language, literature, journalism and modern technology on one platform. Speakers underlined that the methods of journalism may be changing in the era of AI and technology, but factuality, credibility, social responsibility and human sensitivity should remain the foundation of journalism.