Sadaf Ali Khan: The Man Behind Hind Wani

When Jamia Journal started publishing in 2010, we did not think it would one day inspire a Jamia student to establish his own newspaper. But that is what happened in October 2011.

On being closely associated with Jamia Journal for about a year, Sadaf Ali Khan, a 2012 graduate of MA Political Science from Jamia and a classmate of the author, made up his mind to establish a newspaper in Hindi, sometime in October of 2011.

Although inspired by Jamia Journal, Sadaf wanted to start a print newspaper instead of an online news portal. Sadaf’s interest in journalism, however, was not sudden and out of nowhere. After getting his bachelor’s degree in political science from Jamia in 2010, Sadaf had enrolled himself in in a year-long PG-Diploma course in TV Journalism conducted by Jamia’s Hindi department, along with  getting admitted into Jamia’s postgraduate program for political science. By the time he completed his previous year of postgraduation, he had already earned his diploma in TV journalism.

In an interview with Jamia Journal, Sadaf said, among other reasons, one of the reasons behind starting a newspaper was that while he was doing his TV journalism course, he would write articles on issues of his interest but would be unsuccessful in getting them published. This gave him further impetus to start a newspaper of his own. If I cannot get my articles published in a newspaper, he thought, then I’ll publish them in my own newspaper.

However, as he later realized, the road to starting your own newspaper in print is not as easy as starting a newspaper online. Print newspapers have to go through a legal process before they can start publishing. Newspapers in India have to be registered with a government agency. And the process is not as simple and straightforward as one would like it to be. It took Sadaf about six months to get all the formalities taken care of before he could start publishing.

It was in June of 2012, Sadaf published the first issue of his newspaper, which he had proudly named — Hind Wani.

Though Sadaf had family and friends helping him with his paper, his resources limited him to publish his newspaper once a week. In his interview, Sadaf told Jamia Journal that among his immediate plans for his newspaper, one is to find enough resources to turn Hind Wani into a daily.

On being asked about the operations side of his newspaper, Sadaf tells Jamia Journal that for now we only cover the Jamia Nagar area, which includes localities like Noor Nagar, Abul Fazal, Batla House and of course Jamia Millia Islamia. On the subject of gathering news, he goes on to say, we have a few locals who inform us about what is happening in the area, and on receiving news tips from them we go and gather our news for the paper. We also make regular visits to the local police station to learn about the happenings in the area. Not to mention the major events that take place at the university.

When asked on how and where could one buy a copy of Hind Wani, Sadaf tells Jamia Journal: Right now Hind Wani is not for sale. And you cannot find it with news vendors. However, we publish about five thousand copies of it and then distribute them in the area for free. Several local grocery stores also keep many copies of our newspaper to give away. One could also come to our office at Tikona Park and ask for one. But the easiest way to get your hands on a copy of Hind Wani is to go online and visit our website at: www.Hindwani.wordpress.com, and download an electronic copy to read and own.

On being asked whether Hind Wani accepted reader submissions, Sadaf said they welcome reader submissions, especially from Jamia students. One can simply email me their write-up at  [email protected], or drop off their submissions at the Hind Wani office at: 84-D Tikona Park, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi – 110025. You can also get in touch with us through our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hind-Wani-हिंद-वाणी/105598169556569, said Sadaf.

Although Sadaf runs Hind Wani almost single-handedly and devotes a lot of his personal time in getting it published every week, it is a bit astonishing to know that he works on his newspaper on his off hours, part-time; for he also has a full-time day job, working as an assistant producer at a Hindi TV news channel in Delhi.

In his concluding remarks, Sadaf said: my next big dream is to start a news channel for the Jamia Nagar area.

To know more about Hind Wani or to get in touch with Sadaf Khan:

Website:   www.Hindwani.wordpress.com

Facebook:   www.facebook.com/pages/Hind-Wani-हिंद-वाणी/105598169556569

Email:   [email protected]

Office Address:  84-D Tikona Park, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi – 110025

Telephone: 9891481786