Media professionals from across India gathered in Delhi, urging formal acknowledgment of journalists’ vital role, better job security, travel concessions, and support for local and small newspapers.

New Delhi, 1 December 2025:

A large gathering of journalists and media representatives took place today at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, as part of a protest organized by the Rashtriya Patrakar Mahasangh (RPM). Participants called on the Government to officially recognize the media as the “Fourth Pillar of Democracy.”

Mr. Surendra Verma, Editor-in-Chief of Mirror365.com and ChandigarhToday.org, was among the prominent attendees. Addressing the crowd, he emphasized that journalists serve as the eyes and ears of the Government and must be provided with job security, fair honorarium, pension benefits, travel concessions across buses, railways, and airlines, along with advertisement support for small and regional newspapers. He also mentioned that a detailed memorandum outlining these demands has already been submitted to the Ministry.

In recognition of his active involvement and dedication to media welfare, Mr. Verma—also Deputy President of the National Media Confederation and National Advisor of the Working Journalists of India (WJI)—was honoured by Pabitra M. Samantaray, President of RPM, along with other dignitaries.

The event witnessed the presence of many senior journalists, including Ghanshyam Das, Ajesh Kumar, Suresh Chaudhary, Priyavrat Nayak, Tahir Ahmed, Santosh Yadav, Ganga Sahu, Bhanu Pratap Nayak, Seema Dri Rao, Judhishthir Baghi, KD Mishra, Pradeep Pluto, Pawan Bhoot, and several others.

Special guests attending the rally included Devendra Nath Pandey (Delhi Incharge, BMS), Advocate Mathew Nedumpura (Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court), Advocate Asad Alvi (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court), senior columnist Vivek Shukla, Umakant Pandey, UPJA General Secretary Pradeep Sharma, IFSMN President Arun Goyal, NMC Vice President Surendra Verma, Prof. Dr. Ravi Chaturvedi (Columnist and Senior Cricket Commentator), and senior journalist-filmmaker Jawahar Jayanth.

All dignitaries expressed strong support for the journalists’ demands, emphasizing the need to uphold media autonomy, recognize its essential role in democracy, and provide adequate protection and facilities for media professionals.