THE Fiji Times Hindi publication Shanti Dut began its publication on May 11, 1935.
The initial publication started off with 11 pages of news — in the English and Hindi languages.
The idea of publishing a Hindi newspaper came into the mind of the man who was managing Times Herald in 1935.
After the end of Girmit in 1916, there were Indian population all spread all over Fiji and they knew how to speak in Hindi. As a result, there was a market for Hindi newspaper and a thirst for Hindi news from the readers.
From 1935 to date, there has been six editors, who have been in the front seat of the Shanti Dut.
These include Pandit Gurudayal Sharma, Pandit Vinod Chand Sharma, Pandit Ashok Kumar Dwivedi, Pandit Hemanth Vimal Sharma and present editor Nilam Kumar.
History says, Shanti Dut ( pronounced Shanti Doot) means the messenger of peace.
This speaks of itself as the Shanti Dut continued to strive for excellence — all for the love of its readers.
The Shanti Dut team comprises Nilam Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, production staff Jyoti Maharaj, who does proof reading and a part-time staff member Gyan Prabha Nand who joined them recently.
As the company celebrates its 145th anniversary, Shanti Dut has come a long way. Pages have increased as well as the supplements and the team now accesses sophisticated and modern machinery such as printing machines and digital.
“The designing of pages has also changed with more attractive graphics,” Ms Kumar said.
She said they were also trying to attract school students and younger readers.
Hence, the newspaper has allocated two pages for schools, to which students and teachers contribute.
She said the publication was now a part and parcel of schools that promoted the Hindi language.
“The good thing about this paper is that the subscriptions come from different parts of the world like America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and few copies also go through to India,” she said.
“Shanti Dut continue to strived and it is here to stay.
“We are grateful to the parent company The Fiji Times for supporting us all through for these many years.”
