Hyderabad’s oldest Urdu daily, Rahnuma-e-Deccan, gets a new look

Hyderabad: As the year long celebrations of Urdu journalism’s bicentenary draws to an end, Hyderabad’s oldest Urdu daily, Rahnuma-e-Deccan, gets a new makeover. Rahnuma-e-Deccan, which completed its centenary last year, has undergone extensive changes to meet the needs of readers. The new look of the newspaper will be unveiled at the Urdu Media Conclave 2022 […]

Hyderabad: As the year long celebrations of Urdu journalism’s bicentenary draws to an end, Hyderabad’s oldest Urdu daily, Rahnuma-e-Deccan, gets a new makeover. Rahnuma-e-Deccan, which completed its centenary last year, has undergone extensive changes to meet the needs of readers. The new look of the newspaper will be unveiled at the Urdu Media Conclave 2022 scheduled at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) here on Sunday.

The Nizam era newspaper, which earlier went by the name Rahbar-e-Deccan, was founded by Yousufuddin and Ahmed Mohiuddin in 1921. The newspaper played a crucial role in inspiring, guiding and shaping the destiny of the Muslim community which felt demoralised after the merger of the Hyderabad State with the Indian Union. It served as a morale booster to the community and gave it a fresh hope and perspective.

---

Till his demise in December 2021, Syed Vicaruddin had been the face of Rahnuma-e-Deccan. He took over the editorship of the newspaper along with his brother, Syed Lateefuddin Qaudri, in 1967. Under their management Rahnuma-e-Deccan grew both in circulation and popularity. The newspaper espoused the cause of Telangana movement at the cost of inviting the wrath of the then Congress government. As a punitive measure, the government withdrew advertisements to the newspaper for a long time. Vicaruddin dedicated his life for the newspaper and endeavoured to bridge the gap between India and the Arab World as chairman of the Indo Arab League.

In its new avatar, Rahnuma-e-Deccan sports a sleek look. There is a change in its masthead, logo and the layout. “It is now as per international norms”, says Ahmed Ameer Khan, who is now looking after Rahnuma-e-Deccan. He plans to bring in more changes in tune with the digital era. A strong social media presence is also in the offing. “We hope the newspaper will last for another hundred years”, says Khan.