Gujarat Christian Press Council Elects New Office-bearers

Gujarat:- Gujarat Christian Press Council (GCPC) held its eighth general body meeting at St. Xavier Parish community hall here, February 14.

The council elected four office-bearers and the seven executive body members for a term of three years.

Catholic Samaj managing editor, Navin Macwan, was elected as the president. Author of many books and contributor for many magazines, Dr. Surendra Asthawadi is the new vice-president. An aspiring journalist and author of many articles, short stories and poems, Amit Chauhan, is the secretary. The editor of a monthly newsletter Samaj Darshan, Mr. Alphonse Macwan, is the treasurer.

The seven executive body members are Simon Parmar (Ahmedabad), Jayant Sutaria (Ahmedabad), Samuel Christian (Godhra), Mathias Job (Ahmedabad), Wilson Christian (Ahmedabad), Raman Nadiadi (Nadiad) and Peter N. Macwan (Anand).

GCPC is a registered charitable trust and society. New president, Navin Macwan, thanked the outgoing team led by a well-known novelist, Joseph Macwan, for its services in the past 3 years. He also thanked the founder-president of GCPC, Father Varghese Paul, SJ, who is now the honorary president, for his professional help and for the secretarial and clerical services of his CISS office personnel.

Taking note of the absence of a woman member in the meeting and in the executive body, Navin Macwan said he would initiate programmes to train women journalists and writers and encourage them to be active members of GCPC.

During the meeting, half a dozen members read out their unpublished original articles, short stories and poems.

Navin Macwan released a new book titled Premni Parikrama written by Father Varghese Paul while Jayant Sutaria introduced the book. Father Paul released a book on the life history of Bishop Shantukumar Parmar written by Samuel Christian of Godhra. Dr. Surendra Asthawadi introduced the book.

GCPC was founded in 2002 in the aftermath of attacks on Christians and Christian Institutions in Gujarat from December 1998 and the infamous Godhra train burning and the subsequent communal clash in Gujarat under the BJP government led by Narendra Modi.

GCPC is a successor of Gujarat Catholic Press Association, which was also founded by Father Paul in 1986. GCPA was expanded to include mass media personnel from all Christian denominations.