Bhubaneswar: The Adhyapika Niharika Das Memorial Trust, which has been felicitating the Best Proofreader in Odia language for the last two years, has decided to observe December 14 as National Proofreading Day every year.
Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Convener of the Trust Deepak Kumar Mahanta said that in developed countries much emphasis is laid on proofreading, considering it as an integral part of printing. “However, in our country, particularly in Odisha, proofreading is undervalued, which results in a crisis in the field of publication,” he said.
Citing detection of numerous errors in Odia books, including textbooks, Mahanta attributed it to lack of proper proofreading.
Referring to a historical example, Mahanta said Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s educational writings were translated into Guajarati and the printed copies were sent to Mahatma Gandhi for writing a forward. However, many mistakes were found on the printed pages, as there was no proper proofreading. Gandhiji was deeply pained and declared to burn the entire edition.
In the United States, National Proofreading Day is observed on March 8 every year to promote error-free writing and to raise awareness about the importance of proofreading. But in India, proofreading is treated as secondary. As a result, books written in Indian languages are often full of errors, he said, adding that poper emphasis on proofreading will make our writing flawless and help remove the crisis facing our language.
Therefore, the Adhyapika Niharika Das memorial Trust has appealed to writers, publishers, journalists, booklovers to observe December 14 as National Proofreading Day and to create awareness about the dignity and necessity of proofreading.
Arabinda Patnaik, former Principal, Eastern Regional Language Centre, Narayan Mohanty, senior academician, Pabitra Kumar Ratha, former Principal, Acharya Harihar Mahavidyalaya and Radhashyam Roul, eminent satirist were present in the press conference.