Hindi-language newspaper launches UAE edition

DUBAI // An international edition of a Hindi-language newspaper launches in the Emirates today, seeking to bring Indians here and in their home country closer together.

Sunahara Rajasthan [Golden Rajasthan], a weekly publication, will carry cultural news and information about towns and villages in the northwestern Indian state.

The first edition also features a 12-page special section on Dubai. "People who have left Rajasthan still feel a bond with their hometown, so we will connect them," said Ajai Sharma, one of 50 businessmen from Dubai and Rajasthan who have investments in the newspaper.

"It's a mission with us to get news from India here so the younger generation also feels the link with their homeland."

Subsequent editions will carry news about Indians who live in the Emirates. This information will feature on two pages typically dedicated to people from Rajasthan who live around the world.

About 730 subscribers have signed up in Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah and Ajman.

The publishers estimate UAE readership will touch 5,000 by the middle of next year.

The newspaper will be available on subscription and also in Al Adil, a department store popular with the Indian community.

rtalwar@thenational.ae