The Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC) and Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) have been asked to vacate their offices allotted to them by the government. The Corps is India’s first association of women journalists and the FCC was founded in 1958 by overseas scribes posted in the country
The IWPC is India’s first association of women journalists, founded in 1994 by 18 women journalists. Its a group that ensures that women scribes are heard and get credit for their work. Image Courtesy: @iwpcdelhi/Twitter
The Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC) and Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) have been asked to vacate bungalows allotted to them in New Delhi by 31 July.
The Union government, which gave them the eviction notice, recently extended the bungalows allotted for their offices for three months even as their lease tenure ends.
The IWPC’s request for an extension of the office at 5 Windsor Place on Ashoka Road in Lutyens Delhi was approved by Hari MP, the deputy director of Estates, which comes under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. In a letter dated 4 May, he has asked the IWPC to “find a suitable accommodation” and “vacate the aforesaid house on or before 31 July 2022”.
What is the IWPC?
The IWPC is India’s first association of women journalists.
Headquartered at 5 Windsor Place, it was founded in 1994 by 18 women journalists, who after working for more than a decade in newsrooms realised the critical need for a support group for women scribes in a profession dominated by men. The 18 journalists pooled in Rs 1000 each and set up a trust and a support group to ensure that women are heard and get credit for their work.
The-then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao took interest in getting the bungalow allotted to IWPC and directed his press adviser PVRK Prasad to coordinate the details, reports The Indian Express.
The Corps started as a small group but today 800 women journalists are members of the IPWC who use it to “network, access news sources, enhance their skills, exchange information, discuss issues, voice concerns, interact with peers and seniors, share experiences and find support to move ahead in the profession”, according to the IPWC website. Its office has a computer station, a library, and corners for TV reporters to facilitate their work.
The mission of the press body is to give women journalists a place to call their own. It aims to “advance the impact of women in the media by being a resource to members and the industry”, “create a positive change for women journalists”, and build “a robust media network by making women’s voices and bylines more visible”, the IPWC website says.
Apart from the work front, the Corps has provided women journalists privacy and has helped in forging friendships. It’s a safe space where women have often got their children along when trying to balance work and home.
What is the FCC?
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia has also received a similar notice regarding its offices at Bungalow No AB-19 on Mathura Road in New Delhi. The notice sent to the president of the FCC was marked to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
The FCC was founded in 1958 by overseas correspondents from Asia working in India to cover the country. Today, the group comprises more than 500 journalists and photographers who cover India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Tibet.
The press club has been allotted the Mathura Road office since 1990.
While the club was started by foreign correspondents or those who work for news organistion outside the region, it welcomes jounalists from local newspapers, magazines, and television. It also admits diplomats, lawyers, and those dealing with the media from non-governmental organisations and companies, according to the FCC website.
How have members of IWPC and FCC reacted?
Shobhna Jain, president of IWPC, told ThePrint that the Corps can now remain at 5 Windsor Place until July “with legitimacy”.
She said the letter was not an “eviction notice”, adding that this is the “standard format of communication” concerning matters related to government-owned premises.
“It’s a routine procedural thing. We have been given an extension. The letter says that the government has approved in principle the lease renewal for three months. We are in touch with the authorities. We will request them to make it (the lease renewal) for a longer period. For the past 25 years we have been getting these lease renewals,” Jain said, according to The Indian Express.
Jain said that the lease was last renewed in 2018 for three years and the Corps was hopeful that this year too the lease will be extended for a longer period.
Munish Gupta, president of the FCC, said, “We have not received any such letter or information as on date.”
With inputs from agencies
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