The Edict, officially inaugurated in 2014, came into existence due to the efforts of members of the founding undergraduate class; currently, it is one of the oldest student organisations at Ashoka University. A novel move, the newspaper back then sought to document the process of building a university from scratch. In the years that have since past, The Edict’s trajectory has been tumultuous– student reporters have faced flak for their pieces, as comes often with journalistic endeavours; moreover, the newspaper had also stopped publishing briefly. Until 2017 when new members worked hard to bring the newspaper up to speed with the daily life of Ashoka.
As of today, The Edict is an integral part of Ashoka’s attempt to understand itself and all that goes on here. The articles we publish seek to create archives of a university that is on the brink of something great, and further more to record the nascent stages of our community. We begin by covering daily events that occur on campus, but over coverage also attempts to generate a formal and streamlined conversation about campus issues. By virtue of Ashoka being a small liberal arts university, the role of professors are vital in the creation of this community, and The Edict seeks to tap into the resource that they prove to be; to take guidance and learn from their experiences. Lastly, The Edict also seeks to focus on the world that exists beyond Ashoka, Sonipat, to begin with, and then the rest of the country.
The Edict is a living archive of the thoughts and actions of a special community of students brought together by a unique educational curriculum in Haryana. We strive to perform our duties with journalistic honesty and integrity, and our newspaper can only do so if there exist diligent readers. This newspaper is as much ours as it is yours.