Farid Ahmed Naik is a social activist-turned-journalist in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. He is currently executive editor of The Chenab Times. Naik is known as first Sarazi language news reporter.
Career
Farid Ahmed Naik started his career as a social activist in 2011. He later founded the District Rural Youth Welfare Association (DRYWA), an NGO aimed at addressing various community issues and advocating for the rights of the people in the Chenab region.
Throughout his career, Naik has been an advocate for numerous causes and has organized several protests and initiatives to address the needs and concerns of the local population.
Activism
In 2016, Naik and his team held various public meetings to raise awareness about the adverse effects of forest fires in the region.
In 2018, Farid Ahmed Naik, along with the Doda Joint Civil Society, led a protest at Old Bus Stand Doda, highlighting the long-pending demands of the area. These demands included the establishment of Post Graduate Classes in subjects like Urdu, English, Political Science, Zoology, and Economics at Government Degree College (GDC) Doda. In the same year, Naik also advocated for the replacement of a wooden bridge in the Premnagar area of Doda district, emphasizing the importance of safe infrastructure for the community.
He also raised his voice against the Rural Development Department (RDD) in the same year, highlighting issues related to rural development. Naik expressed concerns about the impact of a strike by NHM Employees on health services in the district in 2018. He highlighted the absence of medical staff in Sub Centres and District Hospital Doda.
He also protested against the lack of staff and infrastructure at Government Middle School, Halla Dhara A, in the Educational Zone Gundna Doda, in 2018. In 2019, Naik raised concerns about the dilapidated state of the Government Middle School building in Halla, emphasizing the safety of students.
In 2020, he led a youth protest against the dilapidated condition of a 22-kilometer-long road from Jodhpur to Mohallah, underscoring the need for improved road infrastructure.
, the District Rural Youth Welfare Association (DRYWA) was de-registered by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, in accordance with Section 17(A) of the Jammu & Kashmir Societies Registration (Amendment) Act, 2016. This decision followed a comprehensive physical inspection and survey of all registered societies carried out by the General Managers of respective District Industries Centres to assess their status and functionality. The grounds for de-registration included concerns related to the subversive nature of the organization's activities, as well as the failure to meet the legal requirement of annual audit of its accounts by a certified Chartered Accountant.
Journalism career
In late 2018, Farid Ahmed Naik transitioned into journalism, further expanding his efforts to shed light on community issues and advocate for positive change. Naik became the first Sarazi news reporter and , he is executive editor at The Chenab Times.
