History and Development of language newspapers

1. History and Development of language newspapers

2. From its beginnings in the early years of the 19 century, the Indian press had been the vicious target of the British rulers who employed every means to crush it • Willing to tolerate the Indian owned and edited English press up to a point, but they believed the language press to be dangerous for the perpetuation of their rule

3. Their argument was that the educated Indians who read the English newspapers were less likely to be misled • And would better appreciate the benefits of the British rule than the masses who read and were influenced by the language press • Their repressive legislation was directed more towards the language press and the most famous example is the Vernacular Press Act of 1878

4. After Independence the government has not done anything significant to help the regional Press develop against stiff competition from the English Press The First Press Commission stated that the cost & lack of distribution facilities hindered their development

5. In the initial phase Rural newspapers were crude, badly designed, poorly laid out Owners lacked marketing skill to ensure wider circulation to remote areas Most newspapers lacked skilled writers who had a nose for rural affairs Late 90’s saw a spurt of regional editions of city papers exclusively to cater to rural readers

6. What the newspapers needed was : • Good printing technology • Extensive local coverage • Interesting stories, relatable to farmers • Local language will colloquial lingo plus dialect • Good distribution channel

7. 1976 onwards Language papers grew 4 times in circulation Were more attractively displayed, well laid out & written in easily understood language Conveyed all kinds of information to the widest section of readers Gave readers a better perspective about the society they lived in

8. Also made readers aware of their rights & privileges Emergence of newspapers and their slow & steady circulation led to local language flourishing By 1997, 60% of urban people & 25% of rural population was reading newspapers on a regular basis

9. 1980 onwards- Shift to rural areas • A concerted effort was taken by regional newspapers to penetrate the rural areas • Firstly, aim was higher circulation • Secondly, it was a missionary endeavor to raise the standards of peasants & famers • Lastly, to commit to journalism by reporting the progress achieved in interiors of country

10. Founder of Sakal, Dr N.B Parulekar – one of the pioneers in trying to reach out to the rural areas He did this after laying down a sound circulation base for Sakal in Pune Newspapers in small villages were not a viable option and transportation was a problem, hence most newspaper organisations avoided them

11. Regional journalism & Politics • Local politicians realized the potential of localized newspapers • No. of people with political ambitions launched a NP in their electoral constituency to : • Provide a link between their area of operation & the party • Make profits through advertisements • Influence the voters

12. Soon, the local newspapers became an additional campaigning method to woo the voters, apart from the traditional methods Their goal was not national integration (as many claimed!) Few espoused a noble welfare cause Many even wanted to demolish a rival & published articles to suit their agenda

13. STATE-WISE ANALYSIS  • During 2005-06, the largest numbers of newspapers were published from Uttar Pradesh (1913), followed by Delhi (1133), Gujarati (817), Rajasthan (742), Maharashtra (642) and West Bengal (505).

14. Uttar Pradesh topped in total circulation, with 3,32,91,882 in 2005-06, followed by Delhi  with 3,06,03,048 copies.  Maharashtra retained its third position with 2,04,72,8281,59,59,124 copies. •  Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of daily newspapers (384), followed by Maharashtra (206). •  A notable feature was that Orissa achieved the distinction of publishing newspapers in 17 major languages.

15.  Delhi and Maharashtra came next with 11, Kerala 9 and Gujarat with 6.   Uttar Pradesh published the maximum number of newspapers in a single language i.e., 1608 in Hindi.     • It was also noticed that regional language newspapers were leading both in number and circulation in all major States.

16. VERNACULAR PRESS ACT, 1878 • Most controversial law against the Press • Lord Lytton- provoked by the writings of the Bengali Press • Assumed office when a serious discussion was going on about the need for action against the native Press

17. Law initially called “An Act for better control of publication in oriental languages- 1878” • The Act empowered any magistrate or a commissioner of police to call upon a printer of a newspaper to furnish a bond / undertaking not to publish certain kind of material, to demand security and to forfeit it if it was thought fit, and to confiscate any printed matter deemed objectionable.

18. No printer or publisher against whom such an action had been taken could resort to a court of law

19. Government could issue search warrants & enter premises of any Press & take action without going to court • The law required all native proprietors to furnish a bond of Rs 10,000 while registering newspapers, which was subject to forfeiture if an offence was committed • The law was repealed in 1881 by Lord Ripon

20. The Initial Phases of… • Hindi Journalism • Concerned solely with social & religious matters • Not much involvement in political affairs • Singular attention to ridding society of social evils like untouchability, lack of education especially girl education, sati, dowry, child marriage, widow remarriage etc

21. Hindi press transformed to political and nationalistic Press with a demand for self governance when • Racial discrimination became rampant • Grievances of people against the rulers multiplied

22. The beginnings • 1826, 1st Hindi NP- weekly started in Calcutta, Oodunt Martand • Editor- Jooghul Kishore (Jugal Kishor) • Pioneer of Hindi journalism in India • Faced many difficulties in running it • Needed postal facilities to dispatch it outside Bengal, but denied by the Government • Also refused postal concessions

23. Unable to face high postal rates • Closed down the paper within an year after 79 issues

24. Urdu journalism • Urdu, listed among the 15 national languages in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution • Spoken by six per cent of the population • It is the official language in Jammu and Kashmir and the second official language in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

25. The first Urdu newspaper was Jam -i – Jahan – Numa, published from Calcutta in April 1822 • Editor was Sadasukh Lal • The Urdu press by and large gave a picture of the issues that were “warmly contested in Hindu society, of the grievances of the people, of the disadvantage of having a foreign language as the language of the courts of the atrocities of the indigo planters and the blunders of young magistrates”

26. The government was very harsh on Urdu newspapers, since many of them had supported the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 • The severity of the repression in the wake of the Mutiny was such that the Urdu press had virtually disappeared in the process • Soon after the Mutiny was crushed, 12 journals came out, and all of them were run by non – Muslims, particularly Hindus

27. Four years after the Mutiny, in 1861, Sir Syed Ahmed launched some literary and scientific periodicals • No one dared to go in for political journalism, particularly in the areas where the Mutiny had been acute and had left behind a sense of horror and fear • Delhi, Agra Meerut, Lucknow and Aligarh

28. Marathi Journalism • Marathi journalism grew out of a tradition of writing with great literary flourish, commonly practiced by educated gentry in the eighteenth century • Commonplace events like births and weddings lent itself to such treatment • Illustrative of this trend is an exhaustive account of the Battle of Panipat (1761) where the Maratha forces faced a great debacle

29. The murder of Narayanrao Peshwa in 1773 formed the subject of a ‘Bakhar’ sent to the Patwardhans of Miraj by their representative in Pune • They resemble in an amazing manner the special reports sent by special correspondents to modern – day newspapers

30. Bal Shastri Jambhekar (1812 – 1846) founded the Darpan in 1832 • Pioneer of Marathi journalism • He holds the distinction of being the first Indian professor at the Elphistone College in Bombay

31. Darpan was a fortnightly, a Marathi – English bilingual, started on January 6 • By May it had become a weekly with eight pages per issue • The first issue outlined the objective of the paper: to inspire more Indians to take to western education and to provide a forum to people to express their views on projects for the well – being of the people and the prosperity of the nation

32. The paper discussed several issues of public concern, including religious controversies • The Darpan ceased publication in 1840 • During its short tenure, it maintained very high standards of journalism in every sense

33. The Bengali press • Since the headquarters of the East India Company was in Kolkatta and all the big commercial houses were in that city, it was but natural that Kolkatta should have more newspapers than any other city

34. Christian missionary activities and particularly the launch of their publications in Bengali prompted the publication of a number of Bengali papers to defend the Hindu religion and customs • The social reform movements of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra VidyaSagar deemed it necessary to have their own journals to propagate their cause

35. The Governor General, Lord Bentinck’s abolition of Sati stirred the conservative and orthodox elements in Hindu society, who launched publications to espouse their cause • The first two Bengali newspapers were launched in 1818 – Dig Darshan and Samachar Darpan • Both were missionary journals, but they made readers aware of the possibilities of running newspapers in Bengali

36. The Press was still in its crudest form • Shoddy printing and poor layout • Samachar Darpan was started by missionaries (Carey and Marshman) at Serampore • Began as a monthly, but owing to popularity, became a weekly

37. It carried both Indian as well as foreign news and district news, apart from missionary matter, • Became a bilingual in 1829- Bengali and English • Ran both in parallel columns • Survived a few crises, but finally closed down in 1852

38. The Samachar Darpan proved to be the forerunner of the modern – day Bengali newspaper, when to cover social and non- political news it appointed 60 correspondents in all major towns of Bengal • The Governor General Hastings gave the Samachar Darpan postal concessions, which was a fourth of the normal charges

39. His successor Lord Amherst, subscribed to a hundred copies which he distributed to government officials • The journal with its network of correspondents, proved to be useful to the officials since it provided them information they did not get from other sources • Its correspondents pumped in a lot of news knowing that it would reach the highest officials in the government

40. The first Bengali newspaper to counteract the missionary - run newspapers was Vangal Gazette, started by teacher – reformist Ganga Kishor Bhattacharya • The Vangal Gazette is acknowledged to be the first Bengali newspaper • Campaigned for social reforms and was the first to publish Roy’s tract on the necessity of abolishing Sati

41. Though Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s role as a journalist has been rarely recorded he used the press as a means to serve society • He started Sambad Kaumudi (1821) (weekly), Meerut – ul- Akhbar (Persian weekly) and the Brahminical magazine (English weekly) • Found a kindred soul in Englishman James Silk Buckingam

42. 1818-1855, many Bengali newspapers came up- almost a 100, but most were short lived • Early papers include Shome Prakash, Grambartha Prakashika, Masik Patra, Vividharta Sangrah

43. 1831, Ishwar Chandra Gupta started the daily- Sambad Prabhakar, but found it tough to run a daily • Followed by Tathwa Bodhini – Akshay Kumar Dutta, 1843

44. Others- Masik Patra, Som Prakash, Vividharta Sangrah • Between 1853-54 there were nineteen regular newspaersin Bengali • Had a circulation of roughly 8,100 copies • Most lobbied for a bill, which was later introduced - Widow Remarriage Bill, 1856

45. The government proposal to partition Bengal in 1905 and the Swadeshi movement were some of the major events opposed and espoused by the Bengali press • Journals like Jugantar and Bande Mataram gave a fillip to the agitation • The Bengalee led the campaign against partition with regular articles by Surendranath Bannerjee

46. In June 1908, the government passed the Newspaper (Incitement of Offences) Act which empowered the authorities to take judicial action against editors of any newspaper which published matters, which in view of the government, amounted to “incitement of violence” • Aurobindo Ghose, editor of Bande Mataram, Brahma Bandhabh Upadhyay editor of Sandhya and Bhupendra Nath Dutta editor of Jugantaar were persecuted

47. Bengali Press also suffered after the 1857 Mutiny Action was taken under the new Press Act against Bengali weekly Durbeen In 1876 half the number of total language newspapers in India were published from Calcutta The total number of newspapers was 38 and 19 were from Calcutta

48. Bengali newspapers were the sentinels of Indian nationalism • Record of facing the worst repression and persecution at the hands of English • Terror to the British administration • Most drastic press laws particularly aimed at them

49. Raja Ram Mohan Roy • It was because of leaders like Roy that the educated classes got interested, involved and inspired to do their bit for the country • Soon Bengal attained the stature of all India leader in matters of social and political reform • It was Roy who brought a sense of pride in Indian languages which had been lost in the craze to learn the rulers tongue

50. Wanted ‘cultural renaissance in Hindu society’ • Knew Hindi, Bengali, English, Persian, Sanskrit & Arabic