Role of Regional Language Press in Growth of Indian Journalism

Role of regional language Press in growth of 

Indian Journalism

We take a look at different vernacular languages which laid the foundation of Journalism in India.

Persian and Urdu Journalism

The Zoobdut-ool-Ukhbar by Munshi Wajid Ali Khan in the year 1833 was one among the first newspapers in Persian language that had a successful run due to its patronage from 5 rulers and a rich merchant. It is said that these people of wealth feared a tarnishing of their image as a result they kept the editor in their good books with the sponsorship. “Raja of Bharatpur paid Rs 30, Raja of Alwar- Rs 20, Nawab of Jhujjur- Rs 15, Nawab of Joura- Rs 10, Nawab of Hyderabad- Rs 15, Seth Luchmee Chund- Rs 15. These payments were made to secure the goodwill of the newspaper so that it would not publish matter which would lower the donors in the public esteem.[1] (Natarajan, 1955) Basically, the content of the newspaper was made up of snippets from English and other newspapers. It is also mentioned in the archival history that Munshi Wajid Ali Khan used sugar coated rosy language while mentioning any controversies. This, was his technique in steering clear of all controversies.

Another educational paper created to reach out to college students and based on general to scientific education was edited by Fink and was called the Sudder-ool-Akhbar in 1849. However, when a news editor took his post, some part of the content of the newspaper miffed the authorities who raised objections and the editor was again transferred to another man named Fallon. The result was an apology which had to be rendered in the newspaper which was compelled to carry this apology in its very first issue under the changed name ‘Ukhbar-ool-Haqayuq.’ 

There is a bit of confusion regarding the first Urdu newspaper. While some say it is  Syud-ool-Ukhbar others say it is Jam-i-Jahan Numa. However, a very tedious research by Gurbachan Chandan for over two years in the archives confirmed the fact that it was Jam-i-Jahan Numa which laid the foundation on March 27, 1822 and that it was primarily ignored as unimportant as it carried the Insignia or the British logo on it. The other papers followed suit.  The Syud- ool-Ukhbar came much later in 1837.

Chandan writes in an article, “Jam-i-Jahan Numa, the first-ever attempt to inscribe Urdu prose for the new faculty of print journalism, set the format, column arrangement, the frontpage make-up and the editing pattern. This pattern was followed by almost all the Urdu papers which appeared in the first half of the 19th century in other parts of the country. The language at that time was called Hindostani and the publisher of “Jam-i-Jahan Numa” gave the same name in his application for license (declaration) for publication of the paper. He simultaneously got it for Persian also which was at that time the language of the nobility, the intelligentsia and the literate society, for the last nearly 300 years.[2] (Chandan, 2011)

Some other papers that came into existence were Ussud-ool-Ukhbar and the Mutba-ool-Ukhbar, followed by Sooraj-ool-Ukhbar (Persian), the Syud-ool-Ukhbar (Urdu), the Delhi Oordoo-Ukhbar (Urdu) the Muzhur-ool-Huq (Urdu) and the Sadiq-ool-Ukhbar (Persian), around 1844-1849 along with the weeklies the Qiran-oos-Sadayn, the Shayk-ool-Ukhbar, the Fawayud-ool-Shayuqeen and the Zia-ul-Akhbar.

It is also interesting to note that there were many newspapers and magazines printed by Delhi College as part of an educational venture with scientific and literature articles along with a few current events. Although it was not a well appreciated step by all those in the college administration, it was nevertheless pursued under strict supervision, scrutinised by Maulvis and as per norms. “After publications, a copy of the weekly was to be forwarded to J.P. Gubbins, Member of the Local Committee, and a copy of each of the periodicals to Taylor, officiating Secretary of the Committee, for scrutiny.”[3] (Natarajan, 1955)The newspaper Qiran-oos-Sadyn of the Delhi College was edited by Dhurm Narain and dealt with current events. The scholarly magazines included the Urdu magazine Mohib-i-Hind, the Fuwayud-oon-Nazreen, and Tohfat-ool-Hadayuq.

In Benaras too, there were weeklies being published around that time. The Soodhakur Ukhbar which had more of Urdu it its language despite the fact that the lithography was in Nagree language in what is called, ‘today’s Hindi.’ Another paper that existed was the Banaras Akhbar by Baboo Raghonath Futteh. The Soodhakur Ukhbar of Banaras was described in 1853 as ranking very high among Indian journals of the province (though no special reference was made of this paper in earlier reports) and was commended as well worthy of encouragement and support. Articles commended were on: (1) Mutual aid, (2) “Popular errors”, (3) Influence of the moon on animal and vegetable creation, and (4) A translation of Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”.[4]

Benaras also had other vernacular papers which included Aftab-i-Hind in Urdu and Kashee-Barta Prakashika in Bengalee which were published by Kasheenath. Two other papers around this time from Agra were Sadsookh Lall’s, ‘Noor-ool-Absar’ (Urdu) and ‘Boodi Prakash’ (Hindi). 

The position of the Urdu press was also improving. In ‘Role of Media in Nation Building’ edited by Anand Shanker Singh (2016), it is mentioned that, “Lucknow which was the chief centre of the Urdu speaking people, brought forth the following newspapers and journals: Oudh Akbar, Bharat Patrika of Anjuman-i-Oudh(1872), and Oudh Punch. From Agra there were published about a dozen Urdu newspapers, prominent among which were Azad-ul-Akhbar and Talim-ul-Khalaiq. Meerut was another centre of Urdu Journalism from where came Akhbar-i-Alam of Najm-ul-Akhbar, Lawrence Gazette and Sham-i-Hind.”

Another newspaper which albeit had a short run was strongly patriotical and published in Urdu was ‘Swarajya’ which was published from 1907 to 1910 .Gautam Chattopadhyay in his article ‘Petition, Protest and Revolt- The changing face of the Anti-Imperialist Press In India 1857- 1947 writes that Swarajya a weekly, “denounced Bristish Rule in India week after week in scathing terms and called for the overthrow of British Rule in India. During four years of its existence, it suffered an ordeal unique in the annals of Indian journalism. Its successive editors were Shanti Narayan, Ram Das Suralia, Motilal Verma, Babu Ram Hari, Munshi Ram Sewak, Nanda Gopal Chopra, Sham Das Verma, ‘Field Marshal’ Ladha Ram Kapur and finally Amir Chand Bombwal. All the editors, except the last one, were tried and convicted by the British in a barbarous manner. They suffered long terms of rigorous imprisonment and deportation to the Andamans. (Johansson, 1989)

While some papers could continue for a few years , others closed down due to lack of patronage and subscriptions. The Postal cost was unaffordable in those days for many papers as a result of which many papers succumbed also to economic pressures. Some others succumbed as they could not create a mark. However, there is one good point to be noticed here- In the yester years and today, the concept of paying to steer clear of controversy still remains. Newspapers that do not toe the line often fall victim to pressures and suits framed in a manner to undermine and crush their reach. It is no wonder that some kings, nawabs and merchants deliberately sponsored particular Papers. Even in the current scenario, paid news is a known factor and so is the fact, that pressures from authority, business conglomerates and corporates who pump capital into media institutions are safeguarded by many in the media. Primarily because, these business entities or Government heads, pump in the required amounts to run huge media institutions along with the advertisement revenue. 

However, that does not entirely diminish the credibility of media. If there were and there are papers that run primarily for capital, there are others who continue their watch dog roles as much as they are educationists and information resources. We take a look at few more vernacular language presses.

Marathi Journalism

The beginning of the Marathi Literature at the helm of its focus had educational and intellectual priorities. The literary works that actually began the concept of the Press in Maharashtra, especially between 1818 to 1827 were the translation of all works of Mathematics which were in English, into Marathi by Col. Jervis. Following which there was a spurt in educational books that included around ten books published from the year 1827 to 1837 on medical works by Dr McLennan, Geometry and Geography book for schools by Bal Shasti Jambhekar, Dadeba Pandurang’s book on Grammar,  Hari Keshavji’s book on Natural Science and two other books by Major Candy. It is to be noted that at this point, that two dictionaries gained prominence and that was the Marathi Dictionary by Jagannath Shastri and the Marathi to English Dictionary by Molesworth.

Meanwhile, on January 6, 1832,  Bal Shastri Jambhekar launched the first Anglo-Marathi Weekly called the Bombay Durpun in association with Rugoonath Hurryochunderjee and Junardhan Wessoodewjee which lasted till 1840. It was bilingual with both English and Marathi. While, many acknowledge Jambhekar’s paper as the first Marathi newspaper, it has to be mentioned here that it was a bi-lingual.

It is said that the first all Marathi paper was started by Suryaji Krishnaji called the Mumbai Akhbar on July 3, 1840, but it barely survived for a few months. The Dnyanodaya, a ‘Christian’ bi-lingual journal was started in Ahmedabad by Rev Henry Ballentine  with a Marathi editor named Shahurao Kukde.

However, the Bombay Durpun was well appreciated and did have a run for some years. It was renewed into United Service Gazette and Literary Chronicle after its 8 year stint. Jambhekar was said to have thanked all his subscribers with pride as he acknowledged that the Bombay Durpun had not a lost a single Subscriber (attributed by Jambhekar as friends) in its entire print run. Jambhekar was a social reformer who spoke for the rights of women especially in terms of Widow Remarriage, Upliftment of women in society and in the Spread of literacy. He is literally considered the father of Marathi journalism.

Another of Jambhekar’s brainchild was the publication the ‘Dig Durshun’ (May 1840), which consisted of “a summary of intelligence, short essays and articles on history, geography, science and philosophy with illustrations in lithograph.”[5] (Natarajan, 1955) The journals declined with the death of Jambhekar and the length of its run is not specified in the archives. It is said, that the death of this journal was condemned by the American Mission Journal called the Dnyanodaya, due to its credibility and its steering clear of superstitious beliefs.

Another Marathi weekly, promoted by Jambhekar himself was the 'Prabhakar’ which was edited by his student Govind Vitthal Kunte, who was popularly known as ‘Bhau Mahajan’.  Prabhakar was popular for its stance on Swabhasha, Swadeshi and Swasamskruti,  which basically meant, ‘our language, our country and our Culture’ and had its run for almost 25 years.  He is considered as the first professional Marathi Journalist.

Vireshwar Sadusuth Chhatre also started the ‘Dnyan Sindhu’ in Bombay, However, it had a life term of just three years between 1842 to 1845.

There were other papers like Dnyanprakash by Krishnaji Trymbak Ranade, established on February 12, 1849, in Marathi which had a long run amidst others. While it started as a weekly, it gradually became a bi-weekly by 1853 and became a regular daily by 1904 under the editorship of Hari Narayan Apte.

There were other papers like the Jaganmitra published from Ratnagiri, Vartaman Deepika, a popular weekly edited by V.B. Gokhale, Shubh Sachak published from Satara, the Vicharalahari (1852), a fortnightly, edited by Krishna Shastri Chiploonkar, and Dhoomketu by Bhau Mahajan which had a run for 13 years. Vartaman Deepika and Vicharalahari were popular for their stance opposing the missionary activities.

In the year 1862, another paper that was started in Bombay was called the Induprakash by Vishnu Parshuram Pandit which rallied itself for the Indian freedom Movement by publishing political articles.

Vishnushastri Krushnashastri Chiplunkar was another prolific writer who wrote political articles that criticised the British Colonial rule and the Christian Missionaries in a paper called ‘Shalapatrak’ started by his father, Krushnashastri Chiplunkar, but had to be shut down in 1875 due to the controversies it got embroiled into for its stance. He then started another monthly called the ‘Nibhandmala’ a Marathi language Magazine which meant ‘a garland of essays’. The magazine had revolutionary ideas and which had a run for almost 12 years with almost all the essays contributed by him. He also teamed up with Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar in 1880 for Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English. To familiarise people with Marathi History and poetry, he started another monthly in 1878 called Kavyetihas Sangraha and went on to establish two presses and a bookshop.

Bal Gangadhar Lokmanya Tilak, the popular freedom fighter started Kesari, a paper whose writings were aglow with the fire of freedom, swadeshi and social- reforming ideas. He sparked political and social upheavals with his bold and impressive writings. The Kesari was a huge success.

There were other papers like Kal weekly by S N Paranjape and Sandesh weekly by A B Kolhatkar and the popular weekly from Pune called the Daily Sakal which was edited by Dr N B Parulekar which gained a lot of prominence due to the introduction of Scientific Journalism to the newspapers.

The periodicals that were circulated also include, ‘Vividh Gnanvistar Granthmala Bhashantar, Bharat Varsh, Aithihasik Lekhsangrah, Keral Kokil and Balbodh by various editors.

Another great journalist and intellectual who shaped Marathi Journalism and in the long run, was the primary brain-child behind the Indian Constitution was Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. On January 31, 1920, he started his first newspaper, 'Mooknayak', which only ran for three years and focussed on Dalit issues. Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar also “found three more newspapers – 'Bahishkrut Bharat' (1927-1929), Janata (1930-56), and 'Prabuddha Bharat' (1956). He was directly involved in the editorial management of the first two newspapers, Mooknayak and Bahishkrut Bharat. From 1930 onwards, he delegated the task to his most important colleagues, such as, Devrao Naik, B.R. Kadrekar, G.N. Sahastrabuddhe, R.D. Bhandare, and B.C. Kamble. Interestingly, Naik, Kadrekar and Sahastrabuddhe were not Dalits”. (Prabodhan Pol, thewire) 

 

 These were the newspapers and Magazines that initially laid a foundation in the History of Journalism in the Marathi Language. While many were intellectually upbeat, there were others like Kesari that stoked the fire of freedom and had a very huge number of subscriptions. Tilak with his zeal and passion for Swaraj (freedom) had the knack of touching people’s hearts and winning them over  through various initiatives like the Ganesh Mandali’s and his love and defence of Shivaji. Kesari became a powerful weapon in the fight against British rule in India.

Gujarati Journalism

It is said that the earliest Gujarati newspapers were actually initiated by people from the Parsi Community. Bhimji Parikh at his expense, urged the East India Company get two experts in type cutting. The ‘Vaniashahi Lipi’ or ‘Bania character’ were thus cut out by Bhimji Parikh and his team of localites who were trained. This initiative bore fruit and in the long run. This was in 1676, and despite the lack of perfection the press turned out to print fairly legible papers. At a later stage, in the year 1777, Rustomji Keshapathi started a printing press which printed ‘The Bombay Courier’ in English by Douglas Nicholson which also contained ads in “Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Urdu and Portuguese” (Natarajan, 1955).

The first book in Gujarati published by Jijibhai Behramji Chapgar (an expert in the carving of Gujarati characters) was the ‘Zend Avestha’. His friend, Fardoonji Marzaban and his family members learnt the trait and in 1822, Fardoonji initiated the first Gujarati paper, ‘Mumbaina Samachar.’ His newspaper catered to all communities and he avoided controversial articles. He had around 150 subscribers to his venture and had no other papers till around 8 years to compete with. Gradually another Paper called the ‘Mumbai Vartaman’ was founded by Nowroji Dorabji Chandaru and was in circulation for 13 years before it succumbed.

The other papers that followed were Jame-Jamshed (1831) founded by Pestonji Manekji Motiwala, but gradually taken over by Marzaban family and is popular as the Pari Gujarati Daily till of late.

Another paper that created sparks and ripped the Parsi Gujarati and Muslim Community was the Chitragnan Durpun edited by Behramji Jamshedji Gandhi. The paper published an illustration of the Prophet Mohammad and his life sketch which did not go down well with the Muslims. This led to the Parsi-Muslim riots that occurred on October 18, 1846. The small Parsi community felt alienated and unprotected by the Police and the Government. 

At this juncture, bringing in reform came another paper called the Rast Goftar published by the popular freedom fighter and social reformer Dadabhai Nowroji who gradually reached out to all Indians through his publishing. This paper was then merged with another paper called the Satya Prakash by Karsondas Mulji. Satya Prakash had a name as it spoke on social causes. Mulji exposed the corruption among the religious heads the Vallabha/ Vaishnav Sect which led to a huge suit brought against him by Jadunathji Maharaj who sued him for libel. This caused a major harm to the paper. Karsondas Mulji also edited Stri Bodh, a Gujarati magazine for women, and some periodicals in those days. However, the cordiality of Nowroji and Mulji was not for long as Mulji was succeeded by Kekhashru Kabraji who did not share the liberal views of Nowroji. Kabraji teamed up with the British Government and did not want to partake in the liberal views of the Indian National Congress of whom Dadabhai Nowroji was an integral part.

Vartaman edited by Amareshwar Kubardas, an employee of the Gujarat Vernacular Society started in the year 1849. There were articles contributed by judges like Sir Alexander Kinlock Forbes. However, a particular article which was critical of the local prison administration written by the judge landed in controversy. There was another controversy that involved another Paper called Shamsher Bahadur edited by  Lallubhai Raichand, an ex-employee of the paper Vartaman. As a repercussion, the judge was transferred and both the Papers had a closure. There were two or three more Papers that did not have a long successful run during this time and dwindled over time, which include a bi-weekly Suraj Samachar, which is attributed to Judge Alexander and the editorship of Mehtaji Durgaram Manchharam and the Parhejgar. In 1854, Another Magazine called ‘Buddhi Prakash’ was taken over by The Gujarat Vernacular Society from the Vidya Vardhak Mandali.

Other papers that were published in those days and did not have a long run include Mumbaina Chabuk 1832 -1850 , Doorbin 1840- 1856, Mumbaina Kasud 1842- 1843, Samachar Durpun 1844- 1845, Chitrangan Durpun 1845 -1846,  Chabook 1850 – 1851 which was started by Nowrosji Dorabji and was known for its articles on Social reforms and Akhbar-e-Sodagar a bi-weekly (1852) by Dadabhai Cowasji Dadhiwalla which gradually became the Native Merchants’ Gazette . Chabook and Samachar Durpun were amalgamated. Aap Akhatiyar was another rather unknown paper started by Nussarwanji Dorabji in 1858, who was the editor of a humorous weekly called the Parsi Punch which gradually became the Hindi punch.

These papers albeit with a small run and the other Papers who lasted the test of times were mostly started by the Parsi community, thus laying the foundation of Journalism in Gujarati. The community suffered a bit due to a small lapse in printing a sensitive topic related to Religion, which led to riots. A mistake, which has often been repeated in the History of India. It is important that Indian journalists understand the fabric of this country. It is important to know, that a small misinterpretation of religious beliefs could lead to a large chaos. Truth needs to be told, but an un-intelligent truth without a proper knowledgeable background or understanding can backfire in a land with multiple religions, castes, creeds and faith following customs. This only shows the need for the training of journalists and the importance of understanding of the context of reporting.

Tamil Journalism

One among the oldest literatures, Tamil language has an ancient richness to its heritage. The literature is traced to an iron style writing on Palm leaves which gradually reached the era where books were published in the Press in Tamil by the end of the 16^th century. The initial literature that was published was mostly Christian literature as it was the missionaries who first introduced the Press.

The beginning of journalism History can be traced to a Tamil Expositor containing Tamil Idioms which was printed in 1811. The story of literature development in Tamil is not complete without the mention of Raja Serfoji of Tanjore or Thanjavur as it is called. In 1798, he handed over his Kingdom to the East India Company and pursued Literature and other fine arts. He was surrounded with scholars who were like minded and thus gave a rise to the number of books in Tamil. The East India Company contributed to this endeavour by forming a team of Tamil Pandits in order to publish Tamil Classics which in the long run turned out to be a treasure trove of valuable books in Tamil. Gradually, many educational books including a Dictionary, grammar and Scientific books for school going kids were translated and published which also saw to the formation of the Madras School Books Society.

There are reports mentioned by Rev J Long, that there was a newspaper in Tamil and Telugu in the year 1831. However, the names and details are not known. The first Newspaper in Tamil Language is therefore credited to G. Subramanya Aiyer, in the year 1882 and was called the Swadesamitran and had a run till the year 1934. In 1855, Rajavrithi Bodhini a Tamil newspaper was published followed by Dinavartamani another Weekly paper, edited by Rev. P. Percival which had  over 1000 subscriptions.

Although initially, most Tamil newspapers did not have problem with the government as there were no objectionable views. But towards the twentieth century there was turn around. Papers like the Swadesmitran, the Hindu and the Swaraj were all printed from Tamil Nadu. At this point a Tamil periodical that created waves of patriotic fervour was S. N. Thirumalachari’s, ‘India’ which was published on May 6, 1906. The periodical is said to be one of the first one’s to publish cartoons that had political messages in the history of Indian journalism. The paper boldly carried articles and songs that were nationalistic in nature. Thus was laid a foundation of a bold Press that supported the Indian Freedom movement in Tamil Nadu.

VVS Aiyar an associate of Thirumalachari and a London Correspondent of the India Paper contributed to the Publishing as he “wrote the history of Garibaldi’s in Tamil, an article on Rousseau’s social contract and sent it for publication to India.” “From the India office, many pamphlets and booklets were published about the Swadeshi propaganda and speeches of the extremists. The famous speech of Tilak on the ‘Tenets of the New party’ at the College Square in Calcutta was translated into Tamil by Subramania Bharati and published in February 1907. It was printed at the India Printing Works, Broadway, and the same place where India periodical was printed. The Speeches of B.C. Pal (in Madras), Life of Aurobindo Ghosh and Congress Yatra were printed and distributed from India newspaper office press. [6] (Sakthivel R., 2015)

When ‘Indias’ Printing had to be stalled dues to problems with the British Government, the printing was continued from Pondicherry which at that point of time was not under British rule. Thus, Tamil Nadu contributed massively to the growth of the Vernacular journalism.

 

Malayalam Journalism

Kerala saw its first press installed by the Jesuit Christian Missionaries in the year 1550 in the state of Kochi at Ambalakkadu. Joannei Gonsalvez, a Christian Priest is said to be the one who cast the first types of the Malayalam font.

While Rajyasamacharam was the first newspaper in Malyalam printed in the year 1847 for the purposes of the propogation of Christianity by Hermann Gundert in the courtyard of the Basal Mission Church, Thalassery. This was followed by Pashchimodayam (1847) and Gnananikshepam in Tiruvitamkur (1848).

The Press and Newspaper journalism got a boost with the arrival of a Gujarati trader named Devji Bhimji  who set up a modern press called Western Star along with a Britisher and the help of few natives. The first English weekly printed from here too bore the same name ‘Western Star’ under the editorship of Charles Lawson. This was then followed by a Malayalam newspaper in the same press called the Paschima Tharaka in 1864.

Deepika (1887) was another Christian magazine which initially began as a newspaper to serve churches of different denominations but gradually became a mouthpiece of Catholics and Malayala Manorama (1890) was another popular magazine by Kandathil Varghese Mappillai who had initially worked with Deepika. Both these continue to exist even today and are a name to reckon with.

Printing was not easy given the fact that the Malayalam font was difficult to be type casted with its incredibly large number of alphabets. Much of the press available was by the Christian Missionaries. And it should be acknowledged here that it was the Christian missionaries who could be attributed with the popularity of Printing and publishing. Another primary reason for a lot of bifurcation was the inter-caste, inter-faith, inter-language, discord that existed in Kerala. Each community, whether it be the Nairs, Ezhavas, Syrian Christians or the Tamil Brahmins, wanted more attention to themselves and began community newspapers dedicated to the same purpose. Newspaper reading was not very common in those years, however, things took a turn with education gaining momentum in Kerala and by 1930’s things changed. There was a spurt in newspapers and periodicals that focussed on varied topics dealing with Educational topics of science, Psychology, Economics to Medicine, health and literature.

The 1900s and 1910s are described as "the vintage years for the formation of caste and communal organisations" in Tiruvitamkur. These organisations like the “Tiruvitamkur and Kochi Christian Association, Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (1902), the Keraleeya Nair Sangham (1905), the Namboodiri Yogakshema Sabha (1908), the Pulaya Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham (1913), the Nair Service Society (1914), the Lejanathul Mohamadiya Sabha (1915) and the Akhila Kerala Catholic Congress (1918). These organisations tried to promote the consciousness of 'shared community' through the launching of community organisations, establishment of educational institutions and publication of newspapers.”(Shodhganga) Jeffrey writes in ‘Decline of Nayar Dominance’, that by the year 1903, Kerala had 14 periodicals among which the Syrians owned nine papers.

The Kerala Kaumudi (1911) was another paper that focussed on Social issues, especially those considering the upliftment of the downtrodden. It was an outcome of the request of the Ezhava community. There were four other Malayalam papers that had a political stance that was against the Congress around the time 1920-1922 in a place called Kozhikode. These were the ‘Kerala Patrika, Kerala Sanchari, Manorama and Mitavadi’. The congress therefore ventured int bringing out another paper which was called the Mathrubhumi in 1922 in Kozhikode. This paper was started for a political purpose. However, the Socialist wave that began in the area led by the Congress Socialist Party and the Communicst Party of India made a shift in allegiance of the readers to another Paper called the Prabhatam edited by E.M.S. Namboothiripad which dealt with issues of the peasants and the labourers. This was followed by another paper called the Deshabhimani, in 1922 which has the Communist ideology at its heart. Another paper that saw the light of the day was Chandrika in 1934 by the Muslim League.

Thus, there were a plethora of Papers that contributed to journalism and it beginning from Kerala. Most of this were papers with an ideology and a particular backing from the varied Communities. The Christian Missionaries could be largely attributed with the initial spread of printing and publishing. The wonders of Education and the need for various communities to fight for their rights further led to the establishment of a large number of community newspapers and newspapers as means of an expression of opinion and a tool in their struggle of demanding for their rights.

Oriya Journalism

It is to be noted here that Odia too has a great history in literature. For the purpose of this study we focus on newspapers and journalism alone as the history of literature by itself is rich and cannot be contained for the portion. The first ever Magazine of Orissa was the 'Bodha Dayini' published in 1861 from Balasore was an attempt at promoting Odia literature and a reminder to the administrative lapses occurring in the time.

This was followed by the very first Oriya newspaper in 1866, called the 'The Utkal Deepika' edited by Gourisankar Ray with similar intentions of Promotion and protection of Oriya Language and literature and safeguarding the interests of the people of Orissa by bringing them under one administration. This was followed by a weekly called ‘Sambad Vahika’  in 1868, Utkal Hiteisini by the Utkal Society of Cuttack and the 'Utkal Subhakari' by Bhagavati Charan Das in 1869 which was printed to promulgate the Brahmo Faith.  The other Oriya Papers that existed include ‘Utkal Patra’, ‘Utkal Darpan’, ‘Mayurbhanj Pakshika Patrika,’ a fortnightly on Mayurbhanj political matters from Baripada (1879) and Sambalpur Hiteisini (1889) from Deogarh.

“In April 1891 a literary magazine titled 'Utkal Prabha' was published from Baripada with the financial help of Maharaja Sri Ramachandra Bhanja Deo. In 1880 Dina Banerji edited a paper called Bideshi from Cuttack. After 1866 Famine some English journals were also started publishing in Orissa. In 1868 ‘Cuttack Standard’, ‘Argus’ and an English Weekly 'Orissa Patriot' edited by Kalipada Banerji were published from Cuttack and another English weekly named 'Orissa Students' edited by Laxmi Narayan Dasgupta was published from Kendrapara during that period.” (R.S.Shastry, 2005)

The Freedom struggle and the Swadeshi movement saw a huge support from the press in Orissa too. Nava Sambad, another newspaper that was started in Balsore and the Utkal Deepika were vehement in their support to the movement. Another Oriya paper that supported the cause of the Oriya people of Ganjam, then a part of Madras was the  ‘Praja Bandhu’.

This period saw both English and Oriya papers coming to the forefront supporting varied causes, especially that of bringing the people of Orissa, namely, ‘Ganjam News’, an English weekly from Parlakhemidi, Oriya Weeklies- ‘Oriya Hitavadini’ from Berhampur, ‘Ganjam Guna Darpan’ from Digapahandi and ‘Utkal  Vasi’ from Ichhapur. (R.S.Shastry, 2005)

Sashibhusan Rath in April 1913, started a weekly called ‘Asha’ which garnered both public attention ad public opinion. Another monthly magazine that began in the same press of Asha was Pandit Gopabandhu’s ‘Satyavadi’.  The other Oriya weeklies that followed include ‘Samaj Mitra’ in 1917, Gopal Chandra Praharaj’s ‘Satya Samachar’, ‘Samaj’ by Pandit Gopabandhu Das (1919), Madhusudan Das's ‘The Oriya’, ‘Swaraj’ a paper which turned from a weekly into a daily, Dibyaprasanna Roy Choudhury’s ‘Navya Bharat’ and Sashi Bhusan Rath’s two papers in Oriya and English called ‘Dainik Asha’ (Oriya) and ‘The East Coast’ (English). Dainik Asha is said to have laid the foundation of professional journalism in that era. Another Oriya Paper called ‘Prabhat’ was published in 1930.

Sashi Bhusan Rath later started another English daily called ‘The New Orissa’. It is to be noted that “a brother of Sashi Bhusan late Ranganath Mahapatra of Surada, invented the first Oriya type-writer in early forties. The Oriya type-writers were manufactured in Germany and were put to use in some of the offices soon after the formation of the separate Orissa Province on 1st April, 1936” (R.S.Shastry, 2005). It is said that these were no more made available after the Second World war, and Mahapatra died in penury and without any credit for his work which had helped the people of Orissa a great deal.

Two other influential magazines that were published in 1938 include ‘Niakhunta’ by Godavarish Mahapatra known for its satire and poetry and 'Krusak', by Sarangdhar Das.

The Press contributed massively and vehemently in its demand to meet the needs and for a separate state of administration for its people. The strength of the written word can be amply seen in Press and the journalism history of Oriya.

As students we have journeyed through so many states. Although it is not possible to cover all languages and states for the Undergrad studies that we are focussing on. However, I do encourage all my students and readers across India to delve into History and trace various roots and be proud of our culture, literature and the History of Press and journalism.

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[1] J. Natarajan, History of Indian Journalism, p.56, Part II of the report of the Press commission, Director Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, August 1955

[2] GD Chandan, Birth of Urdu Journalism in the Indian Subcontinent, The Milli Gazette, Published Online: Jun 25, 2011, Print Issue: 1-15 May 2011, http://www.milligazette.com/news/1196-birth-of-urdu-journalism-in-the-indian-subcontinent-news

[3] J. Natarajan, History of Indian Journalism, p.67, Part II of the report of the Press commission, Director Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, August 1955

[4] J. Natarajan, History of Indian Journalism, p.67, Part II of the report of the Press commission, Director Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, August 1955

[5] J. Natarajan, History of Indian Journalism, p.70, Part II of the report of the Press commission, Director Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, August 1955

[6] Sakthivel, R., (2015). “Role of Press in Freedom Movement – A Case Study of India (Newspaper)”. International Journal of Advanced Scientific Research & Development (IJASRD), 02 (04/II), pp. 111 – 118.