PRE AND POST INDEPENDENCE JOURNALISM IN INDIA

Origin and Growth of Indian Press Ancient India

Medieval India
Aurangazeb pioneered the concept communication network
Vaquia Navis, specialist news writers who summaries the important events and
incidents
Cofia Navis, secret spies to collect the news from public
News Letters covers the local news and their leaders expedition
Calligraphy flourished during this period
New Era
Christian missionaries
During 16th century printing technology came to India by Christians group of
Fathers were travel through coastal areas to convey news to public
Books, Dictionaries, Bible translation.
September 15th, 1556 first printing machine set up in Goa, India.
September 6th, 1557 first book Doutrina Christ was published by St. Francis
Xavier, they used Mental Typeface for printing.
In 1578 Doutrina Christ was translated in Tamil and its the first Tamil Book in
Indian Language.
Printing Press in India
First printing press set up in Goa in 1556, September 15th Doutrina Christ was
printed.
Second printing press set up in Coramandal Coast, Flos sancprum newsletter
printed and its the first Tamil Nadu printing press.
Third printing press in Bombay, Bhimji Parekh was printed.
Fourth printing press in Kerala, Tamil Portuguese Dictionary was printed.
Fifth printing press in Thanjore district and its the second press in Tamil Nadu.
And next 15years many printing press were set up in India.
In 18th century Grammar books were published in southern languages.
In 1714 first copy of New testimony in Tamil was published
In 1779 Tamil-English Dictionary was published.
Newspapers in India - 18th Century
In 1780, January 29th first newspaper Bengal Gazette by James Augustus Hickey
and Hickey is known as the Father of Journalism.
In 1780, November second newspaper India Gazette by Bernard Messnik and
Peter reed.
In 1784 third newspaper Calcutta Gazette alias Oriental Advertiser

In 1785 fourth newspaper Bengal Journal by Thomas Jones published

government advertisement at free of cost (above papers were given postal
concession for wide circulation).
In 1785 Madras Courier by Richard Johnston
In 1789 Bombay Herald
In 1790 Bombay Courier
In 1791 Bombay Gazette
In 1798 Madras Gazette by Robert Williams.
In 1795 Indian Herald by Humphreys.

Bengal Gazette
It also known as Calcutta General Advertiser, but it stays alive for two years only.
Advertising was prominent; the thickness of the paper is similar to hard board, hence the
printing wasnt so clear. It has only two pages. Most of the news were taken from
European newspapers, therefore isnt attracted by Indian readers. Government scandals
were highlighted and its totally views against the government, hence to control the
Bengal gazette, government of India started India Gazette.
India Gazette
It was supported by the Calcutta government. Fancy journalism started in second
newspaper itself. Aim of the newspaper is to develop their business. Initially there was
fought between Bengal gazette and India gazette, typefaces were supplied to both the
newspapers but later it was stopped for Bengal gazette. The size of the newspaper is
16x10 inches; it introduced the column news.
Calcutta Gazette alias Oriental Advertiser
Its a tabloid, its the first newspaper introduced tri language (English, Persia and
Bengali) printing in single paper. Government supported the paper.
Newspapers in Madras
In 1785, Madras Courier the first newspaper came to Madras, its a four pages
newspaper two pages for news, third page for readers forum and last page for
advertisements, government decided to give advertisements.
To control the press, suddenly government passed Censorship Act in 1795 in
Madras (for particular newspapers). After 1799 the Censorship Act was
implemented to all newspapers in India. New laws to press, before publishing the
news proof sheets of the content should submit to the government. Hence Bengal
Gazette newspaper banned.
Newspapers in Bombay
In 1789 Bombay Herald, first newspaper in Bombay and its a weekly.
In 1790 Bombay Courier, second newspaper in Bombay and founded Lukensh
Burner by employees of east India Company. Bombay courier later renamed as
Bombay Times and in 1791, first newspaper published Indian language
advertisements in Gujarati.

Form Bombay Times two newspapers were originated, India Times and Bombay
Gazette. In 1791 Bombay Gazette newspaper gave import to Letters to the Editor.

Newspapers in India - 19th Century

(eventful period of newspapers growth) Christian missionaries started newspapers in
India and also development of Vernacular newspapers started (Indian Language
newspapers).
Lord Wilson wants to control the growth of Indian newspapers - news was against the
government. Band for Sunday newspapers, news should publish only after references,
declaration (imprint, about the newspaper details and these details filled in Magi state
court) should submit to the government, no military and political news, if press violates
the rules then immediate penalty/ punishments. Government introduced concession
deposit for newspapers.

Lord Milton gave liberty to newspapers; again Bengal Gazette newspaper came
into play in 1816, under the ownership of Gangadhar Bhattacharya first Indian to
own the newspapers - remembered as a pioneer of Indian own newspaper.
Same year, James Mickenzie and John Bull started first Sunday newspaper
Oriental star and government banned it. Later they got permission from court
and started the paper but court strictly ordered the papers employee not to work
Sundays. Slowly the liberty to press came into play.
In 1818, Sharapov missionaries started first newspaper Dig Darshan monthly, it
space to historical data and political news. Dr. cray was the editor, after gone
through the laws of press the monthly became weekly then changed the Dig
Darshan in Bengali (Vernacular language), it survived for four months. After four
month it renamed as Samachar Darpan. 1819 J.C. Marshman took over as
editor; paper sold for one rupee and it becomes bilingual (Bengali-Hindi) in 1829.
In 1818, second newspaper Friend of India. The Sharapov missionaries
newspapers started to critic the Hindu religion values.

Raja Ram Mohan Rai

He was a social and religious reformer. Founder of Brahmo Samaj (an Indian socioreligious reform movement), he fought for women freedom and also abolished practice of
sati. He is the father of Indian language journalism, because his contribution to
journalism was in creditable.
In 1829 he started his first newspaper Brahminical Magazine in Bengali.
Renamed as Brahminical Sevedhu in Hindi-Bengali.
Second Samvad Kaumudi in Bengali.
Mirat-ul-Akhbar first newspaper in Persian language.
Rams newspaper propagated - freedom of press, Indians in high ranks of service,
and separation of the executive and judiciary, political philosophy, liberalism,
individualism and freedom for women.

James Silk Buckingham pioneered the letters to the editor column and write news with
human interesting stories. He believes journalism dispels ignorance and also fought for
the freedom of press, hence is called as champion of freedom of press.
In 1818 Calcutta Journal- eight pages paper and twice a weekly.
After 1827 Indian press divided into two parts Indian press (support by Indian freedom
fighters) Anglo-Indian press (support by British).
Queen Victoria gave liberty to press. In 1858, separate rooms for editors, reporters were
given for first time given. She invited the local people to take part in the administration.

In mid of 19th century The Hindu, Madras Mail, In Bombay Times of India,
In Calcutta Telegraph and in Allahabad Pioneer were started.
In 1844, telegraph lines were introduced, information pass through the telegraphic
lines to the press office.
In 1861 Times of India was born from already three existing newspapers
Bombay Times, Bombay Standard and Telegraph and the Courier.
Reuters was the first news agency all over the world - Times of India and Bengali
newspaper subscribe news from them.
In 1875 Robert Knight takes off the Friend of India newspaper and also started
Statesman. Later he combined the both the papers.
In 1876 Lord Lytton Viceroy of India, he fought press and government werent
in good relationship, hence he wants to make them close.
Robert Knight and Lord Lytton started the special press bureau (now its press
information bureau).
In 1878, Vernacular Act was brought by British, to control the growth press in
India. The Act say, if press violates the rules the sentence would be, for the first
time - apology, second time postal concession and license will be cancelled and
third personal properties will affected.

Hindu
In 1878 Hindu monthly started by six people - G. Subramania Aiyer, M.
Veeraraghavachariar, T.T. Rangachariar, P.V. Rangachariar, D. Kesava Rao Pant
and N. Subba Rao Pantulu.
In 1883 Hindu published as Tri-weekly (Monday, Wednesday and Friday
evening).
In 1885 the Indian National Congress was born (A.O. Hume, founder of INC), the
Hindu supported the government activities and wide coverage (INC first session
increase the national news significance) then
In 1889 the Hindu published as daily. {Achievements, in 1940 - first to introduce
colour, 1963 aircraft for distribution, 1980- First to use computer aided photo
composing, 1995 first paper to go online and 1999 becomes national
newspaper}.
In 1889 Official secret act imposed only on military news, later in 1903 it
extended to other news. Last quarter of 19th century, the newspapers - covers

public speech, discussions in the council, debates and price of paper were less.
Stream engine printing came into play. Wire services were introduced.

Newspapers in India - 20th Century

News Agencies
Paul Reuter, German founded Reuter news agency. In London, news agency
Central press news agency distributed news to local newspapers. So Paul
changed his views to give news to international agencies.
Bombay Times, Bengali newspapers in India for first time used Reuter agency.
Due to competition USA, started Associated Press news agency. AP started its
limb in India, Associated Press of India in 1910. But that doesnt concentrated
on Indian base news hence public didnt welcome it.
In 1910s Congress split into two (due to changes in the capital of the nation)
-liberals and nationalist. Liberals supported the change but Nationalist opposed it.
The Newspapers in India was also split into two, new rule of laws introduced to
suppress the growth of press.
In 1915, Free press of India it was the first news agency founded by Indians. Its
fully concentrated on Indian news, hence newspaper subscribe news from them.
British government implemented strict laws to control the newspaper growth. Due
to the law, Free press of India changed as newspaper in an overnight. But it
wasnt welcome by other newspapers in India.
In 1930, other newspapers joined hands together and started United press of
India
After independence FPI and UPI gone down, again six newspapers joined
together and started Press Trust of India. Due to competition PTI, working
journalist started United News of India in 1961. Later many news agencies came
into play; today we have more than 33news agencies in India.
Annie Besant
In 1916, Home Rule League established by Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar
Tilak, she used print medium a propaganda vehicle. She started Madras Standard
and renamed as New India.
New India came with full page editorial; news reflected the nation and freedom
struggle. Her writing and ideas of editorial were appreciated; she involved herself
in print medium.
In 1919 government introduce Rowlatt Act (government had the power to arrest
people without trial they suspect with the charge of terrorism). Hence she fought
for freedom of press through her writing.
In 1920, Annie started National University to bring discipline in journalism.
Diploma in journalism course was started, internship for student in New India.
Thus she called as Torch Bearer of Indian Liberty and Pioneer of Journalism.

Due to the first World war there was a setback in the newspaper industry, hence
printing cost were increased on side and subscriber of the newspapers were
decreased on other side.

Gandhi
In 1915 Gandhi returns from South Africa. He started a chain of newspaper,
Young India and Navegiean weekly in Gujarati. His writing styles were simple
and clear to the readers, hence unity and liberty spread among Indians.
Gandhis disciples started the same newspapers in other languages in India, and
then he took part in freedom struggle.
In 1921 worldwide campaign on poverty, women rights, ending untouched ability
and so on. In 1930, Dandi Salt March (protesting British-imposed salt tax) was
given wide publicity by the newspapers.

Indian National Congress government later reduced the press laws hence the INC
and press becomes closer.
In 1938, National Herald newspaper was started by INC; its fully supported the
INC activities.
In 1941, Dina Thandi Tamil newspaper daily was founded by Sri. Pa. Aditanar,
with its first edition from Madurai.
In 1941, first Advertisement Company National Services Company started in
Bombay. From 1941 to 1950 was the only service company for advertisements.
In 1940s Indian Eastern Newspaper Society, now its Indian Newspaper Society,
it acts as a bridge between newspaper organization and the government. News
prints were allotted by the government according to the requirement of
newspapers.
Vernacular press came into play to develop the Indian languages. From 17801947, of print revolution in newspaper industry.

History of Print Media in India

Indian print media is at a massive business in the media world and its newspapers are said
to offer majority of national and international news. The history newspaper in India began
in 1780, with the publication of the Bengal Gazette from Calcutta. The advent of the first n
ewspaper in India occurred in the capital city of West Bengal, Calcutta (now Kolkata).
James Augustus Hickey is considered the "father of Indian press" as he started the first
Indian newspaper from Calcutta, the `Bengal Gazette` or `Calcutta General Advertise` in
January, 1780. This first printed newspaper was a weekly publication. In 1789, the first
newspaper from Bombay (now Mumbai), the `Bombay Herald` appeared, followed by the
`Bombay Courier` in the following year. Later, this newspaper merged with the Times of
India in 1861. These newspapers carried news of the areas under the British rule.
The first newspaper published in an Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali.
The first issue of this daily was published from the Serampore Mission Press on May 23,
1818. Samachar Darpan, the first vernacular paper was started during the period of Lord
Hastings. In the same year, Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya started publishing another
newspaper in Bengali, the `Bengal Gazetti`. On July 1, 1822 the first Gujarati newspaper,
the Bombay Samachar, was published from Bombay, which is still in existence. The first
Hindi newspaper, the Samachar Sudha Varshan started its circulation in 1854. Since then,
the prominent Indian languages in which newspapers had been published over the years
are Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Urdu and Bengali. The Indian language
newspapers eventually took over the English newspapers according to the NRS survey of
newspapers.
The main reason was the marketing strategy that was followed by the regional papers,
commencing with Eenadu - a Telugu daily started by Ramoji Rao. The second reason was
the growing literacy rate. Increase in the literacy rate had direct positive effect on the rise
of circulation of the regional papers. The people were first educated in their mother tongue
according to their state in which they live for and eventually, the first thing a literate
person would try to do is read the vernacular papers and gain knowledge about his own
locality. Moreover, localisation of news has also contributed to the growth of regional
newspapers in India. Indian regional papers have several editions for a particular state to
offer a complete scenario of local news for the reader to connect with the paper. Malayala
Manorama features about 10 editions in Kerala itself and six others outside Kerala. Thus
regional papers in India aim at providing localised news for their readers. Eventually, the

advertisers also realised the huge potential of the regional paper market, partly due to their
own research and more owing to the efforts of the regional papers to make the advertisers
aware of the huge market. These advertisers paid revenues to the newspaper house and in
return publicised their products throughout the locality.
Thus, newspapers in India not only acted as news providers but also promoters of certain
market products. Some of the prominent newspapers in India in the recent times are The
Times of India, The Statesman, The Telegraph, The Economic Times, Indian Express and
so on. The Economic Times is one of the India`s leading business newspapers; carrying
news about the Economy, Companies, Infrastructure, Trends in the Economy, Finance,
Stocks, Forex and Commodities, news from around the world and from the world of
politics besides editorial and various other features. The Malayala Manorama releases
daily, weekly, monthly and annual publications from Kerala. Started in 1988 in Tamil and
Telegu languages, it is now published in other regional languages like Hindi, Bengali, as
well as in English. Among the various publications, the Malayala Manorama Daily has the
largest circulation, selling about 11 lakhs 50 thousand copies daily. The Times of India was
founded in 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce by Bennett, Coleman
and Company, a colonial enterprise now owned by an Indian conglomerate. The Times
Group publishes The Economic Times (launched in 1961), Navbharat Times (Hindi
language), and the Maharashtra Times (Marathi language).
The newspapers collected their news from the news agencies. India has four news agencies
namely, the Press Trust of India (PTI), United News of India (UNI), Samachar Bharti and
Hindustan Smachar. Newspapers and magazines in India are independent and usually
privately owned. About 5,000 newspapers, 150 of them major publications, are published
daily in nearly 100 languages. Over 40,000 periodicals are also published in India. The
periodicals specialize in various subjects but the majority of them deal with subjects of
general interest. During the 1950s, 214 daily newspapers were published in the country.
Out of these, 44 were English language dailies while the rest were published in various
regional languages. This number rose to 2,856 dailies in 1990 with 209 English dailies.
The total number of newspapers published in the country reached 35,595 newspapers by
1993 (3,805 dailies). Newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22% in 2007. By
2007, 62 of the worlds best selling newspaper dailies were published in countries like
China, Japan, and India. India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007, making
it the second largest market in the world for newspapers.
Newspapers in India have almost created a huge industry in the nation. It publishes the
largest number of `paid-for titles` in the world. In 1997, the total number of newspapers
and periodicals published in India was around 41705, which include 4720 dailies and
14743 weeklies. However, in the last one decade the news media in India has changed
rapidly. All the major news media outlets have an accompanying news website. A new
class of newspapers in India is entirely Internet based.
The Role of the Press:

Prior to Independence, the press in India had a clear-cut role to play in the nation's struggle
against British rule. It had put up a brave fight in its heroic effort to expose the brutality of
the regime. Particularly in its suppression of the freedom movement. Many editors of the
Indian language press defied censorship regulations to keep the nation informed (and
agitated) about the progress of the movement, and especially of the plight of national
leaders like Gandhi and Nehru. With the goal of Independence being achieved at long last,
the Indian press seemed to have lost its moorings. It was in a quandary. Should it play the
role of an adversary to the government in power- the role it had played with remarkable
success - or. Should it transform itself into an ally, and support the government in its efforts
at national development? That quandary of the press has yet to be resolved, (Girilal Jain,
the late editor of The Times of India believed that one is an "Indian first, and a journalist
next. According to the first Press Commission, the press should help secure and protect a
social order in which justice (social, economic and political) would prevail.
But the role of the press in India need not be that of an adversary or of an ally of' the
government. The press should be a watch-dog and act as a catalytic agent to hasten the
process of social and economic change. The perspective of an adversary role for the press
derives from the assumption that the press is the voice of the public, is above corruption,
and that the government, though deriving power from the people, might misuse it. It must
be noted that the press is part of' the political process, craves for power, is made up of
people with personal ambitions and aversions, preferences and prejudices. As perhaps the
largest advertiser, the government supports and strengthens the press. Both the government
and the press represent the 'power elites and therefore reflect their interests. This is why the
interests of the poor are rarely on the agenda of public discussion.
The press is so obsessed with politics that even a silly rumour hits the front page. What the
press urgently needs is creative, investigative and development reporting chiefly on nonpolitical themes like unemployment, malnutrition, exploitation of the poor. Miscarriage of
justice, police atrocities, development schemes and the like. The exposure of the blinding
incidents at Bhagalpur. Which would have never come to light but for the alert press, is
just one example of the heights the Indian press can sometimes scale? Recent samples
include the Bo for s pay-offs, the Harshad Mehta securities scam. The 'havvala' payments
to lop politicians, and the animal husbandry scandal in Bihar. But follow-up investigations
of these public scams are lacking, and are rarely pursued to the end. The press whips up
interest in a scam to a crescendo, then forgets about it when another scam is unearthed.
Such 'crisis' reporting sells newspapers but does little to bring the guilty to book or to
educate the public about the contexts of corruption.
Credibility is indeed the very life-blood of the press, no matter which government is in
power. The period of the Emergency showed how the credibility of the press could suffer.
There are other reasons why credibility suffers, the chief being the unduly heavy
dependence on official press handouts by business and government. When, for example,
there is a strike or riot, the Police Department's handout is printed without comment. Onthe-spot investigative reports are few and far between. Further, journalists are inclined to
accept many favors from Government such as subsidized housing and medical facilities,
and it is therefore not surprising that they rush to the same government when they have

differences with editors, and with management, or when they demand higher salaries and
better working conditions. "An awesome responsibility", remarks the veteran editor, S.
Nihal Singh, "rests on the shoulders of journalists because in the final analysis they are the
custodians of the freedom of the press. If they prefer careerism to standing up for their
rights. They are letting down their profession." However, the press is much too important
in a democracy to be entrusted entirely to journalists; a vigilant public, the courts and the
Press Council are needed to keep a watchful eye on it.

The 'Power' of the Press:

The power' of the press to bring about social and political change or economic
development is extremely limited. In capitalist societies, the press is primarily like any
other business or industry: it exists to raise advertising revenue and circulation with the
aim of making profits. 'Public service' and 'public interest' are not the main concerns. This
is not to suggest that the press does not make attempts to exercise its 'power' in favour of
one
political or economic ideology over another, or of one group or class or caste over another.
These attempts, it must be acknowledged, are sometimes successful and at other limes
disastrous failures. At most times, however. The attempts are not paid much heed to.
Unless it affects some group's interests in a radical manner. In the ultimate analysis the
power of the press depends on its credibility among readers, as well as on how the new s
reported is understood and interpreted. Different groups 'read' the same news item in
varied ways depending on their own social backgrounds.How news is read is not entirely
in the hands of journalists. Indeed, the press often succeeds only in reinforcing widely held
beliefs and the status quo rather than bringing about change and development.
Does the [PRess 'set the agenda" for us and for society? There is no doubt that the press
keeps us informed about selected events, issues and people. But the public too has a role in
'setting the agenda' of the press. The public has interests, beliefs and expectations that are
catered to by the press. While the press tells us what to think about, and also what to think,
it has little power to change our ideas, beliefs and attitudes even when it attempts to do so.
Only when there is a general consensus on an issue among all the elements of the press and
the other media, and this consensus fits in with a community's needs, is there some
likelihood of a change being effected. Even in this case, several other factors would have
to come into play before any real change can be felt.
The public attitude to the 'internal emergency' imposed by the Indira Gandhi regime is a
case in point. One could argue, however, that it was the press that brought about the
downfall of that regime as the people's hostility to the crackdown on their fundamental
rights. The press, after all, was easily silenced during the emergency. In the postemergency period, the press only reflected the public's seething anger against the regime.
But and large, then, the press rarely initiates change, innovation and development. Because
of its dependence on commercial interests and the dominant groups, it is of necessity

conservative and status- quoist. The widespread support that the anti-Mandal riots and the
liberalisation' policies of the Government have received from the 'national" and the
'regional press is a reflection of that dependence.
The current news values of Indian journalists are no different from the news values of their
counterparts in the West. These are timeliness, immediacy, proximity, oddity. Conflict,
mystery, suspense, curiosity, and novelty. The new development alternative journalists,
however, challenge these elite- and immediacy-oriented values and the man-bites-dog
approach to news. They believe that the voice of the silent, suffering majority should be
heard through the press. Not politics, business, finance. Sports should lie the staple of news
but rather what is of value in terms of equality, social justice and peace.

Hicky's Gazette 1780:

But it was not until James Augustus Hicky dared to start his Bengal Gazette (also called
Hiekv s Gazette) in 1780 that the age of Journalism dawned in the country, England had
already had a taste of the Spectator papers of Addison and Sleele, and of lesser known
periodicals as well, and learnt about the power oi the periodical essayists, to laugh to scorn
the manners and mores of society, and of those in high places.
Political and social corruption was rife among the British sent to rule the country when
Hicky, a printer by profession, launched his Gazette 'in order to purchase freedom for my
mind and soul'. Me described the Bengal Gazette (later called Hicky's Gazette) as a
'weekly political
and
commercial
paper
open
to all
parties
but
influenced by none'. His venom was aimed at individuals like Mrs. Warren Hastings and
their private affairs. He published announcements of marriages and engagements, and of
'likely' encasements The Gazette was. In essence, no better than a scandal sheet. Barely a
year later, Sir Warren Hastings denied all postal facilities to Hicky who hit back with these
ringing words;
'Mr. Hicky considers the Liberty of the Press to be essential to the very existence of an
Englishman and a free (Government. The subject should have full liberty to declare his
principles and opinions, and every act which tends to coerce that liberty is tyrannical and
injurious to the community".
In June the following year (1781). Hicky was arrested and thrust into jail, from where he
continued writing for the Gazette. He was slopped from 'bringing out his weekly only
when the types used for printing were seized'."
Five newspapers made their appearance in Bengal in six years' time - all started by
Englishmen. Some of these newspapers received government patronage. The Madras
Courier and the Bombay Herald (which later merged with the Bombay Courier) were then
launched in the two cities. They were subservient to the government, and therefore
flourished. The total circulation of all these weeklies was not more than 2.000; vet. The
Government issued Press Regulations (17W) making the publication of the name of the
printer, editor and proprietor obligatory. The regulations also ordered these to declare
themselves to the Secretary of the Government; and to submit all material for prior

examination to the same authority. Pre-censorship was to dot: the Indian journalist for
many years to come.
Early Newspapers of Calcutta:
Hicky laid the foundation stone for the growth and development of journalism in
India when he published his weekly. The trend that was set in motion
continued to operate with much vigour and dynamism. Soon after the
publication of Bengal Gazette five more newspapers appeared within a short
span of five years.
India Gazette
In November 1780 Indian Gazette, the second newspaper in India, was published
by Bernard Messink, who was connected with theatrical companies, and Peter
Reed, a salt merchant, of Calcutta. Though both of them were businessmen in
profession, they took a fancy in journalism with an ulterior motive to
commercialise it. They wanted to promote and protect their business
interest with the help of the newspaper. Medium was pressed into service to
secure personal gain rather than making it a public-oriented undertaking.
Henchmen of the Fast India Company, they, unlike Hicky, requested Lord
Hastings to allow them to publish a newspaper and also implored him to
grant them postal concessions for the circulation of their paper. They further
requested him to appoint them as printers to the East India Company. They
assured him that they would not violate any laws and regulations laid down
by him in connection with the publication and circulation of the paper.
The Indian Gazette, though enjoyed the support and confidence of the authorities,
invited the wrath of Hicky who strongly criticized, probably out of
jealousy the printers, promoters, publishers and partners of the paper. He also
did not spare John Z kiernander tor supplying types and other printing material
to the India Gazette.
Calcutta Gazette and Oriental Advertiser
In February 1784, the third newspaper, Calcutta Gazette and Oriental Advertiser,
was published in India with cent per tent governmental assistance. It
published notices in different languages like Bengali, Persi and English.
Subsequently, it became the official gazette.
Bengal Journal
The Bengal journal, the fourth newspaper, appeared in February 1785.
Thomas jones a businessman and its proprietor, requested the Supreme Council
to grant him postal concessions and in return he would publish all the
government advertisements free of cost. Oriental magazine or Calcutta
Amusement In May 1785 The Oriental magazine or Calcutta Amusement Was
established as the first monthly publication.
Calcutta Chronicle
The Calcutta Chronicle appeared in January 1786. All these newspapers were

published in English by Englishmen to be mostly circulated among

Englishmen working in or affiliated to the British Fast India Company;
almost all of them carried gossip columns. Fresh news from abroad could not
he published because of lack of communication facilities. Therefore, whatever
news from abroad appeared in them was sterile and outdated. Probably to
compensate this they published scandals involving officials as well as private
affairs. Personal grudges were transformed into public grievances.
The news material published in these papers was interesting. Editors and
publishers evinced greater interest in publishing "spicy stories of human
frailties" than in giving importance to matter of public importance as such. The
editorials were marked by "a clear tone of ridicule and disguised verbal
attacks were many". It is interesting to observe that despite all these "spicy
stories", the circulation figure of these newspapers did not exceed a
hundred copies. They were sold at a very high price, sometimes as high as ten
annas per copy.
The last decade of the 18th century saw the publication of newspapers on a
large scale. In Calcutta the Asiatic Mirror was established in 1794, the Indian
World, the Calcutta Courier, the Indian Apollo and the Bengal Hara kuru by
Charles Mc Clean in 179S. The Harakuru, initially known as Harracarrah,
became the Indian Daily News in 1864. The Telegraph was published in 1796, the
Calcutta Morning Post and the Oriental Star in 1798, the Relator in 1799.
Interestingly all these newspapers were founded in Calcutta.
Early NewsPapers in Madras:
Madras Courier
Richard Johnson, a printer to the Government, founded in Madras the first
newspaper, Madras Courier, on 12 October 1785. The Government, often
recognising it, passed an order that all advertisements issued by the
government officials could be published in the courier and they should be
treated as official notifications for all practical purposes. A weekly, consisting
of four pages, enjoying the full support of the Government, its each copy was
sold at the price of one rupee and the postal charge for its circulation was
waived by the Government.
News items stale and already published in
European papers, were published in two pages. One page was reserved as the
reader's forum arid for Indian news. Poems and display advertisements occupied
the last page. The government extended its ungrudging help and unstint cooperation as was evident from the fact that it exempted Richard
Johnson from paying duty when the latter imported printing machinery from
England.
Hugh Boyd, who was the editor of the Madras Courier in J 789, resigned in 1791
after being suspected of the tact that he was the author of certain objectionable
letters published in the paper against the Fast India Company and
established later an independent paper called the Harakuru. It was published

for two years and following the death of Boyd its publication was ceased.
Weekly Madras Gazette
In 1795, Robert Williams published in Madras the Weekly Madras Gazette.
Enraged at this competition, the Madras Courier complained that it would
adversely affect the interest of the Company. Introduction of the Persian and
other language types by the Gazette was brought to the notice of the
Government by the Courier. Hut the government kept quiet instead of taking any
action against the Gazette.
It may be observed here that as Hicky could not tolerate his rival paper, the India
Gazette, the Madras Courier also did not want that its rival, the Madras Gazette,
should grow and flourish. jealousv reigned supreme in both the Bengal Gazette
and Madras courier. Hike the former, the latter also published certain
malicious writings and behaved in an irresponsible manner.
India Herald
In 1795, Humphreys, an Englishman, published and edited a paper, the India
Herald in Madras.
Early News Papers of Bombay:
Bombay Herald and Bombay Courier
Though Bombay was under English domination much earlier than either
Bengal or Madras, the first English newspaper, the Bombay Herald, a weekly,
appeared in 1789 only. Later it became a government paper as it catered to the
whims of the Authorities. Luke
Ashburner, Alderman of the Bombay
Municipality founded in 1790 the second newspaper, the Bombay Courier, a
forerunner of the present Times of India. The Courier Was changed to the Bombay
times in 1838 when Robert Knight was the editor. Printing the advertisements
for the first time in Gujrati language and for this purpose the Times used the
types founded by a Persi printer, Mobed jijibhai Behramji Chapgar,
Bombay Gazette
In June 1791, the Bombay Gazette was founded.
Bombay Herald and Bombay Gazette Merged
The year 1792 witnessed the merger of the Bombay Herald and the Bombay
Gazette. But it had to depend on the mercy of the government for its survival.
Early Newspapers: "British in Content"
These early newspapers were certainly an important source of information
and published as many news items as possible after borrowing them from
English newspapers. Taking steps so as not to antagonise the government, they
published "letters to the editors". But much space was devoted to government
notices, society news, the poet's corner, advertisements and fashion notes.
News items relating to births, marriages, deaths, arrivals and departures of

important Britishers also found their place in the newspapers. However,

much emphasis was laid on publishing foreign news than covering Indian
affairs. They were often least interested to highlight the Indian problems.
Editorials hardly bothered to draw the attention of the government to
problems afflicting the Indian society. Therefore, it would not be wrong to observe
that these early papers were mostly "British" in content and nature.
Growth of Indian language Press:
The pioneers of Indian language journalism were the Serampore Missionaries wiih
Samachar Darpan and other Bengali periodicals, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy with his
Persian newspaper Miratool Akbar. The object of Ram Mohan Roy, the social reformer, in
starting :he paper was Mo lay before the public such articles of intelligence as may
increase their experience, and tend to their social improvement', and lo 'indicate to the
rulers a knowledge of the real situation of their subjects, and make the subjects acquainted
with the established laws and customs of their rules'. Roy ceased publishing his paper later
in protest against the Government's Press Regulations.
The Bombay Samachar, a Gujarati newspaper, appeared 1822. It was almost a decade
before daily vernacular papers like Mombai Vartaman (1830), the, Jan-e-Jamshed (1831),
and the Bombay Darpan (1850). Began publication. In the South, a Tamil and a Telugu
newspaper was established with the aid of a government grant, and in the North West
Provinces, a Hindi and an Urdu periodical started off under the government's patronage.
The Bengali press with as many as nine newspapers in 1839 had a circulation of around
200 copies each, even as the British press with 26 newspapers (six of them dailies) grew in
strength and power, under the liberal rule of Lord Metcalfe and later of Lord Auckland.
Bengla
Bengal has always been in the limelight for having a rich tradition of literary works. It
seems to be virtually in the blood of the Bengalis to have a literary bend of mind. Out of
this tradition various notables launched a number of the newspapers during India`s struggle
for independence as well as in the post independence period. Some of the Bengali
newspapers still continuing to dominate the scenario are, Anandabazar Patrika is published
from Kolkata and Siliguri and has its origin the independence period by the notable
freedom fighter Prafulla Chandra Sarkar. Aajkal is a Bengali daily published from Kolkata.
It was launched in 1981. Bartaman Patrika is a leading Bengali newspaper published from
Kolkata, siliguri, Burdwan, Malda and Midnapore. Sangabad Pratidin was the first Bengali
newspaper to start an online edition and is published from Kolkata. Uttar Banga Sambad is
Bengali language broadsheet published from Siliguri, Cooch Behar and Malda. Ganashakti
is the official representative of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of the West Bengal
state committee in print media. It first appeared in the year 1967.
Marathi
There are five newspapers published in Marathi from Maharashtra. Along with enriching
the language, the vernacular press also caters to the local needs of the people. The
newspapers are as follows: Daily Aikya is a leading Marathi newspaper published from
Satara. Loksatta is a Marathi newspaper from Maharashtra, which has branches in

Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Ahmednagar and Delhi. Owned by the Bennett, Coleman and Co.
or the Times Group, Maharashtra Times is a leading Marathi daily.
Saamna is a Marathi newspaper and a mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena. Sakal is a newspaper
in Marathi and it was first circulated in 1932. It is published from Pune, Jalgaon, Satara,
Nagpur, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Kolhapur and Mumbai.
Hindi
Hindi language newspapers are circulated throughout the country. Hindi being the national
language, several newspapers in this language are published. Till date newspapers remain a
significant source of information in India. Some of the leading Hindi language newspapers
of India are Aaj, Aj Daily, Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Navajyoti,
Divya Himachal, Fiji Samachar, Hazaribag Times, Hindi media, Hindustan Dainik,
Jansatta, Naiduniya, Nava Bharat, Navbharat Times, Panchjanya, Prabhat Khabar, Punjab
Kesari, Rajasthan Patrika, Shanti Dut, Deshbandhu, Vidarbha Chandika and others. The
first Hindi language newspaper published in India was Samachar Sudha Varshan in the
year 1854. Hindi press since its beginning followed an evolutionary phase. At present, the
Hindi Language Newspapers have reached modernisation and in this process, it has gone
through five distinct phases of transformation that include, the beginning phase, 1826,
1866, the Harishchandra phase, 1867-1899, the literary phase, 1900-1919, the Gandhian
phase, 1920-1947 and the post independence phase 1948 till date.
Amongst the Hindi newspapers, Dainik Jagran is one of the largest circulated Hindi daily
in the country. The main places of publication of Dainik Jagran are Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and
Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Besides this newspaper, there are several other renowned
newspapers including Amar Ujala. This is published from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Nav Bharat Times is published from Delhi
and Mumbai and Punjab Kesari from Punjab and Haryana. Naiduniya is another leading
Hindi newspaper with its headquarters located at Indore.
Rajasthan Patrika is a Hindi newspaper published from several cities of Rajasthan like
Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Rajasthan and Kota. It is also published from Surat, Ahmedabad,
Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hubli. Launched in 1989, Vidarbha Chandika, a Hindi
language weekly published from Nagpur has also become renowned.
Hindi language newspapers have been able to rise in stature due to the contribution of the
eminent journalists. The founder editor of Hindi daily Jansatta, Prabhash Joshi, is a
renowned writer and political analyst. It is a publication of the Indian Express Group. He is
the consulting editor of Jansatta at present. Mrinal Pande is among the Indian personalities
who is also a recognised journalist and at present the chief editor of Hindi Daily,
Hindustan. Late Narendra Mohan had also acted upon on taking up the Hindi newspapers
to the pinnacle success. He majorly contributed to Dainik Jagran. Thus, the sincere
endeavour of the journalists has provided the Hindi language newspapers champion in the
field of journalism.
Hindi is the official language of India and during Indian struggle for independence Hindi
language newspapers were used as a means of protesting against the British rule as well as

to create a national awakening among the masses. In the post independence period a
number of Hindi language newspapers have become an instrument of educating,
entertaining and Information.
Urdu
Indias first Urdu newspaper Jam-e-Jahan Numa was issued from Calcutta on March 27, 1822,
but the first Urdu newspaper of North India was brought out by Moulvi Baqar in 1837 from
Delhi. It was a weekly printed on four pages of 12 X 8 inches issued every Saturday. The motheaten files of Delhi Urdu Akhbar preserved at the National Archives mirror the contemporary
social and political life of Delhi where decline and decay had set in. It carried a plethora of news
stories related to international events, the affairs of native states, the Royal Court and the East
India Company. Further, the helplessness of the nominal emperor is mirrored in a regular
column, Huzoor-e-wala.
The area of news coverage was amazing, and it was rightly regarded as the complete newspaper.
It appointed correspondents in various cities to obtain the latest news. Moulvi Baqar put a
premium on authenticity and asked the correspondents not to make use of hearsay and rumours.
Delhi Urdu Akhbar was always held in great esteem by both Indians and the British, though its
circulation hardly crossed the three figure mark.
Through its news, the paper started instigating its readers against British rule, and when the
torch-bearers of the freedom movement stormed Delhi on May 11, 1857, it devoted the entire
front page to highlight their gallantry. Delhi Urdu Akhbar had given up its usual restraint and
showed little sympathy for the victims of the rebels violence. The issue of May 17, 1857 carried
a detailed first hand report of the unprecedented violence in Delhi. It was the first example of
spot reporting in Urdu journalism.
Urdu speakers from 5.18 percent of the population of the country but the share of Urdu
newspapers is less than one percent of the total newspaper readership. The reach of Urdu
newspapers is just 4.1 percent among the Urdu speakers and there are many reasons for
this very low reach. Urdu speakers are spread throughout the country and Urdu language
newspapers cannot reach a vast majority of them. A large proportion of Urdu speakers are
bilinguals and they may be reading newspapers in the language of the area they live. Urdu
speakers are the least prosperous community and their level of literacy is also low.
There are very few Urdu newspapers and the top-two have a share 63 percent and the topfive 98 percent of all Urdu newspaper readers. The readership to Urdu newspapers is so
low that reading to more than one newspaper is non-existent.
Prominent Newspapers and their editors:
Under British Rule
Bengal Gazette (English weekly) published by James Augustus Hicky in 1780 Jan 29th
from Calcutta. It was the first news paper in South Asian sub- continent
Bengal Gazette alias Hicky Gazette, Calcutta General Advertiser
Declaration a weekly political and commercial paper open to all but influenced by none
Hicky had his own column, many persons wrote by pen names.

Bengal Gazette could not survive more than two years due to sharp confrontation with
Governer General Warren Hastings and Chief Justice Elijah Impey.
Indian Gazette as a rival to Bengal Gazette, published in the same year (1780) by Peter
Read, a salt agent (backing by Hastings).
After Bengal Gazette, other publications from India were- Madras Courier weekly
(1785), Bombay Herald weekly (1789) merged into Bombay Gazette in 1791, Hurukaru
weekly (1793), Calcutta Chronicle (1818), Bengal Journal, Indian world, Bengal
Harkarer etc.
In the early period newspapers in India were run by Britishers.

Rudyard Kipling
A renowned man of the pen born in Bombay his father, a British citizen was a government
officer in India Rudyard joined Civil and Military Gazette (Lahore) in 1872 at the age of 17worked for five years in Gazette- then moved to the Pioneer- his writings specially monologue
and fictions were very impressive- writing and everything associated with, is a glorious fun, I
love both the fun and riot of writing- after suffering from malaria he was compelled to left India
and went to England in1890- he served about 7 years in India as a journalist- he is still
remembered as a creative journalist in the history of Indian journalism- reflections of his Indian
experience can be seen in his several writings.
Indians involvement in publication
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the pioneer Indian journalist and social reformer
By his inspiration Gangadhar Bhattacharjee published Bengal Gazette (1816),
the first Indian owned English daily newspaper, but could not survive long
Rajas own publications- Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali 1821), Mirut ul Akhbar (Persian 1822) and
Brahminical Magazine (English 1822)

Press Regulation 1823 imposed by British govt. in India to control newspapers.

The regulation was used as a tool to deport James Silk Buckingham, Editor of Calcutta
Chronicle. Raja presented a petition to Supreme Court to protest the regulation in favour
of J.S. Buckingham. It was his bold step for the preservation of press freedom, however
he defeated the case. Anti reformists Hindu fundamentalists published Samachar
Chandrika weekly to challenge Rajas social reforms.
Raja passed away in 1833
1857 Mutiny (the first war of Indian independence) was a turning point to Indian
journalism.
In the issue of mutiny, British owned press and Indian owned press blamed each other in
the lowest level.
British owned press acted like blood mongers of Indians. This event worked as a fuel to
Indian owned press against the British rule in India. Pioneers Indian journalists on those
days- Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Gangadhar Bhattacharjee, Bhawani Charan Bannerjee,
Dwarkanath Tagore, Girish Chandra Ghose, Harischandra Mukharjee, Ishworchandra
Vidyasagar, Kristo Pal, Manmohan Ghose, Keshub Chander Sen etc.
Other major publications by Indians- The Reformer, Enquirer, Gyan Auneshun, Bengal
Herald, Bang Doot, Hindu Patriot, Indian Mirror, Sulab Samachar, etc.

After revolution
Standard, The Bombay Times and Telegraph merged into Times of India in 1861, Robert Knight
was the owner , he was also owner of Statesman daily (1875) from Calcutta, Indian Economist
monthly and Agriculture Gazette of India, his editorials and writings were balanced and
impressive.

Other major publications- Indu Prakash weekly, Gyan Prakash, Lokhitavadi (all 1861),
Amrit Bazar Patrika (1868 Cacutta), Pioneer (1872 Allahbad), The Hindu (1878 Chennai)
Keshari (marathi) and The Maratha (English) (both in1878 from Pune by veteran freedom
fighter Balgangadhar Tilak)
Pioneer Indian Journalists- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahadev Govinda Ranade, Dadabhoi
Naoroji, Gopal Rao Hari Deshmukh, Vishu Shastri Pandit, Karsondas Mulji, Bal Sashtri
Jambhekar etc.
British govt. enacted Vernacular Press Act-1878 to suppress Indian language newspapers
Indian National Congress (INC) founded in 1885.
It was led by many nationalists like Surendranath Banerjee, Balgangadhar Tilak,
Dadabhoi Naoroji, Motilal Gosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, G. Subramania Aiyer, etc., who
were active journalists too.
After establishment of INC, Indian press became an important part of struggle for
independence.

Leading Newspapers after Establishment of INC

1900- Bangalee English Daily (ed)- Surendranath Banarjee
1901- New India English Weekly (ew)- Bipinchandra Pal
1901- Bande Mataram Bengalee weekly- Bipinchandra Pal
1906- Yugantar Bengali daily- Barendra kumar Ghose
1909- Leader- ed- Madan Mohan Malviya
1913- New India ed- Annie Besant
1913- Bombay Chronicle ed- Phiroj Shah Mehata
1918 Justice- ed- Dr.T.M.Nair (published by non- Brahmin movement in Madras)
1918 Searchlight- English biweekly- Shachindranath Sinha
1919- The Independent -ed Pandit Motilal Neharu
1919- Young India ed- Mahatma Gandhi
1920 Nav Jeevan Gujarati weeky- Mahatma Gandhi
1922- Swarajya- ed- T.Prakasham
1923- Forward- ed- Chittaranjan Das
1923- The Hindustan Times ed- K.M. Panikar (first daily in Delhi)
1929- Liberty-ed- Subhas Chandra Bose
1932- Harijan- Gujarati weekly- Mahatma Gandhi
1938- National Herald- Jawaharlal Neharu Viceroy Lord Curzon Vs. Indian press
In 1907 series of arrests and prosecutions against the journalists and press

India Press Act 1910 asked for heavy security deposits 963 publications and press were
prosecuted under the act
173 new printing press and 129 newspapers were killed at their birth by the weapon of
security deposits
British govt. collected about 5 lakhs Indian Rs. in the first year of the act enforcement
During the First World War (1914-1918) Indian press were divided.
The act was forcely executed against the press who were not in support of British side in
the world war.
In 1919 Jaliawala Bagh massacre was a big disaster to the Indian press. Even the Anglo- Indian
press was not escaped.

The Golden Era of Indian Mission Journalism (1920 1947)

Declaration of non-cooperation movement against British rule in India.
Press marched shoulder to shoulder with satyagrahis.
Mahatma Gandhi lauded for freedom of expression, ideas and peoples sentiments
Gandhi would not accept adv., he believed newspapers should survive on the revenue
from subscribers
He would not accept any restrictions on the paper, he rather close it down
His writings were widely circulated and reproduced in the newspapers all over the
country
A big challenge to non-Gandhian newspapers. Gandhi declared Salt Satyagraha in 1930
The nationalist press played a memorable role, which perhaps is unique in the history of
any freedom movement.
Press ordinance issued in 1930 to suppress Indian press through heavy security deposits.
When second world war broke out , British rulers became more suppressive to the Indian
press
In 1940 UP government directed the press to submit the headlines of the news to the
secretary of the information department for his pre- approval
In response to this, National Herald (newspaper run by Jawaharlal Neharu) published the
news without headlines Second world war and freedom fight gave more fuel to Indian
press Britishers charged them as pro-Hitler
All India Newspaper Editors Conference held in 1940 at Delhi voiced against the
suppressive attitude of the British govt.
Fresh suppression and struggle started from 1942 when Quit India Movement initiated
Many press, publications and journalists including Neharu suspended and arrested in1942
It continued until the declaration of independence in1947 August K. Rama Rao, Editor, Swarajya
It was more than a vocation, it was a mission and the newspaper was a noble enterprise working
for patriotic purpose.

Role of Newspapers in India's Struggle for Freedom - Jagdish Prasad Chaturvedi

At the time of the first war of independence, any number of papers was in operation in the
country. Many of these like Bangadoot of Ram Mohan Roy, Rastiguftar of Dadabhai Naoroji and
Gyaneneshun advocated social reforms and thus helped arouse national awakening.
It was in 1857 itself that Payam-e-Azadi started publication in Hindi and Urdu, calling upon the
people to fight against the British. The paper was soon confiscated and anyone found with a copy
of the paper was presecuted for sedition. Again, the first hindi daily, Samachar Sudhavarashan,
and two newspapers in Urdu and Persian respectively, Doorbeen and Sultan-ul-Akbar, faced trial
in 1857 for having published a 'Firman' by Bahadur Shah Zafar, urging the people to drive the
British out of India. This was followed by the notroius Gagging Act of Lord Canning, under
which restrictions were imposed on the newspapers and periodicals.
Prominent Role
In the struggle against the British, some newspapers played a very notable role. This included
the Hindi Patriot! Established in 1853, by the author and playwright, Grish Chandra Ghosh, it
became popular under the editorship of Harish Chandra Mukherjee. In 1861, the paper published
a play, "Neel Darpan" and launched a movement against the British, urging the people to stop
cultivating the crop for the white traders. This resulted in the formation of a Neel Commission.
Later, the paper was taken over by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. The paper strongly opposed the
Government's excesses and demanded that Indians be appointed to top government posts. The
Indian Mirror was the other contemporary of this paper which was very popular among the
reading public.
Yet another weekly, Amrita Bazar Patrika which was being published from Jessore, was critical
of the government, with the result that its proprietors faced trial and conviction. In 1871, the
Patrika moved to Calcutta and another Act was passed to supress it and other native journals.
Marathi Press
Mahadev Govind Rande, a leading leader of Maharashtra, used to write in Gyan Prakash as well
as in Indu Prakash. Both these journals helped awaken the conscience of the downtrodden
masses. Another Marathi weekly, Kesari was started by Tilak from January 1, 1881. He
aIongwith Agarkar and Chiplunkar started another weekly journal, Mratha in English. The Editor
of the 'Daccan Star' Nam Joshi also joined them and his paper was incorporated with Maratha.
Tilak and Agarkar were convicted for writings against the British and the Diwan of Kolhapur.
Tilak's Kesari became one of the leading media to propagate the message of freedom movement.
It also made the anti-partition movement of Bengal a national issue. In 1908, Tilak opposed the
Sedition ordinace. He was later exiled from the country for six years. Hindi edition of Kesari was
started from Nagpur and Banaras.
Press and the First Session of Congress
The Editors commanded a very high reputation at the time of the birth of the Indian National
Congress. One could measure the extent of this respect from the fact that those who occupied the
frontline seats in the first ever Congress session held in Bombay in December 1885 included
some of the editors of Indian newspapers. The firstever resolution at this Session was proposed

by the editor of The Hindu, G. Subramanya Iyer. In this resolution, it was demanded that the
government should appoint a committee to enquire into the functioning of Indian administration.
The second resolution was also moved by a journalist from Poona, Chiplunkar in which the
Congress was urged to demand for the abolition of India Council which ruled the country from
Britain. The third resolution was supported by Dadabhai Naoroji who was a noted journalist of
his time. The fourth resolution was proposed by Dadabhai Naoroji.
There were many Congress Presidents who had either been the editors or had started the
publication of one or the other newspapers. In this context, particular mention may be made of
Ferozeshah Mehta who had started the Bombay Chronide and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
who edited daily, Hindustan. He also helped the publication of Leader from Allahabad. Moti Lal
Nehru was the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the leader. Lala Lajpat Rai inspired the
publication of three journals, the Punjabi, Bandematram and the People from Lahore. During his
stay in South Africa, Gandhiji had brought out Indian Opinion and after settling in India, he
started the publication of Young India; Navjeevan, Harijan, Harijan Sevak and Harijan Bandhu.
Subash Chandra Bose and C.R. Das were not journalists but they acquired the papers like
Forward and Advance which later attained national status. Jawaharlal Nehru founded the
National Herald.
Revolutionary Movement and the Press
So far as the revolutionary movement is concerned, it did not begin with guns and bombs but it
started with the publication of newspapers. The first to be mentioned in this context is Yugantar
publication of which was started by Barindra Kumar Ghosh who edited it also.
When the Ghadar party was organised in Amenca, Lala Hardayal started publication of the
journal 'Ghadar'. Within one year, millions of copies of this journal were published in Hindi,
Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and English and sent to India and to all parts of the world
where Indians were residing. In the beginning the copies of the journal were concealed in parcels
of foreign cloth sent to Delhi. It was also planned to smuggle the printing press into India for this
purpose. But then the war broke out and it became almost impossible to import printing
machinery from abroad. Lala Hardayal was arrested in America and deported to India. One of his
followers Pandit Ramchandra started publishing Hindustan Ghadar in English. With the U.S.
joining the war, the Ghadar party workers were arrested by the American Government. When the
trail was on, one of the rivals of Pandit Ramchandra managed to obtain a gun and shoot him dead
in the jail itself. The death of Ram chandra led to the closure of this paper.
In 1905 Shyamji Krishna Verma started publication of a journal Indian Sociologist from London.
It used to publish reports of political activities taking place at the India House in London. In
1909 two printers of this journal were convicted. Shyamji Krishna Verma left England for Paris
from where he started the publication of the journal. Later on, he had to leave for Geneva. He
countinued to bring out the journal from there for two or three years more. In Paris, Lala
Hardayal, in collaboration with Madam Cama and Sardar Singhraoji Rana brought out
Vandematram and Talwar.
After Yugantar, it was Vandematram that played a significant role in the freedom struggle. This
journal was established by Subodha Chandra Malik, C.R. Das and Bipin Chandra Pal on August

6, 1906. Its editor, Aurobindo Ghosh, the editor of Sandhya, B. Upadhyay and editor of Yugantar
B. N. Dutt had to a face a trial for espousing the cause of freedom.
So far as the Hindi papers were concerned, they looked to government for support for some time.
Bhartendu Harish Chandra was the first to start a journal Kavi Vachan Sudha in 1868. Its policy
was to give vent to the miseries of the people of India. When the Prince of Wales visited India, a
poem was published in his honour. The British authorities were given to understand that the
poem had two meanings and that one word used in the peom could also mean that the Prince of
Wales should get a shoe-beating.
The government aid to journals like Kavi Vachan Sudha was stopped for publishing what was
objectionable from the government point of view. Bhartendu Harish Chandra resigned from his
post of an honorary Magistrate. His two friends, Pratap Narain Mishra and Bal Krishna Bhatt
started publication of two important political journals Pradeep from Allahabad, and Brahman
from Kanpur. The Pradeep was ordered to be closed down in 1910 for espousing the cause of
freedom.
The Bharat-Mitra was a famous Hindi journal of Calcutta which started its publication on May
17, 1878 as a fortnighly. It contributed a lot in propagating the cause of freedom movement. The
journal exposed the British conspiracy to usurp Kashmir. Several other papers published from
Calcutta which played an important role in freedom struggle included Ambika Prasad Vajpayee's
Swantrtmtra, Ramanand Chatterjee's Modern Review' in English, Pravasi Patra' in Bengali and
Vishal Bharat in Hindi.
One of the foremost Hindi journalist who has earned a name for his patriotism was Ganesh
Shanker Vidyarthi. In 1913, he brought out weekly Pratap from Kanpur. He made the supreme
sacrifice in 1931 in the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. Krishna Dutt Paliwal brought out Sainik
from Agra which became a staunch propagator of nationalism in Western U. P. The noted
Congress leader, Swami Shradhanand, started the publication of Hindi journal Vir Arjun' and
Urdu journal Tej. After the assassination of Swami Shradhanand, Vidyavachaspathi and Lala
Deshbandhu Gupta continued the publication of these journals. They were themselves prominent
Congress leaders.
In Lahore, Mahashaya Khushal Chand brought out Milap and Mahashaya Krishna started
publishing urdu journals which helped a lot in promoting the national cause. In 1881, Sardar
Dayal Singh Majitha on the advice of Surendra Nath Bannerjee brought out Tribune under the
editorship of Sheetala Kant Chatterjee. Bipin Chandra Pal also edited this paper for some time.
Later in 1917, Kalinath Rai joined the paper as its editor.
There is not a single privince in India which did not produce a journal or newspaper to uphold
the cause of freedom struggle. A. G. Horniman made the Bombay Chronicle' a powerful
instrument to promote militant nationalism. He himself took part in the meetings where
Satyagraha used to be planned. He published vivid accounts of Jallianwala Bagh carnage for
which one correspondent of his paper, Goverdhan Das, was sentenced to three years'
imprisonment by a military court. Horniman too was arrested and deported to London even
though he was ill at that time. Amritlal Shet brought out the Gujarati journal Janmabhumi which

was an organ of the people of the princely states of Kathiawad, but it became a mouthpiece of
national struggle. Similarly another Gujarati journal Saanjvartman played a prominent role under
the editorship of Sanwal Das Gandhi, who played a very significant role in the Quit India
Movement in 1942. It was soon after independent formed a parallel Government in Junagarh and
forced the Nawab of Junagarh to leave the country. The three editors of the Sindhi journal Hindi
Jairam Das Daulatram, Dr. choithram Gidwani and Hiranand karamchand, were arrested, their
press closed and the property of the paper confiscated.
In Bihar the tradition of national newspapers was carried forward by Sachidanand Sinha, who
had started the publication of Searchlight under the editorship of Murtimanohar Sinha. Dev Brat
Shastri started publication of 'Nav Shakti and Rashtra Vani'. The weekly yogi and the Hunkar'
also contributed very much to the general awakening.
British Curbs on Indian Press:
Tipu Sultan was a friend of the French. The Marathas had won the war against the Nizam. Thus
the British tried to maintain a strict control over the Press. Thus came the earliest regulatory
measures in 1799 when Lord Wellesley promulgated the Press Regulations, which imposed press
censorship on an infant newspaper publishing industry. What was followed was a set of laws one
after another with a single objective, To suppress and control the Press.
The British colonial rule: Press Laws and Regulations (1799-1947)
1. First Censorship Law (1799)
2. Censorship Law Modifications (1813)
3. Censorship Law Modifications (1813)
4. Regulations for Registration (1823)
5. Metcalfes Act of 1835 (Registration of the Press Act)
6. New Regulations on Printing Presses (1857)
7. Indian Penal Code (1860)
8. Press and Registration Act 1867
9. Vernacular Press Act (1878)
10. Criminal Procedure Code (1898)
11. Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act (1908)
12. Indian Press Act (1910)
13. Official Secrets Act (1923)
14. Indian Press (Emergency Power) (1931)
A recap of the major laws from the above ones:
The1835 Press Act undid most of the repressive features of earlier legislations on the subject. On
18th June 1857, the government passed the Gagging Act, which among various other things reintroduced the pre 1835 situation. It introduced compulsory licensing for the owning or running
of printing presses; empowered the government to prohibit the publication or circulation of any
newspaper, book or other printed material and banned the publication or dissemination of
statements or news stories which had a tendency to cause a furor against the government, thereby
weakening its authority. The 1860 Indian Penal Code (IPC) gave the government powers to
search and forfeit publications which violated Sections like 124A, 153A or 295A.

Next came the Press and Registration of Books Act in 1867 which continues to remain in force
till date. After the criticism of Lord Lyttons role in the second Afghan War by the Indian Press,
Governor General Lord Lytton promulgated the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 allowing the
government to clamp down on the publication of vernacular language writings deemed seditious
and to impose punitive sanctions on printers and publishers who failed to fall in line.
One of the last major Press Law of the British rule came in 1908 when Lord Minto promulgated
the Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908. It authorized local authorities to take action
against the editor of any newspaper that published matter deemed to constitute an incitement to
rebellion.
But the most stringent law came in 1923in the form of the Official Secrets Act (OSA). This
prohibited the publication of classified official information. Lots of information vital to the
public was withheld from the press in the name of OSA till recently until the RTI was passed.
Press & Registration of Books Act 1867:
During the reign of the British Government in India writing of books and other informatory
material took a concrete shape and with the advent of printing presses various books on almost
all the subjects and periodicals touching every aspect of life started appearing. Thrust on
education gave an impetus to this with the result that lot of printed material became available.
Those in the field of writing, publishing and printing gave a thought to organize a system for
keeping a record of the publications. The then East India Company was urged to keep a record of
the publications. An attempt was made by the authorities to make a collection of the books and
other publications emanating from the various printing presses throughout India.
Board of Directors of East India Company issued an instruction that copies of every important
and interesting work published in India should be dispatched to England to be deposited in the
library of India House. Such an instruction had a slow impact. A system of voluntary
registrations of publications was evolved but it failed. It was found necessary to establish a
system of compulsory sale to Government, of three copies of each work in India. So was brought
the Act, the oldest to survive: Press and Registration of Books Act (PRB), 1867.
Since 1867 PRB Act remained the fundamental law governing the rules for the regulation of the
publication of newspapers and of having printing presses. Though no license or permission is
required for starting and running a newspaper, no paper can be published without complying
with the provision of this act. Two conditions are necessary to be fulfilled for publishing a
newspaper:
One, the name of the printer, the place of printing and the name of the publisher and place of
publication must be legibly printed on every book or newspaper printed/published within India.
Two, a declaration must be made before the district, Presidency or Sub-divisional Magistrate
within whose jurisdiction the newspaper is to be published, stating name of the printer and
publisher, premises where printing and publishing is conducted, the title, language and
periodicity of the newspaper. The printer and publisher either in person or through an authorized
agent should make the declaration. If the printer or publisher is not the owner of the paper, the

declaration should specify the name of the owner. Note: Similarly, no printing press can be set
without making a relevant declaration. The act requires that Every time a press is shifted to a
new place a fresh declaration is necessary. But if the change of the place is for a period less than
60 days, the new location also falls within the jurisdiction of the same Magistrate, and the keeper
of the Press continues to be the same. No fresh declaration need to be made. In that case an
intimation regarding the change of place sent within 24 hours will suffice.
But, making a declaration does not automatically pave the way for publishing a newspaper.
Publication can be started only after the said Magistrate authenticates the declaration.
Every time the title, language or periodicity is changed a fresh declaration must be made. A
similarly declaration is necessary as often as the ownership or the place of printing or publication
of the newspaper is changed.
However, only a statement furnished to the Magistrate will suffice if the change of place is for a
period not exceeding 30 days or if he is by infirmity or otherwise incapable of carrying out his
duties for more than 90 days, then a fresh declaration will have to be made. Note: No person who
does not ordinarily reside in India or a minor can file a declaration or edit a newspaper.
If the declaration is made in accordance with the provisions of the law and if no other paper
bearing the same or similar title is already in existence in the same language or the same state,
then the Magistrate cannot refuse to authenticate the declaration. However, before authentication
he must make an inquiry from the Registrar or newspapers for India (RNI) about the existence of
such other paper. After authentication the paper must be started within a specific period.
The declaration in respect of a newspaper to be published once a week or more shall be void if it
is not commenced within six weeks of the authentication. In case of all other newspapers the
time limit for commencing publication is three months. If in any period of three months, a daily,
a tri-weekly, a biweekly or a fortnightly newspaper publishes less than half the number of issues,
which it should have published in accordance with the declaration, the newspaper shall cease to
publish. A fresh declaration must be filed before it can be started again.
In case of any other newspaper the maximum period of non-publication must not exceed 12
months.
Two copies of each issue of a newspaper and up to three copies of each book must be delivered,
in a prescribed manner to the Government free of expense. The Magistrate can cancel the
declaration after giving opportunity to show cause to the person concerned, if the Magistrate is
satisfied on the following counts:
The newspaper is being published in contravention of the provisions of this Act or rules made
under it, or
The newspaper bears a title which is the same as, or similar to that of any other newspaper
published either in the same language or in the same state, or
The printer or publisher has ceased to be so, or

The declaration was made on false representation on concealment of any material fact.
The Magistrates decision can be challenged in an appeal before the Press and Registration
Appellate Board comprising a Chairman and another member nominated by the Press Council of
India.
Penalties:
If a newspaper (or a book) is printed or published without legibly printing the name of the printer
and publisher as also the name of the place of printing/publishing, the printer or publisher can be
fined up to two thousand rupees or imprisoned up to six months or punished by both.
The same punishment can be awarded for keeping a press without making declaration or for
making false statement or for editing, printing or publishing a newspaper without conforming to
the rules. In the last case the Magistrate, may in addition to this punishment also cancel the
declaration in respect of the newspaper.
Non-compliance with the requirement regarding the delivery of copies of newspaper will invite a
penalty of up to Rs 30 for each default.In case of publication of a book, the value of the copies of
the book may be charged.
Registrar of Newspaper:
There is a provision for appointment of a Press Registrar by the Government of India for the
whole of the country. The Press Registrar maintains a register containing the following
particulars of each newspaper:
Title, language, periodicity, name of the editor, printer and publisher, place of printing and
publication, average number of pages per week, number of days of publication in the year,
average number of copies printed, sold and distributed free, retail selling price per copy, and
name and addresses of owners.
The Press Registrar also issues a certificate of registration to the publisher of the newspaper. He
does this on receipt of a copy of the declaration from the Magistrate who has authenticated it.
The publisher has to furnish to the Press Registrar an annual statement for the above particulars
about his newspaper.
The publisher has to publish all such particulars in the newspaper as may be specified by the
Press Registrar. The Rules require the publication in the first issue after the last day of February
each year, the name, address, nationality of the editor and publisher, and the name of all those
holding one percent or more shares in the newspaper.
The newspaper is also obliged to furnish returns, statistics and other information as the Press
Registrar may from time to time require. Non-compliance attracts a fine of five hundred rupees.
The Press Registrar has a right of access to record and documents of the newspaper for the
purpose of collection of any information about it.
Vernacular Press Act 1878:

Vernacular Press Act 1878 was enacted to curtail the freedom of the Indian-language (i.e., nonEnglish) press. Notably Lord Lytton was being bitterly criticized for the Second Anglo-Afghan
War (187880). So, he promulgated the act with an aim to prevent the vernacular press from
expressing criticism of British policies under him. The act excluded English-language
publications. It elicited strong and sustained protests from a wide spectrum of the Indian
populace.
It was nicknamed Gagging Act. For the first any Act empowered the govt. to issue search
warrants and enter newspaper premises even without court orders. The IPC already gave powers
to the govt. to search and forfeit publications which violated Sections like 124A, 153A or 295A.
More stringent anti-press laws were enacted in the passage of time, particularly when the
freedom movement gained momentum. British govt. wanted to curb the activities of
revolutionaries and the right of newspapers to report these. Reporting was closely monitored and
comments against govt. were not tolerated.
The law was repealed in 1881 by Lyttons successor as viceroy, Lord Ripon (governed 188084).
However, the resentment it produced among Indians became one of the catalysts giving rise to
Indias growing independence movement. Among the acts most vocal critics was the Indian
Association (founded 1876), which is generally considered to be one of the precursors of the
Indian National Congress (founded 1885). Later in 1882 due to the efforts of Lord Ripon the Act
was repealed in 1882
Indian Press after Independence:
Compared with many other developing countries, the Indian press has flourished since
independence and exercises a large degree of independence. British colonialism allowed for the
development of a tradition of freedom of the press, and many of India's great English-language
newspapers and some of its Indian-language press were begun during the nineteenth century. As
India became independent, ownership of India's leading English-language newspapers was
transferred from British to Indian business groups, and the fact that most English-language
newspapers have the backing of large business houses has contributed to their independence
from the government. The Indian press has experienced impressive growth since independence.
In 1950 there were 214 daily newspapers, with forty-four in English and the rest in Indian
languages. By 1990 the number of daily newspapers had grown to 2,856, with 209 in English
and 2,647 in indigenous languages. The expansion of literacy and the spread of consumerism
during the 1980s fueled the rapid growth of news weeklies and other periodicals. By 1993 India
had 35,595 newspapers--of which 3,805 were dailies--and other periodicals. Although the
majority of publications are in indigenous languages, the English-language press, which has
widespread appeal to the expanding middle class, has a wide multicity circulation throughout
India.
There are four major publishing groups in India, each of which controls national and regional
English-language and vernacular publications. They are the Times of India Group, the Indian
Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, and the Anandabazar Patrika Group. The Times of
India is India's largest English-language daily, with a circulation of 656,000 published in six
cities. The Indian Express , with a daily circulation of 519,000, is published in seventeen cities.
There also are seven other daily newspapers with circulations of between 134,000 and 477,000,
all in English and all competitive with one another. Indian-language newspapers also enjoy large
circulations but usually on a statewide or citywide basis. For example, the Malayalam-language

daily Malayala Manorama circulates 673,000 copies in Kerala; the Hindi-language Dainik
Jagran circulates widely in Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi, with 580,000 copies per day; Punjab
Kesari , also published in Hindi and available throughout Punjab and New Delhi, has a daily
circulation of 562,000; and the Anandabazar Patrika , published in Calcutta in Bengali, has a
daily circulation of 435,000. There are also numerous smaller publications throughout the nation.
The combined circulation of India's newspapers and periodicals is in the order of 60 million,
published daily in more than ninety languages.
India has more than forty domestic news agencies. The Express News Service, the Press Trust of
India, and the United News of India are among the major news agencies. They are headquartered
in Delhi, Bombay, and New Delhi, respectively, and employ foreign correspondents.
Although freedom of the press in India is the legal norm--it is constitutionally guaranteed--the
scope of this freedom has often been contested by the government. Rigid press censorship was
imposed during the Emergency starting in 1975 but quickly retracted in 1977. The government
has continued, however, to exercise more indirect controls. Government advertising accounts for
as much as 50 percent of all advertisements in Indian newspapers, providing a monetary
incentive to limit harsh criticism of the administration. Until 1992, when government regulation
of access to newsprint was liberalized, controls on the distribution of newsprint could also be
used to reward favored publications and threaten those that fell into disfavor. In 1988, at a time
when the Indian press was publishing investigative reports about corruption and abuse of power
in government, Parliament passed a tough defamation bill that mandated prison sentences for
offending journalists. Vociferous protests from journalists and opposition party leaders ultimately
forced the government to withdraw the bill. Since the late 1980s, the independence of India's
press has been bolstered by the liberalization of government economic policy and the increase of
private-sector advertising provided by the growth of India's private sector and the spread of
consumerism.

1947 Onwards
India received independence from British rule on 1947 August 15th
The press celebrated the independence, because it was their victory too.
At the beginning of independence the relation between the national govt. and press was good, but
a year after situation was changed.
P. M. Neharu, Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel, etc. were not happy with the press.
Press Commission- 1952, report- 1954
Recommendations Press Council, press registrar, minimum basic salary for working
journalists, strengthen the role of the editors
The working journalist act-1955
The newspaper (price and page) act- 1956
Press Council established 1965
P.M. Mrs. Indira Gandhi declared state of emergency on 1975 June It was a shocking blow to the
freedom of press Ignored the press freedom guaranteed by article 19 (1) in the constitution
Heavy censorship during the emergency period under Defence Rule in order to maintain public
order

1975 Dec 8th ordinance banned the publication of all objectionable matter, no permission to
report parliament, close down Press Council , blaming it was failed to curb provocative writings
During 19 months of emergency 253 journalists detained and 7 foreign correspondence expelled
When Janata Dal came into power, all the restrictions over press were removed
After emergency Indian press became more professional along with high tech., simultaneous
publications increased, tremendous change in the contents, more supplements, booming of
specialized magazines

Growth of National Press:

Newspaper reading in a community depends on a number of factors. The availability of
newspapers, their quality and local relevance are important. The level of literacy and the
prosperity of the community have also a bearing. In India, language 'patriotism' is playing
an important role in the growth of newspapers. Bilinguals in the community have a greater
choice of newspapers.
Malayalam speakers are the most literate community and Malayalam papers occupying the
first rank for this reason is no surprise. Urdu speakers are dispersed through out the
country and most of them have no access to quality Urdu newspapers. In addition, a large
number of them are bilinguals and may be reading newspapers in the languages of their
residence. Urdu newspapers having the last rank is also understandable. However, in
between the top and bottom there are many surprises.
Punjabi speakers are the most prosperous community and still Punjabi newspapers rank
very low. Tamil and Bengali speakers are extremely proud of their languages but their
newspaper reading is not as high as one would have expected. The newspaper revolution in
Andhra Pradesh has been widely reported but still Telugu newspapers have
(comparatively) low reach. Assamese ranking above Telugu and Bengali is a real surprise.
A deeper study of readership in each of the languages will help in a better understanding of
the factors that are helping or hampering the growth of newspapers in regional languages.
Such a detailed analysis of the status of newspapers in different languages, starting with
English followed by the other languages in the descending order of speakers in different
languages, is attempted in the following paragraphs.
English Newspapers
Some of the popular English newspapers of today have more than 150 years of history.?
Newspaper publishing in India started in English and English newspapers have the greatest
influence on the opinion makers of the country. Some English newspapers consider
themselves as "National" sometimes even proclaiming so in their mastheads. Until recently
the area of influence of any one English newspaper was limited to the city of its
publication like Delhi- Hindustan Times, Mumbai - Times of India, Chennai- Hindu,
Bangalore- Deccan Herald etc. Only in the last decade, some of these newspapers have
tried to extend their reach to more than one major city. In spite of this even today there is
no English newspaper, which has good presence in more than two states.
At the All-India level only 2.7 percent of the total population and 8.2 percent of the urban
population read English newspapers. Even in the top eight metro cities only 16.5 percent of

the population read English newspapers. English newspapers are more widely read in
Bangalore (28.1 percent), Delhi (21.9), Hyderabad (20.6) and Mumbai (17.3) compared to
other metros Chennai (15.2), Kanpur (14.4), Calcutta (10.4) and Ahmedabad (4.2).
The share of English newspapers at the national level is 11.7 percent, that is, 11.7? Percent
of all newspaper readers in the country read English newspapers.? The share for the urban
areas is 18.7 percent and for the eight metro cities 28.7 percent. English newspapers do
offer competition to (or take readers away from) regional language newspapers in some
cities, which are in the real sense metropolitan like Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In
other cities including Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta newspapers in the languages of the
region predominate.
Hindi Newspapers:
Newspaper reading has been lower in the Hindi states than in other parts of the country for
various reasons. Because of this low readership in the 1970s, the share of Hindi
newspapers was less than 16 percent. This share has now increased to 33.5 percent, which
is a vast improvement and is the result of some fine entrepreneurship among the Hindi
newspaper owners. Newspaper publication in Hindi has seen a revolution in Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh and Western parts of Uttar Pradesh in the last decade and two Hindi
newspapers, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran now reach more than 10 million readers.
Newspaper reading among Hindi speakers is still below the national average and the reach
of Hindi newspapers is only 19.0 percent. This situation could change in the next few years
if the present tempo of growth is maintained. There are wide differences in reach within
the Hindi states. The percentage of newspaper readers (most of them are Hindi speakers
and read Hindi newspapers only) in Rajasthan is 23.3 percent, (48.7 percent in urban areas
and 15.9 percent in rural areas) which is comparable to some of the more developed states.
In Bihar, the reach of Hindi newspapers is just 8.7 percent, the lowest among all states.
The reach of Hindi newspapers in the state, in the urban and rural areas respectively, for
the four Hindi speaking states are: Bihar- 8.7: 32.1: 5.2, Madhya Pradesh- 16.8: 41.8: 8.1,
Rajasthan- 23.3: 48.7: 14.9 and Uttar Pradesh- 13.9: 35.0: 8.2. In Delhi 36.6 percent read
Hindi newspapers and separate figures are not available for Haryana and Himachal
Pradesh.
Bengali Newspapers:
Bengal has been in the forefront in newspaper publication as the first Indian language
newspaper was published in Bengali. Among Bengali speakers 20.8 percent read Bengali
newspapers, which puts the reach of Bengali newspapers below the national average of
22.8. Looking in a slightly different way Bengali speakers form 8.3 percent of the
population of the country but the share of Bengali newspapers is 7.5 percent.?
Bengali newspapers reach 35.1 percent of the urban and 12.4 percent of the rural
population of West Bengal. The reach of newspapers in the state itself is low in spite of the
fact that Bengal is one of the most politically active states. Perhaps the absence of quality
newspapers in North Bengal may be one of the reasons for this situation. Bengali
newspapers have hardly any competition from other language newspapers as the share of

Bengali newspapers in West Bengal is 90 percent. Even in Calcutta, the share of Bengali
newspapers is 82 percent.
The top-two Bengali newspapers are read by 92 percent and the top-five is 124 percent of
all Bengali newspaper readers. A political party runs one of the top-five Bengali
newspapers. It is most likely that some of the newspapers in the top-five supplement the
two main newspapers.
Telugu Newspapers:
The phenomenal growth of Eenadu, the top Telugu newspaper, through multiple local
editions in the 1990s attracted attention throughout the country. Nevertheless, Telugu
newspapers reach only 21 percent of the Telugu speakers, which is below the national
average, and very much below the reach of other South Indian languages newspapers.?
Telugu speakers form 7.87 percent of the population of the country and the share of Telugu
newspapers is 7.2 percent.
In Andhra Pradesh, the share of Telugu newspapers is 91 percent whereas the
corresponding figures for Tamil Nadu and Kerala are 95 and 98 respectively (the figure for
Karnataka is 84, but more about it later). In Hyderabad the share of Telugu newspapers is
62 percent and that of English newspapers is 47 percent, which means English newspapers
do offer some competition to Telugu newspapers. On the other hand, in Vishakapatnam,
the other large city in the state, the share of Telugu newspapers is 93 percent and of
English newspapers? 22 percent and here English newspapers supplement rather than
compete with Telugu newspapers.
The share of the top Telugu newspaper among all Telugu newspaper readers is 85 percent.
The number-two also has substantial readership and the combined readership of the toptwo is 1.21 times the total readership of Telugu newspapers, which means that even the
second paper largely supplements the top one. The situation in the newspaper industry in
Telugu is perhaps comparable to what people say about Mrs. Gandhi occupying number
one to ten positions in the Congress party hierarchy.
Urdu Newspapers:
Urdu speakers form 5.18 percent of the population of the country but the share of Urdu
newspapers is less than one percent of the total newspaper readership. The reach of Urdu
newspapers is just 4.1 percent among the Urdu speakers and there are many reasons for
this very low reach. Urdu speakers are spread throughout the country and Urdu language
newspapers cannot reach a vast majority of them. A large proportion of Urdu speakers are
bilinguals and they may be reading newspapers in the language of the area they live. Urdu
speakers are the least prosperous community and their level of literacy is also low.
There are very few Urdu newspapers and the top-two have a share 63 percent and the topfive 98 percent of all Urdu newspaper readers. The readership to Urdu newspapers is so
low that reading to more than one newspaper is non-existent.
Gujarati Newspapers:

Limca Book of Records says that Mumbai Samachar, the Gujarati daily started in 1822, is
the oldest surviving newspaper of Asia. The reach of Gujarati newspapers is 32.2 percent
among Gujarati speakers and this is well above the national average of 22.8.? Gujarati
speakers form 4.85 percent of the population of the country and the share of Gujarati
newspapers is 6.8 percent. Gujarat is one of the most prosperous states of the country and
the higher reach of Gujarati newspapers is on the expected lines. However, there is a
greater urban-rural divide as only 32 percent of Gujarati newspaper readers live in rural
areas.
In Gujarat, the share of Gujarati newspapers is 99 percent and that of English newspapers
is just 4 percent in spite of the fact that there are three cities in the state- Ahmedabad,
Vadodra and Surat.with a million-plus population and English newspapers are published
from Ahmedabad and Vadodra. In Ahmedabad, the share of Gujarati newspapers is 98
percent and just 8 percent of all newspaper readers read English newspapers. The shares of
Gujarati and English newspapers for the other two cities are: Surat- 99:3 and Vadodra97:13. Gujarati newspapers have virtually no competition from newspapers of other
languages.
There are only two Gujarati newspapers with mass circulation reaching almost an equal
number of readers. The cumulative share of these two newspapers is 110 percent and that
of the top- five newspapers is 116 percent.
Kannada Newspapers:
The first modern Kannada newspaper Prajavani started publication in Bangalore in 1948
and remained the market leader for more than half-a-century. North and coastal Karnataka
had their own popular newspapers and the reach of the market leader was minimal in those
areas. Only in the last few years, this paper and many other Kannada newspapers are trying
to reach the whole state through multi-city editions.
Kannada speakers form 3.9 percent of the population of the country and the share of
Kannada newspapers is 4.9 percent of all newspaper readers. Kannada newspapers reach
29 percent of Kannada newspaper readers. This is well above the national average of 22.8
percent, which is an achievement when one considers that Kannada newspapers face the
most severe competition from newspapers of other languages.
In Karnataka the share of Kannada newspapers is only 84 percent whereas the share
figures of the respective regional language newspapers for some other states are: Gujarat99, Kerala- 98 and? Tamilnadu- 95. The competition for Kannada newspapers is mainly
from English newspapers. As already pointed out English newspapers are more widely
read in Karnataka with a share of 22 percent, which is the highest for any state.
In Bangalore, Kannada and English newspapers share an equal number of readers- 56
percent of all newspaper readers reading newspapers in these languages. In this respect,
Bangalore is more 'cosmopolitan' than even Mumbai, where the share of Marathi and
English newspapers are 52 and 30 percent respectively. In Bangalore, newspapers in other
languages like Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu have a share of 10 percent. In the last

few months, Bangalore city editions of popular Hindi and Telugu newspapers have also
been introduced and this share of 10 percent might have further increased.
The top-two Kannada newspapers have a share of 81 percent and the top-five 128 percent
of all Kannada newspaper readers. In the last few months, the circulation of Vijaya
Karnataka, a five-year old Kannada daily, has risen phenomenally and the readership of
this paper has not been properly accounted in NRS 2001. This newspaper, which was in
the fourth position among Kannada newspaper in NRS 2001, has emerged as the leader in
NRS 2002.
Malayalam Newspapers:
For a long time, the two Malayalam newspapers -Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi
have been among the ten most widely circulated newspapers of the country. In NRS 2002,
Malayala Manorama, has recorded a readership of over ten million. It is an interesting
feature of the Indian newspaper industry that while 11.2 percent of the population of the
country has good knowledge English and Malayalam is spoken by less than 4 percent, a
Malayalam daily reaches almost twice as many readers as the most popular English
newspaper of the country.
Malayalam speakers form 3.62 percent of the country and the share of Malayalam
newspapers is 10.1 percent of all newspaper readers. The reach of Malayalam newspapers
among the Malayalam speakers is 64.1 which is three-times the all-India average. In the
two large cities of Kerala, Kochi and Tiruvananthapuram, the reach of Malayalam
newspaper goes up to 74 percent.
Among Malayalam speakers more than 22 percent (the highest for any language group)
have knowledge of English and newspapers in English are published from three cities,
Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. In spite of these facts, in Kerala, the share of
Malayalam newspapers is 98 percent and that of English newspapers is 5 percent. Even in
the large cities, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi the share of Malayalam newspapers is 98
percent. However, in these two cities 14 percent of newspaper readers also read English
newspapers. In Kerala, English newspapers supplement rather than compete with
Malayalam newspapers.
The combined share of the top-two Malayalam newspapers is 112 percent and that of the
top-five newspapers is 145 percent of all Malayalam newspaper readers. A substantial
number of Malayalam speakers read more than one newspaper. A political party runs the
third most popular newspaper in Malayalam and in this respect; there is similarity between
West Bengal and Kerala.
Oriya Newspapers:
The state of Orissa is low down in literacy and prosperity and the reach of Oriya
newspapers among the Oriya speakers being 14.6, well below the national average is not
surprising. Oriya speakers form 3.35 percent of the population of the country but the share
of Oriya newspapers is just 2.1 percent. NRS-2002 has recorded more than average growth
in the readership of Oriya newspapers but even this growth has not made much difference

on the reach of Oriya newspapers. In Orissa, among all the newspaper readers 95 percent
read Oriya newspapers and 13 percent read English newspapers.
The top- three newspapers in Oriya reach almost an equal number of readers and cover the
entire readership of Oriya newspapers. Other newspapers appear to supplement these three.
Orissa is one of the least urbanised states and there are more readers for Oriya newspapers
in the rural areas than in the urban areas.
Punjabi Newspapers:
Punjabi speakers form 2.79 percent of the population of the country but the share of
Punjabi newspaper is only 1.8 percent. Punjab is one of the most prosperous states of the
country where even the villagers have a high level of purchasing power. Still the reach of
Punjabi newspapers is quite low -15 percent among Punjabi speakers. Punjab is highly
urbanised but still Punjabi newspapers have more readers in rural areas (62 percent) than in
urban areas. The reason for this is that in urban Punjab a vast majority is bilingual, familiar
with both Hindi and Punjabi and prefers Hindi newspapers.
In Punjab, the share of Punjabi newspapers is 60 percent and that of Hindi newspapers is
45 percent. English newspapers also have a share of 10 percent. In Jalandhar, a prominent
city in the heart of Punjab, the share of Punjabi newspapers is just 35 percent and the share
of Hindi and English newspapers are respectively 62 and 14 percents. Punjabi newspapers
face severe competition from Hindi newspapers. NRS-2001 has covered only three Punjabi
newspapers and the share of the top-two newspapers is 99 percent of the total Punjabi
newspaper readership.
Assamese Newspapers:
Speakers of Assamese language form 1.56 percent of the population of the country but the
share of Assamese newspapers is 1.8 percent. The reach of Assamese newspapers- 26.2
percent among Assamese language speakers, is well above the national average. Assam is
low down in the level of urbanisation and Assamese newspapers have a larger number of
readers in rural areas (59 percent) than in urban areas. Data about newspaper reading for
the state of Assam is not available separately, as the whole of North East has been taken as
one region in NRS. There are also no metro cities in the state. The top-two Assamese
newspaper share 81 percent and the top-5, 139 percent of the total readership of Assamese
newspapers.

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