The History of Indian Press (1780 – 1947) #
The history of the press is not just about names and dates; it is about the evolution of political consciousness, especially in Bengal. This list is organized chronologically to help track the movement from social reform to revolutionary nationalism.
I. The Formative Years (1780 - 1826) #
Characterized by individual ventures and the birth of the Bengali press.
| Year | Newspaper/Journal | Founder/Associated Person | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1780 | Bengal Gazette | James Augustus Hicky | Also called Calcutta General Advertiser. The first newspaper in India. |
| 1784 | Calcutta Gazette | Government | Official government publication. |
| 1818 | Digdarshan | William Carey/Marshman | The first Bengali monthly. Started by Serampore missionaries. |
| 1818 | Samachar Darpan | Marshman/Carey | Often cited as the first Bengali weekly. |
| 1821 | Sambad Kaumudi | Raja Rammohan Roy | A weekly in Bengali; the primary vehicle for his campaign against Sati. |
| 1822 | Mirat-ul-Akbar | Raja Rammohan Roy | The first Persian journal. Shutdown in protest of the 1823 Licensing Regulation. |
| 1822 | Jam-e-Jahan Numa | Harihar Dutta / Sadasukhlal | Often cited as the first Urdu newspaper in India. |
| 1822 | Bombay Samachar | Fardunjee Marzban | The first Gujarati paper (still in print today). |
| 1826 | Udant Martand | Jugal Kishore Shukla | The first Hindi newspaper, published from Calcutta. |
II. Social Reform & Early Nationalism (1830 - 1870) #
Emphasis on the Indigo Revolt and the socio-religious movements.
| Year | Newspaper/Journal | Founder/Associated Person | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1831 | Sambad Prabhakar | Ishwar Chandra Gupta | The first Bengali daily. |
| 1832 | Bombay Darpan | Balshastri Jambhekar | The first Marathi newspaper; Jambhekar is often called the father of Marathi journalism. |
| 1838 | Bombay Times | Robert Knight (Later) | Became The Times of India in 1861. |
| 1851 | Rast Goftar | Dadabhai Naoroji | Anglo-Gujarati; focused on Parsi social reform. |
| 1853 | Hindu Patriot | Girish Chandra Ghosh | Later edited by Harish Chandra Mukherjee. Famous for supporting the Indigo Revolt. |
| 1858 | Somprakash | Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan | Promoted by Vidyasagar. First Bengali paper to be banned under the Vernacular Press Act. |
| 1861 | Indian Mirror | Devendranath Tagore | First Indian daily in English (published from Calcutta). |
| 1862 | Bengalee | Girish Chandra Ghosh | Later taken over by S.N. Banerjee; became a voice for moderate politics. |
| 1865 | Pioneer | George Allen | Based in Allahabad; often favored the British government stance. |
| 1868 | Amrita Bazar Patrika | Sisir Kumar & Motilal Ghosh | Crucial: Switched from Bengali to English overnight to escape the 1878 Vernacular Press Act. |
| 1870 | Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq | Sir Syed Ahmed Khan | Journal of the Aligarh Movement; promoted modern education and social reform among Muslims. |
III. The Extremist & Revolutionary Phase (1880 - 1915) #
Focus on the Swadeshi movement and militant nationalism.
| Year | Newspaper/Journal | Founder/Associated Person | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875 | The Statesman | Robert Knight | Founded in Calcutta; merged with The Friend of India. |
| 1878 | The Hindu | G. Subramania Iyer | Started in Madras; the premier voice of South Indian nationalism. |
| 1881 | Kesari & Mahratta | Bal Gangadhar Tilak | Kesari (Marathi) and Mahratta (English). Promoted the Ganpati & Shivaji festivals. |
| 1881 | The Tribune | Dayal Singh Majeetia | Major English daily from Lahore (Punjab). |
| 1882 | Swadesamitran | G. Subramania Iyer | First Tamil newspaper; premier voice of South Indian nationalism. |
| 1883 | Sanjivani | Krishna Kumar Mitra | Bengali journal; first to suggest the Boycott of British goods during the Partition of Bengal. |
| 1883 | Voice of India | Dadabhai Naoroji | Founded in Bombay; served to project Indian perspectives to the British public. |
| 1888 | Sudharak | G.K. Agarkar | Focused on rationalism and social reform (Agarkar split from Tilak). |
| 1896 | Prabuddha Bharata | Swami Vivekananda | English monthly of the Ramakrishna Order; Vedantic focus. |
| 1903 | Indian Opinion | M.K. Gandhi | Published in South Africa to fight racial discrimination. |
| 1906 | Yugantar | Barindra Kumar Ghosh | Revolutionary Bengali paper advocating armed struggle. |
| 1906 | Sandhya | Brahmabandhab Upadhyay | Militant nationalist paper in Bengal. |
| 1906 | Bande Mataram | Aurobindo Ghosh | English daily; spread the message of Purna Swaraj. |
| 1907 | Abhyudaya | Madan Mohan Malaviya | Hindi weekly associated with nationalist politics and public awakening. |
| 1909 | The Leader | Madan Mohan Malaviya | Influential English newspaper from Allahabad. |
| 1911 | Comrade | Mohammad Ali | Organ for the pan-Islamic movement and Muslim League issues. |
| 1911 | Zamindar | Zafar Ali Khan | Urdu newspaper from Lahore; important for Muslim political opinion. |
| 1913 | Pratap | Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi | Hindi nationalist paper from Kanpur; supported peasants, workers and communal harmony. |
| 1913 | Al-Hilal | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Urdu journal used to motivate Muslims to join the Congress. |
| 1913 | Ghadar | Lala Hardayal | Published in San Francisco in Urdu, Punjabi, etc. for the Ghadar Party. |
| 1914 | New India | Annie Besant | Promoted the Home Rule League movement. |
| 1914 | Commonweal | Annie Besant | Weekly journal used to promote Home Rule and constitutional agitation. |
| 1915 | Al-Balagh | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | Started after Al-Hilal was suppressed; continued Azad’s anti-colonial writing. |
IV. The Gandhian Era, Left Press & Social Justice (1919 - 1947) #
Mass mobilization and Dalit empowerment.
| Year | Newspaper/Journal | Founder/Associated Person | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Young India | M.K. Gandhi | Weekly journal to spread the philosophy of Satyagraha. |
| 1919 | Navjivan | M.K. Gandhi | Gujarati weekly; published along with Young India. |
| 1919 | Independent | Motilal Nehru | Aimed at countering the pro-British “Pioneer”. |
| 1920 | Mooknayak | B.R. Ambedkar | Started with the help of Maharaja of Kolhapur for Dalit rights. |
| 1922 | The Vanguard | M.N. Roy | Communist paper published from abroad; linked Indian anti-imperialism with international communism. |
| 1922 | The Socialist | S.A. Dange | Early socialist weekly from Bombay; important for communist labour politics. |
| 1924 | Kudi Arasu | E.V. Ramaswamy (Periyar) | Mouthpiece of the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu. |
| 1926 | Kirti | Santokh Singh / Ghadarite and communist circles | Punjabi journal associated with worker-peasant and communist politics. |
| 1927 | Bahishkrit Bharat | B.R. Ambedkar | Focused on the struggles of the “untouchables”. |
| 1932 | Harijan | M.K. Gandhi | Replaced Young India; campaigned against untouchability. |
| 1933 | Janata | B.R. Ambedkar | Continued Ambedkar’s public campaign for depressed classes and social democracy. |
| 1936 | Free Press Journal | S. Sadanand | Popular for its aggressive headlines during the Quit India movement. |
| 1938 | National Herald | Jawaharlal Nehru | The official voice of the Indian National Congress. |
V. Important Press Laws #
| Year | Law / Regulation | Associated With | Key Facts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1799 | Censorship of Press Act | Lord Wellesley | Imposed pre-censorship during the Napoleonic wars. |
| 1823 | Licensing Regulations | John Adam | Required licenses for newspapers; opposed by Raja Rammohan Roy. |
| 1835 | Press Act / Metcalfe Act | Charles Metcalfe | Removed licensing restrictions; Metcalfe is called the liberator of the Indian press. |
| 1857 | Licensing Act | Lord Canning | Reintroduced licensing during the Revolt of 1857. |
| 1867 | Press and Registration of Books Act | British Indian government | Required registration of printing presses, newspapers and books. |
| 1878 | Vernacular Press Act | Lord Lytton | Targeted Indian-language newspapers; repealed by Lord Ripon in 1882. |
| 1908 | Newspapers Act | British Indian government | Targeted extremist newspapers during revolutionary activity. |
| 1910 | Indian Press Act | British Indian government | Allowed securities and forfeiture of presses for anti-government publications. |
| 1931 | Indian Press Emergency Powers Act | British Indian government | Used to suppress Civil Disobedience and revolutionary writings. |