Role of Newspaper in Indian Freedom

Movement

Presentation by;Amaljith N.K

15386040

2nd MA Mass communication.

• Media, especially the Print Media, has all along been the backbone of all mass movements or popular upsurge, and Indian independence struggle is no exception. 

• At the time of the first war of independence, any number of papers were in operation in the country.

• In the struggle against the British, some newspapers played a very notable role.

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the founder of the nationalist press in India. Though a few papers had been started by others before him, his Sambad-Kaumudi in Bengali published in 1821, and Mirat-Ul-Akbar in Persian published in 1822, were the first publication in India with a distinct nationalist and democratic progressive orientation.

• In 1822, Fardaonji Murzban, the pioneer of the Vernacular Press in Bombay, started Bombay Samachar (still in existence).

• During 1870 to 1918 powerful newspapers emerged during these years under distinguished and fearless journalists.

• These were the Hindu and Swadesamitran under the editorship of G. Subramaniya Iyer

• Kesari and Mahratta under B.G. Tilak• Bengalee under Surendranath Banerjea,• Amrita Bazar Patrika under Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal

Ghosh• Indian Mirror under N.N. Sen• Voice of India under Dadabhai Naoroji.

• The Press was the chief instrument for carrying out the main political tasks.

• Political propaganda, education, and formation and propagation of nationalist ideology to awake, train, mobilize and consolidate nationalist public opinion.

• Even the work of the National Congress was accomplished during these years largely through the Press.

• The resolutions it took and the proceedings of its meetings were propagated through newspapers. Nearly all the major political controversies of the day were conducted through the Press. 

• The 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 Indigo 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. 

• In fact,many of the tallest leaders of the Freedom movement themselves turned journalists too, and used the press to propagate their ideas to the masses.

. Rastiguftar by Dadabhai Naoroji

Kesari and Mahratta by Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Hindustan by Madan Mohan Malaviya. 

Punjabi, Bandemataram, The People by Lala Lajpat Rai.

The Bombay Chronicle by Firoz Shah Mehta

Nation by Gopal Krishna Gokhale

AL- Hilal by Moulana Abul Kalam Azad

Young India,Navajeevan and Harijan by Gandhiji

National Herald by Jawaharlal Lal Nehru

Swadeshabhimani, Malayala Manorama, and Mathrubhumi

The Hindu in English in 1878, and Swadesa Mitran ( Friend of Self Rule) in Tamil in 1881 In Madras presidency by G.Subramania Aiyer.

• Since the Press was a powerful weapon in the development of Indian nationalism and the nationalist movements, it was subjected to restrictions by the British Government which was reluctant to satisfy the aspirations and grant of the demands of Indian nationalism.

• The very fact that the British government had to enact a series of Press Acts proved the decisive role played by the Press in the development of the nationalist movement.

•  In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was enacted. This Act restricted the freedom of the vernacular Press.

Vernacular press act

• Lord Lytton was being bitterly criticized for the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80). So, he promulgated the act with an aim to prevent the vernacular press from expressing criticism of British policies under him.

• Publishers have to submit the all the proof sheets of contents of papers to police before publication. The police used to decide what the seditious news was and deleted them. Thus many of the papers were fined and their editors jailed.

• Such was the role of the Press in the building up of an increasingly strong national sentiment and consciousness among the Indian people,

• In the development and consolidation of their growing nationalist movement,

• in the creation of national and provincial literatures and cultures,

• And in the forging of bonds of fraternity with other progressive peoples and classes in the outer worlds.

THANK YOU