Development of Indian Press
Development of Indian Press
• 1550: 1st press was established by Portuguese.
• 1557: 1st book was published by Portuguese missionaries.
• 1780: James Augustus Hickey started the 1st newspaper weekly in India called Bengal Gazette.
• Considered as the “Father of Indian press”.
• It is also sometimes known as “Hickey's Gazette”.
• It attacked both Warren Hastings & Chief Justice E Impey.
Indian Press under the British Rule
The history of Indian journalism in the pre-Independence period can be
classified in following phases:
Phase of period of 1780-1818:
• Constitutes some kind of a preparatory phase, marked by the contributions of
William Bolts, James Augustus Hickey & others.
Early Regulations
Censorship of Press Act, 1799 (Lord Wellesley)
• Every newspaper should print the names of printer, editor & proprietor.
• Before printing any material, it should be submitted to the secretary of the
Government for pre-censorship.
• 1807: Act was extended to all magazines, pamphlets, journals, & books etc.
• Relaxation of the press restriction came under Lord Hastings.
Phase of period of 1818-1868
• Contribution & the inspiring efforts of Raja Ram Mohan Roy
• Struggle against censorship, harassment, deportation & persecution
• Struggle to establish some measure of freedom of expression
• Interesting response to the press question by Metcalfe,
&
• Big impact on the political & intellectual mood of the 1st war of Indian
Independence.
Licensing Regulation Act 1823 (John Adam acting GG)
• Every publisher should get a license from the government, defaulters would
be fined Rupees 400 & the press would be ceased by the government.
• Magistrates were authorized to seal unlicensed press.
• Governor General has right to cancel the license or call for fresh application.
• Under these regulations many vernaculars including “Mirat-ul-Akhbar”
ceased publication.
Press Act of 1835 (Metcalfe Act)
• Charles Metcalf abolished the Act.
• Due to his liberal policy Metcalf is called the “liberator of the Indian Press”.
• Printer & publisher need to give a precise account of the premises of a
publication & require similar declaration to cease functioning.
Licensing Act, 1857
• Act no XV of 1857 reintroduce licensing restriction on the existing registration
procedure.
• Prohibited for keeping or using of printing press without a license.
• Government reserve the discretionary right to grant licenses and also to
revoke it.
• Government is also empowered to prohibit the publication & circulation of
any printed material.
Registration Act, 1867
• Replaced Metcalfe’s Act of 1835 & was of a regulatory, not restrictive in
nature.
• Every book/ newspaper was required to print the name of the printer & the
publisher & the place of the publication;
• A copy was to be submitted to the local government within 1 month of the
publication of a book.
The Phase of the period of 1868-1919:
• Rise of Indian press as part of the nationalist or anti-imperialist struggle
• Manifestation of 2 tendencies in the press-
One, is the support to the colonial Raj & its policies,
Other, is a line of criticism & opposition.
• For example, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre closes this stage, with the press divided
sharply into that section which condemns the crime & outrage, & the opposition camp
which defends or provides apologies for.
• This period witnesses the "Sedition" trials of Tilak (1897 & 1908) & the
struggle against the Rowlatt Act & against uncivilized colonial repression.
• Tilak & Gandhi, themselves journalists, wielded a major influence on the field.
Vernacular Press Act IX (1878) (Lord Lytton)
• Vernacular press criticized British rule. Therefore British Government came down
heavily on vernacular press.
• Magistrates were authorized to ask any publisher of newspaper to give assurance of
not publishing anything threatening peace & security.
• Fixed amount to be paid for security guarantee.
• The magistrate’s decision was final in any dispute. Thus, no appeal.
• No exemption for any vernacular paper.
• This law was not applicable to English Press.
• It was repealed by Lord Ripon in 1882.
• Some Prakash stopped by this act.
• 1883: SN Banerjea became the 1st Indian journalist to be imprisoned.
• In an angry editorial in “The Bengalee”, Banerjea had criticized a judge of
Calcutta
• High Court for being insensitive to the religious sentiments of Bengalis in one
of his judgments.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak was most frequently associated with the nationalist fight
for the freedom of press.
The Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908
• If any newspaper is found of inciting offences, crimes of murder & any act of
violence, this act can put an end to the existing license of that newspaper.
• District Magistrate was empowered to confiscate the printing press where a
newspaper containing an incitement to violence is printed.
• The newspapers editor and printer were given the option of appeal to the High
Court within 15 day of forfeiture.
• The police was also empowered to attach the printing press and issue warrants.
• The Yugantar, the Sandhya & Bande Mataram newspaper stopped their
publication.
• Under this Act as many as 7 presses were forfeited.
Indian Press Act, 1910
• This act empowered the magistrate (local government) to require a deposit
from the keepers of news printing presses & publishers of newspapers.
• Local government could even demand a security deposit of Rs.500 minimum
to Rs.2k maximum.
• It could be forfeited & it's registration cancelled owing to the printing of any
objectionable material.
• Fresh registration was allowed for a deposit of not less than Rs. 1k & not more
than Rs.10k.
• It was a huge money which would be generally beyond anybody’s affordability.
• It was imposed due to seditious publication & enlarged to include writing
against the Indian Princes, judges, executive officers & public servants.
• Almost 350 printing press were penalized & securities of 40k pounds were
demanded from newspapers.
• Because of security deposits, more than 130 newspapers had not started.
• This act was heavily used against the newspapers “Punjabee & Hinduvasi” etc.
• The newspaper could appeal to a special tribunal of High Court against the
forfeiture within 2 months.
The Phase of 1919-1937:
• Differentiation of the Indian press into "moderate" & 'radical' tendencies in
relation to the strategy & tactics of the freedom movement.
• The struggle between the nationalist & pro-British press continues.
• The 'Sedition' trails of Gandhi in 1922 witnesses a heroic response.
• Britain:1st Labor Government is formed & new attitudes to the Indian
questions were shaped & expressed.
• The struggle for the freedom of the press & for wider civil liberties acquired a
full voice.
Press Committee 1921
• Recommended abolition of act of 1908 & 1910
• Tej Bahadur Sapru committee
Indian Press Emergency Act 1931
• The main feature of the act was that if any publication directly or indirectly
admired the offence of any person real or fictitious the government could
seize the press.
• The impact of the Gandhian Movement provoked the government to issue a
fresh press ordinance in 1930 with the provision of Press Act 1910.
• By the provisions of this act the provincial Government were given sweeping
powers to suppress the press. In 1932 the provisions of this Act were further
amplified in the form of the criminal Amendment Act.
The Phase of the period 1937- 1947:
• Maturing & assertive tendencies in the press & "significant professional
developments such as the news service , the pooling of arrangements & the
expanded coverage of foreign news.
Press Regulating Act, 1942
• Registration of journalists was made mandatory.
• Limitations were imposed on the messages regarding civil disturbances.
• Prohibition of news was imposed regarding acts of sabotage.
• Limitations on headlines & space given to news on disturbances.
• Government had the authority on arbitrary censorship.
Press Inquiry Committee, 1947
• The committee abolished the Emergency Act of 1931.
• In Favor of Censorship-
Wellesley
Lord Minto-II
Lord Adams
Lord Canning
Lord Lytton
Lord Elphinstone
Sir Munro
• In Favor of Freedom of Press :-
Lord Hastings
Charles Metcalf
Macaulay
Rippon
Name of
Foundation Year Founder Facts
Paper/Journal
Bengal Gazette 1780, Calcutta James Augustus Hickey
(Irishman)
Indian Gazette 1787,Calcutta Derozio associated with it
st
Madras courier 1784, Madras 1 paper from Madras
Weekly
st
Bombay Herald 1789, Bombay 1 paper from Bombay
Indian Herald 1795, Madras [Link] (Englishman) &
Published by Humphreys
st
Digdarshana 1818, Calcutta John Clark Marshman from 1 Bengali monthly
Serampore.
Calcutta Journal 1818 J.S Buckingham
Name of Paper/Journal Foundation Year Founder Facts
st
Bengal Gazette 1818, Calcutta Harishchandra Ray 1 Bengali Newspaper
Sambad Kaumadi 1821 (Weekly in Bengali)
Mirat-ul-Akhbar 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy st
1 weekly journal in
Persian
Jam-i- Jahan Numah 1822, Calcutta An English firm First paper in Urdu
Banga-Dutta 1822, Calcutta Weekly in 4 languages
English, Bengali, Persian,
Hindi
Bombay Samachar 1822, Bombay
th
East Indian 19 century Henry Vivian Derozio
Name of Foundation Year Founder Facts
Paper/Journal
Bombay Times 1838, Bombay Foundation laid by Robert Knight, Times of India after
started by Thomas Bennett 1861
Rust Goftar 1851, Gujrat Dadabhai Naoroji Gujarati fortnightly
Hindu Patriot 1853, Calcutta Girishchandra Ghosh (later
Harishchandra Mukerji became
owner-cum-editor)
Somaprakasha 1858, Calcutta Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan First Bengali Political
Paper
st
Indian Mirror 1862, Calcutta Devendranath Tagore 1 Indian Daily paper
Early in English
Bengalee 1862, Calcutta Girishchandra Gosh Taken Over by S.N
Banerjea in 1879
Name of Paper/Journal Foundation Year Founder Facts
st
Madras Mail 1868, Madras 1 evening paper in India
Pioneer 1865 Started from Allahabad
Amrita Bazar Patrika 1868, Jessore Sisir kumar & Motilal In Bengali & later an
Ghosh English daily
Bangadarshana 1873, Calcutta Bankim Chandra Chatterji
Indian Statesman 1875, Calcutta Robert Knight Later, The Statesman
The Hindu 1878, Madras G.S Aiyer, Virarghavachari
& Subba Rao Pandit
Tribune 1881, Lahore Dayal Singh Majeetia
Name of Paper/Journal Foundation Year Founder
Swadeshmitram Madras G.S. Aiyar
(A Tamil Paper)
Yugantar 1906, Bengal Barindra Kumar Ghosh &
Bhupendranath Dutta
Sandhya 1906, Bengal Brahamabandhab Upadhya
Kal 1906, Maharastra
Indian Sociologist London Shyamji Krishnavarma
Bande Mataram Paris Madam Bhikaji Cama
Talavar Berlin Virendranath Chattopadhyay
Free Hindustan Vancouver Tarakanth Das
Name of Paper/Journal Foundation Year Founder
Kudi Arasu (Tamil) 1910 E.V Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar)
Kranti 1927, Maharashtra S.S Mirajkar, K.N Joglekar, S.V Ghate
Langal & Ganabani 1927, Bengal Gopu Chakravarti and Dharani Goswami
National Herald 1938 Jawaharlal Nehru
Bombay Chroicle 1913, Bombay Pherozeshah Mehta, Editor B.G. Horniman
The Hindustan Times 1920, Delhi K.M. Panikkar as part of the Akali Dal Movement
The Milap (Urdu daily) 1923, Lahore K.M Chand
Leader (in English) Madan Mohan Malviya
Kirti 1926, Punjab Santosh Singh
Name of Paper/Journal Founder
Din Mitra Mukundrao Patil
Karmyogi Aurobindo Ghosh
Zamindar, Lahore Zafar Ali Khan
Satpatra Series Gopal Hari Deshmukh
Maratha, Din Bandhu Bhaskar Rao Jadhav
Darpan Balshastri Jambekar
Young India, Harijan Mahatma Gandhi
• Tarabai Shinde, a woman educated at home at Poona, published a book,
Stripurushtulna, (A Comparison between Women and Men), criticizing the
social differences between men and women.
• G K Gokhale :
• He edited “Sudharak”, a quarterly Journal of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha.
• Hitavada
• 1904: He was awarded the title of CIE (Companion of the Indian Empire).
• A Nation in Making’ is written by Surendranath Benerjea.
B. R Ambedkar
• Books
Annihilation of Caste (1936),
Thoughts on Pakistan, Mr. Gandhi & emancipation of untouchables
• Journals
Bahishkrit Bharat &
Mook Nayak (Marathi)
• Bipin Chandra Pal
The Spirit of Indian Nationalism
The Economic Menace to India.
Paridasak (Weekly) 1886
• Lala Lajpat Rai
The Political Future of India
England’s Debt to India.
The Call to Young India
• Annie Besant
New India
Commonweal
• Vivekananda
Prabuddha Bharat
Udbodhan