Master10
Media, Journalism & Free Speech Module

History of the Indian Press in Freedom Struggle

The foundation of print journalism in India was laid in 1780 with the publication of the 'Bengal Gazette' (or Calcutta General Advertiser) by James Augustus Hicky. During the nineteenth-century socio-religious reform movement, Raja Ram Mohan Roy pioneered nationalist journalism through Persian weekly 'Mirat-ul-Akbar' and Bengali journal 'Sambad Kaumudi'. As the freedom struggle intensified, leaders utilized periodicals to awaken political consciousness, notably Bal Gangadhar Tilak through 'Kesari' and 'Mahratta', and Mahatma Gandhi through 'Indian Opinion', 'Young India', and 'Harijan'. To suppress anti-colonial nationalist dissent, Lord Lytton's administration promulgated the repressive Vernacular Press Act of 1878 (derisively called the 'Gagging Act'), which was subsequently repealed by Lord Ripon in 1882.

Key Concepts & Examination Highlights

  • Hicky's Bengal Gazette, founded in Calcutta in January 1780, was the first printed newspaper in India and Asia.
  • Raja Ram Mohan Roy published 'Sambad Kaumudi' in Bengali (1821) and 'Mirat-ul-Akbar' in Persian (1822) to advocate social reforms.
  • The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was enacted by Viceroy Lord Lytton and repealed in 1882 by Lord Ripon.
  • Bal Gangadhar Tilak used 'Kesari' (Marathi) and 'Mahratta' (English) to propagate Swaraj, leading to his imprisonment at Mandalay.
  • Lord Ripon repealed the repressive Vernacular Press Act in 1881, earning widespread acclaim for restoring press freedom in British India.
  • The Censorship of the Press Act was enacted in 1799 by Governor-General Lord Wellesley to prevent French wartime propaganda.
  • The Licensing Regulations of 1823, enacted by acting Governor-General John Adam, led Raja Ram Mohan Roy to stop publishing 'Mirat-ul-Akhbar' in protest.
  • Charles Metcalfe, called the 'Liberator of the Indian Press', repealed the 1823 licensing regulations through the Press Act of 1835.
  • Mahatma Gandhi edited influential journals including 'Indian Opinion' in South Africa, and 'Young India', 'Navajivan', and 'Harijan' in India.
  • The 'Amrita Bazar Patrika', founded by Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh in 1868, overnight converted from Bengali to English to escape the Vernacular Press Act.
  • The 'Hindu' was founded in Madras in 1878 by G. Subramania Iyer and his associates as a tri-weekly to counter colonial press narratives.
  • Digdarshan (1818), a Bengali monthly periodical founded by the Serampore Baptist Missionaries, was the first Indian-language magazine.
  • Samachar Darpan (1818), published in Bengali from Serampore by Marshman and Ward, was the first vernacular weekly newspaper in India.
  • Udant Martand (The Rising Sun), launched on 30 May 1826 in Calcutta by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla, was the first Hindi language newspaper in India.
  • Hindi Journalism Day (Hindi Patrakarita Diwas) is celebrated annually across India on 30 May to mark the founding of Udant Martand.
  • Rast Goftar (The Truth Teller), an Anglo-Gujarati paper, was founded in 1851 by Dadabhai Naoroji to champion social and religious reforms among Parsis.
  • The Hindu was founded as a weekly newspaper in Madras on 20 September 1878 by G. Subramania Iyer, M. Veeraraghavachariar, and four law students to counter colonial editorial bias.
  • The Tribune was founded on 2 February 1881 in Lahore (now published from Chandigarh) by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia as an independent nationalist voice.
  • Al-Hilal, an Urdu weekly newspaper established in Calcutta in 1912 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, critiqued British imperialist policies and promoted Hindu-Muslim solidarity.
  • Bande Mataram, an English daily founded in 1905 by Bipin Chandra Pal and edited by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, propagated radical revolutionary nationalism.
  • National Herald was founded in Lucknow on 9 September 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru, serving as an influential mouthpiece for the Indian National Congress.
  • The Indian Social Reformer was founded in 1890 by K. Natarajan in Bombay to advocate widow remarriage, women's education, and the eradication of caste taboos.
  • The Associated Press of India (API) was formed in 1905 as the first domestic news agency in India, later absorbed by Reuters and eventually nationalized as PTI.
  • The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, regulated the printing presses and newspapers, requiring the declaration of printers and publishers and preservation of copies.
  • The Press Laws Enquiry Committee was appointed in 1947 under the chairmanship of G.S. Rajadhyaksha to review all existing colonial press laws in independent India.
  • James Augustus Hicky published India's first printed newspaper, the 'Bengal Gazette' (also known as the Calcutta General Advertiser), on January 29, 1780.
  • The Censorship of Press Act, 1799, was enacted by Governor-General Lord Wellesley to prevent French wartime propaganda, requiring pre-censorship of all printed materials.
  • The Licensing Regulations of 1823 (John Adams' Regulations) mandated government licenses for printing presses, leading Raja Ram Mohan Roy to shut down his Persian weekly 'Mirat-ul-Akbar'.
  • Raja Ram Mohan Roy, known as the 'Father of Indian Journalism', founded 'Sambad Kaumudi' in Bengali (1821) and 'Mirat-ul-Akbar' in Persian (1822) to advocate social reforms.
  • The Metcalfe Press Act of 1835 repealed the 1823 licensing regulations, earning Governor-General Charles Metcalfe the title of 'Liberator of the Indian Press'.
  • The Licensing Act of 1857 (Canning's Act) reimposed strict licensing restrictions on printing presses during the Revolt of 1857.
  • The Vernacular Press Act of 1878, enacted by Lord Lytton and nicknamed the 'Gagging Act', targeted Indian-language newspapers by requiring confiscation of presses without appeal.
  • The 'Amrita Bazar Patrika', founded by Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh in 1868, famously converted overnight into an English-language newspaper in 1878 to bypass the Vernacular Press Act.
  • Lord Ripon repealed the discriminatory Vernacular Press Act in 1882, restoring equal regulatory status between vernacular and English newspapers.
  • Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded the newspapers 'Kesari' (in Marathi) and 'Mahratta' (in English) in 1881, using them as fearless instruments to propagate nationalist ideology.
  • Tilak was prosecuted for sedition under Section 124A of the IPC in 1897 and 1908 for his incisive articles published in 'Kesari', earning him the title 'Lokmanya'.
  • The Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908, empowered district magistrates to confiscate printing presses printing seditious incitements against the colonial state.
  • The Indian Press Act, 1910, revived Lytton's press restrictions by empowering local governments to demand and forfeit security deposits from press owners.
  • Mahatma Gandhi founded the weekly 'Indian Opinion' in South Africa in 1903, and later edited 'Young India' and 'Navajivan' (1919) and 'Harijan' (1933) in India.
  • Mahatma Gandhi was convicted of sedition in the historic trial of 1922 before Judge C.N. Broomfield for three articles published in 'Young India'.
  • Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar founded the Marathi biweekly 'Mooknayak' (Leader of the Voiceless) on January 31, 1920, with financial support from Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj.
  • Ambedkar later founded 'Bahishkrit Bharat' (1927), 'Janata' (1930), and 'Prabuddha Bharat' (1956) to champion the civil rights of marginalized communities.
  • 'The Hindu' was founded as a weekly in Madras on September 20, 1878, by six young nationalists led by G. Subramania Iyer and M. Veeraraghavachariar.
  • 'The Indian Social Reformer' was founded in Madras in 1890 by K. Natarajan to champion widow remarriage, women's education, and abolition of child marriage.
  • 'Bande Mataram', an influential nationalist daily edited by Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal, was founded in 1905 during the Swadeshi and anti-partition movement.
  • 'Al-Hilal', an Urdu nationalist weekly newspaper founded in Calcutta in 1912 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, vehemently opposed British rule until banned under the Press Act in 1914.
  • 'The Tribune' was founded on February 2, 1881, in Lahore by philanthropist Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia to advocate constitutional nationalism in Punjab.
  • The Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931, gave provincial governments sweeping powers to suppress nationalist propaganda during the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  • During the Quit India Movement of 1942, the clandestine 'Congress Radio' was operated secretly from Bombay by Usha Mehta, Ram Manohar Lohia, and Vithalbhai Jhaveri to broadcast uncensored news.
  • The Press Laws Enquiry Committee, appointed in 1947 under the chairmanship of G.S. Rajadhyaksha, recommended the repeal of emergency press legislation and the creation of an independent Press Council.
Curriculum & Reference Sources: Modern Indian History (Bipan Chandra), National Archives of India, Press in India Reports.

Sample Solved Questions & Concept Explanations

8 Verified Concept Questions
Q1.EASY

What was the name of India's first printed newspaper, founded by James Augustus Hicky in Calcutta in 1780?

Q2.MEDIUM

Which British Viceroy promulgated the repressive Vernacular Press Act of 1878 to suppress anti-colonial agitation in Indian-language newspapers?

Q3.MEDIUM

Which iconic Indian social reformer published the Persian-language weekly newspaper 'Mirat-ul-Akbar' and the Bengali weekly 'Sambad Kaumudi' in the early 1820s?

Q4.HARD

To evade the censorship mandates of the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, which prominent nationalist publication converted itself overnight from a Bengali weekly into an English-language newspaper?

Q5.EASY

Which iconic nationalist newspaper was founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1881 in Marathi to mobilize public opinion for Swaraj?

Q6.EASY

Which weekly journal in English was founded and edited by Mahatma Gandhi starting in 1919 to propagate his ideals of Satyagraha and non-violence?

Q7.EASY

In 1851, Dadabhai Naoroji founded which Gujarati newspaper to champion Zoroastrian social reforms and voice Indian civic grievances?

Q8.EASY

Which Governor-General of India repealed the restrictive 1823 Licensing Regulations and passed the Press Act of 1835, earning the title 'Liberator of the Indian Press'?