The Press in India
Table of Contents
The first press came to India in 1556 aboard a Portugese vessel.
Newspapers first started under the British. The Bengal Gazette by James Augustus Hickey in 1780 was the first Indian newspaper; it was shut down in 1782.
1 Evolution of Legal Framework regarding the Press
| Development | Year | Ruler | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Censorship of Press Act | 1799 | Lord Wellesley | name of printer, editor, propreitor to be printed |
| all materials should be submitted for pre-censorship | |||
| violation was punished by deportation | |||
| Censorship of Press Act repealed | 1818 | Lord Hastings | |
| Licensing Regulations | 1823 | John Adams (acting, later full GG) | license to be purchased to set up press |
| fine of Rs. 400 + press attached in case of violation | |||
| license could be revoked at any time | |||
| Roy's Mirat-ul-Akhbar put stopped under this | |||
| Press freed regulations | 1835 | Charles Metcalfe (acting GG) | |
| "freer of Press in Inida" | |||
| Licensing Act | 1857 | Lord Canning | introduced as temporary provisions during revolt |
| never withdrawn | |||
| all books needed to be submitted to the government before publication | |||
| Registration Act | 1867 | Lord John Lawrence | revived the restrictions of Adams |
| 124-A of IPC | 1870 | Lord Mayo | 'exciting feelings of disaffection' a criminal offence |
| Vernacular Press Act | 1878 | Lord Lytton | precensorship for vernacular newspapers |
| Ishwarchander Vidyasagar's Som Prakash shut down by this | |||
| Vernacular Press Act repealed | 1882 | Lord Ripon | |
| 153-A of IPC | 1898 | ||
| Newspapers Act | 1908 | Lord Minto II | revived the worst in Vernacular Press Act – registration & confiscation |
| 'incitement to offences' could be tried for murder | |||
| put Tilak in prison and off to Mandalay | |||
| Indian Press Act | 1910 | re-apply for licenses: Rs. 500 to 2,000 | |
| fine: Rs. 1,000 to 10,000 | |||
| Tej Bahadur Sapru Committee | 1921 | acts of 1908, 1910 repealed | |
| Tej Bahadur Sapru was Law Member | Press Freedom revived | ||
| Indian Press Emergency Act | 1931 | ||
| Press Enquiry Committee | 1947 | Free India to have freedom of press, implied by Art 19(1)(a) | |
| Sir Ganganath Jha | |||
2 Punjabi Freedom Fighters and Associated publications
| Person | Publications contributed to | Important Works |
|---|---|---|
| Lala Lajpat Rai | The Tribune | Arya Samaj |
| Vande Matram | Unhappy India | |
| Punjabee | England's Debt to India | |
| The People | The USA: A Hindu Impression | |
| Adhikar | Young India | |
| Bhagat Singh | Kirti | Why I am an atheist? |
| Veer Arjun | Letter to Batukeshwar Dutt | |
| Letter to father | ||
| The Red Pamphlet | ||
3 Important Newspapers
| Name of the Publication | Contributors | Language | Remarks/Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengal Gazette | James Augustus Hickey | English | |
| India Gazette | Henry Louis Vivian Derozio | English | |
| Samvad Kunmudi | Rammohan Roy | Bengali | |
| Mirat-ul-Akhbar | Rammohan Roy | Persian | first persian newspaper, banned under Licensing Regulations 1823 by John Adams |
| Banga-duta | Rammohan Roy, Dwarkanath Tagore and others | English, Bengali, Persian, Hindi | |
| Som Parkash | Ishvarchandar Vidyasagar | shut down under Vernacular Press Act | |
| Rast Goftar (The Truth Teller) | Dadabhai Naoroji | English, Gujarati | |
| Bengalee | Surendranath Banerjee | ||
| Amrita Bazar Patrika | Ghosh Brothers | Bengali, later English | |
| Bangadarshana | Bankim Chandra Chatterji | ||
| The Hindu | G. S. Aiyer, Viragavachari, Subba Rao Pundit | ||
| The Tribune | Dyal Singh Majithia | ||
| New India | Annie Besant | ||
| Commonweal | Annie Besant | ||
| Sudharak | Gopal Krishna Gokhale | ||
| Kesari | Tilak, Chiplunkar, Agarkar | Marathi | |
| Mahratha | Tilak | English | |
| Paridasak | Bipin Chandra Pal | ||
| Punjabee | Lala Lajpat Rai | ||
| Vande Mataram | Lala Lajpat Rai | Urdu | |
| Adhikar | Lala Lajpat Rai | ||
| The People | Lala Lajpat Rai | ||
| Yugantar | Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutt | ||
| Sandhya | Brahmabandhab Upadhaya | ||
| Indian Sociologist (London) | Shyamji Krishnavarma | ||
| Bande Mataram (Paris) | Madame Bikaji Cama | ||
| Talvar (Berlin) | Birendranath Chattopadhaya | ||
| Free Hindustan (Vancouver) | Taraknath Das | ||
| Ghadr (San Francisco) | Ghadr Party | ||
| Reshwa | Ajit Singh | ||
| The Hindustan Times | K. M. Pannikar (part of the Akali Dal Movement) | ||
| Leader | Madan Mohan Malaviya | English | |
| Kirti | Santosh Singh, Bhagat Singh | ||
| Veer Arjun | Bhagat Singh | ||
| Bahishkrit Bharat | B. R. Ambedkar | ||
| Kudi Arasu | E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker (Periyar) | Tamil | |