Chapter 2

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

As explained in the introductory chapter, the central objective of the study is to examine the

growth pattern and structural changes of the Indian Press in the post-independence era, a

period when the transformation of the Press from a 'profession to industryd was completed

in all aspects. However, prior to embarking on such a detailed exercise, it is useful to present

a historical perspective of the evolution of the Indian Press.

ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE PRESS

1

The origin of the Indian Press could, perhaps, be traced back to the reports of the news

writers (waquiah-nawis) under the Mughal regime2• However, it is the East India Company

that made extensive use of news reporters who disseminated through newsletters "speedy and

uptodate information about the market, business transactions, shipping, decisions of the

Arun Bhattacharjee, The Indian Press: Profession to Industry (Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1972).

2 "Some hundreds of original manuscript newspapers of the Moghul Court were sent by Col.James Todd in 1828 to the Royal Asiatic Society in London; the papers, 8 inches by 4 112 inches inside on an average, written in various hands, record notices of promotions,· . visits by the Emperor, hunting expeditions, bestowal of presents and news of similar interest". M. Chalapathy Rau, The Press (New Delhi: National Book Trust India, 1974) p.9.

administration etc." to the Indian capitalist class emerging under the British patronage3•

Interestingly, it is a 'disgruntled' employee of the Company, James Augustus Hicky, who

3

4

5

6

launched in 1780 the first newspaper Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser with the

'design of effecting more easy circulation of such information as are either useful or

entertaining and tending to promote the trading concerns of industrious individuals ,4. The

colonial Indian Press grew through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries under varying

phases of absolute control and liberal support of the state5.

We look at the growth of the Indian Press during the British Raj in four phases on the lines

of the periodisation scheme put forth by N. Ram6. The preparatory phase, which extended

from 1780 to 1818, was characterised by stringent government regulation and control. Lord

Wellesley (1798-1805) appointed an official censor before whom newspapers had to submit

complete infonnation well in advance of commencement of publication; failing to do so was

punishable and could even lead to deportment. Several editors during this period were

deported at short notice to Europe without trial. Several others were censured and made to

apologise. A number of newspapers were born and died. A prominent one that appeared

during the period was Bombay Herald (1789), the first Bombay-based newspaper.

Moitra, A Hist01Y of Indian Journalism, p.8.

As mentioned in the' Prospectus' that announced the publication of Bengal Gazette. Quoted in Ibid, pp.8-9. The Bengal Gazette was a weekly newspaper that consisted of two pages of 12 inches by 8 inches in size.

See, Ibid; Rau, The Press; and Parthsarathy, Journalism in India.

See, N. Ram. 'Forward' in Parthasarathy, Journalism ill India.

14

The second phase, 1818-68, was significant for two main reasons. First, was the liberal

attitude of the colonial administration. To illustrate, censorship was abolished in August 1818

by the then Governor-General Lord Hastings (1813-23), and more qualified people started

opting for a career in the Press. The Governor Generals who followed him, namely, Lord

Amherst (1823-28) and William Bentick (1828-35), did not insist on the enforcement of the

existing regulations and thereby, left the Press practically free. The Indian Press went through

7

another phase of 'emancipation' around the middle of the 1830s during the period of Lord

Metcalfe.

The second feature was that the indigenous Press got an impetus during this period. The first

ever Indian language newspaper Samachar Dmpan (Bengali) was started in the Bengali

language. Interestingly, the history of vernacular newspapers began with a controversy; a

section of the scholars believe that Samac/lar Darpan started (under the editorship of

J. C. Marshman) by the Serampore Missionaries in 1818 was the first Bengali newspaper,

while some others give the credit to Vangal Gazette of Gangakishore Bhattacharya. According

to them Samac/lar Dmpan was published on 23 May 1818, at least a week after the Vangal

Gazette7. The language to follow Bengali was Gujarati. The first Gujarati newspaper Bombay

Samachar was launched in 1822. Thus, the foundation of the Indian language Press,

patronisingly called by the colonial rulers as the' vernacular Press', was laid during the phase

For details of the controversy, see, Moitra, A History of Indian Journalism, pp. 45-46; and Smarajit Chakraborti, The BellRali Press (1818-1868): A Study in the Growth of Public Opillioll (Calcutta: Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd., 1976), pp.16-17.

15

1818-1868. It was during this phase that the Bombay Times was started (in 1838) by leading

merchants in Bombay, which later (in 1861) became the Times of India. As India passed to

the Crown in 1858, there were 19 Anglo-Indian and 25 'native' newspapers, all having small

circulations8.

8

The above phase was also significant as the Press started playing an active role in the Indian

nationalist movement. They became influential instruments in the hands of a rising bourgeois

middle class, who advocated socio-religious reforms in states like West Bengal (to be precise,

Calcutta) and Maharashtra under the influence of liberal ideas and largely under the patronage

of the Raj9. Newspapers associated with many such movements reflected the growing clash

The Indian Year Book: A Statistical and Historical Annul of the Indian Empire, with an Explanation of the Principal Topics of the Day (hereafter, IYB), Stanley Reed (Ed.), (Bombay/Calcutta: Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd, 1914).

9 In Bengal, prominent reformers such as Raja Rammohan Roy, Prosanna Kumar Tagore and Dwarakanath Tagore were all representatives of the new liberal aristocracy. Raja Rammohan Roy started the Sang bad Kaumudi, a Bengali weekly, Brahmanical Magazine or Brahman Sebadhi, a bilingual monthly and Meerat-ul-Akhbar, a Persian weekly, all in the early 1820's. Prosanna Kumar Tagore had a journal by name Reformer. An ambience of free thought and discussion nurtured by socio-cultural movements including the Dharma Sahha. Young Bengal (DeRozians), Gaudiya Samaj and Academic Association helped in fornlation and consolidation of public opinion. For a detailed discussion on the nature of the early Bengali journalism, see, Chakraborti, The Bengali Press; Moitra, History of Indian loumalism and Uma Das Gupta, 'The Indian Press 1870-1880: A Small World of Journalism', Modem Asian Studies, Vo1.2, No.2, 1977. The importance of social reform movements in fostering a native press was equally evident in the case of Bombay. Karsondas Mulji, Gopal Rao I-Iari Deshmukh, Behram Malabari, Mahadev Govind R,made and Dadabhai Naoroji made notable contributions here. Parthasarathi, Journalism in India.

16

of interests between the foreign traders and the rising nationalist middle c1ass lO. The adversial

role of the nationalist Press was kept alive by the latter who believed that national Press and

national education were potent means ·of progress 11.

The third phase, 1868-1919, was 'marked by the sharpening of the division of the Press based

on ideological positions supporting either the nationalist movement or the colonial policies l2•

For example, Amrit Bazar Patrika (1838) in Calcutta and the Hindu (1878) in Madras took

positions generally in favour of the freedom struggle and against the colonial policies,

whereas the Statesman (1878) in Calcutta appeared anti-nationalist by siding with the Raj.

Three important legislations - the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, the Newspapers (Incitement

to Offences) Act of 1908 and the Press Act of 1910 were passed during the period l1. Of these,

10 Moitra, A History of Indian Journalism, points out that the socio-religious reforms championed by the newly created bourgeoisie, reorganised the urban Hindu society to fit in gradually with the challenge of modern age ... The foreign imperialist domination radically changed the economic structure of society, resulting in the emergence of new social forces, which though "loyal to foreign rulers, came gradually into conflict with British vested interests as well as administration". (p.72).

11 The nationalist Press was ever vigilant against repressive state measures. Parthasarathy, Journalism in India, reports that the Sarvajanik Sabha of Pune, with the help of Mahadev Ranade, organised a conference of journalists working in language newspapers to discuss about the probable measures to mobilise public opinion against the Vernacular Press Act of 1878.

I~ The late eighteenth :tnd early twentieth centuries were significant I"rolll the point 01" view of infrastructure development also. The introduction of telegraph line in Calcutta and land telegraph line between India and Europe, and the advent of railways during this period enhanced the news dissemination possibilities remarkably.

13 The Vernacular Press Act, 1878 d.iscriminated against newspapers in Indian fanguages. Many papers - prominent among them was the Anand Bazar Patrika, so far a bilingual

17

in the post Independence period were launched before the end of the 1930s.the Vernacular

Press Act that discriminated against the language Press evoked wide-spread discontentment

. d d· I·· ·d I 14 among the IndulIls an arouse natlOna 1st sentIments 011 a WI er sca e .

The fourth phase, 1919-37, coincided with the formation of the first Labour Government in

England and, hence, witnessed a change in British attitudes to the question of India's

Independence. The English Press, based mainly in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi

showed tremendous vitality in those days and a number of newspapers including the

Hindustan Times, the Indian ExPress, the National Call, the National Herald and the Free

Press Journal made their appearance. This was also a significant phase in the growth of the

regional Press. Anal/da Bazar Palrika (Bengali), Sandesiz, Gl4arat Samaclzar and

Janmabhoomi (Gujarati), Sal1lyukta Karnataka (Kannada), Navakal and Sakal (Marathi), and

Mathrubhumi and Clzandrika (Malayalam) were all established then. In fact, all the large

Common Ownership Units that came to dominate the national as well as regional Press scenes

newspaper - became fully English following the Act. The Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act of 1908 was passed "in view of the close connection between the prepetration of outrages by means of explosives and the publication of criminal incitements in certain newspapers". It gave power in such cases to "confiscate the printing press used in the production of the newspaper and to stop the lawful issue of the newspaper". The Indian Press Act of 1910 had a wider scope and sought to ensure that the Indian Press was generally kept "within the limits of legitimate discussion". Apart from incitements to murder and acts of violence, the Act dealt with other "specified classes of puhlished matter, including any words or signs tending to seduce soldiers or sailors from their allegiance to duty, to bring into hatred ot contempt the British Government, any native Prince, or any section of His Majesty'ssubjects in India, or to intimidate public servants or private individuals". For details, see, IYB, 1914, p.353.

14 Parthasarathy, Journalism ill India.

18

Going by the periodisation used above, the 1920s appear to be the beginning of a dynamic

growth phase in the history of Indian dailies. This is obvious from the indices given in Table

2.1. After a stagnant phase that lasted up to 1912-13, the growth in number of newspapers

started picking up at a moderate rate l5• The pace of growth became rapid since the 1920s.

(See also Figure 2.1).

An interesting aspect of the pattern of growth process observed during the 1910s and 1920s

is the concentration of newspapers in the capitals of the Presidencies Crable 2.2). This could

perhaps be due to the urban concentration of commercial Presses l6.

The rapid growth of the Press since the early twenties can be explained in terms of the general

political awakening and heightened political activism as well as the emergence of - in

whatever stunted fashion - an indigenous capitalist class, who had accumulated enormous

wealth through its collaboration with foreign capital and the colonial government l7.

15 Comprehensive statistics relating to newspapers published in India for the period prior to 1956 are difficult to obtain, especially their circulation details. The only source that gives data on the number of· newspapers in the pre-Independence Illdia is the lYI1 puhlished by Bennett Coleman and Company, Bombay. Even this source stopped giving any quantitative information around the mid-thirties.

16 Das Gupta, "The Indian Press 1870-1880".

17 Suniti Kumar Ghosh, 17ze Indian Big Bourgeoisie: Its Genesis, Growth and Character (Calcutta: Subarna Rekha, 1985).

19

Table 2.1

Press in British India 1901/02 - 1929/30

Year Number of Newspapers

1901-02 708 1902-03 657 1903-04 709 1904-05 713 1905-06 747 1906-07 744 1907-08 753 1908-09 738 1909-10 726 1910-11 658 1911-12 656 1912-13 673 1913-1"4 827 1914-15 847 1915-16 857 1916-17 805 1917-18 838 1918-19 883 1919-20 941 1920-21 1017 1921-22 1094 1922-23 1282 1923-24 1363 1924-25 1401 1925-26 1378 1926-27 1485 1927-28 1525 1928-29 1693 1929-30 1708

Index

100 93

100 101 106 105 106 104 103

93 93 95

117 120 121 114 118 125 133 144 155 181 193 198 195 210 215 239 241

Source: The Indian Year Book (Bombay/Calcutta: Bennett, Coleman and Company, relevant years).

20

On the political front, such events as the end of World War I in 1918 18, lalianwalla Bagh

massacre in 1919 and Gandhiji's home coming in 1921 gave a fillip to the freedom

movement. which. in turn. generated' news hunger' among the puhlic. This period also

witnessed a relatively more liberal approach from the British government towards the

indigenous Press l9. On the economic front, the scale of operation and complexity of

organisation increased concurrently with demand and circulation, making the indigenous Press

increasingly dependent on the occasional generosity of the emerging Indian businessmen as

also the wealthy local rulers20• The interest of the capitalist class in owning and controlling

the Press became consolidated in the thirties and forties, catalysing a process of

transformation of this institution from a craft to a commercial venture.

18 During 1914-18, even the vernacular Press effectively exploited the eagerness of readers to know the details of the War, by giving wider coverage to war news through separate bulletins. For instance, Malyala Manorama used to issue a special supplement of war news. See, Malyala Mallorama 10 April 1915.

19 In 1922, a legislation amended the Press and Registration of Books Act 01' 1867 and repealed the Newspapers Act of 1908. Also repealed was the Press Act of 1910.

20 For instance, the I-lindustan1Yl1les was founded under the financial patronage of the Nawah of Nabha in 1924 and even after it changed hands, it used to receive regular donations from G.D Birla. See, J.N.Sahni, Truth About the Indian Press (Bombay: Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1974). Also see, Das Gupta, "The Indian Press 1870-1880".

21

FIGURE 2.1

Growth of Newspapers 2.6.--------in British India------, 2.4

2.2

2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1

O. 8 --'-r-----.-.--r-.-.,---,----r---,--r-T-.---r--1r-y--r--r--T-----,----.-.--r-.-,----,r-y---,-~ 1 901 /2 1907/8 1 913/1 4 1 91 9/20 1 925/26

1 904/5 191 0/11 191 6/1 7 1 922/23 1928/29

-- Index of Number

22

Region

Bengal

Madras

Bombay

Punjab

United Provinces

Central Provinces

Table 2.2

Regional Distribution of Commercial Presses and Newspapers

1901-11 1923-24

Press Newspapers Press Newspapers (No.) (No.) (No.) (No.)

606 96 997 203

583 104 1213 400

416 141 775 242

274 98 433 131

474 108 703 161

84 17 140 71

North-West Frt 20 3 19 -

Provinces Bihar and

Orissa NA NA 149

Source: lYE, 1914; 1926; and 1939-40.

Note: * relates to the c1aendar year 1937; ** includes periodicals.

23

24

1936-37

Press Newspapers (No.) (No.)

1570 145

2458* 348*

1108 357

589 394

1011 377

232 95

46 53**

282 59

COMMERCIALISATION: SOME LANDMARKS

In the years 1930-45 the Press had undergone major transformation as far as ownership and

organization is concerned21• By then it became increasingly difficult even for the successful

newspapers to remain in production without sustained financial support and patronage of big

business. Many of the nationalist Indian newspapers had brilliant editors, but had totally

outdated and worn out printing and composing machines. This made it impossible for them

to compete in get-up and 'class' with the privileged ones like the Statesman, which not only

received large subsidised government advertisements, but could afford to hire highly trained

and experienced staff and buy expensive modern equipment22• Having realised the

significance of financial patronage, newspapers like the Free Press Journal, Sentinel,

Hindustan Times and National Call were "flirting with" or trying to woo big businesses - to

help the mill-owners in the name of swadeshi, boost Indian insurance in the name of . nationalism, and support Indian shipping because it was a national enterprise23

•

21 An interesting aspect of ownership of Press in the early years is taken note of by Das Gupta, "The Indian Press 1870-1880". The vernacular newspapers during the period up to 1930 were more the result of individual initiatives (wherein the same person owned, edited and published a newspaper), whereas much of the native English Press, in some measure, depended on collective efforts of a few individuals who were not part of any formalised legal institution of partnership.

22 Sahni, Truth About the Indain Press.

23 Ibid, p.121, quoting the veteran journalist B.G. Horniman. Sahni also narrates how as the editor of National Call he had to campaign for the General Motors and Dunlop to highlight their new ventures and help the businessmen combine in Calcutta to influence the decision of the British government in the issue of the construction of the Howrah bridge in their favour, all for finances to run the paper.

24

The registration of the Hindustan Times as a public limited company in the early thirties

should be considered an important development in the Indian Press history for two reasons.

First, this had proven the robustness· of the native Press in terms of achieving circulation

levels large enough to be commercially viable and attractive to advertisers. Second, it had

signalled an impending phenomenon of commercial interests of large investors with

substantial stakes overtaking the missionary zeal of newspapers. When Hindustan Times

became a public limited company, G.D. Birla, the rich Marwari business magnate with

enterprises in Jute, textiles and sugar, who was the largest donor of funds to the paper,

natuarlly became the largest single shareholder of it. As described by Sahni (the editor of the

paper before and during the period of this transition) there soon arose serious differences of

opinion between the ownership and the old staff.

"Complete control was now.more important to Birlaji. .. The paper had reached a stage of prosperity when anyone be it with a higher salary and less brains could run it. It was also so much undercapitalised that a bare eighty thousand rupees was enough to offer majority control "24.

Another major event that indicated the emergence of business interests in the Press was the

buying up of the Bennett Coleman and Company (publisher of the Times of India since 1861)

by Ramakrishna Dalmia in 1945. He had already established the largest insurance company

in northern India and had invested in widely diversified industrial activities like cement,

paper, sugar, cotton, jute, airways, flourmills, and biscuit factories and had substantial stake

in farms and plantations. He later purchased the National Call of Delhi and changed its name

24 Ibid, p.104.

25

to Indian News Chronicle, which finally became Times of India, Delhi. In association with

Ramanath Goenka (the founder of Indian ExPress), he started an ancillary - Delhi Chronicle -

that was later reborn as Indian ExPress, Delhi.

As a critical link in the organization of production in this transitional phase, in the 1940s, a

new institution of 'managing editors' was being developed. They signified the change-over

from individual centred independent journalism of the earlier days to the business centred

modem journalism. Kasthuri Srinivasan of the Hindu, Tushar Kanthi Ghosh of Amrita Bazar

Patrika, Ramanath Goenka of the Indian ExPress, K.C. Mammen Mappillai of MalayaZa

Manorama and V.P.Nair of Mathrubhumi can all be described as representatives of this shift,

whose strengths lay not surely in brilliant editorial qualities, but in a strong sense of guiding

editorial policies towards greater business success.

SUMMING UP

The foregoing analysis of the origin and evolution of Press during the pre-Independence

period unravels some interesting patterns. We observe that a process of mass mobilisation and

politicisation during this phase that created and enlarged the market for news. The Press

eventually became the most potent medium for articulating the mUltiple ideas and voices

within the freedom movement. The social reformers and political activists used the Press as

an effective instrument for forming and consolidating public opinion in favour of an

26

Independent India.

The early phase of commercialisation that gathered momentum in the 1930s and 1940s was

characterised by two significant developments. First, proprietors and shareholders with

obvious business interests began developing interest in the Press. Buy-ups and takeovers of

papers by businessmen like Birla, Dalmia and Goenka during this period bore testimony to

such a growing interest. It was quite natural that for the 'absentee proprietors' of big

newspapers, the 'power and prestige' attached to ownership was more important than

nurturing brilliant and independent journalism or even earning reasonable profits. It needs to

be noted that, despite enjoying d?-e patronage of big capital, the Press had the rare ability to

represent political dissent. The characterstics of the post-Independence Press in India - its

'relative freedom', its 'adversarial role', while being also the 'jute Press '- followed

obviously from the nature of its evolution during the days of the nationalist struggle.

The changes in shareholding and ownership structure brought about some drastic changes in

the profession by creating specialised categories of editors whose functional role within

organisations was more managerial .than journalistic. This new genre of editors were

responsible, to a great extent, in determining the character and growth trajectory of the Indian

. Press in later years. Their importance in the organisation of Press became all the more

critical as the Press entered the second half of the present century.

27

One has to examine the developments in Press in the Independent India in a perspective that

incorporates the distinct characters tic features of colonial Press as described above. In the

following three chapters we shall analyse and interpret the growth patterns and structural

changes of the Press since the early sixties in the light of the changing structure of the

political debate and nationalist discourse.

28