1 8LClnnlnC Cl !

Cu8nALlSM
ln Lhe subconLlnenL [ournallsm sLarLed wlLh prellmlnary handwrlLLen news sheeLs
prepared by governmenL newswrlLers durlng Lhe Musllm rule 1hey were wrlLLen
daLed appeared aL regular and frequenL lnLervals Such news sheeLs provlded Lhe rulers
wlLh lnformaLlon from all corners of Lhe emplre regardlng publlc occurrences
currenLevenLs mlschlef ln socleLles and hardshlps faced by Lhe people lrom Lhls
lnformaLlon Lhe rulers used Lo Lake declslons and plan lnlLlaLlves Lo uphold good
governance lndeed Lhere was a flne esLabllshed sysLem of survelllance Lhrough
Lhe newspapers rulers were prompLly updaLed of maladmlnlsLraLlon and
mlsmanagemenL ln Lhe soclal sLrucLure 8ruLal and cruel governors were deLached
of Lhe governmenL and honesL offlclals were encouraged ln shorL Lhe early handwrlLLen
sheeLs proved effecLlve soclal moblllzaLlon vehlcle Lo hold peace and
conLenLmenL ln Lhe emplres 1hls ls Lhe reason Musllms ruled for cenLurles wlLh
presLlge and prosperlLy
11 CrganlzaLlon
1he lnlLlal sysLem of handwrlLLen news sheeLs Lhough noL well sLandardlzed was
lnsLlgaLed on sLrong foundaLlons durlng Lhe rule of uelhl emperors 8uL Lhe
legendary Mughal emperors enhanced and sLrengLhened lL Lo Lhe superlor degree of
excellence newswrlLers or sLrlngers were asslgned ln all Lhe areas of Lhe emplre
Lo collecL news and assemble lL ln Lhe paper for Lhe courL of klng MosL promlnenL
and honesL lndlvlduals were deslgnaLed for such posLs Lhey earned good salarles
and Lhelr appolnLmenL or abollLlon was solely wlLh Lhe klng hlmself lor Lhls
reason Lhey remalned far from Lhe lnfluence of provlnclal governors and reporLed
whenever necessary Lhe blLLer facLs of governors and oLher offlclals also Slnce lL
was posslble LhaL Lhe sLrlngers would work for brlbes agenLs behlnd Lhem were
employed for Lhelr survelllance So Lhere remalned no chance of fake reporLs lL ls
safe Lo say LhaL Lhe ldea of free press had surface ln Lhe subconLlnenL
12 Conveyance
AL LhaL Llme Lhere were no Lralns or by no means any elecLrlc channel
noneLheless a flrsLclass posLal sysLem exlsLed LhaL sLrlngers used Lo send Lhelr
news sheeLs Lo Lhe caplLal Muhammad 8ln 1ughlaq was Lhe flrsL Musllm ruler
who resourcefully sLrucLured posLal sysLem ln Lhe SubconLlnenL A wellknown
Arab voyager lbne8aLuLah quoLed LhaL Lhere were Lwo klnds of posL llrsL Lhe
4
pedesLrlans posL and second Lhrough horserlders Porse rlders Lrend lnlLlaLed
durlng Lhe Mughal's Llme Amuslngly Lhe speed of dellvery was Lwo hundred and
flfLy mlles a day wlLh horserlders
13 ropagaLlon
newspapers from all Lhe corners of Lhe subconLlnenL senL Lo Lhe caplLal were read
aloud ln Lhe courL for Lhe klng ln accordance he used Lo glve speclflc
lnsLrucLlons lurLher more Lhe courL had lLs own newswrlLers who covered Lhe
dally proceedlngs of Lhe courL and pronounced lL Lhe nexL day Covernors of farflung
provlnces also kepL Lhelr represenLaLlves ln Lhe courL ln Lhls way all Lhe
governmenL offlclals were kepL lnformed Above and beyond essenLlal news for
publlc was overLly announced ln Lhe clLles from pulplLs of mosques or ln speclally
arranged gaLherlngs
14 Slgnlflcance
lL was Lhe supreme lnLellecLual poLenLlal of Musllm rulers LhaL Lhey shaped and
esLabllshed a neLwork of people who provlded Lhem news from oLher lands and hence a
sysLem of assembllng news successful sLarLed ln shorL Lhls communlcaLlon sysLem
beLween rulers and ruled helped Lhe governmenL malnLaln and susLaln good
governance More Lo Lhe polnL lL beflLLed ln lnLernal and exLernal securlLy
2 ll8S1 8ln1Lu nLWSAL8S
WlLh Lhe downfall of Mughal rule 8rlLaln sLarLed offenslve lnvaslon lnLo Lhe subconLlnenL
Wherever haLred for 8rlLlsh surfaced people sLarLed prlvaLelyowned
secreL handwrlLLen papers ln order Lo lnduce and sLlmulaLe more abhorrence
agalnsL LasL lndla Company ln Lhe revoluLlon of 1837 such papers played an
effecLlve role
21 Plcky CazeLLe
1he flrsL ever prlnLlng press was seL up by Lhe 8rlLlsh aL 8ombay ln 1674 ln Lhe
end of elghLeenLh cenLury prlnLlng presses were lnsLalled aL Madras and CalcuLLa
1he flrsL prlnLed newspaper of subconLlnenL appeared ln 1780 wlLh Lhe name of
Plcky CazeLLe" publlshed by !ames AugusL Plcky 1he slze of LhaL paper was
12 x 8 wlLh only 4 pages lor Lhe reason LhaL !ames AugusLus Plcky was agalnsL
LasL lndla Company and always broughL forLh Lhe corrupLlon of CovernmenL he
was soon [alled 8uL Plcky conLlnued edlLlng ln Lhe [all Loo So ln november
1781 a newspaper wlLh name of lndla CazeLLe" was lnLroduced whlch was pro
CovernmenL and agalnsL Plckey WlLh Lhls haphazard changlng scenarlo many
3
new newspapers came on Lhe scene Some supporLed Lhe governmenL and oLhers
sLrlved for freedom
22 lndlan World
Wllllam uuane was one of Lhose edlLors who sLruggled hard for freedom of press
Larller he was a fanaLlcal edlLor of 8engal !ournal buL Lhe governmenL vlolenLly
removed hlm wlLh force Soon he sLarLed hls own newspaper lndlan World"
whlch was more auLhenLlc and openly crlLlcal Lo LasL lndla Company 1he 8rlLlsh
released Lwo consecuLlve newspapers Lo combaL lL buL falled lnLeresLlngly
clrculaLlon of lndlan World lncreased more Lhan expecLaLlons lL was alarmlng for
Lhe Company and lL feared LhaL Lhls lndlan paper could geL Lo Lngland and may defame
Lhe Company ln Lngland now Lhe CovernmenL was looklng for Lhe Lrap Wllllam
uuane once crlLlclzed on [udlclary Lherefore he was exlled and hls lnvesLmenL of
LhlrLy Lhousand was selzed by force Pe was a vallanL [ournallsL Pe wenL Lo
Amerlca Lhrough Lngland and conLlnued hls pracLlce
23 rogress uevelopmenL
WlLhln LwenLy years of Lhe lnsLallaLlon of prlnLlng press ln subconLlnenL dozens
of (Lngllsh language) newspapers and perlodlcals appeared ln Lhe clLles of
CalcuLLa 8ombay and Madras Powever readershlp was llmlLed Lo 8rlLlsh because
of Lhe dlfference of language 1hese newspapers ln general lncluded poeLry Lales
and shorL composlLlons LranslaLed erslan sLorles and someLlme even Lhe
LranslaLed odes of naLlvepoeLs Sadl and Paflz Moreover Lhey broughL Lo llghL Lhe
culLure quallLles and mlschlef of Lhe 8rlLlsh resldenLs of LhaL Llme
3 nLWSAL8S Cl nA1lCnAL 8LClCnAL
LAnCuACLS
1he language of educaLed people ln Lhe subconLlnenL was erslan 8uL Lhe 8rlLlsh
dlsllked lL because lL preserved Lhe memorles of Musllm's power of lnfluence
afresh So Lhey promoLed urdu language and flnanclally asslsLed ln lLs
publlcaLlon
31 !ame!ahan numa
llrsL prlnLed urdu newspaper was !ame!ahan numa" publlshed ln CalcuLLa ln
1822 under Lhe supervlslon of 8rlLlsh lLs edlLor was Munshl Sada Sukh AfLer
some weeks lLs language was changed lnLo erslan because Lhe clrculaLlon
6
remalned exLremely low LaLer afLer Lwo years lL was lnLegraLed wlLh a fourpage
urdu news sheeL for Lhe reason LhaL some of Lhe 8rlLlsh offlclals had learned urdu
where on Lhe oLher hand people could be moblllzedLo use urdu language !ame
!ahan numa feaLured news lLems from oLher handwrlLLen news sheeLs of
auLonomous sLaLes Lngllsh newspapers and some of lLs own
32 MaraaLulAkhbar
1he flrsL prlnLed erslan newspaper MaraLulAkhbar" appeared ln CalcuLLa ln
1822 lLs founder and edlLor was 8a[a 8am Mohan 8aey Pe was a splrlLual leader
of Plndus Pe sLarLed 8engall newspapers also Pls lnLenLlon Lo sLarL newspapers
ln general was Lo enhance Lhe knowledge of common people and acqualnL Lhem
wlLh Lhe pollcles laws and llne of acLlon of Lhe 8rlLlsh governmenL 1hls
newspaper had a shorL llfe buL lL was appreclaLed aL Lhe hlghesL degree
33 newspapers of reglonal languages
When [ournallsm enLered ln oLher parLs of subconLlnenL several newspapers of
reglonal languages also emerged lor lnsLance 8engall Plndl Cu[raLl MarhaLl
and 1amll language newspapers 1hse newspapers lncluded shorL arLlcles ephemeral
Loplcs some lllusLraLlons and servlce arLlcles (classlfleds)
4 8LSS LAWS
8efore 1837 Lhe 8rlLlsh governmenL promulgaLed four press laws Lo curb
newspapers 1hey Lrled Lhelr besL Lo conLrol prevalllng press and sLrlved Lo mold
publlc oplnlon ln favor of Lhe Lhen governmenL 8uL Lhe endeavors of [ournallsLs
and edlLors remalned a ma[or barrler ln 8rlLlsh lnLenLlons
41 1799 ress law
llrsL press law was enforced ln 1799 Lhe condlLlons of whlch made lL mandaLory
Lo lnclude Lhe name of prlnLer aL Lhe end of newspaper and LhaL Lhe maLerlal should
have Lo be geL approved from a governmenL offlclal before prlnLlng ln oLher
words suppressloncumcensorshlp sLarLed LdlLors and [ournallsLs were resLrlcLed
Lo wrlLe agalnsL Lhe governmenL oLherwlse Lhey would be exlled or deporL
newspapers accepLed Lhls law Powever people conLlnued Lo prlnL aggresslve
pamphleLs agalnsL Lhe governmenL ln 1818 censorshlp was removed and press goL
llberLy 8uL Lenslons beLween Lhe governmenL and newspapers susLalned long
1herefore second law was broughL lnLo force
42 1823 ress law
7
Second press law was promulgaLed ln 1823 whlch made lL compulsory Lo obLaln
llcense before esLabllshlng a prlnLlng press or a newspaper CLherwlse forfelLure of
one Lhousand rupees would be collecLed or slx monLhs lmprlsonmenL would be
glven or boLh Lhe punlshmenLs aL Lhe same Llme newspapers re[ecLed and dld noL
accepL Lhls law 8allles and demonsLraLlons were held buL all Lhe efforLs were ln
valn Some sacrlflced Lhelr llvellhood and some even exlled 8a[a 8am Mohan
8aey appealed ln a hlgh courL for wlLhdrawal of Lhls press law 8uL noL a slngle
demand was noLlced LvenLually 8a[a 8am Mohan 8aey closed all hls
newspapers ln proLesL uurlng Lhls dlfflculL Llme newspapers declded Lo keep
qulLe
43 1833 ress acL
AfLer Lhe annoyance of 1823 newspapers seL aslde from Lhe pollLlcs Some years
passed wlLh sllence When on one hand newspapers dld noL creaLe any Lrouble and
on Lhe oLher hand a broad mlnded person Slr Charles became Lhe Covernor
Ceneral Lhe relaLlons beLween CovernmenL and press goL beLLer ConsequenLly
press law of 1823 was abollshed and a new press acL was passed ln 1833
accordlng Lo whlch [usL a declaraLlon was requlred for openlng a newspaper
Secondly Lhe names of prlnLer and publlsher were requlred Lo be prlnLed on all Lhe
pages of newspapers WlLh Lhls change press obLalned freedom and many
newspapers of reglonal languages came ouL Lspeclally erslan newspapers from
CalcuLLa Ladhlana karachl Agra Sakkur and 8ombay
3 u8uu !Cu8nALlSM
urdu [ournallsm sLarLed wlLh !ame!ahan numa buL ln polnL of facL lLs hlsLory
beglns from 1836 when Lhe faLher of Maulana Muhammad Pussaln Azad Maulvl
Muhammad 8aqar sLarLed uelhl urdu Akhbar" AfLer LhaL a large number of
urdu newspapers emerged ln cornerLocorner of Lhe subconLlnenL Some
slgnlflcanL facLors behlnd Lhe progress of urdu [ournallsm were LhaL
a ln 1830 LasL lndla Company declared urdu Lhe offlclal language of small
governmenL lnsLlLuLlons and courL of law So Lhe lmporLance of urdu
lncreased fourfold
b AfLer 1833 many newspapers of reglonal languages came aL fronLllne
Among Lhem urdu language newspapers were mosL lmporLanL because
urdu was Lhe offlclal language
8
c ln 1836 LlLhoLype prlnLlng was sLarLed lL was more aLLracLlve and
lnexpenslve So Lhe cosL of newspapers could be reduced ConsequenLly lL
became easler Lo sLarL an urdu newspaper
d CovernmenL lnLended Lo promoLe WesLern SLudles ln Lhe subconLlnenL
Slnce urdu newspapers were approprlaLe medlum for Lhe purpose Lhe
governmenL used Lo purchase a cerLaln quanLlLy of newspapers for offlclals
schools and colleges 1hls seLup flnanclally supporLed some of Lhe
newspapers
1hese were Lhe four elemenLs behlnd Lhe growLh and progress of urdu [ournallsm
ln subconLlnenL LaLer many new urdu papers sLarLed ln uelhl Lahore SlalkoL
MulLan Cu[aranwala Cu[araL eshawar 8awalplndl Shlmla Ladhlana 8aLala
AmraLsar Agra Lukhnow 8anaras 8ombay 8rell Allgarh and Madras
Powever uelhl and Lahore are consldered Lo be Lhe moLher land of urdu
[ournallsm
31 newspapers of uelhl
More Lhen a dozen newspapers and perlodlcals sLarLed ln uelhl ComparaLlvely
Lwo were mosL slgnlflcanL and had a profound effecL on Lhe Musllm socleLy llrsL
uelhl urdu Akhbar" and second was SyedulAkhbar" uelhl urdu Akhbar
conLlnued for LwenLy one years Maulvl Muhammad 8aqar was lLs flrsL edlLor
LaLer on hls son Maulana Muhammad Pussaln Azad Look Lhe responslblllLy 1he
flrsL page of uelhl urdu Akbar was used for Lhe acLlvlLles of LasL Mughal Lmperor
8ahaddur Shah Zafar 1hen Lhe movemenL and acLlons of 8rlLlsh resldenLs and
oLher offclals were lncluded news from uelhl had speclal emphasls Wherever
needed commenLs were glven aL Lhe end of Lhe news 1hls newspaper broughL Lo
llghL Lhe Lomfoolery of boLh 8rlLlsh and Lmperor's courL ln every lssue an ode
also was puL ln SyedulAkhbar came lnLo belng ln Lhe year 1837 lLs founder was
Syed Muhammad kahan real broLher of Slr Syed Ahmed khan AfLer nlne years
he dled ln young age and Lhe paper conLlnued ln Lhe edlLorshlp of Syed Ahmed
khan 8uL Lhe name of edlLor was kepL concealed ln 1930 SyedulAkhbar was
closed because of flnanclal problems
32 newspapers of Lahore
llrsL urdu newspaper of Lahore was kohenoor" sLarLed ln 1830 And
conLlnued for more Lhan half a cenLury Munshl Parsukh 8aey was lLs founder who
was speclally called by Lhe 8rlLlsh afLer lnvaslon ln un[ab Pe was flnanclally
supporLed by 8rlLlsh ln esLabllshlng a prlnLlng press and a newspaper As a maLLer
of facL Lhls facL lL was a pro CovernmenL newspaper buL keeplng Lhe ldea of
freedom under Lhe umbrella of force lL someLlme crlLlclzed Lhe governmenL also
9
Whlle ln Lechnlcal quallLy no doubL lL was a unlque paper wlLh maLchless
enhancemenLs lL provlded noL only news and vlews buL enormous educaLlve
maLerlal for educaLors kohenoor had largesL clrculaLlon ln all Lhe urdu papers
of Lhe subconLlnenL ln flfLy years of lLs exlsLence a varlous edlLors worked for lLs
beLLermenL 1he second chlef newspaper of Lahore was uaryaenoor" whlch
could noL conLlnue because lL openly condemned Lhe 8rlLlsh rule lL had a very
shorL buL llvely llfe
33 newspapers of SlalkoL and MulLan
AfLer Lahore Lhe nexL lmporLanL cenLre of urdu [ournallsm was SlalkoL Where
Munshl uewan Chand sLarLed newspaper for Lhe flrsL Llme Pe released slx
newspapers before Lhe revoluLlon of 1837 Among whlch Chashmaelalz" and
vlcLorla aper" were very famous vlcLorla paper conLlnued for flfLy years lL ls
lnLeresLlng Lo know LhaL SlalkoL had Lhe largesL clrculaLlon of newspapers 1here
are Lwo maln reasons glven by scholars for lncreased dlsLrlbuLlon of newspapers
ln SlalkoL llrsL ls LhaL Lhe llLeracy and educaLlon acqulslLlon was emphaslzed upon
by Lhe 8rlLlsh Secondly Lhe LasL lndla Company lmplemenLed [urlsLlc educaLlon
reforms Cne example ls LhaL of Lhe large consLrucLlon of varlous Schools As a
resulL llLeracy raLe lncreased qulLe greaL and Lhe readershlp of newspapers spread
LhroughouL SlalkoL Where MulLan ls concerned Lwo or Lhree newspapers sLarLed
ln Lhe clLy before 1837 lor Lhe mosL parL 8lyaze1or" was a famous paper lLs
edlLor Munshl Mehdl Pasan became LargeL of 8rlLlsh aLroclLles he was senLenced
for seven years lmprlsonmenL
34 Speclflcs of urdu newspapers
Cenerally ln early sLages of [ournallsm Lhe readershlp of urdu newspapers was
noL very remarkable SLaLlsLlcal lnformaLlon Lells LhaL kohenoor had hlghesL
clrculaLlon wlLh Lhree hundred and flfLy coples a day SyedulAkhbar had Lhe
lowesL clrculaLlon of only LwenLy seven coples Ma[orlLy of Lhe newspapers
produced nearly flfLy coples per day Cn Lhe oLher hand some papers even sold
Lwo hundred coples because Lhe 8rlLlsh used Lo Lake flfLy Lo hundred coples for
offlclals and schools on permanenL basls
1hlngs Lo remember abouL urdu press
a) 1he reason behlnd low readershlp was LhaL mosL newspapers aL LhaL Llme
cosL flfLy cenLs (8 aaney) per copy We can safely assume LhaL only welloff
people were able Lo afford Secondly llLeracy raLe was conslderably low
b) AL leasL forLy cusLomers were requlred Lo make selfgovern (lndependenL) a
weekly
10
c) 8eglonal naLlonal and lnLernaLlonal news were publlshed news of
educaLlonal reforms had excepLlonal emphasls ln urdu newspapers
d) Source of news were oLher handwrlLLen news sheeLs of emperor's sLrlngers
Lngllsh newspapers and conLemporary urdu and erslan newspapers
e) LdlLorlals were noL lncluded Wherever necessary noLes or commenLs were
glven aL Lhe end of columns SomeLlme edlLor's suggesLlons and
lnLerpreLaLlons were also puL ln under separaLe column newspapers were
noL very gooflooklng or lmpresslve lcLures were noL used however a
llLLle blL handmade plcLures were prlnLed someLlmes
f) newspapers had no well arrange maLerlal ln order or sequence kohenoor
was Lhe only urdu newspaper ln whlch maLerlal was arranged ln a deflnlLe
serles Cne mosL enhanced quallLy of kohenoor was prlnLlng of annual
lndex Lhough whlch concerned news lLems could be easlly searched ouL
g) noL all urdu newspapers crlLlclzed Lhe governmenL
6 1837 8LvCLu1lCn 8CLL Cl !Cu8nALlSM
1o ldenLlfy wlLh Lhe role of [ournallsm and [ournallsLs ln Lhe revoluLlon of 1837 lL
ls necessary Lo go Lhrough some lmporLanL myLhs
a) 1here were dallles as well as weekly Lngllsh newspapers buL Lhelr owners
were elLher Lhe 8rlLlsh or Anglo lndlans naLurally Lhey were Lhe paLrons of
8rlLlsh rule and Lhelr sympaLhles were wlLh 8rlLaln lf any paper ever
crlLlclzed Lhe governmenL lL was consldered as personal problem beLween
Lhe members of a same soclal group
b) All Lhe newspapers of reglonal languages were weekly 1helr collecLlve
publlcaLlon was slx Lhousand lf lL ls assumed LhaL Len persons read one
paper Lhen Lhe LoLal readershlp may be slxLy Lhousand
c) MosL of Lhe urdu language newspapers were owned by nonMusllms 8uL
comparaLlvely all Lhe papers of uelhl were ln Lhe hands of Musllms
d) Llkewlse nonMusllm papers Musllm newspapers dld reporLlng ln a
moderaLe way wlLh LemperaLeness and precauLlons Wherever denlgraLlon
agalnsL 8rlLlsh was observed a few senLences were also wrlLLen ln pralse of
8rlLaln
11
e) ln Lhe beglnnlng of 1837 Lhe pollLlcal scenarlo Look qulLe haphazard shape
Lngllsh newspapers could noL even LoleraLe Lwo or Lhree urdu papers
crlLlcal Lo Lhe 8rlLlsh rule ConsequenLly Lhey aggresslvely appealed for
llmlLaLlons and sLrlcL resLrlcLlons on Lhe naLlonal and reglonal newspapers
When Lhe revoluLlon sLarLed Lhey yelped LhaL lL was solely Lhe resulL of
freedom of naLlonal press So Lord Cannlng enforced a law whlch ln urdu
ls called CanooneZuban 8andl"
61 CanooneZuban 8andl (urdu)
1hrough Lhls ordlnance llcense cusLom was made obllgaLory ln order Lo sLarL or
keep runnlng a prlnLlng press or newspaper lL allowed governmenL Lo conflscaLe
any llcense from anyone aL any Llme As lf prlnLlng press or newspaper or boLh
could lmmedlaLely be sLopped ln addlLlon lL leL governmenL Lo lmpose censorshlp
on Lhe newspapers 1hls law was equal for reglonal naLlonal as well as Lngllsh
language newspapers [ournals perlodlcals or gazeLLes lL ls regarded as Lhe
desLrucLlve era of 8rlLlsh aLroclLles on press and [ournallsLlc pracLlce ln subconLlnenL
lollowlng Lhe law Lhe governmenL lnlLlaLed an operaLlon agalnsL Lhe
press reglonal naLlonal newspapers and prlnLlng presses were crushed noLe
LhaL only Lhose Lngllsh newspapers were LargeLed whlch were owned by Lhe
naLlves of subconLlnenL noL Lhose whlch were ln hands of 8rlLlsh or Anglo
lndlans lndeed Anglo lndlan newspapers were permlLLed Lo wrlLe anyLhlng ln
aglLaLlon of Lhe naLlves So Lhey wroLe LhaL uelhl should be demollshed !ama
Mosque should be desLroyed and a church should be consLrucLed over Lhere 1hey
asked Lo lmplemenLcompulsory Lhe sLudy of new 1esLamenL ln schools and
colleges Lven Lhey suggesLed lmposlng Lax on every lndlvldual of elghLeen Lo
slxLy years of age More Lo Lhe polnL Lhey meanL LhaL only ChrlsLlans should rule
1hls was Lhe role and absurdlLy of Lngllsh newspapers whlch laLer sparked Lhe
developmenL of press from scrap
62 8ole of uelhl newspapers ln revoluLlon
1lll 1837 revoluLlon 8rlLlsh could noL lnvade uelhl owlng Lo Lhe facL LhaL lL was
full of sympaLhlzers and paLrons of 8ahadurShah Zafar 1he newspapers of uelhl
made every efforL Lo susLaln Lhe revoluLlon 1he endeavors and sacrlflces of uelhl
urdu Akhbar SadlqulAkhbar and Slra[ulAkhbar (Lhe courL gazeLLe of 8ahadur
Shah Zafar) could never be forgoLLen When Lhe revoluLlon ended Lhese
newspapers also dlmlnlshed Cwner of uelhl urdu Akhbar Maulvl Muhammad
8aqar was kllled and arresL warranL of (hls son) Maulana Muhmmad Pussaln Azad
was lssued LdlLor of SadlqulAkhbar !ameeluduln faced a Lrlal and evenLually
he was senLenced for Lhree years lmprlsonmenL
64 Musllms excluslon from [ournallsm
12
Slnce Musllms were aL forefronL of lreedom MovemenL Lhey became Lhe cenLral
LargeL of 8rlLlsh carnage A masslve bloodshed emerged durlng Lhe Lerrlble
lncldenLs of 1837 As far as [ournallsm ls concerned Musllms were deLached of
[ournallsLlc pracLlce and Lhelr newspapers were banned Some newspapers even
closed Lhelr buslness Lhemselves ln fear of Lhe 8rlLlsh aLroclLles ln 1833 Lhere
were LhlrLy flve vlbranL urdu newspapers ln 1837 Lhere remalned only Lwelve ln
whlch [usL one newspaper was owned by any Musllm 1hls caLasLrophe
compleLely lsolaLed Lhe Musllms from [ournallsm ln SubconLlnenL 8uL ln Lhe
years ahead Musllm press developed from morsel and sLruggled for Lhe
lndependence wlLh our greaL leaders AL Lhe Llme of lndependence CualdeAzam
Muhammad All !lnnah was edlLor of hls own newspaper uAWn
Concluslon commenLs
lL ls safe Lo say LhaL [ournallsm had lLs rooLs ln Lhe subconLlnenL slnce Lhe Musllm
rule A perfecL communlcaLlon sysLem dld exlsL when Lhe 8rlLlsh lnvaded Lhe subconLlnenL
lL ls Lrue LhaL 8rlLlsh esLabllshed prlnLlng presses and promoLed llLeracy
buL lL was Lhe endeavors of naLlves of subconLlnenL LhaL [ournallsm prospered
LhroughouL from corner Lo corner As [ournallsm flourlshed many broadmlnded
people of subconLlnenL enLered lnLo Lhe arena of [ournallsm WlLh Lhe
developmenL of press noL only sLrlngers newswrlLers and edlLors enhanced Lhelr
[ournallsLlc pracLlce and skllls buL an audlence responslve Lo a mass press Look
blrLh ln shorL lL was Lhe muLual coordlnaLlon beLween press and readershlp
whlch paved Lhe way Lo acL upon Lhe rlghL of freedom of speech 8elng Lhe rulers
8rlLlsh supporLed Lhe ldea of free press buL wlLh cerLaln llmlLaLlons 1hey never
LoleraLed crlLlclsm whlch was Lhe ma[or source of brlnglng forLh Lhelr slns and
mlsmanagemenL PlsLorlans Lell LhaL 8rlLlsh crushed prlnLlng presses closed
several newspapers and [alled or exlled some of Lhose brllllanL [ournallsLs who
remalned barrler ln fulflllmenL of Lhelr lnLenLlons Powever please remember LhaL
ln splLe of 8rlLlsh reslsLance or more exacLly aLroclLles Lhe courageous edlLors and
Lhelr press dldn'L sLopped buL conLlnued Lo acqualnL people wlLh Lhe consplracles
and awful deLermlnaLlons of Lhe Lhen 8rlLlsh governmenL Lven afLer Lhe excluslon
of Musllms from [ournallsm ln 1837 Lhe Musllm press grew from scrap and
frulLfully served Lhe cause of lndependence
Lnd
13
8eference uasLaneSahaafaL ur Abdus Salam khursheed karwaan ubllshlng Pouse
Lahore
14