Brief History of Press in India

The 240-year history of the Indian press accounts for the prestigious growth of Indian newspapers. In a report by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) published in 2011, India led the world in terms of newspaper circulation with nearly 330 million newspapers circulated daily.

The first Indian newspaper was announced by William Bolts in 1776 who asked those interested to come to his residence to read the news. But it was James August Hickey (considered as the “father of Indian press”) who started his newspaper called the Bengal Gazette, or Hickey’s Gazette in 1780 that the age of journalism dawned in the country. He described it as “weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties, but influenced by none”. He wrote about the corruption by British administrators in India, particularly about Sir Warren Hastings and his personal affairs. Hickey was soon imprisoned and his printing material was seized.

Subsequently, The Madras Courier and The Bombay Times were launched. In Bengal, five newspapers were started. Some of these received government patronage and therefore, flourished. Although their circulation wasn’t much wide, the government issued Press Regulations (1799) making the publication of the names of the printer, editor and proprietor mandatory and submission of all the material to be printed for an examination by the government.

In the early nineteenth century, social reformers and political activists like Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded Indian language newspapers. Social awareness and public education were their main motives. Many newspapers in the various vernacular languages of India made their way like The Bombay Samachar (1822), Jam-e-Jamshed (1831) etc.  After the revolt for Independence (1857), the government introduced more stringent press laws but this didn’t stop the national leaders like Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh from printing their agenda and raising a feeling of nationalism in the public. The Nationalist movement gathered a momentum and that gave a stronger push to the Indian Press.

After the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, the Press Emergency Act of 1931 was firmly put in place. The British government controlled and filtered all the news. Gandhi wrote against the restrictions imposed. He said, “In the name of the war effort, all expression of opinion is effectively suppressed unless an enterprising editor or publisher risks the loss of his press”. Eventually, in September 1946, an interim government was formed which would assist in India’s independence. At that moment, the British government lost its control over press and curtailed the freedom of Press.

Today, the Press in India has flourished, with so many newspapers and magazines being published in various Indian languages providing a vast variety of news and other information.

Key words- History of Press in India, William Bolts, James Augustus Hickey, Hickey’s Gazette, Vernacular Press, Press Regulations, Censorship, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Nationalist Movement and Press, Press Emergency Act (1931), Freedom of Press.

-Aastha Poddar, Student of Journalism, LSR