The power of the pen

"The first Indian to talk about the freedom of the press was Rammohan Roy in 1824. In 1885, when the Indian National Congress was founded, a large proportion of the men who attended the first session in Bombay were journalists. Indian political leaders had learnt early that the press could be used not just to criticize the government but also to educate people about their rights and keep them informed about the political events in the country.

Newspapers and journals played an important role in keeping the people informed about the freedom movement. They also broke the news that the government was trying to suppress. For example, after the massacre at Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919 there was a news clampdown in Punjab, but the press reported on the event leading to a flood of protests across the country.

Of course the newspapers owned and edited by the British like the Englishman, Statesman, Times of India, Madras Mail, Pioneer and Civil & Military Gazette were staunchly loyal to the government, Many even praised General Dyer for the killings in Jallianwalla Bagh. Others, often coming out in regional languages, like Bande Mataram founded by Bipin Chandra Pal and edited by Aurobindo Ghose, Kesari and Mahratta of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Amrita Bazaar Patrika, The Hindu, Tribune and Subramania Bharati's Weekly India were passionately on the side of the freedom movement.

Newspapers came out in all the major regional languages and were not only limited to cities but were also carried to villages, where an impromptu 'open-air library' would be created under a tree with a charpay and a bench or two. One of the men who could read would then read out the newspaper from cover to cover and it would be followed by hot discussions and debates. At a time without radios or television the Congress Party used the press to keep Indians informed about its activities. Later this led to both villagers and city people spontaneously joining all its hartals and Satyagrahas.

It wasn't easy publishing a newspaper that was critical of the government as the government had the power to imprison journalists. Surendranath Banerjee was the first journalist to be sent to jail for his writings. The magistrates had the power to confiscate printing presses and impose big fines on them. Post offices could detail packets suspected of containing 'seditious or objectionable material', which really meant anything critical of the government. Police threatened editors, journalists were harassed, and may like Tilak and Aurobindo were arrested and tried for sedition.

Journalists found clever ways to get around the laws. Some would start their reports with profuse declarations of loyalty to Queen Victoria! Others reprinted articles critical of the Indian government that had come out in the British press. Smaller newspapers, unable to bear the heavy fines, often stopped appearing but some of them showed amazing tenacity and continued to come out in new names. The Marathi journal Sandesh, reporting on the activities of Tilak, would often vanish and then reappear with a new name. And once to avoid being fined under the Vernacular Press Act that was aimed at newspapers published in Indian languages, the Bengali daily Amrita Bazaar Patrika turned into an English newspaper overnight!"