Towards the end of the 19th
century, many social reformers began actively campaigning for radical changes
in Indian society. The reformation of Hinduism, the move for abolition of sati
and efforts to encourage widow remarriage were some of the major reforms. Inspired
by these great leaders, many newspapers were started in different parts of the
country. All this led to
a boom in the newspaper
industry in India. Some of the leading English newspapers were also launched
during this time. “The Times of India” (1861) was started as a paper supporting
the British. Many of you might have heard about “The Jungle Book”. The author
of “The Jungle Book” , Rudyard Kipling, started “The Pioneer” in 1866 from Allahabad.
“The Amrita Bazar Patrika”(1868), “The Statesman” (1875), “The Hindu” (1887)
and “The Tribune”( 1880) were also started during this period. “The Hindustan
Times” was started later, in 1923. In the regional languages, some papers that
were launched during that period continue even now as leading papers like
“Malayala Manorama” (1888).
When Mahatma Gandhi returned to
India, he gave a great impetus to the freedom movement. He was also a great
editor. He took over “Young India”, the weekly started by the Home Rule Party in
1918. Gandhiji also launched another weekly, called the “Navjeevan”, in
Gujarati. Later, Gandhiji started the “Harijan” under the editorship of Mahadev
Desai. Gandhiji insisted that his papers will not carry any advertisements. But
all his publications had wide circulation among readers.
Fig 5.9
Fig 5.10 
Fig 5.11: Navjeevan
Can you guess how many
newspapers in India have crossed 100 years of publication and are still in
circulation? There are 41 such newspapers in the country and are called
centenarian newspapers. Among English dailies, four have crossed this mark: The
Times of India, The Hindu, The Tribune and The Statesman. Among language newspapers,
Mumbai Samachar, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Malayala Manorama and Deepika are among
the centenarians.
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