Today, India is one of the leading markets in the mobile
and communication technology industry. The leap seen in the communication
sector in a short span of two decades has left the prophets of communication
dumb founded. The changes in technology- from the invention of the telegraph to
satellite links- connect people across the globe at the flick of a switch. Not
only this, the internet chats and news flashes are possible on your mobile
phones. Can you imagine a world without the internet, mobile phones or other
online explores? Well in today’s lecture I will make you aware of the
transition from a world without the presence of mass media to a world congested
with communication technology.
So, the focus of today’s lecture is on
1.
Tracing the early forms of communication from the
beginning of organised society in India.
2.
The beginnings of written communication in India.
3.
The growth of the print media in India.
4.
The role of newspapers in the 19th century.
5. The press and freedom movement in India.
INTRODUCTION
In ancient India the kings and rulers are known to have
propagated their ideas through edicts. Their messages were inscribed on walls
and edicts erected at strategic points for people to read. Soon, the kings and
rulers realised that it was important for them to acquaint themselves with
those activities which were against their authority. Agencies were created to
deal with these activities. These agencies also spread out their proclamations
of social and economic reforms to their authorities. They also provided
information on conditions in the prosperous and backward areas. Organised
attempts were made to relieve famine and distress by releasing timely relief.
In
the earlier stages of these activities information was transmitted verbally and
later it was reduced to writing.
During the period of Emperor Ashoka, the State supported
itself with a highly developed administration. Sources of information ranged
from spies who reported on subversive activities, the secret overseers attached
to every department and an account of the socio-economic activities of the
people from the monasteries.
Another important tool of communication was the news
letter which kept the ruler informed of the developments in various parts of
the country.
During the Moghul period, news writers were specially
appointed and were made to file reports to the headquarters of the
administration. The news writers worked in liaison with a governor or a local
administrative official, presenting them in a favourable light to the central
authority.
Records from history show conflicting reports about the
status of the ‘Press’ during Aurangazeb’s time; one shows that the Emperor
allowed great liberty in the matter of news, while another ascribes his failure
to realise that false reports were sent to him by his news writers.
Later, the East India Company requisitioned the services
of news writers for the same purpose as during the Moghul period. Mostly,
reports were confined to the affairs of the English and occasionally, the
grievances of the employees were ventilated through this channel. For a number
of reasons, the news writers were subject to a greater control as compared to
the Moghul period.
Newspapers of the 18th
century
The first attempt to start a newspaper in India was made
in Calcutta in 1776 by William Bolts who was an ex-officer of the East India
Company. He resigned following a censure by the Directors of the Company for
carrying on private trade beyond the Company’s authority. Bolt announced that
he would start a career in writing and this manuscript would communicate many
things most ‘intimately’ to every individual. This gave rise to an alarm in the
official headquarters. He was directed to quit Bengal. Thus, the first attempt at
journalism proved abortive.
It
was then in 1780 that James Augustus Hickey started the Bengal Gazette
Calcutta General Advertiser. This two-sheet newspaper devoted considerable
space to scurrilous attacks on the private lives of the officials of the Company
including the Governor General, a Colonel and a Swedish missionary. As it is,
Hickey did not enjoy a high reputation in the Company. Soon Hickey landed in
trouble and his paper was deprived of the privilege of circulating his
newspaper through the General Post Office. He was later sued for libel and was
sentenced to imprisonment including a fine. In spite of this, he continued his
critical, bitter and abusive attacks on the Governor General and the Chief
Justice. While in prison, he continued to edit his paper without changing its
tone. Attacks continued on Hickey but he remained undeterred. He persisted in
his writings but was gradually reduced to poverty and distress which ultimately
broke him.
In 1780, another publication, The India Gazette was
started by Messrs B. Messink and Peter Reed. The basic difference between
Hickey and these two writers was that they obtained the consent of the
Governor-General and then addressed him in writing for postal concessions. They
also assured him that they would abide by any regulations laid down by the
Company.
The Calcutta Gazette was published in 1784 under the
direct patronage of the Government and in the following year, the Bengal
Journal made its appearance along with a monthly, the Oriental Magazine
of Calcutta Amusement. The Calcutta Chronicle was published in 1786.
Within six years of maiden effort, there were four weekly newspapers and one
monthly magazine from Calcutta.
The Bengal Journal offered to publish all
government advertisements free of charge. Nothing significant is known about
the Calcutta Chronicle except for the fact that the issues are found in
the Imperial Library and in the British Museum Newspaper library.
The Newspaper scene in Madras and Bombay
Meanwhile, Madras and
Bombay were not far behind in the publishing race. The Madras Courier came
into existence in 1785 as an officially recognised newspaper founded by Richard
Johnson. He was a Government printer. In 1791, Boyd, then editor of the Madras
Courier, resigned and started the Hurkaru, but the paper ceased
publication a year later when he died. The Madras Courier continued
without a competitor till 1795, when R. Williams
started
the Madras Gazette. This was followed by the India Herald which
was published by authority by one Humphreys who was arrested for the
unauthorised publication but managed to escape from the ship on which he was
deported to England.
Bombay’s first newspaper, the Bombay Herald made
its appearance in 1789. The Courier which was published a year later
carried advertisements in Gujarati. The Bombay Gazette was published in
1791 and the Bombay Herald was merged into it in the following year. It
was recognised for the purposes of official notifications and advertisements in
the same terms as the Madras Courier.
In Bombay and Madras, newspapers did not seem to have come
into conflict with the government. On the contrary, they were anxious to earn
official recognition and to enjoy official favour. In fact the proprietor of
the Madras Courier, Richard Johnson, secured new presses, types and
material through the Government free of duty. It seemed that Boyd resigned from
the editorship of the Madras Courier in 1791 probably because the tone
of his paper was not to the liking of the Government. On two occasions, on
which it unintentionally offended the government, the editor readily published
an apology.
Interestingly, the newspaper scene in Bengal was
completely different. In 1791, William Duane acquired the Bengal Journal and
became its editor. He landed into trouble by publishing the rumoured death of
Lord Cornwallis. Evidently, he could not continue as editor of the Bengal
Journal. Subsequently, he started another paper The Indian Herald. The
paper grew steadily in the following three years. In the interval between 1791
and 1798, newspapers in Bengal were pulled up for various offences mostly
relating to military subjects. Duane was harassed on various occasions by the
Government and asked to proceed to Europe. He demanded an audience with Sir
John Shore, the Governor General, who invited him to the Government house. It
was here that he was placed under arrest and sent to England along with three
orphan children whom he had adopted. Duane received no compensation for the property
left behind in India.
In 1798, Dr. Charles Maclean who started the Bengal
Harkaru had a series of encounters. First, with the Post Master General for
detaining certain letters addressed to him and later with the Government for
contributing a signed letter to the Telegraph, edited by Mckenly,
reflecting upon the conduct of the
Magistrate
of Ghazepore. The editor apologised but Maclean politely refused to do so. He
was promptly deported and on his return to England he played an important part
in the campaign against Wellesley which led to the Governor-General’s
resignation in 1805.
Leicester Stanhope, a great champion of freedom of the
press, wrote: “On Lord Wellesley’s return to England Dr. Maclean published
his case, and no man, throughout, ever behaved with greater prudence and
firmness”.
This marked the end of a phase in journalism in India. The
highlights of this phase can be summed up as:
·
There were no press laws
as such.
·
A person intending to
start a paper, who was already in the bad books of the Government or the
influential officials, was deported forthwith.
·
If a newspaper offended
or was unrepentant, it was first denied postal privileges.
·
If it persisted in
causing displeasure to the Government, it was required to submit part of or the
entire newspaper to pre-censorship.
·
If the editor did not
‘mend’ his ways he was deported.
The content of the newspapers related to the interest and
activities of the European population in India. Apart from the parliamentary
reports, there were editorials on subjects of interest to the resident Britons;
on events in England, on the army, on the reported plans of Indian leaders. In
addition to this type of information there were newsletters and reports from
Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Madrid, China, Rio-de-Janerio and other centres of
interest. There were letters to the editor, Government notices, social news,
poet’s corners, advertisements and even fashion notes.
Some general conclusions that can be drawn of the press at
that time are:
1.
No newspapers were published
until 1780 because the Company’s establishments In India were a closed
preserve.
2. The first newspapers were started by disgruntled
ex-employees of the Company.
3. They were aided and guided by servants of the
Company who used these newspapers for furtherance of their personal rivalries
and jealousies.
4. The apprehension was that these newspapers might
reach London rather than that they might have any adverse effect in Bengal. The
circulation of papers never exceeded a hundred or two hundred and there was no danger
of public opinion being subverted. Only spare copies of newspapers published in
the territory of one establishment reached other establishments and that too
occasionally.
5. While some editors incurred the displeasure of
important officials from the very beginning, some others made no beginning at
all. And it was for this reason that other editors were encouraged, financed
and provided with material and other aid by influential senior officials of the
Company.
Early nineteenth century newspapers
The first two decades of the 19th century witnessed rigid
control of the press by the Marquess of Wellesley and relaxation by the
Marquess of Hastings. There was difference of opinion on what the official
attitude towards the press in India should be at the highest level both in
India and in London. Lord Wellesley, a dominant ruler, was challenged in
different spheres by Tipoo Sultan, the French and the European community in
Calcutta. He avoided passing information to Tipoo Sultan. He was equally
determined that the European community in Calcutta should be put in its place.
The editor of the Asiatic Mirror published reports showing the strength
of the European and the native population. Wellesley who regarded this
speculation as likely to start trouble, wrote to the Commander-in-Chief
promising to lay down rules for the conduct of the whole tribe of editors. He
also advised him to suppress the editors of mischievous papers by force and
send them back to Europe.
The press regulations that followed required:
·
The newspaper to carry in
imprint the name of the printer, the editor and proprietor
·
To declare themselves to the
Secretary to the Government
·
To submit all material published
in the paper for prior scrutiny
·
Publication on Sunday was
prohibited
·
The prescribed punishment for
breach of these rules was immediate deportation
·
The Secretary was vested with
the powers of a censor
·
All military information was to
be excluded from the newspapers
·
No newspapers were permitted to
publish extracts from European newspapers which were likely to constitute a
breach of the above restrictions
Curiously enough, all editors agreed to comply with the
rules and regulations of the Government. In other words, it can be inferred
that Wellesley had assumed comprehensive powers.
At this time, the Baptist missionaries of Serampore were
refused permission to set up a press. Soon after, Wellesley decided that the
most effective way of silencing the presses was for the Government was to have
a press of its own and print an official gazette and a newspaper. This decision
could not be implemented due to the huge expenses involved.
Soon it was found that newspapers were not submitting to
any pre-censorship on a regular basis. Military information was also being
published. The information that was forbidden to publish in newspapers was
being published in books and pamphlets. Immediately, prohibitory instructions
were sent to editors of six newspapers. The rigid instructions imposed on the
press issued on April 9, 1807, led to the publication of a spate of pamphlets
which bore neither the name of the author nor the printer. An order was issued
requiring all presses to publish the name of the printer on all literature
published from a press. The Madras order on pamphlets was even more stringent
and printing presses were required to submit the manuscripts of all their
publications before they were printed.
When Lord Hastings took over in 1813, newspapers in Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras were well under control, with Madras leading in the matters of
stringency of regulations. Lord Hastings issued a brief instruction requiring
all printing presses to submit proof sheets of newspapers, supplements, extra
publications, notices or handbills to the Chief Secretary for scrutiny and
revision. 
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