The Press & the Nationalist Movement

• How the Indian press helped build nationalist consciousness.
• Key newspapers and their editors who challenged British rule.
• Vernacular Press Act (1878) — how the British tried to suppress Indian journalism.
• Role of press in spreading news of famines, massacres, and political ideas.

Press in colonial India — background

• First Indian newspaper: Bengal Gazette (Hicky's Gazette, 1780) — James Augustus Hicky; criticised Company officials; shut down by EIC within 2 years.
• Early 19th century: English-language press for Europeans; little Indian voice.
• Ram Mohan Roy launched Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali, 1821) and Mirat-ul-Akhbar (Persian, 1822) — argued for press freedom, social reform.

Press as a weapon of nationalism

The Indian press became the main vehicle for anti-colonial thought:

The Vernacular Press Act (1878)

• Passed by Viceroy Lord Lytton during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
• Allowed magistrates to seize printing presses of Indian-language newspapers that "excited feelings of disaffection."
• Targeted Bengali, Marathi, Urdu press — not English press (used by Britons).
• Amrita Bazar Patrika converted to English overnight to escape the law — brilliant workaround.
• Repealed in 1882 by Lord Ripon (liberal viceroy).
• Revived effectively through Sedition law (Section 124A, IPC, 1870): Tilak tried and convicted twice (1897, 1908) for articles in Kesari deemed seditious.

Press and the 1857 Revolt

• Indian press in 1857 was very small; British press reported the revolt in racist terms ("Mutiny", "savage sepoys").
• Savarkar later reframed it as "First War of Independence" (1909 book) — this reinterpretation spread through nationalist press.

Tilak and Kesari

• Tilak used Kesari to:
  • Report and inflame public anger over the Plague Commissioner Rand's shooting (1897) — Tilak charged with sedition.
  • Report the Partition of Bengal (1905) and call for Swadeshi.
  • Argue that Swaraj is "my birthright and I shall have it."
• 1908: Tilak sentenced to 6 years imprisonment in Mandalay (Burma) for Kesari articles defending the Alipore bombers.
• His arrest caused protests across India — showed that suppressing the press backfired.

Gandhi's use of the press

• Gandhi used Young India and Navjivan not just to report news but to educate morally — readers sent him letters; he replied publicly.
• Introduced the practice of satyagraha announcements through press — building public non-violent campaigns.
• British government deported journalists; confiscated presses; issued security bonds.

Press freedom — British restrictions

Legacy

• Indian press created a national reading public — people in Pune read about events in Calcutta; common grievances became shared.
• Vernacular press gave regional languages political prestige.
• After independence: Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and press.
• Press Trust of India (PTI) established 1949 as national news agency.

• What was the Vernacular Press Act (1878)? Which paper cleverly escaped it?
• Name three nationalist newspapers and their editors.
• How did Tilak use Kesari to build nationalist sentiment?
• What is Section 124A (sedition law)? Who was prosecuted under it?
• How did Gandhi use Young India differently from typical newspapers?

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on Press & Nationalism.