Two centuries of Hindi journalism and the making of modern India |
As India marks the bicentenary of Hindi journalism in 2026, the occasion deserves attention far beyond Hindi newsrooms. For anyone interested in the history of Indian journalism — whether they read in Hindi, English, or both — the story of Hindi journalism is inseparable from the story of India's modern public sphere.
Many of the debates that continue to define journalism today — about power, language, public accountability, commercial pressures, and the role of the press in a democracy — were first fought in the pages of Hindi newspapers and journals. From the modest pages of Udant Martand in colonial Calcutta to the sprawling and often chaotic digital ecosystem of today, Hindi journalism has served both as a witness to history and an active participant in shaping it.
Udant Martand and the birth of a public voice
The story began on 30 May 1826, when Pandit Jugal Kishor Shukla launched Udant Martand (the rising sun) from what was then Calcutta, making it India's first Hindi newspaper. At a time when English and Persian publications largely catered to colonial administrators and urban elites, the arrival of a Hindi newspaper marked a significant cultural intervention.
The choice of Hindi was not merely linguistic; it was political and civilisational. At a time when colonial education policies privileged English, Udant Martand sought to create a shared public vocabulary among emerging Hindi readers. Though the paper struggled financially and survived only briefly, it sparked a vernacular awakening whose influence would echo across the subcontinent.
Its legacy survives in the annual observance of Hindi Journalism Day on 30 May, a reminder that journalism in Indian languages emerged not merely as a business venture but as an instrument of public empowerment.
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Journalism as cultural and political resistance
By the late 19th century, Hindi journalism had evolved into a powerful vehicle for cultural assertion and political critique. Bharatendu Harishchandra, widely regarded as the father of modern Hindi literature and journalism, used publications such as Kavi Vachan Sudha to combine literary renaissance with criticism of colonial exploitation. Through essays, satire and commentary, he........