Amrita Bazar Patrika
Encyclopedia
Amrita Bazar Patrika was one of the oldest newspapers in India
; it is written Bengali
. It debuted on 20 February 1868. It was started by Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh, sons of Hari Naryan Ghose, a rich merchant from Magur, in District Jessore, in Bengal Province of British Empire in India. The family had constructed a Bazar and named it after Amrita, wife of Hari Naryan Ghosh. Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh started Amrita Bazar Patrika as a weekly first. It was first edited by Moti Lal Ghosh, who did not have formal University Degree. The paper was popular for its honest reporting and caustic reporting. It had built its readership as a rival to Bengalee which was being looked after by Surendera Nath Banerjee. It was an English
daily newspaper published from Kolkata
and other locations such as Cuttack
, Ranchi
and Allahabad
.
Amrita Bazar Patrika which used to be a nationalist newspaper during the British rule
, discontinued its publication from 1986. Recently it was announced that the newspaper would be relaunched.
took up the project of digitizing the old newspapers (ABP and Jugantar) for safe storage and retrieval in 2010. The newspaper archives are also available from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Delhi, and in 2011 over one lakh images from the newspaper were digitized by the library and available online.
ABP was born as a Bengali weekly in February 1868 in the village of Amrita Bazaar in Jessore district (now in Bangladesh). It was started by the Ghosh brothers to fight the cause of peasants who were being exploited by indigo planters. Sisir Kumar Ghosh was the first editor. The Patrika operated out of a battered wooden press purchased for Rs 32.
In 1871, the Patrika moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata), due to the outbreak of plague in Amrita Bazaar. Here it functioned as a bilingual weekly, publishing news and views in English and Bengali. Its anti-government views and vast influence among the people was a thorn in the flesh of the government. Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India promulgated the Vernacular Press Act on 1878 mainly against ABP. But the Patrika became an English weekly overnight and escaped the clutches of the law.
The Patrika became a daily in 1891. It was the first Indian owned English daily to go into investigative journalism. During the tenure of Lord Landsdowne, a Patrika journalist rummaged through the waste paper basket of the Viceroy's office and pieced together a torn up letter detailing the Viceroy's plans to annexe Kashmir. ABP published the letter on its front page, where it was read by the Maharaja of Kashmir, who immediately went to London and lobbied for his independence.
Sisir Kumar Ghosh also launched vigorous campaigns against restrictions on civil liberties and economic exploitation. He wanted Indians to be given important posts in the administration. Both he and his brother Motilal were deeply attached to Bal Gangadhar Tilak. When Tilak was prosecuted for sedition in 1897, they raised funds in Calcutta for his defence. They also published a scathing editorial against the judge who sentenced Tilak to 6 years of imprisonment, for 'presuming to teach true patriotism to a proved and unparalleled patriot.'
The Patrika had many brushes with Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India at the time of the Partition of Bengal (1905). It referred to him as 'Young and a little foppish, and without previous training but invested with unlimited powers.' Because of such editorials, the Press Act of 1910 was passed and a security of Rs 5,000 was demanded from ABP. Motilal Ghosh was also charged with sedition but his eloquence won the case.
After this, the Patrika started prefacing articles criticising the British government with ridiculously exuberant professions of loyalty to the British crown. When Subhash Chandra Bose and other students were expelled from Calcutta Presidency College, the Patrika took up their case and succeeded in having them re-admitted.
Even after Motilal Ghosh's death in 1922, the Patrika kept up its nationalist spirit. Higher securities of Rs 10,000 were demanded from it during the Salt Satyagraha. Its editor Tushar Kanti Ghosh (son of Sisir Kumar Ghosh) was imprisoned.
The patrika contributed its share to the success of its freedom movement under the leadership of Ghandhi and suffered for its views and actions at the hands of the British rulers.
The Patrika espoused the cause of communal harmony during the Partition of India. During the great Calcutta killings of 1946, the Patrika left its editorial columns blank for three days. When freedom dawned on August 15, 1947, the Patrika published in an editorial:
It is dawn, cloudy though it is. Presently sunshine will break.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; it is written Bengali
Bengali script
The Bengali alphabet is the writing system for the Bengali language. The script with variations is used for Assamese and is basis for Meitei, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Kokborok, Garo and Mundari alphabets. All these languages are spoken in the eastern region of South Asia. Historically, the script has...
. It debuted on 20 February 1868. It was started by Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh, sons of Hari Naryan Ghose, a rich merchant from Magur, in District Jessore, in Bengal Province of British Empire in India. The family had constructed a Bazar and named it after Amrita, wife of Hari Naryan Ghosh. Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh started Amrita Bazar Patrika as a weekly first. It was first edited by Moti Lal Ghosh, who did not have formal University Degree. The paper was popular for its honest reporting and caustic reporting. It had built its readership as a rival to Bengalee which was being looked after by Surendera Nath Banerjee. It was an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
daily newspaper published from Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and other locations such as Cuttack
Cuttack
Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
, Ranchi
Ranchi
-Climate:Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. However, due to its position and the forests around the city, it is known for its pleasant climate. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar...
and Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
.
Amrita Bazar Patrika which used to be a nationalist newspaper during the British rule
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, discontinued its publication from 1986. Recently it was announced that the newspaper would be relaunched.
Archives
As a part of the 'Endangered Archive project' attempting to rescue text published prior to 1950, the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, CalcuttaCentre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
The Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta is an autonomous research centre devoted to the research and advancement of the social sciences in South Asia...
took up the project of digitizing the old newspapers (ABP and Jugantar) for safe storage and retrieval in 2010. The newspaper archives are also available from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Delhi, and in 2011 over one lakh images from the newspaper were digitized by the library and available online.
History
Amrita Bazaar Patrika is the oldest Indian owned English daily. It played a major role in the evolution and growth of Indian journalism and made a striking contribution to creating and nurturing the Indian freedom struggle. In 1920, Lenin described ABP as the best nationalist paper in India.ABP was born as a Bengali weekly in February 1868 in the village of Amrita Bazaar in Jessore district (now in Bangladesh). It was started by the Ghosh brothers to fight the cause of peasants who were being exploited by indigo planters. Sisir Kumar Ghosh was the first editor. The Patrika operated out of a battered wooden press purchased for Rs 32.
In 1871, the Patrika moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata), due to the outbreak of plague in Amrita Bazaar. Here it functioned as a bilingual weekly, publishing news and views in English and Bengali. Its anti-government views and vast influence among the people was a thorn in the flesh of the government. Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India promulgated the Vernacular Press Act on 1878 mainly against ABP. But the Patrika became an English weekly overnight and escaped the clutches of the law.
The Patrika became a daily in 1891. It was the first Indian owned English daily to go into investigative journalism. During the tenure of Lord Landsdowne, a Patrika journalist rummaged through the waste paper basket of the Viceroy's office and pieced together a torn up letter detailing the Viceroy's plans to annexe Kashmir. ABP published the letter on its front page, where it was read by the Maharaja of Kashmir, who immediately went to London and lobbied for his independence.
Sisir Kumar Ghosh also launched vigorous campaigns against restrictions on civil liberties and economic exploitation. He wanted Indians to be given important posts in the administration. Both he and his brother Motilal were deeply attached to Bal Gangadhar Tilak. When Tilak was prosecuted for sedition in 1897, they raised funds in Calcutta for his defence. They also published a scathing editorial against the judge who sentenced Tilak to 6 years of imprisonment, for 'presuming to teach true patriotism to a proved and unparalleled patriot.'
The Patrika had many brushes with Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India at the time of the Partition of Bengal (1905). It referred to him as 'Young and a little foppish, and without previous training but invested with unlimited powers.' Because of such editorials, the Press Act of 1910 was passed and a security of Rs 5,000 was demanded from ABP. Motilal Ghosh was also charged with sedition but his eloquence won the case.
After this, the Patrika started prefacing articles criticising the British government with ridiculously exuberant professions of loyalty to the British crown. When Subhash Chandra Bose and other students were expelled from Calcutta Presidency College, the Patrika took up their case and succeeded in having them re-admitted.
Even after Motilal Ghosh's death in 1922, the Patrika kept up its nationalist spirit. Higher securities of Rs 10,000 were demanded from it during the Salt Satyagraha. Its editor Tushar Kanti Ghosh (son of Sisir Kumar Ghosh) was imprisoned.
The patrika contributed its share to the success of its freedom movement under the leadership of Ghandhi and suffered for its views and actions at the hands of the British rulers.
The Patrika espoused the cause of communal harmony during the Partition of India. During the great Calcutta killings of 1946, the Patrika left its editorial columns blank for three days. When freedom dawned on August 15, 1947, the Patrika published in an editorial:
It is dawn, cloudy though it is. Presently sunshine will break.