The Statesman
Encyclopedia
The Statesman is an Indian
English-language
broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata
, New Delhi
, Siliguri
and Bhubaneswar
. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national editorial offices in Statesman House, Connaught Place, New Delhi
. It is a member of the Asia News Network
.
The Statesman has an average weekday circulation of approximately 180,000 and the Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000. This ranks the Statesman as one of the leading English newspapers in West Bengal
, India
.
. The Englishman was started in 1811. An Englishman named Robert Knight
- previously the principal founder and editor of The Times of India
- founded the new newspaper with a name of The Statesman and New Friend of India on 15 January 1875. Soon after, the name was shortened to the present The Statesman. During the British era, it was British
run and managed, one of the sub-editors being Frederic Mullally
, but after independence, control passed to Indians.
Its first Indian editor was Mr Pran Chopra.
In February 2009, the editor (Ravindra Kumar) and publisher (then Anand Sinha) of The Statesman were arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims. BBC reported that the Muslim
s were upset with the Statesman for reproducing Johann Hari
's article "Why should I respect these oppressive religions?" from the UK's The Independent
daily in its 5 February edition.
in 1911 in the following terms: "The British have gone to the city of graveyards to be buried there".
It strenuously opposed Indira Gandhi
's Emergency in 1975-77.
The Statesman Award for Rural Reporting is presented to outstanding journalists every year, irrespective of affiliation, for furthering the social uplifting of Indian indigents. The awards are presented on 16 September every year, the death anniversary of Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das
, former Chief Justice of India
's Supreme Court
and chairman of The Statesman during the tumultuous Emergency years.
The newspaper is characterised by its terse reporting style.
From once being the most widely read English daily in West Bengal, the Statesman has lost ground to The Times of India
, Hindustan Times
and The Telegraph
(Kolkata edition) in the states.
Voices boasts of a large number of "Coordinators", or school reporters who form the basic framework of Voices and the conduit between The Statesman and school children. Among other activities every year, Voices hosts the 2-day long festival called "Vibes" in Calcutta, which showcases inter-school competitions in different fields and also shows by popular musicians and bands.
The Sunday supplement, 8th Day, is the major literary section of the paper, consisting of the reader-contributed 'Short story' and 'Stanza'(poem) while the other Sunday Supplement, Evolve, mainly deals with the cultural scene in India. Marquee, published every Saturday, covers the film and entertainment scene.
The Statesman and Bartaman
(a Bengali newspaper) have joined their resources to facilitate yearly and half yearly subscription at cheaper cost.
.
, a daily Bengali
newspaper, was launched in June 2004 and is published simultaneously from Kolkata and Siliguri
.
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...
English-language
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...
broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in 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...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, Siliguri
Siliguri
Siliguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck - a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north-eastern states. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal,...
and Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national editorial offices in Statesman House, Connaught Place, New Delhi
Connaught Place, New Delhi
Connaught Place Connaught Place Connaught Place (Hindi: कनॉट प्लेस, (officially Rajiv Chowk) is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centers in Delhi. It is often abbreviated as CP and houses the headquarters of several Indian firms. Its surroundings occupy a place of pride...
. It is a member of the Asia News Network
Asia News Network
The Asia News Network is a network of Asian daily newspapers that share editorial content with each other, including news stories, feature articles, editorials and personality profiles...
.
The Statesman has an average weekday circulation of approximately 180,000 and the Sunday Statesman has a circulation of 230,000. This ranks the Statesman as one of the leading English newspapers in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India
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...
.
History
It was incorporated and directly descended from two newspapers: The Englishman and The Friend of India, both published from KolkataKolkata
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...
. The Englishman was started in 1811. An Englishman named Robert Knight
Robert Knight
Daniel Robert Knight is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since June 2005, representing the remote electorate of Daly. He is the current Minister for Local Government and Minister for Central Australia since 2008...
- previously the principal founder and editor of The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
- founded the new newspaper with a name of The Statesman and New Friend of India on 15 January 1875. Soon after, the name was shortened to the present The Statesman. During the British era, it was British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
run and managed, one of the sub-editors being Frederic Mullally
Frederic Mullally
Frederic Mullally is an English journalist, public relations executive, and novelist.-Career:Mullally's journalism carer began in India where, from 1937 to 1949, he was sub-editor on The Statesman of Calcutta, then editor of the Sunday Standard of Bombay...
, but after independence, control passed to Indians.
Its first Indian editor was Mr Pran Chopra.
In February 2009, the editor (Ravindra Kumar) and publisher (then Anand Sinha) of The Statesman were arrested on charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims. BBC reported that the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s were upset with the Statesman for reproducing Johann Hari
Johann Hari
Johann Hari is an award winning British journalist who has been a columnist at The Independent, the The Huffington Post, and contributed to several other publications. In 2011, Hari was accused of plagiarism; he subsequently was suspended from The Independent and surrendered his 2008 Orwell Prize...
's article "Why should I respect these oppressive religions?" from the UK's The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
daily in its 5 February edition.
Character
It is known for its vehement anti-establishment stance. It opposed the shifting of India's capital from Calcutta to New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in 1911 in the following terms: "The British have gone to the city of graveyards to be buried there".
It strenuously opposed Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
's Emergency in 1975-77.
The Statesman Award for Rural Reporting is presented to outstanding journalists every year, irrespective of affiliation, for furthering the social uplifting of Indian indigents. The awards are presented on 16 September every year, the death anniversary of Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das
Sudhi Ranjan Das
Sudhi Ranjan Das was the Chief Justice of India from 1955 to 1955 and then again 1 December 1955 to 31 January 1959. He retired from the Supreme Court 30 September 1959.-Background and education:...
, former Chief Justice of India
Chief Justice of India
The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking judge in the Supreme Court of India, and thus holds the highest judicial position in India. As well as presiding in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also head its administrative functions....
's Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
and chairman of The Statesman during the tumultuous Emergency years.
The newspaper is characterised by its terse reporting style.
From once being the most widely read English daily in West Bengal, the Statesman has lost ground to The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
, Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
and The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
(Kolkata edition) in the states.
Supplements
Notable among all of the supplements of The Statesman is the Thursday feature supplement called "Section 2" which is published in New Delhi. The four page supplement is widely recognised for in-depth analysis on art, dance, drama, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. In Kolkata, supplement Voices focuses on schools and schoolchildren. It has gained enormous popularity since its inception in 1995. It gives the opportunity to school children to showcase their writing skills with research articles, poems and short news clips.Voices boasts of a large number of "Coordinators", or school reporters who form the basic framework of Voices and the conduit between The Statesman and school children. Among other activities every year, Voices hosts the 2-day long festival called "Vibes" in Calcutta, which showcases inter-school competitions in different fields and also shows by popular musicians and bands.
The Sunday supplement, 8th Day, is the major literary section of the paper, consisting of the reader-contributed 'Short story' and 'Stanza'(poem) while the other Sunday Supplement, Evolve, mainly deals with the cultural scene in India. Marquee, published every Saturday, covers the film and entertainment scene.
The Statesman and Bartaman
Bartaman
Bartaman Patrika is an Indian Bengali language daily newspaper published in Kolkata by Bartaman Pvt. Ltd. Apart from the Kolkata edition, the newspaper has four other simultaneous editions, published daily from four major towns of West Bengal -- Siliguri, Burdwan, Malda and Midnapore...
(a Bengali newspaper) have joined their resources to facilitate yearly and half yearly subscription at cheaper cost.
Key Editorial Personnel
Ravindra Kumar is Editor of The Statesman. Usha Mahadevan is Resident Editor of The Statesman, Delhi. K. Ravi is Resident Editor of The Statesman, BhubaneswarBhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...
.
Sister publication
Dainik StatesmanDainik Statesman
Dainik Statesman is a Bengali daily newspaper run by The Statesman group with its central office being The Statesman House at Chowringhee. Dainik Statesman started circulation from June 28 2004...
, a daily Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
newspaper, was launched in June 2004 and is published simultaneously from Kolkata and Siliguri
Siliguri
Siliguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck - a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north-eastern states. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal,...
.
See also
- Dainik StatesmanDainik StatesmanDainik Statesman is a Bengali daily newspaper run by The Statesman group with its central office being The Statesman House at Chowringhee. Dainik Statesman started circulation from June 28 2004...
- List of newspapers in India by circulation
- List of newspapers in the world by circulation