ASSIGNMENT

Mass Media In
Pakistan
The Growth Of Press In The Sub-Continent

Ayeza Randhawa
[Pick the date]
The Growth Of Press In The Sub-
Continent
Muslim Press in Historical Perspective
It is undeniable fact that media has a deep and widespread impact on the masses. It
serves as an agent of socio-political, economic, and cultural change in the present age. It can
disrupt a society or can stabilize a society. The public participation cannot be ensured in the
process of socio-economic development until and unless there is awareness among the
masses about a policy, program, and action of the government regarding a problem. An
effective media can only ensure such awareness in a given society. All this depends on the
role of media whether it is positive or negative.

History
Face-to-face communication was the order of the day in primitive society, when feudal states
expanded and empires began to emerge the monarchs had to devise new techniques of
communication in order to maintain contact with people inhabiting the far-flung areas of the
empire. In Islamic society, mosque played a very important role in communication, both
secular and spiritual. In the first instance, this represented an instrument for face-to-face
communication. When the Islamic State assumed dimensions, a news organisation was
established with the chief at the headquarters, served by a large number of news writers
functioning in provincial capitals sending their newsletters speedily through an efficient
system of horse-posts and camel- posts and in some still more speedily through the system of
pigeon-post. News meant to be conveyed to the people was transmitted through the pulpit of
the mosques. Mughal Emperors of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent streamlined the system.

The news for the common man was transmitted through couriers to far-flung areas which was
announced by the beat of the drum. When printing was introduced, the pattern of
communication underwent a basic change. In the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent as well as in
other Asian lands under subjugation, printed newspapers developed in an almost similar
fashion, first appeared the English language newspapers for the European settlers. They were
followed by newspapers in local languages sponsored by foreign missionaries with the object
of spreading Christianity and convincing the local inabitants of the superiority of Western
culture and achievements in the domain of knowledge.

A struggle for the freedom of the press culminated in success in 1835. The litho method of
printing Urdu newspapers introduced soon after brought down the cost of production. Urdu
became the court language. The British Prosecutor in the trial of Bahadur Shah after the
failure of the National Struggle for Freedom in 1857, said that it was the conspiracy of the
Press and Palace that brought about the great rebellion but it goes without saying that native
language press was very feeble on the eve of the struggle.

Its total circulation was a little more than five thousand throughout the subcontinent making a
total readership of about fifty thousand. The most widely-circulated ! Urdu newspaper was
Koh-i-Noor of Lahore that printed 349 copies of. each issue in the hey-day of its glory.
Even this feeble press, particularly the segment owned by Muslims, was obliterated during
and immediately after the 1857 struggle.
The Growth Of Muslim Press In The Sub-Continent
The tempo of political agitation was quickened by the Muslim Press in Particular, in
1919, that set up new traditions of sacrifice. The Zamindar reappeared in December 1919. Its
circulation was 6129 in 1921, 5150 in 1922 and 5400 in 1923. during the phase it had to
deposit three securities of Rs. 2000 each which were all forfeited. All the money was donated
by readers. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan went behind the bars for five years in connection with a
speech at Hazier (Campbellpur Distt.) his son Akbar Ali Khan was sentenced to three years
imprisonment for having published objectionable matter.

Another editor, Abdul Majid Salik was sent behind the bar for one year for having published
a seditious editorial. A number of other editors of the same paper also remained imprisoned.
Murtaza Ahmed Khan Maikaah, a news-editor of Zamindar resigned his job went to Hijrat
and on return resumed charge of his duties. Syed Habib started daily Siaasat in 1919.

The paper was placed under censorship for some time. One sub editor was imprisoned and
Syed Habib himself was sentenced to three years imprisonment for a seditious speech. Abul
Kalam Azad sponsored Paigham from Calcutta in 1921 which had a short lived existence.
Qazi Abdul Ghaffar sponsored Sabah from Delhi.

Muslim Press During 1924-1937

During this phase the role of Muslim press could be studied in two stages, the first covering
the 1924-1928 period and the second covering the years between 1928 and 1937. During the
first stage, Muslim politics was in the melting pot and in the second stage it took a concrete
and clear-cut form. The following are the principal features of the first stage

1. Some old journalists re-entered the arena. Mohammed Ali resumed publication of
Hamdard and The Comrade in 1924. The former continued for five years and the
latter for not more than a couple of years. Abul Kalam Azad re-started Al- Hilal in
1927 but after six months had to-close down as it was no longer in sufficient demand.
2. More newspapers came into being namely Al- Amman and Wahdat from Delhi,
Khilfat from Bombay, Haq and Hamdam from Lucknow, Asre Jadid and
Hind from Calcutta, *A1 Waheed from Karachi and Muslim Outlook and
Inqilab from Lahore Among the old newspapers Zamindar remained prominent
and Siaasat held.

Highlights of Policy

Almost all Muslim dailies were primarily congregate with the possible exception of
the Muslim Outlook, at the same time they owed allegiance to Muslim
organizations striving of Muslim rights. They condemned Shuddi and Saiiathan
movements and gave only lukewarm support to the Tabligh and Tanzem movements.
Unusual attention was given to the politics of the Muslim world When Ibn-i-Saud
demolished some tombs Siasat opposed him and Zamindar and Hamdard supported
 it. When Ibn-i-Saud accepted Kingship, Hamdard too lined against him while
Zamindar supported him on the plea that he was anti-imperialist.
During this phase the demand for reforms to the N.W.F.P. and separation of Sind from
Bombay were projected from time to time in the columns of the Zamindar. With the
emergence of the clear-cut Muslim stand in the form of Mr. Jinnahs Fourteen Points,
Muslim press was divided into two groups namely the Nationalist group and the
Muslim League group. The former included Zamindar of Lahore, A1 Jamiat of
Delhi, Madina of Bijnor and Hind of Calcutta. They also gave full support to the
Congress when it launched civil disobedience movements in order to pressurize the
British to part with power without taking into consideration the Muslim national
demands. The erstwhile common membership of both Muslim League and Congress
had, by that time ceased to exist.
Later Maulana Zafar Ali Khan left Congress but did not join Muslim League. He
sponsored Majilis-i-Ittihad-i-Millat, a new political party which suffered a rout in
1937 elections and after that he joined Muslim League and stood firm till the
attainment of Pakistan.
During the early thirties a group of Muslim nationalists established Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-
Islam but stuck to the nationalist and anti-League policy. It started a few newspapers
from time to time, but they had a short-lived existence.
A notable addition to the nationalist Muslim press was Payarq of Hyderabad
Deccan, edited by Qazi Abdul Ghaffar. Some Congressite elements started an Urdu
daily from Lahore named Tiriyaq but it had to close down very soon.

Role Of Muslim Press 1924-1937

The pro-league Muslim Press of this phase was spearheaded by the Muslim Outlook and
Inqilab whose lead was accepted by Muslim papers all over the sub-continent. Their
contribution was as follows:

1. They exposed the machinations of the Congress and brought to surface the mischief
done through the Nehru Report.
2. Despite the Boycott of the Simon Commission by a large body of public opinion these
papers projected Muslim Political demands to the Commission.
3. Their support to the All-parties Muslim Conference and Jinnahs Fourteen Points
was unconditional, vigorous and consistent.
4. Their united efforts led to the unification of the two sections of the League
functioning as parallel bodies.
5. The Lahore papers (Inqilab and Muslim Outlook) gave full support to Iqbals
Allahabad Address and fought against the storm of opposition raised by the non-
Muslim press.
6. During the Round Table Conferences (1930-32) the Muslim press mobilized the
public opinion to such a pitch that the announcement of the Communal Award became
inevitable.
 7. The Muslim press supported the Kashmir Movement launched by Sh. Abdullah and
Ch. Ghulam Abbas and made sacrifices for that. They also helped in strengthening the
Ahrar civil disobedience movement involving arrest of 30,000 Muslims.

8. The administration was continually watched to see where Muslim interests were
trampled upon. These papers also gave support to Muslim officers who worked under
great stress.
9. The campaign for social reform and for promotion of education went on unabated.
The papers also acted as forums for Muslim intellectuals who were ignored by the
Hindu press.
10. The press was friendly to the Muslim world, kept Indian Muslims informed of the
new trends and movements in the Muslim world but the emphasis was on home
politics.

Muslim Journalism During 1939-1947

During this phase the Muslim press grew rather rapidly. A Number of English language
newspapers sprang up while Urdu* Press too had new additions. Together with the old
newspapers, they voiced Muslim political aspirations with still greater force and placed the
major role in mobilizing public opinion in support of the Pakistan Movement. The highlights
are as follows:

1. From Lahore appeared Eastern Times originally sponsored by Ferozsons under the
temporary editorship of Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali. He was followed by Mr. F.K. Khan
Durrani who had written a number of books on Muslim politics. Though shabby in
appearance and deficient in equipment, it did play a role in projecting Muslim
viewpoint. For a couple of years there existed in Lahore the New Times Weekly
started by Malik Barkat Ali which acted as the spokesman of Muslim League.
2. From Calcutta appeared a daily named Star of India, first under the editorship of
Pothan Joseph and then of Lawrence P. Atkison. This was owned i by Kh. Shahabuddin
and his family. This was a positively good paper and did a lot of work in interpreting
Muslim politics. This was later replaced by Morning News jointly owned by Abdur
Rahman Siddiqi and Kh. Nurruddin, brother * of Kh. Shahabuddin. The Morning News
was a more vigorous spokesman and continued to appear till after partition and was
later shifted to Dacca, subsequently bringing out an edition from Karachi. This was and
even now is edited by Mohsin Ali. It was taken over by NPT in 1963 and consequently
closed down in 1993.
3. Elsewhere a number of weeklies sprang up. There was Star in Bombay edited by Aziz
Beg, another weekly of the same name from Allahabad sponsored by Sir Shifaat Ahmed
Khan, Decean Times from Madras and Muslim Voice from Karachi which was
owned and edited by Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi.
4. Muslims were greatly handicapped by the fact that the API and the UPI were both
controlled by Hindus. Their news was blacked out and distorted. Therefore a news
agency named Orient Press of India was sponsored. Though financially weak and under
equipped it did help in circulating news about Muslim Politics.
 5. The Statesman and the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore realising that the
chances for the projection of Muslim viewpoint were small, initiated special weekly
features on Muslim polities. The column in Statesman was contributed by Mr. Altaf
Hussain under the pen name of Ain-ul-Mulk and later Shahid while in the Civil
and Military Gazette this column was written by Syed Nur Ahmed under the by-line
From our Muslim Correspondent.
6. Under private enterprise quite a number of Urdu papers also came in the field. Among
these was Ehsan edited by Maulana Murtaza Ahmed Khan Maikash and Chiragh
Hasan Hasrat. This appeared from Lahore and was the first to install a teleprinter. The
paper was courageous spokesman of the Muslim League. Later the two editors resigned
and established Shahbaz a new daily from Lahore which was a much better specimen
of journalism than Ehsan. Maulana Maikash was an- editorial writer of repute and was
considered the best after Maulana Ghulam Rasul Mehr.
7. The Muslim press in Delhi was strengthened by the appearance of Jang and Anjam
which in 1947 shifted to Karachi. Both papers supported the Muslim League. From
Calcutta appeared Azad in Bengali under the editorship of Maulana Muhammad
Akram Khan who had served as President of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League for
pretty long. He remained the Chief Editor till 1968 when he died at the age of 100
years. This paper shifted to Dacca in 1948 and remained largest in circulation among
Bengali papers in former East Pakistan.
8. There also appeared Millat from Peshawar under the editorship of Rashid Akhtar
Nadvi and Tanzeem from Quetta with Nasim Hijazi as editor. Though ill equipped,
these papers played a notable role in countering congress propaganda in areas where its
incfuence was great.

Several other papers were started from other cities of the sub-continent.

After the Lahore Resolution was passed the Quaid-i- Azam sponsored a create Muslim press
campaign and collected funds for the purpose. He founded the Dawn in October 1942 as a
daily from Delhi and placed it under a trust of which he was the Managing Trustee. The broad
policy was to support the League but the paper was allowed to make independent criticism
within the framework of its policy. Its first editor was Pothan Joseph but after a couple of
years Mr. Altaf Hussain replaced him. Mr. Altaf Hussain weilded a trenchant pen and his
editorials were widely appreciated. The Papers entry was banned by the Khizr Ministry
during the League civil disobedience movement in Punjab, but thousands of its copies were
smuggled and sold at a high price in several cities of the Punjab.

Quaid-i-Azam also started Manshoor an Urdu daily Irom Delhi which was the official
organ of the All India Muslim League. This bright and fancy daily was edited by Syed Hasan
Riaz. However, this paper could not succeed and had to close down after a couple of years.

In 1947 riots the Hindu mobs burnt the offices and the printing press of Dawn. As a result it
closed down temporarily, only to reappear from Karachi at the inception of Pakistan. The
Trust ceased to exist and it was owned by Pakistan Herald Publications Ltd. with majority of
shares possessed by the Haroon family of Pakistan.
Another important addition to the Muslim Press was Nawai-Waqt of Lahore that appeared
as a daily in July 1944 with Mr. Hamid Nizami and Mr. Hamid Mahmud as the co- founders.
Earlier, it appeared as fortnightly with Shabbar Hasan as editor in 1940. The paper was
technically a good specimen of Journalism and was also highly outspoken in support of the
Pakistan Movement. This became very popular, particularly because of the short but to the
point lucid and logical editorials of Hamid Nizami.

In February 1947, Pakistan Times appeared from Lahore under the aegis of the PPL with
Mian Iftikharuddin holding a majority of shares. Its first editor was Desmond Young,
formerly of the Statesman who was followed by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. This was a fully-equipped
paper, at par with the Civil and Military Gazette. Its role during the civil disobedience
movement was notable.

Some underground papers were also established in [ .ahore when the Khizar Cabinet had
banned publication of the news of civil disobedience movement. These papers were
oyclostyled and distributed on a large scale. Thus Muslim press became a power to be
reckoned with. Side by side with the old papers like the Zamindar, Inqilab, Asre Jadid,
Khailafat and others, the newspapers made their best efforts in convincing the Muslim
masses of the righteousness of their cause and mobilizing their energies in support of the
Pakistan Movement.

It goes without saying that during the last phase, Mr. Altaf Hussain and Mr. Hamid Nizami
were the two leading editorial writers.

Role Of Muslim Press In Pakistan Movement

1. Our struggle began with the 1857 National Struggle for Independence when the
British liquidated almost the entire Muslim Press, shot dead the proprietor of Delhi
Urdu Akhbar, issued warrants of arrest of its editor Muhammad Azad and sentenced
Jamiluddin, editor of another paper to 3 years imprisonment. In the trial of Bahadur
Shah, the Mughal Emperor, it was alleged that the Revolt was the outcome of Press-
Palace conspiracy.
2. The resurrection of Muslim Press was brought almost by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
through his two journals namely the Scientific Society Magazine and Tahzib-ul-
Akhlaq. These papers were responsible for the Muslim renaissance and the
promotion of the two nation idea. Under their impact several newspapers and
magazines appeared throughout the sub-continent in English, Urdu, Bengali and
Sindhi. It was one of these journals namely Muhazzib edited by Abdul Halim
Sharar that in 1890 proposed Partition of India and migration of populations.
3. The annulment of the Partition of Bengal, the Cawnpore Mosque tragedy, the Italo-
Turkish War and the Balkan Wars had deep impact on Muslim thinking that resulted
in the emergence of militant journalist-cum-politicians like Zafar Ali Khan,
Muhammad Ali and Abul Kalam Azad. Their journals, Zamindar, The Comrade
and Hamdard and Al-Hilal created political consciousness among the people.
Among these Muhammad Ali was the.major exponent of the two-nation theory who
 regarded Hindu-Muslim Problem, an international rather than a national problem,
deserving solution under the International Law. The humorous column in his paper
suggested Partition.of the sub-continent on Hindu-Muslim basis in 1913.
4. The ideas of separation of Sind, reforms for Baluchistan and re-assertion of the
demand for Separate Electorate came in the wake of the unceremonious call-off of the
Khilafat Movement. Quite a large number of Muslim papers emerged and their efforts
led to the formulation of Jinnahs Fourteen Points! which contained the substance of
Pakistan.
5. When the Hindu Press bitterly attacked Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal for his historic
address at the Allahabad Session of the All India Muslim League, only three Muslim
papers namely Inqilab and Muslim Outlook of Lahore and Hamdam of
Lucknow gave him full support and demanded the establishment of the Muslim state
in the North-West India. The Muslim press in the late thirties gave considerable
publicity to the various schemes for Partition and paved the way for the Lahore
Resolution of the All India Muslim League.
6. In the middle forties emerged Dawn, Morning News, Nawai-Qaqt and other
papers which played a notable role in the Pakistan Movement. The two leading
journalists of the phase were Altaf Hussain and Hameed Nizami who by their pungent
editorials deeply influenced the intelligentiar. The Pakistan Times, was the last to
come, just six and a half months before independence.

References:

1. http://pakistanmediaupdates.com/growth-muslim-press-sub-continent-327.html

2. http://pakistanmediaupdates.com/muslim-press-during-1924-1937-15.html
3. http://pakistanmediaupdates.com/muslim-journalism-during-1939-1947-47.html

4. http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/database2/cover/c2009-154.php

5. http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-vii/journalism-mass-
communication/44347-muslim-press.html

6. http://www.nazariapak.info/Pakistan-Movement/role-press.php

7. http://pakistanmediaupdates.com/role-of-muslim-press-in-pakistan-movement-
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9. https://mcnuml.wordpress.com/mass-communication-in-sub-continent/

10. http://pakistanmediaupdates.com/muslim-press-in-historical-perspective-43.html