Udant Martand Explained

The Udant Martand
उदन्त मार्तण्ड
Type:Weekly newspaper
Publisher:Jugal Kishore Shukla
Language:Hindi
Headquarters:37 Amartalla Lane, Kolutolla,
near Barabazar Market, Kolkata
Circulation:500 (1st issue)

Udant Martand [1] [2] is the first Hindi language newspaper published in India.[3] [4] Started on 30 May 1826, from Calcutta (now Kolkata), the weekly newspaper was published every Tuesday by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla.[5] [6] It was closed on 4 December 1827 due to financial crisis.

History

By the early 19th century, educational publications in Hindi had already started, thus journalism was only a matter time. By the 1820s, newspapers in several Indian languages were starting, including Bengali and Urdu; however, printing in Devanagari script was still rare. Soon after Calcutta School Book started printing, Samachar Darpan, a Bengali journal which started in 1819, had some portions in Hindi. However, Hindi reading audience base was still at a nascent stage. Thus few of the early attempts were successful, but they nevertheless were a start.[7]

Shukla was a lawyer originally from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who had settled in Calcutta,[8] and became Proceedings Reader at the Sadr Diwani Adalat (Civil and Revenue High Court), and later on a pleader. On 16 February 1826, he along with Munnu Thakur of Banstala Gali, Calcutta, received a license to publish a newspaper in Hindi.[9] [10]

The newspaper was started on 30 May 1826; with it for the first time a newspaper was published completely in Hindi, using Devanagari script. Udant Martand employed a mix of Khari Boli and Braj Bhasha dialects of Hindi.[11] [12] The first issue printed 500 copies,[7] and the newspaper was published every Tuesday.[9] The office of newspaper was at 37, Amartalla Lane, Kolutolla, near Barabazar Market in Kolkata.[13]

Owing to its distance from the Hindi-speaking areas of North India, the newspaper had difficulty in finding subscribers.[9] The publisher tried to get government subscription, and patronage in the form of postal fee exemption for eight newspapers to be posted to North India. However, it didn't receive the subscription and only one newspaper was allowed postal fee exemption, which meant that the paper could never be financially viable.[9] Nevertheless, it briefly gained prominence for featuring the controversy that rose Bengali-language magazine, Samachar Chandrika and traders from interiors, who were based in Calcutta.[8]

Legacy

Today, "Hindi Journalism Day" or Hindi Patrakarita Diwas is celebrated on 30 May each year, as it marked the "beginning to journalism in Hindi language".[14]

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha extends wishes to journalists on Hindi Journalism Day. 2021-10-02. The New Indian Express. 30 May 2021 . 2 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211002153005/https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/may/30/bihar-assembly-speaker-vijay-kumar-sinha-extends-wishes-to-journalists-onhindi-journalism-day-2309313.html. live.
  2. May 30, 2021 . Hindi Journalism Day 2021: All you need to know. 2021-10-02. India Today. en.
  3. Web site: उदन्त मार्तण्ड: यूं शुरू हुआ हिंदी अखबार का सफर. 2021-10-02. Navbharat Times. hi. 2 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211002153005/https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/photomazza/education-career/know-how-hindi-journalism-starts-with-publication-of-udant-martand/photoshow/64380678.cms. live.
  4. Web site: Hindi journalism Day: 'उदंत मार्त्तंड' ने बंगभूमि कोलकाता को दिया था आधुनिक हिंदी की जन्मभूमि का दर्जा. 2021-10-02. Dainik Jagran. hi. 2 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211002153121/https://www.jagran.com/west-bengal/kolkata-udant-martand-had-given-the-status-of-modern-hindi-birthplace-to-bangabhumi-kolkata-21691191.html. live.
  5. Book: Hena Naqvi. Journalism And Mass Communication. Upkar Prakashan. 2007. 978-81-7482-108-9. 42–.
  6. Book: S. B. Bhattacherjee. Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates. 2009. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 978-81-207-4074-7. A119.
  7. Book: Ronald Stuart McGregor. Hindi Literature of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. 1974. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. 978-3-447-01607-0. 83–84.
  8. Book: J V Vilanilam. Mass Communication In India: A Sociological Perspective. 2005. SAGE Publications. 978-0-7619-3372-4. 54–.
  9. Book: A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed. Social Ideas and Social Change in Bengal 1818-1835. 1965. Brill Archive. 93–94. GGKEY:8YWY14NBR66.
  10. Book: Brijendra Mohan Sankhdher. Press, politics, and public opinion in India: dynamics of modernization and social transformation: On the role of the press in India, 1780-1835. 132–133. 1984. Deep & Deep Publications.
  11. Book: Rajendra Lal Handa. History of Hindi language and literature. 330. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1978.
  12. Book: Brijendra Mohan Sankhdher. Pioneers of freedom and social change in India. 1986. 94. Deep & Deep Publications. 9780836419054.
  13. Book: Samaren Roy. Calcutta: Society and Change 1690-1990. 2005. iUniverse. 978-0-595-34230-3. 165.
  14. Web site: Hindi Journalism Day Celebrated In India to Mark 187 Years of Hindi Journalism . Jagran Josh . 31 May 2013 . 2014-01-20 . 21 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140121125252/http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/hindi-journalism-day-celebrated-in-india-to-mark-187-years-of-hindi-journalism-1369983064-1 . live .