Early Communication System in India

Academic Script

Today, India is one of the leading markets in the

mobile and communication technology industry. The
leap seen in the communication sector in a short span
of two decades has left the prophets of communication
dumb founded. The changes in technology- from the
invention of the telegraph to satellite links- connect
people across the globe at the flick of a switch. Not
only this, the internet chats and news flashes are
possible on your mobile phones. Can you imagine a
world without the internet, mobile phones or other
online explores? Well in today’s lecture I will make you
aware of the transition from a world without the
presence of mass media to a world congested with
communication technology.

So, the focus of today’s lecture is on

1. Tracing the early forms of communication from

the beginning of organised society in India.
2. The beginnings of written communication in India.
3. The growth of the print media in India.
4. The role of newspapers in the 19th century.
5. The press and freedom movement in India.

The evolution of systematic growth of communication

can be traced over a span of centuries. Beginning with
the early era when language and writing are not
developed, man used to express himself through
symbols of sounds and gestures. He grunted,
screamed, frowned, waved his arms and even used
physical force to make his meanings known to others.
There is no organised method through which he could
communicate. Later as the primitive man roomed the
land he discovered a new way to communicate. While
he was moving from one place to another he learned to
leave landmarks, such a spiles stone or cuts on a tree
to guide him on his return. It took nearly five lakh
years to advance from purely oral communication to
the earliest writings on the clay tablets and other cave
drawings. Writing made it possible for man to transmit
his massages to many people. Without direct contact
writing allowed man to record his history, work of Art
and knowledge for the present and future generations.
Books were copied word for word by monks or lay
writers on animal membranes which took months to
produce and were very expansive. By 900 AD schools,
monasteries and works of Art are communicating man’s
former history and knowledge. Massages were written
on leafs and stones preserved as visual relics reflect
the symbolic representation of that era. Then early
men’s traditions and culture were conveyed from tribe
to tribe and generation to generation by re-acting
historical events. In this way theatre developed. Early
Indians were famous for their plays. Massages and
ideas were transmitted by the means of dance, puppet
shows and other folk forms. Another feature of
communication in ancient India was the emphasis
placed on oral and aural systems. Learned people were
called “Bahu Shrotta” and these were the people who
hared and memorised a lot. Writing was done on palm
leaves using a stylus. And the written documents were
considered too sacred to be touched or used by the
lower class.

In ancient India the kings and rulers are known to have

propagated their ideas through edicts. Their messages
were inscribed on walls and edicts erected at strategic
points for people to read. Soon, the kings and rulers
realised that it was important for them to acquaint
themselves with those activities which were against
their authority. Agencies were created to deal with
these activities. These agencies also spread out their
proclamations of social and economic reforms to their
authorities. They also provided information on
conditions in the prosperous and backward areas.
Organised attempts were made to relieve famine and
distress by releasing timely relief. In the earlier stages
of these activities information was transmitted verbally
and later it was reduced to writing.

During the period of Emperor Ashoka, the State

supported itself with a highly developed administration.
Sources of information ranged from spies who reported
on subversive activities, the secret overseers attached
to every department and an account of the socio-
economic activities of the people from the monasteries.
Another important tool of communication was the news
letter which kept the ruler informed of the
developments in various parts of the country.

During the Moghul period, news writers were specially

appointed and were made to file reports to the
headquarters of the administration. The news writers
worked in liaison with a governor or a local
administrative official, presenting them in a favourable
light to the central authority.

Records from history show conflicting reports about the

status of the ‘Press’ during Aurangazeb’s time; one
shows that the Emperor allowed great liberty in the
matter of news, while another ascribes his failure to
realise that false reports were sent to him by his news
writers.
Later, the East India Company requisitioned the
services of news writers for the same purpose as
during the Moghul period. Mostly, reports were
confined to the affairs of the English and occasionally,
the grievances of the employees were ventilated
through this channel. For a number of reasons, the
news writers were subject to a greater control as
compared to the Moghul period.

Newspapers of the 18th century

The first attempt to start a newspaper in India was
made in Calcutta in 1776 by William Bolts who was an
ex-officer of the East India Company. He resigned
following a censure by the Directors of the Company
for carrying on private trade beyond the Company’s
authority. Bolt announced that he would start a career
in writing and this manuscript would communicate
many things most ‘intimately’ to every individual. This
gave rise to an alarm in the official headquarters. He
was directed to quit Bengal. Thus, the first attempt at
journalism proved abortive.

It was then in 1780 that James Augustus Hickey

started the Bengal Gazette Calcutta General Advertiser.
This two-sheet newspaper devoted considerable space
to scurrilous attacks on the private lives of the officials
of the Company including the Governor General, a
Colonel and a Swedish missionary. As it is, Hickey did
not enjoy a high reputation in the Company. Soon
Hickey landed in trouble and his paper was deprived of
the privilege of circulating his newspaper through the
General Post Office. He was later sued for libel and was
sentenced to imprisonment including a fine. In spite of
this, he continued his critical, bitter and abusive
attacks on the Governor General and the Chief Justice.
While in prison, he continued to edit his paper without
changing its tone. Attacks continued on Hickey but he
remained undeterred. He persisted in his writings but
was gradually reduced to poverty and distress which
ultimately broke him.
 In 1780, another publication, The India
Gazette was started by Messrs B. Messink and Peter
Reed. The basic difference between Hickey and these
two writers was that they obtained the consent of the
Governor-General and then addressed him in writing
for postal concessions. They also assured him that they
would abide by any regulations laid down by the
Company.

The Calcutta Gazette was published in 1784 under the

direct patronage of the Government and in the
following year, the Bengal Journal made its appearance
along with a monthly, the Oriental Magazine of Calcutta
Amusement. The Calcutta Chronicle was published in
1786. Within six years of maiden effort, there were
four weekly newspapers and one monthly magazine
from Calcutta.

The Bengal Journal offered to publish all government

advertisements free of charge. Nothing significant is
known about the Calcutta Chronicle except for the fact
that the issues are found in the Imperial Library and in
the British Museum Newspaper library.

The Newspaper scene in Madras and Bombay

Meanwhile, Madras and Bombay were not far behind in

the publishing race. The Madras Courier came into
existence in 1785 as an officially recognised newspaper
founded by Richard Johnson. He was a Government
printer. In 1791, Boyd, then editor of the Madras
Courier, resigned and started the Hurkaru, but the
paper ceased publication a year later when he died.
The Madras Courier continued without a competitor till
1795, when R. Williams started the Madras Gazette.
This was followed by the India Herald which was
published by authority by one Humphreys who was
arrested for the unauthorised publication but managed
to escape from the ship on which he was deported to
England.

Bombay’s first newspaper, the Bombay Herald made its

appearance in 1789. The Courier which was published a
year later carried advertisements in Gujarati. The
Bombay Gazette was published in 1791 and the
Bombay Herald was merged into it in the following
year. It was recognised for the purposes of official
notifications and advertisements in the same terms as
the Madras Courier.

In Bombay and Madras, newspapers did not seem to

have come into conflict with the government. On the
contrary, they were anxious to earn official recognition
and to enjoy official favour. In fact the proprietor of the
Madras Courier, Richard Johnson, secured new presses,
types and material through the Government free of
duty. It seemed that Boyd resigned from the editorship
of the Madras Courier in 1791 probably because the
tone of his paper was not to the liking of the
Government. On two occasions, on which it
unintentionally offended the government, the editor
readily published an apology.
Interestingly, the newspaper scene in Bengal was
completely different. In 1791, William Duane acquired
the Bengal Journal and became its editor. He landed
into trouble by publishing the rumoured death of Lord
Cornwallis. Evidently, he could not continue as editor
of the Bengal Journal. Subsequently, he started
another paper The Indian Herald. The paper grew
steadily in the following three years. In the interval
between 1791 and 1798, newspapers in Bengal were
pulled up for various offences mostly relating to
military subjects. Duane was harassed on various
occasions by the Government and asked to proceed to
Europe. He demanded an audience with Sir John Shore,
the Governor General, who invited him to the
Government house. It was here that he was placed
under arrest and sent to England along with three
orphan children whom he had adopted. Duane received
no compensation for the property left behind in India.

In 1798, Dr. Charles Maclean who started the Bengal

Harkaru had a series of encounters. First, with the Post
Master General for detaining certain letters addressed
to him and later with the Government for contributing a
signed letter to the Telegraph, edited by Mckenly,
reflecting upon the conduct of the Magistrate of
Ghazepore. The editor apologised but Maclean politely
refused to do so. He was promptly deported and on his
return to England he played an important part in the
campaign against Wellesley which led to the Governor-
General’s resignation in 1805.
Leicester Stanhope, a great champion of freedom of
the press, wrote: “On Lord Wellesley’s return to
England Dr. Maclean published his case, and no man,
throughout, ever behaved with greater prudence and
firmness”.

This marked the end of a phase in journalism in

India. The highlights of this phase can be
summed up as:

• There were no press laws as such.

• A person intending to start a paper, who was
already in the bad books of the Government or
the influential officials, was deported forthwith.
• If a newspaper offended or was unrepentant,
it was first denied postal privileges.
• If it persisted in causing displeasure to the
Government, it was required to submit part of or
the entire newspaper to pre-censorship.
• If the editor did not ‘mend’ his ways he was
deported.

The content of the newspapers related to the interest

and activities of the European population in India.
Apart from the parliamentary reports, there were
editorials on subjects of interest to the resident
Britons; on events in England, on the army, on the
reported plans of Indian leaders. In addition to this
type of information there were newsletters and reports
from Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Madrid, China, Rio-de-
Janerio and other centres of interest. There were
letters to the editor, Government notices, social news,
poet’s corners, advertisements and even fashion notes.
Some general conclusions that can be drawn of the
press at that time are:
1. No newspapers were published until 1780
because the Company’s establishments In India
were a closed preserve.
2. The first newspapers were started by
disgruntled ex-employees of the Company.
3. They were aided and guided by servants of
the Company who used these newspapers for
furtherance of their personal rivalries and
jealousies.
4. The apprehension was that these newspapers
might reach London rather than that they might
have any adverse effect in Bengal. The circulation
of papers never exceeded a hundred or two
hundred and there was no danger of public
opinion being subverted. Only spare copies of
newspapers published in the territory of one
establishment reached other establishments and
that too occasionally.
5. While some editors incurred the displeasure
of important officials from the very beginning,
some others made no beginning at all. And it was
for this reason that other editors were
encouraged, financed and provided with material
and other aid by influential senior officials of the
Company.
Early nineteenth century newspapers

The first two decades of the 19th century witnessed

rigid control of the press by the Marquess of Wellesley
and relaxation by the Marquess of Hastings. There was
difference of opinion on what the official attitude
towards the press in India should be at the highest
level both in India and in London. Lord Wellesley, a
dominant ruler, was challenged in different spheres by
Tipoo Sultan, the French and the European community
in Calcutta. He avoided passing information to Tipoo
Sultan. He was equally determined that the European
community in Calcutta should be put in its place. The
editor of the Asiatic Mirror published reports showing
the strength of the European and the native population.
Wellesley who regarded this speculation as likely to
start trouble, wrote to the Commander-in-Chief
promising to lay down rules for the conduct of the
whole tribe of editors. He also advised him to suppress
the editors of mischievous papers by force and send
them back to Europe.

The press regulations that followed required:

• The newspaper to carry in imprint the

name of the printer, the editor and proprietor
• To declare themselves to the Secretary
to the Government
• To submit all material published in the
paper for prior scrutiny
• Publication on Sunday was prohibited
• The prescribed punishment for breach of
these rules was immediate deportation
• The Secretary was vested with the
powers of a censor
• All military information was to be
excluded from the newspapers
• No newspapers were permitted to
publish extracts from European newspapers
which were likely to constitute a breach of the
above restrictions

Curiously enough, all editors agreed to comply with

the rules and regulations of the Government. In other
words, it can be inferred that Wellesley had assumed
comprehensive powers.

At this time, the Baptist missionaries of Serampore

were refused permission to set up a press. Soon after,
Wellesley decided that the most effective way of
silencing the presses for the Government was to have a
press of its own and print an official gazette and a
newspaper. This decision could not be implemented
due to the huge expenses involved.

Soon it was found that newspapers were not submitting

to any pre-censorship on a regular basis. Military
information was also being published. The information
that was forbidden to publish in newspapers was being
published in books and pamphlets. Immediately,
prohibitory instructions were sent to editors of six
newspapers. The rigid instructions imposed on the
press issued on April 9, 1807, led to the publication of
a spate of pamphlets which bore neither the name of
the author nor the printer. An order was issued
requiring all presses to publish the name of the printer
on all literature published from a press. The Madras
order on pamphlets was even more stringent and
printing presses were required to submit the
manuscripts of all their publications before they were
printed.

When Lord Hastings took over in 1813, newspapers in

Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were well under control,
with Madras leading in the matters of stringency of
regulations. Lord Hastings issued a brief instruction
requiring all printing presses to submit proof sheets of
newspapers, supplements, extra publications, notices
or handbills to the Chief Secretary for scrutiny and
revision.