The Journey of Hindi Language Journalism in India: From Raj to Swaraj and Beyond
Mrinal Pande
Price
525
ISBN
9789354428203
Language
English
Pages
188
Format
Paperback
Dimensions
140 x 216 mm
Year of Publishing
2024
Territorial Rights
World
Imprint
Orient BlackSwan

In India, the English-language media is considered the ‘national media’, while vernacular media remains ‘regional ‘. However, from the 1980s onwards, demographic changes and growth in literacy in the Hindi heartland broadened the market for Hindi newspapers.

In this book, well-known journalist Mrinal Pande takes us through the history of Hindi-language journalism in India. She discusses

  • its early days as nationalist newspapers in the colonial period;
  • its subservience to the English print media in the early decades of independence;
  • the fillip it received in the post-Emergency 1980s when an inclusive Hindi, propped up by regional dialects, became the best vehicle for furthering Indian democracy.

The author also focuses on the current digitisation of all media, the increasing influence of social media platforms, and heavy reliance on advertisements.

Examining the close connections between politics, the corporates, and newspaper/news channels, the book asks: Can editorials continue to care for individual rights and local cultures, given their proximity to political and corporate lobbyists? How far will our Constitution-given freedom of information and speech stretch if media laws are amended?

Mrinal Pande is a veteran journalist, television personality, and author. She was the first woman Editor-in-Chief of the multi-edition Hindi daily, Hindustan. The first woman to be Secretary-General of the Editors’ Guild of India, she is also the Founder-President of the Indian Women’s Press Corps, a national body of India’s women journalists. She was also Chairperson of India's public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, from April 2010-March 2014. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006 for her services in the field of journalism.

List of Tables
List of Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Story of Hindi

2. Evolution of the Hindi Press after Independence

3. How the Hindi Newspaper Business Changed

4. Living above Fault-Lines

5. Who Moved My News?
    Digitised Media and Expansionism

6. Hindi Newspapers

7. The New Media Ecology

8. Postscript: Post-Covid Media

Glossary
References
Index