TELUGU JOURNALISM
Objective of the lesson:
The objective of this lesson is to assist you in Understanding the growth of Telugu Newspapers
Gaining an insight into early Telugu Newspapers/journals
Structure of the lesson :
- Introduction to Telugu Journalism
- Telugu Newspapers and journals of 19th
- Summary
- Model Questions
- Refernce Books
| 17.1. Introduction to Telugu Journalism |
The History of newspapers and journals in Telugu, as in other languages, is a saga of sacrifice and devotion to nationalist ideals. Profit or other commercial aspects never were dominant considerations. Even the rare example of a financially successful venture like the Andhra Patrika can be said to have done so more due to the affection of the Andhra people to the newspaper than any other consideration.
Telugu journalism made a beginning in Madras with the publication of Vrittanti in 1838 (Arudra 1968: 10- 11). Some letters by readers published in that journal display enthusiasm for social reform. That journal was monitored by the government for content of disaffection and reached distant towns such as Rajahmundry in the Telugu districts. It was closed down in 1841 for financial reasons. Another Telugu journal, Vartamana Tarangini, published by Syed Rahmatullah and edited by Puvvada Venkata Rao, began to be brought out of Madras in 1842. It was distributed manually in Madras, while copies were mailed to outside towns. Yet another Telugu journal, Hitavadi, was published starting in 1848 by Edmond Sharkey, a missionary based in Machilipatnam. This is the first instance of a Telugu journal published from the Telugu districts (though it was printed in Madras). Bellary and Visakhapatnam were the only places with printing presses at that time in the Telugu districts. Godavari Vidyaprabodini, published from 1870 at Rajahmundry by the English headmaster of a high school, and Purusartha Pradayani, publication starting in 1872 at Machilipatnam, were the two journals to which Viresalingam regularly contributed on social issues before he started his own journal Vivekavardhani in 1874. It was a monthly at first and copies were printed in Madras. Andhrabhasa Sanjivani, publication starting in 1871 at Madras and edited by Kokkonda Venkataratnam, took conservative positions on contemporary social issues.
Once the public sphere, in however limited fashion, was constituted and the media for the articulation of public opinion put in place, discussions in such media were not confined only to public issues that con- cerned all.
Christian missionaries, for instance, could berate Hindu beliefs and practices in their journals to undermine their influence. Hindu reformers too could use the public sphere to articulate critiques of their religion and society and advocate reform. The public media also became an efficient means of internal communication and discussion for particular communities even as such communication happened under the ‘public gaze’, so to speak, as those outside the community listened in. This new context had important consequences for the functioning of particular communities. Traditional authority in a particular community could now be challenged in the public media and undermined. Space for dissent or minority opinion within a community could be fought for in the public media. When factions within a community were unable to settle issues amongst themselves, they could approach the state to intervence. This logic applied to all communities in colonial India, be they religious communities or castes groups. Reformers, including Viresalingam, used this new context to their advantage as much as possible in advancing their agenda for social change.
There were some journals earlier but Andhra Patrika, started as a periodical in Bombay in 1908 soon became popular because the founder, P.K.Nageswara Rao Pantulu, himself an eminent scholar, sent copies free to libraries and reading rooms all over Andhra. Kasindhuni Nageswararao, better known as Nageswara rao pantulu was rare combination of a journalist, nationalist, politician, a staunch supporter of Khaddar movement and an enthusiastic pioneer in library movement in Andhra. His participation in Indian freedom movement and in Indian National Congress Party was historical. He was one of the Andhra veterans who took part in Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience movement through salt satyagraha.
It is no wonder that his life-long exertions in such diverse fields in the service of the nation has earned him the honorific prefix Desoddharaka (uplifter of the masses), conferred on him by the people of Andhra Pradesh as a mark of their great respect and appreciation of his services to Andhra and to India and the special title of Kalaprapurna (doctor of Literature) which was conferred on him by the Andhra University in 1935.
He approached Telugu people in Mumbai, associated with them and worked for the welfare of Telugu people. He attended the National Congress meeting in Surat in 1907 and joined the freedom movement. He recognized the need for a Telugu language journal to campaign effectively for the freedom struggle and founded a weekly andhra patrika in 1909 in Mumbai. Within a short time andhra patrika gained popularity among Telugus. In 1914, he moved the journal from Mumbai to Chennai and introduced it as a daily newspaper.
Beside being a journalist, Sri Nageshwara Rao was also a Telugu literature of repute with a razor sharp intellect and a publisher. In 1926 he launched a publishing house known as the Andhra Grandha Mala. This institution published as many as 20 books besides reporducing many Telugu classics as well as modern writings. With a view to placing the fountain-head of knowledge within easy reach of the common man, he priced his publications very low. Sri Nageswara Rao can be regarded as the father of the library movement in Andhra.
Because of his exertions during the first two decades of the century, as many as 120 libraries came into being in Andhra districts.
The contents of periodical reflect the history of Telugu during the 20th century. The Patrika was shifted to Madras in 1914 and became a daily. On Nageswara Rao’s death in 1938, his son-in-law, Sambu Prasad, took over, In 1965 it was again shifted to Vijayawada. The paper was dominant in spreading Gandhiji’s ideals in the nooks and corners of Andhra. The memory of Andhra Pradesh remains a matter of pride to Telugus.
Apart from nationalist ideals, one other subject that occupied the attention of the founders of Telugu newspapers was the style of the language. There were simple styles as in Vemana’s verses or the Sumathi Satakam. Even Pothana’s Bhaghavatham can be said to be in a simple style of Telugu, compared to poets like Nannaya, or Srinatha. But grammarians, especially during the 19th century, locked up the language in an ununderstandable literary straight jacket that caused a large-scale revolt in the early 20th century. The most notable of the scholars who led this movement were Gurjada Apparao and Gidugu Ramamurthi. Their main rival was the Parishat Patrika, in which such eminent scholars as Jayanti Ramayya Pantulu, Veeresalingam, Vedam Venkatraya Sastri and others stoutly opposed what they felt was debasing the language in the name of simplification. Their fears to some extent have been justified by the success of the votaries of “as we speak we write”. Some sort of poetic justice can be seen in the writings of these people which, submerged in an ocean of colloquialism, make little sense to Telugu readers themselves and can be understood only if translated into better Telugu or even into English. There have been many other newspapers and periodicals that came to prominence in the first half of the 20th century. Some of these are Krishna Patrika, Golconda Patrika.
Andhra Prabha, Andhra Sahitya Parishat Patrika, Bharathi (monthly). Nearly a hundred names are to be found in the list of the newspapers and periodicals of the 20th century.
Naarla Venkateswara Rao was yet another stalwart of Telugu Journalism. His numerous writings over a period of five decades were divided into seven volumes. Early works, social plays and essays, mythologi- cal plays, poetic compositions and monographs, editorials on tradition, culture and classical literature, current affairs and musings, profiles and some more editorials in his more than four-decade stint as a newspaper editor and leader-writer, Naarla had significantly influenced the course of Andhra history of the day.
His forceful and forthright leaders were heeded by the people and they mattered both in political and social affairs. In those days when there were no journalism departments in universities, his writings greatly served as learning material for the budding journalists of the day. A pioneering trendsetter of modern Telugu journalism, he inspired many youngsters to adopt and imitate his pen. His musings on social attitudes and human behaviour are full of wit and wisdom with a little punch.
The more than 400 stanzas of Naarla’s poetry, composed in the mode of the 14-15 Century A.D. poet, Vemana, both in prosody and content, clearly reflect his philosophy as a poet. “His views on ethics, politics, public concept and private morals were closely knitted into these simple stanzas. In a grab of deceptive naivete, they eloquetly outline his testament of faith, rather his philosophy of reason………………………………………………………………………………….. ”
“These poems with his cryptic and caustic, trenchant and wide ranging, frank for fortnight remarks, scattered all over the volumes project him as a social thinker and by his own definition, a thinker’s primary function is to recognize in advance the emerging historical forces and to transform them into ideas, concepts, hypothese or theories ”
As a playwright Naarla excelled in portraying rural life with all its characteristic nuances and ethos, in a style of his own, which is typically of grassroots mode in sound and substance. A young and award-winning fiction writer Pydi Chandralatha ably completed his unfinished novel. Her style and diction blend well with those of Naarla.
In his writings, Naarla emphasises that “a stage has come when the choice before man is a better world or dead world.
The choice by every one of us and it is too serious a matter to be left to the rulers whose only care is to stick on to their seats of power.
Similarly, in the rise of consciousness of a separate Telugu identity and the demand for a separate Andhra State, Telugu press played a crucial role. “Rising education brought about a new interest in modern Telugu literature and culture, which Telugus felt, was being suppressed by Tamilians. Therefore Andhra Brahmans and non-Brahmans together formed a sub-national movement to demand a separate State in which Andhra interests could be expressed”. The organization of people on caste lines was also a new phenom- enon and print was one of the factors which made it is possible. Thus the print, in the form of Journalism played an enormous role in the construction of identities on the basis of language, region, religion, and caste.
Madras centered Telugu press (originated in 1830s) began to shift to the delta region as the founders of these organization (most of them were from western educated middle class, who were also founders of socio-religious organizations) attempted to spread the reformist ideas through the press. (Absence of these factors attests the very slow development of press in the dry zone). Thus there was a steady growth of journalism in the deltas from 1858 onwards. Rajamundry, Coconada, Bezawada, Machilipatnam, Amalapuram, Narasapuram became centers of journalism. Purusharda Pradayini and Andhra Basha Sanjeevani were prominent journals in the beginning. With this, foundations for the social and political leadership of delta area and dominance of coastal Telugu were laid. By early twentieth century every caste tried to reform its group by spreading progressive and rational ideas through caste journals. In the pro- cess, several caste groups got consolidated across the regions. Thus land and social structure acted one upon the other and produced a variety of polity wherein caste groups assumed significance, whose identity and course of action was remarkably influenced by the press.
The father of modern Telugu literature is Kandukuri Viresalingam Pantulu (1848-1919), who wrote a novel, Rajasekhara Charitamu, inspired by the Vicar of Wakefield. He was the first person in modern times to use literature to eradicate social evils. He was followed by Rayaprolu Subba Rao, Gurazada Appa Rao, Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Katuri Venkateswara Rao, Jashuva, Devulapalli Venkata Krishna Sastry. Sri Sri, Puttaparty Narayana Charyulu and others in the sphere of poetry. Viswanatha Satyanarayana had won the coveted Jnanapith Award. “Kanyasulkan” (Bride-Money), the first social play in Telugu by Gurazada Appa Rao was a thumping success. We also find the progressive movement, free verse movement and Digambara style finding expression in Telugu verse. The well-known modern Telugu novelists were Unnave Lakshminarayana. (of Malapalli fame), Viswanatha Satyanarayana (Veyi Padagulu), Kutumba Rao and Buchchi Babu. Telugu is specially known for its daring experiments in the field of poetry and drama.
Veeresalingam was influenced by the Brahmo Samaj leader, Atmuri Lakshmi Narasimha. The ideas of Raja Rammohun Roy, Iswar Chadra Vidyasagar and Keshub Chunder Sen had a powerful impact on him. David Kopf says, “The new social conscience and consciousness of Unitarianism was in Rammohun almost entirely directed to the miserable state of Hindu women. He found them uneducated and illiterate, deprived of property rights, married before puberty, imprisoned in purdah, and murdered at widowhood by a barbaric custom of immolation know as sati. One has only to read Rammohun’s works on social reform to realize that most of it deals with one aspect or another of man’s inhumanity towards women in Bengal. The conclusion is that only by freeing women and by treating them as human beings could Indian society free itself from social stagnation.
Kandukuri Veeraselingam Pantulu expressed the opinion, “the denigration of women has ruined our society,” and dedicated his entire life to the cause of uplift of women in his society. He started a magazine named Vivekavardhini (Knowledge Improver) at Davaleswaram, in which he wrote women’s uplift, criticised superstitious beliefs among people and rampant corruption among officials. Initially he used to get it printed at Chennai but when the magazine picked up in popularity, he set his own press at Rajahmundry. He launched Satihitabobhini, a special magazine for women. Through it, he enlightened women about their rights.
In one of the initial issues of Vivekavardhani in 1874, Viresalingam declares his objectives in starting the journal as follows:
I am a Brahmin. I learned English and passed the matriculation examination in that language. I have an interest in Telugu language and literature. I will spare no efforts for the development of the country/nation. I also possess some literary ability. I will write about issues of general interest for everyone and ethical issues in a simple style that is accessible to all, avoiding the turgid style. I will also employ in my writings usages borrowed from other languages if necessary.
He adds in the autobiography, in which this statement from the journal is excerpted, that his objective in the publication of the journal is two-fold: development of the language and development of the country. We can thus see Viresalingam operating within the language of modernist discourses, unsing the terms ‘development’, ‘progress’ and ‘country’. The Telugu terms he uses are desamu for country nation and abhivrddhi for development/progress.
In a similar vein, Viresalingam wrote in Vivekavardhani in 1878.
We are not aspiring for financial profit in publishing this journal. We are doing it for the welfare of the people and the country. We have made enemies of some local government servants by writing about their misdeeds. But we cannot swerve from our duty as journalists fearing someone’s wrath or to curry some- one else’s favour. We are glad we were able to help the society in spite of antag onizing some people.
Though Viresalingam is using the discourse of the ‘nation’, in the absence of an anti-colonial awareness, it is incorrect to call him a nationalist. It is a discourse of modernity and of the public sphere, and Viresalingam was the first to deploy it in the Telugu districts. Viresalingam contributed to the ‘discursive’ public sphere through his literary output and essays and articles of the non-fictional kind. Many Telugu journals including Vivekavardhani often carried both kinds of writings. He also wrote about what he consid- ered ‘immoral’ practices of the local Indian elite. He contributed to the political sphere by his activist journalism of writing about issues such as corruption in the local administration. The presidency govern- ment kept a close tab on the Indian language press and sometimes responded to investigate such allega- tions. Viresalingam also intervened more directly by con-ducting widow remarriages and popularizing new forms of voluntary association.
For Kandukuri Viresalingam, the husband was a socially necessary master and without them women had no life. “The husband is to be held as God, since he provides all comforts and caters to the pleasures of the wife; hence she should dedicate herself to his service: if need be, tolerate his anger, abus and patiently endure even beating and physical violence…………………………………………………………………… the wife should not wear flowers and jewels and should not
laugh loudly when the husband is away”. To shape the ‘ideal Hindu patni’ on these lines he started the journal ‘Strihita Bodhini’ and wrote ‘Satyavati Charitramu’, ‘Chandramati Charitramu’, ‘Satya Sanjeevani Patni’ and ‘Hita Suchani’. “At night after entire work was complete, she had to clean up the kitchen, take bath, touch husband’s feet and then mangalsutra and finally to bed” writes Viresalingam. The impact of this idealization was such that a young girl wept after reading ‘Hita Suchani’ for failing in her callings. This
took place in 1887 and was narrated by Viresalingam himself in his ‘Sweeya Charitra Sangrahamu’.
He organised the Rajahmundry Social Raform Association in 1878. Initially, it concentrated on the anti- nautch movement to discourage the hire of nautch girls for celebration, but later concentrated on widow remarriage.
He organised the first widow remarriage in the area on 11 December 1881. Pyda Ramakrishnayya of Kakinada extended financial support for it. However, both of them faced severe opposition from society. He succeeded in bringing about a change in the mindset of his people and gradually more and more people accepted widow remarriage. His progressive thoughts brought in severe criticism and opposition but he continued unabated. He fought to abolish child marriages and Kanyasulkam (a kind of dowry given by the groom to the bride’s parents).
In 1881, his contemporary social and religious reformer, Kolkata-based Sivanath Sastri met him at Rajahmundry, during one of his missionary visits. About his meeting, Sivanath Sastri writes, “The next day I went by boat to Rajahmundry, and shall gratefully remember the love and affection of Veerasalingam and the hospitality of his wife. Veerasalingam’s wife is a remarkable person. On one hand, she is strong willed, powerful and dutiful. On the other, she is soft hearted and dedicated to the well being of others. It is because Veerasalingam got a wife like her that he was able to carry on with his work in spite of social oppression.”
A fearless journalists, he used his journal Vivekavardhini to expose corruption and bribery in public life. He educated generations in new western values, popularised science and stressed the need to be vigilant against authoritarian tendencies. He was the first novelist in Telugu, the first to write an autobiography, the first to counter the influence of self-called religious leaders, the first to widely propagate the ideals of the Brahmo Samaj in Andhra.
Added to this is the overwhelming influence of ‘Annie Besantamma’ among the women Reports of her speeches and activities was a regular feature in all major newspapers and journals in general and women journals in particular of the Andhra region. But an attempt at altering this discourse can be seen in the writings of Gurajada. Well positioned both in traditional learning and western education, with a vast reading and wide travel, being an active participant in the ongoing spoken language movement, enjoying the liberal patronage of a reformist raja and surrounded by forward looking writer friends and sensible to the contem- porary theatre, Gurajada for himself could see the shallowness of the ongoing reform activity and writings. He problematised the whole reformist discourse in – Kanyasulkam a satirical play.
The society in which Gurajada lived could not capture the subtleties of his writings. Moreover his short span of life and meager literary output could not create an influential literary legacy. As a result the subse- quent writers could not take this discourse to its logical conclusion. Efforts of Unnava Lakshmi Narayana, kallakuri Narayana Rao, Jashua and a host of other writers were swamped by the larger discourse that was outlined above. Chalam’s writings created an outburst of violent criticism rather than meaningful debate, which would have set the ball rolling. Writers liek Kodavatiganti and Sri Sri who were heavily influenced by the Marxist thought could not address the issue.
However, there was a highly contrasted picture of the gender theme in the literary productions of male and female writers in colonial Andhra. Male reformers always outpoured the dangerous effects of enforced widowhood on the moral fabric of the society whereas contemporary accounts of women revealed the vulnerable existential condition. Writings of female writers like Atluri Venkata Sitamma, Annapurna Devi, Kanuparti Varalakshmamma, Chillarige Venkataramanamma, Voleti Suryaprabhadevi, P Srinivasamma, Tadi Nagamma, Venpati Sarada Devi, Vadlapatla Lalitamba etc., reveal the tensions and complexities of the contemporary society more vividly. But the influence of the Annie Besant movement and the Gandhian national movement as mentioned in the context of caste groups, accounts for the reasons for the non- radicalization of the women organizations themselves.
Another notable journalist who was a stalwart in Telugu Journalism is K.Rama Rao Mahatma Gandhi called him, “My fighting editor” and Jawaharlal Nehru considered it a privilege to be associated with him for a number of years when he was the Editor of National Herals. “He struck me as a man with ideals and a mission. He was an outstanding figure in Indian journalism.” Kotamaraju Rama Rao was born on 9 No- vember 1896 at Chirala a small village in Andhra Pradesh. Telugu was his mother tongue. He started his journalism in Madras where the native language was Tamil. From there he went to Karachi in Sindh where the native language was Sindhi. Other destinations in his 40 year long journalistic career were Bombay
where the native language was Marathi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna and Delhi which fall in Hindi belt, Calcutta where Bengali and Lahore where Punjabi was native language. He made his mark as journalist in all these different places where culture was different from his own. He did find some difficulties. At least two incidents are mentioned in his memories. First when he was working with New Times, Karachi. “I was reporter-cum-subeditor. After the day’s work I had to go out to report meetings and other public functions. My first account of a municipal meeting brought letters of protest from some members; I had “madrasified” the spellings not being familiar with Sindhi names; I had got confused between one speaker and another, between one subject and another, and made a mess of it on the whole.”
Another incident mentioned was when Rama Rao was working in the Leader of Allahabad where C.Y.Chintamani, another great name from Andhra was editor. “Chintamani did not believe in dividing work into water-tight compartments. Subeditors were asked to report and the reporters were asked to edit. Told of for a meeting, I came back one day without a scrap of notes in my hand. Explanation asked, I said I could not follow Hindi. I was promptly warned to learn it, though the chief himself had not mastered it during his many years in Allahabad.”
These must be the two striking examples that Rama Rao found interesting enough to be mentioned in his memoirs written almost at the end of his innings, as the book came out only after his death. After such experiences in the field he must have adjusted himself to cultural environment of the area where he worked. There is another aspect of cultural diversity in his career as he has worked in newspapers, which had different cultures of their own. His career began with the Humanity, Madras, a Brahmosamaj weekly brought out by his brother Kotamraju Punniah. Brahmosamaj was a social and religious reform movement, which originated in Bengal and was propagated all over the country. It preached vigorously against caste and communalism, idolatry, devadasis drink and a number of other evils. Politically its policy was free and vigorous.”
As Punniah could not afford staff his two brothers Byragi Das and Rama Rao had to help him. As “Byragi Das left for Mesopotamia in the middle of the First World War, and so I had to take over his work also. I looked after advertisement, circulation and management. But my main work was to help Punniah in preparing copy for the press. We were too poor to afford a typewriter, and I had to copy out legibly much of the accepted……….. I had often to “sub” copy and go to the press when my brother was out of
station… Humanity was a cosiderable success editorially. It had some of the best writers in India, if only for
the reason that many of our intellectuals were members of the Brahmo Samaj for which it spoke. Some of the contributions were first rate, none of them paid for.” Rama Rao’s next paper, the New Times, Karachi, which he joined in 1919 was “a venture of faith, as the proprieto-editor put it to me when I was leaving after ten months for pastures new. T.K.Jaswani had money to burn, given by an indulgent father. Being a sensible youth, he thought that he should burn it patriotically for a newspaper, of which the antionalists of Sindhi stood in need. T.L.Vaswani, recently retired from the principalship of a college in Patiala, was behind it as defacto editor…………………… We were in difficult times, with a war on the Frontier and martial law all over
the Punjab. With his ripe age and mature judgement, Vaswani guided the paper carefully through the shoals, Not a politician, but a saint, a Sadhu. Not a day passed when he did not invoke the blessings of Providence on his Sindhu Desh, but Providence has been very unkind, as it generally is, and he has lived to see Sind go out of India.”
It is interesting to recall the environment when we are discussing inter-cultural angle. Rama Rao recalled, “The house in which we were living was under survelliance. Once the hoof of a police horse narrowly missed trampling me down not its fault nor of the sowar, but I dodged deftly………………………………………………………………………………………. A large Punjabi population
lived in Sindh. Eager and anxious inquiries about the fate of near and dear ones in the Punjab were being made every day at the newspaper offices which were the only sources of information about the happen- ings in the beleaguered province, but even these sources were tainted and restricted. For any news of the happenings whatever it was worth, we depended on the Anglo-Indian papers, which were in a privileged position. They supported the soldiers’ atrocities with unabashed gusto. The Civil and Military Gazettepublished reports of the major and minor crimes of the soldiers with a relish which showed that Imperialism’s camp followers could be as blood-thirsty with the pen as its soldiers were with sword and gun These was a blockade of news under the martial law regime, and those papers which published the
news somehow were penalised. Strong comments on the administration brought the gag or imposition of securities on the press. Correspondents who smuggled out reports were punished under a new law specially made for the purpose.”
Thus there was this cultural difference between Anglo-Indian papers and nationalist papers. Rama Rao had opportunity to work for both. But there were different shades of culture among these two general
categories too. Chintamani’s leader was a nationalist paper but: “There had been a strike and a labour demonstration at Jamshedpur, which set my soul aflame. I blazed away with the headline ‘Bayonets Lose Their Terror’ in order to bring out the force of the news that the angry striking labourers had refused to be frightened by the threats of the police to charge them. A ten-minute lecture by the editor followed the next day, and I was admonished that the leader was not an ‘extremist rag’ for such an explosive headline.
Sensational display of news was among the major taboos.”
Rama Rao’s next job was with Advocate of India, Bombay edited by James Cunninghan. Culture of the city as well as of the newspaper differed here. As many people were in Bombay from his region, some of them came together to establish the “Andhra Home” and even conducted a manuscript weekly for private circulation. This is longing for your own culture in metropolitan environment. The work culture was different Rama Rao describes, “I was not allowed to send even a line of what I edited for the first two or three months. Every line was examined, every other sentence re-written. Not a single headline of mine survivedy. It was a general massacre, but I liked it, being determined to learn from a real guru. I was lectured on my mistakes as the process of re-editing went on. It would have taken me years to learn all this if I had been left to myself The lesson that Holsinger taught me to respect no copy unduly, once I sat
at desk to handle it. The mistakes of expression even in the King’s speech must be corrected………………………………………………………………………………… Modesty is
not a virtue in the sub-editor and excessive modesty is a fatal weakness. I wont Holsinger’s good opinion when I pointed out the collapse of a sentence in Sir Malcolm Hailey’s financial statement of 1921. Another time when I found three proof reading mistakes in an editorial of the Times, London.” Times of India
Rama Rao has worked in European owned the Times of India and had high regard for many things in that paper. “One thing I discovered immediately after entering the Times. Subject to the natural limitations of European-owned institution, there was freedom from race prejudice, certainly on the editorial side. I shall give an example. The communique of the Government of Bombay announcing the release of Gandhiji came one midnight in January 1924. Under the instructions of the Governor it was to be personality handed over to the principal newspapers by a top European official. He walked into subeditors’ room in the Times., looked around startled, went back and asked the sepoy (peon) on duty whether it was really the subeditors’ room. On being assured it was, he unwillingly handed over the communique to the subeditor on duty. Next day at Byculla Club, exclusively European, he chaffed the editor before a number of friends that the Times of India was a black man’s show, which explained why he was startled when he walked into subeditor’ room. The editor promply wrote to the Governor asking whether high officials of the Government were permitted to talk racial nonsense about editors and papers in the Club, An apology by the indiscreet official followed.”
Rama Rao expressed his regard for one editors, Sir Francis Low. “During his editorship the Times of India touched heights it had never reached before and outstripped other papers in the point of circulation and the volume of news printed. Fundamentally a newsman, Low kept a constant and regular vigil on that side of the paper. As I worked directly under him, first in the Times of India and then the Evening News, our contacts were intimate. When the Evening News was started in November 1923 with him in charge, he drafted me on to it, as he thought I had the essential qualifications for working on an evening paper, namely speed and accuracy of ‘subbing’, bright headlining and quick writing up of the leads. When later I was transferred to the Times at my own request, he warned me: ‘None of your smart headlines here. The Times is a sober paper.’ He was not only kind but affectionate to me and he watched me rise the profes- sion with the pride and love of a old chief.”
It is interesting to mention here how Rama Rao puts his departure from the Times of India, particularly from the intercultural angle. “After four years and four months in the Times of India and the Evening News of India (June 1923 September 1927), I could say to myself that I had served out my novitiate, and could confident don the robes of a junior priest in the temple of journalism. When I was leaving the paper the editor asked me the reason. Anybody who had a chance to work on a first class paper like that, he thought, would only be too glad to continue, but here I was leaving voluntarily. I remember my answer. ‘I have been long enough here and have learnt my work pretty well. I have my own ambitions. Can I ever be the editor of the Times of India?’ He understood and smiled.”
After 10 months in his hometown Chirala, Rama Rao joined the Pioneer in July 1928. His comment on the new editor F.W.Wilson is interesting from intercultural point of view. “Wilson was a live wire journalist; he had the reputations of being one of the ‘most brilliant of the younger man of Fleet Street.’ One reconginsed this as soon as one came to know him. He had some of the best qualities of a journalist. Being new to India, he was deficient in his knowledge of Indian politics, but he remedied this soon by careful study, by
cultivating valuable contacts by talking to men who knew.”
But though he adjusted to the culture of the country, and the readership, there was trouble with the culture of the old readers of the Pioneer. As Rama Rao puts it. “His pro-Indian policy lost the old readership. Angry colonels and majors, who had been regarding their Pioneer as the true gospel of mperial righteousness, sent frantic telegrams demanding their names to be removed from the subscribers’ list. Wilson, on one occasion, attacked the Commander-in-Chief over the lack of progressive army policy. ‘Pray, who the devil are you to do that?’ a choleric colonel wired. What right had a mere civilian to call in question the wisdom of the supreme deity of the Indian military pantheon? The very legitimate right, Wilson replied, that the writer too was among those who had bared their chests to enemy bullets in the World War.”
F.W.Wison moved from Pioneer, Allahabad to Indian Daily Mail in Bombay and Rama Rao joined him as news editor in May 1930. This paper died in 1931. Rama Rao has described, “Lady Wellingdon, the Viceroy’s wife, had dropped her parasol at a party and the ADC was somewhat tardy in retrieving it. That never too sweet-tempered lady flew into violent tantrum at this. That any rate was the story that Wilson put out in gossip column. The humourless Political Department After 10 months in his hometown Chirala, Rama Rao joined the Pioneer in July 1928. His comment on the new editor F.W.Wilson is interesting from intercultural point of view. “Wilson was a live-wire journalist; he had the reputation of being one of the ‘most brilliant of the younger man of Fleet Street.’ One recognised this as soon as one came to know him. He had some of the best qualities of a journalist. Being new to India, he was deficient in his knowledge of Indian politics, but he remedied this soon by careful study, by cultivating valuable contacts, by talking to men who knew.”
But thought he adjusted to the culture of the country, and the readership increased, there was trouble with the culture of the old readers of the Pioneer. As Rama Rao puts it, “His pro-Indian policy lost the old readership. Angry colonels and majors, who had been regarding their Pioneer as the true gospel of mperial righteousness, sent frantic telegrams demanding their names to be removed from the subscribers’ list. Wilson, on one occasion, attacked the Commander-in-chief over the lack of progressive army policy. ‘Pray, who the devil are you to do that?’ a choleric colonel wired. What right had a mere civilian to call in question the wisdom of the supreme deity of the Indian military pantheon? The very legitimate right, Wilson replied, that the writer too was among those who had bared their chests to enemy bullets in the Worl War.”
Rama Rao joined him as news editor in May 1930. This paper died in 1931. Rama Rao has described, “Lady Wellingdon, the Viceroy’s wife, had dropped her parasol at a party and the ADC was somewhat tardy in retrieving it. That never too sweet-tempered lady flew into violent tantrum at this. That any rate was the story that Wilson put out in gossip column. The humourless Political Department, bringing it to the atten- tion of Sir Akbar Hydari (Senior), then Dewan of Hyderabad, wanted to know whether it was the paper to which the Nizam had been lending money. There was panic in the capital of Deccan.
Another installment of debentures. which had been promised by the Nizam, was not taken up and the last hope of money flowing into the paper’s coffers disappeared. I reflected wryly that next to Desdemona dropping her handkerchief, Lady Wellingdon’s parasol dropping must be considered the most tragic trifle in history.” From the intercultural point of view of this is an interesting example from India media history.
This was interaction of colonial, princely and journalistic cultures that resulted in the end of Indian Daily Mail. But then there is an interesting insight into the culture of the Fleet Street of those days, “Wilson’s advocacy of the Indian cause put him on the terrible black list of the British Union of Journalists and he could not get back to Fleet Street again. He died a poor, neglected, wretched man, as his last letter to me from England showed.”
Rama Rao worked for may papers with different cultures and one can go on and on. Bu the most impor- tant period in Rama Rao’s career was 1938 to 1946 when he was the editor of the National Herald founded by Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also sentenced to a jail term in 1942. The paper closed and re- opened. It was time of the War too. From inter-cultural point of view some incidents in Rama Rao’s memoirs are significant. He published an article written by a former minister on restrictions to travel to Pashpatinath temple in Nepal under the heading, “God or Guns?” and got a warning. “Promptly I got a warning from Desmond Young who had, bringing it to the attention of Sir Akbar Hydari (Senior), then Dewan of Hyderabad, wanted to know whether it was the paper to which the Nizam had been lending money. There was panic in the capital of Deccan.
Another installment of debentures, which had been promised by the Nizam, was not taken up and the last hope of money flowing into the paper’s coffers disappeared. I reflected wryly that next to Desdemona dropping her handkerchief, Lady Wellingdon’s parasol dropping must be considered the most tragic trifle in history.” From the intercultural point of view of this is an interesting example from Indian media history.
This was interaction of colonila, princely and journalistic cultures that resulted in the end of Indian Daily Mail. But then there is an interesting insight into the culture of the Fleet Street of those days, “Wilson’s advocacy of the Indian cause put him on the terrible list of the British Union of Journalists and he could not get back to Fleet Street again. He died a poor, neglected man, as his last letter to me from England showed.”
Rama Rao worked for may papers with different cultures and one can go on and on. But the most impor- tant period in Rama Rao’s career was 1938 to 1946 when he was the editor of the National Herald founded by Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also sentenced to a jail term in 1942. The paper closed and re- opened. It was time of the War too. From inter-cultural point of view some incidents in Rama Rao’s memoirs are significant. He published an article written by a former minister on restrictions to travel to Pashpatinath temple in Nepal under the heading, “God or Guns?” and got a warning. But warnings never deterred this courageous journalist for whom journalism was a most revered profession.
Sir. C.Y.Chintamani was another notable stalwart of his times. The author of the book, Indian Politics Since the Mutiny. C.Y. Chintamani, became an editor at the age of 18, a legislator at 36 and a minister at 41.
While continuing to wield his pen like a sword, he dominated Indian journalism in the first three decades of the 20th century. His dominance and influence in public life is all the more remarkable when we consider that at a very young age he crossed the Godawari to make Allahabad his karamakshetra. The present book is the result of a series of lectures delivered by the author in Andhra University in 1935. The seven- hour lecture traced the development of public life and political ideas and institutions of India from 1858 to 1935, and sketches and comments upon the polity, politicians and newspapers of the times.
As editor of The Leader in Allahabad, he became an intellectual titan of his time, respected by the British colonial government as well as Indian nationalist leaders. His editorials often ran into several columns and sometimes were continued from one day to another; but people would wait eagerly to read them. At one time, he became a Minister in the United Provinces Government, but took the first opportunity to go back to his editor’s chair.
The Leader was owned by a group of Indian nationalist leaders. In the early stages its board of directors was chaired by Motilal Nehru, When a British Empire Exhibition was held in Allahabad in 1910, Motilal agreed to become chairman of one of the exhibition committees. Chintamani considered this ill-advised and wrote editorials attacking the Chairman of his Board. When an angry Motilal described the editor’s conduct as impertinent, Chintamani’s response was: “As Chairman of the Board of Directors, Motilal has every right to dismiss me. But he cannot tell me what to publish and not publish in the paper”.
Motilal Nehru did what was the most honourable thing to do in the circumstances: He dismissed himself. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the great nationalist visionary, became the new Board Chairman. When the British came up with a reform proposal, Malaviya and the Congress opposed it. Chintamani, as a leader of the Moderate Group, favoured it. The opposing viewpoints clashing openly in The Leader, Chintamani requested permission to resign. Malaviya’s response was: “The Leader can get along without me as Chairman, but it cannot get along without Chintamani as editor”.
| 17.2. Telugu Newspapers and Journals of 19th century |
1831 London Mission Society, Madras, might have started the first Telugu juornal. 1832 The Telugu version of the Madras Chronicle was contemplated.
1833 The first Telugu newspaper appeared in this year according to the evidence of J.Long.
1835 W.Morrison, a member of the Governer General council, had apprehensions about the native press of Madras. Probably he referred to the vernacular press.
1838 Vrittantini. The first known Telugu weekly. Edited by Mandigala Venkataraya Sastry. Appeared from Madras.
1842 Varthamana Tharingini. Madras, Started on June 8th 1842. Editor : Puvvada Venkata Rao.
Publisher : Syed Ramatullah. Ran for more than a decade.
1848 Hithavadi. A monthly published from Machilipatnam and printed at Madras. Editor: Edmond Sharkley. Ran for one and a half decade.
1861 Dinavarthamani : A weekly from Madras. Editor : Peter Percival. Published from Saturdays. Ran till 1872.
1863 Sri Yakshini : A fortnightly from Belalry.
1865 Sujana Ranjini : Run by Vinjamuri Krishnamacharyulu and Bahujanapalli Sitaramacharyulu. Lived only fro two years.
1870 Godavari Vidya Prabhodini : Edited and published by Barrow, Veersalingam started his journalistic career with contributions to this journal.
1871 Andhra Bhasha Sanjeevani : Madras. Edited and published by Kokkonda Venkataratnam Pantulu.
Ran for twelve years till 1883. Restarted in 1882. Lived upto 1899.
1872 Purushardha Pradayini : Published from Machilipatnam. Championed the cause of female educa tion. Springboard of Veeresalingam to wade in his reformisitic writings.
1873 Swadharma Prakasini : Machilipatnam. 1874 Brahmanda Ranjini : Madras.
1874 Loka Ranjini : Madras. 1874 Sudhi Ranjani : Kakinada.
1874 Vidvan – Manoharini : Narasapur.
1874 Vivekavardhini. Rajahmundry. Edited and published by Kandukuri Veeresalingam. Started in October 1874 as a monthly and converted into a fortnightly in July 1876, and made a weekly after many years.
1875 Bharathi. Bellary.
1875 Janavinodini. Edited by V.Krishnamachari. 1875 Sakala Vidhabhivardani. Vishakapatnam. 1875 Swadesi : Berhampore.
1875 Hasyavardhani : Madras. Edited and published by Kokkonda Venkataratnam to abuse Veeresalingam of Vivekavardhani.
1875 Hasya Sanjeevani : Rajahmundry. Started by Veeresalingam of Vivekavardhani to scorn Kokkonda Venkataratnam.
1877 Rayabari. Changallu (W.Godavari) a monthly run by Christian misisonaries. 1879 Mandara Manjari. kakinada.
1883 Sateehitabodhini. Rajahmundry. Started by Veeresalingam of Vivekavardhani as a women’s journal.
1885 Amudhrita Grandha Chintamani. Nellore. 1886 Grandha Pradarshini.
1888 Satyadoota. Madras. Christian Literature Society. 1889 Edited by V.Krishnamachari.
1891 Chintamani. Rajahmundry. Edited by Nyapathi Subba Rao. Printed at Vivekavardhani Press. A monthly magazine.
1891 Satya Samvardhini : An anglo-vernacular monthly of the prardhana Samajam. Edited by Kandukuri Veeresalingam. Ran till 1901.
1894 Sasi Lekha : A weekly. 1894 Editor : P.S.Charlu.
1897 Satya Sadhani : Madras. Journal of Theosophical society. 1898 Manjuvani. Eluru. Bi-monthly.
1898 Saraswathi : Rajahmundry. Published by Zaminder of Polavaram. 1899 Vagvalli : Nellore. Editor : K.V.Ramanuja Sarma.
1884 Jana Vinodini : Children’s magazine. Madras. 1908 Vivekavathi : Children’s monthly.
1940 Bharathi : Longest surviving Telugu literary monthly. 1944 Baala : First full-fledged children’s magazine in Telugu.
1952 Baala Prabha : Children’s weekly started by P.Madhava Sarma from Vijayawada. 1946 Mahila : Komarraju Atchamamba. Women’s monthly journal.
1944 Andhra Mahila. Founded by Durgabai Deshmukh for women.
1967 Mahilodaya. Edited by Manoharam from Vijayawada. Woman’s journal.
| 17.3. Summary |
The History of newspapers and journals in Telugu, as in other languages, is a saga of sacrifice and devotion to nationalist ideals. Profit or other commercial aspects never were dominant considerations. Even the rare example of a financially successful venture like the Andhra Patrika can be said to have done so more due to the affection of the Andhra people to the newspaper than any other consideration.
There were some journals earlier but Andhra Patrika, started as a periodical in Bombay in 1908 soon became popular because the founder, P.K.Nageswara Rao Pantulu, himself an eminent scholar, sent copies free to libraries and reading rooms all over Andhra. The contents of the periodical reflect the history of Telugu during the 20th century. The Patrika was shifted to Madras in 1914 and became a daily. On Nageswara Rao’s death in 1938, his son-in-law, Sambu Prasad, took over. In 1965 it was again shifted to Vijayawada. The paper was dominant in spreading Gandhiji’s ideals in the nooks and corners of Andhra. The memory of Andhra Patrika remains a matter of pride to Telugus.
Apart from nationalist ideals, one other subject that occupied the attention of the founders of Telugu newspapers was the style of the language. There were simple styles as in Vemana’s verses or the Sumathi Satakam. Even Pothana’s Bhaghavatham can be said to be in a simple style of Telugu, compared to poets like Nannaya, or Srinatha. But grammarians, especially during the 19th century, locked up the language in an ununderstandable literary straight jacket that caused a large-scale revolt in the early 20th century. The most notable of the scholars who led this movement were Gurjada Apparao and Gidugu Ramamurthi. Their main rival was the Parishat Patrika, in which such eminent scholars as Jayanti Ramayya Pantulu, Veeresalingam, Vedam Venkatraya Sastri and others stoutly opposed what they felt was debasing the language in the name of simplification. Their fears to some extent have been justified by the success of the votaries of “as we speak we write”. Some sort of poetic justice can be seen in the writings of these people which, submerged in an ocean of colloquialism, make little sense to Telugu readers themselves and can be understood only if translated into better Telugu or even into English. There have been may other newspapers and periodicals that came to prominence in the first half of the 20th century. Some of these are – Krishna Patrika, Golconda Patrika, Andhra Prabha, Andhra Sahitya Parishat Patrika, and Bharathi (monthly).
Krishna Patrika is one of those few journals that has not only survived, but has continued to serve the cause of Indian nationalism through various phases of our country’s history.
This could happen only because it was
- founded by the vision of a great patriotic-editor, Deshabhakta Konda Venkatappaiah Pantulu;
- nurtured and developed by the life-long tapasya of another great nationalist editor, Mutnuri Krishna Rao;
- and is being sustained by the present editor, Shri Piratla Venkateswarulu, who deservedly belongs to the same fine
The fact that even the renowned Congress leader, Dr.Pattabhi Seetharamaiah, was the editor of this journal shows what a great stature and prestige it enjoyed during those days.
Krishna Patrika was a torch that was lit by the flames of India’s Freedom Struggle. This torch in turn lighted the fire of nationalist passion in the hearts and minds of millions of people in Andhra Pradesh. I am todl that it began as a paper to create mass awareness about nationalist politics, social reforms, and cultural revival. Above all, it highlighted the plight of farmers under the British rule.
It is when newspapers and journals touched the hearts of the kisans of India that the Freedom Movement. acquired a mss character. Mahatma Gandhi understood this very well. That is why, he dressed and lived like the ordinary Indian and spoke in the Idiom that Indian farmers understood. It is not surprising that Mutunuri Krishna Rao, who edited Krishna patrika for four long decades from 1905 to 1945, came under the profound influence of Mahatma Gandhi. he was also deeply influenced by Bipin Chandra Pal and Yogi Aurobindo. Like the “Bande Mataram” of Aurobindo in Bengal, or the “Kesari” of Lokamanya Tilak in Maharashtra, or numerous other nationalist publications of that times, Krishna Patrika was not concerned with India’s plitical independence alone. Every language, of India had such courageous journals, which strove for the all-round resurgence of the Indian nation based on Indian values and a revival of Indian agriculture and industry.
All the great editors of those times wielded their pens with the persuasive power of good teachers when they addressed Indians, and with combative firmness when they addressed the colonial rulers.
Frequently, they went to jail on charges of sedition.
What is notable is that, unlike the trend that is in some fashion these days, the editors and writers those days did not write for self-projection or for creating a sensation.
Mutnuri Krishna Rao was, indeed, so self-effacing that he was respectfully called a “Mauna Yogi”, a silent meditator and worker. It is only such self-less striving that produces great publications, publications that stand the test of time. The editors of the Swaraj era were also men and women of firm personal convic- tions. they did not hesitate to express their views even though these were at times unpopular.
| 17.4. Model Questions |
- Trace the history of Telugu
- Discuss important early journalists and explain their contribution to Telugu
- Explain how Krishna Patrika occupies an eminent position in the annals of Telugu
