Urdu journalism in India
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Lucknow
As in 2022
Arshad Afzaal Khan, March 21, 2022: The Times of India
One-and-half centuries later, the crucible of Urdu journalism, Lucknow, is struggling to keep the flame alive.
Lucknow: Exactly 200 years ago in the month of March, undivided India’s first Urdu newspaper — Jam-e-Jahan Numa — edited by Hari Har Dutt and Sada Sukh Lal, rolled out of a printing press in Calcutta, mobilizing opinion on social issues, freedom struggle and nation building.
Thirty-six years later, well-known Urdu litterateur Munshi Nawal Kishor published — Awadh Akhbar — the first Urdu newspaper from Lucknow, which was in the vanguard of Urdu journalism, just a year after the first uprising against British.
It was the most popular newspaper of its time, specialising in politics, social reform and literature and soon became the fulcrum of Urdu journalism.
One-and-half centuries later, the crucible of Urdu journalism, Lucknow, is struggling to keep the flame alive. Barring a couple of newspapers, published by Hindi media groups, majority of Urdu publications from Lucknow and its suburbs have little or no circulation and are mere statistics in UP information department records. In sharp contrast, Urdu print and digital media has managed to thrive in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Srinagar.
On Saturday, the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association, Lucknow, organised a seminar at Islamic Centre of India in Lucknow, to mark 200 years of Urdu journalism. The meet presided over by Islamic Centre chairman Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali was attended by Prof Shafey Kidwai, chairman department of journalism,AMU, and Urdu author Masood Usmani. Syed Shoeb, secretary of AMU Old Boys Association told TOI that “AMU has produced some of the finest Urdu journalists of the sub-continent and one of the leading names include Maulana Abdul Majid Dariyabadi. On his 120th birth anniversary, we organised this seminar. Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Asrar-ul Haq Majaz, Josh Malihabadi, Rasheed Ahmad Siddiqui, Ali Sardar Jafri are other prominent AMU alumni, who contributed to Urdu writing.”
Talking about the slow death of Urdu journalism in Lucknow, a local scribe, Asad Rizvi said, “With no revenue model and dwindling readership, Urdu newspapers are dying here. Also, the GenNext can hardly read or write the language.”
Hyderabad, where Urdu has a distinct Deccani flavour, has managed to keep the flag aloft and Urdu newspapers still shape opinion. And these include Munsif, Siaisat, Etmaad, Rahmuma-e-Dakkan and Adab-e-Telangana. In Mumbai, Urdu News and Urdu Times are prominent newspapers with a wide reach.
“The older generation in Lucknow, who were born 10-20 years after independence can read and write Urdu. Today, Muslim youths have lost interest and given the language a miss. Urdu has also lost relevance in government school syllabi ringing a death knell to the language,” said Nadir Wahaab Khan, a senior Lucknow journalist. Notably, it was Hindu scholars and writers, who took Urdu journalism to great heights in Lucknow.
Prominent among them were Munshi Naval Kishor, Dharam Narayan Bhaskar, Lala Dina Nath, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sufi Amba Prasad, Munshi Daya Narayan Nigam, Sardar Diwan Singh, Desh Bandhu Gupta, Jamna Das Akhtar and Mohan Chiragi
