Summary of History of Urdu Press in Subcontinent

The printing press in the subcontinent was first established by the Portuguese Christian missionaries at
Goa with the sole objective of propagating the Christian faith. Little did they know that the same printing
press would later become a tool in the hands of the ruled classes to voice their dissent towards the
ruling class. Later, when the British firmly established themselves in the subcontinent after successfully
suppressing the Indian Revolt in 1857, almost all the newspapers were printed in English, satisfying the
top bureaucrats and officers in India. At that time, the focus of journalism was not to let the government
know about the wishes of the public, but to let to the public know about the wishes of the government.
This stands in sharp contrast to the democratic principles of journalism today in which the media acts as
the voice of the people.

The East India Company made sure that it tolerated no opposition by passing the Adams Regulation in
1823 which bound the press to a licensing system. No person could print or publish a newspaper
without a duly issued license of the Governor General in Council. Britain which is one of the strongest
advocates of free speech today can only be ashamed of its history; suppressing dissenting voices in its
colonies throughout the world. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan made several efforts at this time to bridge the
wedge between the Muslims and the British. He produced a pamphlet called the ‘The Causes of the
Indian Revolt’ to let the British know that the mutiny was due to the frustration, oppression and
economic marginalization of the Muslims and not because of a natural prejudice against the British.

With renowned figures like Mawlana Zafar Ali Khan, Mawlana Mohammad Ali Johar, Mawlana Abul
Kalam Azad & Mawlana Hasrat Mohani occupying Muslim Journalism in the first half of the twentieth
century, the world was to see a new form of militant journalism come into existence. After the 1857
revolt, the Indians in general and the Muslims in particular had decided that they had had enough of the
barbarism of the colonists. They lacked the physical means to rise against the British so they turned to
the media to voice their hatred. Mawlana Zafar Ali Khan in his infamous newspaper ‘Zamindar’ clamored
against British imperialism with all force. He got arrested several times but that did not change his
stance. During World War I, he published the victories of the German and Ottoman forces against the
British, which angered the British further. Mawlana Mohammad Ali Johar on the other hand, with his
newspaper, ‘The Comrade,’ signified a remarkable turning point in Muslim journalism.

Before this time, Muslim journalism was primarily submissive. With Comrade, the Muslims dared to be
more open about their impatience with British policies. He held adamantly in support of the Congress,
but with the publishing of the Nehru Report in 1928 which denied the Muslims separate electoral status
and provincial autonomy in the Muslim majority provinces, he joined the Muslim League. Mawlana Abul
Kalam Azad published the weekly journal ‘The Crescent Moon’ in 1912 which called for a moderate
interpretation of religion amongst the religious classes while at the same time trying to instil a new form
of reverence of religion amongst the educated and liberal Muslim class. This newspaper too, focused
mainly on the situation of the Ottoman Caliphate in Turkey. Mawlana Hasrat Mohani on the other hand,
was more concerned about the fate of Urdu journalism and published a literary magazine called ‘Urdu-e-
Moalla’ which condemned the nefarious designs of British rulers and their treacherous policies in the
Indo-Pak subcontinent. Such militant journalism blended classical literature with revolutionary politics.

With increasing separation from the Hindus, the Muslim press was awakened to a new reality to protect
the identity of the Muslims in the events that unfolded. The British were the victors in World War I, but
had suffered huge economic losses which meant that they were soon going to leave the colonized lands.
At this time, the Muslim press functioned primarily to awaken a nationalistic sense amongst the
Muslims, pressing for the two-nation theory. With the defeat of the Muslim League in the 1937 elections
however, the Muslim League leaders and intellectuals had to plan a new strategy to mould public
opinion in their favour. In the period from 1938 to 1947, many English and Urdu newspapers
vociferously voiced Muslim political aspirations. It was at this time that the eminent journalist Altaf
Husain contributed articles concerning Muslim politics in the ‘Statesman.’ Newspapers like ‘Millat’ and
‘Tanzeem’ worked to counter the arguments of the Congress. The representative Dawn was started by
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1942 from Delhi, to support the Muslim League and its
demands. Nawa-i-Waqt started by Hamid Nizami and Hamid Mahmud also fully supported the Muslim
League. Before this time, most Muslim newspapers were anti-British, not anti-Congress. It was only after
1940 when the Pakistan Resolution was passed, that newspapers adopted a pro-Muslim League stance.
In other words, the Muslim press began to stress the two-nation theory and did not voice the concerns
of Muslims who objected to the notion.

But this is not to say that the demand for a separate state did not exist before. Indeed, one of the
journals named ‘Muhazzib’ edited by Abdul Alam Sharar, did propose a partition of the subcontinent
into two separate dominions long ago in 1890. Mawlana Mohammad Ali Johar too once suggested in his
humorous column in 1913 of the separation of the subcontinent into two independent dominions. But
the real push towards independence by the media was made after the Pakistan Resolution was passed
when the Hindu press wrote against the very idea of Pakistan. The more the Hindu Press published
articles against the two-nation theory, the more the Muslim press felt charged to defend the idea of
separatism.

Conclusively, the Muslim press has throughout the ages adopted a reactionary approach to world events
rather than following a fixed agenda. Turning enemies into friends and friends into enemies was just a
matter of political expediency. It sided with the British at times, and turned against them at other times,
moulding Muslim public opinion along the way. It seems that the same uncertainty characterizes the
media landscape in Pakistan today, when many television channels and newspapers criticize the US.
when the politics of the situation find it favourable, but appreciate its policies when it is politically
convenient. Unless such dichotomy is resolved, the media in Pakistan will fail to have a voice of its own,
and serve primarily to be a voice for the elite who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

Role of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Muhammad Ali Johar, Maulana Hasrat
Mohani, Hameed Nizami in Urdu Press of the sub-continent
A. Role of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s role in promoting and establishing Urdu journalism
was monumental. He launched Syed-ul-Akhbar (1836), Risala khair khwah- i-
musalmanan (1860), Aligarh Institute Gazette (1866) and Tehzeeb-ul-
akhlaq (1870).
 Prof Dr Asghar Abbas, former head of the Urdu department at India’s
Aligarh Muslim University, has spent decades researching Sir Syed’s life,
works and his journalistic achievements. Prof Abbas’s book Sir Syed ki
sahafat is based on his research dissertation and a thorough study of the
Aligarh Institute Gazette. The magazine had a life span of 32 years and the total number of pages
it printed must have been around 32,000.
 Another summary about his work:
 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh Movement who operated in every sphere
of life for the amelioration of his co-religionists after the holocaust of 1857. Religion, politics,
education, social reforms were all in the gamut of his thought. His periodicals i.e. Scientific Society
Magazine and Tehzeeb ul Akhlaq were the mouth piece of Sir Syed’s ideals wherein he stressed
on rationalism, empiricism and dynamism. He exhorted that if Muslims did not move with the
time, all their values would be overthrown by the Western challenges. They, therefore, should
imbibed pragmatism and shun away obscurantism. The present paper will give a complete
detail of his two famous periodicals through which he carried out the challenging task of the
renaissance of his co-religionists. The failure of the 1857 War of Independence had disastrous
repercussions for the Muslims as the British placed all the responsibility for this event on
them. Determined to stop such a recurrence in future, the British followed deliberately a
repressive policy against the Muslims. Persian as the official language was replaced with English.
The Muslim law was replaced by English law in 1833.
In the realm of journalism, the British also played a hawk on Muslims’ press due to its anti-
government policy. Maulana Muhammad Baqir, the editor of Urdu Delhi Akhbar, was killed by a British
army commander, on the plea that he was allegedly involved in the murder of Taylor, the Christian
principal of Delhi College. Secondly, the arrest warrant of Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad,
the son of Muhammad Baqir, was issued by British government. As a result, he had to go into hiding for
his protection which greatly suffered his journalistic career. Thirdly, Jamal-ud-din, the editor of Sadiq-ul-
Akhbar, was given three years imprisonment. Lastly, many Muslim newspapers such as Sultan-ul-
Akhbar, Gulshan-e-Nowbahar, Siraj-ul-Akhbar were closed in 1857 under the black Indian Press
Laws. As a result of these measures, the Muslim press was completely dissolved. J. Natarajan says that
in 1853 there were only 35 newspapers but in 1858, the number reduced to 12 in which only the editor
of one newspaper was a Muslim.3At such critical juncture, Syed Ahmad Khan came and took the task of
the revival/resurrection of the Muslim press with new trends. Born in 1817 at Dehli, Syed Ahmad
Khan played a pivotal role in the Muslims’ renaissance. He rendered valuable services for the Muslims of
the subcontinent in the field of education, religion, social life and politics. In the field of
journalism, his reputable periodicals left unprecedented imprints on Indian history due to his
new policy of soft and responsible journalism. He criticized the aggressive policy of the Muslim
journalists which led to the liquidation of the Muslim press. He criticized the government in a
balanced and rational way. He castigated the government on the bases of solid arguments rather
than passions. That is why the British authorities heard to his advices and criticism. Due to his soft
policy of journalism, his periodicals were never banned by the government.4 Syed Ahmad Khan started
his journalistic career in 1837 at the age of 20 by contributing articles to Urdu weekly, Syed-ul-Akhbar,
launched by Syed Muhammad Khan, the elder brother of Syed Ahmad Khan. Mirza Ghalib also
contributed his literary work in it because there was close friendship between Syed Ahmad Khan and
Ghalib. After the demise of Syed Muhammad Khan in 1846, the paper was patronized by Syed Ahmad
Khan. Due to paucity of funds and the busy schedule of Syed Ahmad the paper was closed in 1850. In
order to vent room to his ideas, Syed Ahmad Khan started two periodicals i.e. Scientific Society
Magazine and Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq in 1866 and 1870 respectively. Syed Ahmad Khan established
Scientific Society on 9th January 1864 at Ghazipur which he later on shifted to Aligarh in the same year
due to his transfer to Aligarh. The society published Urdu translations of standard English works on
chemistry, physics, light, heat and other scientific subjects as well as elementary and advanced works on
mathematics. Under the society, he launched Scientific Society Magazine on 3rd March 1866. It was a
bilingual magazine published in both Urdu and English languages. In the beginning it was weekly
but later on it was published twice a week. The magazine served two purposes. Firstly, it was a
source of learning English and secondly it served the purpose of education because Syed Ahmad
Khan’s lectures on politics, society, education, history, science were conveyed to the public via this
magazine. The magazine comprised of 16 pages. Each page was divided into two columns i.e.
one in Urdu and other in English. First half of the first page covered the name of the paper which was in
special format and adds to its beauty and attraction. Below it there was a motto in Urdu and
English. “To permit the liberty of the press is the part of a wise government. To preserve it is the
part of free people.” . [This motto shows that how did Syed Ahmad Khan cleverly demand the
liberty of the press from a usurper government. The subscription rate was six paisa per copy while the
charge for six lines advertisement was Rs. 1. In case of more than six lines, each line charged one paisa
then. Each column was 10 inches in length and 3.5 inches in breadth. It consisted of 28% news, 13%
editorials while the remaining part was allocated to current affairs. In the news part, 2/3
related to national while 1/3 concerned with international news. The national news was taken
from authentic English newspapers more particularly from The Pioneer while the international
news was taken from telegraph.9 Its news was authentic and reliable. In order to verify the accuracy of
a certain news people would refer to see it in this periodical first. It avoided stories and anecdotes
based on hearsay. Secondly, it would castigate the government in a balanced way on solid arguments
rather than passions. Consequently, it was not targeted by the British Indian government. Thirdly, it was
not a communal newspaper i.e. it never targeted a particular community. Fourthly, its editorials
were written personally by Syed Ahmad Khan because editorial reflects the policy of a periodical.
They were in easy language and based on analysis. Lastly, it played a vital role in the development of
Urdu. It innovated easy, simple and fluent style of Urdu. It stressed the Muslims to distinguish laws and
social customs and institutions from religion in its strict sense.10On 8th September, 1876, it adopted
the name of The Aligarh Institute Gazette because another newspaper i.e. Progress was merged with it.
The Progress has been launched by Raja Jigat Singh Bahadar, the Nawab of Tajpur.
At the request of the Nawab, the newspaper was merged with Scientific Society
Magazine. It continued its publication for 32 years (1866-98). Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq:Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq,
also known as The Muhammadan Social Reformer, was another periodical of Syed Ahmad Khan. The
sole aim of this journal was the moral and social reformation of the Muslims of the
subcontinent. Syed Ahmad Khan had brought the idea of reformation when he had gone to England in
1870.12 In England he was inspired from the social, literature and educational reformation
magazine i.e. The Tatler and The Spectator. Its co-contributors were two famous English
essayists i.e. Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. Syed Ahmad Khan inspired from these journals
and later on decided to launch a same reformation journal in the subcontinent. After returning to
India, he materialized the idea by launching Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq on 24th December 1870. In order
to meet its expenses, Syed Ahmad Khan had constituted a committee, each member contributed Rs.
60/- per annum. It was in Urdu and published thrice a month. Each issue varied from 8 to 16 pages.
Each page was divided into two columns. It had also a motto in Arabic:
“The love of one’s own nation is an article of faith. Whoever strives to
ennoble his nation, also ennobles his religion.”

It had three phases of publication. The first phase was 1870-77 in which a total of 222
articles were published. Among them 112 articles were written by Syed Ahmad Khan. During this phase
its annual subscription was Rs.4. The second phase was 1880-82 during which 67 articles were published
in all in which Syed Ahmad Khan contributed 23 articles. During this phase its annual subscription was
Rs.4.8. The third and last phase was 1894-97 during which most of the articles were written
by Syed Ahmad Khan himself. During this phase its annual subscription was Rs.6.19 The journal
adopted a reformative style in all walks of life including religion, society, ethics, education. It was
strong critic of old-fashioned ideas and traditions and rejected blind imitation. It advocated progressive
and modern line of thinking. It was opined that western thought could not be presented in Urdu
but Syed Ahmad Khan did it in a beautiful way, proving the fact that every type of thought could
be presented in it if someone had skill and potential. Many important leaders were attached to
it. These were Maulana Shibli Naumani, Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali, Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk, Nawab
Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Deputy Nazir Ahmad, and Maulvi Zakaullah. These personalities were authority
on Urdu literature.21 Its editorials were mostly written Tahir Khan himself which were in simple and
easy language. They covered recent issues and based on arguments and analysis. It played a vital role in
the development of Urdu language and journalism. It also laid stress on acquiring technical
education.22 Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq had many adversaries. The journal, in order to address them, did not
treat them aggressively. It rather criticized them in humorous way. The first opposition came from
Hindu press which castigated it because the journal had decreased the circulation of the Hindu
periodicals. The second critics were the ulema who criticized it due to Syed Ahmad Khan’s
rationalistic approach in religion. The feudal lords were also against Syed Ahmad Khan because he
wanted modernization and education of the people which meant hitting at the vested interests of the
feudalists.

Conclusively, Syed Ahmad Khan laid the foundation of sober and responsible
journalism in subcontinent. He convinced his contemporaries that vitriolic journalism could
not save the interests of the Muslims. His periodicals i.e. The Aligarh Institute Gazette and
Tehzeeb ul Akhlaq championed the cause of Muslims’ renaissance. The Aligarh Institute Gazette
exhorted the Muslims to understand the significance of modern science in the modern world. Tehzeeb
ul Akhlaq engaged with the questions of morals and manners. It aimed at promoting a rational religious
outlook among Muslims, furthering the cause of education in Western and oriental branches of
learning, reminding Muslims of their past glory and at disseminating new cultural values in
order to civilize them. The journal also played a great role in impressing upon Muslims not to squander
away money in wasteful channels, abandon un-Islamic customs and to take greater interest in
business and commerce. The journal in fact covered all aspects of life. The significance of the Syed
Ahmad’s periodicals is evident from the fact that most of the forth coming newspapers that appeared
later on followed the policy of these periodicals.

B. Role of Muhammad Ali Johar

1. A life Sketch: Muhammad Ali Jauhar was borne in 1878. His father died
when he was only two years old. His mother – well known as “Be Amma‟ gave
full attention towards his education. He learnt Urdu and Persian at home and
graduated from Ali Garh university in 1896 with distinction. He went to Oxford
afterwards for higher education and earned good name as the first ever Indian
secretary of the society in Oxford University. Muhammad Ali on return from
England served on a good post in state o Rampur and also contributed articles
in English newspapers. He entered practicing journalism in 1911, when he launched his English weekly
newspaper, “ COMRADE” from Calcutta. Later it was shifted to Delhi. The purpose of starting this
newspaper was to develop political consciousness in the circles of educated Muslims. Secondly to
provide up to date point of view o Muslims to ruling class. Articles of national and international interest
were published in the newspaper. Sometimes a poem was also published

2. Jauhar’s Concept of Journalism. His concept of journalism was as under:

 A newspaper ought to be impersonal and criticism should be based on principles with no

consideration of friend and foe.
 Content of the newspaper should be written with sobriety and a purpose.
  The aim of newspaper should be to work for the betterment of own nation and it should not think
of harming the interest of other nations.
 Religious controversies to be avoided.
 The newspaper should carry maximum news and these must be credible.
 The editorial should be written about most important current event with proper research and
study of relevant material.
 A journalist is not only spokesman of the people but he also guides and helps people in
formulating public opinion.

3. Political views of Muhammad Ali Jauhar. Muahammad Ali Jauhar was a political activist and struggled
for the rights of Indian Muslims bravely. He once wrote in Comrade:

“ We don‟t have any faith in slogan that India is united… however a united nation can be created with
mutual understanding and good will…. Ours would not be a marriage created through love and poetry
but based on convenience of two participants …. Today united India does not exist … we have to create
it and for that it is essential to accept now that India is not united . “

4. Muhammad Ali Jauhar propagated the concept of two nation theory a time when it was still passing
through infancy. He wrote many editorials to support separate electorate for Muslims. He supported the
partition of Bengal and later protested against its annulment. He was amongst the founders of Khilafat
Movement and actively participated in the struggle for restoration of Khilafat in Turkey. In London
Round Table Conference he spoke for the rights of Muslims of whole world.

5. COMRADE. Weekly Comrade was an English newspaper and was started on 11 January1911 from a
scratch. It appeared with a bang. It was first English newspaper owned and edited by a Muslim. It added
to Muslims pride. All other English newspapers which were either owned by British or Anglo-Indians
supported the government, but Comrade stood against the government. Its language and the
conceptualization was admired by other contemporaries. Muhammad Ali Jauhar combined knowledge
with intellect and conviction, which enhanced it appeal. The objective of Comrade was firstly to make
government aware of the problems faced by the people and secondly to communicate with educated
elite of native Indians and other Muslim countries as well. In 1914 at the start of First World War a
British newspaper.”London Times published an anti Turk article “The Choice of Turks”. Jauher produced
an article in defence of Turks after working for 40 hours. It was published on Sep26, 1914. The British
government took it seriously and Comrade was closed and Jauhar was put behind bars along with his
brother Shaukat Ali .

6. HAMDARD. It was an Urdu newspaper. It was started so as to communicate with bulk of native
Muslim population in their own language; its first edition was published on February 23, 1913. It grew
from one page to 16 pages. It used to be published on naskh printing, but it was not liked by the readers
hence was reverted to llitho printing in nastaliq. People gave good response and its circulation went up
to 10,000, however it was closed down in august 1915 as soon as first world war started.
7. Contribution of Muhammad Ali Jauhar in Jounalism. Main contributions are as under:
a. It promoted sober, solemn and rational journalism with particular focus on factual correctness.
b. Not only reflected the public opinion, but also guided it.
c. Increasing the circulation by commercial consideration was never accepted at cost of professional
ethics.
d. Promoted Quality Journalism viz-a-viz Popular Journalism of “Zamindar”.
e. Hired services of Reuter and AP. Also appointed correspondents.
f. Editorial conference was started like English newspapers.
g. Wrote with caution but at the same time did not hesitate giving his views on issues.
h. Collected the writers of high caliber, like Syed Hashmi, Qazi Abdul Ghaffar, Jalib Delhvi, Abdul Haleem
sharar.

C. Role of Moulana Zafar Ali Khan

1. The newspaper “Zamindar” was founded by Moulana Sirajuddin Ahmed in
1903. On his death the newspaper was taken over by his son Zafar Ali Khan in
1909. During the lifetime of Sirajuddin Zamindar primarily focused on the
problems of agriculturist community and its circulation never increased 2000
mark. But Zafar Ali Khan revolutionized the newspaper and took it to the
heights which were touched by no other newspaper of that day.

2. Zafar Ali Khan was a graduate of Aligarh. He served in various capacities. He earned good name as a
high caliber translator after he translated the book “Gardens of Persia” written by Governor Lord
Curzon.

3. After assuming the editorship of Zamindar in 1909 Zafar ALI Khan took zamindar on the heights of
popularity and political activism. During period 1909-1919 the circulation of the paper reached 30,000
mark. No other newspaper had touched this figure. On the other hand due to its highly emotional stance
on certain issues it was asked eleven times to deposit fresh security amounts. Most of the time people
deposited the amount. Zafar ali khan was also interned more than once for lengthy periods.

4. During First World War( 1914- 1919), Zamindar was asked not to publish any war news. Without
mentioning the war attraction of newspaper for the public was difficult to maintain. So it was closed
down temporarily and Zafar Ali Khan started another magazine “Sitara-e- Subah. It was a literary and
non political weekly magazine. Zafar Ali Khan discovered a new target for his inflammatory and
emotional journalism. This time it was Pir and Soofi. He campaigned against corrupt pirs and soofi both
in prose and poetry and disclosed many malpractices exercised in the garb of religion.

5. Comments on contents of Zamindar. Zamindar emerged at a time when two leading newspapers of
that time ; Akhbar e Aam and Paisa Akhbar were very popular among people of Punjab. It took the lead
and soon it was much ahead of them. This was due to the reason that Zafar Ali Khan made Zamindar
areal newspaper. Its contents are worth commenting:

a. For the first time , Zamindar purchased news from Reuter and Associated Press of India. All other
newspapers used to translate news from English papers and publish next day. These were stale news .
Zamindar was the first newspaper which published fresh news like English contemporaries. In order to
enable the readers to carry out comparison , Zamindar also published the translation of news and essays
taken from prominent newspapers of Muslim world.

b. Translation of articles from English newspapers were published by all urdu newspaper, but the quality
of translation cum content published in Zamindar was of a very high standard. The selection of articles
was also very good.

c. Zafar Ali Khan redesigned editorial page and made so attractive and interesting that attention of
readers was instantly grabbed.
d. Zafar Ali Khan created elegance in Urdu journalism. His style of writing was new which combined
reason with literary touch. He promoted variety in selection topics. He was the first one to use poetry
with political touch in an impassioned manner with effect.

e. In those days the make up of the newspapers used to be very dull. Zamindar made innovations in this
field as well. It introduced two column headlines and bigger headline so as to attract the people and also
enable them to have a fair idea about main news in short time.

f. It projected the Muslim cause effectively. It covered Battle of Tripoli and Battle Balkan in support of
Turkey. It published the news of Muslim world and motivated the Muslims about the unity and Muslim
brotherhood.

6. Contributions of Zamindar.

a. It developed the taste for newspaper reading and became a symbol of popular journalism. People
used to wait for the newspaper. In Khyber Pakhtunkhaw people used to buy newspaper in one anna and
spend another anna to make somebody to read aloud the newspaper for them.

b. For ;the first time newspaper was used effectively as a part of political campaign and t mould
people‟s opinion for a cause. It developed techniques to influence the people effectively.

c. It refined a number of journalists. Prominent among them are; Niaz Fatehpuri,Moulana Abdullah,
Munshi Wajahat Hussain, Abdul Majid Salik, and Ghulam Rasul Mehar.

d. Invented new phrases, words and political terminologies which are used even today.

e. Zafar Ali Khan gave the courage to the press to speak truth without the fear of foreign rule or the fear
of closure of newspaper and confiscation of printing press.

f. In the words of Mohammad Ali Jauhar “Zamindar was best newspaper of its time but lacked the
elegance of‟ Wakil”‟. It adopted an emotional oratory in journalism which was the hallmark of Lahore
journalists.

7. Conclusion. At the end of first world war in 1919 Zamindar was restarted by Zafar Ali Khan, till 1937
Zamindar followed policy of Indian National Congress, i.e. fighting against foreign rule and stressing
Hindu-Muslim collaboration to gain independence . After 1937, Zamindar favored Muslim League for a
separate homeland for Muslims. It criticized those who were against the demand for a separate identity
of Muslims including Majlis-e-Ahrar and Khaksar Tehrik.

D. Role of Molana Hasrat Mohani

It was in May 1951, when Muslim India lost one of its greatest and most
illustrious sons in Maulana Fazlul Hasan Hasrat Mohani who was the living
symbol of Iqbal's conception of Mumin (True Muslim).

Hasrat was born at Mohan, District Unnao (UP) in 1875. He topped the list
of successful candidates in Urdu Middle Examination of UP, was admitted
to Government High School, Fatehpur, and passed the High School
Examination with distinction, obtaining a scholarship. He graduated from
The Anglo-Muhammadan College, Aligarh, in 1903 with distinction. He professed progressive and
independent views during his college days and openly opposed British domination over India.
He started his celebrated journal "Urdu-i-Mu`alla" from Aligarh in 1904 which was the best literary and
political magazine in Urdu of its time in India. Prominent literary and political figures of the country,
including the Maulana himself, used to contribute to it. An article entitled: "British Policy in Egypt",
published in it was legally regarded seditious by the Indian Government. The Maulana was asked to
disclose the name of the author, but he declined to do so and preferred to undergo one year's rigorous
imprisonment plus Rs 500 as fine. He raised his solitary voice in favour of freedom of the press, when
people shuddered even to utter a word against the Government, and the Congress leaders used to pass
resolutions in support of British rule in India.

Maulana Hasrat published "Urdu-i-Mu`alla" firstly from Aligarh and later on from Cawnpore where he
had migrated and settled down for the rest of his life. He greatly contributed to popularising `Ghalib' by
publishing an authentic but cheap key of Ghalib's Urdu Diwan. Formerly, reference books on Ghalib like
Hali's Memoirs of Ghalib and the key written by Taba Tabai, were too voluminous and limited to higher
circles only. The key written by the Maulana became very popular. He wrote on the principles of
criticism and the art of poetry in his magazine "Nuqat-i-Sukhan" (Secrets of Verse). He showed the
correct attitude to budding poets and writers by his enlightened criticism of literature. He also brought
out the forgotten poets out of their obscurity, by publishing their works in this journal. He created a
good taste for poetry among the people by publishing the selected works of Urdu poets. In this respect,
he may be termed the prototype of Maulvi Abdul Haq.

The Maulana was perhaps the first political prisoner in British India convicted under the Press Laws. He
had to undergo rigorous imprisonment and was not treated as a luxurious "A" Class Prisoner, but like
ordinary criminal convicts. He was given the following garments for his use in the jail: a knicker, a shirt, a
cap, a piece of jute cloth and a rough dirty blanket for his bedding. A big iron cup was supplied for eating
and for other necessities. In order to realize the fine, the Magistrate confiscated the valuable books and
rare manuscripts of his library and auctioned them for a paltry sum. These books were his only earthly
possessions. He was kept in solitary confinement and had to grind one maund of wheat per day which is
not an easy task and requires much physical labour to which the Maulana was totally unaccustomed. He
was, whipped for any loss of wheat which was sometimes deliberately stolen by his wards. His body
bore the marks of whipping inflicted in jail. The Maulana wrote in his "Urdu-i-Mu`lla" that, in the
beginning, he really felt the rigour of jail life and was much distressed by his meagre clothing and lack of
proper arrangement for ablution which served as great obstacles in offering his prayers. After
sometimes, he was habituated to this sort of life and he realized that bliss lies not in multiplicity of
wants but in their negation and was thankful to God for all his trials and tribulations. He was trained to
lead a simple life, free of wants, which steeled his character and gave him courage to live up to his
convictions and raised his voice in support of truth. It was the first trial of the Maulana. His very life was
a struggle against the forces of evil. He propagated the boycott of Italian goods during the War
whereupon his poor (small) press was called upon to submit a security of Rs 3,000 by the Government of
Sir James Meston. He had to close his magazine and start another one named "Tazkira-i-Shu`araa"
(History of Poets). In 1916, he was again sent to jail for two years under the Safety Act. He was put to
greatest hardships during this term. His pair of spectacles was confiscated, none was allowed to see him
and he had to grind wheat throughout the holy month of Ramadhaan. During his imprisonment, he was
unnecessarily transferred to dozens of places and at one place he was given very dirty clothes to wear.
He was taken in chains from one place to another and during his journey once he was not paid even one
anna per day which was given to ordinary convicts on such occasions and he had to remain content with
a handful of rotten gram for the whole day.
Such hardships tended to steel the Maulana's character and taught him to lead an abstemious life,
caring for and fearing none except God. These were the stimulants which brought out the nobler traits
of his character and taught him to live up to his convictions, leading a life which would serve as beacon
light to the strugglers for truth and freedom of future generations. His dynamic personality awakened
the dormant qualities of Indian people and harnessed them for purposes of achieving their destiny.

E. Role of Hameed Nizami

Hameed Nizami was an eminent journalist. He was the founder of the

Urdu newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt, and played an important role in the
Pakistan Movement. He was born on October 3, 1915 at Sangla Hill, a
small railway junction not far from Faisalabad. He received his early
education here and did his Master's in English from the University of the
Punjab, Lahore. He was a self-made man and his early life was a great
struggle. While still a student at Islamia College, Lahore, he founded,
along with others, the Punjab Muslim Students Federation and became its first elected president. Due to
his dynamic role as a student leader, he came close to the Quaid-i-Azam and remained an ardent
follower of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League; first as a student leader and later as a
journalist.

After attaining his degree, he chose journalism as his career and worked for a short time in the press
branch of the Punjab Government. After receiving training under a scheme sponsored by the Punjab
Government, he also worked for some time on the staff of National Congress, an Urdu daily started by
Dr Satyapal, who represented the liberal wing of the Provincial Congress.

Thereafter, he became the manager of Lahore office of the Orient News Agency and used the resources
there for the projection of the League point of view and for helping the cause of Pakistan.

The year 1940 was something of a landmark in the life of Nizami when he launched his fortnightly paper
called Nawa-i-Waqt from Lahore on March 23, 1940. He was elected President of the Punjab Muslim
Student’s Federations for the second time in 1942. He was able to convert his fortnightly Nawa-i-Waqt
into a weekly on December 15, 1942. In July 1944 it was converted into a daily paper. The daily Nawa-i-
Waqt came out on July 22, 1944 with a prayer and a message of the Quaid-i-Azam. Nizami made Nawa-i-
Waqt with all its limitations a powerful newspaper for the cause of Muslim League and the Pakistan
Movement.

He was a clear headed, methodical and devoted journalist. With these qualities he made himself a
legend. He rendered a lofty service for the cause of Pakistan during the entire period of Pakistan
Movement and, later, for the stability of Pakistan. He was a strong spokesman of democracy in the
country. The first Martial Law of 1958 greatly hurt him that proved fatal for his life and he departed in
February 1962.