1.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan:

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a great Muslim reformer, educationists
and politician of the Sub-continent. After the revolt against the
British, when the position of the Muslims in the Sub-continent was
quite pathetic and Muslims were going through a social and financial
crisis, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan came to the forefront and created
awareness amongst Muslims about the importance of education and a
lifestyle which was closer to the British. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan made
sure that the Muslims understood the importance of the modern
education and science, so that they could compete with the Hindus and
could claim their rights for the job opportunities and a better lifestyle.
Sir Syed started Aligarh Movement, which had a motto of promoting
education amongst the Muslims after the revolt of 1857. He fought
against the Hindu conspiracies against Urdu. Risala-dar-Asbab-i-
Bhagawati-i-Hind, Ahkam-i-Ta’am-i-Ahl-i-Kitab and Loyal
Mohammadans of India were some of his best works. He started
various schools and colleges where English language was taught with
Urdu and Persian. He founded a Scientific Society where he started
the periodical which was first called Scientific Society Papers and
later, the Aligarh Institute Gazette.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan played a significant role in reshaping the public
opinion amongst the Muslims. After 1857, Sir Syed had realized that it
is very hard for Muslims to survive with the Hindus but still he was in
favour of the United India until the Urdu-Hindi controversy. Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan would always be remembered in the history books as a
revolutionary leader who gave a new direction to the Muslims of the
Sub-continent which took them to the way of independence. Sir Syed’s
role can be referred as the root of the making of Pakistan and the
separation from the Hindus. For the purpose of creating awareness
amongst the Muslim masses in India, Sir Syed used press to great
effect during the late 19th century.
Khilafat movement was an effort by the Indian Muslims to save the
Ottoman Empire. It was a pan-Islamic movement between 1919 till
1924. Some of the great journalists of that time like Maulana
Mohammad Ali Johar and his brother Maulana Shaukat Ali worked
very hard for this cause with lots of other important personalities. The
Muslim press and newspapers also played an important role amongst
the Muslims about the importance of the Khilafat Movement. Initially
the movement was quite successful through strikes and protests all
over India but this movement could not gain a lot of success in the long
run. However, the role of Muslim press during that time would always
be remembered in history with golden words.Although the Khilafat
Movement was not a success, it united the Muslims of Sub-continent
and injected a new spirit amongst them which was the real energy
behind the independence movement later on.
2. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan:
The one who fought for the freedom movement with his pen and used
it as a unifier for bringing the required nationalism in the Muslim
community will be remembered as the father of Urdu Journalism.
January 18, 2013 marks the 140th birth anniversary of Maulana Zafar
Ali Khan.
 
Maulana continued the legacy of his father, after taking charge as the
editor of ‘Zamindar’ by converting it into a revolutionary press
(initially the paper was published keeping in view the farmers). This
paper started to write articles that were full of political thoughts and
Muslim unity. Soon this newspaper earned a great repute among the
people. It is said that Zamindar was so popular among the people that
even illiterates spent 1 paisa to pay the price of Zamindar and 1 paisa
to that person who read that newspaper for them. This popularity was
disliked by the English rulers and no of times Zamindar was banned
over a specific time period.
With the irrefutably powerful art of rhetoric he also served as an
exemplary spokesman for the Muslim community. There is a
remarkable contrast in the various phases of Urdu journalism that
evolved since 1911, strictly, to preserve the legitimate rights of the
Muslims in sub-continent. Regardless of where they stand today,
Pakistani journalistic ambitions were based on sincerity, devotion,
truth and a visionary mirror for reflecting ‘community opinion’.
 
There was no important incident (involving the Muslisms) that was
left unattended by the veteran journalist. All the historical events that
brought Muslims as a minority against the ruling British or the
majority Indians, before the creation of Pakistan, received Zamindar’s
glare. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan was part of the formidable chain of
‘militant Muslim journalists’. Khanpur mosque agitation in 1935
combined with Maulana’s effective persuasion made ‘mosque’ the
symbol of ‘community identity’. Khilafat movement also received a
wide range of coverage by Zamindar.
 
His bold stance brings the ‘nationalistic flare’ that resonated among
the literary and poetic circles as well. He championed the cause of
Muslims by transforming Urdu poetry into idioms of political
expressions. The most interesting aspect of his poetic verses was that
they were understood by the unlettered in Punjab province. Moreover,
he attracted Muslim youth of the Punjab. In light of Maulana’s
influential verbal communication, it wasn’t a surprise as to how
Zamindar’s circulation reached 15.000 (unprecedented for an Urdu
newspaper at that time) even when it was ‘the most’ persecuted
newspaper of sub-continent.
 
Undoubtedly, Zamindar, under the editorship of Maulana Zafar Ali
Khan remained irresistible and an outlet for the Muslims to vent out
their feelings. It reached the zenith of glory for its unique way of
reaching the Muslims hearts via doorsteps. The reason. Maulana
Zafar Ali Khan is regarded, as the father of Urdu journalism is that he
established the traditions of sacrifice, perseverance, boldness and
devotion towards social responsibility in journalism. Zamindar
knocked at the door of a common man and played a pivotal role to
build an enthusiastic lot of newspaper readers among the Muslims.
This intrepid journalistic standard helped the Pakistan movement to
gain momentum, which thwarted any insurmountable barrier.
During the First World War, Turkey was supporting Germans and
people of united India were very eager to know the real situation of
war. Maulana often started the paper with the World War news in
which the success stories of Germans and Turkish were quoted. This
was definitely hated by the English Rulers so they compelled Maulana
Zafar Ali not to publish the news from the First World War. However,
when Turkey was declared a democracy then all the attention of
Muslims of the sub-continent was diverted to the internal politics.
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan started to highlight the brutal attitude of the
English rulers to the natives. This newspaper reported the incidents of
the Muslim League and gained the confidence of the Muslims of the
Sub-continent. Maulana faced punishment and arrested several times
by the government but he did not stop his courageous and bold stance
and his enthusiasm provoked Muslims and they became aware of their
political rights.
The father of Urdu journalism has left an immutable model that was
based on the dialectic of nationalism and communitarianism that
moulded Muslim mindset. It was rather an intellectually wise way to
equip the Muslims with the ability to recast the ideas of ‘community’
and ‘nationalism’. Journalism at that time was a perfect example,
proposed by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, to be emulated.
3. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar:
 He possessed remarkable brilliance as a writer and orator, He wrote
articles in various newspapers like “The Times”, “The Observer” and
“The Manchester Guardian” as well as other major English and
Indian newspapers, in both English and Urdu. He was man of a
versatile genius and played a great part in the actions against the
British colonial rule. He was a great orator and still greater Journalist.
He became firm opponents of British rule under the combined shock
of the Balkan wars and Kanpur Mosque incident in 1913. His
relentless determination and ardor in the cause of India’s freedom,
and his persistence in pursuing the goal most dear to him won him the
respect and affection of his numerous countrymen. 
Maulana Muhammad ali Jauhar published two newspapers, the
Comrade in English and Hamdard in Urdu. The Comrade was started
on January 1, 1911, from Calcutta. The Maulana had made thorough
preparations for the paper and everything concerned with it was of a
high order. He himself was a man of parts about whom H.G. Wells
said: “Maulana Muhammad Ali had the pen of Macaulay, the tongue
of a Burke and heart of Napolean”. Lovat Fraser wrote in an editorial
in the Times of India, that Maulana Muhammad Ali had “marvellous
command over the English language. No Indian, and perhaps few
Englishmen could write better that he did. Thus, Maulana
Muhammad ali Jauhar, with the help of a talented band of youngmen,
gave Muslim India the best weekly it ever had.
From the date of its first appearance, the Comrade was looked upon as
the mouthpiece of the grievances of the Muslims and voice of their
ambition. “Throughout its existence The Comrade rendered yeoman
service to the cause of socio-economic and political advancement of the
Muslims of Indian in particular, and to the cause of India in general,
by attacking the anti-Indian attitude both of the bureaucracy and of
the British Government.” The Comrade played an important role in
formulating the political policy of Muslim India. Maulana
Muhammad Ali Jauhar always defended, very valiantely, the Muslim
interests through The Comrade about which S.M. Ikram writes: “It
was fearless in denouncing discrimination and hardships to which the
editor’s community was exposed, but it also systematically criticised
the Bengalee, the Tribune and other Hindu newspapers, which
opposed the newly organized All-India Muslim League, or the efforts
of Aligarh leaders to secure suitable safeguards for the Muslim.
The Comrade did not start with any bitterness towards the British
Government, but certain event had taken place, to wit, he annulment
of the partition of Bengal and political tension generated by the
Tripoli and Balkan Wars which affected it attitude. Before long, there
were a few other causes which fed the fires of hatred between the
rulers and the Indian Muslims. Controversy about the Muslim
University was one; and before it died down. There was a serious
trouble at Cawnpur after the demolition of the portion of a mosque.
These entire events went a long way to change the attitude of The
Comrade towards the Government.
When the First World War started, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar
in an editorial in The Comrade, under the caption, “Choice of the
Turks”, supported the cause of Turkey in the Balkan war. The
editorial was indigestible to the British rulers and eventually the
security of The Comrade and its Urdu counterpart Hamdard was
declared forfeited to the Government and Ali Brothers were interned
under the Defence of India ordinance. The Comrade once again
started its career some time later, and then finally it had to close down.
And in his farewell message, Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote, “we
have lived because we have dared, and we shall still dare, and we shall
still live.”
The Hamdard also earned a great reputation in Urdu medium
newspapers and had a respectable place in the Indian press, but it
could not continue for a long time.
4. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad:
Born on November 11, 1888 in a deeply traditional Muslim family,
Maulana Azad had his initial formal education in Arabic, Persian and
Urdu with 
religious orientation. He also learnt English on his own. But Maulana
Azad had a natural inclination for writing and this resulted in the
miraculous start of the monthly “Nairang-e-Alam” in 1899 at Calcutta
when he was hardly eleven years old. The periodical carried the
poetical collection of the contemporary poets. This was followed by the
launch of the weekly “Al-Misbah” in 1900 which carried articles on
contemporary issues.
But the origin of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s revolutionary
journalism was in 1908. This was the time when he undertook an
extensive visit of Egypt, Turkey, Syria and France. In Egypt, Maulana
Azad came into contact with the followers of Mustafa Kemal Pasha
who were publishing a weekly from Cairo. In Turkey, Maulana Azad
met the leaders of the Young Turks Movement. The contacts between
Maulana Azad and the leaders of Movement were further cemented
by the exchange of letters between them which continued years after
his return to India. Maulana Azad also interacted with the Iranian
revolutionaries and famous French Orientalist Louis Massignon in
Iraq. These contacts reaffirmed Maulana Azad’s belief that Muslims
in India should join their fellow countrymen against the British in the
Freedom Struggle. He was of the view that the Freedom Movement
against the British is the combined responsibility of all communities
and hence it should be carried unitedly. With these thoughts in his
mind, Maulana Azad started the “Al-Hilal” Press and a weekly by the
same name.
The “Al-Hilal” weekly was a landmark in the history of the press in
India. Its circulation figures rose to 26,000 copies. Further, even back
issues of this weekly had to be republished as every new subscriber
wanted to hold all copies of “Al-Hilal”. The message of patriotism and
nationalism coupled with religious fervor inherent in the weekly
gained wide acceptance among the masses. But these developments
disturbed the British Government. In 1914, a security of two thousand
rupees was imposed on “Al-Hilal” under the Press Act. When
Maulana Azad deposited this amount, it was confiscated and a further
security of rupees ten thousand was imposed. When these punitive
measures failed to tone down the anti-establishment stance of the
periodical, the government banned “Al-Hilal” and confiscated its
press in 1915. Maulana Azad was not discouraged by this move.
1915, barely five months after the ban on “Al-Hilal”, Maulana Azad
started the publication of the “Al-Balagh” weekly. It was similar in its
content to “Al-Hilal”. The British realized that the provisions of the
Press Act are not enough to counter the onslaught of Maulana Azad’s
writings. Hence the Maulana Azad was asked to leave Calcutta after
the Defence of India Provisions were invoked against him in 1916.
Punjab, U.P., Delhi and Bombay also prohibited his entry under the
same law. Bihar was the only state in which he could move without
any hindrance. But the moment he reached Ranchi he was kept under
house arrest. This detention continued till December 31, 1919. He was
released on January 1, 1920.
In 1921 Maulana Azad started a weekly named “Paigham”. But it was
banned in December 1921 and he arrested. Maulana Azad’s detention
continued till January 1, 1921. In 1927, Maulana Azad restarted the
publication of “Al-Hilal” and this weekly continued to be published till
the end of the year.
Apart from these publications, Maulana Azad was in the forefront in
all the major movements for the independence like the Khilafat
Movement (1919-23), the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22)
the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-32) and the Quit India
Movement (1942). He was a strong advocate of undivided India and
had the foresight to predict that the Urdu-speaking Muslims of India
leaving for either East or West Pakistan will be marginalized by the
local population. 
Al-Hilal was founded, edited and published by Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad. Its first issue appeared on 13 July 1912, and was well-timed in
the contemporary political atmosphere. Muslim India was in ferment
and was likely to be swayed to emotion. The annulment of the
partition of Bengal had compelled the Muslims to abandon the policy
of political quietism and reliance on the government. Al-Hilal
generally published serious articles and religious literature. A
substantial portion of al-Hilal was devoted to photographs and article
on Turkey. The Muslim leaders differed with political vies of Azad. He
was not in favour of a separate platform for the Indian Muslims. He as
against the division of India and opposed to be creation of Pakistan.
The period of Azad’s career as a journalist came to an end after three
and half years. In 1914, the First World War started, and on account
of certain pro-German articles the security of al-Hilal was forfeited,
and it was asked to deposit another sum of Rs. 10,000 which brought
its publication to an end. Although its political views were
controversial yet its contribution in the field of religion was
remarkable. Maulana Azad started another weekly, Al-Bilagh. This
also came to an end in 1916 when the Maulana was externed from
Bengal.