MAHATMA GANDHI AS A COMMUNICATOR

Mahatma Gandhi while leading the struggle for freedom ad fighting for the rights of Indian settlers, ran four journals at different times.

In 1904, he launched ‘Indian Opinion’ in English, Gujarati, Tamil and Hindi, to reach out to Indians suffering racial discrimination at the hands of white colonialists in South Africa. In his writings he advised his own countrymen to shed casteism and discrimination against the ‘untouchables’ on the basis of their low birth.

On returning to India in 1915, he launched 3 journals – ‘Navjivan’ (1919-1931) in Gujrati, ‘Young India’ (1919-1932) and ‘Harijan’ (1932-1948) in English.

These journals were vehicles he used to convey his ideas of satyagraha and nonviolence and his views to the masses.

Gandhi’s writings in ‘Harijan’ (weekly) made news for other publications across the country. He wrote about a number of subjects like nutrition, mud therapy and the virtues of fasting and spinning.

‘Harijan’ had a circulation of about 10,000 copies but was one of the most read journals of the time. The readers / audience were Congressmen or nationalists who picked up ideas from this writing and spread them among their followers and listeners.

Gandhi’s example of journalism spread his message and led to the establishment of a number of new dailies and periodicals in various languages across the country. These journals used Gandhi’s writings from ‘Harijan’ and ‘Young India’ in their columns, thus spreading the Mahatma’s views to their readers.

Congressmen in distant areas held on to their copies of the journal, preserved them and bound them in yearly volumes.

New newspapers that were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi are ‘The Independent’ edited by Syed Hosain (1919), ‘The Hindustan Times’ by Akali Party (1924) and The Bombay Chronicle (1913).

In 1912, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad brought out ‘Al Hilal’ which became a powerful instrument of the freedom struggle.

The journals like ‘Tamil Journal’ (1915), ‘Janmabhooomy’ (1919) and ‘Swarajya’ (1922) acted as radical alternatives to the moderate owned newspapers of the period.

Gandhi’s publications accepted no advertisements. They survived on the strength of his supporters and the goodwill of readers.

Gandhiji’s writings were not liked by the British who charged him with sedition. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment but was released early on health grounds.

With no modern facilities like computers, internet, or television to aid him, Gandhi emerged as the greatest communicator of the twentieth century.

Gandhi’s writings had the widest circulation and exposure of any single individual till then.

 

Reference: Indian Regional Journalism by P.K. Ravindranath