A PROJECT

ON
ROLE OF PRESS IN POLITICS

Session: 2019-2020

Submitted On: 23rd September 2019

Submitted By: Submitted to:

Siddharth Sharma DR. Prerna Singh Lavanya mam
Roll no- 96 Faculty- Political Science
Class: I Semester (B)
 Declaration

I, Siddharth Sharma, hereby declare that this project titled “ROLE OF PRESS IN
POLITICS” is based on the original research work carried out by me under the guidance and
supervision of Dr. Prerna Singh Lavanya mam.

The interpretations put forth are based on my reading and understanding of the original
texts. The books, articles and websites etc. which have been relied upon by me have been duly
acknowledged at the respective places in the text.

For the present project which I am submitting to the university, no degree or diploma has
been conferred on me before, either in this or in any other university.

Date: 23rd September, 2019 Siddharth Sharma

Roll No. 96

Semester I-B
 Acknowledgment

I have written this project, “ROLE OF PRESSS IN POLITICS” under the supervision of dr.
Prerna Singh Lavanya mam. Faculty, University Five Year Law College, University of
Rajasthan, Jaipur. her valuable suggestions herein have not only helped me immensely in making
this work but also in developing an analytical approach this work.

I found no words to express my sense of gratitude for Director Dr. SanjulaThanvi, and Dy.
Director Mr. ManojMeena and Mr. Abhishek Tiwari constant encouragement at every step.

I am extremely grateful to librarian and library staff of the college for the support and
cooperation extended by them from time to time.

Siddharth Sharma
 CERTIFICATE

Dr. Prerna Singh Lavanya

Date: 23rd September 2019

Faculty of university five year law college

University of Rajasthan, Jaipur.

This is to certified that Mr. Siddharth Sharma student of semester I-B has carried out
project titled “ROLE OF PRES IN POLITICS”,

Under my supervision. It is an investigation report of min his research project. The student
has completed research work in stipulated time and according to norms prescribed for the
purpose.

SSUPERVISOR
Table of Contents

Page

Title ……………………………………………………………………………. I

Declaration of Originality …………………………………………………….. II

Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………….. III

Certificate ..4

Objectives ………………………………………………………………………. 6

Hypothesis …………………………………………………………………..……… 6

Research Methodology ………………………………………………………... … 7

CHAPTER – 1………………………………………………………………….. 8

CHAPTER - 2…………………………………………………………………… 9

CHAPTER – 3…………………………………………………………………… 14

Chapter 4 16

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………… 18

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………… 19
 Objectives:

Threw this project my aim to learn about:

I. When was the press established? And, when it came in India?

II. What role did press play in India’s freedom struggle?
III. How the press effects country’s political situation?
IV. How press play a dominant role in a democratic country?

Hypothesis

The biasness of press effects the political situation.

Press play an important role in Indian freedom struggle.

 Research methodology

The researcher has adopted doctrinal method research. The researcher has made extensive
use of the available resources at the library of University Five Year Law College,
University of Rajasthan and also internet resources.
 Chapter 1

Introduction

Now that so much media is electronic or digital, it's hard to imagine there was ever a time before print
media was invented. The earliest civilizations only had oral communication. If they had news to tell, they
ran to the nearest person to spread the word to others, who each did the same until everyone had
heard the news. Then people began to write down their news in picture form and then in crude
languages where symbols stood for words and letters. It took the inventions of paper and the printing
press for print media to come into regular use. Once it did, there was no turning back.

about the mid-15th century in Germany. A German named Johannes Gutenberg invented the
printing press in 1436 with movable metal type. Printing press invention had a large impact on the value
of the books, religion and reformation and education. In India,  The printing press first came to Goa with
Portuguese missionaries in the mid-16th century. 

Press is more than a media of information. The news may be colored with views and the comments
upon the news generally would challenge our options. That is why press plays an important role in
democratic country. It can make or break the governments. It can calm down the people or play up their
passions, it can help the party in power to strengthen its Position or make the opposition to get the
upper hand. Press not only leaves its impact on political life but also affects our social and economic life.
It can help in tracing out the criminals. It can give expression to the grievance of the people and it can
help the people to attain heir ends.

But freedom of press is very essential for a better reporting. In the context of India, freedom of press is
implied from the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1) (a). The freedom of
press is regarded as a ‘species of which freedom of expression is a genus.” The Supreme Court has laid
emphasis in several cases the importance of maintaining freedom of press in a democratic society. The
press seeks to advance public interest by publishing facts and opinions without which a democratic
electorate cannot make responsible judgments.
 Chapter 2

The Press and British India

In India, the first newspaper published by James Augustus Hockey named “Bengal Gazette” in 1780.
After some time, it was baned,by east India company because they started to criticize them.

Later more newspapers/journals came up like: The Bengal journal, Calcutta Chronicle, Madras Courier,
Bombay Herald. The list of all newspapers and generals which was started during the colonial rule of
Britishers were as follows:

List of famous newspapers started during British India:

Name of the Founder/Editor year and place from it published name of the founder\publisher
Bengal Gazette 1780, Calcutta James Augustus Hickey 
India Gazette 1787, Calcutta Henry Loius Vivian Derozio was
associated with it.
Bengal Gazette (First Bengali 1818, Calcutta Harishchandra Ray
Newspaper)
Sambad Kaumudi (weekly in 1821 Raja Ram Mohan Roy 
Bengali)
Mirat-ul Akbar (First journal in 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy 
Persian)
Banga-Duta ( A weekly in four 1822, Calcutta Raja Ram Mohan Roy and
languages- English, Bengali, Dwarkanath Tagore
Persian, Hindi)
Bombay Times (from 1861 1838, Bombay Robert Knight and Thomas
onwards, The Times of India) Bennett
Rast Goftar (A Gujarati 1851 Dadabhai Naoroji
fortnightly)
Hindu Patriot 1853, Calcutta Girishchandra Ghosh
Somprakasha 1858, Calcutta Dwarkanath Vidyabhushan
Indian Mirror 1862, Calcutta Devendranath Tagore and NN
Sen
Bengalee (this and Amrita Bazar 1862, Calcutta Girishchandra Ghosh (taken
Patrika- the first vernacular over by SN Banerjea in 1879)
papers)
National Paper 1865, Calcutta Devendra Nath Tagore 
Amrita Bazar Patrika (Bengali in 1868, Jessore District Sisirkumar Ghosh and Motilal
the beginning and later on Ghosh
English Daily)
Bangadarshana 1873, Calcutta BankimChandra Chatterjee
The Statesman 1875, Calcutta Robert Knight
 The Hindu 1878, Madras GS Aiyar, Viraraghavchari and
Subba Rao Pandit
The Tribune 1881, Lahore Dayal Singh Majeetia
Sudharak  Gopal Ganesh Agarkar
Hindustani and Advocate GP Verma
Kesari (Marathi daily) and 1881, Bombay Tilak, Chiplunkar, Agarkar
Maharatta (English Weekly)
Swadeshamitran Madras GS Aiyar
Paridasak (Weekly) Bipin Chandra Pal
Yugantar 1906, Bengal Barindra Kumar Ghosh and
Bhupendranath Dutta
Sandhya 1906, Bengal Brhamanabandab Upadhay
Indian Sociologist London Syamji Krishna Verma
Bande Matram Parish Madam Bhikaji Cama
Free Hindustan Vancouver Taraknath Das
Ghadr 1 nov 1913, San Francisco Ghadar Party
Talwar Berlin Virendrnath Chattopadhay
Bombay Chronical (a daily) 1913, Bombay Pherozshahs Mehta, BG
Horniman
The Hindustan Times 1920, Delhi KM Pannikkar as a part of Akali
Dal Movement
Leader (in English) Madan Mohan Malviya
Bahishkrit Bharat 1927 BR Ambedkar
Kudi Arasu (Tamil) 1910 E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker
(Periyar), SS MIrajkar, KN
Joglekar
Bandi Jivan Bengal Sachindranath Sanyal
National Herald 1938, Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru
Tagzin-ul-Akhlaq (journal) 1871 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Kesari (Marathi Daily 1881 Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Newspaper)
Comrade (Weekly English 1911 Maulana Mohammad Ali
Newspaper)
Al- Balagh and Al-Hilal (Both 1912 Abul Kalam Azad
urdu weekly newspaper)
Pratap (Hindi Newspaper) 1913 Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi 
Independent (Newspaper) 1919 Motilal Nehru
Moon Nayak (Marathi Weekly) 1920 BR Ambedkar
Young India (Weekly Journal) 1919 M K Gandhi
Nav Jeevan (Weekly 1929 M K Gandhi
Newspaper)
Harijan (Weekly Journal) 1931 M K Gandhi
Hindustan Dainik 1936 Madan Mohan Malviya
 Threw out the time, various restrictions were applied on press in the time of British India. The
Company’s officers were worried that these newspapers might reach out of India and expose their
misdeeds. Thus they saw the need for curbs on the press. The list of restrictions which the Britishers
imposed on Indian press were as follows:

Lord Wellesley enacted Censorship of Press Act, 1799:

It was enacted by the Lord Wellesley, anticipating French invasion of India. It imposed almost wartime
press restrictions including pre-censorship which was later relaxed by the Lord hasting.

Licensing Regulations, 1823:

It was enacted by the John Adams. According to this regulation, press without license was a penal
offence. The restriction was directed mainly to Indian language newspapers or those edited by the
Indians.

Press Act of 1835 or Metcalfe Act:

Metcalfe (Governor General – 1835 – 36) repealed the obnoxious 1823 ordinance and was named,
“liberator of the Indian press”

Licensing Act, 1857:

This act imposed licensing restriction and the right to stop publication and circulation of book,
newspaper or printed matter reserved with the Government.

Registration Act, 1867:

This act relaxed the restrictions put by Metcalf‘s Act of 1835 and hence states that Government acts as
regulatory not restrictive body.

*Vernacular Press Act, 1878:

It was constituted for ‘better control’ of the vernacular press and effectively punished and repressed
seditious writing. The provisions of the Act are given below:

1. The district magistrate was empowered to call upon the printer and publisher of any vernacular
newspaper to enter into a bond with the Government undertaking not to cause disaffection against the
government or antipathy between persons of different religions, caste, race through published material;
the printer and publisher could also be required to deposit security which could be seized if the offences
reoccurred.

2. The magistrate’s action was final and no appeal could be made in a court of law.

3. A vernacular newspaper could get an exemption from the operation of the Act by submitting proof to
a government censor.

Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908:

This act empowered the magistrates to confiscate press property which published objectionable
material likely to cause incitement to murder/acts of violence against the Extremist nationalist activity.

Indian Press Act, 1910:

This act was a revision of the Vernacular Act that empowered the local government to demand a
security at registration from the printer/publisher and forfeit/deregister if it was an offending
newspaper, and the printer of a newspaper was required to submit two copies of each issue to local
government

In a nutshell, we can say that the evolution of Indian press was fraught with developmental
difficulties, illiteracy, colonial constraints and repression. It disseminated the ideas of freedom and
became a prominent tool for freedom struggle.
 Chapter 3

The Development Of Press In India After Independence

Before independence, the attitude to the press depended on the Governor Generals and Viceroys in
power and after independence, the attitude to the press depended on the Prime Minister’s personality
and his government at that time. In the post-independence era the press enjoyed a large measure of
freedom because Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minster of India was a liberal, who realized
that for the successful functioning of democratic set-up, the freedom of the press was absolutely
necessary.

Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru once sad, “To my mind the freedom of the press is not just a slogan
from the larger point of view, but it is an essential attribute of the democratic process. I have no doubt
that even if the Government dislikes the liberties taken by the press and considers them dangerous, it is
wrong to interfere with the freedom of the press. I would rather have a completely free press with all
the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom than a suppressed or a regulated press”

Although Nehru was liberal and believed in freedom of press but he enact laws by time to time to
impose some restrictions on press for the good of public at large. The fact that Nehru was a liberal and
did not favor the imposition of restrictions was shown during the Chinese aggression. Even during the
1961Declaration of Emergency which he called to deal with the Chinese incursions on India’s borders,
the imposition of restrictions was minimal applying only to news relating to India’s defenses. There was
no concentrated attempt made by Nehru Government to systematically censor the press.).

On the other hand, There was a swing away from freedom of the press to control and the imposition of
restrictions on the press by the government during the period when Nehru’s daughter, Mrs. Indira
Gandhi became prime minister. While Nehru was a liberal and believed in freedom of the press, Mrs.
Indira Gandhi was authoritarian and believed in curbing of History of Freedom of the Press in India after
Independence. Unlike Nehru who tolerated criticism, she felt that the press was too critical of her
policies and sought to chain the press. During her regime, she expected that the press should blindly
support her government without questioning her ability to deliver the goods. It should be “committed”
to her party and her government. In 1971, the government led by Mrs. Gandhi made its first attempt to
control the press when her own ministry of Information and Broadcasting prepared a draft scheme to
“diffuse” the so called monopoly press, i.e., ownership of newspapers with a circulation of more than
15,000. In fact, in the Parliament she had gone to the extent of declaring that freedom of the press did
not mean going against the national policy of the country. After some time she imposed national
emergency on the country which was also called, “darkest period after the post-independence of the
freedom of the press.”. something unknown and alien to the people of free India, was imposed on the
press at the time of emergency. On February 11, 1976, with the approval of the legislature, Mrs.
Gandhi’s Government presented journalists with the Prevention of Publication of Objectionable Matters
Act of 1976. Included in it were all the provisions of suppression contained in the 1908, 1910, 1930,
1931, 1932 and 1951 Acts. The provisions of this act extending to the entire territory of India were made
effective retroactive to December 8, 1975. The Act empowered the central Government or the
competent authority (officers

above a certain rank in the central and state Governments and union territories) to prohibit publications
detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign countries, public
order, decency, morality or publications inciting the breaking of law.

In a report presented before Parliament, it was revealed that during the emergency Mrs. Gandhi
ruthlessly distorted and manipulated the country press, radio and television media. There were two
Commissions set up by the Government after Emergency to enquire into excesses related to the press.
According to the Das Commission Report, 253 journalists were arrested during the state of History of
Freedom of the Press in India after Independence at the time of Emergency. journalists and cameramen
were deprived of accreditation, seven foreign correspondents were expelled from the country and
twenty-nine foreign correspondents were banned from entering India. The commission further charged
that Mrs. Gandhi used the press to distort the news. On the other hand, The Shah Commission’s findings
charged Mrs. Gandhi’s Government with the following:-

• The Government resorted to cutting off the electricity of newspaper offices on June 26, the day after
the emergency was proclaimed in order to buy time to set up the apparatus of the censorship. Three
days later when the censorship machinery was set up, the power supply was resumed.

• The Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting designated newspapers as either hostile, friendly
or neutral and issued instructions to withhold or reduce advertisements from hostile and neutral
newspapers and to increase advertisements in friendly newspapers.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordered a study of the newspapers over the six month
period preceding the emergency in order to determine each newspaper’s attitude to Government and to
penalize it accordingly. With the exception of the few journalists and newspapers, most of the Indian
press yielded to the Government’s wishes. The Indian press during the Emergency, described by David
Loshak as “India’s Sterile Press” Filled with the insipid handouts of the Ministry of Information. Every
spark of intellectual independence had been snuffed out and what was reported appeared to be nothing
more than Government propaganda. There is a clear contrast between Nehru and Indira Gandhi’s
attitude to the press, which was the result of the difference between the personality and values of these
two prime ministers. While Nehru welcomed criticism of his government by the press, Indira Gandhi
hated criticism of her government.

In While during the Emergency, the gag on the media was in your face and blatant, in today’s scenario,
the gag is invisible, but the effect is nearly the same. Some Indian state face strict restrictions on press
like J and K, Chattisgadh, Jharkhand etc. Editors are pulled up for putting their opinion out in the public
domain, journalists are asked to tow the line, and media houses align themselves with different political
ideologies, and kow-tow to the interests of the owners and sponsors. Is this freedom of press then?

It is getting harder and harder to establish who is controlling whom. Are major business tycoons buying
media companies as investments? Or because they want to control the message?

The report of CPJ says, Several physical attacks against journalists covering court proceedings and other
events took place in 2016. At least two journalists were killed in connection with their work, and three
others were killed under circumstances where the motive remained unclear.
 Chapter 4

Why Freedom Of Press Is Necessary In a Democratic Country

The press acts as a medium of communication between the government and the people.
Democracy came much later after the press came to  India. The Press is the voice of people, it is
considered to be the voice of the voiceless. “The press is the only tocsin of a nation, when it is
completely silenced, all means of general effort are taken away.”: Thomas Jefferson.

The Press existed even before independence and it certainly proves that any sort of media or
press is by the people of the state not by the ruling body. Democracy may be very powerful in its own
terms and conditions but is not fully efficient in working without media, especially the free press. The
press acts as a bridge between the government and the people as it tends to inform people about the
functions performed by the government. It also informs the government officials about the problems
faced by people in their respective constituency. Hence, the democratic system is only fully efficient
when the state enjoys a free press, though the Indian constitution doesn’t have a separate article for
freedom of the press in the  Constitution like the United States.

Because the freedom of the press means freedom from interference from the authority which would
have the effect of interference with content and circulation of newspapers. But under freedom of
expression, it is inferred that the press, not only newspapers but all sorts of media have the right to
inform and educate people. In the democratic aspect, only people of the state or citizens can enjoy the
freedom of speech and expression to a great extent. 

The free press is a  term used for the media which is not controlled or restricted by the government for
propagating political agendas or ideological matters among the masses. May 3rd is celebrated as world
press day or world press freedom day. In the current ear, [2019] India, the largest democracy in the
world, slipped two points on the world press freedom index ranking compiled by reporters without
borders. India ranked 1 40 amongst 180 countries. It measures the level of freedom given to the
journalists of a country.

The Press is considered the fourth pillar of democracy, that works independently, outside the
government. The fact that makes it the most specialized institution is that common people can
participate in it freely and can share their problems, opinions, fact and figures.

It stands for the civic rights, political rights and religious rights of the people. Media plays a vital role in
forming opinions and influencing decision making by the people, comparing present and past
experiences, actions, works etc. done by different governing bodies. It also helps in giving feedback,
exposure and conduit mechanisms by the people to the government, so that the representatives can
work according to their needs and requirements. Citizens receive the information about the new
policies, projects, schemes, laws, amendments etc. through media, by which they can assess the
working of the government and analyze if the deeds are beneficial for them or not.

The Press also acts as a crucial instrument for accounting. A person can forget the promises made by
their leaders but a printed newspaper, video, or audio recording will act as a piece of reminding
evidence for both citizens and the government. The people who work in the press must be unafraid.
Some brave journalists do perform string operations, do investigations and find out the reality. It tends
to fight against corruption, unfulfilled promises, disloyal behavior or misuse of power in public or private
life, but some generalists were biased. For example: NDTV, Indian Express, India Today, etc. always
criticize the BJP government, on the other hand, the channels like G news always appreciate them.

Factors which threaten the freedom of the press are: 

1) Corporate Sector: Not only does the government try to control the press but sometimes, even the
corporate sector tries to control it in order to increase their business sales or other personal users may
control the press by paying the editors, writers and reporters.

2 The killing of Reporters And Journalists: Many a time, reporters and journalists are killed for presenting
a piece of news or covering a story by the supporters of a particular group, organization or political
party. 

3 Targeting: Press workers are often targets of hate campaigns, trolling, character assassination etc.

The following recommendations were made by TRAI in 2014 to curb the ownership pattern in
media houses:

1. To make an obvious distinction between ownership and control.

2. To keep the media and news agencies free from political, religious, and governmental bodies.

3. Make Doordarshan completely autonomous – thus making it a strong independent news

broadcaster.

4. Set up a media regulator for print and television.

(While this did not include the internet, if these recommendations were relooked, then the
internet must form a part of it as well.)

5. Ensure that regular disclosures on shareholding patterns and direct and indirect interests in a
News brand are made public.
Conclusion:

As we observe, that in India, first newspaper named “Bengal Gazette” published from Calcutta by James
Augustus Hockey in 1780 when India was a suffered colonial rule of Britishers. Slowly and gradually, the
press became an Instrument for freedom fighters. The spread their nationalistic views at that time by
the using of the press. Most of the freedom fighters started publishing their own newspapers. The
British government put strict restrictions on them. They enact several laws. Finally we observe that the
press play a dominant role in India’s freedom struggle.

after getting freedom from Britishers, we preferred to go with democracy rule. we include special provisions for press in our constitution. several commissions formed to betterment

due to interference of judiciary and

of press, but several instances came, when strict restrictions put on press by the government. but ultimately,

public pressure, all the unreasonable restrictions were taken back on time to time.

in last, we conclude that The roll of the press can be conductive or destructive. If it plays a
constructive role, the political organization will be more in agreement with the interest of the people. It
will also stand for justice, mass participations and larger benefits of the people.

there is possibility if the journalists are conscious of their duties. But it’s better if the press is
independent, responsible and enlightened.

In the last I would like to quote Alex Morritt, he said that “Oil may run out, liquidity may dry up,
but as long as ink flows freely, the next chapter of Life will continue to be written."
 Bibliography

The whole matter was collected from following respected sources:

www.jagaranjosh.com

www.gktoday.com

www.indianhistory.com

www.indianpresss.com