Mumbai's pioneering Gujarati newspaper completes 184 years
Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 1:34 pmSource: Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
Mumbai's pioneering Gujarati newspaper completes 184 years
By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
Mumbai: Asia's oldest newspaper, the Mumbai Samachar, a Gujarati language daily, will have much to celebrate tomorrow as it completes 184 years of uninterrupted existence.
Though two cultural programmes are being held exclusively for its readers to mark the occasion, the newspaper itself is an integral part of the growth of this metropolis right from the British Raj. The once Apollo Street in the Fort area was recently renamed after the famous paper as the Mumbai Samachar Marg.
Despite the challenges of running a paper through the years and facing up to stiff competition from TV channels, Mumbai Samachar (earlier known as Bombay Samachar) has held on its own.
"Today, it publishes a colour broadsheet plus a supplement 16 pages of hard core news and eight pages of features and can proudly claim to have the most modern technology available in the publishing field," Pinki Dalal, editor of Mumbai Samachar told Gulf News.
It is not merely a business-oriented paper but appeals to all segments of readers, she says.
On July 1 1822, a Parsi scholar and priest Fardoonji Murazban, a pioneer in journalism in western India, started publishing the newspaper as Bombay Samachar.
A weekly till 1832, it became a biweekly until 1855 and a daily after that, playing a significant role during India's struggle for independence. "It was respected by the British, too, for its fair, frank, objective and critical analysis of events," says Dalal. The paper passed through various hands before coming into the control of the Cama family, its present publishers since 1933.
"The paper still has its connection with the Parsis," she says. "We have a column called 'Parsi Tari Arsi' which is published on Sundays."
Enjoying a circulation of 150,000 in Mumbai, the paper, including its internet edition, is now read by Gujarati-speaking people here and abroad. "The newspaper reaches Dubai by 9am where many Gujaratis like to start their day with Bombay Samachar," she says.
HISTORY
Oldest newspapers still in circulation
Post och Inrikes Tidningar (Sweden) 1645
Haarlems Dagblad (Netherlands) 1656
La Gazzetta di Mantova (Italy) 1664
The London Gazette (UK) 1665
Wiener Zeitung (Austria) 1703
Hildesheimer Allgemeiner
Zeitung (Germany) 1705
Worcester Journal (UK) 1709
The Newcastle Journal (UK) 1711
The Stamford Mercury (UK) 1712
The Northampton Mercury (UK) 1720
Hanauer Anzeiger (Germany) 1725
The Belfast News-Letter (N. Ireland) 1737
Feuille d'Avis de Neuchâtel (Switzerland) 1738
- Source: www.wan-press.org
Mumbai's pioneering Gujarati newspaper completes 184 years
By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent
Mumbai: Asia's oldest newspaper, the Mumbai Samachar, a Gujarati language daily, will have much to celebrate tomorrow as it completes 184 years of uninterrupted existence.
Though two cultural programmes are being held exclusively for its readers to mark the occasion, the newspaper itself is an integral part of the growth of this metropolis right from the British Raj. The once Apollo Street in the Fort area was recently renamed after the famous paper as the Mumbai Samachar Marg.
Despite the challenges of running a paper through the years and facing up to stiff competition from TV channels, Mumbai Samachar (earlier known as Bombay Samachar) has held on its own.
"Today, it publishes a colour broadsheet plus a supplement 16 pages of hard core news and eight pages of features and can proudly claim to have the most modern technology available in the publishing field," Pinki Dalal, editor of Mumbai Samachar told Gulf News.
It is not merely a business-oriented paper but appeals to all segments of readers, she says.
On July 1 1822, a Parsi scholar and priest Fardoonji Murazban, a pioneer in journalism in western India, started publishing the newspaper as Bombay Samachar.
A weekly till 1832, it became a biweekly until 1855 and a daily after that, playing a significant role during India's struggle for independence. "It was respected by the British, too, for its fair, frank, objective and critical analysis of events," says Dalal. The paper passed through various hands before coming into the control of the Cama family, its present publishers since 1933.
"The paper still has its connection with the Parsis," she says. "We have a column called 'Parsi Tari Arsi' which is published on Sundays."
Enjoying a circulation of 150,000 in Mumbai, the paper, including its internet edition, is now read by Gujarati-speaking people here and abroad. "The newspaper reaches Dubai by 9am where many Gujaratis like to start their day with Bombay Samachar," she says.
HISTORY
Oldest newspapers still in circulation
Post och Inrikes Tidningar (Sweden) 1645
Haarlems Dagblad (Netherlands) 1656
La Gazzetta di Mantova (Italy) 1664
The London Gazette (UK) 1665
Wiener Zeitung (Austria) 1703
Hildesheimer Allgemeiner
Zeitung (Germany) 1705
Worcester Journal (UK) 1709
The Newcastle Journal (UK) 1711
The Stamford Mercury (UK) 1712
The Northampton Mercury (UK) 1720
Hanauer Anzeiger (Germany) 1725
The Belfast News-Letter (N. Ireland) 1737
Feuille d'Avis de Neuchâtel (Switzerland) 1738
- Source: www.wan-press.org