Politics, Public Issues and the Promotion of Urdu Literature: Avadh ...
Politics, Public Issues and the Promotion of Urdu Literature: Avadh ... Politics, Public Issues and the Promotion of Urdu Literature: Avadh ...
ULRIKE STARK • 69The second success factor concerned the professional management ofthe paper. AA was one of the first Urdu papers to be run along soundcommercial lines. This implied that the paper partly financed itselfthrough advertisements. Compared to British newspapers at the time,which made larger incomes from advertising than from sales, 8 the proportionof space given to advertisements was relatively small. A typical issueof AA in 1871, for example, comprised sixteen pages of which an averageof four would be given to advertising. Subsequently advertising came toaccount for an increasingly important part of the paper’s revenue. In 1879,the rate obtaining for occasional small advertisements was 2 annas per lineand column. Rates for regular commercial advertisements depended onhow often an ad was placed in the paper and ranged from Rs. 12 forinsertion once a month to Rs. 60 for insertion six times a month. 9 By thattime AA carried regular advertisements for branded goods and for patentmedicines such as the widely advertised Holloway’s pills and ointments orthe “celebrated medicines” of one Dr. De Roos, of which the publishinghouse acted as a sole distributor. Local firms such as Murray & Co., alarge retail company selling wine and general merchandise, and theShaikh Haji Muhammad Bakhsh Company, a contractor of tents anduniforms, started to place regular full-page ads in the paper. The NKP, ofcourse, also used the paper as a cheap medium to extensively advertise andinvite subscriptions for its own book publications. In the early days ofAA, announcements of important publications such as Gh≥lib’s PersianKulliy≥t or his Q≥πi‘-e Burh≥n would feature prominently on its front page(AA of 1 January 1862). Later, such notices were relegated to the interioror back of the paper but still appeared so frequently that the Delhi-basedNuΩratu ’l-Akhb≥r was prompted in 1876 to accuse AA of being totally“self-interested”: “The editor has been instructed not to write any articlebeneficial to the public, but only to print reviews of the books [publishedby] the press.” 10Sanjay Joshi, Fractured Modernity: Making of a Middle Class in Colonial NorthIndia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp. 38–9.8 Lucy Brown, Victorian News and Newspapers (Oxford: Clarendon Press,1985), p. 16.9 See Fihrist-e Kutub-e Maπba‘-e Munshµ Navalkishår (Lucknow: Naval KishorePress, 1879), p. 4.10NuΩratu ’l-Akhb≥r of 1 August 1876; quoted in Imd≥d ¿≥birµ, T≥rµkh-e¿a√≥fat-e Urd∑, vol. 2 (Delhi: Jadµd Printing Press, 1953), pp. 97–8.
70 • THE ANNUAL OF URDU STUDIESThe third factor, to be discussed later, was the group of people wholed the paper. AA had the distinction of being headed by a number ofeminent editors who were scholars, poets or prose writers in their ownright. This latter circumstance also accounts for the paper’s influentialrole in the promotion of modern Urdu literature for, in the typical fashionof early Urdu papers, AA combined the functions of newspaper andliterary journal. It promoted both poetry and prose writing and evolvedinto a forum for literary debate, attracting the contributions of eminentUrdu literati of the day. The press office of AA, then, was not only a placewhere information was generated, it was also a meeting point for theUrdu literary scene.From Weekly to Daily: Growth and Development of Avadh AkhbarWhether it’s because the study of a commercially produced newspaperdoes not fall within the purview of modern scholars of Urdu, or perhapsbecause of the scarcity of extant early issues, 11 AA has received surprisinglylittle attention outside the standard works on Urdu journalism. In givinga brief overview of the paper’s growth and development, the followingparagraphs will try to fill some lacunae and also refute some inaccurateclaims concerning the paper’s format, frequency and editorship. As withmany early Urdu papers, there is some disagreement over the date of firstpublication: While several authorities on Urdu journalism maintain thatthe first issue of AA did not appear before January 1859, the late Amµrƒasan N∑r≥nµ, himself an authority on the NKP, asserts that on the closureof the firm’s Kanpur press he chanced upon the first issue of thepaper dating from 26 November 1858. Unfortunately the rare documentwas subsequently lent to a reputed Urdu scholar and could not beretrieved. 12 While there is no reason to disbelieve N∑r≥nµ, later editorialnotices appearing in the paper contradict his information and support the11 The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Patna, holds issues of AA from 1866,1869, 1870–2, and 1875. The OIOC, London, has in stock almost complete runsof the paper between 1875 and 1884. According to Amµr ƒasan N∑r≥nµ, some filesfrom 1862 and 1870 are kept in the Aiv≥n-e Gh≥lib Library in Delhi.12Amµr ƒasan N∑r≥nµ, Sav≥ni√-e Munshµ Navalkishår (Patna: Khuda BakhshOriental Public Library, 1995), p. 136.
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70 • THE ANNUAL OF URDU STUDIESThe third factor, to be discussed later, was <strong>the</strong> group <strong>of</strong> people wholed <strong>the</strong> paper. AA had <strong>the</strong> distinction <strong>of</strong> being headed by a number <strong>of</strong>eminent editors who were scholars, poets or prose writers in <strong>the</strong>ir ownright. This latter circumstance also accounts for <strong>the</strong> paper’s influentialrole in <strong>the</strong> promotion <strong>of</strong> modern <strong>Urdu</strong> literature for, in <strong>the</strong> typical fashion<strong>of</strong> early <strong>Urdu</strong> papers, AA combined <strong>the</strong> functions <strong>of</strong> newspaper <strong>and</strong>literary journal. It promoted both poetry <strong>and</strong> prose writing <strong>and</strong> evolvedinto a forum for literary debate, attracting <strong>the</strong> contributions <strong>of</strong> eminent<strong>Urdu</strong> literati <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> day. The press <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> AA, <strong>the</strong>n, was not only a placewhere information was generated, it was also a meeting point for <strong>the</strong><strong>Urdu</strong> literary scene.From Weekly to Daily: Growth <strong>and</strong> Development <strong>of</strong> <strong>Avadh</strong> AkhbarWhe<strong>the</strong>r it’s because <strong>the</strong> study <strong>of</strong> a commercially produced newspaperdoes not fall within <strong>the</strong> purview <strong>of</strong> modern scholars <strong>of</strong> <strong>Urdu</strong>, or perhapsbecause <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> scarcity <strong>of</strong> extant early issues, 11 AA has received surprisinglylittle attention outside <strong>the</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ard works on <strong>Urdu</strong> journalism. In givinga brief overview <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> paper’s growth <strong>and</strong> development, <strong>the</strong> followingparagraphs will try to fill some lacunae <strong>and</strong> also refute some inaccurateclaims concerning <strong>the</strong> paper’s format, frequency <strong>and</strong> editorship. As withmany early <strong>Urdu</strong> papers, <strong>the</strong>re is some disagreement over <strong>the</strong> date <strong>of</strong> firstpublication: While several authorities on <strong>Urdu</strong> journalism maintain that<strong>the</strong> first issue <strong>of</strong> AA did not appear before January 1859, <strong>the</strong> late Amµrƒasan N∑r≥nµ, himself an authority on <strong>the</strong> NKP, asserts that on <strong>the</strong> closure<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> firm’s Kanpur press he chanced upon <strong>the</strong> first issue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>paper dating from 26 November 1858. Unfortunately <strong>the</strong> rare documentwas subsequently lent to a reputed <strong>Urdu</strong> scholar <strong>and</strong> could not beretrieved. 12 While <strong>the</strong>re is no reason to disbelieve N∑r≥nµ, later editorialnotices appearing in <strong>the</strong> paper contradict his information <strong>and</strong> support <strong>the</strong>11 The Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, Patna, holds issues <strong>of</strong> AA from 1866,1869, 1870–2, <strong>and</strong> 1875. The OIOC, London, has in stock almost complete runs<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> paper between 1875 <strong>and</strong> 1884. According to Amµr ƒasan N∑r≥nµ, some filesfrom 1862 <strong>and</strong> 1870 are kept in <strong>the</strong> Aiv≥n-e Gh≥lib Library in Delhi.12Amµr ƒasan N∑r≥nµ, Sav≥ni√-e Munshµ Navalkishår (Patna: Khuda BakhshOriental <strong>Public</strong> Library, 1995), p. 136.
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