Constraints and Priorities of Urdu Journalism in Post-Colonial Bengal: A Study of the Urdu Daily, Äzād Hiṉd
Ishtiaq Hussain
DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13292567
Abstract. Urdu journalism in postcolonial India has been subjected to significant criticism with regard to its contribution towards the shaping of Muslim public consciousness. The genre is believed to be devoid of secular susceptibilities and has been accused of stirring up religious sentiments of the Muslim community. Although there had been regions where evidence suggests that the Urdu journalism upheld the secular values and remained steadfast in proliferation of the democratic ideals among the Muslim Community. After the independence of India, Urdu language and literature faced several challenges. Despite many difficulties, Urdujournalism thrived and many newspapers sprang up in the young nation although only a few made positive impressions. This paper attempts to highlight the role of one among these newspapers, the leading Urdu daily of East India, Äzād Hiṉd. This paper played a pivotal role in augmenting the democratic ideals, imbibing them in its readers and strengthening secular values among Muslims in the postcolonial era.
Keywords
Urdu journalism, postcolonial, Muslim sensibilities, secular, democracy, jingoism.
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Dr Ishtiaq Hussain has completed his M.A and Ph.D. in History, from Department of History Aligarh Muslim University. He has qualified NET, SET and has been recipient of Maulana Azad Junior Research Fellowship awarded by UGC. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor in Department of History, Aliah University, Kolkata since 2019. His area of research centers around the Indian Muslims, Muslim Intellectual History, History of Muslim Women. He has published many research papers in national and international journals. He has also presented paper in various national and international conference along with has delivered many invited lectures in different academic institutions.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7143-1516
ishtiaqzargar01@gmail.com
Constraints and Priorities of Urdu Journalism in Post-Colonial Bengal: A Study of the Urdu Daily, Äzād Hiṉd by Ishtiaq Hussain is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 
