'Pratap : A Defiant Newspaper' explores the power of print media and the courage of those who yield it

Print in India is losing the holy grail of the ad industry: young readers. According to a study published in the Journal of Socialomics, 18 per cent of readers in the 15-20 age group, 12 per cent (20-30 group), and 8 per cent (30-40 ) have lost their interest in print newspapers, preferring to consume online ones. That and several other factors have led to the printed word losing its sheen. The displacement of this medium and with it, a certain kind of brave journalism, has seen a decline in the questioning of authority by those who are meant to hold them to account.

It is in times like these, a recently launched book Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper, available on Amazon UAE, tells a powerful story that serves as a much-needed reminder of the journalistic courage of print media
in India. 

The Urdu newspaper Pratap and its Hindi counterpart, Vir Pratap, were torchbearers of freedom of speech and speaking truth to power up until the end of their run. Pratap was launched by Mahashay Krishan on March 30, 1919, then led by his son Virendra followed by his grandson Chander, covering major events during India’s struggle for independence and after, including the Emergency and Operation Blue Star.

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Readers have welcomed the book with open arms, leading to heartwarming feedback. Chander Mohan, who co-authored the book with his daughter, Jyotsna Mohan, said: “The response has been heartwarming. We have had readers come up with tears in their eyes while others have shared stories of how Pratap was the family newspaper in their ancestral home. Even those who didn’t know us or never read our paper, but had heard of them are connecting with us.”

The recollections are nothing short of endearing.  Jyotsna added: “A senior journalist recently shared how his father would give him 50 paise in Delhi to buy the newspaper on the day the vendor did not deliver it. The older generation, especially, has received it [the book] with nostalgia.”

The story is legendary. The papers’ editors were so fearless that even though they were  shut down for a year by the British administration and received a parcel bomb at their offices, they would not back down. They took a strong stance for the truth, be it standing up to the British administration or radical separatist movements, making them a target of both those in power and those fighting for it, leading to the arrests of its founder and editors-in-chief multiple times,  not to mention death threats.

Speaking about the shutting down of the titles, Chander said people’s tastes have changed. He added: “Those times were different. What can be more altering than the edit page in mainstream newspapers, which has been pushed back almost to the end as if the paper’s or the editor’s views don’t matter? It’s tough for our kind of journalism to emerge today, although some journalists on YouTube are making a great effort.”

Legacy media is facing an existential crisis, said Jyotsna, explaining that its survival is crucial to maintaining the gravitas of news and its consumption. “In the present scenario, the number of followers on social media is a huge factor, at times even at the expense of talent or credibility,” she added, suggsting that a combination of traditional media and digital information is the best option. 

The legacy of Pratap influenced journalism in India in many ways, especially the non-English mediums with newspapers in Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi trying to follow its tradition of strong editorials. The book goes into detail into events that led to it becoming a torchbearer for independent media. In addition, it gives a first-hand account of what it is like to practice fearless journalism.

The newspapers had a run that was close to 100 years. And the book seamlessly encapsulates all that happened and with a structure that blends historical research, personal narratives and journalistic insights, making it an engrossing read. In doing this, the authors had to also ensure that their voices spoke as one. Disagreements tend to crop up in any creative partnership. Talking about whether it affected the writing, Chander admitted, “There is a generation gap. One is old school while the other is modern, and there were a couple of instances of pullback, but we both agreed the end product was better for it. For the most part, we were reporting history and there was hardly any scope for disagreement.”

Beyond this, the authors discovered new aspects of history and gained perspective about the events. Chander explained: “In chapter 15, where we discuss Mahatma Gandhi’s tepid response to the hanging of [Indian freedom fighters] Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. Having revered the Mahatma all our lives — and we still do — it was painful to acknowledge that perhaps he did not do enough to save the lives of the three brave hearts. He could have walked out of his pact with Lord Irwin. There is divided opinion in the country on this, but I do feel that the apostle of non-violence should have strongly opposed the extreme act of violence, the hanging of the three.”

The book makes several observations about the decline of independent journalism and draws comparisons between past and present leadership, particularly between Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi. It also acknowledges that while traditional journalism is struggling, independent voices on digital platforms are filling the gap, even as the crackdowns on online dissent continue.

Journalism in India today has become a game of who speaks the loudest. But for the ones still chasing the truth, Chander advises, “In this profession be prepared for a pushback not only from the establishment but also from extreme religious groups and self-appointed custodians of public morality. Moreover, the judiciary may not come to their help at all times.”

The Pratap presses may have gone silent, but the yearning continues for a simpler time, when truth was something that people stood by not something buried under mounds of lies and heaps of deceit.