Indian Nationalism: The British Bureaucratic Control Over the Nationalist Muslim Press and Political Literature in Madras Presidency, 1914 – 1923

Abstract

In the present paper, an attempt has been made to delineate the influences of Nationalist Muslim Press and Political literature, which helped the spread of Indian nationalism in the Madras Presidency between 1914 and 1923. The active propaganda of the Muslim Press and political literature in favour of the national movement and government's rigid stand against the Muslim press marked a turning point in the history of the press in the Madras Presidency. P.C.Bomford's, Histories of Khilafat and Non Co-Operation Movements in the Madras Presidency, Gail Minault's, The Khilafat Movement: Religious Symbolism and Political Mobilization in India and Gerald N.Barrier's Banned: Controversial Literature and Political control in British India have devoted few pages to the contributions of the nationalist Muslim press and political literature in the National Movement. The present study is based chiefly on the proscribed Urdu literature published from 1914 to 1923 as well as the C.I.D. files, Police Dept. records, Madras Native Newspaper Reports, Fortnightly Reports and Confidential files and Government Orders preserved in the National Archives of New Delhi and the Tamilnadu Archives, Chennai, The present paper reflects the true nature of the British aggressive policies and their colonial exploitation and popular protest of Muslim Press against the Government in the Madras Presidency during the period under question.