Which is the first Urdu newspaper? And when did it hit the stands?

Well, it was Jam Jahannuma , and was first published in 1822 from Calcutta.

However, there are other claimants to this honour. Some give credit to Moulvi Mohd. Baqar – the first journalist to lay down his life for the freedom movement – for being the one to pioneer Urdu journalism. He was associated with a Delhi daily published from 1836 to 1857.

Some believe the first Urdu newspaper was Agra Akhbar , which was published from Akbarabad in 1831. And some others vouch for Maratul Akhbar, which was brought out in 1821 from Calcutta.

No need to wrack your brains. You can find out everything about the Urdu press from Syed Fazil Hussain Parvez’s book Urdu Media – Kal, Aaj, Kal . It deals extensively with the evolution of the Urdu media over the years.

Recently released by India’s Consul-General in Chicago Ausaf Sayeed, the book is a collector’s issue. Budding Urdu journalists in particular stand to gain a lot from it. The 418-page book, published by Huda Publications, throws light on the birth of Urdu language and its journey through the years. It talks about qalam (pen), communication timeline and lists historic Urdu newspapers, names of which one has not even heard of.

Sample these: Jamiul Akhbar (1841), Azam Akhbar (1848), Umdatul Akhbar (1849), Taleemul Akhbar(1851), Suboh Sadiq (1855) and Tilsime Hairat (1856).

The year 1857 marked a new chapter in Urdu journalism: it began focusing on the freedom movement while highlighting public issues like corruption, civic problems, adulteration and hoarding.

An Urdu journalist of no mean repute himself, Dr. Parvez has taken pains to list the names of most of the Urdu weeklies and dailies, along with the names of their editors. Not confined to just print media, he takes a peek at radio, television, internet, social media and the role of Urdu. The book also packs information about social media sites. All in all the book is a good read.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by J. S. Ifthekhar / Hyderabad – February 23rd, 2015