The Press in Tamil Nadu and The Struggle for Freedom 1917-1937

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The present book "The Press in Tamil Nadu and Struggle for Freedom, 1917-1937" is the outcome of the research that I did in the School of Historical Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, during the period 1975-1983. The study is restricted to the newspapers of Tamil Nadu, that were published in English. Tamil and Urdu languages. As each newspaper had its own individuality, generalisation was not easy. Yet an attempt has been made to analyse the trends in the writings of the press with reference to the Freedom Movement, reaction of the administration and the ultimate impact on public opinion. The details of different trends seemed complicated, much because of political overtones. However, importance is given to identify the socio-economic implications.

The importance of the press in working of democratic institutions can not be ignored. In India in the struggle for attainment of representative government it took an abiding interest. In spite of that no attempt had been made so far to study the working of the press in Tamil Nadu in the context of the Freedom Movement. This was perhaps because of paucity of source material on all the facets of the working of the press, demise of many of the editors of the period under study and the limitations involved in forming generalisations. However, it has been found possible to collect data from the Native Newspaper Reports compiled by the Government of Madras, the Government Orders relating to judicial proceedings, The Hindu file and vernacular newspapers that are preserved in the Maraimalai Adigal Library and Madras University Library, Madras This work as such represents an original contribution on historical scholarship on the press of Tamil Nadu.

The social and economic issues that figured in the news- papers, the political movements, attitude of the administration to press writings and vicissitudes in the history of the press are given particular attention. The approach is based upon an analysis of the different issues of the period, of the respective stands taken by different social groups as well as the sections of the press and their consequences contributing to vicissitudes in the history of newspapers. The presentation of the political events appears essential in order to give a historical perspective for the discussion of the developments.

I owe a deep sense of gratitude to Dr. K. Rajayyan, Professor and Head, School of Historical Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai. His ready help and scholarly guidance made the completion of the work possible.

**Contents and Sample Pages**