The Media in

Gujarati language Gujarati ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Western Rājasthāni, Old Gujarati (). In India, it is one of the 22 Languages with ...

started with publication of ''

Bombay Samachar ''Mumbai Samachar'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Asia. Established in 1822 by Fardunjee Marzban, it is published in Gujarati and English. History The ''Mumbai Samachar'', Asia's oldest continuously published newspaper, ...

'' in 1822. Initially the newspapers published business news and they were owned by

Parsi people The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

based in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. Later Gujarati newspapers started published from other parts of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. Several periodicals devoted to social reforms were published in the second half of the 19th century. After arrival of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

, the Indian independence movement peaked and it resulted in proliferation of Gujarati media. Following independence, the media was chiefly focused on political news. After bifurcation of Bombay state, the area of service changed. Later there was an increase in readership due to growth of literacy and the media houses expanded its readership by publishing more editions. Later these media houses ventured into digital media also. The radio and television media expanded after 1990.

Print media

History

1822—1915

The printing was introduced in Gujarati in 1812. The first printed book published was the Gujarati translation of ''

Dabestan-e Mazaheb The ''Dabestan-e Mazaheb'' (; ) is a Persian language work on Comparative religion, written between 1645 and 1658, that examines and compares Abrahamic, Dharmic and other religions of the mid-17th century South Asia and the Middle East. Additio ...

'' prepared and printed by Parsi priest

Fardunjee Marzban Fardunjee Marzaban or Fardoonjee Marazban (22 August 1787– 17 March 1847)CE Buckland, ''Dictionary of Indian Biography'', (New Delhi: Cosmo Publications, 1999), p. 278 was, among other things, a printer and a newspaper editor. He established th ...

in 1815. Early newspapers in Gujarati are published from

and they covered commercial and business news chiefly. They were mainly published by

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

community and served area of

(now Mumbai). On 1 July 1822, the first Gujarati newspaper ''Bombayna Samachar'' was started by

as a weekly business journal with 150 subscribers. In 1832, it was renamed ''

'' and converted into biweekly. Later it became daily in 1855. In 1933, its present publisher Cama family brought it. Another Parsi, Naoroji Dorabji Chandaru started ''Mumbai Vartman'' in 1830. A year later was renamed ''Mumbaina Halkaru Ane Vartaman'' and converted into biweekly which published until 1843. Pestonji Manekji started a weekly ''Jam-e-Jamshed'' in 1831 which later converted in daily 1853. Several other newspapers published between 1832 and 1856: ''Doorbeen'', ''Samachar Darpan'', ''Mombaina Kasud'', ''Chitranjan Darpan'' and ''Chabuk''. The first women's magazine in Gujarati, '' Stribodh'' was established in 1857 by Parsi social activists. Buddhi Prakash Gujarati periodical 1850

The

Gujarat Vernacular Society Gujarat Vidya Sabha, originally called Gujarat Vernacular Society, is a literary institution for the promotion of vernacular Gujarati literature and education, and for the collection of manuscripts and printed books; located in the city of Ahmedab ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, founded by British Magistrate

Alexander Kinloch Forbes Alexander Kinloch Forbes (7 July 1821 – 31 August 1865) was a colonial administrator in British India. Early life Forbes was born in London on 7 July 1821 to John Forbes-Mitchell (1786-1822) of Thainston and Ann Powell (m. 1809 d. 1861). He was ...

, started ''Vartaman'' in 1849. The society also published ''Budhvar'' weekly and ''

Buddhiprakash (, English: Light of Knowledge) is a Gujarati language magazine published by Gujarat Vidya Sabha (formerly known as Gujarat Vernacular Society), Ahmedabad, India. History was established in 1850 as a lithotype fortnightly. The first issue ...

'' magazine. Due to efforts of Forbes, ''Surat Samachar'', a biweekly, was introduced in

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

in 1850 which run for short period. Dinshaw Ardeshir Talyarkhan started ''Gujarat Darpan'' in 1863 as a biweekly. It was merged with ''Gujaratmitra'' in 1894 and was renamed ''Gujaratmitra Gujarat Darpan''. Several journal during those times were dedicated to social reform. ''Parhejhgar'' of Surat was devoted to prohibition. Lallubhai Raichand launched ''Shamasher Bahadur'' in Ahmedabad in 1854. Social reformer

Dadabhai Navroji Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917), also known as the ''"Grand Old Man of India"'' and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian independence activist, political leader, merchant, scholar and writer. He was one of the f ...

introduced ''Rast Goftar'' (The Truth Teller) to clarify

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

concepts in 1854 which published until 1921.

Narmad Narmadashankar Lalshankar Dave () (24 August 1833 – 26 February 1886), popularly known as Narmad, was an Indian Gujarati-language poet, playwright, essayist, orator, lexicographer and reformer under the British Raj. He is considered to be th ...

launched ''Dandiyo'' in 1864 which was inspired by ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. It run until 1869 and merged with ''Sunday Review'' in 1870.

Karsandas Mulji Karsandas Mulji (25 July 183228 August 1871) was an Indian journalist, social reformer, and administrator. He was an alumnus of Elphinstone college and an English-educated Gujarati journalist with an acute dislike for institutional religion. ...

started '' Satyaprakash'' in 1855 in Bombay. The first daily published in

was ''Hitechchhu''. It was launched a biweekly in 1861 and later became daily in 1873. ''Prajabandhu'' was introduced in 1895. A weekly from

Kheda Kheda is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kheda was known as Kaira during the British Raj. It was the former administrative capital of Kheda district. The city is known for tobacco farming. The nearest railway statio ...

, ''Kheda Vartman'' was started in 1861 and completed its centenary. An evening newspaper ''Sanj Varman of Bombay'' was introduced in 1902 which published until 1950. '' Doot'', a Gujarati Catholic monthly, was launched from Bombay.

1915—1960

Gujarati journalism was greatly influenced by the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

between 1915 and 1947.

who led the independence movement, introduced ''Navjivan'' in 1919. It was renamed ''Harijan Bandhu'' in 1932 and published until 1940. It was revived and published again from 1946 to 1948. ''Saurashtra'' weekly was started in 1921 which was renamed later as ''

Phulchhab ''Phulchhab'' is the Gujarati daily published from Rajkot, Gujarat, India.Registrar of Newspapers for India, RNI , Reg. No.72457/1999 , Name: PHULCHHAB , Link: http://rni.nic.in/registerdtitle_search/registeredtitle_ser.aspx It was founded i ...

''.

Hajimahamad Allarakha Haji Mohammed Allarakha Shivji (13 December 1878 – 21 January 1921), also spelled Hajji Mohammad Alarakhiya, was a Gujarati literary journalist and author. Biography Haji Mohammed Allarakha Shivji was born on 13 December 1878 in Bombay to a ...

published artistic periodical ''Visami Sadi'' from 1916 to 1920. Visami Sadi 1916 Magazine cover

'' Sandesh'' was founded by Nandlal Bodiwala in 1923 following

Non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

. ''

Gujarat Samachar The ''Gujarat Samachar'' is the leading Gujarati-language daily newspaper published in India. Its headquarters are in Ahmedabad with a branch in Surat. It is distributed from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Mumbai, Mehsana, Bh ...

'' was started in 1932 following

Dandi March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

and civil disobedience movement. Amritlal Seth founded Saurashtra Trust in 1931 and launched ''Janmabhoomi'' on 9 June 1934 in Bombay. It was edited by

Samaldas Gandhi Samaldas Gandhi (1897–1953) was a journalist and Indian independence activist who headed the ''Aarzi Hakumat'' or ''Provisional Government'' of the erstwhile princely state of Junagadh. He was a nephew of Mahatma Gandhi. Early life Samalda ...

. After sometime, Samaldas Gandhi left ''Janmabhoomi'' and launched ''Vande Mataram''. Following business war between two newspapers, Amritlal Seth founded the Indian Languages Newspapers Association. He also founded a cooperative society to finance other newspapers. It expanded its reach by publishing and acquiring several magazines and newspapers. It owns ''Vyapar'' (1948), the first business magazine in an Indian language founded in 1948, ''

'' (1921) publishing from

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

and '' Kutchmitra'' (1955) publishing from

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

. It also own a weekly, ''Pravasi'' and a literary journal ''Kavita''. ''

Jai Hind Jai Hind (, ) is a salutation and slogan that means "Hail India", "Long live India", or literally "Victory orIndia" as originally coined by Zain-ul Abideen Hasan, also known as Abid Hasan Safrani, an officer in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's In ...

'' was founded by Babulal Shah in 1948 which is headquartered at

. ''Loksatta—Jansatta'' was founded in 1953. '' The Prabhat'' was founded in 1934 by Kakalbhai Kothari after leaving ''Phulchhab''. He was the driving force of ''Phulchaab'' around the years 1932 and later edited the weekly 'Navsaurashtra', a part of the Prabhat Group of Newspapers

1960—2000

Following Mahagujarat Movement in 1960,

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

was divided into

, with

as its capital, and

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

with Mumbai as its capital. The newspapers published from both capital cities changed their area of coverage accordingly. '' Akila Daily'' started in 1978 from Rajkot. ''Gujarat Samachar'' and ''Sandesh'' expanded its number of editions in 1980s. ''Sandesh'' was headed by Chimanbhai Patel from 1958 who introduced weekly supplements in Gujarat. Pradyumna Mehta published monthly ''Hindustan Patrika'' in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

from 1977 to 1981 for Gujarati diaspora. Other monthlies abroad were ''Gujarat Vartaman'' and ''Bharat Sandesh'' both based in Chicago and stopped in 1980s. ''Gujarati Samachar'' based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

was published also. Bhupat Vadodaria established

Sambhaav ''Sambhaav Metro'' () is a Gujarati newspaper published six days a week (not on Sunday) only from Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India) ''Sambhaav'', a broadsheet Gujarati newspaper when it started has modified into an afternoon tabloid ''Sambhaav Metro'', ...

media group in 1986 which publishes evening tabloid ''Sambhaav Metro'' in Ahmedabad. It also publishes ''Abhiyaan'', a socio-political weekly.

2000 onwards

''Sambhaav'' was the first media group to enter in online media in Gujarat. ''

Divya Bhaskar ''Divya Bhaskar'' () is a Gujarati newspaper in Gujarat, India, owned by D B Corp Ltd. It is one of the highest circulation Gujarati dailies. With the most local editions in Gujarat, it is published from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, J ...

'' was introduced in 2003 by Dainik Bhaskar Group which led to another business war in Gujarati print media. It quickly expanded across Gujarat and took over ''Saurashtra Samachar'' based in

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

in 2004. Divya Bhaskar publishes an edition for Gujarati diaspora in North America.

The Times Group Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), d/b/a the Times Group, is an Indian media conglomerate based in Mumbai. Notable media properties owned and operated by the group include India's largest selling daily English-language newspaper ''The ...

which publishes ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'', launched Gujarati edition of ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...

'' in February 2007 in Ahmedabad and its Gujarati daily ''

NavGujarat Samay ''NavGujarat Samay'' is a Gujarati language broadsheet daily newspaper from The Times Group. It was launched in Ahmedabad, India on 16 January 2014 to cater to vernacular language readers of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state ...

'' in January 2014.

Digital media

Gujarat was the first state in India where the rural high frequency television transmitter was established. In 1975, it was established at Pij,

Kheda district Kheda District, known as Kaira District during British rule, is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. It is part of the region known as Charotar, consisting of Kheda and Anand districts. Kheda was an administrativ ...

. The state owned

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

was the first to enter in television and it operates

DD Girnar DD-Girnar previously known as DD-10 GUJARATI is the Gujarati language channel of India's national broadcaster, Doordarshan. It is broadcast out of studios at Doordarshan Kendra (Center) in Ahmedabad in Gujarat State. History Doordarshan Kendr ...

. Other privately operated TV channels are

Colors Gujarati Viacom18 Media Private Limited is an independent Indian media conglomerate, part of JioStar. It is owned by Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems. The Organisation had various channels and content production studios in India. Following th ...

, P7 News, Dainik Gujarat, Gujarat First News, TV 9 Gujarati, Bizz News, VTV Gujarati, Sandesh News, GSTV News, ABP Asmita, PTN News, Live Gujarati News. Dainik Jagran Media Group's Gujarati news website Gujarati Jagran (https://www.gujaratijagran.com/) was launched in Gujarat on 9 September 2022. It was launched by Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Pate

Radio

The first radio station in Gujarat was founded by

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born as Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal G ...

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

in 1939. Later it was merged with

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

in 1948 after

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. In 2011, there were 10 radio stations in Gujarat run by

including ''Vividhbharti''. There were several other radio channels owned by private media groups in Gujarat including

Radio Mirchi Radio Mirchi ("''Mirchi"'' in Hindi meaning red chilli), also known as 98.3 Mirchi, is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiarie ...

, Radio City, Red FM, My FM, Radio One, Big FM and Top FM. There are four campus radio stations in Gujarat, ''Micavaani'' by MCA, GURU by

Gujarat University The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the post graduate level. It is accredited A+ by NAAC ...

, Vallabh Vidyanagar Campus radio and a campus radio by

Sardar Patel University Sardar Patel University (SPU) is a public state university in Vallabh Vidyanagar, a Anand City Gujarat, India. It is named after politician Vallabhbhai Patel and was founded in October 1955 by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the then-Bomb ...

, Anand.

SEWA Sewa or SEWA may refer to: * Sêwa, a feminine name in Kurdish language taken from Sêw which means apple. * Sêwa or Sewu, Tibet, a village in Tibet * Self-Employed Women's Association of India, a trade union in India * Sewa, volunteer work offe ...

operates the community radio, ''Rudi no Radio'' in

Sanand Sanand is a city and a municipality in Ahmedabad district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. It is a major industrial hub of Western India, with manufacturing plants of major domestic and foreign companies. History ...

near Ahmedabad.

Statistics

In 1984, there were 735 publications in Gujarati including 43 dailies. It grew to 3005 publications in 2007—2008 as per

Registrar of Newspapers for India The Press Registrar General of India (PRGI), formerly the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, for the registration of newspapers and periodicals ...

including 220 dailies and 1410 weeklies. They further grew to 4836 registered publications in 2014-2015 which include 539 dailies, 19 bi/triweeklies, 2189 weeklies, 548 fortnightly, 1324 monthlies, 105 quarterlies, 17 annuals and 95 others as per Registrar of Newspapers for India. According to the

Indian Readership Survey The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) is the largest continuous readership research study in the world with an annual sample size exceeding 2.56 lakh (256,000) respondents. IRS collects a comprehensive range of demographic information and provides ext ...

2013, the top three Gujarati dailies were ''Gujarat Samachar'' (4339000 readers), ''Divya Bhaskar'' (3770000), ''Sandesh'' (3724000). As per 2011, there were more than 4 million television connections in Gujarat.

References

{{Gujarat Gujarati literature Gujarati-language mass media Journalism in India Mass media in Gujarat