''Deenbandhu'', sometimes transliterated as ''Dinbandhu'' and spelled ''Din Bandhu'', was a weekly

Marathi-language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

newspaper first published in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in January 1877. It was the first newspaper in India to cater explicitly to the labouring people. The weekly articulated the grievances of the peasants and workers. ''Deenbandhu'' was founded by Krishnarao Pandurang Bhalekar (1850-1910) and served as an outlet for Jotirao Phule's

Satyashodhak Samaj Satyashodhak Samaj (''Truth-seekers' Society'') was a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra, on 24 September 1873. The society endeavoured to mitigate the distress and sufferings of Dalits and women. It espoused a m ...

. Bhalekar was born in Bhamburde and came of a Mali family. Bhalekar ran Dinbandhu almost single-handedly till April 1880 after which the newspaper moved to Mumbai because of financial troubles. Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, who had already been writing for it, edited the newspaper from Mumbai from 1880. Deenbandhu was selling 1650 copies per week in 1884, thus making it the second-highest circulation Marathi or Anglo-Marathi newspaper in Bombay Presidency, after '' Kesari''. Vasudeo Birje became the editor of this iconic newspaper in 1903 after he left Baroda and moved to Mumbai. After Birje's untimely death due to cholera, his wife Tanubai Birje took the responsibility of running the newspaper on her own. She was 32. Tanubai Birje edited Dinbandhu from 1908 till she died in 1913. According to Shriram Gundekar, Tanubai Birje is the first woman editor in the history of non-Brahmin journalism. It's possible that she was the first woman editor in Marathi journalism itself. While Lokhande published the ''Deenbandhu'' from

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 ...

, Vithhal Marutrao Nawle, an admirer of Phule, bought the rights to publish an edition in Pune. He imported a

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

that continued to produce the newspaper until it ceased publication in the 1970s. That press still existed in Pune in 2013 and was still owned by the Nawle family. however, it was in a state of considerable disrepair and decay. The state government was considering whether it could be preserved.

References

{{reflist 1877 establishments in India 1970s disestablishments in India Marathi-language newspapers Newspapers published in Mumbai Jyotirao Phule