How Udant Martand Gave Hindi Its First Printed Voice in Colonial India

In the early 19th century, Kolkata (then Calcutta) stood as the intellectual and political centre of British India. It was home to the first university, the first banks, and a flourishing print culture. Newspapers in English and Bengali filled bookstalls and drawing rooms. 

Yet, amid this thriving world of words, one language spoken by millions across northern India — Hindi — had no place on the printed page.

That changed on 30 May 1826, when a modest newspaper rolled out of a cramped press on Amartalla Lane in central Kolkata. Its name was Udant Martand — The Rising Sun. It would go down in history as India’s first Hindi newspaper.

Kolkata, despite being far from the Hindi heartland, was chosen because it had the strongest printing and publishing infrastructure at the time. As the capital of British India, it offered access to presses, paper, and a small but educated readership that Shukla hoped to tap into. It was here, in the narrow lanes of Amartalla, that a bold dream was set into type.

A lawyer with a vision

The man behind this quiet revolution was Pandit Jugal Kishore Shukla, a lawyer from Kanpur who had moved to Kolkata for work. Restless in a city where English and Bengali papers dominated, he wondered: where was the space for the words of his own people?

With no financial backing and little precedent to follow, Shukla launched Udant Martand from 37 Amartalla Lane, near the bustling Barabazar market. It was a weekly newspaper, published every Tuesday, printed in Devanagari script, and written in a blend of khari boli and braj bhasha, two widely spoken dialects of Hindi at the time. It was a blend that ordinary Hindi speakers could follow, even if they came from different regions.

The paper carried a mix of local news, social commentary, and articles of general interest, often written in a moral and didactic style. It sought to inform and also to connect Hindi speakers with wider debates taking place in the country.

A struggle to survive

Launching a Hindi paper from Kolkata came with steep challenges:

• Distance from readers: Most Hindi speakers lived in regions like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, far from Kolkata.

• High postal costs: Distribution was expensive. While some papers enjoyed postal concessions, Udant Martand was denied this support.

• Low subscriptions: Even at an annual fee of just Rs 2, it failed to gather enough paying readers.

Shukla appealed to the British administration for financial and logistical aid, but his requests went unanswered. With few subscribers and mounting costs, the paper could not sustain itself. After just 18 months of publication, Udant Martand was forced to shut down. Its final issue appeared in December 1827.

The dawn of Hindi journalism

Though short-lived, Udant Martand marked the beginning of a new chapter in Indian media. Yet what Shukla began in that little press was far larger than the life of his paper. For the first time, Hindi — a language often dismissed by the elite — stood in print.

Publications in Hindi would eventually flourish, playing an important role in shaping public discourse and driving India’s freedom movement. These papers became not just chronicles of society but also tools of resistance, fuelling conversations that would one day drive India’s freedom movement. 

Many of the leaders of the independence struggle were regular contributors or readers of vernacular newspapers that took inspiration from Udant Martand’s efforts.

Remembering the legacy

Udant Martand may have lasted only 18 months, but it lit the spark for an entire tradition of Hindi journalism. From a small lane in Kolkata, a movement began that gave millions a printed voice and reshaped public life in India.

Its faded pages still carry a lesson: the strength of a language lies not in its longevity alone, but in the courage of those who dare to print its first words.

Sources:

https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/yesterdate-this-day-from-kolkatas-past-may-30-1826/cid/2023370