vernacular languages. The first printed edition of Ulama – Legal scholars of Islam and the sharia ( a body of Islamic law) Fatwa – A legal pronouncement on Islamic law usually given by a mufti (legal scholar) to clarify issues on which the law is uncertain the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, a sixteenth-century text, came out from Calcutta in . By the mid-nineteenth century, cheap lithographic editions flooded north Indian markets. From the 1880s, the Naval Kishore Press at Lucknow and the Shri Venkateshwar Press in Bombay published numerous religious texts in vernaculars.
In their printed and portable form, these could be read easily by the faithful at any place and time. They could also be read out to large groups of illiterate men and women. Religious texts, therefore, reached a very wide circle of people, encouraging discussions, debates and controversies within and among different religions. Print did not only stimulate the publication of conflicting opinions amongst communities, but it also connected communities and people in different parts of India.
Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating pan-Indian identities. Why Newspapers? ‘Krishnaji Trimbuck Ranade inhabitant of Poona intends to publish a Newspaper in the Marathi Language with a view of affording useful information on every topic of local interest. It will be open for free discussion on subjects of general utility, scientific investigation and the speculations connected with the antiquities, statistics, curiosities, history and geography of the country and of the Deccan especially… the patronage and support of all interested in the diffusion of knowledge and Welfare of the People is earnestly solicited.’ Bombay Telegraph and Courier , January ‘The task of the native newspapers and political associations is identical to the role of the Opposition in the House of Commons in Parliament in England.
That is of critically examining government policy to suggest improvements, by removing those parts that will not be to the benefit of the people, and also by ensuring speedy implementation. These associations ought to carefully study the particular issues, gather diverse relevant information on the nation as well as on what