Press Club of India Remembers Maulvi Mohammed Baqar, The First Journalist Martyred In India

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Syed Khalique Ahmed

NEW DELHI—When the media in India, the fourth pillar of democracy, has now almost crumbled and surrendered to the powers-that-be, Press Club of India (PCI) on Thursday remembered Maulvi Mohammed Baqar who was martyred in 1857 by the then British rulers for his bold journalism.

The only crime of Maulvi Baqar was that he strongly criticized the atrocities of the British rulers through his newspaper- Dehli Urdu Akhbar – during the 1857 revolt, also called the First War of Independence.

A fearless journalist, Baqar was arrested, tied to the mouth of a large gun and blown into smithereens.

Unfortunately, hardly a few persons in the field of journalism know Maulvi Baqar. His name also does not find mention in any of the books on the history of journalism that is taught in journalism institutes in India.

The occasion PCI chose to recall the contributions of Maulvi Baqar in the field of Indian journalism, was his 164th martyrdom day. He was martyred on September 16, 1857, on the ground outside the historic Delhi Gate. A book in Hindi titled “1857 ki Kranti aur Urdu Patrikartia”, a translation of a Urdu book, “1857 ka inquilab aur Urdu Sahafat”, written by senior journalist Masoom Murabadi, was also released on the occasion.

Maulvi Baqar laid the foundation of Indian journalism

What was the contribution of Baqar and why should he be remembered after 164 years of his being blown out into pieces by a gun? The best answer to this question came from PCI president and senior journalist Umakant Lakhera while paying his tribute to Baqar, who can be called the doyen of Indian journalism. Lakhera said that PCI remembered him on his death anniversary because “Baqar laid the foundation of Indian journalism and fought for the freedom of speech and expression despite the British having brought a law to gag the press.”

The nation can be saved by protecting the legacy of Maulvi Baqar

Lakhera put a question to the audience, all of them journalists from print, electronic and digital media. “Are you fighting to protect the freedom of expression?” This was a big question raised by him. The question carried an implicit message in it and it was about the state of journalism in India in the last few years since the shift of political power in May 2014. Though Lakhera did not say directly about what had happened to journalism under the current political dispensation, everybody attending the function understood what he wanted to convey.

“What Maulvi Baqar did in 1857, was real patriotism. He used the power of his pen for the sake of the nation. He stood up against the atrocities on Indians,” said Lakhera.

“Baqar sahib ki virasat se hi desh bachega” (The nation can be bailed out only by protecting the legacy of Maulvi Baqar sahib”, he declared. “When the Britishers divided Hindus and Muslims religious lines, Maulvi Baqar sahib through his newspaper united the communities in India,” he pointed out.

Though he did not draw an analogy between the political conditions now and then, there appear to be some similarities between the two periods about journalism. If the Britishers brought Gagging Act in 1857 to suppress the vernacular press, mostly the Urdu and Persian newspapers because they were at the forefront of criticizing the British policy about India and published details about their atrocities on native Indians, the media under the current political dispensation in India has been forced to toe the official line and anybody who has dared to question the official policy has either been sacked by his employer or has cases booked against him. And this has happened not only in some remote areas but in the national capital as well. And those who faced the wrath of the government are India’s top newspaper journalists, TV anchors and digital reporters. Maulvi Baqar’s printing press was seized by the then British government.

By organizing a function in memory of Maulvi Baqar and giving a call to save the journalistic “virasat” left by Maulvi Baqar, Lakhera tried to shake the conscience of media persons and appealed to them to come in defence of the fourth estate of democracy that finds in peril now.

Maulvi Baqar was the first Indian journalist martyred for bold journalism

Former BBC correspondent Satish Jacob, who was once a household name in India for his brave and in-depth reporting on developments in India, said that Maulvi Baqar was the first Indian journalist to have been killed most brutally without any trial. He said that Maulvi Baqar was also the champion of Hindu-Muslim unity which he demonstrated through his writings in his newspaper. Maulvi Baqar, according to Jacob, also set up an Imambara at Kashmiri where he invited people from every religion with a view to promoting social and religious brotherhood and amity. “We need people like Maulvi Baqar who can unite communities in present-day India,” Jacob said in his tribute to the great journalist.

Jacob urged the Government of India to bring to India the books and copies of Maulvi Baqar’s newspaper that is currently preserved in a library in London.

Paying his respect to Maulvi Baqar, veteran journalist Jai Shanker informed that the Gagging Act and Censorship Act were brought by the Britishers only after the writings of Maulvi Baqar that created awareness about anti-people policies of the British government.

Senior journalist Arvind Kumar Singh, who is also president of the Writers and Journalists Association, said that there were many other Urdu newspapers that reported about the atrocities of the British on the citizens owing to their participation in the 1857 revolt but the contribution of Maulvi Baqar’s newspaper was superb.

Maulvi Baqar was the first journalist to introduce on the spot reporting 

Paying rich tribute to Maulvi Baqar, veteran journalist and PCI’s executive committee member Asif Umar Asif pointed out that Delhi Urdu Akhbar owned and edited by Maulvi Baqar was the first newspaper that carried details of the 1857 mutiny in Meerut (May 10) and Delhi (May (11) in its May 16, 1857 edition. The importance of Maulvi Baqar’s newspaper was that it carried “on the spot reporting” of the 1857 revolt by Indian soldiers of the British Army in Meerut and Delhi.  It is because of the exclusive spot coverage of the 1957 revolt that Maulvi Baqar is called the founder of “spot reporting in India”. The copies of Maulvi Baqar’s newspaper, 16 issues of which are currently preserved in the National Archives of India, New Delhi. These are the only major source of authentic information about the 1857 revolt.

Senior journalist and Welfare Party of India president Dr. SQR Ilyas, described PCI’s programme as a “revolutionary effort” to remember the common legacy of the past. Quoting a Hadith (statement) of Prophet Mohammed, Dr. Ilyas said that “the biggest jihad(struggle) is to speak the truth before a tyrant ruler”. And this is what Maulvi Baqar did. “If we keep silent, we will lose all our rights,” he said.

Maulvi Baqar represented the “Idea of India”

Praising the journalistic works of Maulvi Baqar vis a vis his contributions towards the unity of India, Former BBC journalist Qurban Ali said that Maulvi Baqar represented the “idea of India” and fought for the unity of Hindus and Muslims in the country. “When Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal ruler, issued an order to blow up with a gun anyone who slaughtered cow, Maulvi Baqar widely publicized it through his newspaper”, Ali said, hinting at how much importance Maulvi Baqar gave to the issues of national unity in his newspaper. He pointed out that remembering Maulvi Baqar had become all the more necessary at this juncture of India’s history when the national integration or a common identity among citizens of the country, was breaking down due to various reasons including the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Stating that Maulvi Baqar as a journalist stood with the oppressed, Ahmadullah Siddiqui representing Urdu daily The Inquilab said that the current generation of journalists needed to learn this lesson from Maulvi Baqar’s life.

Maulvi Baqar died for India

Pointing out that Maulvi Baqar died for India, editor-in-chief of Radiance Viewsweekly Ejaz Ahmed Aslam said that Maulvi Baqar stood up against India’s British rulers who were at the time ruled over half of the world.

Stating that martyrdom was the “supreme sacrifice” of Maulvi Baqar, Mr . Aslam said that Maulvi Baqar followed the Prophet’s command to speak the truth and question the wrongdoings of the government.

“How can we contribute to nation-building if we don’t question the erroneous actions of the government?” he philosophized.

Quoting from a famous statement of former US President John F. Kennedy in which the late President said, “My fellow citizens of the world: Ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man”, Mr Aslam advised the journalists present there to take a lesson from Maulvi Baqar and contribute whatever they could do to protect the freedom of speech and the right to speak the truth. 

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