Mahatma Gandhi's newspaper turns 100

‘I have owned a printing press, I have run Indian Opinion for a long period. But I have not identified myself as its editor. It is my first instance of being identified as an editor in the public and I have welcomed it. I am shivering. I know my responsibilities,’ wrote M K Gandhi in the first edition of his first Gujarati newspaper ‘Navajivan’ which was published on September 7, 1919.

KThe newspaper, which carried the message of the Mahatma to the masses during India’s freedom struggle, completed 100 years of its foundation on Saturday. The Navajivan Trust behind Gujarat Vidyapith has preserved the original printing press and has also re-printed the first edition. India is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of the Mahatma this year.

Officials at the trust said that Indulal Yagnik, a prominent freedom fighter and hero of Navgujarat Movement, had ‘Navajivan and Satya’ published and handed over to the Mahatma, after which the publication got a new name, Navajivan.

During his lifetime, Gandhiji ran four publications — Indian Opinion, Young India, Navajivan and Harijan. The first edition carried a note to the readers that the newspaper will not take any advertisements. The editor also appealed to the readers not to give it away as ‘pasti’ (waste paper) and bind it every six months.

Courtesy: The Times of India, dt. 8.9.2019