Free Press of India was an Indian nationalist-supporting news agency founded in the 1920s by Swaminathan Sadanand , during the period of the British Raj . It was the first news agency owned and managed by Indians. Beset by dubious business acumen from the outset, and beholden to those who financed it, the agency failed to obtain substantial support from Indian-owned press and hence closed down in 1935. It was revived briefly between 1945 and 1947 before being stifled by the government of the newly independent country. It was at various times a supporter of the Swaraj Party and, later, of the Responsive Cooperation Party , as well as various business interests.
26-592: The Free Press Journal is an Indian English-language daily newspaper that was established in 1928 by Swaminathan Sadanand , who also acted as its first editor. First produced to complement a news agency, the Free Press of India , it was a supporter of the Independence movement . It is published in Mumbai , India. The founder editor was Swaminathan Sadanand. It was founded in 1928 to support Free Press of India,
52-494: A cartoonist for the newspaper until being removed from the job. Thackeray then founded Marmik . According to Atkins he was removed "after a political dispute over Thackeray's attacks on southern Indian immigration into Bombay" Notable cartoonist R. K. Laxman joined The Free Press Journal as a twenty-year-old. He was Thackeray's colleague. Three years into the job, he was asked by his proprietor not to make fun at communists, Laxman left and joined The Times of India . It supported
78-542: A news agency that dispatched "nationalist" news to its subscribers. In the colonial context, Colaco describes it as "an independent newspaper supporting nationalist causes". She quotes Lakshmi as saying that "The nationalist press marched along with the freedom fighters". It played a significant role in mobilising sympathetic public opinion during the independence movement. Among its founders was Stalin Srinivasan who founded Manikkodi in 1932. Bal Thackeray worked as
104-510: A price war to see off the new business. J. K. Singh was later to describe him as a great journalist but a poor business manager and a "sad failure". Although Petit served briefly on the board of directors, he refused to invest. Others did provide funds and the FPI became beholden to its principal financial backers, being various businesses and political factions. The Swaraj Party was a major initial supporter but when one member, M. R. Jayakar , who
130-720: A reception at his bungalow, Mount Petit on Pedder Road. There were over 600 distinguished citizens, with both Europeans and Indians present. Prominent among them were Muhammad Ali Jinnah , Seth Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit, Kaikobad Dinshaw, C. H. Setalvad , B. G. Horniman , Gokuldas Kahnadas Parekh, Gopal Krishna Gokhale , Sir Jamshetjee Jeejebhoy , Sir Cowasjee Jehangir , Sir Narayan Chandavarkar , Sir Currimbhoy Ibrahim , Fazulbhoy Currimbhoy, Bhalechandra Krishna, Manmohandas Ramjee, Hazee Esmail, Dinsha Vaccha , Richard Amphlett Lamb, K. M. Munshi , Pherozeshah Mehta , Sir Dorab Tata , C. Dinshaw Adenwallah , Hormusji Wadia, Narayan Madhav Samarth and Sir Claude Hill . He financially supported
156-599: The 1927 Bombay Legislative Council as a representative of the Bombay Mill Owners Association. He also helped in promoting the Free Press of India . J. B. Petit also assisted Sir Pherozeshah Mehta in launching the Indian Daily Mail , which he later went on to control. His 1943 book "The superiority and colour complex" was considered for proscription or prosecution, for its potential to stir up trouble between classes, but ultimately
182-406: The FPI could be financially self-supporting by its second year of operation. Experienced newspaper businessmen, such as J. B. Petit and F. H. Holsinger , foresaw a much longer period of subsidy being required, as well as little chance of success because there were neither sufficient newspapers in print to justify another agency nor means to prevent the existing agencies from temporarily engaging in
208-624: The Indian press, for which purpose it established correspondents in Batavia , Cairo , London , Nanking , New York and Singapore . The revival was abandoned in 1947 when the necessary teleprinter lines were denied to the organisation. The FPI had angered Sardar Patel , the Home Minister , by circulating a news story, on the day after independence of India, that revealed unauthorised details of military movements. Patel thereafter denied FPI
234-456: The Indian viewpoint [which is] a long-felt public want". One difficulty that would have to be surmounted, as the Chronicle noted, was that among all the various nationalist factions there was no common "Indian viewpoint"; Israel describes the extant monopoly as "efficient, dependable, and generally accurate". Another difficulty was to be the poor financial acumen of Sadanand, who envisaged that
260-806: The Reuters monopoly soon after being dismayed by government suppression of reportage concerning the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. Thereafter, he worked for the Independent newspaper in Allahabad and then for the Rangoon Times in Burma, but he held a desire to break the monopoly, as did Gandhi and others involved in the Indian independence movement . The Free Press of India (FPI)
286-474: The facilities that it needed in order to operate. Sadanand had hoped to resurrect the venture once more when the new government of the now-independent India had settled into place but in fact the FPI was not revived. Sadanand was one of the seven initial shareholders of the Press Trust of India , which was started in 1948. Jahangir Bomanji Petit Jehangir Bomanji Petit (21 August 1879 ― 1946)
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#1732772508117312-611: The nationalist movement and was amongst the first benefactors of Gandhi in India. He was in contact with Gandhi before his arrival in India, and had supported Gandhi's struggle in Transvaal in South Africa and activities of Servants of India Society . He attended the 1922 trial of Mohandas Gandhi. J.B. Petit High School for Girls in Mumbai was named after him for his financial support and efforts to allow all castes to attend
338-525: The origins is one of several differing versions. Milton Israel notes late 1924, but also an announcement of the FPI office opening that was published by The Bombay Chronicle on 8 January 1925. Sadanand had issued an appeal in September 1924, and earlier in that year he had approached Congress with his ideas and costings. His appeal noted that he proposed "An independent news agency that will collect and disseminate news with accuracy and impartiality from
364-509: The practice rights of Jewish doctors who had taken refuge in Mumbai fleeing persecution in Germany , in the 1930s. Indian doctors opposed their right to practice claiming that Germany did not have reciprocal arrangements for Indian doctors. The Free Press Journal argued that this was against the "ancient Indian traditions of affording shelter from persecution". Free Press of India In
390-871: The school. Jehangir Bomanji Petit also convinced his father, Seth Bomanji D. Petit, to donate the Cumbala Hotel in Cumbala , which led to the foundation of the Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit Parsee General Hospital in 1907. He was the Secretary of the South African Indian Fund and Joint Secretary of the South African Indian Passive Resistance Fund. He was associated with Friends of India. He was a member of
416-462: The support of the entire national press of India while it was functioning. It maintained a comprehensive internal service. It was the first Indian news agency which organised and maintained an effective world news service to the press of India during the years 1932–35". Shrivastava notes that, despite Sadanand's own description, the venture was not a success and was not in fact supported by the press of India, however worthy his aims may have been. Sadanand
442-703: The three decades prior to independence of India , the Reuters news agency and its affiliates, such as the Associated Press of India (API), Eastern News Agency and Indian News Agency Service , had more or less complete control of newswire services in India. They supplied news services to the Government of the British Raj in that country, as well as from India to the international media, and vice versa. Sadanand had worked for API and left that arm of
468-630: Was a noted nationalist, mill owner, philanthropist, and one of Mahatma Gandhi 's earliest supporters. Belonging to the Petit family , Jehangir was the grandson of Sir Dinshaw Maneckjee Petit and the eldest son of the Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit . He was also the cousin of Mithuben Petit and Rattanbai Petit . He inherited ownership of Petit Mills and additionally served as the Chairman of the Bombay Mill Owners Association. J. B. Petit
494-455: Was a short-lived affair that had become a supplement to the Advocate of India Sunday newspaper as early as 1926, due to the inability to finance it as a standalone publication. The potential of the FPI as a new competitor was sufficient to cause the management at Reuters to institute various administrative changes in order to meet the perceived challenge. Sadanand claimed that the FPI "had
520-564: Was already aware of the constraints acting on the press as a result of the repressive laws of the British Empire. Newspapers could not carry factual reports of what Shrivastava calls "official excesses" even though FPI supplied them. To counteract this problem, he started his own newspaper, first as a cyclostyled news bulletin, the Free Press Bulletin , and finally The Free Press Journal on 13 June 1930. The Bulletin
546-481: Was also a director of FPI, shifted his support from that to the Responsive Cooperation movement after October 1925, so too did the FPI. Other early board members included GD Birla and P. Thakurdas. Israel writes that the FPI since its establishment "had been run by a coalition of Bombay industrialists and journalists". A primary stimulus in the formation and growth of the nationalist-supporting FPI
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#1732772508117572-464: Was amongst the first supporters of Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhi reached India and Bombay for the first time on 9 January 1915, Petit along with other Indian nationalists like Narottam Morarji , Bhalchandra Krishna, B. G. Horniman , Revashanker Zaveri, Maganlal Gandhi took a launch to reach the steamer to welcome Kasturba and Mohandas Gandhi at Apollo bunder, where a large crowd had gathered to welcome Gandhi. Later on 12 January 1915, J. B. Petit organised
598-480: Was an affluent man and could afford to take risks, which was evidenced by his agency frequently forfeiting security deposits in acts of defiance, but the combined effects of a lack of general support, the opposition of the government of the British Raj and the vested interests of established news media caused it to close in 1935. The FPI was revived in 1945 and aimed then to provide feeds of international news to
624-410: Was clear from the beginning that the long term future of the FPI was going to be Sadanand's problem; and the willingness of his affluent backers to continue more than marginal philanthropy would depend on his success in becoming a stable competitor in the professional press world. They were never willing, however, to underwrite the high cost that might have made it possible to achieve that goal. Sadanand
650-402: Was probably the "rupee ratio" debate that pitted the colonial government against Indian nationalists. This debate concerned whether it was better to devalue the rupee or restrict the amount of rupees in circulation , together with the aim of maintaining a fixed ratio between the rupee and sterling of 1 s. 6 d. Any outcome of the debate would affect business but Israel also says that It
676-558: Was the first news agency in the country to be both owned and managed by Indians. Sadanand said that he had planned its creation in 1923 and that it was actually established in 1925. On the other hand, the First news agency in India was the Associated Press Of India (API), which began functioning in 1905 and was owned by Britishers. K. M. Shrivastava, a professor of news agency journalism, notes that Sadanand's account of
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