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Border museum provides a rare insight into pre-Partition media (Feature)
By Jaideep Sarin
Attari (Punjab), Jan 6 (IANS) The important role played by the vernacular media in the country’s freedom struggle, which contributed to the end of the British rule in August 1947, has found a new platform right near the international border between India and Pakistan.
A new gallery of rare images of old vernacular newspapers of pre-Partition Punjab has recently been unveiled at the Museum of Peace at ‘Sarhad’ (border) complex, around two km from the Attari-Wagah border.
Titled ‘Pre-Partition Punjab – Vernacular Press’, the gallery displays issues of some of the oldest Urdu dailies of those times, including ‘Paisa Akhbar’, ‘Zamindar’, ‘Daily Inquilab’ and ‘The Akali (Amritsar)’.
The issues of these old vernacular newspapers, some of them from the 19th and early 20th century, have been sourced from archival sources in Lahore by a retired bureaucrat, D.S. Jaspal.
“The role of the vernacular press in pre-Partition Punjab and its critical influence on events leading to 1947 is a very neglected area of study,” Jaspal told IANS.
“By the first quarter of the 20th century, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs had their own media which used nationalism as a platform to project and promote their identity interests,” Jaspal, who served as Secretary in Punjab’s Information Department for several years, pointed out.
Started in 1885 at one paisa per copy, ‘Paisa Akhbar’ blazed a new trail in journalism and by 1898 commanded the highest circulation of 5,000 copies.
‘Zamindar’, which started in Lahore in 1903 with a mission to project issues of farmers and landowners, eventually turned stridently nationalistic, projecting the Muslim point of view, which boosted its circulation to over 30,000 copies.
“Closer to 1947, the inflammatory and polarised content was pushing up circulation figures and it is not clear whether content was driving circulation or circulation driving content,” Jaspal pointed out.
The first issue of ‘The Akali’ was published in Punjabi from Lahore on May 21, 1920. In October 1922, it merged with the “Pradesi Khalsa”, a daily run in Amritsar by Master Tara Singh, an extremely popular leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal who was a founding member of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committe, and shifted to the Sikh holy city, where it was published in Urdu-Persian script. Master Tara Singh, was its Editor.
The language of the earliest vernacular papers like “Paisa Akhbar” and “Zamindar” had a high degree of Persian content, which was gradually discarded in favor of Urdu to increase circulation by catering to a wider readership.
The new gallery is displayed at the ‘Museum of Peace’, conceived, designed and curated by Jaspal as a celebration of the common composite culture of pre-partition Punjab in general and Amritsar-Lahore in particular.
Located within the Sarhad restaurant complex, an Amritsari-Lahori cuisine specialty restaurant, near the Attari-Wagah border, 30 km from Amritsar, the museum is India’s first open-air, walk-through, story-telling museum. It has no entry fee.
It has 48 large panels mounted on sturdy 7-feet-high pedestals that depict pre-partition Punjab in three sections, beginning with the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Different panels display Ranjit Singh’s military conquests – the capture of Peshawar Fort, Jamrud Fort and the Zamama Gun.
The British colonial period traces the organic links between the twin cities of Amritsar and Lahore through growth of the railways, education, trade and Lahore’s film industry. One panel shows a 100-year-old Lahore-Pathankot railway ticket costing Rs 3, considered quite a princely sum in those days.
The museum is dedicated to late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In February 1999, Vajpayee, in his quest for lasting peace in the sub-continent, had crossed the Attari-Wagah border in a luxury bus to Lahore to take forward the sub-continental peace process that however, got derailed when Pakistani intruders occupied the icy heights of Jammu and Kashmir a few months later. The Indian Army lost over 700 personnel in clearing the heights.
Jaspal proposes academic collaboration between universities on both sides of the border to study the growth and impact of the vernacular press in pre-partition Punjab.
“Otherwise, we may have many mini-1947s (the partition of the sub-continent) silently incubating,” he maintained.
(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at [email protected] )
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
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