Once Haunted By British: History Of The National Herald Newspaper
New Delhi: Founded by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1938, The National Herald has been struck with a decade-long legal battle and investigation. The case regarding the English-language daily surrounds allegations involving the acquisition of the newspaper. In its over half-a-century-old history, the newspaper has faced several adversities — right from the start by the British government, including a ban on its publications.
Used as a tool to win independence, The National Herald was banned by the British government in 1942 during the ‘Quit India’ movement. In many ways, as a symbol of anti-colonial resistance, the newspaper has played an important role in projecting Congress, carefully balancing between showing support for the revolutionary and militant movement and trying to appear in front of the British authorities as a responsible political party. Notably, it unleashed scathing attack against the foreign government, its unjust actions and discriminatory policies.
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The launch of the ‘Quit India’ movement led to the arrest of several Congress leaders including the management of The National Herald, along with 80 other newspapers. The media house had to suspend publication voluntarily in line with Gandhi’s call that a newspaper would cease being a newspaper if it had to comply with the government’s censorship orders, flagging concern over it acting like a government mouthpiece.
The police had raided the premises of The National Herald office and ordered the shutting down of the newspaper, forcing it to stop publication till November 1945.
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It is reported that Nehru had written regular notes to the newspaper’s editor even when he was imprisoned. He had given suggestions such as making the newspaper’s objective of ‘Purna Swaraj’ for India clearly articulated in the publication.
Decades later, the newspaper had to cease its operations in 2008 due to financial reasons. However, in 2016, given the internet boom, and the rising demand, the historic newspaper was relaunched as a digital publication controlled by the Congress party.
As per the news portal’s website, it stands for the vision of its founder Nehru and the values of the freedom movement, including building a modern, democratic, just, equitable, liberal and socially harmonious nation, free of sectarian strife. The publication is now a multimedia outlet with a strong digital presence.
The Controversy Regarding The National Herald Newspaper
The newspaper is now facing an existential threat with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filing a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, among other management, alleging that the firm acquired the assets of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald, under questionable circumstances.
The petition against the media house was first filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in 2012, which prompted a trial court to allow the Income Tax Department to investigate the financial affairs of the National Herald newspaper and the Gandhis, and later taken over by the ED. The ED’s charges include claims of misappropriation and cheating related to the acquisition of these assets.
Notably, the Congress has alleged that the BJP has been carrying out vendetta politics against the newspaper. The Grand Old Party claimed that seizing of the assets of the newspaper in the case was a “state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law”.
However, the BJP has rejected the Congress’ claims, stating that the party needs to reply to the substance of allegations against the Gandhis instead of merely offering a political reaction. For the past few years, the opposition has been alleging that the ruling BJP is using central probe agencies to run after the dissenting voices.
