India Celebrates 200 Years of Hindi Journalism at IGNCA Seminar
On Saturday, May 30, 2026, India marked the bicentenary of Hindi journalism with a two-day seminar and exhibition at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). The event commemorated the historic launch of the country's first Hindi weekly, 'Udanta Martand', exactly 200 years ago.
The commemorative event was organized by IGNCA in collaboration with the Madhavrao Sapre Memorial Newspaper Museum and Research Institute, based in Bhopal. The gathering celebrated the evolution of Hindi journalism from its early 19th-century print origins to the modern digital age.
Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia attended the opening session of the seminar as the chief guest. During the proceedings, Scindia officially released a commemorative postage stamp and a special commemorative volume dedicated to the bicentenary milestone.
A written message in Hindi from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dated May 29, was also presented on the screen during the seminar. In his message, Modi expressed confidence that the 200-year journey of Hindi journalism would continue to inspire new generations of journalists, researchers, and media professionals.
The accompanying exhibition featured rare archival images of the first page of 'Udanta Martand', which was first published on May 30, 1826, from an old press in Calcutta. Edited by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla, the seminal weekly carried the motto "Hindustaniyon ke hit ke het" to signal its commitment to the interests of Indians.
According to historical details shown at the exhibition, the weekly was published every Tuesday from Martand Press, located at a haveli at no. 37 in Calcutta's Kolhu Tola, Amratala Gali.
Veteran journalist Vijaydutt Shridhar, the founder of the Sapre memorial newspaper museum, attended the event. Shridhar, who built the museum by collecting archival materials from across India, noted that 'Udanta Martand' folded after just one year and seven months due to a lack of financial patronage. During his address, Shridhar quoted journalist Makhanlal Chaturvedi, stating that "the pen should neither get stuck nor go astray."
The exhibition showcased rare images of 19th-century publications, including 'Malwa Akhbar', 'Akhbar Gwalior', 'Samachar Sudhavarshan', 'Kavivachansudha', 'Hindipradip', 'Hindosthan', 'Ananda Kadambini', 'Bharatbhrata', and 'Shree Venkateswar Samachar'.
Visitors also viewed archival images of 20th-century pre-independence journals, including 'Dainik Lokmat', 'Madhukar', 'Hind Kesari', 'Saraswati', 'Vigyan', 'Vishwamitra', 'Aaj', 'Sainik', and 'Aryavarta'.
