Akhbar Sri Darbar Sahib Sri Amritsar Ji

Early Gurmukhi newspaper

Akhbar Sri Darbar Sahib Sri Amritsar Ji

Front page of the first issue, 1 March 1867

Type| Fortnightly
Editor| Munshi Hari Naryan
General manager| Firaya Mal
Founded| 1 March 1867
Language| Braj written in Gurmukhi script
City| Amritsar
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The Akhbar Sri Darbar Sahib Sri Amritsar Ji, also known simply as Akhbar Sri Darbar Sahib, was a Braj-language fortnightly newspaper written in Gurmukhi script that was founded in Amritsar in 1867.[1][2][3] It was one of the first Gurmukhi and Sikh newspapers.[note 1][1][4][2][3]

## History

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The newspaper was founded by two Hindu youths, Munshi Hari Narayan, who was the editor, and Firaya Mal, the manager.[note 2][5][2][3] According to N. G. Barrier, the founders were Sehajdhari Sikhs and it was the first newspaper to appear in Punjabi.[3] It was perhaps the second Sikh newspaper to be established in history, after the Aftab-i-Panjab of Diwan Buta Singh (established a year earlier in 1866).[3]

The motivation to found the newspaper was to counter Christian missionaries.[5] The published issues were four pages in-length on 20 by 26-inch paper.[5] It was printed on lithographic limestone from a handwritten copy as a Gurmukhi type was not yet available in Amritsar at the time.[5][1][3] The cost for the paper was two annas.[5] An image of the Golden Temple shrine was in the masthead.[5] The newspaper was written in Braj in Gurmukhi script rather than Punjabi in Gurmukhi script, which is a sign of the popularity of Braj in the region amongst Sikh intellectual circles in the 18th and 19th centuries.[1] The matter of the paper was primarily translations of other papers.[5] According to Vishav Bharti, whilst the newspaper had a Sikh-orientated name, it propagated Hinduism.[5] It mostly reported on court notices and other government notifications.[2] The newspaper carried advertisements from large commercial establishments.[3] The newspaper reported on Sikh and national news events.[3]

According to Narinder Singh Kapoor in Punjabi Patarkari Da Vikas, the newspaper was pro-establishment.[5][6] One example for this is that it did not publish any content covering the Kuka uprisings against British-rule.[5]

The newspaper did not remain in circulation for long after its founding and it ceased production.[1] Most Gurmukhi newspapers that followed also met an early demise, until the longer-lasting Khalsa Akhbar came around in 1883.[1]

## Notes

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1. ^ While many often claim it was the first Gurmukhi newspaper, this is incorrect as there was a Gurmukhi newspaper founded in 1854 to promote Christianity by missionaries of the Ludhiana Mission Press.
2. ^ The names of the founders of the newspaper can be alternatively spelt or recorded as 'Munshi Hari Narain' and 'Phiraia Lal', respectively.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Dhillon, Parneet Kaur; Dhanju, Jaspal Kaur (27 April 2023). "5: Revisiting The Khalsa Samachar (1899-1900) – Women's Issues and Concerns". In Malhotra, Anshu; Murphy, Anne (eds.). Bhai Vir Singh (1872–1957): Religious and Literary Modernities in Colonial and Post-Colonial Indian Punjab. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000867008. "There had been several efforts made earlier to start newspapers in Gurmukhi script journalism prior to its founding. The first such newspaper to materialize was Akbar Sri Darbar Sahib which appeared from Amritsar in 1867. Although it used the Gurmukhi script prior to its founding, the language was largely Braj, reflecting a broader commitment to writing in Braj by Sikh intellectuals in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Vig 2020). Gurmukhi type was still not available in Amritsar and the paper was lithographed from a hand-written copy. However, it met with an early demise, as did several others which followed."
2. ^ a b c d Natarajan, J. (2017). "Punjabi". Report of the Press Commission: History of Indian Journalism (3rd reprint ed.). New Delhi: Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. pp. 253–257. ISBN 9788123026381.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barrier, N. G. (2004). "Sikh Journalism". In Singh, Harbans (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 4: S–Z (2nd ed.). Patiala Punjabi University. pp. 161–166. ISBN 817380530X.
4. ^ Panjab Past and Present, Volume 36, Part 1, Issue 71. Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University. 2005. p. 98.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bharti, Vishav (10 December 2017). "Punjabi journalism 150 yrs old, but nobody remembers". The Tribune. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
6. ^ Kapoor, Narinder Singh (1988). Punjabi Patarkari Da Vikas [Development of Punjabi Journalism] (in Punjabi). Bhasha Vibhag (Patiala, Punjab).

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