Antonioctj at 10:24, 3 May 2026

2026-05-03T10:24:28Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian Marathi-language newspaper}}
{{about|the Marathi newspaper|other uses|Kesari (disambiguation)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = Kesari
| logo = Kesari(newspaper)Logo.jpg
| logo_size = 220px
| image = Kesari(newspaper)Cover.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| caption =
| type = [[Weekly newspaper]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1881|1|4|df=yes}}
| owners = Kesari Mahratta Trust<ref name="TH">{{Cite web |first=Siddesh |last=Inamdar |date=4 January 2010 |title=Tendency to dumb down journalism disturbing: N. Ram |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Tendency-to-dumb-down-journalism-disturbing-N.-Ram/article16835890.ece |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221181556/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Tendency-to-dumb-down-journalism-disturbing-N.-Ram/article16835890.ece |website=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref>
| publisher = Kesari Mahratta Trust<ref name="TH" />
| language = [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
| website = {{URL|http://www.dailykesari.com/}}
| founder = [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]]
}}

'''''Kesari''''' is an Indian [[Marathi language]] [[newspaper]] which was founded on 4 January 1881 by [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], a [[Swaraj|self-rule activist]] in the [[Indian independence movement]]. It is owned and managed by the Kesari Mahratta Trust, which also oversees ''Mahratta'', an English-language newspaper. Through Kesari, Tilak criticised [[British Raj|British colonial policies]], while promoting both [[Hindu nationalism]] and [[Hindu–Muslim unity]]. He was twice tried and imprisoned for [[Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code|sedition]], in 1897 and 1908, for articles deemed inflammatory. Between 1924 and 1935, ''Kesari'' regularly published articles and editorials supporting [[Italian fascism]], [[Benito Mussolini]], and [[fascist Italy]]. By the 1940s, ''Kesari'' had become the newspaper of the [[Hindu Mahasabha]], a [[Far-right politics|far-right]] [[Hindutva]] political party, and of the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]], a Hindutva paramilitary organisation.

== Origins ==
[[File:KESARI.jpg|thumb|200px|The first edition of ''Kesari''.]]
''Kesari'' was established on 4 January 1881<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2010 |title=Veteran scribe Dua to receive journalism award |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Veteran-scribe-Dua-to-receive-journalism-award/articleshow/7198135.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815210257/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/veteran-scribe-dua-to-receive-journalism-award/articleshow/7198135.cms |archive-date=15 August 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> by [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], a [[Swaraj|self-rule activist]] in the [[Indian independence movement]]. One of two weekly newspapers established by Tilak, ''Kesari'' was published in the [[Marathi language]], while its counterpart, ''Mahratta'', was published in English.{{Sfn|Tomar|Malik|2022|pages=147–167}} Tilak wrote several articles in ''Kesari'', on issues such as land tenure and revenue, war expenditure, high salaries paid to British officials, and the colonial exploitation of Indian resources.{{Sfn|Tomar|Malik|2022|pages=147–167}} A [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] who nevertheless supported [[Hindu–Muslim unity|Hindu-Muslim unity]], Tilak sought to create a Hindu public sphere. Many ''Kesari'' editorials described how this sphere was formed and mobilised through religious events, in an attempt to create a shared and cohesive national culture.{{Sfn|Seth|2006|pages=137–150}}

In 1897, Tilak was tried and imprisoned for [[Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code|sedition]] on the basis of views he had expressed in ''Kesari''. The prosecution was triggered by his violent rhetoric in relation to the assassination of two plague officials, W. C. Rand and Charles Ayerst; the assassinations had occurred following the [[Bombay plague epidemic]], after which Tilak had counselled the "murder of Europeans".{{Sfn|Kamra|2016|pages=546–559}}{{Sfn|Upton|2017|pages=329–349}} In 1908, Tilak was again tried and imprisoned for sedition, when his articles in ''Kesari'' defended the Muzaffarpur bombings which had led to the [[Emperor v. Aurobindo Ghosh and Others|Alipore bomb case]].{{Sfn|Upton|2017|pages=329–349}}{{Sfn|Watve|1947|page=157}} On both occasions of his imprisonment, [[Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar]] assumed the role of editor.{{Sfn|Watve|1947|page=157}}

{{Blockquote|At one time such oppression gave rise to small insurrections in England; and it was only when the people of that country rose in rebellion, and, after dethroning the King, introduced constitutional rule that no occasion was left for them to resort to violent means for effecting administrative reform.|author=Bal Gangadhar Tilak|source=12 May 1908{{Sfn|Upton|2017|pages=329–349}}|title=''Kesari''}}

== Support of Italian fascism ==
From 1924 to 1935, ''Kesari'' regularly published articles and editorials in support of [[Italian fascism]], [[Benito Mussolini]], and [[fascist Italy]].{{Sfn|Casolari|2000|pages=219–224}} Across a series of editorials, the newspaper depicted Italy's transition from a [[Liberalism|liberal government]] to a [[Right-wing dictatorship#Europe|fascist dictatorship]] as a move from anarchy to order. Mussolini's political reforms, particularly the shift from elected [[Member of parliament|members of parliament]] to nominated ones and the substitution of [[Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy|parliament]] itself with the [[Grand Council of Fascism]], were also praised considerably.{{Sfn|Casolari|2000|page=219}}{{Sfn|Casolari|2020|pages=34–35}}

D. V. Tahmankar, the London correspondent of ''Kesari'', was a known admirer of Mussolini. In 1927, he published a biography entitled '<nowiki/>''Muslini ani Fashismo''<nowiki/>' ({{Literal translation|Mussolini and [[Fascism]]}}). The book detailed the organisation of the fascist state, the fascist social system, the [[Fascism and ideology|fascist ideology]], and Italy's recent history. The entirety of the final chapter was dedicated to fascist society and its institutions, notably the youth organisations.{{Sfn|Casolari|2000|page=219}}{{Sfn|Casolari|2020|pages=35–36}} A lengthy ''Kesari'' article, entitled '<nowiki/>''Italy and the Young Generations''<nowiki/>' and published on 13 August 1929, claimed that Italy's youth had taken over the leadership of the country from the older generations, resulting in what it described as a "fast ascent of Italy in every field". The discipline attributed to the Italian youth was explained as the product of strong and widespread religious sentiments, close attachment to the family, and respect for traditional values; these values were defined through the rejection of divorce and those who remained unmarried, and the denial of [[Women's suffrage|women’s right to vote]], with women depicted as having no role beyond the home.{{Sfn|Casolari|2000|page=219}}{{Sfn|Casolari|2020|page=35}}

== Association with Hindutva ==
By the 1940s, ''Kesari'' had become associated with the [[Hindutva|Hindutva movement]], serving as the newspaper of both the [[Hindu Mahasabha]], a [[Far-right politics|far-right]] Hindutva political party, and the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]], a Hindutva [[paramilitary]] organisation.{{Sfn|Jha|2024|page=14}}

==See also==
* [[List of newspapers in India]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tomar |first=Ankit |title=Reappraising Modern Indian Thought: Themes and Thinkers |last2=Malik |first2=Suratha Kumar |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2022 |isbn=9789811914140}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Seth |first=Sanjay |year=2006 |title=The critique of renunciation: Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Hindu nationalism |journal=Postcolonial Studies |volume=9 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/13688790600657819}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kamra |first=Sukeshi |date=2016 |title=Law and Radical Rhetoric in British India: The 1897 Trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |volume=39 |issue=3 |doi=10.1080/00856401.2016.1196529}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Upton |first=Robert E. |date=2017 |title='Take out a thorn with a thorn': B. G. Tilak’s legitimization of political violence |journal=Global Intellectual History |volume=2 |issue=3 |doi=10.1080/23801883.2017.1370240}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Watve |first1=K.N. |date=1947 |title=Sri Narasimha Chintaman "Alias" Tatyasaheb Kelkar |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |volume=28 |issue=1/2 |jstor=44028058}}
* {{Cite journal |first=Marzia |last=Casolari |year=2000 |title=Hindutva's Foreign Tie-Up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence |journal=[[Economic and Political Weekly]] |volume=35 |issue=4 |jstor=4408848}}
* {{Cite book |first=Marzia |last=Casolari |year=2020 |title=In the Shadow of the Swastika: The Relationships Between Indian Radical Nationalism, Italian Fascism and Nazism |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780367508265}}
* {{Cite book |first=Dhirendra K. |last=Jha |year=2024 |title=Golwalkar: The Myth Behind the Man, The Man Behind the Machine |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=9788197949241}}
{{Refend}}

{{Bal Gangadhar Tilak}}
{{Fascism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kesari (Newspaper)}}
[[Category:1881 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1881]]
[[Category:Weekly newspapers published in India]]
[[Category:Marathi-language newspapers]]
[[Category:20th century in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian independence movement in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Bal Gangadhar Tilak]]
[[Category:Fascist newspapers]]
[[Category:Fascism in India]]
[[Category:Hindu Mahasabha]]
[[Category:Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]]

Kesari Marathi newspaper - Revision history

Antonioctj at 10:24, 3 May 2026