Kesari is an Indian Marathi language newspaper which was founded on 4 January 1881 by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a 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 colonial policies, while promoting both Hindu nationalism and Hindu–Muslim unity. He was twice tried and imprisoned for 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 Hindutva political party, and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindutva paramilitary organisation.
Origins
Kesari was established on 4 January 1881[1] by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn A Hindu nationalist who nevertheless supported 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.Template:Sfn
In 1897, Tilak was tried and imprisoned for 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".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1908, Tilak was again tried and imprisoned for sedition, when his articles in Kesari defended the Muzaffarpur bombings which had led to the Alipore bomb case.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn On both occasions of his imprisonment, Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar assumed the role of editor.Template:Sfn
Support of Italian fascism
From 1924 to 1935, Kesari regularly published articles and editorials in support of Italian fascism, Benito Mussolini, and fascist Italy.Template:Sfn Across a series of editorials, the newspaper depicted Italy's transition from a liberal government to a fascist dictatorship as a move from anarchy to order. Mussolini's political reforms, particularly the shift from elected members of parliament to nominated ones and the substitution of parliament itself with the Grand Council of Fascism, were also praised considerably.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
D. V. Tahmankar, the London correspondent of Kesari, was a known admirer of Mussolini. In 1927, he published a biography entitled 'Muslini ani Fashismo' (Template:Literal translation). The book detailed the organisation of the fascist state, the fascist social system, the 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.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn A lengthy Kesari article, entitled 'Italy and the Young Generations' 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 right to vote, with women depicted as having no role beyond the home.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Association with Hindutva
By the 1940s, Kesari had become associated with the Hindutva movement, serving as the newspaper of both the Hindu Mahasabha, a far-right Hindutva political party, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindutva paramilitary organisation.Template:Sfn
See also
References
Citations
- ↑ Veteran scribe Dua to receive journalism award. The Times of India(31 December 2010).
Bibliography
- Reappraising Modern Indian Thought: Themes and Thinkers{{#if:Tomar|, Tomar}. Palgrave Macmillan(2022). ISBN 9789811914140
- The critique of renunciation: Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Hindu nationalism. Postcolonial Studies({Template:Year).
- Law and Radical Rhetoric in British India: The 1897 Trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies({Template:Date).
- 'Take out a thorn with a thorn': B. G. Tilak’s legitimization of political violence. Global Intellectual History({Template:Date).
- Sri Narasimha Chintaman "Alias" Tatyasaheb Kelkar. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute({Template:Date).
- Hindutva's Foreign Tie-Up in the 1930s: Archival Evidence. Economic and Political Weekly({Template:Year).
- In the Shadow of the Swastika: The Relationships Between Indian Radical Nationalism, Italian Fascism and Nazism{{#if:Casolari|, Casolari}. Routledge(2020). ISBN 9780367508265
- Golwalkar: The Myth Behind the Man, The Man Behind the Machine{{#if:Jha|, Jha}. Simon & Schuster(2024). ISBN 9788197949241