Ahmedabad, Oct 2 : Because the nation celebrates the start anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, his legacy in Ahmedabad is excess of a historic reminiscence — it’s a dwelling, respiration pressure that continues to form the town’s ethos even right now. Among the many most potent symbols of this legacy is Navjivan Press, an establishment representing Mahatma Gandhi’s deep perception within the transformative energy of phrases and the moral tasks of journalism.
Positioned within the coronary heart of Ahmedabad, this press served as a printing home and a significant organ of India’s independence motion, the place Mahatma Gandhi’s concepts of non-violence, self-reliance, and ethical integrity have been translated into the printed phrase.
Navjivan Press, based in 1919, performed a vital position throughout India’s independence motion, not solely as a printing home however as a centre for Gandhian thought.
Mahatma Gandhi, an astute printer and writer, understood the importance of the press as a medium to unfold his concepts of self-reliance, reality (Satyagraha), and non-violence (Ahimsa). It was by means of publications like Navjivan, Younger India, and Harijan that Gandhi reached the plenty, providing them not simply information however an ethical compass for navigating the colonial rule.
In a time when the British-controlled press typically censored or disallowed essential content material, Navjivan grew to become a beacon of free speech and integrity. On September 7, 1919, Mahatma Gandhi bought the Navjivan weekly from the Natwar Printing Press situated close to Khamasa Gate, Ahmedabad, after it grew to become clear that no different press proprietor was keen to danger publishing his “radical anti-government concepts”.
With 2,500 preliminary subscriptions, the Navjivan Weekly shortly grew to become some of the in style publications in Gujarat, amassing a readership of over 15,000, a document for any Gujarati weekly of that period. One among Navjivan Press’ most important publications is Hind Swaraj, a manifesto that laid out Mahatma Gandhi’s imaginative and prescient for India’s future.
In 1909, Mahatma Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in 10 days on board the SS Kildonan Citadel throughout his voyage from London to Durban. The urgency with which he wrote the textual content is mirrored in the truth that when his proper hand grew drained, he switched to writing along with his left hand. Initially written in Gujarati, Hind Swaraj critiqued fashionable civilisation and industrialisation, advocating for self-rule by means of non-violence.
For Mahatma Gandhi, publishing wasn’t merely a enterprise or a software for propaganda — it was an moral accountability. He famously stated poor-quality printing was akin to violence as a result of it deceived the reader. He insisted on excessive requirements for typography, sturdy paper, and easy, practical e-book covers that might not add pointless prices.
Mahatma Gandhi wished his books to be inexpensive to the frequent man. His autobiography, ‘My Experiments with Fact’, was initially priced at 12 annas, reflecting his want to make vital works accessible to all.
A Gujarat researcher remembers an anecdote encapsulating Mahatma Gandhi’s uncompromising moral stance. When the Navjivan Press as soon as revealed a poor Gujarati translation of Gokhale’s speeches, Mahatma Gandhi was requested to jot down the foreword. Nonetheless, upon reviewing the interpretation, he declared it unworthy and demanded that your complete batch be destroyed. Even when instructed that the interpretation had price Rs 700 — a substantial sum on the time — Mahatma Gandhi refused to again down, asking, “Do you suppose it fascinating to put this garbage earlier than the general public?”
Navjivan Press, like Mahatma Gandhi’s whole philosophy, was not simply concerning the rapid influence however about creating long-lasting, moral techniques. He used the press to propagate his concepts of self-reliance and reality, however it wasn’t with out challenges. The British authorities shortly seen the affect of Mahatma Gandhi’s writings on the Indian public. After he revealed a sequence of essential articles in Younger India in 1922, the federal government retaliated by charging him with sedition.
On March 18, 1922, the streets of Ahmedabad buzzed as Mahatma Gandhi, accompanied by his confidants, walked to the courtroom. Regardless of the fees, the general public respect for him was palpable — everybody within the courtroom, together with the decide, stood to greet him.
This trial didn’t cease Mahatma Gandhi from pursuing his mission. Though his press was confiscated and his information destroyed, he by no means wavered in his perception that the media ought to serve the general public good. He famously remarked, “The press has a task to play. It has to turn out to be the individuals’s Bible, Quran, and Gita rolled in a single.” He believed journalism ought to encourage braveness, not worry, and that the reality might solely be spoken when the press was free.
In the present day, Navjivan Press is greater than only a printing home. It stands as a dwelling monument to the values that Mahatma Gandhi cherished—reality, self-reliance, and non-violence.
With an annual turnover of Rs 1 crore, the press produces subsidised in-house publications, and its workforce of 135 individuals prints 20,000 copies each day. The press additionally generates income by copyrighting Mahatma Gandhi’s collected works, together with ‘My Experiments with Fact’, which has been translated into 24 overseas languages in addition to Braille.
(The content material of this text is sourced from a information company and has not been edited by the ap7am group.)
