History of Press (Mr. Vikas Pathak)

Mr. Vikas Pathak’s second lecture on the ‘History of Press’ centered on many aspects that played a decisive role in our nationalist struggle against British occupation. He first explained to us the role that print capitalism played in the creation of ‘imagined communities’ (a concept credited to Benedict Anderson) and how newspapers created the foundations of such a community. He then articulated the difference between a Pre-Modern and a Modern State and the reasons for the semi-hegemonic nature of Colonial India. Then, borrowing from Antonio Gramsci’s theory of ‘war of position’, he gave us a synopsis of Gandhi’s book ‘Hind Swaraj’ that chronicles the ideological struggle that he and scores of other faced to reverse the hegemony of the State pre-independence. The lecture was concluded with a detailed analysis of the Nationalist Press of India and how it united the people to fight for freedom.