Machine summary:
TWO URDU NEWSPAPERS OF MADRAS IN PRE-MUTINY DAYS1 F a popular newspaper holds up the mirror to the culture of any people, the language, policy, purpose, and characteristics of the certainly reflect the culture A'?am-ul-Akhbar (the Great Newspaper) of the Muslims of Madras in the middle of the 19th century.
The language of the grandiloquently named newspaper was the Southern Indian Urdu of the court of the last Nawab of the Carnatic (Karnatak),: who wielded plenary authority in internal affairs without interference from the Governor-in-Council of Fort St. George.
" formal faqirs," wrote to complain thus : (View the image of this page)Despite the declared intention of the Akhbar not to publish any pungent or satirical matter, it had to spice a column or two with wit and humour because most of its readers insisted that it should have a lighter side.
Muhammad Taj-ud-Din Husain Khan, of the pen-name Hujjat, com• posed the following chronogram : (View the image of this page) Other items of news in the same issue show the progress which education was making among Muslims of the Madras of those days.
In this connection it is interesting to note what General Fraser has to say as regards the reports published by the Madras Newspapers which relate to the contingent debts.
There must have been numerous defaulters among the subscribers, otherwise the publishers would not have made an appeal in the following terms: (View the image of this page) · The peculiarities of the Urdu language of those days may be noted.