Chronicling the journey of Pratap
Today, both Urdu newspaper Pratap and Hindi counterpart Vir Pratap are history, yet, frayed pages need to be dusted to relate a journey that ends in our present
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Six days after Independence and the partition of India, Virendra was still in Lahore. As his Muslim friends advised him to leave, he toyed with the idea of making a break for the Wagah border in his Adler, the German-made car. But what if he was waylaid on the way? Then he learned that The Tribune had arranged a military escort. They agreed to take him along, and on August 21, both parties left Lahore for Amritsar and reached Independent India safely.
Thus ended one chapter of my father Virendra’s eventful life during which the British imprisoned him nine times. He was the son of Mahashay Krishan, the formidable editor who launched the Urdu Pratap in Lahore days before the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. Within 12 days, the colonial administration shut it down. The newspaper reappeared only a year later, but was once again a persistent sore in the eyes of the Raj. This led to its frequent closure, repeated forfeiture of securities, and arrest of the editor and his elder son, Virendra.
Through it all, the newspaper refused to bend. Krishan was famous for his blunt and searing editorials against foreign rule. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was to comment, ‘Yeh kumbukth kalam se nahin teshe se likhta hai’(This damn fellow writes not with a pen but with a chisel).
These tales are now part of a new book, ‘Pratap, A Defiant Newspaper’. Life takes unusual turns. In this instance, those who wrote headlines became the news themselves as Pratap and the family’s crusade against the British Raj remained unrelenting. Virendra or Virji, as he is lovingly remembered, was just 16 when he came in contact with the revolutionaries. As the son of a famous editor, he was a prime catch. Before long, he became a comrade of Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad and was privy to their activities in the closely-knit network of revolutionaries.
As a freedom fighter, he spent more time inside prison than out. Virendra was first arrested for the murder of British officer John Saunders, who was shot dead by the revolutionaries as revenge for Lala Lajpat Rai’s death. At the time, he was 18 years old. Virendra was handcuffed and tortured, but the police gleaned no information from him. Meanwhile, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Chandrashekhar Azad escaped from Lahore. The connection with Bhagat Singh remained till the end of the martyr’s life. Virendra was in Lahore’s Central Jail the day Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged. His first-hand account of that fateful day is part of ‘Pratap, A Defiant Newspaper’.
In Independent India, Pratap and later its Hindi counterpart, Vir Pratap, built a reputation for speaking truth to power. They didn’t only report news but shaped public discourse, challenged the powerful and stood firmly with the people. The newspapers became synonymous with bold and hard-hitting journalism. Indira Gandhi’s Emergency was stoutly opposed, with Virendra refusing to get his editorials censored. Throughout the 21 months, the newspapers went without editorials. But the worst was to come. The Emergency could be faced, at the most the government could either shut down the papers or put the editors in jail. But a time befell when the newspapers, their editors and staff faced bombs and bullets, not knowing who the enemy was.
During the period of terrorism in Punjab, Pratap, Vir Pratap and our family were targeted repeatedly by the militants. On June 24, 1983, a parcel bomb sent to Virendra exploded in the newspaper office, killing two young employees and injuring one. It was a violent attempt to force us to leave and initiate an exodus from Punjab. Many friends advised us to do so even if temporarily, but the family collectively refused to entertain these thoughts. Refugees once, no one was prepared for an encore.
Today, both Pratap and Vir Pratap are history, falling victim to market forces. Moreover, the period of ideological journalism was over. Yet, there are chronicles to be told and shared. Sometimes, old and frayed pages need to be dusted to relate a journey that ends in our present. Pratap’s passage was one of relentless courage and editorial integrity. As a trusted guide to the reader, it held a mirror to the powers that be. It was also closely linked to Virendra’s journey — who moved on from being a hardened member of the revolutionary club in the colonial era to an anti-establishment crusader in Independent India, a fascinating mix of defiance and daring.
‘Pratap, A Defiant Newspaper’ is a slice of history we have been privileged to know first-hand. It is also a reminder of what uncompromising journalism looks like and how, unfortunately, it has few takers today. The times changed, but we did not. In the words of noted poet Gulzar, “Pratap was like a freedom flag in the battle for Independence. It was respected like the conscience of India.”
Published by HarperCollins, ‘Pratap, A Defiant Newspaper’ is co-authored by the former editor of ‘Vir Pratap’, Chander Mohan, and his daughter Jyotsna Mohan
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