In India, the English-language media is considered the ‘national media’, while vernacular media remains ‘regional ‘. However, from the 1980s onwards, demographic changes and growth in literacy in the Hindi heartland broadened the market for Hindi newspapers.

In this book, well-known journalist Mrinal Pande takes us through the history of Hindi-language journalism in India. She discusses

• its early days as nationalist newspapers in the colonial period;
• its subservience to the English print media in the early decades of independence;
• the fillip it received in the post-Emergency 1980s when an inclusive Hindi, propped up by regional dialects, became the best vehicle for furthering Indian democracy.

The author also focuses on the current digitisation of all media, the increasing influence of social media platforms, and heavy reliance on advertisements.

Examining the close connections between politics, the corporates, and newspaper/news channels, the book asks: Can editorials continue to care for individual rights and local cultures, given their proximity to political and corporate lobbyists? How far will our Constitution-given freedom of information and speech stretch if media laws are amended?