About this stamp
Two Centuries of Hindi Newspapers
On 30 May 1826, Udant Martand, the first Hindi newspaper, was published in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Two hundred years later, India Post marked the anniversary with a commemorative stamp. The date, 30 May, is observed every year as Hindi Journalism Day (Hindi Patrakarita Diwas).
Udant Martand
The paper
- Editor: Pandit Jugal Kishore Shukla, regarded as the pioneer editor of Hindi journalism
- Published: weekly, on Tuesdays, from Calcutta
- Script: Devanagari
- Name: Udant Martand means “The Sun of News”
Why it mattered
At the time, newspapers were published mainly in English, Persian and Bengali. Udant Martand set out to serve Hindi-speaking readers and make news available in their own language.
Closure
The paper stopped on 4 December 1827, for lack of official patronage, postal distribution and public support, but it had laid the foundation of Hindi journalism.
Two Hundred Years of Growth
The first Hindi daily
It took another 28 years for a Hindi daily to appear. Samachar Sudha Varshan, edited by Shyamsundar Sen, was launched in Calcutta in 1854; it was printed in both Hindi and Bengali.
Hindi journalism has since grown enormously in readership, language, range of subjects, printing and communication technology. It helped create an informed public and shaped modern Hindi prose.
Landmark figures and publications
- Bharatendu Harishchandra, pioneer of the Hindi renaissance
- Baburao Vishnu Paradkar, who enriched the vocabulary of Hindi journalism
- Acharya Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, who standardised Hindi prose through the magazine Saraswati
- Pratap, edited by Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, and Karmveer, edited by Makhanlal Chaturvedi
- Kalyan, the spiritual magazine edited by Bhaiji Hanuman Prasad Poddar
The Commemorative Stamp
India Post issued the stamp on 30 May 2026, exactly two hundred years after Udant Martand first appeared, in tribute to Hindi journalism’s role in public awareness, the growth of the language and democratic discourse.
For More Information
Read more here:
