The Role of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the Development and Stability of Urdu Journalism

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born in 1888 and played an important role in shaping India’s struggle for freedom. For this reason, his name has an important place in India’s history. Abul Kalam Azad was known for his sympathy and admiration of the Turks and additionally took an active role in raising awareness of Indian Muslims in the context of Ottoman-Indian relations. The Indian Muslims under British rule had anxiously been following the Ottoman Empire, which had faced troubling situations during the Crimean War, the 1887-1888 Ottoman-Russian War, the Battle of Tripoli, and the Balkan Wars, as Indian Muslims saw the Turks as their protector, especially due to the Ottoman claim to the Islamic Caliphate. During this period, some personalities such as Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, the brothers Muhammed Ali and Shauqat Ali, as well as Abul Kalam Azad attempted to raise awareness of the Indian Muslims by closely watching the situation of the Turks. To maintain this purpose, they began publishing as products of this idea the following newspapers: Al-Hilal was published by Abul Kalam Azad, Zamindar was published by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, and Comrade was published by Muhammed Ali. These newspapers later became very popular and were called the Freedom Newspapers. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had a versatile personality and constantly provided news about the Turks through his newspaper al-Hilal. At the same time, he organized aid campaigns through al-Hilal in order to support the Turkish people. Al-Hilal soon became known throughout India through its fierce criticism of the British government. Published weekly, it soon became one of India’s best-selling Urdu newspapers. Abul Kalam Azad started a new understanding of journalism in the Indian subcontinent with his newspaper al-Hilal and was instrumental in gaining an identity for Indian Muslim journalism in particular.