Q10. Who was the notable editor of the Hindoo Patriot?
[WBCS Main, 2021 cycle (held 2022; exact date not established)]
(A) Harish Chandra Mukherjee
(B) Keshab Chandra Sen
(C) Debendranath Thakur
(D) Aurobindo Ghosh
Answer: (A) Harish Chandra Mukherjee
Explanation: Harish Chandra Mukherjee made the Hindoo Patriot a powerful voice against the oppression of indigo cultivators. His reporting during the Indigo Revolt helped expose planter abuses and showed that Indian newspapers could challenge powerful economic and colonial interests.
Q9. Which newspaper–editor pair is incorrectly matched?
[UPSC CDS I (10 April 2022)]
(A) Navjivan—Mahatma Gandhi
(B) Mahratta—Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(C) Bengalee—Surendranath Banerjee
(D) Voice of India—Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Answer: (D) Voice of India—Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Explanation: Voice of India was associated with Dadabhai Naoroji, not Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gandhi published Navjivan, Tilak edited Mahratta and Surendranath Banerjee became a leading voice of the Bengalee. These newspapers represented different strands of Indian political awakening.
Q8. Who published the Bengali newspaper Sambad Kaumudi?
[SSC GD Constable (16 November 2021)]
(A) Rash Behari Bose
(B) Raja Rammohan Roy
(C) Sisir Kumar Ghosh
(D) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Answer: (B) Raja Rammohan Roy
Explanation: Raja Rammohan Roy used Sambad Kaumudi as a reformist Bengali journal from the early 1820s. It discussed social practices, education and public questions. The paper demonstrates how print culture contributed to the intellectual conditions preceding organized Indian nationalism.
Q7. Who wrote the newspaper series New Lamps for Old?
[SSC MTS (20 October 2021)]
(A) Bipin Chandra Pal
(B) Aurobindo Ghosh
(C) Lala Lajpat Rai
(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: (B) Aurobindo Ghosh
Explanation: Sri Aurobindo wrote New Lamps for Old, a series of political articles published in Indu Prakash in the 1890s. The essays sharply criticized the moderate political approach and foreshadowed his later association with assertive nationalist journalism.
Q6. Which newspaper was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa?
[SSC MTS (13 October 2021)]
(A) Young India
(B) Indian Opinion
(C) Swaraj Hind
(D) Navjivan
Answer: (B) Indian Opinion
Explanation: Indian Opinion began publication in South Africa in 1903 and became an essential channel for Gandhi’s early campaigns. It explained discriminatory laws, united Indian residents and spread ideas that later informed satyagraha and nationalist journalism in India.
Q5. Which of these Acts was passed in 1878?
[SSC MTS (5 October 2021)]
(A) Indian Contract Act
(B) East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act
(C) Transfer of Property Act
(D) Vernacular Press Act
Answer: (D) Vernacular Press Act
Explanation: The Vernacular Press Act was enacted in 1878 to limit criticism in Indian-language newspapers. It empowered the government to impose severe controls on publishers. The measure became an example of unequal colonial treatment of English and vernacular media.
Q4. Who founded the English newspaper Mahratta?
[RRB NTPC CBT-I (21 March 2021)]
(A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(B) Lala Lajpat Rai
(C) Bipin Chandra Pal
(D) Ashwini Kumar Dutta
Answer: (A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Explanation: Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a key founder of Mahratta, published in English from 1881. Together with Kesari in Marathi, it served as a platform for nationalist debate and political mobilization. The pairing helped his arguments cross linguistic boundaries.
Q3. Who started the first English-language newspaper in India?
[WBCS Preliminary Examination (2020)]
(A) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(B) Raja Rammohan Roy
(C) James Augustus Hicky
(D) Lord William Bentinck
Answer: (C) James Augustus Hicky
Explanation: James Augustus Hicky established the Bengal Gazette in Calcutta in 1780, making it the earliest newspaper published in India. Although written in English and issued long before the freedom movement, it established an important early tradition of newspaper criticism.
Q2. Who was prominently associated with editing the Hindoo Patriot?
[WBCS Preliminary Examination (2018)]
(A) Surendranath Banerjee
(B) Motilal Ghosh
(C) Sisir Kumar Ghosh
(D) Harish Chandra Mukherjee
Answer: (D) Harish Chandra Mukherjee
Explanation: Harish Chandra Mukherjee guided the Hindoo Patriot during the Indigo Revolt, using investigative writing to bring planter abuses into public view. His journalism helped shape sympathy for cultivators and demonstrated the emerging political influence of the Indian press.
Q1. Who was the first editor of the South African newspaper Indian Opinion?
[UPPSC Civil Services Official Paper I (2014)]
(A) Mahatma Gandhi
(B) Albert West
(C) Mahadev Desai
(D) Mansukhlal Hiralal Nazar
Answer: (D) Mansukhlal Hiralal Nazar
Explanation: Mansukhlal Hiralal Nazar was the first editor of Indian Opinion, founded in South Africa in 1903 with Gandhi’s involvement. The newspaper highlighted discrimination against Indians and became a vital communication tool in the formative years of satyagraha.
