Hindi language newspapers are circulated throughout the country. Hindi being the official language of India, several newspapers in this language are published. Till date newspapers remain a significant source of information in India. Some of the leading Hindi language newspapers of India are Aaj, Aaj Daily, Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Navajyoti, Divya Himachal, Fiji Samachar, Hazaribag Times, Hindi media, Hindustan Dainik, Jansatta, Naiduniya, Nava Bharat, Navbharat Times, Panchjanya, Prabhat Khabar, Punjab Kesari, Rajasthan Patrika, Shanti Dut, Deshbandhu, Vidarbha Chandika and others. The first Hindi language newspaper published in India was Samachar Sudha Varshan in the year 1854. Hindi press since its beginning followed an evolutionary phase. At present, the Hindi Language Newspapers have reached modernisation and in this process, it has gone through five distinct phases of transformation that include, the beginning phase, 1826, 1866, the Harishchandra phase, 1867-1899, the literary phase, 1900-1919, the Gandhian phase, 1920-1947 and the post independence phase 1948 till date.
Dainik Jagran
Amongst the Hindi newspapers, Dainik Jagran is one of the largest circulated Hindi daily in the country with a 54,254,000 in Total Readership, according to IRS (Quarter 1) 2010. The main places of publication of Dainik Jagran are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Besides Dainik Jagran, there are several other renowned newspapers including Amar Ujala, which started in April 18th, 1948 with only 4 pages, with the focus on encouraging social development in the newly independent India. Twenty years later, the newspaper had a circulation of 20,000 serving over 14 districts in Western Uttar Pradesh. Now it is the foremost newspaper in North India with the readership of 2.97 Crores. Amar Ujala is published from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Navbharat Times
Navbharat Times is the most circulated Hindi newspaper in Mumbai and Delhi. It is published by Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, which publishes The Economic Times and The Times of India, along with it. In Delhi it has a circulation of 4.23 Lacs, according to ABC India, JJ-10. In Mumbai, the circulation is 1.3 Lac copies, according to ABC India, JD-10.
Punjab Kesari
Punjab Kesari is published from Punjab and Haryana. Naiduniya is another leading Hindi newspaper with its headquarters located at Indore. Naiduniya started off in June 1947 under Shri Basantilal Sethia and Babu Labhchand Chhajlani. It is published from Indore, Delhi, Gwalior, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Jabalpur, and Raipur.
Rajasthan Patrika
Rajasthan Patrika is a Hindi newspaper published from several cities of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Rajasthan and Kota. It is also published from Surat, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hubli. According to IRS 4Q2010, currently it holds the 5th position among Hindi newspapers and 8th rank overall. Launched in 1989, Vidarbha Chandika, another Hindi language weekly published from Nagpur, has also become renowned.
Hindi language newspapers have been able to rise in stature due to the contribution of the eminent journalists. The founder editor of Hindi daily Jansatta, Prabhash Joshi, is a renowned writer and political analyst. It is a publication of the Indian Express Group. He is the consulting editor of Jansatta at present. Mrinal Pande is among the Indian personalities who is also a recognised journalist and at present the chief editor of Hindi Daily, Hindustan. Narendra Mohan had also acted upon on taking up the Hindi newspapers to the pinnacle success. He mainly contributed to Dainik Jagran. Thus, the sincere endeavour of the journalists has provided the Hindi language newspapers champion in the field of journalism.
Other leading newspapers on Hindi language are Amar Ujala, Dainik Navajyoti, Dekho Bhopal, Janwarta, Gaon Girav, Gohana Mudrika, Hari Bhoomi, Jansatta, Nai Dunia, Nava Bharat, Navbharat Times, Punjab Kesari, Prabhat Khabar, Rajasthan Patrika, Sarkar Ki Upalabdhiya, Sarkar Ki Upalabdhiya and many other newspapers.
Hindi is the official language of India and during Indian struggle for independence Hindi language newspapers were used as a means of protesting against the British rule as well as to create a national awakening among the masses. In the post independence period a number of Hindi language newspapers have become an instrument of educating, entertaining and informing the masses.
