Thursday, September 8, 2011

Press and Literature (contd-3)


Except Rammohan Roy, the five other persons were Chandra Kumar Tagore, Dwarakanath Tagore, Prasanna Kumar Tagore, Harachandra Ghosh, and Gaurichandra Banerjee.
As a matter of fact the daring act of Rammohan Roy and his five associates marks the beginning of a new type of political activity which was destined to be the special characteristic of India for nearly a century. As Mr. R.C.Dutta has justly observed;
"It was the start of that system of constitutional agitation for political rights which their countrymen have learnt to  value so much in the present day".
The far reaching effects of this new type of political activity are just estimated by the Englishman, writing shortly after the Round Table Conference held in London in 1930-31, remarked as follows;
"A round table conference in London to discuss India's future, with Indian staking a full share in the discussions, would have been a preposterous and incredible suggestion to Englishmen of the Company's days. It might never have come about had the great Rammohan Roy not taken the lead, and three Tagores, a Ghosh, and a Banerjee not joined with him in staring the process that led to it."
Sir Charles Metcalfe, while officiating as Governor-General after the departure of William Bentick in 1835, repealed the ordinance of 1823 and removed all restrictions upon the press in India. During the next 22 years the Government did not feel any necessity of imposing any further restrictions on press of India, till the outbreak of 1857.