Who was Maulvi Muhammad Baqir, the first victim of Urdu journalism?

The first Urdu newspaper was ‘Jam Jahan Nama’ which was published by Pandit Harihardt from Calcutta on March 27, 1822. However, the first martyr of Urdu journalism was Maulvi Muhammad Baqir who died on December 16, 1857 for supporting the rebels during the War of Independence. It was shot in Delhi.

The record of the last 75 years since independence is not available anywhere, how many journalists were killed in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh during this period, however, according to the data given on the website of the International Federation of Journalists, from 1990 to 2020, around the world. 2 thousand 658 journalists were killed, out of which Pakistan is the third most dangerous country for journalists where 138 journalists lost their lives. 116 journalists have been killed in India and 23 in Bangladesh.

Maulvi Muhammad Baqir was the father of Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad, a famous Urdu writer. According to Adil Faraz’s book ‘Urdu Journalism and Maulvi Muhammad Baqir, An Analytical Study’, published in Delhi 2019, Maulvi Muhammad Baqir was born in 1790. He received his early education from his father Maulana Muhammad Akbar, who was a respected scholar of his time.

Maulana Muhammad Baqir later joined Delhi College, where he studied Persian, Arabic, Urdu and English. At the same time, he was appointed in charge of Delhi College Press. When Principal Taylor wanted to sell the press, Maulvi Baqir bought it.

Publication of the first Urdu newspaper from Delhi

When Maulvi Baqir bought the press, he first published many important Urdu books. The first Urdu translation of the Quran by Shah Muhammad Rafiuddin and Shah Abdul Qadir, sons of Shah Muhaddith Dehlavi, was also published by the same press.

In 1837 Maulvi Baqir published the first Urdu newspaper from Delhi which was named ‘Delhi Urdu Newspaper’. Earlier, Persian newspapers were being published in Delhi under the names of Sultan-ul-Akbar, Siraj-ul-Akbar and Sadiq-ul-Akbar, but there was no Urdu newspaper.

The news of the raid on Mirza Ghalib’s gambling house in the newspaper

At the same time, the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was famous in Delhi. In the 15th August 1841 issue of the Delhi Gazette, the news of the raid on Mirza Ghalib’s house and gambling house is printed as follows:

It has been heard that many famous gamblers, like Hashim Khan and others, were arrested from the house of Mirza Nowsha in Ghar Qasim Jan police station in those days. It is said that there used to be a lot of gambling, but due to fear and a large number of men, or in any other way, no police officer could intervene. It has been a few days now that the Thanedar has been appointed, and it is widely heard from the people. It was formerly a depositor, a long-term servant. He also arrests many criminals in Jamadari. Very greedy. This Mirza Nowsha is a poet named and a close relative of Nawab Mian Shamsuddin Khan, the murderer of William Fraser. I am sure that the police officer was tried and recommended by many nobles, but he acted honestly and arrested all of them.

It is believed that Maulvi Baqir had a friendship with Ustad Ibrahim Zouk, who was not with Ghalib, so he did not miss any opportunity to spread news against Mirza Ghalib.

The newspaper used to have a regular column ‘Huzur Wala’ in which news about Bahadur Shah Zafar’s routines was reported, so the newspaper was more popular among the elite than the public. The royal court, poets and writers and company officials who could read Urdu used to read the newspaper with interest. The newspaper also used to publish the words of Sheikh Ibrahim Zouk and Bahadur Shah Zafar.

1857 War of Independence and journalistic role of Maulvi Baqir

When the rebellion broke out in Delhi, Maulvi Baqir’s newspaper covered it extensively. He also changed the name of his newspaper to ‘Akhbar al-Zafar’ so that all the revolutionaries and those raising the knowledge of rebellion should move forward considering the personality and attributes of the king. He himself went around the markets and reported on the spot. He was also present when the British blew up their armory to prevent it from falling into the hands of the rebels. He planted news and published poems in favor of the rebels, including his son Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad’s poem ‘Tarikh-e-Inqlab Ibrat Afza’.

One news was like this, ‘It has been heard that four companies also belong to coal. Blackened the faces of the British and appeared in Huzur Sultani, that is, whoever found the British was brought to the house of death.

In this war, he played the role of a bridge between Qila Maala and the rebels, and his newspaper became a front against the British dictatorship. The newspaper also published the news of the arrival of troops of the Shah of Iran to help Bahadur Shah Zafar. Maulvi Baqir had become so close to the king that when the royal treasure was attacked, the king ordered to send an army under the supervision of Maulvi Baqir to bring the royal treasure.

Death of Maulvi Muhammad Baqir

When Delhi was in chaos, Taylor, the English principal of Delhi College, sought refuge with Maulvi Baqir, who hid him in his tenement, on the basis of an old relationship. The next day this news somehow spread, Maulvi Baqir made Taylor walk in Indian clothes, but people still recognized him and beat him to death with sticks.

Therefore, there is an impression that Maulvi Baqir was shot on September 16, 1857 for the same crime. The British entered Delhi as victors on September 14, so the fact that Maulvi Baqir was shot by Captain Hudson two days later shows that he was a major rebel in the eyes of the British.

According to some researchers, the real reason behind Maulvi Sahib’s martyrdom is the advertisement that was published in his newspaper about the anti-jihad. In this advertisement, he encouraged Hindus and Muslims to unite and wage jihad against the British government, as if jihad was obligatory on Muslims. There is no trace of Maulvi Sahib’s grave because during that time, the bodies of rebels were either burnt or buried in mass graves.

A picture is circulating on social media which claims to show Maulvi Baqir firing a cannon, but it is not Maulvi Baqir. They were shot (Public Domain)

British spies?

The famous researcher William Dalrymple has written about Maulvi Baqir in his book ‘The Last Mughal’ that when the rebel soldiers started gathering in Delhi, Maulvi Baqir’s newspaper praised him and declared his struggle against the British as Jihad. Daya, but when it gradually became clear that these people did not have the power to fight the British, Maulvi Baqir changed his plan and started informing these people on the contrary.

He even printed in his newspaper that when these soldiers entered Delhi, they were preceded by camel riders dressed in green cloaks who disappeared from sight.

His tone changed and he started writing that the people were fed up with the looting of these soldiers.

Dalrymple then writes that Maulvi Baqir changed his allegiance and became an informer for the British. His secret mails were smuggled out of the city and are still kept in the Commissioner’s office in Delhi.

However, Shireen Mousavi, a historian of Delhi University, refutes this claim and writes that if Maulvi Baqir had been an informer for the British, he would not have been shot within just two days of the conquest of Delhi.

William Dalrymple responded by tweeting that Maulvi Baqir’s correspondence with Major Hudson is in the DC office behind the Qutub Minar. In another tweet, he also wrote that Shireen Mousavi has rejected my evidence without seeing the archives.