''Deenbandhu'', sometimes transliterated as ''Dinbandhu'' and spelled ''Din Bandhu'', was a weekly
Marathi-language
Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...
newspaper first published in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
in January 1877. It was the first newspaper in India to cater explicitly to the labouring people. The weekly articulated the grievances of the peasants and workers.
''Deenbandhu'' was founded by Krishnarao Pandurang Bhalekar (1850-1910) and served as an outlet for
Jotirao Phule's
Satyashodhak Samaj
Satyashodhak Samaj (''Truth-seekers' Society'') was a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra, on 24 September 1873. It espoused a mission of education and increased social rights and political access for underprivileg ...
. Bhalekar was born in Bhamburde and came of a Mali family. Bhalekar ran Dinbandhu almost single-handedly till April 1880 after which the newspaper moved to Mumbai because of financial troubles.
Narayan Meghaji Lokhande
Narayan Meghaji Lokhande (1848–1897) was the father of trade union movement in India. He is remembered not only for ameliorating the working conditions of textile mill-hands in the 19th century but also for his courageous initiatives on caste ...
, who had already been writing for it, edited the newspaper from Mumbai from 1880. Deenbandhu was selling 1650 copies per week in 1884, thus making it the second-highest circulation Marathi or Anglo-Marathi newspaper in
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
, after ''
Kesari''. Vasudeo Birje became the editor of this iconic newspaper in 1903 after he left Baroda and moved to Mumbai. After Birje's untimely death due to cholera, his wife
Tanubai Birje took the responsibility of running the newspaper on her own. She was 32. Tanubai Birje edited Dinbandhu from 1908 till she died in 1913. According to Shriram Gundekar, Tanubai Birje is the first woman editor in the history of non-Brahmin journalism. It's possible that she was the first woman editor in Marathi journalism itself.
While Lokhande published the ''Deenbandhu'' from
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
Vithhal Marutrao Nawle, an admirer of Phule, bought the rights to publish an edition in Pune. He imported a
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in wh ...
from
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
that continued to produce the newspaper until it ceased publication in the 1970s. That press still existed in Pune in 2013 and was still owned by the Nawle family. however, it was in a state of considerable disrepair and decay. The state government was considering whether it could be preserved.
References
{{reflist
1877 establishments in India
1970s disestablishments in India
Marathi-language newspapers
Newspapers published in Mumbai
Jyotirao Phule