''Jugantar Patrika'' ( bn, যুগান্তর) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

revolutionary newspaper founded in 1906 in Calcutta by

Barindra Kumar Ghosh Barindra Kumar Ghosh or Barindra Ghosh, or, popularly, Barin Ghosh (5 January 1880 – 18 April 1959) was an Indian revolutionary and journalist. He was one of the founding members of Jugantar Bengali weekly, a revolutionary outfit in Bengal. ...

, Abhinash Bhattacharya and

Bhupendranath Dutt Bhupendranath Datta (4 September 1880 – 25 December 1961) was an Indian revolutionary and later a noted sociologist and anthropologist. He associated Rishi Aurobindo in his political works. In his youth, he was closely associated with the Ju ...

. A political weekly, it was founded in March 1906 and served as the propaganda organ for the nascent revolutionary organisation ''

Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...

'' that was taking shape in Bengal at the time. The journal derived its name 'Jugantar' (: ''New Era'') from a

political novel Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...

of the same name by Bengali author Shivnath Shastri. The journal went on to lend its name to the Western Bengal wing of the Anushilan Samiti, which came to be known as the

Jugantar group Jugantar or Yugantar ( bn, যুগান্তর ''Jugantor''; lit. ''New Era'' or ''Transition of an Epoch'') was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence. This association, like Anushi ...

. The journal expounded and justified revolutionary violence against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

as a political tool for independence, and denounced the right and legitimacy of the British rule in India. It was also critical of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and its moderate methods which was viewed as aiding the Raj. Its target audience was the young, literate and politically motivated youth of Bengal, and was priced at one paisa. The paper rapidly acquired a broad popularity, at one time having a readership of 20,000.

served as the editor of the newspaper till his arrest in 1907, although it also published articles from a number of noted Bengali revolutionaries including Barindra Kumar Ghosh and

Aurobindo Ghosh Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

. It faced prosecution a number of times by the British Indian government for publishing seditious articles. Bhupendranath Dutt was arrested in 1907 for publication of articles "inciting violence against the Government of India", for which he was sentenced to a year's rigorous imprisonment. The paper was ultimately forced to shut down in down in 1908, amidst financial ruins following the prosecutions, and after the passage of The Newspapers (Incitement to offences) Act in June 1908 which made its position vulnerable.

References

* Legitimising Violence: Seditious Propaganda and Revolutionary Pamphlets in Bengal, 1908–1918, Sanyal S., The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 67, n° 3, 2008, pp. 759–787. Anushilan Samiti Revolutionary movement for Indian independence Newspapers published in Kolkata Bengali-language newspapers published in India Literature of Indian independence movement Defunct newspapers published in India Publications established in 1906 1906 establishments in India {{Asia-newspaper-stub