Unveiling history: The legacy of ‘Pratap’ newspaper through Chander and Jyotsna Mohan’s eyes

A compelling specimen of journalism as resistance, Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper traces the tumultuous journey of one of India’s most fearless publications.

Co-authored by father-daughter journalist duo Chander Mohan and Jyotsna Mohan, the book turns the spotlight on the pivotal role of Urdu newspaper ‘Pratap’ and its Hindi counterpart ‘Vir Pratap’, which had a long and eventful history.

Launched by Mahashay Krishan on March 30, 1919, and ably carried on by his son Virendra and later his grandson Chander, it was a torchbearer against the British Raj that covered all the major events during India’s struggle for independence and after, until it wrapped up in 2017.

In Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper, Chander and Jyotsna weave together the incidents and personal experiences of the paper’s founder and editors, as well as landmark events of Indian history, from Independence to the Emergency and Operation Bluestar.

“The paper was not just reporting news; it was shaping the national conscience,” says Chander, who believes that the history of ‘Pratap’ and people related to it needed to be told.

Asked if the authors see any parallels between the newspaper and contemporary journalism, they respond in negative. “Not at all. Times have changed, readers have changed, and the profile of journalists has changed,” says Chander, who, along with his daughter, took more than two years to complete the book.

Talking about the particular chapters that deeply resonate with him, Chander says, “Though all chapters carry equal weight, two of them are important to me. The one that tells the story of the parcel bomb, which ripped through the Pratap’s office in Jalandhar, claiming two lives in 1983, and the other one that explores the relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh.”

It became pertinent to us to document my grandfather’s stories and bring them out for the people to read.

For Jyotsna, the part of the book that delves into the period of militancy in Punjab is the one close to her heart. “My grandfather’s first-hand accounts were exceptional. And you know a good story when you hear one. It became pertinent to us to document those stories and bring them out for the people to read,” she adds.

A tribute to the power of the press, Pratap: A Defiant Newspaper is available at local bookstores and Amazon.