The collection, housed at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi includes issues of Bhavishya, Chand, Madhuri, Prabha, and Vishwamitra, which were Hindi language periodicals, and issues of Sadaqat, which was an Urdu language weekly newspaper. It also includes Dipali and Filmdom, an English language periodical and book, respectively. Bhavishya and Chand were published by the Chand Press Limited from Allahabad (Prayagraj). While they shared the same editorial team and much of the content thematically, Bhavishya inclined towards reporting on the political developments of the Indian anti-colonial movement while Chand focused on upliftment of women’s status in Indian society. Madhuri was a prominent Hindi language periodical published by the famous Naval Kishore Press from Lucknow, during the colonial era in India. It published all the leading writers, poets and opinion-makers of its time on a range of political, social, economic and cultural issues. Prabha was printed at the Pratap Press and published from Cawnpore (Kanpur) beginning in 1920. It featured articles and cartoons on politics and history of India and the world. Vishwamitra was published and printed by Pandit Matasevak Pathak at the Vishwamitra Press from Calcutta (Kolkata). It was an important swadeshi periodical that advocated caste and gender reforms, campaigned for ritual and religious equality of the untouchables, encouraged women to come out of purdah, and propagated an inclusive agenda for Muslims within Indian nationalism. Sadaqat was a Kanpur based weekly newspaper in Urdu that straddled the colonial and post-colonial divide and a couple of centuries (1925-2013). It carried news, views and discussions on economy, polity, society, culture, religion and literature, and a lot of advertisements for a variety of products including films. Dipali was a weekly illustrated film magazine published from Calcutta. It focused on news related to cinema and the film industry. Filmdom was published in 1946 under the editorship of R. A. Shaikh. It is a directory of the Indian film industry with information about cinema halls, technology, laws, and brief biographies of actors, actresses, directors and producers, along with photographs.
Extent: 1 book; 42 binders; 1419 issues.
Custodial history: Owned by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. The materials were donated by collectors, and occasionally, acquired from various vendors and sellers. Issues of the Sadaqat newspaper were donated by Mr. Fuwad Khwaja, the grandson of the editor, Khwaja Abdussalam. Bhavishya, Chand, Madhuri and Prabha were preserved by Mr. Priyamvad, who passed his collection on to us. Vishwamitra was procured from Saraiya, Munger (Bihar). Dipali and Filmdom were acquired from a dealer of second-hand books, Mr. Sudarshan Talwar of Kolkata.
Arrangement: The collection is owned by a single institution, the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi. Issues of the different periodicals have been organised according to their respective titles and the years in which they were published (Gregorian calendar). Different periodicals have been organised and arranged under different Series. For example, the issues of Bhavishya are categorised under a Series titled ‘Bhavishya’ and are further classified according to year and issue i.e. Sub-Series and File. In the cases of Bhavishya, Chand, Madhuri, Prabha, and Vishwamitra, one Sub-series equals one binder (year). In the cases of Dipali and Sadaqat, one File equals one binder (year). Sequentially, the Sub-series and Files in the collection have been arranged according to the date of publication of the respective issues of the periodicals. Filmdom, the only book in the Collection, has been organised within a Series and single File.
