research
Counter hegemony, newspapers and the origins of anti-colonialism in French India
Abstract
Purpose: to reveal the contribution of counter-hegemonic communications towards the origins of anti-colonialism in French India during the years 1935-7 and thereby to illuminate the relationship between press, economics and ideology in a colonial context. Design/methodology: qualitative study of local archives in Tamil and French, including indigenous print communications such as the workers’ paper Swandanthiram. These are used as a prism for analysis of the development of a workers’ public voice during major textile strikes, and assessed in the light of John Downing’s definitions of advocacy journalism (1984, 2001). Findings: Communications were directly connected to disempowerment and lack of civil, political and economic rights. The formation of legal worker organisations for the first time and a new political party provided the context in which activist leaders adopted a twofold vertical and lateral strategy in their publications, to promote their formative anti-colonial ideas. Research limitations/implications: This research illuminates the relationship between press, economics and ideology in a colonial context, demonstrating the importance of economic factors in rise of nationalist movements and the way press usage is connected to basic civil, political and economic rights. Originality/value The paper traces a forgotten episode in the history of a neglected corner of French empire, significant for the emergence of the indigenous population -including peasant women - for the first time from the private to the public sphere as an organised force- a factor that has previously been ignored by historians- Article
- PeerReviewed
- P290 Publicity studies not elsewhere classified
- V271 International History
- P990 Mass Communications and Documentation not elsewhere classified
- V243 South East Asian History
- P510 Factual Reporting
- R120 French Literature
- V147 Modern History 1950-1999
- L321 Women's Studies
- P590 Journalism not elsewhere classified
- V320 Social History
- V390 History by Topic not elsewhere classified
- V310 Economic History
- P400 Publishing
- P300 Media studies
- R130 French Society and Culture
- V240 Asian History
- V242 Indian History
- V146 Modern History 1920-1949
- P100 Information Services
- V900 Others in Historical and Philosophical studies
- L222 Democracy
- V140 Modern History
- P490 Publishing not elsewhere classified
- L210 Political Theories
- R100 French studies
- V221 French History
- P900 Others in Mass Communications and Documentation
- P305 Paper-based Media studies
- R190 French studies not elsewhere classified
- P390 Media studies not elsewhere classified
- P500 Journalism