During this phase the Muslim press grew rather rapidly. A Number of English language newspapers sprang up while Urdu* Press too had new additions. Together with the old newspapers, they voiced Muslim political aspirations with still greater force and placed the major role in mobilizing public opinion in support of the Pakistan Movement. The highlights are as follows:

From Lahore appeared “Eastern Times” originally sponsored by Ferozsons under the temporary editorship of Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali. He was followed by Mr. F.K. Khan Durrani who had written a number of books on Muslim politics. Though shabby in appearance and deficient in equipment, it did play a role in projecting Muslim viewpoint. For a couple of years there existed in Lahore the “New Times” Weekly started by Malik Barkat Ali which acted as the spokesman of Muslim League.

From Calcutta appeared a daily named “Star of India”, first under the editorship of Pothan Joseph and then of Lawrence P. Atkison. This was owned i by Kh. Shahabuddin and his family. This was a positively good paper and did a lot of work in interpreting Muslim politics. This was later replaced by “Morning News” jointly owned by Abdur Rahman Siddiqi and Kh. Nurruddin, brother * of Kh. Shahabuddin. The Morning News was a more vigorous spokesman and continued to appear till after partition and was later shifted to Dacca, subsequently bringing out an edition from Karachi. This was and even now is edited by Mohsin Ali. It was taken over by NPT in 1963 and consequently closed down in 1993.

1. Elsewhere a number of weeklies sprang up. There was “Star” in Bombay edited by Aziz Beg, another weekly of the same name from Allahabad sponsored by Sir Shifaat Ahmed Khan, “Decean Times” from Madras and “Muslim Voice” from Karachi which was owned and edited by Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi.

2. Muslims were greatly handicapped by the fact that the API and the UPI were both controlled by Hindus. Their news was blacked out and distorted. Therefore a news agency named Orient Press of India was sponsored. Though financially weak and under equipped it did help in circulating news about Muslim Politics.

3. The “Statesman” and the “Civil and Military Gazette” of Lahore realising that the chances for the projection of Muslim viewpoint were small, initiated special weekly features on Muslim polities. The column in “Statesman” was contributed by Mr. Altaf Hussain under the pen name of “Ain-ul-Mulk” and later “Shahid” while in the “Civil and Military Gazette” this column was written by Syed Nur Ahmed under the by-line “From our Muslim Correspondent.”

Under private enterprise quite a number of Urdu papers also came in the field. Among these was “Ehsan” edited by Maulana Murtaza Ahmed Khan Maikash and Chiragh Hasan Hasrat. This appeared from Lahore and was the first to install a teleprinter. The paper was courageous spokesman of the Muslim League. Later the two editors resigned and established “Shahbaz” a new daily from Lahore which was a much better specimen of journalism than Ehsan. Maulana Maikash was an- editorial writer of repute and was considered the best after Maulana Ghulam Rasul Mehr.

4. The Muslim press in Delhi was strengthened by the appearance of “Jang” and “Anjam” which in 1947 shifted to Karachi. Both papers supported the Muslim League. From Calcutta appeared “Azad” in Bengali under the editorship of Maulana Muhammad Akram Khan who had served as President of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League for pretty long. He remained the Chief Editor till 1968 when he died at the age of 100 years. This paper shifted to Dacca in 1948 and remained largest in circulation among Bengali papers in former East Pakistan.

5. There also appeared “Millat” from Peshawar under the editorship of Rashid Akhtar Nadvi and “Tanzeem” from Quetta with Nasim Hijazi as editor. Though ill equipped, these papers played a notable role in countering congress propaganda in areas where its incfuence was great.

Several other papers were started from other cities of the sub-continent.

After the Lahore Resolution was passed the Quaid-i- Azam sponsored a “create Muslim press campaign” and collected funds for the purpose. He founded the “Dawn” in October 1942 as a daily from Delhi and placed it under a trust of which he was the Managing Trustee. The broad policy was to support the League but the paper was allowed to make independent criticism within the framework of its policy. Its first editor was Pothan Joseph but after a couple of years Mr. Altaf Hussain replaced him. Mr. Altaf Hussain weilded a trenchant pen and his editorials were widely appreciated. The Paper’s entry was banned by the Khizr Ministry during the League civil disobedience movement in Punjab, but thousands of its copies were smuggled and sold at a high price in several cities of the Punjab.

Quaid-i-Azam also started “Manshoor” an Urdu daily Irom Delhi which was the official organ of the All India Muslim League. This bright and fancy daily was edited by Syed Hasan Riaz. However, this paper could not succeed and had to close down after a couple of years.

In 1947 riots the Hindu mobs burnt the offices and the printing press of “Dawn”. As a result it closed down temporarily, only to reappear from Karachi at the inception of Pakistan. The Trust ceased to exist and it was owned by Pakistan Herald Publications Ltd. with majority of shares possessed by the Haroon family of Pakistan.

Another important addition to the Muslim Press was “Nawai-Waqt” of Lahore that appeared as a daily in July 1944 with Mr. Hamid Nizami and Mr. Hamid Mahmud as the co- founders. Earlier, it appeared as fortnightly with Shabbar Hasan as editor in 1940. The paper was technically a good specimen of Journalism and was also highly outspoken in support of the Pakistan Movement. This became very popular, particularly because of the short but to the point lucid and logical editorials of Hamid Nizami.

In February 1947, “Pakistan Times” appeared from Lahore under the aegis of the PPL with Mian Iftikharuddin holding a majority of shares. Its first editor was Desmond Young, formerly of the Statesman who was followed by Faiz Ahmed Faiz. This was a fully-equipped paper, at par with the Civil and Military Gazette. Its role during the civil disobedience movement was notable.

Some underground papers were also established in [ .ahore when the Khizar Cabinet had banned publication of the news of civil disobedience movement. These papers were oyclostyled and distributed on a large scale. Thus Muslim press became a power to be reckoned with. Side by side with the old papers like the “Zamindar”, “Inqilab”, “Asre Jadid”, “Khailafat” and others, the newspapers made their best efforts in convincing the Muslim masses of the righteousness of their cause and mobilizing their energies in support of the Pakistan Movement.

It goes without saying that during the last phase, Mr. Altaf Hussain and Mr. Hamid Nizami were the two leading editorial writers.