Bhopal: While the common masses basked in the dawn of India's independence on 15 August in 1947, newspapers too were overwhelmed with patriotic headlines to reflect on this historic day. Let us revisit the newspaper headlines of the day India achieved freedom from the British rule. The headline of the lead in the newspaper Hindustan in Hindi read "New dawn of Independence in India after centuries of slavery, Bapu's struggle bears fruit.
The statement of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was carried in another news item in the newspaper. "As long as there is a drop of tear in the eyes of the public, our work will not be completed," Nehru had said. Hindustan had carried a picture showing a child hoisting the tricolor in a rural setting. The newspaper 'Veer Arjun' carried the news that Gandhiji would fast for 24 hours on the occasion of Independence Day, would spin the spinning wheel and pray all day.
There was also an editorial of Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi in the weekly newspaper Karmaveer. The message of Ali Mohammad Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, was published on 15 August 1947 by Pakistan's largest newspaper "The Dawn". There was also an article in the newspaper on how Pakistan "will now progress on every front after partition".
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English daily 'The Statesman' reported on the front page in the midnight session of the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi. Also on the front page was the statement of Lord Mountbatten, referring to the partition, saying, "This is a parting between friends who have honored and respected one another even in disagreement". Pertinently, Madhavrao Sapre Museum in MP has the original copies of many prestigious newspapers of the country published on 15th August 1947.
The museum is holding an exhibition on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Independence being celebrated as Amrit Mahotsav. Vijay Dutt Sridhar, the founder of the Madhav Sapre Museum, said, “When we stand in front of the newspaper, we can feel the thrill of the history of that moment. Going through these newspapers of 15 August 1947 takes you to that day."
