The Indian Press and the Spanish Civil War

This article from the Kolkata newspaper Amrita Bazar Patrika, signed by the paper’s “own correspondent” reproduces the speech of Republican Foreign Minister Julio Álvarez del Vayo that was broadcast to the United States on 7 October 1938. 

This is one example of the continuous coverage in the Indian press that shaped Indian public opinion about the Spanish Civil War.  Stories ranged from accounts of the events on the battlefields to reproductions of the speeches of Spanish leaders to analyses on the position that the United States was taking on the conflict. Jawaharlal Nehru’s trip to Spain in 1938 received extensive coverage and the stories of Indian members of the International Brigades such as Gopal Mukund Huddar and Dr. Atal were also highlighted.

Except for the The Times of India, which was founded by a British journalist, the others: The Hindustan Times, The Bombay Chronicle and The Amrita Bazar Patrika, were founded and owned by Indians and described themselves as nationalist.  In general, their accounts tended to favour the Republican cause and criticize the Non-Intervention policies of Great Britain and France. This was in keeping with the independent foreign policy of the Congress Party that sought to distance itself from that of India’s colonial overlord.

MS/AT