The Complete History of Journalism in Jammu & Kashmir (1850–2026): From the First Printing Press to the Digital Age

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 Chapter 1 Before Newspapers (Before 1850)

We often associate Journalism with newspapers, printing presses, radio broadcasts, television studios and digital news report. Yet the history of journalism started much earlier than the first printed newspaper. At heart journalism is organized collection, verification, and dissemination of information that enables the society to be informed of political authority, commerce, religion and everyday life. Long before the first newspaper was printed in Jammu and Kashmir, the region possessed it own system through which news, political orders, religious ideas and commerical information travelled across towns, villages and mountain passes.

For centuries, rulers depended on reliable and trustworthy sources of information to administer their kingdoms, maintain revenue records, enforce law and order and communicate official decisions. Merchants relied on reports from distant markets to understand prices, trade routes and demand for goods. Pilgrims, travellers and wandering monks carried stories, news and cultural knowledge across regions, informing communities that had little contact with the outside world. Meanwhile, scholars and religious institutions preserved knowledge by carefully copying manuscripts, ensuring that history, literature and religious texts were passed down through generations. In the Duggar and Himalayan regions, many such works were written in the Takri script, with manuscripts from places like Chamba serving as important examples of this rich literary tradition.



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