To accomplish the aims of education, “political propaganda and formation as well as propagation of nationalist ideology”, the press became the chief instrument. Comment.

Answer:

• The press became one of the most important instruments of Indian nationalism. It educated the public, criticised colonial rule, spread political ideas and helped create an all-India nationalist consciousness.

Press as Educator

• Newspapers explained issues such as drain of wealth, civil rights, representation, famine, taxation and racial discrimination.
• They made complex political questions understandable to educated and semi-educated readers.
• Vernacular newspapers carried nationalist ideas beyond English-educated elites.

Press as Political Propaganda

• Papers like Kesari, Amrita Bazar Patrika, The Hindu, Bengalee and Young India criticised colonial policies.
• They mobilised opinion during the Swadeshi, Home Rule, Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements.
• The press exposed repression, trials, lathi charges and discriminatory laws.

Formation of Nationalist Ideology

• The press popularised ideas of swaraj, swadeshi, civil liberties and economic nationalism.
• It connected regional struggles with national politics.
• Colonial restrictions such as the Vernacular Press Act and Press Act of 1910 show that the British feared its influence.

Therefore, the press was not merely a medium of information. It was a school of nationalism, an instrument of political mobilisation and a weapon against colonial rule. Bipan Chandra rightly treats it as central to the making of modern Indian political consciousness.