ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Jawaharlal Nehru family's newspaper career with special attention to the National Herald, and considers the larger question of the relationship between a national press and a nationalist political movement. Many of the most famous Congress leaders were editors of widely read newspapers. The Indian nationalist press, however, was often strongly critical of Congress governments' resort to 'repressive' measures such as the enforcement of the Criminal Law Amendment Act in Madras, and the demanding of securities from newspapers in Bombay and in the Central Provinces. There was considerable confusion and debate among Indian pressmen regarding the appropriate response to the Press Ordinance. Nehru considered naming the paper the Independent, but eventually decided on National Herald to emphasize the call to nationhood that was to be its mission. Ramananda Chatterjee spoke for many of his colleagues when he wrote in the Modern Review that the press had not been consulted regarding the Congress Working Committee's suspension resolution.
