 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Statesman" India – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| People's Parliament, Always in Session | |
 | |
 Front page (8 August 2022) | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) |
|
| Editor | Ravindra Kumar |
| Founded | 1818; 207 years ago (1818) (75724 issues) |
| Political alignment | Liberal |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 4 Chowringhee Square,Kolkata, 700001 |
| Circulation | 234,000 Daily 250,000 Sunday |
| Sister newspapers | Dainik Statesman |
| OCLC number | 1772961 |
| Website | www |
The Statesman is an IndianEnglish-language broadsheetdaily newspaper founded in 1818 and published simultaneously inKolkata,New Delhi,Siliguri andBhubaneswar. It incorporates and is directly descended fromThe Friend of India. It is owned by The Statesman Ltd and headquartered at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Kolkata, with its national editorial office at Statesman House,Connaught Place, New Delhi. It is a member of theAsia News Network.
The Statesman has an average weekday circulation of approximately 234,000,[1] and theSunday Statesman has a circulation of 250,000. This ranks it as one of the leading English newspapers inWest Bengal,India.[2]
The Statesman is a direct descendant of two newspapers, the Bombay (nowMumbai) basedIndian Statesman andThe Friend of India published in Calcutta (nowKolkata).Indian Statesman was started byRobert Knight, who was previously the principal founder and editor ofThe Times of India. Knight merged the two papers toIndian Statesman and New Friend of India on 15 January 1875.[3][4] The paper later adopted the current name. It absorbed its erstwhile rivalThe Englishman in 1927.[5] TheStatesman was managed by a British corporate group until it transferred ownership to a consortium of companies with N A Palkhivala as Chairman in the mid-1960s. The first editor assigned under this new ownership wasPran Chopra.
In 1978, then editorS Nihal Singh was awarded the prestigiousInternational Editor of the Year Award given byWorld Press Review, New York, for opposingthe Emergency (1975-77).[6][7]
The Statesman is characterized by its terse reporting style. It holds a liberal position. It opposed the shifting of India's capital fromCalcutta toNew Delhi in 1911, stating that "[t]he British have gone to the city of graveyards to be buried there". It also strenuously opposedIndira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975–77. Under the editorIan Stephens (who was editor from 1942 to 1951), the newspaper published highly disturbing images, on 22 and 29 August 1943, of the effects of theBengal famine of 1943, despite the British colonial government's attempts atcensorship.[8] The images played a major role in changing world opinion onimperialism.
The Statesman Award for Rural Reporting is presented to outstanding journalists every year, irrespective of affiliation, to further the social uplifting of indigents from India. The awards are presented on 16 September every year, the death anniversary of JusticeSudhi Ranjan Das, formerChief Justice of India'sSupreme Court and chairman of The Statesman during the tumultuous Emergency years.
Once the most widely read English dailies in West Bengal,The Statesman has now lost some ground toThe Telegraph andThe Times of India in the state. But it is widely regarded as the paper to read for serious news reportage, incisive analytical articles and usage of standard English language.
The Statesman is a founding member of the Asia News Network, a grouping of 22 Asian newspapers that have joined hands for a daily news exchange. This allowsThe Statesman to offer exhaustive coverage of all Asian regions.
The Statesman carries a Thursday feature supplement called "Section 2"[9] which is published from New Delhi. The four-page supplement provides in-depth analysis on art, dance, literature, drama, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. In Kolkata, the supplement "Voices" focuses on schools and schoolchildren. It started in 1995, providing the opportunity for school children to showcase their writing skills with research articles, poems and short news clips. Among other activities every year, "Voices" hosts a 2-day long festival called "Vibes" in Calcutta, which showcases inter-school competitions in different fields, as well as shows by musicians and bands.[10]
The Sunday supplement, "8th Day", is the major literary section of the paper, consisting of reader-contributed short stories and poems while the other Sunday supplement, "Evolve", mainly deals with the cultural scene in India. "Marquee", published every Saturday, covers the film and entertainment scene. Supplement of Dainik Statesman - every Saturday publishes Binodan where the news of art, culture, music, entertainment, food, fashion, lifestyle related articles are available. Every Sunday publishes Bichitra where the Sunday special articles, short stories, travel, children special issues are available.[citation needed]
R P Gupta is Chairman and Ravindra Kumar is Editor of The Statesman. Arya Rudra is Managing Editor and Vineet Gupta is Printer and Publisher of The Statesman.
Sister EditionDainik Statesman, a dailyBengali newspaper, was launched in June 2004 and is published simultaneously in Kolkata andSiliguri.
In February 2009,The Statesman editor Ravindra Kumar was arrested on the charges of "hurting the religious feelings" of Muslims.[11] BBC reported thatMuslims were upset withThe Statesman for reproducingJohann Hari's article "Why should I respect these oppressive religions?" from the UK'sThe Independent daily in its February edition.[12]
TheStatesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally has been held annually since 1964.