Why should newspaper accounts of Mahatma Gandhi's activities not be seen as unprejudiced?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → They were published by people with their own political opinions and world views
Option (1) They were published by people with their own political opinions and world views — Correct. Newspapers were run by people who had their own political opinions and world views. These ideas shaped what was printed and how events were reported, so a London paper and an Indian nationalist paper told the same event differently.
Option (2) They were checked line by line by the police before printing — Incorrect. Police checking of every line is not the reason given. The bias came from the publishers' own views.
Option (3) They were written long after the events, from memory — Incorrect. Newspapers were contemporary. They were written as events happened.
Option (4) They copied the Fortnightly Reports of the Home Department — Incorrect. The Fortnightly Reports were confidential Home Department papers, kept away from the press.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.4 From newspapers “Newspaper accounts, however, should not be seen as unprejudiced. They were published by people who had their own political opinions and world views. These ideas shaped what was published and the way events were reported.” “The accounts that were published in a London newspaper would be different from the report in an Indian nationalist paper.” |