Development of the Western Concept of Press Freedom in South Asia under the British Raj and Aftermath: A Comparative Contextualisation with Special Reference to Bangladesh

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VRÜ Verfassung und Recht in Übersee , page 124 - 143

Development of the Western Concept of Press Freedom in South Asia under the British Raj and Aftermath: A Comparative Contextualisation with Special Reference to Bangladesh

DOI
- doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2015-2-124
- ISSN: 0506-7286
- ISSN online: 2941-9603
Abstract

The classical liberal political philosophy that began to emerge in the 17th century came to have worldwide influence on the development of the concept of a free press. England, being the principal source of this political philosophy, then adhered to the ‘libertarian theory’ denoting the absence of state control in the operation of the press. The concept of press freedom in a modern sense could thus be said to have originated in England, the press being transferred from the authoritarian to libertarian principles. Unfortunately, the Indian sub-continent by then had come under British colonial administration, and as a colony, it was outside the ambit of such liberalising transition. Rather, discretionary decision-making in implementing ‘authoritarian theory’ by the colonial administration introduced a range of laws to consolidate control over the press. Even after the partition of British India in 1947, successive Pakistani governments perpetuated the ‘authoritarian theory’ keeping those laws in place. In 1971, Bangladesh emerged as a sovereign state, but all the earlier British-made press laws remained intact. This article aims to investigate the conceptual basis of the right to press freedom in South Asia and proceeds with its historical development through comparative contextualisation.
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- Copy DOI link doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2015-2-124