Previous Year Question

The first issue of Indian Opinion was published on 4 June 1903 from Durban, South Africa. The weekly became an important medium for presenting the problems and rights of the Indian community living in South Africa.

The initiative for starting the paper came from Madanjit Vyavaharik, who was running a printing press in Durban. He discussed the proposal for the newspaper with Gandhi.

Its first editor was Mansukhlal Hiralal Nazar. He volunteered to serve as editor without remuneration and continued in this role until his death in January 1906.

He should not be confused with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was the principal inspiration, contributor and guiding force behind Indian Opinion and played an extremely important role in its editorial content, but he was not its first editor.

Initially, Indian Opinion was published in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil. The Hindi and Tamil sections were later discontinued, while the paper continued mainly in English and Gujarati.

In 1904, its printing operation was shifted to the Phoenix Settlement. In subsequent years, Indian Opinion became an important medium for communicating the ideas and activities of Gandhi's Satyagraha movement in South Africa.

Therefore, the first editor of Indian Opinion was Mansukhlal Nazar.