Archives at Sanhati: Now Issues at Sanhati

Archives at Sanhati: Now Issues

Archivist: Soumya Guhathakurta, Sanhati

Updated July 27: November 11 1966, November 18 1966, November 25 1966, January 6 1967, January 20 1967, January 27 1967, February 10 1967, February 24 1967, March 3 1967, March 10 1967, March 17 1967.
Updated July 08: September 9 1966, September 16 1966, September 23 1966,September 30 1966, October 14 1966, October 21 1966.
Updated June 27: March 24 1967, March 31 1967, April 7 1967
Updated March 30: August 12 1966, August 19 1966, August 26 1966, September 2 1966
Updated March 22: August 5 1966, July 29 1966, July 22 1966, July 15 1966, May 27, 1966

About Now

In 1964 Samar Sen quit Hindustan Standard, the now defunct Calcutta English daily from Anandabazar group of publications stable, over a disagreement with the group about the carrying of news about communal disturbances in East Pakistan. Union Minister Professor Humayun Kabir approached Samar Sen with the job to edit a weekly with the objective of strengthening democracy, secularism etc. Thus was born Now and the first issue hit the stands in October 1964. Those who assisted in editing the weekly and writing columns included names like Nityapriya Ghosh, Niranjan Mazumdar (The Statesman, Calcutta), Shankar Ghosh (senior journalist known for his memoirs Hostantor), Ashok Mitra (previously minister in the Left Front regime), Amalendu Dasgupta (editor of The Statesman, Calcutta), Nayan Chanda (now at Yale and author of Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers and Warriors Shaped Globalisation ), Kunal Bose (Financial Times, London) and Jayanta Sarkar (The Economic times & F E E review).

Initially, the issues of Now were an agglomeration of writings of famous and infamous scribes, both from India and abroad. A distinct left slant to the weekly was provided by some of the edit writers, notably Ashok Mitra. This was a cause for discomfort to Prof. Kabir which he expressed in his correspondence, but he never interfered with the matter that the weekly carried in print. However, this attitude of Prof. Kabir began to change with the 1967 assembly election and the coming to power of the Bangla Congress and CPI(M) led United Front. Post 1967 elections Now supported CPI(M). However, CPI(M)’s stance after the peasant uprising at Naxalbari, expulsion of dissidents and the attitude of holding on to power by means fair or foul disillusioned Samar Sen. The first United Front Government collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions and a few days later a letter of dismissal was served to the editor of Now. Samar Sen left Now in 1968 and the weekly, under a new editor, folded up after a few issues.

Among others to write for Now were Nirad C. Chaudhuri , Lindsay Emmerson (The Statesman, Calcutta), Kingsley Martin (editor, New Statesman). Now was the first to carry a translation of Sukumar Ray’s verse by Satyajit Ray. The entire team of writers from Now followed Samar Sen to Frontier (which hit the stands in April 1968) save a few like Nirad C. Chaudhuri and Kingsley Martin.

Click here to read letters to Samar Sen, informing him of his termination from Now

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