'File 11/46 Publicity in the Persian Gulf' [‎105r] (209/314)

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6. UfeDU:—
(a) Ajkdl. There has been a marked increase in the
print order of Ajkal and a determined sales drive would
probably be able to put the circulation up by nearly
50 per cent. It is a curious fact that, while Indian
politicians and pressmen have whole-heartedly condemn
ed our external publications, none of which they seem to
have read, Ajkal, which is now the best known and most
popular fortnightly in India, has with one or two minor
exceptions, received nothing but praise. Even other
magazines, which might be expected to regard Ajkal as a
hated rival, have limited their disapproval of it to the
lifting of its articles without acknowledgement.
(b) Ndlinihdl. Our justifiable pride in the printing
of the last two issues of Naunihal has been slightly
damped by the fact that newsagents, at any rate, appear
t^ prefer other very poorly produced children’s magazines
merely on the grounds that they have more pages. This
^ does not mean that they contain more matter since the
) ^alligraphy is much larger than that used in Naunihal
jnd, by reason of the poor quality of paper used, much
less clear. It is however important to note that Indian
children do appear to prefer line drawings of a very crude
kind to the admirable and artistically produced offset
halftones of Naunihal. An interesting problem poses
itself here: are we to cater for undeveloped tastes which
are the result of lack of enterprise in printing and educa
tion in India, or are we to try and raise the standard
of printing by giving even children the best printing
that money can buy ?
7. HINDI:-
The progress made by the Hindi edition of Ajkal
<i>-«yng the period under review is most 'encouraging.
A *arge number of contributions is now being received
•*^rom well-known writers in spite of the comparatively
nigher rate of remuneration offered by other magazines.
Hindi Ajkal is the best printed Hindi magazine in India
and writers must derive some pleasure from seeing their
work appear in such an attractive setting.
8. tNGUSH
(a) Foreign Review has had a very good reception and
has been accorded a highly laudatory notice in the
Hindu, probably the most solid and respectable Indian-
owned daily in India. Individual comments included a
well-bred but not wholly flattering surprise that the
Government of India is capable of producing a magazine
at once so well-printed and so interesting.
(b) Heyday. Like its Urdu edition, Heyday is now
printed throughout by photo litho offset and may be
regarded as a superior printing job. Large numbers are
on order abroad.
(c) Perspective. Owing to long delays in delivery, it
has been necessary to change the printers of Perspective.
This magazine has met with considerable praise from
leaders of the Opposition in the Assembly. Contribu
tions are now coming in more regularly and the flow may
be expected to increase as the magazine becomes better
known. A friendly Indian Muslim daily recently infor
med us that a letter had been received criticizing
Perspective on the score that it contained so little of
Muslim interest or origin. There is no doubt that this
criticism is a fair one; we have experienced great difficul
ty in obtaining suitable articles from Muslim hands.
Even a special visit by the Associate Editor to Aligarh
University failed to produce any result. An attempt
is now being made to obtain sanction for the employment
of an additional Muslim Associate Editor. Even if it
does not result in producing more Muslim material, the
effect of a Muslim name as Associate Editor will
probably be good. There have been several satisfactory
press notices.
(d) Onward. Criticisms of Onward have disclosed some
confusion of aim on our part. On the one hand, we
have set ourselves the task of appealing to the middle-
class woman while, on the other hand, we have included
certain items far above the head of the ordinary literate
housewife. A meeting of representative Indian women
decided, however, that while we should unquestionably
take as our target domesticated rather than fashionable
womanhood, there is nothing much wrong with Onward
except that it needs some simplification. Indian language
versions were strongly advocated, but printing difficulties
will prevent their being undertaken at present.
(e) India. The Chinese content of India has been
considerably increased.
(/) The following subjects were dealt with in the
Mizan Newsletter during the period under review:—
January 1946 — Problems of Post-war Currency and
Exchange.
February „ The Indian Electoral System.
March „ The Indian Film Industry.
(g) Indian Studies. The bound volume of Indian Studies
is now out, but it is too early for any reactions to have
been received.
9. SHAIPUR & AL NAFIR:—
The inclusion of the coloured insets mentioned in the
last report has begun.
10. DUNYA:-
The first issue of the Burmese edition of Dunya has
been produced and reactions from Burma are awaited.
Post-war retrenchment has resulted in the free issue
of Dunya to Indian troops in India being stopped. Al
though this means a reduction of some 75,000 copies in
the print order, it is not unwelcome since such a large
free issue naturally interfered seriously with sales. In a