Amongst the Indian newspapers, the Pioneer has a unique place of its own, if nothing else, by virtue of its antiquity. It was founded by George Allen in 1865 in Allahabad. Going through the back numbers of the newspaper is like going through the sequential history of India. Unfortunately, a collected record of all the copies since the early times is nowhere available.
This is understandable because its character changed, its periodicity changed, and its editorial framework and personnel changed with many shuffles which took place in ownership. The unique feature of the Pioneer has been its identity of insights rather than a chronology of events.
It was fortunate to have in its early years the imprint of the literary and insightful talent of people such as Rudyard Kipling, Winston Churchill. There were others of notable reference, such as Alfred Percy Sinnett, who in 1872 marked a watershed in the evolution of the newspaper. In the early years, many branding and rebranding efforts took place, going through titles such as the ‘Pioneer Mail’ and...
