BĪDĀRĪ

 

BĪDĀRĪ (lit. wakefulness), the name of three Persian newspapers published in Tehran (1907), Rašt (1920), and Kermān (1923-53) and also the name of several other Persian newspapers and maga­zines published in Iran, Europe, and the Soviet Union.

The name was first applied to a newspaper published in Tehran and edited by Fatḥ-ʿAlī Khan Fatḥ-al-Mamālek, the editor of the newspaper Zešt o zībā, which, but for the latter’s illustrations, it closely imitated. Bīdārī appears to have lasted only one issue, which was published on 23 Jomādā II 1325/3 August 1907.

The second Bīdārī was published in Rašt during Jawzā, 1299 Š./May-June, 1920, and coincided with the uprising of Mīrzā Kūček Khan Jangalī. Some information in the author’s possession indicates that Bīdārī was typographed once every ten days and was edited by Ḥosayn Jowdat.

The third and most long-lived Bīdārī began publishing in Kermān. The first issue appeared in Jawzā, 1302 Š./May or June, 1923 and was edited and managed by Sayyed Moḥammad Hāšemī (1279-1349 Š./1900-60), a poet, writer, and member of the Farhangestān. Hāšemī represented Kermān in the 13th, 14th, and 15th sessions of the Majles and, later, became the managing editor of the Official Gazette (Rūz-nāma-ye rasmī) and the head of the Majles printing office. He established the newspaper Etteḥād-e mellī in Tehran on 21 Tīr 1322 Š./12 July 1943. Prior to that time, he had entrusted the editorship of Bīdārī to his brother Moḥammad Reżā Hāšemī. During the last period of its publication, Bīdārī was edited by Aḥmad Hāšemī. Until the year 1315 Š./1936, Bīdārī came out very irregularly with long gaps between issues. After that year, it became Kermān’s first daily newspaper. During this period, it did not publish advertisements; a separate weekly publication was devoted to this purpose. The weekly publication was primarily concerned with cultural affairs, especially literature, while the daily Bīdārī focused mainly on news and local affairs. With the advent of World War II, Bīdārī once again became a weekly journal. The last issue of the newspaper appeared in Day, 1331 Š./beginning of 1953 (most likely in January). Bīdārī was initially lithographed on four, two-columned pages measuring 22 x 35.5 cm; it was later typeset on four­-columned paper measuring 23 x 36 cm and then on five­-columned paper measuring 30 x 53 cm. It was only during its last years of publication that Bīdārī was illustrated. A single issue initially cost five šāhīs, which later became one rial. A yearly subscription during its first years was twenty rials, which in its seventh year rose to 40 rials with the caveat, “school students, women, and those of limited means” received a 25 percent discount and “the wealthy” paid one third more. Incomplete runs of Bīdārī are found in major libraries in Iran.

 

Bibliography:

M.-E. Bāstānī Pārīzī, “Jarāyed-e Kermān o kermānīān-e jarīdanegār,” in Haft al-hašt, Tehran, 1363 Š./1984, p. 316.

E. G. Browne, The Press and Poetry of Modern Persia, Cambridge, 1914, no. 91.

E. Faḵrāʾī, Sardār-e jangal: Mīrzā Kūček Ḵān, Tehran, 1346 Š./1967.

M. Ṣadr Hāšemī, Tārīḵ-ejarāyed o majallāt-e Īrān, Isfahan, 1327-32 Š./1948-53, no. 313.

Ḡ.-Ḥ. Ṣāleḥyār, ed., Čehra-ye maṭbūʿāt-e moʿāṣer, Tehran, 1351 Š./1973, p. 47.

(Nassereddin Parvin)

Originally Published: December 15, 1989

Last Updated: December 15, 1989

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Vol. IV, Fasc. 3, p. 242