Dainik Bhaskar

**Dainik Bhaskar** (meaning "The Daily Sun") is a Hindi-language daily newspaper in India, owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to the World Association of Newspapers, it was the fourth most circulated newspaper globally in 2016, and the Indian Audit Bureau of Circulations reported it as India's largest newspaper by circulation in 2022. The paper was founded in Bhopal in 1958 by Ramesh Chandra Agarwal, and its first major expansion came in 1983 with an edition in Indore. Today, the Dainik Bhaskar Group operates across 13 Indian states, publishing 65 editions in Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati.

The newspaper's history traces back to 1948, when a Hindi daily called *Subah Savere* ("Early Morning") was launched in Bhopal, alongside *Good Morning India* in Gwalior. In 1957, it was renamed *Bhaskar Samachar*, and a year later, in 1958, it became *Dainik Bhaskar*. The name *Bhaskar* translates to "the Rising Sun," and the paper's rising sun logo was chosen to symbolize a bright future.

In July 2021, the Income Tax Department raided 30 locations of the Dainik Bhaskar Group across Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, alleging tax evasion. Employees' homes were also searched. The newspaper stated that the raids followed its reporting on the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its publication of actual COVID-19 death figures, and claimed that employees' phones were seized and they were prevented from leaving. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted that the media house was "paying the price" for its pandemic coverage, calling it an "Undeclared Emergency." Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the raids as intimidation. The Editors Guild of India also expressed concern. Union Minister Anurag Thakur denied government interference, stating agencies were doing their job. Authorities later claimed tax evasion of ₹7,000 crore over six years.

In March 2023, Dainik Bhaskar posted a video on Twitter claiming that Bihari migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu for speaking Hindi. Four months later, the Madras High Court called the report "fake news" and ordered the newspaper to issue an apology to the court and the people of Tamil Nadu, along with a front-page corrigendum. Tamil Nadu police had released CCTV footage showing the incident was a suicide, not a murder.

The newspaper has faced other accusations of publishing false or misleading news. In May 2022, it reported that "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans were raised in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Fact-checking site Alt News found the claim false; the actual slogan was "SDPI Zindabad." In August 2018, Dainik Bhaskar ran an article with a photo of a baby elephant, captioned as a soldier rescuing the animal during the Kerala floods. Alt News revealed the photo was eight months old and taken in Tamil Nadu, unrelated to Kerala.

By 1995, Dainik Bhaskar had become the top newspaper in Madhya Pradesh and was declared India's fastest-growing daily by a readership survey. It then looked to expand outside the state, identifying Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital, as a high-potential market. In 1996, the paper aimed to enter Jaipur as the No. 2 newspaper on its first day, targeting 50,000 copies. A team of 700 surveyors studied 200,000 potential households. Based on feedback, the paper visited each household with a prototype and offered advance subscriptions at a discounted price of ₹1.50 (versus the newsstand price of ₹2), with a refund guarantee. When Dainik Bhaskar launched in Jaipur on 19 December 1996, it sold 172,347 copies, making it No. 1. The former leader, Rajasthan Patrika, had a circulation of about 100,000. The paper replicated this model in other Rajasthan cities—Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Udaipur, and Ajmer Sikar—and by 1999, it was the No. 1 urban newspaper in the state.

Next, the paper targeted Chandigarh. In January 2000, it surveyed 220,000 households. At the time, English newspapers in Chandigarh outsold Hindi ones six to one, with *The Tribune* leading at around 50,000 copies. The survey showed residents preferred English papers due to perceptions of quality. So Dainik Bhaskar incorporated the local Chandigarh dialect, mixing Hindi and English. It launched in Chandigarh in May 2000, selling 69,000 copies and becoming No. 1 in the city. In June 2000, it entered Haryana.