Mahatma Gandhi began publishing the newspaper Harijan in 1933 to promote the campaign against untouchability.
The first issue appeared on 11 February 1933. Gandhi used the paper to discuss social reform, caste discrimination, village life, religion, economics, and political questions. The title means “person of God,” a term Gandhi used for communities formerly treated as “untouchable”; many Dalit thinkers later rejected that label as patronizing.
Harijan was part of Gandhi’s wider campaign after his 1932 fast against separate electorates for the Depressed Classes. He traveled widely, raised funds, and urged upper-caste Hindus to challenge exclusion from wells, temples, schools, and public spaces.
Harijan should not be confused with Young India or Navajivan. Young India was Gandhi’s English-language political weekly before 1932, while Navajivan was a Gujarati publication connected with his journalism.