Little Magazine Movement was yet another of the radical and revolutionary pressure group socialistic movements, that was witnessed for the first time in pre-independent India. Together with the massive and gigantically proportioned anti-colonial freedom movements, this `Little Magazine` phenomena had indeed egged the common mass to come out of their homes and join in the pan-Indian line-up spontaneously. In this context, the ushering in of the printing press in India was integrally linked with Little Magazine Movements, which day and night devoted their time to spread sedition against the oppressing Britishers. In fact, these literary movements stood out distinctly to the development of Indian literature, as opposed to the social activities of pre-independent and undivided India.
The Little Magazine Movement is considered as a mass literary movement of literary magazines, also hugely popular as Little magazines (a periodical loyal to literature in a panoptic sense. Little magazines generally publish short stories, poetry and essays together with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters). This Little magazine Movement had first made its instigation in the then society of fifties and sixties India, in several Indian languages like Tamil, Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam and Gujarati, just as it did in the west, in the early part of the 19th century.
Little Magazine Movement also had sowed its overwhelming roots in Bengali literature. It had all started with Kallol, a modernist movement magazine, launched in 1923. The most popular activists amongst the group were Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899 - 1976) and Mohitlal Majumder (1888-1952), Achintyakumar Sengupta (1903-1976), Satyendranath Dutta (1882-1922), Premendra Mitra (1904 - 1988) and several other free-minded revolutionists. The then Bengali poetry had indeed plunged into the brightest light of modernism during 1930s, through the movement of few other little magazines, such as Buddhadeb Bosu`s Kabita and Sudhindranath Datta`s Parichay.
The overwhelming little magazine movement explosion in West Bengal took place after 1961, when the Hungry generation Movement transported the cultural establishment to a stormy and uncomfortable domain. This context needs to be further elaborated, when stating about little magazine movements and the then humanity of Bengal. Post-independence scenario in Bengal was one of utmost disillusionment and hopelessness in every domain in education and career. The youth were fundamental in egging these protests, which were everyday marked by blood, clashes, curfews and bombings. There had arisen a situation of extreme dichotomy in Bengal, with young guns bending neither towards complete `Indianness`, nor towards accepting the bygone British style of living. Such meaninglessness in such sensitive periods, when India was still in just the nascent stage of development towards bright future to administer independently, had indeed impeded smooth situations. This was reason enough for the Bengal youth to give birth to literature of their own, in the form of little magazines from various corners of the state. Some of these writing section revolutionists include - Shakti Chattopadhyay, Malay Roy Choudhury, Samir Roychoudhury and Debi Roy (also admired as Haradhon Dhara). In fact, this little magazine movement and `disillusionment` did not only change the publication ambit, but also the naming of a magazine itself.
The highly esteemed governmental organisation, Sahitya Akademi (Indian Academy of Letters) is also linked closely with this contagious little magazine movement and its gradual popularity. The Akademi also publishes two literary journals, namely Indian Literature (journal) in English and Samkalin Bhartiya Sahitya in Hindi. The most stellar example of this continuing tradition is The Little Magazine, published from New Delhi since May 2000 , also encompassing Civil Lines and Yatra. There also exists a Little Magazine Library and Research Centre at Tamer Lane in Kolkata, which amasses Bengali little magazines published from anywhere in the world.
In spite of little magazine movements triumphantly springing forth their head in other states in India, there can be no denying the fact that West Bengal comes to reference time and again. The little magazine literature and literary world is truly enhanced and enlightened to this date by Bengali literature. There exist in the least 1000 surviving Bangla Little Magazines throughout West Bengal, Tripura and Barak Valley of Assam, apart from those in other states in India. The West Bengal government`s ardent desire to register these magazines with them cannot be executed for the reason that, a real Little Magazine for its very nature of sovereignty cannot be registered.
In present times, there in fact exists umpteen such little magazines in the West Bengal scenario, thoroughly influenced as they are by the bygone little magazine movement, during 1960s - 1970s. However, the lifespan and number of issues of most of the magazines are trifling, shifting between `one-issue one-time affairs` to irregular issues incessantly for forty years. But shelf-life in particular cases are beyond one`s understanding, much more than large number of books published each year. This significant scenario had led to Little Magazine library `explosion` and enthusiasts amassing special issues. None of the governmental institutions, counting National Library and State Libraries, Sahitya and Bangla Academies or Universities possessed any arrangements to preserve such a colossal and micro-cultural yield. The assignment was hence taken up in 1978 by an individual, Dandip Dutta, who started a Little Magazine Library and Research Centre at Tamer Lane, Kolkata. Dandip Dutta henceforth has filled up his whole family home with countless little magazines, being obtained by him everyday.
From one point of view, the little magazines and their movements exemplify the constant metamorphosis of Bengali `reality and relativity` and `contest centres of authority` and imposed tenets in their own field. Bengali little magazines are micro-level commanding constitutions. There are being referred to as microforms, because they remain unblocked by rules and contexts and therefore, are very much open to numerous indefinite interconnections. Microforms are in a way, far superior to `totalising` macro-forms. Until the little magazine movement phenomenon exploded, Bengali literature was controlled and canonised by Kolkata-based bourgeois class, regardless of the incredible anti-establishment bang of Hungryalists (who used to publish one-page bulletins or 16 page compendiums) and anti-canon battle-cry of Neem Sahitya and Shastravirodhies. Little magazines keep themselves forever triggered as de-centring process. The peripheries of urban and suburban locales of topographical Bengal, as well as rural West Bengal are thronged with the culturally homeless. Indeed, most of the little magazine editors and their contributors to such inciting movements, come from such social segments.
Thousand such little magazines are published every day, ranging from 16-page Sahitya Setu edited by Jagabandhu Kundu, to four hundred page Kabitirtha, edited by Utpal Bhattacharjee. The little magazine movement boom and their further publication also range from being published fortnightly to annually, which are generally edited by inexperienced teenagers to experienced eighty year olds. Most of the magazines print both poetry and fictions, including even novels and drama. However, particular magazines publish either fiction, drama or poetry only.
