Annie Besant first came to India on 16 November 1893. When World War I broke out in 1914, she helped launch the Home Rule League to campaign for democracy in India and dominion status within the Empire. She published New India and Commonweal. The Commonweal was a weekly dealing with issues of national reform and New India was a daily newspaper which for fifteen years was a powerful instrument promoting Home Rule and revolutionizing Indian journalism.

Source: Spectrum Modern India