Newspapers in British India – Part 1

Before 1850

Bengal Gazette

• Bengal Gazette also known as Calcutta General advertiser is the first newspaper published in India.
• It was started by James Augustus Hickey in 1780 but was banned in 1872 following the anti-government editorials.

Bengal Journal

• Bengal Journal was a newspaper founded in 1785 by William Duane and Thomas Jones.
• The Governor-General of Bengal John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth shut down the paper for libel against the French royalist government in exile in Calcutta.

Bombay Gazette

• The Bombay Gazette was established in 1789 and was among the first English newspapers published from Bombay.
• Initially found in 1789 as the “Bombay Herald”, the newspaper’s name was changed to “Bombay Gazette” in 1791.
• The newspaper continued to be published up to the early 1900s.

The Calcutta Chronicle and General Advertiser

• The Calcutta Chronicle and General Advertiser was a weekly English-language newspaper published in Kolkata.
• Two Englishmen, Daniel Stuart and Joseph Cooper, founded the newspaper and also set up the Chronicle Printing Press.
• A large portion of the newspaper was dedicated to advertisements, and therefore was also called the ‘General Advertiser’.

Madras Courier

• The Madras Courier was the first newspaper to be published in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India and one of the first in India.
• It first appeared in the English language on 12 October 1785.
• It was started by Richard Johnston. Hugh Boyd was its first editor.
• On 12 October 2016, the Madras Courier was revived as a digital publication.

Samvad Kaumudi

• Samvad Kaumudi published in English and Bengali was founded in November 1821 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
• It was a noted pro-Reformist publication that actively campaigned for the abolition of the Sati.
• Although Ram Mohan Roy was the owner, Kaumudi was actually published in the name of Bhabani Charan Bandyopadhyay.

Mirat-ul-Akhbar

• Mirat-ul-Akhbar was a Persian language journal founded and edited by Raja Rammohan Roy.
• The newspaper was first published on 12 April 1822.

Bangaduta

• Banga-Duta newspaper was founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore and others.
• It was published in 1822 in Calcutta in four languages- English, Bengali, Persian and Hindi.

Tattwabodhini Patrika

• Tattwabodhini Patrika was established by Debendranath Tagore on 16 August 1843.
• It was created as a journal of the Tattwabodhini Sabha, and continued publication until 1883.