EVOLUTION OF PRESS IN INDIA

 Printing presses were first brought to India in the 16th century by Christian missionaries for publishing evangelical (religious) literature. Their publications included the Bible and other literature to assist conversion and evangelization.

Dr. Nadig Krishna Murthy states in his work Indian Journalism that the first printed book in India was Doctrina Christa (Doctrine of Christ), a missionary publication in 1557 in Goa.

The second printing press in India was established in 1578 at Punikael, in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. This too was a Christian initiative.

The English East India Company also set up printing presses in different places for the efficient administration of the subcontinent.

The birth of the first newspaper in the country was towards the end of the 18th century.

 

James Augustus Hicky

James Augustus Hicky, a British citizen, published the first newspaper in India. The first issue appeared on January 29, 1780 in Calcutta, bearing the name Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser. It was a weekly newspaper published in English and addressed exclusively to the large group of British residents in Calcutta. Its front page carried only classified advertisements. Hicky was the founder, editor, printer and promoter of this weekly. It was a two page newspaper and the size of the paper was 12 inches by 8 inches. Advertisements occupied more space than reading matter. But it is important to note that there was hardly any news that really concerned the Indians.

 Warren Hastings finally took action against Hicky for defamation in 1781. He was convicted and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000. But Gazette continued to appear regularly while Hicky was in prison.

 Warren Hastings was repeatedly lampooned. A series of actions was taken against Hicky and his weekly. In March 1782, the types for printing the paper were confiscated and Bengal Gazette was suppressed. This marked the premature and unceremonious end of India’s first newspaper. The seizure of the press was a severe blow to the already hurt editor. He died in obscurity.

James Silk Buckingham

Sir James Silk Buckingham, one of the important personalities in Indian journalism, assumed the editorship of Calcutta Journal in 1818. The first issue of the paper appeared in Calcutta on October 2, 1818. It was an eight-page biweekly newspaper priced at rupee one. Its contents included political, commercial and literary news and views. Thus, Calcutta Journal was entirely different from Hicky’s Gazette which mostly contained gossip, scandals and scurrilous writing.

 He was fearless in condemning the local custom of sati and the government’s failure to put an end to it. He gave prominence to news and views from Bengali and Persian journals. He was also a friend of the Indian press and defended its right to exist and voice the opinions of the people. Rangaswami Parthasarathy in his book Journalism in India describes James Silk Buckingham as the father of Indian Journalism.

 British authorities became intolerant on account of his persistent criticism of their policies. John Adam, the acting Governor-General, deported Buckingham to England. Many describe Buckingham as the first real journalist in India. He was an inspiration behind the growth of Indian journalism.

 

Serampore Missionaries

Serampore missionaries were a group of Baptist missionaries from England who settled down at Serampore in Bengal. The credit for starting the first vernacular newspaper in the country goes to this missionary group. Their publications included: 

Dig Darshan was started in 1818 as a monthly magazine in Bengali. This journal carried reports of political activities, but it carefully avoided political controversies. Notices, articles relating to history and political news items were published in this paper. The name of Dig Darshan was changed to SamacharDarpan in 1819 and it was published until 1840. It became a bilingual weekly in 1829. It collected news from Bengal and nearby places. Information not available elsewhere could be found in it.

The Friend of India was a monthly magazine in English started on April 30, 1818. It stopped publication in 1827 due to financial constraints.

 The basic objectives of these papers were to aid conversion to Christianity and to support the views of the British administrators in India. But it should be kept in mind that news about India and Indians occupied the largest amount of space in these publications.

 

Rajaram mohan Roy

Rammohan Roy (1772-1833) is considered by most historians as the father of Indian journalism. He sponsored many journals, edited them, fought for social reforms and defended criticisms levelled against Vedanta philosophy by the Christian missionaries. The following newspapers were published by Rammohun Roy at various times.

 SambadKaumudi - It was a weekly in Bengali published in December 1821. The Calcutta Journal edited by James Silk Buckingham gave ample publicity in its columns to this new Indian project.

Mirat-ul-akhbar -This was the second journal brought out by Rammohan from 1821. It was a weekly in Persian (the official language of the Mughal Empire) and published on every Friday. This weekly devoted space to national and international events. Mirat-ul-akhbar was shut down in 1823 to protest against the Press Regulation Act of 1823.

Brahminical Magazine - This was a monthly published in English to counter the missionaries’ propaganda. Twelve issues of this magazine appeared. Later, a regular periodical in English and Bengali titled Brahmin Sevadhi was started by Roy.

Through the above journals Rammohan tried to counter the accusations of the missionaries on the one hand and to form public opinion in favor of social reforms on the other.

These publications marked the real beginning of journalism in India as they were addressed to Indians in their own languages.

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