21/03/2023
The first newspaper to be printed in India during the British colonial era was Hicky's Bengal Gazette. James Augustus Hicky, an Irishman, started it in 1780, and it operated there for six years, until 1786.
The newspaper was published in English and circulated in about 400 copies, mostly among Calcutta's European population (now Kolkata). Hicky, a controversial character, used the journal to criticise local Indian rulers as well as the British East India Company and its employees.
Hicky frequently got into difficulties with the law because of his harsh criticism of the East India Company and its officers. When incarcerated for libel in 1781, he continued to run the newspaper from his jail.
Hicky also promoted regional cultural events and covered social topics, such as how the poor and women are treated, in the newspaper.
Hicky's Bengal Gazette, despite its brief existence, had a big impact on Indian journalism and is regarded as a leading example of how the press can hold people in authority accountable.
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