History and Development of Journalism in India and West Bengal
What the domain tests
This domain examines the growth of the Indian press from colonial Calcutta to the digital era, with close attention to Bengal's role. Expect dates, founders, newspaper names and the laws that shaped them.
Core rules and concepts
- 1780: James Augustus Hicky's Bengal Gazette, Calcutta, is generally treated as India's first newspaper.
- 1818: the Serampore Mission Press brings out Digdarshan and Samachar Darpan; the latter is the first Bengali newspaper.
- 1821–22: Rammohan Roy's Sambad Kaumudi and the Persian Mirat-ul-Akhbar; 1826: Udant Martand, the first Hindi paper, from Calcutta.
- 1868: Amrita Bazar Patrika, founded by Sisir Kumar Ghosh and later edited by Motilal Ghosh; it turned English in 1878 to avoid the Vernacular Press Act.
- 1878: Vernacular Press Act (Lytton); repealed 1882 (Ripon). 1922: Anandabazar Patrika. 1984: Bartaman.
- National: Kesari (1881, Tilak), The Hindu (1878), Times of India (1838), Hindustan Times (1924), Indian Express (1932).
- Broadcast: AIR (1936), Doordarshan (1959); Press Council (1966, reconstituted 1978); Prasar Bharati (1990).
Worked example
Question: arrange Samachar Darpan, Bengal Gazette, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Anandabazar Patrika in chronological order. Answer: Bengal Gazette (1780), Samachar Darpan (1818), Amrita Bazar Patrika (1868), Anandabazar Patrika (1922). Reasoning: fix the century first, then the decade; the two 'Patrikas' are separated by 54 years and belong to different political contexts. Mention that Amrita Bazar Patrika changed language in 1878 only if the question asks about the Vernacular Press Act.
Traps that cost marks
Do not credit Hicky with a Bengali paper; he published in English. Do not place Serampore in Calcutta-it was a Danish settlement. Do not say the Vernacular Press Act banned all papers; it targeted vernacular publications and was repealed in 1882.