History of Newspaper in India – Easy to Understand ‘Table’

In history, the newspaper played an important role in the national movement in India. Now, newspaper readership has increased tremendously.

While other countries are experiencing saturation in the print media, in Indian, print media is growing day by day. According to the Indian Readership Survey 2017, the domestic newspaper market in India had grown by more than 110 million, creating an overall readership of 400 million people.

Important Table

Important Newspapers

List of Famous Newspaper and their year

First Newspaper in India

On 29 January 1780, James Augustus Hicky published the first newspaper under the British Raj. The name of the newspaper was “the Bengal Gazette” or Calcutta General Advertiser or more commonly known as the “Hicky’s Gazette”

First Hindi Newspaper in India

After the launch of the first newspaper in India, it took 46 years for the launch of the first Hindi newspaper in India. On 30 May 1826, Udant Martand became the first Hindi daily newspaper. It was published from Calcutta(now Kolkata) by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla.

Golden Era of Newspapers in India (1800 to 1900)

During this time, most newspapers, including the weekly gazette, were originally advertisement sheets. Journalism found its way in 1811 when some merchants of Calcutta established the “Calcutta Chronicle“. This newspaper covered the problems and struggles of local people. James Silk Buckingham, the editor of Calcutta Chronicle, established clear journalistic practices.

On 3rd November 1838, one of the largest newspaper still in circulation, The Times of India issued their first edition as ‘The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce‘. The first edition of “Times of India” was published in 1861 by Robert Knight.

The year 1857, marked the division of the Indian press and British press. In 1868, the “Amrit Bazar Patrika” was started. This newspaper was focused on social reformers and political leaders.

Role of Newspaper in Independence Struggle

Newspaper worked as ‘mouth pieces’ of the freedom struggle. Newspapers like the Culcutta Chronicle helped in showing the pain and struggle of the people.

Press was making such an impact on the British government that in 1878, to decrease the freedom of the Indian-language(non-English) press, the Vernacular Press Act was imposed. It was proposed by Lord Lytton, the viceroy of India, the act was intended to prevent the local press from expressing criticism of British policies.

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