Er. Prabhat Kishore
The credit for bringing out the first full-fledged printed newspaper in Bharat goes to Irishman James Augustus Hicky. The first issue appeared on January 29, 1780, in Kolkata (then the capital of British India), bearing the title, “Hicky’s Bengal Gazette or The Original Calcutta General Advertiser.”
But before Hicky started his paper, an attempt was made by William Bolts, a censured servant of the East India Company, who had resigned earlier to start a newspaper to give expression to the differences existing between the opposing groups in the East India Company. In September 1766, William Bolts pasted a paper on the door of the Council House of Kolkata. Bolts’ attempt to start a newspaper was put down, as he was ordered to leave Bharat and proceed to Europe by the first available ship.
On Saturday, January 29, 1780, appeared “Hicky’s Bengal Gazette or The Original Calcutta General Advertiser.” People simply remember it as “Hicky’s Gazette,” on his name, who was founder, editor, and promoter—all rolled into one—of that paper. It was a weekly paper and consisted of two pages of size 12” × 8”. The paper was clumsily printed, the reading material was less and the advertisements more. Also, there were comments on the personal affairs of individuals.
When Hicky started his newspaper, he announced his motives:
“I have no particular passion for the printing of newspapers. I have no propensity. I was not bred to the slavish life of hard work; yet I take pleasure in enslaving my body in order to purchase freedom for my mind and soul.”
Hicky’s Gazette was published in the English language, and this was the first regular newspaper in India.
The first issue carried news bits not fresh and up-to-date like today’s newspapers. The news bits were taken from old European newspapers. In those days, due to the difficult transportation system, foreign newspapers usually took months to reach the Bharatiya shore. Hicky announced the policy of his paper and declared that his news was a “weekly, political and commercial paper open to all parties, but influenced by none.”
This paper was a primitive one from the point of view of contents, printing, and publication. But it has the significance of a historical newspaper. With the first newspaper of Bharat started the era of Indian journalism, which has developed as an agency for the safeguard of democracy in the country.
Fighting Tradition Begins
The Bengal Gazette had a thrilling and turbulent history despite the fact that it had a short life of only two years. It did not educate Indians in freedom and published no sermons. On the other hand, it published scurrilous stories. But the paper’s greatness lay in its undaunted and valiant fight for liberty of the press. The paper upheld the freedom of conscience, of education, of speech, and of assembly, which it considered the fundamentals of human existence.
Hicky is remembered as the father of Indian journalism. He was courageous and resolute in his endeavours. He was a poor man but was bold in every step he took. The paper made a point of challenging the most powerful people in Bharatvarsha. He boldly accused the Governor-General Warren Hastings of corruption, tyranny, and warmongering. An attempt to punish Hicky was thought necessary by Hastings, and suit after suit was filed to gag him and strangle his paper.
Armed European soldiers and 4,000 servants raided Hicky’s press to arrest him as per definite orders from the Governor-General and the Chief Justice. But Hicky fought them back and voluntarily presented himself before the Supreme Court. He was immediately arrested but allowed to go on bail after he paid a huge sum of Rs 80,000 as security money. He was charged by the government for other defamatory and scurrilous writings. He was tried in the court of law and was found guilty. He was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and was asked to pay a fine of Rs 500/-, but he did not frighten.
Antagonists of Hicky, who made up their minds to bring about the closure of The Bengal Gazette, succeeded in procuring an order for the seizure of the press. The types were seized along with the printing plant in March 1782, which marked the premature death of Bharat’s first regular newspaper.
Hicky’s early life is unknown, as is his later life. He was practically a total stranger to the public until the appearance of The Bengal Gazette. He faced trouble after trouble and suffered heavily by courting the wrath of authority. He lived and died in obscurity. But his name is indelible in the history of the Indian press, and he will always be remembered for the evolution of this fourth pillar of democracy in the country.
(The author is an engineer and academician. He has studied Journalism & Mass Communication from Patna University, Patna.)
