History of Journalism in India and Role of Journalism in the Society

 James Augustus Hicky is known as the father of Indian journalism. He launched India's first newspaper, the Bengal Gazette along with the Calcutta General Advertiser, in 1780. The paper lasted just two years before being seized by the British administration in 1782 for its outspoken criticism of the Raj. The above statement is a textbook definition, but is something most journalists have trouble wrapping their head around. How is Hicky the father of Indian journalism without even being Indian? He was an Irish Man, he boarded an East Indiamen, to come to India and try to practice law. When this venture of his proved unsuccessful, Hicky began publication of Hicky's Bengal Gazette on 29 January 1780.  Though he started The first English newspaper in india, journalism in other native Indian languages was prevailing long before Hicky. Hicky's Bengal Gazette or the Original Calcutta General Advertiser was an English-language weekly newspaper published in Kolkata (then Calcutta), the capital of British India. The newspaper became famous not only among the British soldiers posted in India at that time but also inspired Indians to write newspapers of their own. It was the first newspaper printed in Asia and was published for two years, between 1780 and 1782, before the East India Company seized the newspaper's types and printing press. The Bengal Gazette was a strong critic of the administration of Governor General Warren Hastings. The newspaper was important for its provocative journalism and its fight for free expression in India. The introduction of the Bengal gazette helped pave the way for centuries worth of rebellions and movements against the British Raj by Freedom thirsty Indians. One such fearless and rebellious reformer was Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Born in 1772, he was a great scholar of Sanskrit, Persian and English languages who also knew Arabic, Latin and Greek, and Tarini Devi a language spoken  in Radhanagar in the Hooghly district of Bengal. He learnt English much later, only in his early 20s. In 1828, Roy set up the Brahmo Samaj, a reformist movement of the Hindu religion that aimed at fighting social evils that were prevalent in the society. Roy was an intellectual who thought logically and critically, he  opposed superstitious practices, customs such as Sati, polygamy, child marriage, the rigidity of the caste system and its excesses, and sought property inheritance rights for women. As a result of his hard work in fighting Sati, the governor of the Bengal Presidency, Lord William Bentinck, formally banned the practice on December 4th, in the year 1829. Roy, who regarded education as an effective vehicle to achieve social reform, was a strong advocate of introducing western learning in India. He was instrumental in setting up several institutions including the Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817. Raja Rammohan Roy started the first Bengali language weekly newspaper and also the first newspaper in an Indian language. His pioneering forays in journalism were aimed at educating Indians on a wide range of issues. His newspaper Sambad Koumudi helped people form an opinion about the issues affecting their daily life in British India. In 1822, Roy published the journal Mirat-ul-Akbar in Persian. His most popular journal was the Sambad Kaumudi. It covered topics like freedom of the press, induction of Indians into high ranks of service, and separation of the executive and judiciary. He did not give up fighting for his cause and vocalizing his opinions when the English East India Company muzzled the press. Ram Mohan composed two memorials against this in 1829 and 1830 respectively, before his death in 1833. High Trailblazers of media like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and James Augustus Hicky helped The press, being the ever-clever entity it was, continued its resistance by using underground papers, radio, art and graffiti and played a notable role in the freedom struggle. They helped in the dispersal of revolutionary ideas which helped in forming an opposition against the British government.The newspapers also helped in spreading awareness about the extreme measures taken by the colonial government which further incited protests and revolutionary acts against the British. In short, the press kept the fires of the Indian Independence movement alive despite British efforts to douse it.