The First Indian Owned and Edited Newspaper was issued in English in the year 1818
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. It was the first newspaper printed in Asia, and was published for two years, before the East India Company seized the newspaper's types and printing press. Founded by James Augustus Hicky, a highly eccentric Irishman who had previously spent two years in jail for debt, the newspaper was a strong critic of the administration of the Governor General Warren Hastings. The newspaper was important for its provocative journalism well before its time and its fight for free expression in India.
Samachar Darpan (Bengali: সমাচার দর্পণ) was a Bengali weekly newspaper published by the Baptist Missionary Society and published in 23rd may 1818 from the Baptist Mission Press at Serampore in the first half of the 19th century.
The newspaper was published every Saturday and was edited by John Clark Marshman. Its price was 4 annas per copy. It contained news, both Indian and European, collected from various sources, particular from English newspapers. It also contained brief articles on various subjects. It carried some material of educational value which made it respected and popular among the educated people.
