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It was a revolutionary step when the first vernacular newspaper was published in the country. However, behind the goody-goody affair lay a sinister motive of spreading Christianity.
Published on 31st May 1818
Even before the house wakes up to its daily routine, the paper-wala comes on his cycle and quickly dashes the newspaper through the gap underneath the door. There starts the lifecycle of the few-hours old newspaper. With the father picking it up and reading it for hours over a cup of tea, it eventually passes through the family over the course of the day. The daughter, curious to look for entertainment and gossip news, the brother glossing over for a home assignment and the mother tearing the paper to soak the oily Samosas, the newspaper is a much more essential item than we give it points for. Nevertheless, its primary objective remains informing and updating the readers about the day to day activities and events taking place within the country.
When one is living in the largest democracy in the world, the role of newspapers takes a different level of significance altogether. From swaying mass opinions to making and breaking a government, these 15-16 printed pages have taken up a precarious role in serving its readers. While we expect it to be impartial and neutral in its representations, more often than not we witness different brands of ideologies embedded into its very core. However, this may not come as a surprise if we are to read its history. Going way back to the early 18th century, India’s first vernacular paper- Samachar Darpan was started in the same lines of spreading the ‘light’- the ‘light’ of Christianity.
The British came. The British ruled. The British packed their bags and left. However, behind this simple chronology, there were many loose threads and ulterior motives. Samachar Darpan, a weekly newspaper in Bengali was a result of this ulterior motive.
With its first publication by the Baptist Missionary Society on 31st May 1818, Samachar Darpan was the first step of its kind since no other newspaper had been published before in India’s vernacular language.
It was through the efforts of two English gentlemen, Joshua Marshman and William Ward that Samachar Darpan was first brought to life. Darpan meaning mirror, the newspaper published many articles on varying subjects. Earlier, Digdarshan, a Bengali monthly had resonated well with the readers and received well responses. It was due to the success of the earlier that the missionary society went ahead with Samachar Darpan.
Samachar Darpan soon became another successful venture due to the accessibility of the language and was even in the well-graces of respected personalities. Priced at 4 annas, Samachar Darpan brought forth articles on educational topics as well as daily European and Indian events, ranging from obituaries to historical events. No other newspaper had made such good coverage of the day-to-day events.
Later the weekly was even published along with its English translation and the price was hiked over the years. Such was its popularity that once when the publications were postponed, the editor had to issue an apology to the readers. Many Hindu pundits worked in the staff and when Durga puja plans made them take an extended leave, the publications were affected and postponed.
The newspaper was also well prepared in its game. Along with its usual articles, there came those sections educating Bengalis about the values of Christianity. However, it kept a moderate tone so as “not to give the natives cause for suspicion that the paper had been devised as an engine for undermining their religious opinions.”
But, it could not hide its agenda when Ram Mohan Roy wrote an article criticising Christ’s supernaturalism, to which Samachar Darpan hit back with many articles criticising Hinduism and its different branches of philosophy. It also resorted to using abusive words.
It was the case of a mission gone awry. It was for this very reason that the Hindus were suspicious of the newspaper during its early years. No wonder Ram Mohan Roy started with his own magazine after this incident.
However, it had a short life span of only 23 years as it was discontinued in 1841. It was reported that the editor did not get much time to devote to the weekly though the underlying reason was its failure in its original mission. Today more than 150 years have passed since its last publication, and needless to prove how modern press and publications have changed since then.
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