PPSC Excise and Taxation Inspector 2018 Question Paper

Practice Mode:
21.

Which was the first newspaper to be published in India ?

A: Bombay Samachar
B: Bengal Gazette
C: Bengal Chronicle
D: The Hindu

The answer is: B

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Explanation

Answer: B - Bengal Gazette
 

Explanation:

  • Bengal Gazette (also called Hicky's Bengal Gazette) was the first newspaper published in India, started by James Augustus Hicky on 29 January 1780 in Calcutta.
  • It was a weekly English newspaper and ran for about two years before being seized by the British government in 1782 for publishing content critical of the East India Company and Governor-General Warren Hastings.

 

Why other options are wrong:

  • Bombay Samachar - Started in 1822, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in India still in publication today. But it was NOT the first. Common confusion point.
  • Bengal Chronicle - Came after Bengal Gazette, not the first.
  • The Hindu - Started in 1878 in Madras. One of India's most prominent newspapers but nowhere near the first.

 

Key newspaper history timeline - must know:

  • Bengal Gazette : 1780 : First newspaper in India
  • Bombay Samachar : 1822 : Oldest surviving newspaper in India
  • Udant Martand : 1826 : First Hindi newspaper
  • Samvad Kaumudi : 1821 : Ram Mohan Roy's newspaper 
  • The Hindu : 1878 : Founded in Madras
  • Kesari : 1881 : Bal Gangadhar Tilak's Marathi newspaper