Bengal Gazetti

Bengal Gazetti is the first Bangla newspaper published by Bengalis. It appeared as a weekly around the same time when the Missionaries of Serampore brought out the first ever Bangla Weekly samachar darpan in May 1818. No issue of the Bengal Gazetti has yet been recovered, so the exact date on which it began appearing cannot be ascertained. The imminent publication of the paper was announced in an advertisement in the Government Gazette, dated 14 May 1818, and another advertisement in the same paper, dated I July 1818, and reported that publication had started. Both advertisements were given in the name of Harachandra Roy. But two newspaper reports (The Friend of India, September 1820, and Sumachar Darpan, 11 June 1831) mentioned Gangakishore Bhattacharya as the publisher of the Bengal Gazetti. Gangakishore hailed from Bahara village near Serampur, and started his career as a compositor in the serampore mission press. Then he moved to Calcutta and started publishing of Bangla books. He set up his own press in 1818, named the 'Bengal Gazette Press'. Probably Harachandra Roy, who also hailed from Serampur, was his partner.

From the advertisements mentioned above, we know that the Bengal Gazetti included 'Translation of Civil Appointments, Government Notifications and Regulations', and such other local matter as were deemed interesting to the reader, into a plain, concise and correct Bengalee Language. The subscription charge was two rupees per month. The newspaper probably lasted for a year. [Indrajit Chaudhuri]