‘An enthralling tale that ties together themes that are urgently relevant today: freedom of the press, the role of journalism, and the price of speaking truth to power’ Sunny Singh
Hicky’s Bengal Gazette is the story of India’s first newspaper and its pivotal role in exposing the corruption of the British imperialist project.
The story opens in late-eighteenth century Calcutta. The British are well-ensconced in Bengal but the Raj has yet to emerge. Irishman, James August Hicky, arrives in Calcutta as a surgeon’s mate, seeking his fame and fortune. He soon finds himself in debtors’ prison, however, and it’s while in jail that he first acquires the printing press that sets him on a collision course with the British East India Company.
Sensing a business opportunity, Hicky established the first newspaper in South Asia but quickly became committed to the freedom of the press at great personal cost. His Gazette exposed corruption in the East India Company and embezzlement in the Christian Church, making himself two powerful enemies in the process: Johann Zacharias Kiernander, an influential missionary and Warren Hastings, the Governor General. Staunchly anti-war and anti-colonialist, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette was known for its provocative content that included accusing aristocrats and politicians not only of tyranny but also erectile dysfunction.
Trials, prison time and assassination attempts follow before Hicky dies mysteriously on a boat to China. His legacy in India endures to this day through the vibrant, modern media landscape.
‘An enthralling tale that ties together themes that are urgently relevant today: freedom of the press, the role of journalism, and the price of speaking truth to power. Andrew Otis rigorously marshalls vast research, often chased down with the instinct of a seasoned investigative journalist, with a scholar’s careful analysis and a novelist’s stylistic flourish. The result is a nuanced, enriching and utterly compelling read!’ – Sunny Singh
Andrew Otis is a writer and journalist. He spent five years unearthing the story behind India’s first newspaper, initially as a Joseph P. O’Hern scholar and then as a Fulbright Fellow in Kolkata, India. He has lived in India and Sri Lanka, and currently resides in Washington, D.C.