# Canonical recap data for First English language daily newspaper in India launched (1821)
# Source: https://recap.at/1821/calcutta-gazette-first-daily
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: calcutta-gazette-first-daily
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1821/calcutta-gazette-first-daily"
title: First English language daily newspaper in India launched
aliases:
- Calcutta Gazette
- First English daily in India
- India's first daily newspaper
subtitle: ""
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1821-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1821
decade: 1820
country:
name: India
slug: india
summaryShort: The Calcutta Gazette, India's first English-language daily newspaper, launched in 1821, establishing print journalism in the subcontinent and creating a platform for news distribution across British territories.
summaryLong: |-
  The Calcutta Gazette began publication in 1821 as India's first English-language daily newspaper, marking the arrival of regular print journalism to the subcontinent. Launched in Calcutta (now Kolkata), then the seat of British East India Company power, the paper emerged from a culture of periodical publishing that had already seen weeklies and bi-weeklies circulate among the English-reading elite since the 1780s. The shift to daily publication represented a significant leap in both ambition and logistics-maintaining a regular printing schedule required reliable sources, steady readership, and infrastructure that had only recently become viable in colonial India.

  The Calcutta Gazette served primarily British officials, merchants, and the small English-educated Indian elite, carrying official notices, shipping reports, commercial advertisements, and news reprinted from London papers that arrived by sea months after publication. The newspaper's content reflected the concerns of colonial administration and trade: government proclamations, East India Company business, shipping movements through Calcutta's port, and snippets of international news. This wasn't journalism in the investigative sense-it was bulletin distribution, advertising vehicle, and official gazette rolled into one.

  The launch occurred at a crucial moment in British India's development. By 1821, the East India Company had consolidated territorial control across much of the subcontinent following the Napoleonic Wars, and British administrators increasingly needed efficient communication tools. A daily English paper filled that gap, reaching officials scattered across administrative posts and providing a standardized news diet to the growing colonial bureaucracy. The timing also preceded-by several decades-the emergence of Indian-owned and Indian-language newspapers that would eventually challenge colonial information monopolies.

  The Calcutta Gazette's significance lay not in editorial boldness but in establishing the infrastructure and readership habits that made daily journalism normal in India. It demonstrated that print could operate at scale in the Indian climate and logistics, that colonial readers would sustain a paying subscription base, and that a newspaper could become embedded in daily official and commercial life. Later publications, both British-owned and Indian, built directly on the model it established.
lede: India's first daily English-language newspaper, the Calcutta Gazette, began publishing in 1821 in British-controlled Calcutta. The launch reflected Britain's growing need to distribute official announcements and commercial information efficiently across its Indian territories, establishing print journalism as a fixture of colonial governance.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/India_becoming.pdf/page1-1280px-India_becoming.pdf.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Manoj Kulkarni on Unsplash
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 50
keyFacts:
- label: Publication location
  value: Calcutta (Kolkata), British India
- label: Year launched
  value: "1821"
- label: Publication frequency
  value: Daily
- label: Primary language
  value: English
- label: Status in Indian history
  value: First English-language daily newspaper in India
- label: Primary readership
  value: British officials, merchants, English-educated elite
- label: Main content types
  value: Official notices, shipping reports, advertisements, reprinted London news
timeline:
- date: 1780-01-01
  title: Early periodical publishing in India
  description: Weekly and bi-weekly English-language papers begin circulating in Calcutta among the British elite, laying groundwork for more frequent publication.
- date: 1821-01-01
  title: Calcutta Gazette launches
  description: The Calcutta Gazette begins publication as India's first English-language daily newspaper, serving colonial administrators, merchants, and English-educated readers.
- date: 1821-12-31
  title: First year of operations complete
  description: The Calcutta Gazette completes its inaugural year of daily publication, establishing itself as a viable commercial and informational enterprise in colonial India.
- date: 1835-01-01
  title: Macaulay's Minute on Education
  description: Thomas Babington Macaulay's education policy promotes English as the language of elite Indian education, expanding the potential readership for English-language newspapers like the Calcutta Gazette.
- date: 1850-01-01
  title: Growth of Indian-owned press
  description: Indian-owned and Indian-language newspapers begin emerging, building partly on the infrastructure and readership habits established by publications like the Calcutta Gazette.
sources: []
related: []
relationships:
- targetSlug: partition-india-pakistan-1947
  type: enabled
  confidence: 82
  evidence: English-language dailies established in 1821 onwards created the journalistic infrastructure and educated readership through which nationalist and independence movements communicated demands, coordinated resistance, and framed the case for partition from 1920–1947.
  source: ai
- targetSlug: indian-rebellion-1857
  type: anticipated
  confidence: 75
  evidence: The Calcutta Journal and subsequent English press gave voice to Indian grievances and exposed contradictions of colonial rule decades before the 1857 rebellion; newspapers published critiques of Company policies that prefigured organized anti-colonial sentiment.
  source: ai
- targetSlug: greek-war-of-independence
  type: happened_during
  confidence: 65
  evidence: Both the launch of the Calcutta Journal (1821) and the Greek War of Independence (1821) occurred in the same year, both fueled by Enlightenment ideals of nationalism and self-determination circulating through print media across Europe and Asia.
  source: ai
gallery:
- url: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1642502073674-793aa61af8ce?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3w5NjI1OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwyfHxGaXJzdCUyMEVuZ2xpc2glMjBsYW5ndWFnZSUyMGRhaWx5JTIwbmV3c3BhcGVyJTIwaW4lMjBJbmRpYSUyMGxhdW5jaGVkfGVufDB8MHx8fDE3ODAwNDA2ODJ8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1642502073674-793aa61af8ce?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3w5NjI1OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwyfHxGaXJzdCUyMEVuZ2xpc2glMjBsYW5ndWFnZSUyMGRhaWx5JTIwbmV3c3BhcGVyJTIwaW4lMjBJbmRpYSUyMGxhdW5jaGVkfGVufDB8MHx8fDE3ODAwNDA2ODJ8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080"
  caption: (Previous hero, demoted by topical-relevance swap)
  credit: ""
  width: 0
  height: 0
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Mother_India.pdf/page1-500px-Mother_India.pdf.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Mother_India.pdf/page1-500px-Mother_India.pdf.jpg"
  caption: Mother India
  credit: 1868?-1940 Katherine Mayo
  width: 827
  height: 1377
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/The_Civilian%27s_South_India-Some_Places_and_People_in_Madras.djvu/page1-500px-The_Civilian%27s_South_India-Some_Places_and_People_in_Madras.djvu.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/The_Civilian%27s_South_India-Some_Places_and_People_in_Madras.djvu/page1-500px-The_Civilian%27s_South_India-Some_Places_and_People_in_Madras.djvu.jpg"
  caption: The Civilian's South India-Some Places and People in Madras
  credit: Civilian
  width: 835
  height: 1265
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Raga performances in Indian classical tradition
  artist: Traditional court musicians
  year: 1821
  note: Live raga performance remained the dominant musical medium; no recording technology existed
  referenceCard:
  status: not_found
  checkedAt: "2026-05-26T09:44:14.152Z"
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: 1821 India existed in the shadow of the Napoleonic Wars' conclusion (1815) and the dawn of Industrial Revolution in Britain. The Calcutta Journal emerged during the height of Raj consolidation, when English education was being strategically promoted by colonial authorities-a tool that would eventually empower the very nationalist movements they sought to contain. The newspaper represented both colonial ambition and the seeds of its undoing.
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Daily English newspapers in India
  thenValue: 1 (Calcutta Journal)
  thenYear: 1821
  nowValue: 20+ major English dailies (The Hindu, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, etc.)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: From solitary venture to competitive market reaching millions
- metric: Readership in colonial India
  thenValue: Primarily British officials and English-educated Indians (est. <10,000)
  thenYear: 1821
  nowValue: English dailies reach ~80 million readers across India
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Shift from elite consumption to mass circulation
- metric: Geographic reach of daily news
  thenValue: Limited to Calcutta and adjacent areas via physical distribution
  thenYear: 1821
  nowValue: Real-time global distribution via digital platforms
  nowYear: 2024
- metric: Editorial control
  thenValue: Subject to British censorship and licensing; proprietors risked prosecution
  thenYear: 1821
  nowValue: Protected under constitutional guarantee of press freedom; independent editorial boards
  nowYear: 2024
impactStatement: The launch of the Calcutta Journal in May 1821 marked the birth of English-language daily journalism in India, establishing a medium that would become central to political discourse, nationalist organizing, and the spread of Enlightenment ideas across the subcontinent. It arrived amid colonial consolidation and planted seeds for the press freedom debates that would define India's path to independence.
consequences:
- title: Expansion of English-language press in India
  year: 1823
  description: The success of the Calcutta Journal prompted the launch of competing English dailies in Calcutta and other major cities, creating an infrastructure for news dissemination that persisted through the 19th century.
- title: Foundation for nationalist publishing
  year: 1875
  description: English-language newspapers became primary vehicles for Indian intellectual leaders like Ram Mohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, and later nationalist figures to articulate anti-colonial arguments and mobilize educated Indians.
- title: Press censorship laws enacted by British authorities
  year: 1878
  description: The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 specifically exempted English-language papers while targeting regional press, revealing official anxiety about journalism's power and cementing English dailies' role as platforms for dissent.
- title: Indian press independence enshrined in constitution
  year: 1950
  description: India's Constitution, adopted in 1950, guaranteed freedom of the press-a right forged through 130 years of struggle by journalists working in the tradition established by the Calcutta Journal.
archiveSnapshots: []
categories:
- tech-launch
- launch
metaDescription: The Bengal Gazette hits the streets as India's first English-language daily newspaper, marking the beginning of a press that would challenge colonial rule and shape the subcontinent's future.
originSignals:
- "wikipedia:1821/calcutta-gazette-first-daily"
translations:
es:
lede: El Calcutta Gazette, primer periódico diario en idioma inglés de India, comenzó a publicarse en 1821 en Calcuta bajo control británico. El lanzamiento reflejó la creciente necesidad de Gran Bretaña de distribuir anuncios oficiales e información comercial de manera eficiente en sus territorios indios, estableciendo el periodismo impreso como un pilar de la gobernanza colonial.
summaryShort: El Calcutta Gazette, primer periódico diario en idioma inglés de India, se lanzó en 1821, estableciendo el periodismo impreso en el subcontinente y creando una plataforma para la distribución de noticias en los territorios británicos.
summaryLong: |-
  El Calcutta Gazette comenzó su publicación en 1821 como el primer periódico diario en idioma inglés de India, marcando la llegada del periodismo impreso regular al subcontinente. Lanzado en Calcuta (actualmente Kolkata), entonces sede del poder de la Compañía Británica de las Indias Orientales, el periódico emergió de una cultura de publicaciones periódicas que ya había visto circulares semanales y quincenales entre la élite lectora de habla inglesa desde los años 1780. El cambio a publicación diaria representó un salto significativo tanto en ambición como en logística: mantener un cronograma de impresión regular requería fuentes confiables, lectores constantes e infraestructura que solo recientemente se había vuelto viable en la India colonial.

  El Calcutta Gazette sirvió principalmente a funcionarios británicos, comerciantes y la pequeña élite india educada en inglés, conteniendo avisos oficiales, reportes de envíos, anuncios comerciales y noticias reimprimidas de periódicos londinenses que llegaban por mar meses después de su publicación. El contenido del periódico reflejaba las preocupaciones de la administración colonial y el comercio: proclamaciones gubernamentales, negocios de la Compañía de las Indias Orientales, movimientos de envíos a través del puerto de Calcuta y fragmentos de noticias internacionales. No era periodismo en el sentido investigativo: era distribución de boletines, vehículo publicitario y gaceta oficial en uno.

  El lanzamiento ocurrió en un momento crucial del desarrollo de la India británica. Para 1821, la Compañía de las Indias Orientales había consolidado el control territorial en gran parte del subcontinente tras las Guerras Napoleónicas, y los administradores británicos necesitaban cada vez más herramientas de comunicación eficiente. Un periódico diario en inglés llenó ese vacío, llegando a funcionarios dispersos en puestos administrativos y proporcionando una dieta de noticias estandarizada a la creciente burocracia colonial. El momento también precedió por varias décadas la aparición de periódicos de propiedad india y en idiomas indios que eventualmente desafiarían los monopolios de información colonial.

  La importancia del Calcutta Gazette radicaba no en la audacia editorial sino en establecer la infraestructura y los hábitos de lectura que normalizaron el periodismo diario en India. Demostró que la impresión podía operar a escala en el clima e infraestructura india, que los lectores coloniales sustentarían una base de suscriptores pagadores y que un periódico podía integrarse en la vida oficial y comercial diaria. Publicaciones posteriores, tanto de propiedad británica como india, se construyeron directamente sobre el modelo que estableció.
generatedAt: "2026-06-05T00:07:36.921Z"
fr:
lede: Le Calcutta Gazette, premier journal quotidien en anglais de l'Inde, a commencé sa publication en 1821 à Calcutta sous contrôle britannique. Le lancement reflétait le besoin croissant de la Grande-Bretagne de distribuer efficacement les annonces officielles et l'information commerciale dans ses territoires indiens, établissant le journalisme d'imprimerie comme élément constitutif de la gouvernance coloniale.
summaryShort: Le Calcutta Gazette, premier journal quotidien en anglais de l'Inde, lancé en 1821, a établi le journalisme d'imprimerie sur le sous-continent et créé une plateforme pour la diffusion de l'information dans les territoires britanniques.
summaryLong: |-
  Le Calcutta Gazette a commencé sa publication en 1821 en tant que premier journal quotidien en anglais de l'Inde, marquant l'arrivée du journalisme d'imprimerie régulier sur le sous-continent. Lancé à Calcutta (aujourd'hui Kolkata), siège du pouvoir de la Compagnie britannique des Indes orientales, le journal émergeait d'une culture de presse périodique qui avait déjà vu des hebdomadaires et des bi-hebdomadaires circuler parmi l'élite anglophone depuis les années 1780. Le passage à la publication quotidienne représentait un bond significatif en ambition et en logistique : maintenir un calendrier d'impression régulier nécessitait des sources fiables, une base de lecteurs stable et une infrastructure qui n'était devenue viable que récemment en Inde coloniale.

  Le Calcutta Gazette servait principalement les officiels britanniques, les marchands et la petite élite indienne anglophone, publiant des avis officiels, des rapports d'expéditions, des annonces commerciales et l'actualité reproduite des journaux londoniens arrivés par mer plusieurs mois après leur publication. Le contenu du journal reflétait les préoccupations de l'administration coloniale et du commerce : proclamations gouvernementales, affaires de la Compagnie des Indes orientales, mouvements d'expéditions par le port de Calcutta et fragments d'actualité internationale. Ce n'était pas du journalisme au sens d'enquête - c'était distribution de bulletins, véhicule publicitaire et gazette officielle combinés.

  Le lancement s'est produit à un moment crucial du développement de l'Inde britannique. En 1821, la Compagnie des Indes orientales avait consolidé son contrôle territorial sur une grande partie du sous-continent suite aux guerres napoléoniennes, et les administrateurs britanniques avaient de plus en plus besoin d'outils de communication efficaces. Un journal quotidien en anglais comblait ce vide, atteignant les officiels dispersés dans les postes administratifs et fournissant un régime d'information standardisé à la bureaucratie coloniale en croissance. Le timing précédait aussi - de plusieurs décennies - l'émergence des journaux appartenant à des Indiens et en langues indiennes qui contesteraient finalement les monopoles informationnels coloniaux.

  L'importance du Calcutta Gazette résidait non pas dans l'audace éditoriale mais dans l'établissement de l'infrastructure et des habitudes de lecture qui rendirent le journalisme quotidien normal en Inde. Il démontra que l'imprimerie pouvait fonctionner à grande échelle dans le climat et la logistique indiens, que les lecteurs coloniaux soutiendraient une base d'abonnés payants, et qu'un journal pouvait devenir ancré dans la vie officielle et commerciale quotidienne. Les publications ultérieures, tant britanniques qu'indiennes, s'appuyaient directement sur le modèle qu'il avait établi.
generatedAt: "2026-06-05T00:07:43.783Z"
de:
lede: Indiens erste täglich erscheinende englischsprachige Zeitung, die Calcutta Gazette, begann 1821 in dem von Großbritannien kontrollierten Calcutta zu erscheinen. Der Start spiegelte Großbritanniens wachsendes Bedürfnis wider, Behördenmitteilungen und Handelsinformationen effizient über seine indischen Territorien zu verbreiten, und etablierte Druckjournalismus als Bestandteil der kolonialen Verwaltung.
summaryShort: Die Calcutta Gazette, Indiens erste englischsprachige Tageszeitung, wurde 1821 gegründet und etablierte den regulären Druckjournalismus auf dem Subkontinent sowie eine Plattform für die Nachrichtenverbreitung über britische Territorien.
summaryLong: |-
  Die Calcutta Gazette nahm 1821 als Indiens erste englischsprachige Tageszeitung den Betrieb auf und markierte die Ankunft des regulären Druckjournalismus auf dem Subkontinent. Die in Calcutta (heute Kolkata), damals Sitz der Macht der Britischen Ostindien-Kompanie, gegründete Zeitung entstand aus einer Kultur der Periodika-Veröffentlichung, in der seit den 1780er Jahren bereits Wochen- und Biwochen-Blätter unter der englischsprachigen Elite zirkulierten. Der Übergang zur täglichen Publikation stellte einen bedeutenden Sprung in Ehrgeiz und Logistik dar – die Aufrechterhaltung eines regelmäßigen Druckplans erforderte zuverlässige Quellen, stabiles Leserpublikum und eine Infrastruktur, die in Britisch-Indien erst kürzlich rentabel geworden war.

  Die Calcutta Gazette diente hauptsächlich britischen Beamten, Kaufleuten und der kleinen englischgebildeten indischen Elite und enthielt Behördenmitteilungen, Schifffahrtsberichte, kommerzielle Anzeigen und Nachrichten, die aus Londoner Zeitungen nachgedruckt wurden und Monate nach ihrer Veröffentlichung auf dem Seeweg eintrafen. Der Inhalt der Zeitung spiegelte die Anliegen der Kolonialverwaltung und des Handels wider: Regierungsproklamationen, Geschäfte der Ostindien-Kompanie, Schiffsbewegungen durch Calcuttas Hafen und Schnipsel internationaler Nachrichten. Dies war kein Journalismus im investigativen Sinne – es war Nachrichtendistribution, Werbevehikel und behördliches Amtsblatt in einem.

  Der Start erfolgte zu einem entscheidenden Moment in der Entwicklung Britisch-Indiens. 1821 hatte die Ostindien-Kompanie nach den Napoleonischen Kriegen die territoriale Kontrolle über große Teile des Subkontinents konsolidiert, und britische Verwaltungsbeamte benötigten zunehmend effiziente Kommunikationsmittel. Eine tägliche englische Zeitung füllte diese Lücke, erreichte Beamte, die über Verwaltungsposten verstreut waren, und lieferte eine standardisierte Nachrichtendiät an die wachsende koloniale Bürokratie. Der Zeitpunkt ging auch Jahrzehnte vor dem Aufstieg von indischen und indischsprachigen Zeitungen voraus, die schließlich die koloniale Informationsmonopole in Frage stellen würden.

  Die Bedeutung der Calcutta Gazette lag nicht in redaktioneller Kühnheit, sondern darin, die Infrastruktur und Lesegewohnheiten zu etablieren, die täglichen Journalismus in Indien zur Norm machten. Sie demonstrierte, dass Druck im indischen Klima und in der Logistik im großen Maßstab funktionieren konnte, dass Kolonialleser eine zahlende Abonnentenbasis aufrechterhalten würden, und dass eine Zeitung in das tägliche offizielle und kommerzielle Leben eingebettet werden konnte. Spätere Publikationen, sowohl in britischem als auch in indischem Besitz, bauten direkt auf dem von ihr etablierten Modell auf.
generatedAt: "2026-06-05T00:07:52.609Z"
geo:
lat: 22.3511148
lng: 78.6677428
place: India
note: Location inferred from recap.country via OSM Nominatim.
significance: 25
