 | |
| Owner(s) | Richard Johnson |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Richard Johnson |
| Founded | 12 October 1785 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 1821 |
| Headquarters | Madras, Madras Presidency, British India |
The Madras Courier was an Indian English language newspaper that ran between 1785 and 1821. [1] It was the first newspaper to be published in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India. It was the leading newspaper of its time and was the officially recognized newspaper for printing government notifications. [1]
Madras Courier was found on 12 October 1785 by Richard Johnston, a British Army officer turned printer. [1] The transition in career path led him to establish the first newspaper in the Madras Presidency, following the Bengal Gazette , India's first newspaper, which was launched in Calcutta in 1780. [1] Hugh Boyd was its first editor. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Functioning as a weekly publication, the Madras Courier gained official recognition for publishing government notifications. [1] It enjoyed the patronage of the British East India Company in its initial years. [1] The newspaper, according to Henry Davison Love's Vestiges of Old Madras (1640-1800), benefited from privileges such as postal waivers within the presidency and exemptions on freight charges for importing printing equipment. [1] [7]
In contrast to the Bengal Gazette, which was critical of the East India Company and faced suppression, the Madras Courier avoided offending the company. [1] Nonetheless, it encountered controversies, such as debates over the legality of lotteries for public projects and accusations of libel. [1] The paper faced challenges with the rise of competitors such as the Madras Gazette and Government Gazette, leading to its closure in 1821. [1]
The newspaper typically encompassed four to six pages and featured a Latin motto, "Quicquid agunt homines" ("Whatever people do"). [1] Its content included British news, letters to the editor, local Indian news, poetry, and advertisements. It initially released issues on Wednesdays, later switching to Thursdays. [1]
Warren Hastings was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1772–1785. He and Robert Clive are credited with laying the foundation of the British Empire in India. He was an energetic organizer and reformer. In 1779–1784 he led forces of the East India Company against a coalition of native states and the French. Finally, the well-organized British side held its own, while France lost influence in India. In 1787, he was accused of corruption and impeached, but after a long trial acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.
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Company rule in India was the rule of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. This is variously taken to have commenced in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when the Nawab of Bengal Siraj ud-Daulah was defeated and replaced with Mir Jafar, who had the support of the East India Company; or in 1765, when the Company was granted the diwani, or the right to collect revenue, in Bengal and Bihar; or in 1773, when the Company abolished local rule (Nizamat) in Bengal and established a capital in Calcutta, appointed its first Governor-General, Warren Hastings, and became directly involved in governance. The Company ruled until 1858, when, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Government of India Act 1858, the India Office of the British government assumed the task of directly administering India in the new British Raj.
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Madras Gazette was a weekly newspaper published in Madras, Madras Presidency, British India and one of the first in India. Madras Gazette competed with the Madras Courier for printing Government notifications.