Question

The first vernacular newspaper ‘Samachar Patrika’ was published during the reign of_______
A. Marquess of Hastings
B.Lord Wellesley
C.Lord Dalhousie
D.Lord Cornwallis

Answer 1

Hint: The first Bengali language which was published by the Baptist Missionary Society was Samachar Darpan Patrika. It was published on 25th May 1818.

Complete answer: The Samachar Darpan was published by the Baptist Missionary in the Mission Press at Serampore. It was published during the reign of First Marquess of Hastings who was the Viceroy of India in 1818.The Bengali monthly called ‘Digdarshan’ which was published by the Baptist Missionary and edited by John Clark Marshmann. The success of this magazine encouraged the Baptist Missionary to embark upon the ‘Samachar Patrika’. Harachandra Ray also wanted to publish a Bengali newspaper from his own press in Chorebagan in Calcutta.
The Samachar Patrika was also edited by John Clark Marshman. The newspaper was priced at 4 annas per copy. The newspaper contained news from both India and Europe. It contained news from different sources mainly the English newspapers. The people respected this paper because it had educational value. The areas which the newspaper covered were: Government news, news of Government officials, news of European countries besides Britain and birth, deaths and obituaries.
Option A is the right answer.

Note: The Baptist Missionary decided not to continue the Samachar Patrika anymore. The last issue was published in 1841, after which it was discontinued. The official reason for the discontinuation was given that John Marshmann could not find time for the publication because he was preoccupied with other works. However, the main reason was that the Samachar Patrika had failed in fulfilling its main purpose, which was the spread of Christianity.