A Book Review of The Untold Story of India’s First Newspaper : Hicky's Bengal Gazette

Photograph of the Book, Hicky's Bengal Gazette. This book is written by Andrew Otis. Photograph of the Book is taken from Amazon Kindle

In The Untold Story of India’s First Newspaper, author Andrew Otis delivers a fascinating and meticulously researched account of the origins of journalism in the Indian subcontinent. At the center of this historical narrative is James Augustus Hicky, the founder of Hicky’s Bengal Gazette in the year 1780. Through a neutral yet highly engaging lens, Otis captures the tumultuous and unpredictable life of a man who challenged an empire armed with nothing but ink, paper and an unyielding defiance.

To understand the newspaper, one must first understand its founder. Born in Ireland around the year 1740, James Augustus Hicky’s early professional life was marked by constant reinvention. As a young man, he relocated to London to work as an apprentice under William Faden, a Scottish printer. Interestingly, Hicky never formally secured his freedom from the printers’ guild. Instead, he abruptly shifted his career path toward the legal profession, obtaining a clerkship with an English lawyer named William Davy. This, too, proved temporary. After abandoning his legal pursuits and making a brief attempt at practicing as a surgeon in London, Hicky sought his fortunes abroad. In 1772, he boarded an East Indiaman vessel bound for Calcutta, serving as a surgeon’s mate.

Upon his arrival in Calcutta, Hicky seamlessly adopted dual roles. He practiced as a surgeon while simultaneously operating as a maritime merchant, shipping and trading a variety of goods along the Indian coast. For a time, this dual existence sustained him, but maritime trade is a precarious venture. By 1776, his shipping enterprise suffered a catastrophic collapse when his vessel returned to port bearing severely damaged cargo. Stripped of his wealth and entirely unable to reassure his anxious creditors, Hicky was committed to a debtors' prison in October of that year.

Yet, it was within the bleak confines of this prison that India’s journalistic foundation was laid. Resourceful even in captivity, Hicky managed to acquire a printing press and typesetting equipment. He had successfully launched a printing business directly from his jail cell. The following year, in 1778, he enlisted the services of a lawyer named William Hickey (who bore no familial relation to him) to untangle his debts and finally secure his freedom.

Hicky dedicated himself to the arduous craft of printing. It was a slow and physically taxing process that had changed very little over the centuries, requiring him to manually ink the type and press the paper hundreds of times over. Yet, the final product of this tedious labor proved powerful enough to rattle a global superpower. Through his newspaper, Hicky fearlessly uncovered deep-seated corruption, challenged the tyranny of the then rulers. He fiercely fought for freedom of the press, standing as a lone voice of dissent against a powerful ruler in those times, eager to suppress opposition and against individuals who sought to profit through deception. He defied many obstacles firmly demonstrating the power of the press to protect the public and shine a light on injustice.

However, Otis presents a balanced narrative, ensuring that Hicky is not overly romanticized. The author points out that the very free speech Hicky so fiercely defended ultimately orchestrated his downfall. Hicky suffered from a fatal inability to distinguish between professional critique and personal invective. This blurring of lines led his powerful targets to retaliate, aggressively suing and suppressing his operations. Furthermore, the book notes that while many of Hicky’s articles contained absolute truths, they were frequently founded on local rumors. Certain claims he made regarding prominent figures remain unproven to this day.

Despite its short lifespan, Hicky’s legacy is monumental. He set the foundation for all future printers in India. By training a new generation of pressmen, he effectively planted the seeds that would later transform Calcutta (now known as Kolkata, India) into one of the most vibrant and important literary cities in Asia. The traditions of journalism he influenced continue to resonate in the modern era.

Otis frames this legacy beautifully through a prologue that traces Hicky’s mysterious final days. Fast-forwarding to October 1802, the narrative finds an elderly Hicky aboard the ship Ajax, en route to Canton, China. His exact official role on the ship remains an enigma. He may have traveled as a surgeon, given that he kept silver-plated surgical tools, medicines and anatomy books at home; alternatively, he may have intended to trade in porcelain and tea. In truth, he was neither a trader nor a surgeon anymore. Among the many hats he had worn in his life, he had ultimately found his true purpose: he was a journalist.

For months during the voyage, Hicky was confined to his bed in the ship’s dark holds. His handwriting shook, his body was unsteady and he lived in constant fear of being carried out of the world by violent convulsions. Eventually, the old man collapsed. The Untold Story of India’s First Newspaper is a masterful work of historical non-fiction.

Andrew Otis, who holds a PhD in Journalism from the University of Maryland, dedicated five years to researching and writing this book. His extensive archival work was supported first as a Joseph P. O’Hern scholar and subsequently as a Fulbright Fellow in Kolkata. Otis has successfully resurrected a forgotten chapter of history. Engaging, neutral, and deeply informative, it stands as one of the most interesting and essential books ever written on the origins of the Indian press.

Beyond its historical significance, the structural flow of Otis’s writing deserves special mention. The author employs a narrative non-fiction style that allows the book to read with the pacing of a gripping historical novel rather than a dry academic text. The flow of the narrative is carefully calibrated; Otis seamlessly weaves dense archival research ranging from old court documents to maritime records into a fluid, engaging storyline. By anchoring the broader political and legal struggles around Hicky’s deeply personal triumphs and tribulations, the narrative maintains a steady, compelling momentum. This structural choice not only makes the complex colonial history highly accessible but also ensures that the reader remains deeply invested in Hicky's unpredictable journey from the first page to the last.

If I were to rate 'Hicky's Bengal Gazette', written by Andrew Otis, I would give it 9 out of 10.

Please note: These are my personal thoughts based on reading this book. Your views, facts and opinions may differ. Feel free to comment if you believe any facts in this article should be reconsidered or re-examined. We all are humans and we can make mistakes.

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Thanks and regards,

Mainak Majumdar

Book Critic

Email: mainakmajumdar.dasgupta@rediffmail.com & majumdar@majumdarbookreviews.asia