Samachar Darpan
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| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Baptist Missionary Society |
| Publisher | Baptist Missionary Society |
| Editor | John Clark Marshman |
| Founded | 1818 |
| Political alignment | none |
| Language | Bengali |
| Ceased publication | 1841 |
| Headquarters | Serampore Baptist Mission Press, Serampore, Bengal |
| Circulation | c. 400 (in 1836) |
| Sister newspapers | Akhbar-i-Serampore |
Samachar Darpan (Bengali: সমাচার দর্পণ) was a Bengali weekly newspaper published by the Baptist Missionary Societyand published in 23rd may 1818 from the Baptist Mission Press at Serampore in the first half of the 19th century. It is considered to be the first Indian-language newspaper, although some historians contend that the Bengali weekly Bengal Gazetti published by Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya had begun publication earlier.
The success of the Bengali monthly Digdarshan encouraged the missionaries of the Baptist Missionary Society to embark on a new venture - the publication of a Bengali newspaper. The initiative was taken by Joshua Marshman and William Ward. At about the same time Harachandra Roy was also planning to start a Bengali newspaper from his own printing press at Chorebagan Street in Calcutta. But before he could bring out his publication, the missionaries published the first issue of Samachar Darpan from the Baptist Mission Press in Serampore on May 23, 1818.
The newspaper was published every Saturday and was edited by John Clark Marshman. Its price was 4 annas per copy. It contained news, both Indian and European, collected from various sources, particular from English newspapers. It also contained brief articles on various subjects. It carried some material of educational value which made it respected and popular among the educated people. Both in typography and contents the Samachar Darpan maintained a fairly good standard. Its coverage of local news was certainly better than any other English or Indian language newspaper. By reprinting news and comments from other Bengali newspapers, the Samachar Darpan enabled its readers to have acquaintance with the different sections of the Bengali opinion.
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