science

History of printing and publishing in Dhaka

History of printing and publishing in Dhaka is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand History of printing and publishing in Dhaka rather than just read about it. In short: It can not be said with certainty where the first printing press was set up in Bangladesh. It is conjectured that the first printing press in Bangladesh was in Rangpur during 1847, about 335 kilometres (208 mi) away from Dhaka.

Key takeaways

History of printing and publishing in Dhaka belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reference excerpt

It can not be said with certainty where the first printing press was set up in Bangladesh. It is conjectured that the first printing press in Bangladesh was in Rangpur during 1847, about 335 kilometres (208 mi) away from Dhaka. The first printed piece from this printing press was a weekly newspaper named Rangapur Bartabaha (রঙ্গপুর বার্ত্তাবহ) in August 1847. In addition the first two Bengali weekly newspapers were from Rangpur. Printing machines took more than sixty years to reach East Bengal or Dhaka from Kolkata. The first English weekly newspaper, The Dacca News, was printed and published from Dhaka in 1856. So, it is assumed that after nine years of Rangpur press, the first printing machine of Dhaka was established and the press was named 'Bangla Press'.

Dacca Press The printed edition of The Dacca News was released on 18 April 1856 from the Dhaka Press. In the beginning, it was a one-page edition costing two annas per copy. It was initially a weekly paper coming out on every Saturday. With the 13th version, the pages were increased to four and it also had a 'supplement' but the then current market price was cause of concern. With its second volume, the pages were increased to eight. There were five owners of Dacca Press who were also the owners of the newspaper. They were A.M Cameron, N.P Pogose, J.A Greg, J.P Wise, and K.A Gani. It was a tumultuous period when the riot between English indigo planters and Bengali peasants was at its peak. Most of the owners were zamindars and they published newspapers to secure their own interests. Alexander Forbes, the editor of The Dacca News wrote in one of the edition of The Dacca News:

In an out-of-way, if not the most out of-the-wayest corner of the world, we established a press. We had not a single compositor, or Printer or Devil. We had to educate them all. We set up, in type, a great part of our first members with our own hands. We have been, down to the present day, our own chief correcter of proofs. Sreenath Dutta, a Bengali, was the printer of the newspaper till the 13th edition. Probably, Forbes had trained him. It was during the time that the printing press faced severe adversity, though Dhaka had been once the capital of Bengal and also one of the major cities of the East Bengal at that time. Forbes mentions in one of the editions of Dacca News of 1856 that he could not print a report due to the lack of necessary types.

Kattra Press

A Bangladeshi writer and historian, Muntasir Mamun in his book Unish Shatake Dhakar Mudran o Prakashana (1848–1900), mentions that he finds 'The First Report of the East Bengal Missionary Society. MDCC-CXLVIII with an Appendix etc.'. It was in octavo form containing forty pages. 'Dacca: Printed at the Kattra Press, 1849' was written on its title page. It suggests that printing press exists in Dhaka before 1856. Thus it can be said that the printing press first starts working in the year of 1848/49 in Kattra. Muntasir Mamun wants to mean Chhoto Kattra where the Baptist missionaries resided and set up their offices. So this report published in 1849 by Baptist Missionaries is the first printed piece. Two more Bengali books named Prahelika (প্রহেলিকা) and Prarthana Anukram (প্রার্থনা অনুক্রম) were from Kattra. Though Prahelika was the first Bengali book of East Bengal, it was not published completely in Bengali. During 1847, Reverend Johannes Heberlein was in charge of East Bengal Missionary Society of Dhaka. Evangelical Missionary Society of Basel sent Samuel Boast and Frederick Lehman to assist him. Boast was skilled in the field of printing. Under his direction the first press was set up in 1848 in Chhoto Kattra which he brought from Basel. Graham Shaw speculates that the Kattra Press survives four years. Then it was bought in order to publish Dacca News. It is not known whether more were printed except the report and two books from there. When Dacca News stops printing, another English newspaper The Bengal Times was published from Dacca press and existed till the twentieth century.

Bangala Jantra

During 1848–1857, two more machines were brought to Dhaka but that did not make much impact on the slack business of printing and publishing. The establishment of Bangala Jantra in 1860 was a watershed in the printing history of Dhaka. Its proprietor was a Bengali. This changed things for the better because after this, Bengali books and newspapers were being published at a frequent rate. Following this, more machines were brought to Dhaka. The printing press became an important tool of exchanging thoughts or opinions. The Brahmo Movement in Bengal played a vital role in the printing history. The Brahmos published Dacca Prakash (ঢাকা প্রকাশ) while the orthodox Hindus published Hindu Hitaishini (হিন্দু হিতৈষিণী) from Sulov Jantra in response to the former paper. Abdul Qayyum quotes from the essay of Girijakanta Ghosh that the owners of the Bangala Jantra were Braja Sundar Mitra, Bhagaban Chandra Basu and Kashikanta Mukhopadhyay. Braja Sundar Mitra undertook the enterprise but there were other partners of Bangala Jantra. On the fifth year, one of the personnel of Dacca Prakash, Govinda Prasad Roy bought the ownership of Bangala Jantra and Dacca Prakash. After the death of Govinda Prasad, his son-in-law, Yadav Chandra Sen took up the responsibilities of both the press and newspaper. He continued only for two years and handed them over to Talukdar Babu Guruganga Aich Chowdhury of Charipara of Manikganj. Guruganga became the owner of Bangala Jantra and Dacca Prakash for just 3450 taka and worked sixteen years as its editor. Financial crisis led him to hand over the ownership to Shrijukta Mukunda Bihari Chakrabarty (B.A) and Radha Raman Ghosh (B.A). After a few days, Mukunda Bihari became the sole owner and ran it for thirty years. Dacca Prakash was still published in 1959 when it had as its editor, Abdul Rashid. The first Bengali monthly periodical Kabita Kusumabali (কবিতা কুসুমাবলী) of East Bengal or Dacca was published from Bangala Jantra in 1860. The editor was none other the poet, Krishna Chandra Mazumdar. But the publication of the said periodical stopped in 1860. In that very year a monthly named Nababyabohar Sanghita (নবব্যবহার সংহিতা) edited by lawyer Ramchandra Bhowmick was published from Bangala Jantra. Deenabandhu Mitra's Neel Darpan also came out from Bangala Jantra in 1860.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with History of printing and publishing in Dhaka

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what History of printing and publishing in Dhaka claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to History of printing and publishing in Dhaka before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about History of printing and publishing in Dhaka ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of History of printing and publishing in Dhaka

In research: History of printing and publishing in Dhaka appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses History of printing and publishing in Dhaka in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: History of printing and publishing in Dhaka is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Economic history of Bangladesh, History of Dhaka, History of printing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for History of printing and publishing in Dhaka outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is History of printing and publishing in Dhaka in simple terms?

Why does History of printing and publishing in Dhaka matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study History of printing and publishing in Dhaka?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on History of printing and publishing in Dhaka.