The Spread of Print in Colonial India
Into the Hinterland

This Element looks at new archival material to throw light on the neglected history of printing in the Bengal countryside.

Abhijit Gupta (Author)

9781108969833, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 November 2021

75 pages
17.7 x 12.5 x 0.6 cm, 0.11 kg

This study focuses on the spread of print in colonial India towards the middle and end of the nineteenth century. Till the first half of the century, much of the print production in the subcontinent emanated from presidency cities such as Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, along with centres of missionary production such as Serampore. But with the growing socialization of print and the entry of local entrepreneurs into the field, print began to spread from the metropole to the provinces, from large cities to mofussil towns. This Element will look at this phenomenon in eastern India, and survey how printing spread from Calcutta to centres such as Hooghly-Chinsurah, Murshidabad, Burdwan, Rangpur etc. The study will particularly consider the rise of periodicals and newspapers in the mofussil, and asses their contribution to a nascent public sphere.

Introduction
Prologue: the three journeys of Gangakishore Bhattacharya
1. Out of Serampore
2. Out of Calcutta
Conclusion: the end of a beginning”
Epilogue: the many beatitudes of Kangal Harinath.

Subject Areas: Publishing industry & book trade [KNTP], Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], Asian history [HBJF], Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF], Literary studies: general [DSB], Literature: history & criticism [DS]