Bal Samachar: Our Voice

It was the morning of the twenty-nineth of January.

- Kusum Agarwal

The calendar hanging on the wall of Class Seven seemed to shine differently that day. The Hindi teacher, Suman Ma'am, smiled and wrote on the board—

"INDIAN NEWSPAPER DAY!"

A stir spread across the classroom.

"Ma'am, why is today celebrated as Indian Newspaper Day?" Aarav asked.

Adjusting her spectacles, she said, "Today, I am going to tell you the story of a man that published India's first newspaper." She began her narration:

"It was eighteenth-century India. British rule was strict, and freedom was limited. People remained unaware of distant events. There was no radio, no television and no mobile phones. Information reached people only through government announcements or spread as rumours.

In such an environment, one man thought, 'The truth must reach the people.' That man was James Augustus Hickey. Living in Calcutta, now Kolkata, he published India's first newspaper on the twenty-nineth of January 1780 named Hickey's Bengal Gazette.

The newspaper was small in size but powerful in thought. It carried fearless comments on the policies of East India Company officials, corruption and social issues. Questioning authority in that era was not easy. As a result, Hickey was imprisoned, and his printing press was sealed. However, the seed he had sown could not be stopped.”

Addressing the class, Suman Ma’am said, “Children, this newspaper later became a symbol of freedom of expression. In its memory, Indian Newspaper Day is celebrated every year on the twenty-nineth of January.”

The classroom fell silent—a silence filled with respect.

Closing the book, Suman Ma’am said, “Now, we will not only listen to history—we will live it.”

The children looked surprised.

“How, Ma’am?” Siya asked.