The Bengal Hurkaru and Chronicle, 1858

World News in Indian Newspapers brings together numerous editions of three Anglophone newspapers that were published in India during the period 1782–1908: The India Gazette (1782–1834); The Bengal Hurkaru and Chronicle (1822–1866); and The Bengal Times (1876–1908).

These newspapers appealed to colonial administrators, businessmen, and merchants, all of whom had a keen interest, naturally, in regional and international trade. Editors and reporters therefore sought to provide readers with an overview of notable political, military, economic, scientific, and social trends, as well as their potential impact upon commodities, stocks, and other investments.

Subjects covered range from the American Revolution and the Crimean War, to British parliamentary debates on the India Act of 1858. Much coverage was devoted to the industrial and pharmaceutical developments of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Suffice to say that Britain, France, India, Ireland, the United States, and China received the most editorial attention, although items regarding other nations also feature.

This volume contains reports on several colonial upheavals, from the Second Opium War and New Zealand Wars to the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the Bering Sea Arbitration. Later articles include discussion and debate on the merits of Indian partition, the freedom of the press, and the so-called “New Woman”. The Boer War is also covered, with much of the analysis adopting a jingoistic tone. 

Newspapers: The Bengal Hurkaru and Chronicle (1857–1866); The Bengal Times (1876–1908)