Starting out as a four-to-six-page weekly tabloid, in its early days, this publication came at an unbelievably high price (by contemporary standards) of 1 rupee and was thus available only to the richer sections of the society. Having played a crucial role in the establishment of London’s The Daily Universal Register (later renamed the Times and presently one of London’s most influential newspapers), Richard Johnson established Madras Courier in 1785. The first newspaper, however, did not come for many years thereafter. The result was Lisbon’s first Non-European Publication in 1554- Carthila em lingoa Tamul e Portugues-also known as the first Tamil Booklet. Eventually, as these communities gained more knowledge about Indian society, their urge to publish in vernaculars gained strength. Initially, thus, a majority of India’s early press was meant to bring the natives to the part of God, so to say. Surfing the waves of the Enlightenment, the missionaries were quick to realise the role of the printing press in forwarding their motives. Nonetheless, despite varying motives otherwise, most of these communities were united, or at least similar, on the grounds of their missionary intent-their ambition to spread Christianity among Indians. The British were not the only people interested in exploiting India’s riches, there were the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the French, among many others, who had come here with a dream of prosperity. The Europeans, by then, had reached Indian shores and were slowly getting exposed to this resourceful land of diverse cultures and languages. 22 WebDunia Tamil Introduction to Tamil News Mediaīefore getting into the History of Tamil Print Media, a quick journey to the year 1554 would bring us one of the most fascinating tales.

Dinathanthi tamil news paper