Rammohun Roy (1772-1833)

In the newly established realm of print culture set up by the Britishers in the last two decades of the eighteenth century, it did not take long for the natives to pick up the new technology, and the English language. This process of exchange and learning was made possible through close interaction. In this book, I have looked at the broader canvas of how natives, in the first few decades of the nineteenth century, were involved in the imperial realm of print as compositors, writers, booksellers, printers, teachers and translators, mastering and replicating all aspects of print culture and technology. My specific focus has been on Rammohun Roy's engagement with this emerging realm of print, thus tracing the transition that took place from imperial print to native print. This process of cultural transmission and exchange did not pass through any phase of mimicry. Here, I argue that the realm of English native print in Calcutta in the early nineteenth century was dominated by the writings of Rammohun Roy. I look at how it was possible for Rammohun to operate within the newly formed communications circuit that specifically targeted the native readers. How did printing take place in Calcutta, and who were involved? How did native entrepreneurs to pick up the new technology? This book is an attempt to recuperate some sort of history of the communications circuit that was established for and by the natives in the early nineteenth century.