Overview

Hicky's Bengal Gazette is the story of India's first newspaper and its pivotal role in exposing the corruption of the British imperialist project. The story opens in late-eighteenth century Calcutta. The British are well-ensconced in Bengal but the Raj has yet to emerge. Irishman, James August Hicky, arrives in Calcutta as a surgeon's mate, seeking his fame and fortune. He soon finds himself in debtors' prison, however, and it's while in jail that he first acquires the printing press that sets him on a collision course with the British East India Company. Sensing a business opportunity, Hicky established the first newspaper in South Asia but quickly became committed to the freedom of the press at great personal cost. His Gazette exposed corruption in the East India Company and embezzlement in the Christian Church, making himself two powerful enemies in the process: Johann Zacharias Kiernander, an influential missionary and Warren Hastings, the Governor General. Staunchly anti-war and anti-colonialist, Hicky's Bengal Gazette was known for its provocative content. Trials, prison time, and assassination attempts follow before Hicky dies mysteriously on a boat to China. His legacy in India endures to this day through the vibrant, modern media landscape.

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Andrew Otis holds a PhD in journalism from the University of Maryland. He spent five years researching and writing on India's first newspaper, first as a Joseph P. O'Hern scholar and then as a Fulbright Fellow in Kolkata, India. He lives in Washington D.C. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, to parents who journeyed from India to the United States, Nas Mehdi is an American actor of Indian descent who also has Turkish, Persian, and Afghan heritage. Inspired by his love of films, he pursued the performing arts early on in his adolescent years via theater/speech tournaments and, subsequently, as a lead actor in professional theatre in Dallas. He carried that passion into television, playing numerous guest and recurring guest star roles in shows such as Graves (Epix) opposite Nick Nolte, 24: Legacy (Fox) opposite Corey Hawkins, Nashville (ABC) opposite Chris Carmack, and Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) opposite Brooke Elliott, and films such as Focus (Warner Bros.) opposite Will Smith. Coming off the success of narrating Payam Zamani's bestselling novel Crossing The Desert, Nas has also successfully ventured into the world of commercials, including a national network spot with Verizon, and voice-over. Trained at the Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, and the Markland Studio, he regularly performs stand-up comedy in the San Fernando Valley and is on the board of the Classics Theatre Project. He also enjoys beekeeping and not zealously referring to himself in the third person.

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