The Crescent, first Indian-owned newspaper in Madras

2 Oct 1844 · Chennai

The Crescent, launched by Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty, was the Madras Presidency's first newspaper under Indian ownership.

Gazulu Lakshminarasu Chetty, a Madras merchant, started The Crescent on 2 October 1844, giving the presidency its first newspaper owned by an Indian. Its columns attacked official backing for missionaries, such as efforts to bring the Bible into government schools, and took up the complaints of the Indian public. In 1845 and 1846 Chetty headed protest meetings and memorials on these questions. Through the paper, educated Indians in Madras gained a public platform for political expression.

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