(i) From early 19th century, there were heated debates around religious issues. Debates were carried out in public and in print. (ii) Printed tracts and newspapers spread new ideas and shaped the nature of debate. A wider public could participate in these public discussions. New ideas emerged through clash of opinions. (iii) Intense controversies between social and religious reformers and Hindu orthodoxy over issues like widow immolation, monotheism, idolatry etc. arose. (iv) In Bengal as the debate developed, tracts and newspaper proliferated, circulating a variety of arguments. (v) Rammohan Roy published ‘Sambad Kaumudi’ in 1821 and Hindu orthodoxy commissioned Samachar Chandrika. Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another.