From 1780. James Augustus Hickey began to edit the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine that described Itself as a commercial paper open to all. but influenced by none’ So it was private English enterprise, proud of its independence from colonial influence, chat began English printing in India. Hickey published a lot of advertisements, including those that related to the import and sale of slaves. But he also published a lot of gossip about the Company’s senior officials in India. Enraged by this, Governor-General Warren Hastings persecuted Hickey, and encouraged the publication of officially sanctioned newspapers that could counter the flow of information that damaged the image of the colonial government.