''Rajyasamacharam'' or ''Rajya Samacharam'' was the first

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

journal published in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Its first issue came out in June 1847.

Hermann Gundert Hermann Gundert ( Stuttgart, 4 February 1814 – 25 April 1893 in Calw, Germany) was a German missionary, scholar, and linguist, as well as the maternal grandfather of German novelist and Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse. Gundert is chiefly kno ...

, the editor of the journal, was a religious propagator from the Basel Evangelical Mission society. Rajyasamacharam started publication from Illikkunnu,

Thalassery Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karna ...

, in the

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

district of Kerala. It was published as eight cyclostyled sheets in demy octavo size produced from a litho press. The pages were without columns or cross heads and was in simple language. It was distributed free of cost. It helped in formulating the Malayalee reader’s viewpoints against caste distinction and related injustices. It ceased publication in December 1850 and a total of 42 issues were published. In October 1847, Gundert started another publication called '' Paschimodayam''. It was also cyclostyled. It carried articles on history, natural science, geography and astrology. The other works of Gundert were ''Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam'', a Malayalam grammar book, and the first Malayalam English dictionary. He also translated the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

into Malayalam.

References

{{Authority control Christian magazines Defunct magazines published in India Free magazines Magazines established in 1847 Magazines disestablished in 1850 Malayalam-language magazines Mass media in Kerala 1847 establishments in India 1850 disestablishments in India Defunct Malayalam-language newspapers