The Baptist missionaries led by William Carey and his associates Joshua Marshman and William Ward credited with the introduction & spread of Christianity in the North India.

William Carey arrived in India in 1793 and lived for six years in North Bengal before moving to Serampore, a Danish settlement in 1800 to join fellow Baptist missionaries Joshua Marshman and William Ward, popularly referred to as the ‘Serampore Trio.’

The missionaries realized the importance of education in disseminating the gospel in India. Carey, Marshman, and Ward started several schools for both boys and girls. In addition to starting educations, preaching and translation works, the trio also made a notable contribution to social and cultural development in India.

William Carey was engaged in translating the Bible into the native languages. As missionaries realised  the importance of native languages. Through printing the gospel was spread to a wider social class living in far remote areas, where physical presence was not possible.

According to Carey ‘setting up of a press was essential to publish these gospel in Bengali, which can be circulate through the country.

He purchased a wooden printing press in 1798 for his mission. The establishment of the Serampore Mission Press, started by William Carey, Joshua Clark Marshman and William Ward in 1800, may be considered a watershed in the movement from scribal to the printed word.

This centre later became one of the most famous missionary centres in India and one of the greatest influences in Indian education and culture.

A.K. Priolkar, in his pioneering work, “ Printing Presses in India, on the history of printing in India traced the genealogy of printing and its early development. He argued that although Jesuit missionaries introduced printing in Goa in 1556, it did not help in the establishment of printing presses in other parts of the country.

Printing activities were discontinued in Goa before it could fan out in other parts of the country because of the short sightedness of the political leaders in Goa.

B.S.Kesavan, in his work, “History of printing and publishing in India”, provided the intellectual breakthrough in Indian languages, publication of translation, commentaries, collections and selection, composing grammars and dictionaries, lexicography, prose and poetry.

According to Ulrike Stark, the arrival of protestant missionaries following the East India company charter of 1813 paved the way for the burgeoning of print and publishing production in India

It was the missionaries who introduced print and printed text and opened up a space for the interaction between Europeans and the natives through the medium of print. It helped to cross the social & communal barriers existing in India.

Ulrike Stark, claimed that, natives first come in contact with printed text through the missionary tracts and school books as there was no any printing press before the arrival of the missionaries.

Education was most effectively used by Christian missionaries as an instrument for evangelisation. George Smith also remarked that, ‘Carey’s missionary organisation would not have been complete without schools.’

Shortly after arriving in Calcutta, Carey started a school in his locality at Mudnabaty in 1794, Carey said, ‘I had some months ago set up a school, but the poverty of the natives often caused them frequently to take their children to work. To prevent this, we intend to clothe and feed them.’

In 1800 Carey moved to Serampore to join Joshua Marshman and William Ward. In the same year a Bengali a Bengali Elementary school was opened with 40 boys at Serampore.

William Carey was appointed as the professor of Bengali and Sanskrit at Fort William College in 1801, this appointment offered him more opportunity to expand his educational venture. By 1809 there were many schools in rural areas of Jessore district and one Dinajpur.

The most significant educational venture of the missionaries was the establishment of ‘Benevolent Institution’ in 1809-10 for Eurasian poor. Until 1813, the initiation of missionary activities within British territory was prohibited. The renewal of this act gave a great boost on education and printing activities in India.

In 1816- 1818, about 100 elementary schools  and a Serampore College for higher education established in Bengal. East India company prohibited from carrying out any mission activities in their territories.

The first publication issued from this pioneering press was the Cary’s translation of gospel of Matthew in Bengali. Printing gave a great impetus in the growth of Bengali literature.

The Calcutta school book society, setting up in 1817, responsible for supplying vernacular text to elementary schools at a very cheap rate were printed here, Dig-Darshan the first Bengali news paper Samachar Darpan and informative magazines for young readers were also issued from this press.

In 1801, Carey’s appointment as Bengali teacher at the Fort William College enable him to undertake various translation works, composing grammars, and dictionaries besides publishing school text books in vernacular for students.

Printing gave a great impetus in the growth of Bengali literature. The Calcutta school book society, setting up in 1817, responsible for supplying vernacular text to elementary schools at a very cheap rate were printed here, Dig-Darshan the first Bengali news paper ‘Samachar Darpan’ and informative magazines for young readers were also issued from this press.

Through the establishment of printing press in Serampore, Carey gave an immense stimulus to modern Bengali literature. Thus, began a fertile period for publishing, fostered by Governor General Warren Hasting and led by Sir William Jones and his generations of great Orientalist.

The first native who set up a press in Calcutta was Baboo Ram in 1807. He was followed by Ganga Kishore, formerly employed in the Serampore press. Later many more printing presses were set up in different parts of the country.   This was reported by the missionary journal the Friend of India in 1820.

Serampore Mission Press was involved with printing textbooks for the Fort William College and elementary vernacular schools on various subjects. The first Bengali newspaper Samachar Darpan and Digdarshan which was educational periodical for juvenile or young people with English and Bengali were issued from this press beginning in 1818. The Serampore College set up in 1818 was among the first to disseminate modern ideas of education in India.

Nevertheless, missionaries became the pioneers of vernacular printing in India. The first book printing in India was in Tamil in 1577 by the Portuguese.

Opened in 1802, the Serampore mission soon grew into the largest printing press in south Asia. The removal of the press law by the Governor General Lord Metcalf in 1835 was the opening of floodgates of printing for the native printers. From 1805 to 1834 William Carey printed and published Marathi books in Serampore mission press. The Bible in 1807 and the Marathi English Dictionary in 1810 are two notable publications.

Opened in 1802, the Serampore mission soon grew into the largest printing press in south Asia. The removal of the press law by the Governor General Lord Metcalf in 1835 was the opening of floodgates of printing for the native printers. From 1805 to 1834 William Carey printed and published Marathi books in Serampore mission press. The Bible in 1807 and the Marathi English Dictionary in 1810 are two notable publications.