The beginning of printing in India

Your questions answered

Our readers frequently ask:

Q: When did printing begin in India? Which was the first book to be printed? And in which script or scripts?

The quick answer:

• The first printing press arrived in India on September 6, 1556.

• The first book to be printed in India was the Doutrina Christa by St Francis Xavier.

• The first Indian script for which movable type was prepared was Tamil.

• The first Indian language book was printed in Lisbon in 1554. This was in Tamil, but used a Romanised script.

• The first book to be printed in India in an Indian language and using an Indian script was also in Tamil, a translation of St Xavier’s Doutrina Christa.This was printed in 1558 in Quilon, ie, present-day Kollam in Kerala.

Read on for a more detailed answer!