Basantaka, vol. 1 (1874)

Basantak started publication from 31st of January 1874, just one month after the appearance of the first cartoon magazine in Bangla, Harabola Bhand. Prananath Datta, the editor of this periodical, was an activist of the Municipal Movement in Calcutta. The main demand of the movement was active participation of Indians in the Calcutta Corporation. This illustrated periodical with cartoons on the mismanagement of the city, its thoughtless implementation of arbitrary laws and various caricatures on social issues was used as a tool to justify the cause of the Municipal Movement. The illustrator of Basantak was Girindrakumar Datta, an activist of the movement. The periodical continued only for two years, but is a landmark in the history of political cartoons in the Bangla language.