It debuted on 20 February 1868. It was started by Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh, sons of Hari Naryan Ghosh, a rich merchant from Magura, in District Jessore, in Bengal Province of British Empire in India. The family had constructed a Bazaar and named it after Amritamoyee, wife of Hari Naryan Ghosh. Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh started "Amrita Bazar Patrika" as a weekly first. It was first edited by Motilal Ghosh, who did not have a formal university education. It had built its readership as a rival to "Bengalee" which was being looked after by Surendranath Banerjee. After Sisir Ghosh retired, his son Tushar Kanti Ghosh became editor for the next sixty years, running the newspaper from 1931 to 1991.