The First Khmer Newspaper: Nagara Vatta, or Nokor Wat/Angkor Wat, founded in 1936

The Nagara Vatta - 02 February 1937 Edition

“The three key channels for Cambodian self-awareness in the 1930s, in fact, were the Lycee Sisowath, the Institute Bouddhique, and the newspaper Nagara Vatta, founded in 1936 by Pach Chhoeun and Sim Var; both men, in their 30s, were soon joined by a young Cambodian judge, born in Vietnam and educated in France, named Son Ngoc Thanh. The three, in turn, were closely associated with the Institute Bouddhique, to which Son Ngoc Thanh was later assigned as librarian. This brought them into contact with the leaders of the Cambodian Sangha, with Cambodian intellectuals, and with a small group of French scholars and officials, led by the secretary of the Institute, Suzanne Karpales, who were eager to help with the Cambodian intellectual renaissance.” [A History of Cambodia, Chandler]

The Nagara vatta - 20 February 1937 Edition