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The Vernacular Press Act in British India was concerned with

The Vernacular Press Act in British India was concerned with Correct Answer None of the above

The correct answer is None of the above. 

Key Points

Vernacular Press Act:

  • ​After 1858, the European press always rallied behind the government in political controversies while the vernacular press was critical of the government.
  • There was a strong public opinion against the imperialistic policies of Lytton, compounded by terrible famine (1876-77), on the one hand, and lavish expenditure on the imperial Delhi Durbar, on the other hand.
  • The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 under the Governor Generalship and Viceroyalty of Lord Lytton, for better control of Indian language newspapers.
  • The purpose of the Act was to control the printing and circulation of seditious material, specifically that which could produce disaffection against the British Government in India in the minds of the masses.
  • It was passed on the model of Irish press laws.
  • It provided the government extensive rights to censor reports and editorial in the vernacular press.
  • The Act came to be nicknamed “The gagging Act”.
  • The worst features of this Act were discrimination between English and vernacular press, no right of appeal.
  •  At the time the Vernacular Press Act was passed, there were thirty-five vernacular papers in Bengal, including the Amrita Bazar Patrika.
  • Under VPA, proceedings were instituted against Som Prakash, Bharat Mihir, Dacca Prakash, and Samachar.
  • Ripon repealed it in 1882.
  • In 1883, Surendranath Banerjea became the first Indian journalist to be imprisoned.
  • Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the second Journalist to be imprisoned.

Important Points

  • The powers granted by this act were:
    • The district magistrate was empowered to call upon the printer and publisher of any vernacular newspaper to enter into a bond with the government undertaking not to cause disaffection against the government or antipathy between persons of different religions, caste, race through published material; the printer and publisher could also be required to deposit security which could be forfeited if the regulation were contravened, and press equipment could be seized if the offense re-occurred.
    • The magistrate’s action was final and no appeal could be made in a court of law.
    • A vernacular newspaper could get an exemption from the operation of the Act by submitting proof to a government censor.

Related Questions

Which of the following event/events led to the Nationalist movement in India against British Rule?  (A) Passing the Arms Act and disallowing Indians from possessing arms.  (B) Enacting the Vernacular Press Act to silence those who were critical of the government.  (C) Withdrawal of the Ilbert Bill which provided for the trials of British and European persons by Indians.  (D) Passing the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929. Choose the correct option. 
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