The printing and communication system has been in the talk since ancient times. At that time, modern printing was not a thing. For a brief period, handwriting newspapers were circulated after collecting information from across the country.
The newspaper writers had all the freedom, and often, they were given wrong information in the paper; the Vernacular Press Act then came into the picture.
It was to limit the freedom of the Indian-language press. The one who proposed the act was Lord Lytton, then viceroy of India (reigned 1876–80). He was the one initiating the vernacular press from criticising British policies.
This Vernacular Press Act 1878 got sparked strongly and sustained by protestors, a large segment of Indians. Therefore, the show was termed the Gagging Act and only intended to limit vernacular/native language newspapers.
The Story Behind The Vernacular Press Act
During the time of Lytton’s reign, India was fighting badly. India was struck under the grip of a widespread famine due to crop failure in 1876. Meanwhile, Lord Lytton wasn’t given enough attention, with the focus being distracted on the Delhi Darbar.
Lord Lytton later decided to hold an Imperial Assemblage for the “Queen of Great Britain and Ireland”. For him, Queen Victoria was the “Empress of India”. Lord Lytton showed no sign of relief, with millions of people dying in India due to the famine. And the number of dead was anywhere between 6.1–10.3 million people.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80), started by Lytton, was one of the reasons that had a substantial impact on the Indian economy. And, for that, the government got a lot of hatred and negative criticism in multiple publications across India.
Despite this, Europeans took sides against the Indian press and backed the government in political controversies. For controlling the vital publication, and opinion of the writers, the government enacted the Vernacular Press Act 1878.
Although the law against hateful speech in the press was already in the picture in Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, the introduction of the Vernacular Press Act led to the further restriction of freedom of speech in the press.
What Are Its Provisions?
The District Magistrate was in charge of looking through the vernacular newspaper. And the government’s help ensured that the press did not publish anything against British policies. The press shouldn’t discuss anything that badmouths the British Indians, criticizes the government’s policy and instigate people to feel disaffected by the government.
The publishers were requested to make an obligatory deposit as a security amount for protection and security. This amount was a form of permission; if they infringed any rights and violated the act, the security amount would get forfeited.
In case, even after repeated instructions and warnings to the publisher, the publisher failed to maintain the standards and infringed the rights, their printing machines and the offices were seized.
The proof sheets, newspaper or anything related to the vernacular press were first submitted to the government. The government acted as a sensor, and then after the final censor, they would request publishing.
The decision of the District Magistrate was declared as an outcome, and there was such freedom or possibilities of appealing to the court to be against the magistrate.
Conclusion
Now that you know almost everything about the Vernacular Press Act and the story behind it is clear for you to understand the history behind its existence and how it further made publication look.