Question

Why was the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 passed by Britishers?

Answer 1

Hint: The vernacular Press Act was Proposed by Lord Lytton then viceroy of India, the act was intended to prevent the vernacular press from expressing criticism of British policies. This act brought huge criticism of British policies and power in India.

Complete answer: The Vernacular Act of 1878 was proposed by Lord Lytton, then Viceroy of India, and was passed on 14 March 1878. This act excluded English-language publications as it was meant to control seditious writing of Indians which were against the British policies in India. Thus the British tried to control the publication of India by putting various charges against the freedom of the press. This act brought huge criticism by the Indian intelligentsia.
The act empowered the government to regularly track Vernacular newspapers and control the sections which were writing mainly against the Britishers that way Britishers can control the opposition against their policies in India. When a report published in the newspaper was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned and later had to face serious actions against it. When this act was passed, there were more than 35 Vernacular presses in Bengal only which shows the huge market for the newspapers and reports. The main press during this time includes the Amrita Bazar Patrika, Naval Kishore press which was considered highly revolutionary. The Vernacular Press Act stated that any magistrate or Commissioner of Police had the authority to call upon any printer or publisher of a newspaper to enter into a bond, undertaking not to print a certain kind of material, and could confiscate any printed material it deemed objectionable. What was seditious news was to be decided by the police, and not by the judiciary was the main feature of this act. Because of this act, many newspapers were banned and many editors were jailed for their criticism of British rule in India.
This was also the year when the Arms act was passed which banned the Indians to keep arms with them without prior permission from the Britishers. These two acts were largely criticized by the Indian nationalists.

Note: The Vernacular press act was passed in the same year in which the Arms act was introduced so people tend to get confused between these acts. These acts also received huge criticism from the Indian nationalists.