Question

With reference to Nationalism and birth of Indian National Congress, explain each of the following.
Vernacular Press Act 1878.

Answer 1

Hint: In order to understand Indian nationalism and the birth of Indian National Congress(INC), one has to understand what Indian nationalism was. Indian nationalism was a movement in the direction of achieving autonomy and forming collective Indian national identity. Indian nationalism was both a result of and a reaction against British colonization in India.

 Complete answer:
Modern Indian nationalism of 19th- 20th century was an outcome of a mixed bag of factors
- Rise of an Indian English educated middle class and socio-cultural reforms
- Strong reaction against British imperialist policies like Arms Act, Ilbert Bill, and Vernacular Press act
- These factors acted as a catalyst in the formation of organizations like Indian National Congress (INC)which took forward the cause of national integration as well as fought against British discriminatory policies.
Let us understand how the Vernacular Press Act led to the creation of INC and expedited the national movement.
Vernacular press act
The 19th century saw a spurt in Indian owned newspapers and journals which spread the ideas of civil rights, democracy among the masses. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was imposed by Lord Lytton to curb the spread of nationalist ideas as well as censor criticisms against British policies.
 The features of this act were
- Magistrates of districts could call upon the printer and publisher of any indigenous press to enter into a bond, where the publisher promised to not publish anything that’d rouse disaffection against the government.
-If the publishers violated the norm, the security deposit which the magistrate was authorized to collect, was confiscated.
-On repeated violation, the press was seized.
-Proof sheets and contents of newspaper and magazine were to be submitted to police before publication.
-There was no provision for appeal and the decision of the magistrate was final.
-The law was highly unpopular for gagging Indian opinion and discriminating between European language newspapers and vernacular press.
There was a widespread protest against the act and Lord Ripon ultimately repealed it in 1882.

Note: It is important to note that the Vernacular press act was only against vernacular languages and not English publication.
Also, it's important to not confuse this act with section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which deals with seditious content and was already in existence since 1870.