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Vernacular Press Act, 1878

Vernacular Press Act

June 4, 2022

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This article has been written by Nimisha Dublish of Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIPU, Delhi. The main focus of the article is to make the readers aware of the very historic law, i.e., the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, and how it played a major role in revolutionising Indians to fight for freedom of the nation and get their Fundamental Right of Freedom of Press in place.

This article has been published by Sneha Mahawar.

Table of Contents

Introduction

In ancient times, there existed no modern printing styles and concepts, but still, media communication used to happen. It was the Mughal Empire that introduced the written form of newspapers (Mughals appointed akhbar nawis, i.e., news writers) whose aim was to collect global news for a certain period of time and then circulate them via handwritten newspapers. The authenticity at that time was not guaranteed and writers ended up giving certain wrong pieces of information. In the era when Akbar ruled, offices were established to make and maintain records of the news.

The Vernacular Press Act came into being in 1878. The main word in the Act, ‘Vernacular’ was derived from vernaculus, a Latin term (meaning Native). The process by which ordinary people communicate in their day-to-day lives is basically known as vernacular. The ethnic languages that the people of a nation speak because they are more spoken than written come under the category of vernacular languages. In British India, the Act was introduced with the aim of curtailing the freedom of the Indian press and limit them from criticising the British Government of that era.

History of the Vernacular Press Act, 1878

The relations between the British government and the public grew bitter at the time of the British revolt. The British revolt of 1857 gave rise to racial animosity. Racial animosity is resentment and anger that takes shape as the belief that people of another race aren’t like you, can’t be trusted, and don’t deserve what you deserve. During this period, the European Government always stood in support of the ruling government. At the same time, it was the vernacular press that used to criticise the ruling government. The criticism can be traced back to 1782, when the Hicky’s Bengal Gazette was banned because it criticised the East India Company. Other similar newspapers also followed the same fate and later Richard Wellesley, and 1st Marquess Wellesley were given the responsibility to regulate the press in the year 1799. Each publication was required to undergo this process where the government would approve what could be published and what could not be published by the newspaper agencies.

Lord Lytton was the Viceroy of India (1876-80). He was an English politician who was famously known for his ruthless behaviour at the time of second Anglo-Afghan War and the Great Famine of 1876-78. All such actions of the government made the public angry and made them form an opinion against the policies of Lytton. It was in 1876-77 when, on one hand, the country was suffering through famine and Lytton focussed on constructing and spending heavily on imperial Delhi Durbar. As a result, 10.3 million people who died. After a year the Second Anglo-Afghan War took place, which put more criticism on the British government. The criticism of the government was the main topic or headline of every publication across India.

The late 19th century gave rise to the latest socio-political consciousness. Socio-political consciousness is the ability of a person to critically analyse the political, economic, and social factors that are shaping the economy of a country. The vernacular press expanded its horizons. The smaller towns started publishing their own vernacular papers. This gave rise to the number of readers and their opinion against the government. On one hand, the Vernacular Press Act was being planned, and on the other hand, there existed around 200 native language papers and only 20 English papers. People had full knowledge regarding the political issues prevailing in the country and eventually instigated people to raise their voices regarding the same. Other offences like sedition were given under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The government could have used this offence but still, the government chose to introduce a separate Act for controlling and regulating the vernacular press across India. Seeing massive revolts in the country, Lord Lytton announced the enactment of the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 and appointed officials for the same who were loyal to the ruling party.

Timeline before the revolution took place

1780 – The birth of The Indian Gazette.
1784 – A weekly Bengal Gazette was started.
1785 – Bengal Journal, Oriental Magazine and Madras courier were established.
1789 – Bombay Herald(first printed in 1790).
1790 – Bombay courier.

History of Indian press laws

After the Battle of Plassey took place in 1757, the East India Company took over India. There were no laws regulating the press at that time. During the tenure of the British government, the first Indian newspaper, named the Bengal Gazette, was published. However, it was seized due to the rise of criticism of the government in 1872. Bengal was the first one to implement licensing as per Adam’s regulation. In 1857, licensing was reintroduced by Lord Canning. This was made applicable to all the publications. Offences like defamation, obscenity, etc were added in the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Vernacular Press Act : a way toward Indian press laws

Provisions of the Vernacular Press Act, 1878

The printer and publisher of any vernacular newspaper could be called upon by the district magistrate to enter into an agreement confirming that none of their published papers will include hatred, disaffection, or antipathy towards the government. If any press fails to follow the guidelines and fulfil the agreement then the security deposit amount shall be forfeited and press equipment would be seized. The Act empowered the district magistrate to take action against those who committed the offence. The Act restricted the press to file re-appeal in any of the courts and that the action of the magistrate shall be final and binding. If a native newspaper submits proofs to the government censor, then it could get an exemption from the Act’s operation.

The Act clearly distinguished between European and vernacular newspapers. Vernacular newspapers were not given a single chance to prove themselves.

The most significant case was of the Amrita Bazar Patrika, which turned into an English newspaper overnight. This step was taken by the vernacular newspaper to escape the liabilities under the Vernacular Press Act. There were cases against Som Prakash, Bharat Mihir, Dhaka Prakash, and Sam a char Darpan, which were some of the other vernacular newspapers that were used to criticise and convey an anti-government opinion.

Indians and Vernacular Press Act : the impact

Indian nationalists had only one main goal in their minds, which was to protect the nation’s sentiments and their freedom of opinion from the Britishers. The vernacular press turned out to be the only tool to educate them regarding their rights and importance of freedom. The moment the country started the revolution, the Act came into being and disrupted the process. After the enactment of the Vernacular Press Act, it popularly came to be known as the ‘Gagging Act’ of the country. The people of India felt that there was grave discrimination between the Europeans and the vernaculars. The sentiments of Indians were deeply hurt and they lost faith in the government due to its biased behaviour. After the case of Amrita Bazar Patrika, the pre-censorship clause was repealed meaning that an officer shall be appointed to provide the press with right and authentic news.

In the whole chaos between the government and the people of the nation, the Som Prakash newspaper, which belonged to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, was also halted. They gave assurances and made sure that they formed an alliance with the government and supported them, then it resumed in 1880. Many papers were heavily fined and editors were imprisoned for leading seditious movements opposing the government. The whole nation demanded the repeal of the Act.

Repealing of the Vernacular Press Act

It was Lord Ripon who repealed the Act in 1882. Lord Ripon was a man who worked for the people of India to improve the condition of education. He was the Viceroy of India from 1880-84. The Vernacular Press Act faced strong opposition. In 1883, the very first journalist in India was imprisoned for criticising the Calcutta High Court’s judgement. The journalist said that the judge was insensitive toward Bengali sentiments. In 1898, the government of Lord Elgin II revised Section 124A and introduced Section 153A, making it illegal for anybody to bring the Government of India into disrepute or to incite animosity amongst different classes, i.e., vis-à-vis the English in India. Protests erupted around the country as a result of this. Several restrictive laws were passed during the Swadeshi and Boycott Movements, as well as due to the emergence of militant nationalist movements.

Present Indian press laws

Press freedom is not governed by any discrete set of laws but comes under Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. The freedom of the press has been given the utmost importance by those who write about politics and analyse different political agendas. The freedom of the press is talked about under the fundamental right of Freedom of Speech and Expression. The limits are decided by the judiciary in each case as to whether the actions of the press come under the purview of Freedom of Speech and Expression or not.

The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 covers the use of both wired and wireless telegraphy, digital communications, etc. The government law enforcement agencies are authorised under this Act to monitor and tap the phone lines as per the conditions mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

Criticism and restriction of the freedom of press in India

Nowadays, in India, we can see that the media has become a bit biased in nature. The government took initiatives to counterfeit the spread of fake news and restrict the inappropriate content in terms of biases and preferences across various media platforms. Fact Check Units have been set up by the government under Information Technology Act 2000. In 2018, WhatsApp launched 3 ad films to spread awareness about fake news. This protects the citizens’ intellectual, moral, and fundamental rights. The laws focus on prohibiting fake news publication and anti-government views, not abiding by which leads to imprisonment and closure of newspapers.

The Indian Press Act of 1910

The English language was supported and promoted, limiting the influence of the Indian vernacular press. The Act was enacted by the British government, imposing strict censorship on all the publications of the nation. The Indian Press Act came into being after there was a huge influence of Kesari, Jugantar, and Bandematram newspapers in Western and Eastern parts of the country. It was in Maharashtra and Bengal that people started the revolution against the terror of the British Raj and had a great influence on them from these vernacular newspapers. This gave rise to the re-enactment of the most repressive provision of the Vernacular Press Act which was repealed in 1882. But this time, the newspaper was given a chance to re-appeal in court and submit a security deposit of Rs. 1000 in order to get a new registration permit.

Conclusion

It was during the British era when there was a huge outcry against the Vernacular Press Act. However, later on, it was repealed, but it had a huge impact on the press. People were prosecuted and harassed, and many people lost their jobs in the process. The legislation became a piece of learning for Indians and showed them how mercilessly they were treated regardless of which they refused to give up. The emphasis was laid on freedom of speech and expression, which covers the freedom of the press. The law was a major booster at the time of the revolution to incite Indians to fight for themselves against the British Raj.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

Who was the person who enacted the Vernacular Press Act and why did he do so?

Lord Lytton enacted the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, which gave power to the government to seize newspapers that published ‘anti-government material.’ Englishmen were barred from this act and were not regulated as per the provisions of the Act.

Briefly explain the primary provisions of the Vernacular Press Act?

According to the Vernacular Press Act, any magistrate or Commissioner of Police had the authority to require any printer or publisher of a newspaper to enter into a bond promising not to print a certain type of material and could confiscate any printed material it deemed objectionable.

What role did the vernacular press and literature play in the rise of Indian nationalism?

Newspapers in English and vernacular languages played a significant part in the development of nationalism in Indians. The press facilitates the exchange of thought on a mass scale within a short time. The publications with nationalist and democratic views awakened the spirit of nationalism in India.

References

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