CHAPTER-29 Development of Indian Press (Spectrum Modern History Rajiv Ahir notes for UPSC IAS Exam (Revision or Short Notes)

CHAPTER-29 (Revision Notes)

Development of Indian Press

• James Augustus Hickey in 1780 started The Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser, the first newspaper in India, which was seized in 1872. More newspapers/journals came up—The Bengal Journal, The Calcutta Chronicle, The Madras Courier, The Bombay Herald.
• Early Regulations

1. Censorship of Press Act, 1799-Lord Wellesley enacted this, anticipating French invasion of India. It imposed almost wartime press restrictions including pre-censorship.
2. Licensing Regulations, 1823-The acting governor-general, John Adams, who had reactionary views, enacted these. According to these regulations, starting or using a press without licence was a penal offence. Rammohan Roy’s Mirat-ul-Akbar had to stop publication.
3. Press Act of 1835 or Metcalfe Act-Metcalfe (governor-general—1835-36) repealed the obnoxious 1823 ordinanceThe new Press Act (1835) required a printer/publisher to give a precise account of premises of a publication
4. Licensing Act, 1857-Due to the emergency caused by the 1857 revolt, this Act imposed licensing restrictions
5. Registration Act, 1867-This replaced Metcalfe’s Act of 1835 and was of a regulatory, not restrictive, nature. As per the Act, (i) every book/ newspaper was required to print the name of the printer and the publisher and the place of the publication; and (ii) a copy was to be submitted to the local government within one month of the publication of a book.

• Struggle by Early Nationalists to Secure Press Freedom– Raja Rammohan Roy had protested against a resolution restricting the freedom of the press.
• The Hindu and Swadesamitran – G. Subramaniya Aiyar,
• The Bengalee -Surendranath Banerjea
• Voice of India-Dadabhai Naoroji,
• Amrita Bazar Patrika -Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh,
• Indian Mirror -N.N. Sen,
• Kesari (in Marathi) and Maharatta (in English)- Balgangadhar Tilak,
• Sudharak – Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
• Hindustan and Advocate – G.P. Verma.
• Tribune and Akbhar-i-am in Punjab,
• Gujarati, Indu Prakash, Dhyan Prakash and Kal in Bombay
• Som Prakash, Banganivasi and Sadharani in Bengal.
• Vernacular Press Act, 1878-

1. The Vernacular Press Act (VPA) was designed to ‘better control’ the vernacular press and effectively punish and repress seditious writing. The provisions of the Act included the following.

• 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 forefeited if the regulation were contravened, and press equipment could be seized if the offence re-occurred.
• The magistrate’s action was final and no appeal could be made in a court of law.
• A vernacular newspaper could get exemption from the operation of the Act by submitting proofs to a government censor.

1. The Act came to be nicknamed “the gagging Act”. The worst features of this Act were—(i) discrimination between English and vernacular press, (ii) no right of appeal
2. In 1883, Surendranath Banerjea became the first Indian journalist to be imprisoned.
3. Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908 Aimed against Extremist nationalist activity, the Act empowered the magistrates to confiscate press property which published objectionable material likely to cause incitement to murder/ acts of violence.
4. Indian Press Act, 1910 This Act revived the worst features of the VPA—local government was empowered to demand a security at registration from the printer/publisher and fortfeit/deregister if it was an offending newspaper, and the printer of a newspaper was required to submit two copies of each issue to local government free of charge.

• During and After the First World War-

1. In 1921, on the recommendations of a Press Committee chaired by Tej Bahadur Sapru, the Press Acts of 1908 and 1910 were repealed.
2. Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act, 1931 This Act gave sweeping powers to provincial governments to suppress propaganda for Civil Disobedience Movement.

• During the Second World War–Under the Defence of India Rules, pre-censorship was imposed and amendments made in Press Emergency Act and Official Secrets Act.