Print Culture-9 Flashcards
how was early censorship by the eeic
Before 1798, the colonial state under the East India Company was
not too concerned with censorship. Strangely, its early measures to
control printed matter were directed against Englishmen in India
who were critical of Company misrule and hated the actions of
particular Company officers. The Company was worried that such
criticisms might be used by its critics in England to attack its trade
monopoly in India.
what did calcutta supreme court do in 1820
By the 1820s, the Calcutta Supreme Court passed certain regulations
to control press freedom and the Company began encouraging
publication of newspapers that would celebrate Britsh rule. In 1835,
faced with urgent petitions by editors of English and vernacular
newspapers, Governor-General Bentinck agreed to revise press laws.
Thomas Macaulay, a liberal colonial official, formulated new rules
that restored the earlier freedoms.
what changed the press freedom laws?
After the revolt of 1857, the attitude to freedom of the press
changed. Enraged Englishmen demanded a clamp down on the
‘native’ press. As vernacular newspapers became assertively
nationalist, the colonial government began debating measures of
stringent control.
what censorship laws were introduced by govt
In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed,
modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government
with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular
press. From now on the government kept regular track of the
vernacular newspapers published in different provinces. When a
report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if
the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the
printing machinery confiscated.
despite the repression, did the nationalist newspaper grow
Despite repressive measures, nationalist newspapers grew in numbers
in all parts of India. They reported on colonial misrule and
encouraged nationalist activities. Attempts to throttle nationalist
criticism provoked militant protest. This in turn led to a renewed
cycle of persecution and protests. When Punjab revolutionaries were
deported in 1907, Balgangadhar Tilak wrote with great sympathy
about them in his Kesari. This led to his imprisonment in 1908,
provoking in turn widespread protests all over India.
