Press acts in british india

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History Of Freedom Of Press In India

The Bengal Gazette, also known as the Calcutta General Advertiser, was the first newspaper in India. It was started by James Augustus Hickey in 1780. However, in 1872, the government took control of the newspaper because it criticised them too much.

• After that, more newspapers like The Bombay Herald, The Madras Courier, The Bengal Journal, and The Calcutta Chronicle were published. The government officers were worried that these newspapers might reach London and expose their wrongdoings, so they wanted to restrict the press in British India. Defending civil liberties, including the freedom of the press, was important to nationalists like Raja Rammohan Roy. The early nationalist movement focused on educating and influencing people through newspapers rather than big protests. The Indian National Congress also relied on the press to spread its decisions and activities.
• During that time, many brave and famous journalists started newspapers. Some of these newspapers were The Hindu and Swadesamitran by G. Subramaniya Aiyar, The Bengalee by Surendranath Banerjea, Voice of India by Dadabhai Naoroji, Amrita Bazar Patrika by Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh, Indian Mirror by N.N. Sen, and Kesari and Maharatta by Balgangadhar Tilak. These newspapers were not just for making money, but they aimed to serve the nation and the people.
• They reached not only cities but also isolated villages, where people would gather around a single newspaper to read and discuss every article. Press in British India played a big role in politics and education, criticising government actions and engaging people in important discussions. Their influence extended beyond cities and towns; these newspapers made it to isolated villages, where each editorial and news item was carefully read and discussed in the "local libraries" that would assemble around a single newspaper.
• These libraries thus fulfilled the purposes of both political engagement and political education. Government Acts and policies were subjected to critical examination in these newspapers. They served as a group that was opposed to the government.
• During British rule in India, the government had strict rules to control the media. They had a law called Section 124 A, which punished those who spoke against the British government. But the nationalist media found clever ways to work around these restrictions. They would quote critical articles from newspapers in England or start their own articles with words of loyalty to the government. This required a clever mix of simplicity and hidden messages. The national movement always supported freedom of the press in British India. They criticised the Lord Lytton administration for how they treated famine victims, and in response, the government passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 to control the newspapers.
• The law earned the moniker "the gagging act" over time. The disparity between English and vernacular press in British India and the absence of an appeals process were the worst aspects of this Act. The action was taken against Som Prakash, Bharat Mihir, Dacca Prakash, and Samachar under the VPA.
• To avoid the VPA, the Amrita Bazar Patrika changed into an English newspaper overnight. The pre-censorship provision was later removed, and a press commissioner was appointed to provide reliable news to the media. The Act faced significant criticism before being finally repealed by Ripon in 1882.
• Surendranath Banerjee was the first journalist from India to be imprisoned in 1883. Banerjee had chastised a judge of the Calcutta High Court for being insensitive to the religious emotions of Bengalis in one of his rulings in a furious editorial in The Bengalee.
• The government revised Section 124A and introduced Section 153A in 1898, making it a crime for anybody to defame the Government of India or incite animosity among social classes, specifically towards the English in India. Nationwide protests were also sparked by this.
• A number of oppressive laws were passed during the Swadeshi and Boycott Movements and as militant nationalist trends grew.

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Tilak And Press In British India

During British rule in India, Bal Gangadhar Tilak played an important role in the fight for freedom. He used his journals, Kesari and Maharatta, to spread anti-imperialist ideas. He also organised celebrations for Ganapati and Shivaji, which helped unite people against British rule. Tilak supported the rights of workers, farmers, and the lower middle class. He even led a boycott of foreign clothing and urged farmers to delay paying taxes if they faced crop failures. When the plague struck in 1897, there was public discontent with the government's actions. Tilak's writings and speeches were used against him, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Despite this, he became a national hero and was known as "Lokmanya" for his leadership and commitment to his beliefs.