CBSE 2026 · Region 2 · Set 1 · Q9

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow : After the revolt of $\displaystyle 1857$, the attitude of the colonial government towards 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. In $\displaystyle 1878$, 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. ($\displaystyle 9.1$) Which Act was the inspiration of the 'Vernacular Press Act'? ($\displaystyle 9.2$) Why was the colonial government not in favour of freedom of the press ? ($\displaystyle 9.3$) Which two powers were given by the Vernacular Press Act to the colonial government ?