Indian Press Act 1910
Topic: Print Culture and the Modern World · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Indian Press Act of 1910 brought back the harsh spirit of the Vernacular Press Act (1878). Printers and publishers had to deposit a security, a sum of money held by the government. Local governments could forfeit (take away) this money if a paper printed "objectionable" matter. The law hit many nationalist papers hard. It was repealed in 1922.
Example
After the Swadeshi movement and revolutionary activity in Bengal and Punjab, hundreds of presses and papers were made to pay securities under this Act. Many lost their deposits or shut down. The Act was part of a clampdown that also saw Tilak, editor of Kesari, jailed in 1908.
Don't confuse with
- Vernacular Press Act 1878: covered only the vernacular (Indian-language) press. The 1910 Act applied to all printers and publishers.
- Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act 1908: let magistrates seize presses directly. The 1910 Act worked through security deposits.
Related concepts
- Censorship of Press Act 1799
- Licensing Regulations 1823
- Press Act of 1835
- Licensing Act 1857
- Hindu Patriot
- Som Prakash
- Press and Registration of Books Act 1867
- Amrita Bazar Patrika
- Vernacular Press Act
- The Hindu