Press and Registration of Books Act 1867
Also called: Registration of Books Act · Topic: Print Culture and the Modern World · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867 was a law to keep a record of everything printed in India. Every book and newspaper had to print the names of its printer and publisher and the place of publication. Copies had to be given to the government. It did not ban anything directly, but it helped the colonial state watch the growing world of print.
Example
Under this Act, presses across British India sent copies of their new books to the government. The government then listed them in official catalogues. This helped officials track popular religious tracts and the cheap books printed in Calcutta's Battala quarter. For newspapers and magazines, the Act was replaced by the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act 2023.
Don't confuse with
- Vernacular Press Act 1878: a censorship law that punished "seditious" vernacular papers. The 1867 Act only registered what was printed.
Related concepts
- Censorship of Press Act 1799
- Licensing Regulations 1823
- Press Act of 1835
- Licensing Act 1857
- Hindu Patriot
- Som Prakash
- Amrita Bazar Patrika
- Vernacular Press Act
- The Hindu
- Swadesamitran