Why did the British Government passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878? What powers did it give to the Government?
British Government passed the Vernacular Press Act:
The British Government passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 because the Company was worried that their criticism in Indian media might be used by their critics in England to attack their trade monopoly in India. After the Revolt of 1857, the criticism against the government grew in the Indian media. The vernacular newspapers reported on colonial misrule and encouraged national activities. So, it became necessary for the administrators in India to suppress the newspapers. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in Vernacular Press.
The government had the power to warn, seize and confiscate the printing machinery of the newspaper if it was judged as seditious. The discriminating aspect was that it put severe restrictions on the Indian language newspapers while the English ones were spared from its purview.