Question

Why did Lord Lytton’s administration enact the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, directed only against Indian language newspapers?

• A. Newspapers were by now widely disseminating Dadabhai Naoroji’s drain theory
• B. Sharp and radical comments were being made with regard to the British administration’s interference in Indians’ social and religious life
• C. The first Delhi Darbaar of 1877 was viewed by the newspapers as an attempt by the British to drive a wedge between Indian Hindus and Muslims, which the administration regarded as seditious
• D. Newspapers were highly critical of the Government for its inhuman approach towards the victims of the famine of 1876-77

Answer 1

The correct option is D Newspapers were highly critical of the Government for its inhuman approach towards the victims of the famine of 1876-77

“Many of the newspapers that shaped the discourse for freedom were vernacular newspapers. In fact, the then British Government was fearful of the Indian Vernacular Press. It was to muzzle vernacular newspapers, that the Vernacular Press Act was enacted in 1878.”
Indian newspapers became highly critical of Lord Lytton’s administration, especially regarding its inhuman approach towards the victims of the famine of 1876-77. As a result the government decided to make a sudden strike at the Indian language newspapers, since they reached beyond the middle class readership