In which year Vernacular Press Act was implemented?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

HP TGT (Arts) TET 2018 Official Paper

Answer 1

The Vernacular Press Act was created in 1878 in British India to limit the freedom of the Indian-language (non-English) press.

The legislation, proposed by Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880, was designed to prohibit the vernacular press from criticizing British policy, particularly the resistance that had arisen since the start of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80).
English-language publications were not included in the statute which sparked widespread and sustained protests from Indians across the political spectrum.

The Vernacular Press Act was thus implemented in 1878 AD but was abolished in 1881.

Additional Information

Criticism of the Vernacular Press Act

Lytton's successor as viceroy, Lord Ripon (who ruled from 1880 to 1884), abolished the statute in 1881.
The hatred it engendered among Indians, became one of the drivers for India's rising independence movement.
Among the act’s most vocal critics was the Indian Association (founded 1876), which is generally considered to be one of the precursors of the Indian National Congress (founded 1885).