INDIAN HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Proposed by Lord Lytton, then viceroy of India (governed 1876–80), the act was intended to prevent the vernacular press from expressing criticism of British policies-notably, the opposition that had grown with the outset of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80). The act excluded English-language publications.

Detailed explanation-2: -Vernacular Press Act of 1878, proposed by Lytton the then Viceroy of India (1876-80)was also known as the Gagging Act and it was meant only for vernacular/ native language newspaper not for English ones.

Detailed explanation-3: -Complete answer: The Vernacular Act of 1878 was proposed by Lord Lytton, then Viceroy of India, and was passed on 14 March 1878. This act excluded English-language publications as it was meant to control seditious writing of Indians which were against the British policies in India.

Detailed explanation-4: -Lord Lytton was highly criticized for the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80). So, he passed the act with an aim to prevent the vernacular press to express criticism of British policies under him. It was nicknamed the ‘Gagging Act’.

Detailed explanation-5: -Answer: Lord Lytton enacted the Vernacular Press Act of 1878, which empowered the government to seize newspapers that published “seditious material.” He also enacted the Arms Act of 1878, which prohibited Indians from carrying weapons of any kind without a license.