Acts and Reforms in British India — SSC & RRB Notes · Chapter 17
15. VERNACULAR PRESS ACT, 1878
15. VERNACULAR PRESS ACT, 1878
Passed by Viceroy Lord Lytton.
Aimed to curb/muzzle the vernacular (Indian language) press, empowering the government to confiscate the press/property of newspapers publishing "objectionable" material against the government.
Discriminatory: did not apply to English-language newspapers, only vernacular press — dubbed the "Gagging Act."
Repealed in 1882 by Viceroy Lord Ripon.
Key Facts
Year: 1878; Viceroy: Lord Lytton; Repealed by Lord Ripon (1882)
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1.Which Governor General of India Proposed the Vernacular press act in 1878? (RRB NTPC CBT-I (11/02/2021) Shift 1)
2.During the colonial period in India, the Vernacular Press Act (1878) was introduced by _____. (RRB NTPC (UG) CBT-I (28/08/2025) Shift 3)
3.The Vernacular Press Act of 1878, which curtailed the freedom of Indian-language newspapers, was enacted during the viceroyalty of...
4.Who among the following repealed the Vernacular Press Act in 1881? (RPF Constable(Ancillary) 2018 (30/03/2019) Shift 2)
5.Which of the following sessions of the INC passed a resolution opposing the Arms Act and the Vernacular Press Act? (RRB NTPC Graduate Level CBT-I (20/06/2025) Shift 1)
6.The Vernacular Press Act was enacted in which year in British India to limit the freedom of the Indian-language
press?
7.The Vernacular Press Act was passed during the viceroyalty of:
8.The 2020, UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize has been awarded to ______ (RRB NTPC CBT-I (08/01/2021) Shift 2)
9.The sub-tropical high pressure belts are known as ______ (RPF Constable 2018 (17/02/2019))
10.The Ramcharitmanas, one of the most influential medieval vernacular epics in northern India, was composed in which language by Tulsidas in the 16th century?