March 12, 1955

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

The Story of the Indian Press

Reba

Chaudburi

(Continued from page 292 of issue dated February 26, 1955)

B O U T this t i m e t w o d o m i n a t i n g personalities a p p e a r e d
o n the sceneJames S i l k B u c k i n g ham and Raja R a m M o h a n Roy,
w h o were destined to p l a y a sign i f i c a n t p a r t i n t h e f i g h t f o r t h e freed o m of the Press. B o t h a t t r a c t e d the
staunchest supporters f r o m a m o n g
t h e i r c o u n t r y m e n a n d a t the same
t i m e p r o v o k e d the bitterest a n t a gonisms. B u c k i n g h a m e d i t e d his
paper,
Calcutta
Journal,
fearlessly
t i l l 1823 w h e n he was d e p o r t e d .
Raja R a m Mohan's incursion into
j o u r n a l i s m was o n l y t o propagate
the t r u t h a n d have i t tested i n the
l i g h t o f discussion. H i s c o n c e p t i o n
of f r e e d o m of the Press was f r e e d o m
t o pursue the t r u t h a n d t o evolve
a w a y of life p r o v e d by the test of
reason.
VIEWED WITH FEAR

R a j a R a m M o h a n ' s paper a n d the

progressive I n d i a n Press were v i e w e d w i t h apprehension i n official circles, w h i l e newspapers w h i c h f a v o u r e d the o r t h o d o x p o i n t o f v i e w d i d
not a t t r a c t the same measure of hostile a t t e n t i o n . A l m o s t simultaneousl y w i t h R a j a R a m M o h a n ' s newspaper, a p o w e r f u l o r t h o d o x H i n d u
Press came i n t o b e i n g w h i c h opposed social a n d religious reforms at
every stage t h r o u g h o u t the n i n e t e e n t h century. James S i l k B u c k i n g h a m , m o r e t h a n any other single person, by a tireless c a m p a i g n against
the restrictions a n d censorship i m posed on the Press, c o n v i n c e d m a n y
eminent minds in England and in
I n d i a o f the useful f u n c t i o n w h i c h
a free press c o u l d p e r f o r m by an
exposure of t h e lapses of the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d b y c r i t i c i s i n g its
policies.
Governor-General John
A d a m passed a n o r d i n a n c e i n D e cember 1823 w h i c h r e q u i r e d t h a t
a l l m a t t e r s to be p r i n t e d in a press
or to be p u b l i s h e d thereafter, except
s h i p p i n g i n t e l l i g e n c e , etc, s h o u l d be
printed and published under a
licence f r o m t h e G o v e r n o r - G e n e r a l
in Council. T h e application for a
a license s h o u l d give a l l the details
r e g a r d i n g p r i n t e r , publisher, p r o p r i e t o r , etc. A m o n g t h e newspapers
whose w r i t i n g s w e r e c i t e d i n j u s t i f i c a t i o n o f these regulations was R a m
M o h a n ' s Mirat-ll-Akbar.
T h e paper
was restrained i n its language a n d
constructive i n c r i t i c i s m , b u t d e a l t

social a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e evils a n d
c r i t i c a l l y e x a m i n e d the B r i t i s h p o l i c y
both in India and Ireland.
With
the e x t i n c t i o n of Calcutta Journal,
the John Bull a n d Hurkara t o o k up
the controversy o f the f r e e d o m o f
Press.
LORD

BENTINCK'S

ENCOURAGEMENT

John A d a m ' s regulations were the

fore-runner of the Vernacular Press
A c t of 1878 w h i c h b o t h in concept i o n and its application drew a clear
distinction between the t w o sections
of the Press. F o l l o w i n g the Press
regulations,, the Indian-owned I n d i a n
language papers seemed to have kept
clear of political topics
for about
seven years. In July 1824, C J Fair,
E d i t o r of the Bombay Gazette, was
hauled up for casting aspersions on
the Supreme C o u r t
and asked to
furnish a security of Rs 20,000. As
he was unable to do so, he was deported. D u r i n g this period, t h o u g h
liberal concessions were allowed to
papers published by the Scrampore
missionaries, only n o m i n a l concessions were given to
Indian-owned
I n d i a n language
newspapers. F o r d
Bentmck's assumption of GovernorGeneralship was marked by a significant change in the attitude of the
Government towards
the Press
in
general
and the I n d i a n
language
Press in particular.
Bentinck
saw
the obvious advantage of newspapers
published in I n d i a n languages pursuing freely social controversies, and
of generally relaxing the restrictions
on all sections of the Press in the
interest of efficient
administration.
He extended facilities to newspapers,
and between
1831-1833
nineteen
newspapers came i n t o existence.
A
noteworthy development at this t i m e
was that b o t h Bengal and Bombay
started official gazettes, t h e Bombay
G o v e r n m e n t Gazette
and the Calcutta Gazette. In Madras about this
t i m e t w o newspapers
were started,
one
in T a m i l and the
other in
T e l u g u . I n N W Provinces, a H i n d i
journal and an U r d u journal were
successfully launched under Governm e n t patronage.
In 1867, an act for the regulation
of p r i n t i n g presses and newspapers,
for the preservation of copies of books
printed in B r i t i s h India and for the
regulation of these
was passed to
replace t h e M e t c a l f e A c t X I o f 1835.
I n this A c t were incorporated all the
provisions o f t h e M e t c a l f e A c t w h i c h
347

dealt w i t h p r i n t i n g presses and newspapers and later came to be k n o w n

as ' T h e Press and
Registration of
Books A c t '. After this
it was
amended by A c t X of 1890 and by
Acts I I I and X of 1914 and it was
further modified in 1952 and 1953.
VERNACULAR

PRESS

ACT

M e a n w h i l e , G o v e r n m e n t was bec o m i n g increasingly uneasy about t h e

attitude of the Press generally and
its relation
w i t h Government. It
was particularly apprehensive of the
I n d i a n language press as preparations
for the rebellion of 1857 were made
w i t h the use of seemingly harmless
words
and symbols. In 1878, the
Vernacular Press A c t was passed w i t h
a view to having better control over
newspapers
published
in
Indian
languages, in spite of the representat i o n made from all the I n d i a n presses
concerned. A deputation on behalf
of the I n d i a n Press Association wait
ed upon the Viceroy under the leadership of
Surendranath
Banerjee,
B u t it was all in vain. T h e gagging
A c t of 1857 was a m u c h milder piece
of legislation than the Press Act of
1878.
The Vernacular Press A c t was repealed in December 1881 under t h e
enlightened regime of L o r d R i p o n .
'The Nationalist movement since 1883
gave an impetus to the development
of the Press in I n d i a . As a matter
of fact, it is very difficult- to distinguish the development of the Press
and important events in this respect
from the crucial events and developments of the Nationalist movement,
A number of Press Laws and restrictions were enforced and placed on
the statute book f r o m t i m e to t i m e .
After the establishment of the I n d i a n
N a t i o n a l Congress, there
were sections 124A and 153A of the Penal
Code enacted in 1898.
T h e r e was
also section 565 of the I n d i a n Penal
Code.
Four new
measures
were
enacted between 1 9 0 8 - 1 9 1 ; , namely,
the
Newspapers
(Incitement
to
Offences) A c t of 1908, the Press A c t
of 1910, the Prevention of Seditious
Meetings A c t of 1911 and the C r i m i nal L a w A m e n d m e n t A c t of 1908.
There was also" the Official Secrets
A c t as amended in 1903.
DEFENCE OF IINDIA ACT

In 1914
the enactment of t h e
Defence o f I n d i a A c t added t o t h e
restrictions imposed on
the Press.

M a r c h 12, 1955
T h e Press Association of I n d i a in a
memorandum on the
operation o f
t h e Press A c t of 1910
stated t h a t
nearly 1,000 papers had been prosecuted
under t h e A c t .
The
total
a m o u n t of securities and forfeitures
w h i c h went i n t o t h e hands o f G o v e r n m e n t d u r i n g t h e first five years
of t h e A c t
was nearly Rs 5 lakhs
according to another
official r e t u r n
made in 1918.
Over 500
publications were proscribed under t h e A c t .
T h e Defence A c t Rules i n I n d i a were
n o t merely used f o r
war purposes,
b u t also for all p o l i t i c a l purposes so
as to carry o u t t h e
policy of t h e
I n d i a n G o v e r n m e n t i n regard t o repression of p o l i t i c a l agitation or free
public criticism
of its n o r m a l acts
and methods of
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n in
India.
PRESS EMERENCY ACT 1931

W h e n Gandhiji
started his Salt
Satyagraha in M a r c h 1930, t h e peace
between t h e Press and G o v e r n m e n t ,
w h i c h had been m a i n t a i n e d f o r n i n e
years, snapped,
A Press O r d i n a n c e
was issued, reproducing t h e stringent
provisions of the repealed Press A c t
of 1910, on January 4, 1932. S i m u l taneously w i t h G a n d h i j i ' s arrest, t h e
earlier Press A c t of 1930 was a m p l i fied in the form of the Criminal Law
Amendment
Act
o f 1932.
The
struggle for freedom passed t h r o u g h
m a n y vicissitudes between 1932 and
1946.
T h e r e were intervals, t h o u g h
brief,
of
understanding
between
Government
and
the
Congress.
T h r o u g h o u t this p e r i o d , however, t h e
Press Emergency A c t of 1931 r e m a i n ed in force and
was applied w i t h
greater or less severity according to
p o l i t i c a l circumstances.
T h e record
of prosecution in t h e 15-year period
exceeded t h e one under
t h e 1910
Act.
W e l l over a 1,000 newspapers
were victimised i n B o m b a y , B e n g a l ,
D e l h i , M a d r a s , P u n j a b and U P .
WORLD WAR II

W h e n W o r l d W a r I I broke
out
i n 1939, t h e G o v e r n m e n t
of India
under t h e Defence o f I n d i a A c t a r m ed itself w i t h the power of pre-ccnsorship of material p u b l i s h e d in t h e
Press relating to certain matters. T h e
penalty of i m p r i s o n m e n t was extended to five years; t h e O f f i c i a l Secrets
A c t was amended to provide a m a x i m u m penalty of death or transport a t i o n for t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f i n formation
likely
to
be
of
use
to t h e enemy.
T h e Press E m e r gency Powers A c t was also similarly
amended.
W h e n Congress adopted
t h e ' Q u i t I n d i a ' resolution i n 1942,
a fresh n o t i f i c a t i o n was issued u n d e r
Rule 41 of the Defence of India A c t .
D e f e n c e o f I n d i a Rules directly a i m e d

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

at t h e suppression of a l l news relati n g t o Congress activities. T h e n o t i fication was w i t h d r a w n after consult a t i o n w i t h t h e A l l - I n d i a Newspaper
Editors' Conference w h i c h
gave an
assurance t h a t
newspapers
would
observe certain voluntary
restraints
in t h e m a t t e r of p u b l i c a t i o n of news
regarding
the ' Q u i t India ' movem e n t organised by t h e Congress.
A n account o f t h e
development
of t h e Press w o u l d
be i n c o m p l e t e
w i t h o u t a reference to unauthorised
and cyclostyled
news-sheets w h i c h
were circulated f r o m
time to time.
Some were p u b l i s h e d
w h e n press
restrictions
resulted either
in the
closing d o w n of newspapers
or in
newspapers being
c o m p e l l e d to exclude t h e news of the n a t i o n a l movement from
their c o l u m n s ,
while
others were u n d e r g r o u n d publications
even i n n o r m a l times. A t one t i m e ,
instructions were
c o m m u n i c a t e d by
means of
w r i t i n g s on walls
and
streets.
In
1930,
the
promulgat i o n of a Press O r d i n a n c e m a d e t h e
printing of Gandhiji's Young India
impossible, and it
was issued in
cyclostyled sheets.
When
in
September
1946, a
popular i n t e r i m G o v e r n m e n t was i n stalled a t t h e C e n t r e , a l m o s t i m m e diately, t h e extensive powers f o r the
c o n t r o l of t h e Press assumed by t h e
Government of India under the Defence of I n d i a Rules came to an e n d .
However, in 1946-47 m a n y
of t h e
Provincial G o v e r n m e n t s were c o m p e l led t o resort t o Ordinances t o b r i n g
t h e c o m m u n a l situation under c o n trol.
These Ordinances were subseq u e n t l y replaced by emergency legislation
b y t h e Provincial
Governments.
PRESS LAWS ENQUIRY

I n M a r c h 1947, t h e
Government
of I n d i a a p p o i n t e d an e n q u i r y c o m m i t t e e t o report o n Press
Laws in
force i n t h e c o u n t r y . T h e c o m m i t t e e
made certain recommendations.
The
more i m p o r t a n t o f t h e m a r e :
(1) T h e
Protection
1922, and
tion A c t

repeal of I n d i a n
States
against
Disaffection A c t ,
t h e I n d i a n States Protec1934.

(2) The repeal of t h e I n d i a n Press

(Emergency Powers) A c t , 1 9 3 1 .
(3) H i e repeal o f F o r e i g n
Relations A c t a n d t h e e n a c t m e n t
i n its
place of a m o r e comprehensive measure on t h e basis of reciprocity.
(4) T h e
modification
o f section
124A of the I P C and the exclusion,
by explanation, of the application of
section 153A, to t h e
advocacy of
peaceful change in t h e
socio-econom i c order.
(5) Section

144
348

of t h e

Criminal

Procedure C o d e s h o u l d n o t b e a p p l i e d t o t h e Press.
(6) All a c t i o n t a k e n against
the
Press in t h e exercise
of emergency
powers should be preceded by con-.
s u l t a t i o n between
the
Provincial
Governments
a n d Press
Advisory
C o m m i t t e e s or similar bodies.
THE PRESS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION

W i t h the adoption of the C o n s t i t u t i o n m January 1 9 5 0 , t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f I n d i a was c o n f r o n t e d w i t h

a new set of problems in regard to
the
Press.
Certain
newspapers
against w h i c h action had been taken
successfully appealed t o t h e
High
C o u r t and the Supreme C o u r t w h i c h
overruled t h e action of t h e E x e c u t i v e
on t h e g r o u n d t h a t they
were u l t r a
vires o f A r t i c l e X I X (2) o f t h e C o n stitution.
T h i s A r t i c l e laid
down
that ' N o t h i n g in t h e sub-clause (a)
of clause
1 of t h e A r t i c l e
(which
guaranteed t h e r i g h t o f
freedom o f
speech and expression to all citizens)
shall affect t h e operation of any existi n g l a w in so far as it related t o , or
prevent t h e State f r o m m a k i n g any
law regarding, l i b e l , slander, defamat i o n , c o n t e m p t of c o u r t or any matter, w h i c h offends against
decency
o r m o r a l i t y o r w h i c h undermines t h e
security of, or tends
to o v e r t h r o w ,
the
State ' . T h e
Government
of
I n d i a amended A r t i c l e
X I X of the
C o n s t i t u t i o n in t h e face of t h e strong
opposition of the All-India
Newspapers Conference.
T h e same year
the Press O b j e c t i o n a b l e M a t t e r s A c t
was passed.
NEWS AGENCIES

W h e n the Vernacular
Press A c t
was passed in 1878, a Press C o m m i s sioner was a p p o i n t e d to give i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e E n g l i s h - o w n e d and e d i t e d
Press. H i s f u n c t i o n was later w i d e n e d
t o enable h i m t o deal w i t h the l a n g u age Press t o o .
Some of t h e E n g l i s h
language papers
l i k e t h e Statesman,
E n g l i s h m a n and
Indian Daily News
pooled t h e i r resources together
and
brought into being the
Associated
Press of I n d i a w i t h B u c k a n d Coatee
as its first directors. As K C R o y was
refused a d i r e c t o r s h i p , he f o r m e d a
rival organisation, t h e Press
Bureau,
together w i t h Shri Usha N a t h S e n ,
Roy's genius threatened
to d e v e l o p
the Press Bureau i n t o a serious r i v a l ,
and he was offered a directorship on
the Associated Press o f I n d i a .
The
i n f l u e n c e of K C R o y in t h e devel o p m e n t o f t h e m o d e r n I n d i a n newspaper has been t r e m e n d o u s . T h o u g h
h e was never a n e d i t o r , his genius f o r
t h e shaping of news have p r o v e d 4
more p o t e n t f a c t o r i n b r i n g i n g I n d i a n
j o u r n a l i s m u p t o d a t e accordtng
to
Western notions than that of any

March 12, 1955

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

editor in the previous four decades.
In 1 9 1 5 K C R o y started t h e I n d i a n
News Agencya
news b u l l e t i n
of
.about t w o t y p e d pages foolscap supp l i e d at t h e rate of Rs 60 per copy
t o leading c i v i l a n d m i l i t a r y officials.
T h e I n d i a n N e w s Agency c o n t i n u e d
t i l l 1947.
T h e Reuters Agency was started by
Julius R e n t e r as a carrier-pigeon service on t h e c o n t i n e n t a n d it developed
i n t o a telegraphic
news service
based o n L o n d o n i n 1858, O n matters
relating t o I n d i a and t h e service t o
and f r o m I n d i a , Reuters was subject
t o strong official
influence b o t h i n
L o n d o n a n d i n D e l h i . T h e Associated
Press of I n d i a was later
on taken
over by Reuters, w h i c h was essentially
a B r i t i s h c o n c e r n . Reuters a n d t h e
Associated Press
were very
much
under official c o n t r o l .
T h e news o f
non-co-operation a n d c i v i l
disobedience was k e p t d o w n
to the barest
m i n i m u m i n t h e early 'twenties, a n d
e m i n e n t I n d i a n s i n politics and business felt that on controversial matters
like t h e rupee ratio, etc, t h e i r views
were
not adequately
carried
to
L o n d o n , and this
led to t h e estab l i s h m e n t of t h e Free Press of I n d i a
News Agency.
I n 1933 t h e U n i t e d Press o f I n d i a
N e w s Agency was started in C a l c u t t a
by Shri B Sen G u p t a .
In 1948 t h e
newspapers i n I n d i a joined hands a n d
f o r m e d t h e Press T r u s t o f I n d i a w i t h
t h e object of establishing a co-operatively-owned i n t e r n a l news agency.
T h e r e are at present t w o news services operating in I n d i a on a c o u n t r y w i d e basis, t h e Press T r u s t of I n d i a
w h i c h subscribes t o Reuters
World
Service a n d t h e U n i t e d Press T r u s t
of I n d i a w h i c h ,
by an agreement
w i t h t h e Agence France Presse, gives
a service or f o r e i g n news to its subscribers in I n d i a .
T h e first press association was f o r m e d i n 1 8 9 1 , after proceedings
had
been i n s t i t u t e d against
t h e Bengali
newspaper Bangabasi w i t h the object
of " i m p r o v i n g t h e t o n e of t h e native
Press a n d preserving m o d e r a t i o n in
t h e discussion o f p u b l i c questions " .
In 191 5, five years after t h e rigorous
enforcement
o f t h e Press A c t o f
1910 despite i n d i v i d u a l
protests by
p o l i t i c a l leaders
a n d newspaper editors, t h e Press Association of I n d i a
was f o r m e d f o r t h e defence of t h e
interests of t h e Press in general, a n d
p r o t e c t i o n against u n d u e
encroachm e n t u p o n its liberties b y legislation
a n d executive a c t i o n .
In the
early
'twenties, a n u m b e r
of journalists'
associations were f o r m e d at t h e p r i n cipal centres of newspaper p r o d u c t i o n ,
notably
in Bombay and
Calcutta.
After long negotiation, the Indian
a n d E a s t e r n N e w s p a p e r Society was

f o r m e d in 1939, to a c t as a c e n t r a l
organisation o f t h e Press
of I n d i a ,
a n d t o p r o m o t e a n d safeguard c o m m o n business interests.
Independent
o f t h e I n d i a n a n d Eastern N e w s p a p e r
Society, b u t nevertheless f r o m i t , developed
the
All-India
Newspaper
Editors'
Conference in 1940.
The
All-India Newspaper Editors' Conference was an o u t c o m e of t h e efforts of
some m e m b e r s o f t h e
Indian and
Eastern Newspaper Society w h o were
alarmed by t h e comprehensive
precensorship order in respect
of news
relating t o t h e Satyagraha m o v e m e n t
passed by G o v e r n m e n t in the closing
m o n t h s of 1940.
The I n d i a n Federation of W o r k i n g Journalists
came
i n t o existence i n O c t o b e r 2 9 , 1950.
T h e F e d e r a t i o n has also k e p t a vigil a n t eye on all matters affecting t h e
rights of t h e Press a n d
of w o r k i n g
journalists.
A perusal of t h i s report leads one
t o the conclusion
that the Indian
Press is
today subjected
to m o r e
stringent Press
regulations
t h a n it
was in p r c - I n d e p e n d e n c c
days, bar-

r i n g , o f course, t h e war periods,

in
a free a n d democratic c o u n t r y ,
why
s h o u l d such restrictions be imposed
on t h e Press in t h e
n a m e of safeg u a r d i n g t h e i n f a n t democracy, w h e n
the existence of a vigorous
and independent F o u r t h Estate is t h e rear
guarantor of a t r u e democracy?
At
times one feels t h a t these
stringent
Press regulations are p r o m u l g a t e d w i t h
a v i e w to safeguarding t h e
interests
o f t h e present
administrators.
To
quote R a t n a v a l i , an o l d newspaper of
B e n g a l , " T h e K i n g of
E n g l a n d is
n o t in charge
of g o v e r n m e n t ;
the
people make a k i n g of t h e i r o w n , as
in Bengal an earthen p o t is p u t up
and w o r s h i p p e d . "
In the same way,
t h e present
administrators
of t h e
c o u n t r y are n o t in charge of governm e n t , b u t are p u t up there by the
people of I n d i a
and as such they
must not
try t o stifle t h e
popular
voice by i n t r o d u c i n g various Press regulations in the n a m e of safeguarding
t h e interests of t h e people.
(Concluded)