The Vernacular Press Act 1878 was enacted in British India to limit the freedom of the Indian-language (non-English) press . The Vernacular Press Act was passed by Lord Lytton in 1878 to prevent newspapers from publishing seditious information. The Act authorized the government to seize any newspapers that published what it considered to be "seditious material." In British India, the Vernacular Press Act (1878), modelled on the Irish Press Laws, was enacted to curtail the freedom of the Indian press and prevent the expression of criticism toward British policies—notably, the opposition that had grown with the outset of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80). [1] The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was a repressive law imposed by the British colonial government in India. It aimed to control the Indian-language newspapers that were critical of British policies and promoted nationalist sentiments. Under this Act , the authorities could censor, confiscate, and even shut down newspapers without due process.
