Press Gagging – Indian Penal Code, 1870: The Lethal Weapon of the British Raj on Indian Press in the Madras Presidency, 1908 - 1932

Abstract

The repressive measures adopted by the British Government to curtail the free flow of Indian Press varied from time to time. The political situation in India shaped the policies of the government towards the Indian Press. The attempts whatever made by the government to stifle the freedom of press didn't dampen the spirit of the Indian Press. The actions against the Indian press can be categorized as administrative and legislative. The Indian Penal Code, 1870 and Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 were the administrative laws where as the Press Acts of 1908, 1910 and 1931 were the press legislations. The administrative measures included the issue of warnings to the editors or proprietors of nationalist press, counter propaganda against such papers which espoused the cause of nationalist patronage to pro-government papers and verbal remonstrances. An attempt is made in this paper to study the implementation of Indian Penal Code as Modus Operandi of the British to curb the anti-British tone of the nationalists and their press.