WEAPONISING WORDS

WHEN THE BRITISH FOUND THAT CERTAIN BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS WERE REVIVING NATIONALISTIC PASSIONS, THEY USED CENSORSHIP TO CURB FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

- NILABH KRISHNA

History has benefited much from literature. It has been and is still used as a propaganda weapon. Nevertheless, it is safe to argue that literature has contributed significantly to almost every significant historical revolution. Numerous books have been written regarding particular press-related incidents or the development of publisher independence in nations like England, the United States, and Nazi Germany. However, colonial countries have received much less attention than the homeland when it comes to the transmission of attitudes and legal norms. An illustration of this is British control in India. By the nineteenth century, public opinion and the legislation in England had established a climate that encouraged the almost unfettered interchange of news and opinions.

What occurred when Englishmen in India or native Indians tried to use a similar level of literary expertise? Press freedom in India is a topic for which there are currently no adequate explanations. Typically, historians start their research in the late 1700s, concentrate on now-famous instances of censorship and imprisonment during the following century, and then, if applicable, end with a brief summary of trends after 1900. The lack of study of the latter period is especially troubling because the conflict between the ruler (the Raj) and the ruled after 1900 focused on the struggle between cherished British intellectual traditions and the demands of control over a non-Western people. Key but little-known examples of official interference with press freedom include censorship, banning, and other forms of restriction.