Q1. [4]
Print and Censorship
The power of the printed word is most often seen in the way governments seek to regulate and suppress print. The colonial government kept continuous track of all books and newspapers published in India and passed numerous laws to control the press.
During the First World War, under the Defence of India Rules, 22 newspapers had to furnish securities. Of these, 18 shut down rather than comply with government orders. The Sedition Committee Report under Rowlatt in 1919 further strengthened controls that led to imposition of penalties on various newspapers. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Defence of India Act was passed, allowing censoring of reports of war-related topics. All reports about the Quit India movement came under its purview. In August 1942, about 90 newspapers were suppressed.
Read the given source and answer the questions that follow :
- (34.1) Mention any one law passed by the colonial government to control the press. [1]
- (34.2) Why did the colonial administration keep an eye on books and newspapers ? [1]
- (34.3) Why did Gandhiji start a nationwide Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act ? Explain any two reasons. [2]
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2025 32/1/1 Q34
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 06:59 · grounding stimulus
Model Answer
(34.1) The Defence of India Act was passed by the colonial government to control the press, allowing censorship of war-related reports.
(34.2) The colonial administration kept an eye on books and newspapers because they feared the power of the printed word to spread nationalist ideas and mobilise people against British rule.
(34.3) Gandhiji started a nationwide Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act (1919) because:
- The Act allowed the government to imprison any person without trial, which Gandhiji considered unjust and against civil liberties.
- It gave the colonial government enormous repressive powers to crush political activity and silence any opposition, with no right of appeal for the accused.
Source: Print Culture and the Modern World, Print and Censorship
---
Explanation
- (34.1) is directly from the passage — either Defence of India Rules or Defence of India Act is acceptable.
- (34.2) is an inference question from the passage's opening lines. The key idea is suppression of nationalist sentiment.
- (34.3) is NOT from the passage — it is a curriculum knowledge question linked to the same era (Rowlatt Act appears in the passage). Draw from Nationalism in India chapter. Two clear reasons = 1 mark each. Examiner looks for: imprisonment without trial + denial of right to appeal/defence.
If a question refers to an image, map, graph or diagram that is not shown here, open the Study Guide single page app, go to
Library and find the actual CBSE question paper. The original papers are also available on the CBSE website:
cbse.gov.in.