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Read the given source… (Social Science 2026 32/2/1 Q9)

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Social ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2026, set 32/2/1 · 4 marks · Case-based

CBSE Class 10 Social Science 2026: question 9

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2026, paper 32/2/1, section A, question 9, for 4 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q9 · 4 marks · Case-basedCompetency-basedPrint Culture and the Modern World

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Print and Censorship

After the revolt of 1857, the attitude of the colonial government towards freedom of the press changed. Enraged Englishmen demanded a clamp down on the 'native' press. As vernacular newspapers became assertively nationalist, the colonial government began debating measures of stringent control. In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. From now on the government kept regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces. When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the printing machinery confiscated.

  1. (9.1)

    Which Act was the inspiration of the 'Vernacular Press Act'?

    1 mark
  2. (9.2)

    Why was the colonial government not in favour of freedom of the press?

    1 mark
  3. (9.3)

    Which two powers were given by the Vernacular Press Act to the colonial government?

    2 marks

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 board paper, set 32/2/1.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Read the source: the Act was modelled on something.

Hint 2

Why would a colonial government fear nationalist newspapers?

Hint 3

Look at the last lines on warning and seizure.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. (9.1) The Irish Press Laws.

    1 mark

  2. (9.2) Vernacular newspapers had become assertively nationalist after 1857. The government feared the spread of nationalist and revolutionary ideas.

    1 mark

  3. (9.3) It gave the government the right to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press.

    1 mark

  4. It also allowed the government to seize the press and confiscate printing machinery if a warning against a seditious report was ignored.

    1 mark

Answer: (9.1) Irish Press Laws; (9.2) it feared nationalist ideas in the press; (9.3) power to censor reports and power to seize the press and confiscate its machinery

Where the marks are

  • Irish Press Laws (1 mark)
  • Fear of nationalist ideas spreading (1 mark)
  • Power to censor reports and editorials (1 mark)
  • Power to seize the press and machinery (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Print Culture and the Modern World, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2026 board paper, set 32/2/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.