Write a note on press and registration of book act
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The art of printing first entered India through Goa. In a letter to St. Ignatius of Loyola, dated 30 April 1556, Father Gasper Caleza speaks of a ship carrying a printing press setting sail for Abyssinia from Portugal, with the purpose of helping missionary work in Abyssinia. Circumstances prevented this printing press from leaving India, and consequently, printing was initiated in the country.Gutenberg Bible was first printed.
The earliest surviving enactment specifically directed towards the press was passed in 1867, the Press and Registration of Books Act (PRB Act) (XXV of 1867) (App,V). The objective was however not to establish governmental control over the freedom of the Press. It was a regulatory law which enabled Government to regulate printing presses and newspapers by a system of registration and to preserve copies of books and other matter printed in India. A number of minor amendments were made in the Act from time to time to make the Sections/Clauses compatible with the changing situation, more particulary after Independence. But major amendments were carried out in 1955 following the recommendations of the First Press Commission in 1953, consequent upon which the Office of the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI) was created and started functioning in 1956.During the rein of the British Government in India writing of books and other informatory material took a concrete shape and with the advent of printing presses various books on almost all the subjects and periodicals touching every aspect of life started appearing. Thrust on education gave an impetus to this with the result that lot of printed material became available. Those in the field of writing, publishing and printing gave a thought to organise a system for keeping a record of the publications. The then East India Company was urged to keep a record of the publications. An attempt was made by the authorities to make a collection of the books and other publications emanating from the various printing presses throughout India. Board of Directors of East India company issued an instruction that copies of every important and interesting work published in India should be despatched to England to be deposited in the library of India House. Such an instruction had a slow impact. Again the Royal Asiatic Society in London urged the then Secretary of State for India to repeat the instruction of the late Board of Directors of East India Company and also desired that catalogues of all the works published in India should be sent to England. A system of voluntary registrations of publications was evolved but it failed. It was found necessary to establish a system of compulsory sale to Government, of three copies of each work in India. To achieve this purpose a Bill was introduced in the Legislature for the regulation of printing presses and newspaper for the preservation of copies of books and periodicals containing news printed in the whole of India and for the registration of such books and periodicals containing news.