Write any three repressive Colonial policies of the British.

(1) The VERNACULAR PRESS ACT of 1878 (Lord Lytton), which imposed severe restrictions on newspapers published in Indian languages while leaving the English press untouched — an openly discriminatory measure to silence criticism. (2) The ARMS ACT of 1878, forbidding Indians to keep arms without a licence while exempting Europeans; and the lowering of the maximum age for the Indian Civil Service examination from 21 to 19 years, which made it far harder for Indians to enter the service. (3) The withdrawal of the ILBERT BILL of 1883 under pressure from the European community, which denied Indian judges the right to try Europeans; and the PARTITION OF BENGAL in 1905, designed to divide Hindus and Muslims and weaken the national movement.

One mark per policy. Name the measure, its year and WHY it was resented — the third element is what earns the full mark. The common thread to state once: every one of these discriminated between Indians and Europeans, and it was that racial insult, more than the measures themselves, that created nationalism. The Ilbert Bill is the sharpest example, because its withdrawal taught educated Indians that organised agitation worked — a lesson that led directly to the founding of the Congress in 1885.