Which of the following acts gave the British Indian government the authority to arrest anyone without a trial?

The correct answer is The Rowlatt Act.

Let us understand the historical background and the provisions of the acts mentioned in the options to see why this is the correct answer:

1. The Rowlatt Act (Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919):
Passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in March 1919, this act was officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act. It was popularly called the Rowlatt Act after Sir Sidney Rowlatt, the president of the Rowlatt Committee. The act indefinitely extended the emergency measures of preventive indefinite detention, incarceration without trial, and judicial review enacted during the First World War. It gave the British colonial government enormous powers to repress political activities, including the authority to arrest and detain any person suspected of treason or revolutionary activities for up to two years without any trial.

2. The Indian Press Act (1910):
This act was designed to impose strict censorship on Indian publications. It allowed the government to demand security deposits from presses and forfeit them if they published "objectionable" material, but it did not govern arrest without trial.

3. Pitt's India Act (1784):
This act was introduced to address the shortcomings of the Regulating Act of 1773 by bringing the East India Company's rule in India under the control of the British Government. It established a Board of Control but did not contain provisions for arresting citizens without trial.

4. The Indian Slavery Act (1843):
Also known as Act V of 1843, this act outlawed many economic transactions associated with slavery and stripped slavery of its legal status under East India Company rule. It was not related to the arrest of political dissidents without trial.

Therefore, the act that gave the British Indian government the authority to arrest anyone without a trial was indeed The Rowlatt Act.