At the beginning of the 20th century, Indian moderate leaders were found that the British rule was no longer progressive socially and culturally towards Indian society.
The British officials found the Indian higher education more suspicious and tried to discourage its spread in the country.
To bring Indian higher education in tight control of the British, the Indian Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904.
The Indian nationalists found this Act as an attempt to bring Indian universities under tighter official control and to check the growth of higher education.