PRINT CULTURE AND THE MODERN WORLD (HISTORY)

NCERT EXERCISE QUESTION ANSWERS

Q.1 Give reason for the following:

a. Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.

b. Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.
c. The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of prohibited books from the
mid-sixteenth century
d. Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for the liberty of speech, liberty of the
press, and freedom of association.

Solution: (a) Marco Polo, the Italian explorer, visited China and learnt the
technology of woodblock printing. When he returned to Italy in 1295, he brought this
knowledge back with him. Gradually this knowledge spread from Italy to other parts
of Europe.

(b) In 1517, Martin Luther, the religious reformer, wrote ninety-five theses that
criticised the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church and pasted these on the
church door in Wittenberg. Very soon, thousands of copies of Luther’s theses were
printed, spreading his ideas among people. Martin Luther was deeply moved to
realize the power of printing, which brought about the reformation movement and the
eventual birth of Protestantism.

(c) Print and popular literature encouraged many distinctive interpretations of

religious faiths and ideas. In the 16th century, Menocchio, a miller in Italy, began to
read books available readily in his locality. He gave a new interpretation of the Bible
and formulated a view of God and creation that enraged the Roman Catholic Church.
As a result, Menocchio was hauled up twice and ultimately executed when the
Roman Catholic Church began its inquisition.

(d) Mahatma Gandhi said these words in 1922 during the Non-cooperation
Movement (1920-22). According to him, without the liberty of speech, the liberty of
the press and freedom of association, no nation can even survive. If the country was
to get free from foreign domination, then these liberties were quite important.

Q.2 Write short notes on what you know about:

a. The Gutenberg Press

b. Erasmus’s idea of the printed book
c. The Vernacular Press Act

Solution: (a) The Gutenberg Press was the first printing press of Europe. It was
invented by Johannes Gutenberg of Strasbourg. He grew up in a large agricultural
estate and had knowledge and experience in operating olive and wine presses. He
invented the printing press around the year 1448, with the Bible being the first book
to be printed.

(b) Erasmus, the Latin scholar, was not happy with the printing of books because he
was afraid that this would lead to the circulation of books with rebellious ideas. He
felt that although a few books may give useful information, the majority of books may
just be irrelevant or illogical, through which scandalous or irreligious ideas will
spread, ultimately leading to incitement of rebellion.

(c) The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 by the British government in India.
This act provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and
editorials in the vernacular press. If a vernacular paper published any seditious
material, the paper was banned, and its printing machinery was seized and
destroyed.

Q.3 What did the spread of print culture in the nineteenth century India mean
to:

a. Women
b. The poor
c. Reformers

Solution: (a) Women: Women became as important as readers and writers.

Reading habits improved among them. With an increase in literacy, women took a
great interest in reading and writing. Many journals started emphasizing the
importance of women’s education. Many magazines and books were especially
published for women. The print culture gave women some amount of freedom to
read and develop their own views on various issues, especially those related to
women.

(b) The Poor: As the literacy rate improved in Europe as well as in India, printed
material, especially for entertainment, began to reach even the poor. In England,
‘penny magazines’ were carried by peddlers and sold for a penny so that even poor
people could buy them. Those who could not read could listen to the stories and
folklore. These stories and folklore could be read out to them by others.

(c) Reformers: Reformers used newspapers, journals and books to highlight the
social evils prevailing in the society. Raja Ram Mohan Roy published the ‘Sambad
Kaumudi’ to highlight the plight of widows. From the 1860s, many Bengali women
writers like Kailashbashini Debi wrote books highlighting the experiences of women,
about how women were imprisoned at home, kept in ignorance, forced to do hard
domestic labour and treated unjustly by the menfolk they served.

Discuss

Q.1 Why did some people in the eighteenth century Europe think that culture
would bring enlightenment and end despotism?

Solution:

a. With the spreading of new ideas after the coming of print culture, the ideas of scientists
and philosophers became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and medieval
scientific texts were compiled and published.
b. Books as a medium of progress by the eighteenth century: Books became a medium of
spreading progress and enlightenment, which could change society and the world. It was
also believed that the books could liberate society from despotism and tyranny.
c. Writings of scholars: The writings of thinkers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas
Paine and Voltaire were also widely printed and could gain popularity. Thus, their ideas
about science, rationality and reasoning found their way into popular literature.
d. Scientific discoveries: Maps and more accurate scientific diagrams were widely printed
when scientists like Issac Newton began to publish their discoveries. They could
influence a much wider circle of scientifically-minded readers.

Q.2 Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books?
Choose one example from Europe and one from India.

Solution: Some people, especially from the upper class, feared the effect of easily
available printed books due to the spread of literacy among the common people.
They feared that they might lose their position or authorities. Some people thought
that it might lead to the spread of rebellions and irreligious thoughts.

Example:
(i) In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb printed books through the
Index of Prohibited Books.
(ii) In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and
various local newspapers.

Q.3 What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in
nineteenth-century India?

Solution: Public libraries were set up in the early twentieth century, expanding
access to books. These libraries were located mostly in cities and towns and, at
times, in prosperous villages. For rich local patrons, setting up a library was a way of
acquiring prestige.
From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination were written about in
many printed tracts and essays.

Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste’ protest movements, wrote about
the injustices of the caste system in his Gulamgiri (1871). In the twentieth century,
B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Madras (better
known as Periyar) wrote powerfully on caste, and their writings were read by people
all over India. Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular
journals and tracts, criticising ancient scriptures and envisioning a new and just
future.

At the very least, it made pooer people aware of their rights and their place in society
and Print media showed the way in which they can improve their lot in life.

Q.4 Explain how the print culture assisted in the growth of nationalism in India.

Solution: Print culture assisted in the growth of nationalism in India in the following
ways:

a. By the end of the 19th century, a large number of newspapers in Indian vernacular
languages were published, making it easier to circumvent the language barriers among
the various ethnic groups of Indians.
b. These newspapers published articles written by national leaders. Their ideas were
communicated to the masses through these newspapers.
c. The people of different communities and places were thus connected by print media.
Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating a pan-Indian identity.
d. The nationalist newspapers exposed the colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist
activities. As these were written in spoken languages of various regions, the common
man could easily understand the content.
e. For example, when Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Balagangadhar Tilak
wrote articles sympathising with them. He was arrested, which provoked protest among
the masses.

Thus, it is clear that print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.

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