I.

Give reason for the following:

a)Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.

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)Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.

In1517, 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) The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of prohibited books from the mid-
sixteenth century.

Print and popular literature encouraged many distinctive interpretations of religious faiths and
ideas. In the 16th century, Manocchio, a roller 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, Manocchio was hauled up twice and
ultimately executed when the Roman Catholic Church began its inquisition.

d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for the liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and
freedom of association.

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.

II.Write short notes to show what you know about:

(a) The Gutenberg Press
i) It was established by Johann Gutenberg. By 1448, he had perfected the system of printing
with olive and wine presses, using contemporary technological innovation
ii) The first book that he printed was the Bible, making 180 copies in 3 years
iii) Although these books were printed, a unique touch remained in the handmade decorations of
the front page, illuminated borders and purchaser-specified designs.
iv) TheGutenberg Press was the first-known printing press in the 1430s.

b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book

i) Erasmus was critical of the print medium. He believed that though some books do provide
worthwhile knowledge, others are simply a bane for scholarship
ii) He accused printers of publishing books that were not mere trifling but “stupid, slanderous,
scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious”.
iii) He also felt that large numbers of such books reduce the value of the quality writings.

c) The Vernacular Press Act

i) Modelled on the Irish Press Laws, it was passed in 1878.

ii) This law gave the government tyrannical rights to censor reports and editorials in the
vernacular press.

iii) If a seditious report was published and the newspaper did not heed to an initial warning, then
the press was seized and the printing machinery confiscated.

iv) This was a complete violation of the freedom of expression.

III. Answer the following;

1.What did the spread of print culture in the nineteenth century India mean to:
Women
The poor
Reformers

(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. Books could be hired for a nominal fee from some book owners. Even in
India, very cheap small books were brought to the market in 19th-century Madras towns, which
allowed poor people to have access to print culture.
(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.

2.Write about the different innovations in printing technology during the 19th century?
Ans. (i) By the mid-nineteenth century, Richard M. Hoe of New York had perfected the power-
driven cylindrical press. This was capable of printing 8,000 sheets per hour. This press was
particularly useful for printing newspapers.
(ii) In the late nineteenth century, the offset press was developed which could print up to six
colours at a time.
(iii) From the turn of the twentieth century, electrically operated presses accelerated printing
operations.

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

Ans: 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.

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

i) The people who feared the effect of easily available printed books were the ones who held
some power, whether in terms of religion, caste, class or politics.

ii) The fear was that their power and authority would get eroded if ideas questioning their power
and authority gained mass popularity.

iii) In Europe, for example, the Roman Catholic Church conveyed its sense of apprehension for
the print medium by stating that the promotion of new “printed” readings of faith would lead to
blasphemous questionings of faith and encourage heretical ideas.

iv) It considered itself to be the sole authority for interpreting religion. Hence, it set up the Index
of Prohibited Books in 1558 to repress any published material that it felt corroded this authority.
v) In India, apart from the colonial government which did its bit in regulating and suppressing
newspapers and books that questioned and criticised colonial authority, the religious leaders
and the upper castes also displayed their fear of the print medium.

vi) Theyunderstood that their religious and social superiority was in danger due to the easily
accessible “printed” ideas contradicting their systems of beliefs. They knew that the
popularisation of such ideas would incite people to rebellion.

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

i) The poor people benefited from the spread of print culture in India on account of the
availability of low-price books and public libraries.

ii) Enlightening essays were written against caste discrimination and its inherent injustices.
These were read by people across the country.

iii) On the encouragement and support of social reformers, over-worked factory workers set up
libraries for self-education, and some of them even published their own works, for example,
Kashibaba and his “Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal”.

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

i) Print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India by providing easy access to
nationalist ideals and ideas of freedom and equality to the masses.

ii) Social reformers could now print their opinions in newspapers, which sparked off public
debates.

iii) The power of reason made the common people question the authority of colonial power.
Interestingly, when the British tried to censor and control print media, nationalist newspapers
grew in number everywhere in the country.

iv) Theyreported on colonial misrule and encouraged people to participate in nationalist

activities. Attempts to censor anti-colonial publications aroused militant protests as well.