India and the Contemporary World (History) Class 10 NCERT Solution Ch 5 - Print Culture and the Modern World. These NCERT Solutions are prepared by subject experts at Textual Solution according to latest CBSE marking scheme.
Write in brief
1. Give reasons for the following :
a) Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
Answer :
China had the technology of woodblock printing. Marco Polo, an Italian explorer, stayed several years in China. In 1295, he returned to Italy and took with him the knowledge of woodblock printing to Italy. Italians began producing books with woodblocks, and soon the technology spread to other parts of Europe. Before 1295, manuscripts were written by scribes all over Europe.
b) Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in favour of it.
Answer :
Martin Luther was a great religious reformer of Germany. He was deeply grateful to print. He considered the print as the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one. It was through it that people could be persuaded to think differently and move to action.
In 1517, Martin Luther wrote Ninety Five Theses. In these Theses, he criticised many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. A printed copy of this was pasted on a church door in Wittenberg. It challenged the Church to debate his ideas. Luther's writings were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This led to a division within the Church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. In this way print brought about a new intellectual atmosphere and helped spread the new ideas. That is why 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.
Answer :
In the sixteenth century, a miller in Italy, Manocchio reinterpreted the massage of the Bible and formulated a view of God and Creation. It enraged the Roman Catholic Church. Manocchio was declared a culprit by the Roman Catholic court and finally executed. The Roman Catholic Church, troubled by such effects of popular reading and questionings of faith, imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558.
d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.
Answer :
Gandhiji launched the Non - Cooperation Moement in 1921. The British Government took all repressive measures to crush this movement. It put the ban on Indians' liberty of speech, liberty of the press and freedom of association. Gandhiji considered these three liberaties as the three pre - requisites for Swaraj. No nation could survive in the absence of these liberaties. The fight for Swaraj was, in fact, a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association. During the Non - Cooperation Movement in 1922, he said, 'Liberty of speech....liberty of the press....freedom of association. The Government of India is now seeking to crush the three powerful vehicles of expressing and cultivating public opinion. The fight for Swaraj, for Khilafat........means a fight for this threatened freedom before all else....'
2. Write short notes to show what you know about :
a) The Gutenberg Press
Answer :
The Gutenberg Press was the first printing press in the world. It was set up by Gutenberg in Germany in 1448. Before the invention of this press the books were written by hand and they were very costly. So the poor people could not afford to buy them. But the Gutenberg Press made books within the reach of all people.
The Gutenberg Press had a long handle attached to the screw. This handle was used to turn the screw and press down the platen over the printing block that was placed on top of sheet of damp paper. Gutenberg developed metal types for each of the 26 characters of the Roman alphabet and devised a way of moving them around so as to compose different words of the text. This came to be known as the moveable type printing machine, and it remained the basic print technology over the next 300 years. Books could now be produced much faster than was possible when each print block was prepared by carving a piece of wood by hand. The Gutenberg Press could print 250 sheets on one side per hour.
The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took three years to produce them. By the standards of the time this was fast production.
b) Erasmus's idea of the printed book
Answer :
Erasmus was a Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer. He criticised the excesses of Catholicism but kept his distance from Martin Luther. Unlike Martin Luther, he expressed a deep anxiety about the printed books. He was apprehensive of the effects that the easier access to the printed work and the wider circulation of books, could have on people's minds. He feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read, then rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread. If that happened the authority of valuable literature would be destroyed. He wrote in Adages (1508) : 'To what corner of the world do they not fly, these swarms of new books ? It may be that one here and there contributes something worth knowing, but the very multitude of them is hurtful to scholarship, because it creates a glut, and even in good things satiety is most harmful....[printers] fill the world with books, not just trifling things (such as I write, perhaps), but stupid, ignorant, slanderous, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious books, and the number of them is such that even the valuable publications lose their value.'
c) The Vernacular Press Act
Answer :
Some of the earliest newspapers in India were started by the British, mainly for the Brtisih, During the course of the 19th century and later, however, a powerful Indian press grew, both in English and Indian languages. With the growth of political consciousness and the beginning of the political activities by Indians in later part of the 19th century , there was a great increase in the number of Indian newspapers and journals. Some of the English newspapers which were owned by the British were supporters of the British rule, whereas most of the others, both in English and Indian languages, criticised the British rule. The native newspapers voiced the grievances of the Indian people, made them aware of the happenings in different parts of the country and became a powerful instrument for mobilising the people. So the British Government wanted to take measures to control them. Modelled on the Irish Press laws, it passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular newspapers. When a report was judged as opposing the government, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized.
3. What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to :
a) Women
Answer :
Print Culture and Women - The spread of print culture in nineteenth century India enormously increased women's reading in middle - class homes. Many journals began carrying articles by women and explained why women should be educated. They also carried a syallbus and attched suitable reading matter which could be used for home - based schooling. As a result, education among women was spread. Women began to write about their problems and experiences. Many women like Rashsundari Devi, Kailashbashini Debi, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai wrote about how women were imprisoned at home, kept in ignorance, forced to do hard domestic labour and treated unjustly by the very people they served. In fact, print culture proved helpful in the emancipation of women.
b) The poor
Answer :
Print Culture and the poor - A voice against the injustices being done to the poor and down - trodden was raised with the help of print culture. Issues of caste discrimination began to be written about in many printed tracts and essays. Writers like Jyotiba Phule, B.R. Ambedkar and E.V. Ramaswamy wrote powerfully on caste and their writings were read by people all over India. Millworkers wrote to show the links between caste and class exploitation. All over India, they set up libraries to educate themselves. All this helped to uplift the poor.
c) Reformers
Answer :
Print Culture and Reformers - In nineteenth - century India, several evil customs and practices had become a part of the social system. Some prominent evils among them were Sati system, miserable condition of widows, infanticide, low status of women, child marriage, idolatry, purdah system, caste system, untouchability and Brahmanical priesthood. The social and religious reformers worked against these evils with the help of newspapers and magazines, etc., and advocated the principal of human dignity and social equality. Thus, the print media played a vital role in reforming the society.
Discuss
1. Why did some people in eighteenth - century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightment and end despotism ?
Answer :
Before the invention of the printing press, access to print was limited. It was restricted to the elite and common people lived in the world of oral culture. Books were not only expensive but they could not be produced in sufficient numbers. But with the advent of print culture a new reading public emerged. It greatly contributed to the spread of knowledge. So some people in eighteenth century Europe thought that the print culture would bring enlightment and end despotism. Following arguments can be given in support of their thinking :
- The cost of books was reduced. The time and labour required to produce each book came down, and multiple copies began to be produced with greater ease. As a result, books flooded the market, reaching out to an ever - growing readership.
- Literacy rates went up in almost all countries of the world. Schools were set up even in villages, carrying literacy to peasants and artisans.
- The periodical press developed, combining information about current affairs with entertainment. Newspapers and journals carried information about war and trade, as well as news of developments in other places.
- The ideas of scientists and philosophers became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and medieval scientific texts were compiled and published, and maps and scientific diagrams were widelt printed. When Scientists like Issac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could influence a much wider circle of scientifically minded readers. The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were also widely printed and read. Their ideas about science, reason and rationality revolutionised the minds of people.
2. Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books ? Choose an example from Europe and one from India.
Answer :
Easy availability of printed books created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas. Some people welcomed this change, whereas some people feared the diverse effects of it.
It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read, then rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread. If that happened the authority of valuable literature would be destroyed. Several religious authorities, monarchs, writers and artists expressed this anxiety. As a result, it became the basis of widespread criticism of the new printed literature that had begun to circulate. Troubled by the effects of popular readings and questionings of faith the Roman Church imposed sevre control over publishers and booksellers and bagan to maintain an Index of Prohibited books from 1558 onwards.
In Europe, a Latin scholar Erasmus expressed a deep anxiety about easily available printed books. He opined that easy availability of printed books was harmful to scholarship. In the presence of stupid, ignorant, slanderous, raving, irreligious and seditious books even the valuable publications lost their value.
In India, Lord Lytton passed the Vernacular Press Act in 1878. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press.
3. What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth - century India ?
Answer :
The spread of print culture proved a blessing in disguise for poor people in nineteenth century India. It took up the cause of labourers and down - trodden. Issues of caste discrimination began to be written about in many printed tracts and essays. Jyotiba Phule wrote about the caste system. Similarly, some writers 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. Some mill workers wrote to show the links between caste and class exploitation. Mill workers all over the country set up libraries to educate themselves. Thus, the spread of print culture helped to restrict excessive drinking among the poor, to bring literacy, to give way to the shackles of caste system and to propagate the message of nationalism.
4. Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.
Answer :
Print culture played a vital role in the growth of nationalism in India. Indian press criticised the British policies and put forward the Indian view - point. Newspapers like The Hindu, Bombay Samachar, Indian Mirror, Amrit Bazar Patrika and the Kesari had a great influence on Indian People. They reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities. Attempts to throttle nationalist criticism provoked militant protest. This in turn led to a renewed cycle of persecution and protests. For example, when Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Balgangadhar Tilak wrote with great sympathy about them in his Kesari. This led to his imprisonment in 1908, provoking in turn widespread protests all over India.
Print Culture changed the outlook of the Indians and they began to study and admire the contemporary national movements of European nations. They were able to study the evil effects of foreign rule. National literature in the form of novels, essays, plays and patriotic poetry urged the people to unite and work for national welfare. The writings of Rousseau, J.S. Mill enabled the Indians to understand the price of liberty and democracy. All these things prepared the people of India to launch a pwerful national movement against the British.