Chapter 5 Print Culture and the Modern World

1.. How were earlier books printed (before 15th century)? Explain.
Answer:
(i) The earlier kind of print technology was a system of hand printing.
(ii) From AD 594 onwards, books in China were printed by rubbing paper also invented there
against the inked surface of woodblocks. As both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be
printed, the traditional Chinese ‘accordion book’ was folded and stitched at the side.
(iii) Superbly skilled craftsmen could duplicate, with remarkable accuracy, the beauty of
calligraphy.

2. How did China remain a major producer of printed materials for a long time [CBSE 2013]
Or
“The imperial state in China, was the major producer of printed material.” Support this
statement with examples. [CBSE 2013. 2012. 2014]
Answer: Textbooks for the civil service examination were printed in vast numbers under the
sponsorship of the imperial state
(ii) Merchants used print in their everyday life as they collected trade information.
(iii)The new readership preferred fictional narratives, poetry, romantic plays
(iv) Rich women began to read and many women began publishing their poetry and plays.

3. ‘By the 17th century, as urban culture bloomed in China, the uses of print diversified.’
Explain by giving examples. [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
How did a new reading culture bloom in China Explain.
Answer: (i) With the blooming of urban culture, the uses of print diversified. Print was no
longer used just by scholar-officials.
(ii) Merchants also started using print in their everyday life, to collect trade information Reading
increasingly became a leisure activity.
(iii) The readers preferred fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary
masterpieces and romantic plays.
(iv) Rich women began to read a great variety of books and many women began to publish their
poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their works, and courtesans started
writing about their lives.

4. Describe the progress of print in Japan. [CBSE Sept. 2010. 2011. 2013]
Answer: (i) Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan
around AD 768-770. The oldest Japanese book, printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist Diamond
Sutra. Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money.
(ii) In medieval Japan, poets and prose writers were regularly published, and books were cheap
and abundant.
(iii) Printing of visual material led to interesting publishing practices. In the late eighteenth
century, in the flourishing urban circles at Edo (later to be known os Tokyo), illustrated
collections of paintings depicted an elegant urban culture, involving artists, courtesans, and tea
house gatherings.

5. How had the earliest printing technology developed in the world Explain. [CBSE 2012]
Answer: (i) The earnest kind of print technology was developed in China, Japan, and Korea.
(ii) Up to 6th century, the print was used only by scholar officials.
(iii) Then the Buddhist missionaries introduced hand printing technology,
(iv) Marco Polo brought woodblock printing from China to Italy.
(v) The invention of the printing press proved great miracle in spreading knowledge.
6. Who was Marco Polo What was his contribution to print culture [CBSE 2013]
Answer: Marco Polo was a great Italian explorer.
Contribution :
(i) in 1295. Marco polo returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China.
(ii) He brought the knowledge of woodblock printing with him.
(iii) Now in Italy, books started to be produced with woodblocks and soon the technology
spread to other parts of Europe.
7. How did Gutenberg personalize the printed hooks suiting to the tastes and requirement of
others [CBSE 2012]
Answer: (i)Borders were illuminated by hand with foliage and other patterns.
(ii) Illustrations were painted in the painting school of the buyer’s choice,
(iii) In the books printed for the rich blank spares were left for decoration.
(iv) Each buyer could choose the design, verses were highlighted by hand with colours,
(v) The overall outlook of the book was properly taken care of.
8. Explain the main features of the first printed Bible. [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
Describe any three main features of the first printed Bible. [CBSE 2014]
Answer: (i) About 18O copies were printed ar.d it took three years to produce them.
(ii) The text was printed in the new Gutenberg press with metal type, but the borders were
carefully designed, painted and illuminated by hand by artists.
(iii) Every page of each copy was different.
(iv) Different colours were used within the letters in various places.
9. ‘The shift from handprinting to mechanical printing led to the print revolution.’ Explain.
Answer: (i) In the hundred years between 1450 and 1550. the printing presses were set up in
most of the countries of Europe.
(ii) Printers from Germany travelled to other countries, seeking work and helping to start new
presses. As the number of printing presses grew, book production boomed
(iii) The second half of the fifteenth century saw around 20 million copies of printed books
flooding the markets in Europe. The number went up in the sixteenth century to about 200
million copies.
(iv) It influenced popular perceptions and opened up new ways of looking at things
10. How did printing press create a new- reading public Explain. [CBSF. Sept. 2013]
Or
“There was a virtual reading mania in European countries in the 18th century”. Explain the
factors responsible for this virtual reading mania.
Answer: (i) Low cost of production : With the printing press, a new reading public emerged.
Printing reduced the cost of books. The time mid labour required to produce each book came
down, and multiple copies could be produced with greater ease. Books flooded the market,
reaching out to an ever-growing readership.
(ii) Accessibility of books : Access to books created a new culture of reading. Earlier, reading
was restricted to the elites. Common people lived in a world of oral culture They heard sacred
texts read out ,ballads recited, and folk tales narrated Knowledge was transferred orally. People
collectively heard a story, or saw a performance. Before the age of print, books were not only
expensive but they could not be produced in sufficient numbers. Now books could reach out to
wider sections of people.
(iii) Increase in literacy rate : Through the. seventeenth and eighteenth centuries literacy rates
went up in most parts of Europe. Churches of different denominations set up schools in
Villages, carrying literacy to peasants and artisans. By the end of the eighteenth century, in
some parts of Europe literacy rates were as high as 60 to 80 per cent. As literacy and schools
spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading mania.
11. Explain the common conviction of people in the mid-18th century about the books and
print culture, [CBSE 2013]
Answer: (i) By the mid-eighteenth century, there was a common conviction that books were a
means of spreading progress and enlightenment.
(ii) Many believed that books could change the world, liberate society from despotism and
tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule.
(iii) Louise-sebastian Mercier, a novelist in Prance declared. “The printing press is most
powerful engine of progress and public- opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.”
12. State any three points of importance of penny chapbooks. [CBSE Sept. 2010.2011]
Or
Describe some of the new printed books which were sold by the pedlers in villages in the
eighteenth century Europe. [CBSE-2012, 2014]
Answer: (i) Pocket sue books that were sold by travelling pedlars called chapmen
(ii) These became popular from the time of the sixteenth-century print revolution.
(iii) It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts,
nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales, children’s literature and almanacs. Where there were
illustrations, they would be popular prints.
13. ‘Print popularised the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers.’ Explain. [CBSE 2014]
Or
How did ideas about science, reason and rationality find their way into popular literature in
the 18th century Europe [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Answer: (i) Collectively, the writings of thinkers provided a critical commentary on tradition,
superstition and despotism.
(ii)Scholars and thinkers argued for the rule of reason rather than custom, and demanded that
everything be judged through the application of reason and rationality,
(iii) They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, thus
eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition.
(iv) The Writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read Widely: and those who read these books
saw the world through new eyes, eyes that were questioning, critical and rational

14. How did the ideas of scientists and philosophers become more accessible to common
people after the beginning of print revolution in Europe [CBSE Sept. 2010. 2012]
Answer: (i) The ideas of scientists and philosophers now became more accessible to the
common people.
(ii) Ancient and medieval scientific texts were compiled and published, and maps and scientific
diagrams were widely printed.
(iii) When scientists like Isaac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could influence n
much wider circle of scientifically minded readers
(iv) The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine. Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were
also widely printed and read. Thus their ideas about science, reasoning and nationality found
their way into popular literature.
15. Who was Louise-Sebastien Mercier What were his Ideas about print
Or
‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world ! Tremble before the virtual writer ! Explain this
statement. [CBSE 2014]
Answer: Louise-Sebastien Mercier was a French dramatist and a novelist in the eighteenth
century. He declared “The printing press a the most powerful engine of progress and public
opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.’ In most of his novels, he had shown his
love for reading. In most of his novels, the heroes are transformed by the acts of reading
Convinced of the power of print in bringing enlightenment, and destroying the basis of
despotism, Mercier proclaimed : “Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world ! Tremble before the
virtual writer !”
16 Explain any three features of handwritten manuscripts before the age of print in
India. [CBSE Sept. 2010. 2011. 2012. 2013]
Answer: (i) Handwritten were copied on palm leaves or on handmade papers.
(ii) Pages were beautifully illustrated.
(iii)They were pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure preservation,
(iv) Manuscripts were available in vernacular languages.
(v) Manuscripts Highly expensive and fragile,
(vi) They could no: he read easily as script was written in different styles.
17 “The Bengal Gazette was a commercial paper open to all. but influenced by none.” Justify
the claim of James Augustus Hickey. [CBSE 2012]
Answer: From 1780. James Augustus Hickey began to edit the Bengal Gazette, a weekly
magazine that described Itself as a commercial paper open to all. but influenced by none’ So it
was private English enterprise, proud of its independence from colonial influence, chat began
English printing in India. Hickey published a lot of advertisements, including those that related
to the import and sale of slaves. But he also published a lot of gossip about the Company’s
senior officials in India. Enraged by this, Governor-General Warren Hastings persecuted Hickey,
and encouraged the publication of officially sanctioned newspapers that could counter the flow
of information that damaged the image of the colonial government.

18. Why did the woodblock method become popular in Europe [CBSE 2015]
Or
What were the drawbacks of the handwritten manuscripts
Or
Mention the shortcomings of manuscripts. [CBSE Sept. 2011, 2012, 2014]
Answer: (i) The production of handwritten manuscripts could not meet the ever-increasing
demand for books.
(ii) Copying was an expensive, laborious and time-consuming business.
(iii) The manuscripts were fragile, awkward to handle and could not be carried around or read
easily. By the early fifteenth century, woodblocks started being widely used in Europe to print
textiles, playing cards and religious pictures with simple, brief texts.
19. From the early 19th century, there were intense debates around the religious issues.
Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread the new ideas, but they shaped the nature of
debate also. Explain by giving examples.
Answer: (i) Different groups confronted the changes happening within colonial society in
different ways, and offered a variety of new interpretations of the beliefs of different religions.
A wider public could now participate in these public discussions and express their views. New
ideas emerged through these clashes of opinions.
(ii) This was a time of intense controversies between social and religious reformers and the
Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood
and idolatry. In Bengal, as the debate developed, tracts and newspapers proliferated,
circulating a variety of arguments. To reach a wider audience, the ideas were printed in the
everyday, spoken language of ordinary people.
(iii) Raja Ram Mohan Roy published the Sambad Kaumudi from 1821 and the Hindu orthodoxy
commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to oppose his opinions. From 1822, two Persian
newspapers were published, Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar.
20. Explain the steps which were taken by the British government or the colonial government
to control the freedom of press.
Answer: (i) Earlier measures : Before 1798, the colonial state under the East India Company was
not too concerned with censorship. Strangely, its early measures to control printed matter were
directed against Englishmen in India who were critical of Company misrule and hated the
actions of particular Company officers. The Company was worried that such criticisms might be
used by its critics in England to attack its trade monopoly in India.
(ii) Regulations of Calcutta Supreme Court: By the 1820s, the Calcutta Supreme Court passed
certain regulations to control press freedom and the Company began encouraging publication
of newspapers that would celebrate British rule. In 1835, faced with urgent petitions by editors
of English and vernacular newspapers, Governor- General Bentinck agreed to revise press laws.
Thomas Macaulay, a liberal colonial official, formulated new rules that restored the earlier
freedoms.
(iii) Vernacular Press Act : After the revolt of 1857, the attitude to freedom of the press
changed. Enraged Englishmen demanded a clamp down on the ‘native’ press. In 1878, the
Vernacular Press Act was passed, modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government
with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. From now on the
government kept regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces.
When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was
ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the printing machinery confiscated.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Trace the history of print in China.
Or
How did China remain a major producer of printed materials for a long time
Or
‘The imperial state in China, was the major producer of printed material.’ Support this
statement. [CBSE 2014]
Answer: (i) Hand Printing : The earliest kind of print technology was developed in China, Japan
and Korea. This was a system of hand printing. From AD 594 onwards, books in China were
printed by rubbing paper – also invented there- against the inked surface of woodblocks. As
both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed, the traditional Chinese ‘accordion
book’ was folded and stitched at the side. Superbly skilled craftsmen could duplicate, with
remarkable accuracy, the beauty of calligraphy.
(ii) Major producer : The imperial state in China was, for a very long time, the major producer of
printed material. China possessed a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel
through civil service examinations. Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast
numbers under the sponsorship of the imperial state. From the sixteenth century, the number
of examination candidates went up and that increased the volume of print.
(iii) Printing in the 17th century : By the seventeenth century, as urban culture bloomed in
China, the uses of print diversified. Print was no longer used just by scholar officials. Merchants
used print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information. Reading increasingly
became a leisure activity. The new readership preferred fictional narratives, poetry,
autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces, and romantic plays. Rich women began
to read, and many women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials
published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.
(iv) Printing in the 19th century : This new reading culture was accompanied by a new
technology. Western printing techniques and mechanical presses were imported in the fate
nineteenth century as Western powers established their outposts in China. Shanghai became
the hub of the new print culture, catering to the Western-style schools. From hand printing
there was now a gradual shift to mechanical printing.
2. Mention some of the important characteristics of print culture of Japan.
Answer: (i) Introduced by the Buddhist missionaries : The Buddhist missionaries from China
introduced the hand printing technology into Japan around AD 768-770.
(ii) Old book : The oldest Japanese book, printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra,
containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
(iii) Material: Playing cards, paper money and textile products were used for printing pictures.
(iv) Cheap books : In the medieval Japan, the works of poets and prose writers were regularly
published, and books were cheap and abundant.
(v) Print in Edo (Tokyo) : In the late 18th century, in the flourishing urban circles at Edo (later to
be known as Tokyo), illustrated collections of paintings depicting an elegant urban culture,
involving artists, courtesans and teahouse gatherings.
3. Trace the history of print in Europe.
Or
How did print culture develop in Europe Explain. [CBSE 2010, 2012 (D)]
Or
How did print come to Europe from China Explain. [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]
Answer: (i) Paper from China : Paper reached Europe from China through the Silk route in the
11th century. With this, the production of manuscripts written by scribes became a regular
feature.
(ii) Role of travelers and explorers : Marco Polo, a great explorer reached Italy after several
years of exploration in China in the year 1295. Marco Polo brought back with him the
technology of woodblock printing. Now Italians started publishing books with woodblocks. The
technology became popular in other parts of Europe, as well.
(iii) Woodblock printing : By the early fifteenth century, woodblocks started being widely used
in Europe to print textiles, playing cards and religious pictures with simple, brief texts.
(iv) Johann Gutenberg and the printing press : A major revolution in the print technology was
brought by Johann Gutenberg. He developed the first known printing press in the 1430’s. The
first book he printed was the Bible.
(v) Spread of printing presses : In the next hundred years i.e. between 1450 and 1550, printing
presses were set up in most countries of Europe.
4. Who was Johann Gutenberg Explain his role in the history of printing. [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
Who invented the printing press How did he develop the print technology [CBSE 2009 (F)]
Answer: Johann Gutenberg was a German goldsmith and inventor, credited with the inventing
of the movable type printing in Europe. Gutenberg was the son of a merchant, and his
childhood was spent on a large agricultural estate. From his childhood, he had seen wine and
olive presses. By and by, he learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master goldsmith, and
also acquired the expertise to create lead moulds used for making trinkets. (Trinket-A small
item of jewellery that is cheap or of low quality). Using this knowledge, Gutenberg adapted the
existing technology to design his innovation. The olive press became the base model for the
printing press and moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet.
By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system. In 1455, Gutenberg published his 42-lines Bible,
commonly known as the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed most on paper and
some on vellum.
5. In which way did the early printed books closely resemble the manuscripts? Explain.
[CBSE 2013]
Or
Give three ways in which early printed books closely resembled manuscripts. [CBSE 2011]
Answer: (i) Early printed books were technically printed but those were not very different from
manuscripts.
(ii) There were many kinds of same features available in similar books which made printed
books closely resembling with manuscripts.
(iii) Both printed books and manuscripts looked similar because metal letters imitated the
ornamental handwritten style.
(iv) Like handwritten manuscripts, borders of printed books were also illuminated by hand with
foliage and other patterns and illustrations were painted.
(v) In the books printed for rich people, space for decoration was kept blank on the printed
pages.
(vi) Each buyer could choose the design and decide on the painting school that would do the
illustrations.
6. What were the features of the new books which were produced in Europe after the
invention of the Gutenberg’s press [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Answer: (i) Cheap : The books produced were very cheap as compared to earlier books.
(ii) Resemblance with manuscript : Printed books resembled greatly the written manuscripts in
appearance and layout. The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles.
(iii) Handwork : Borders of the books were illuminated by hand, with foliage and other patterns.
(iv) Role of painting : Illustrations were painted. The books printed for the elites had space for
decoration.
(v) Different painting schools : Different painting schools prevailed and a person could choose
the design and decide on the painting school that would do the illustrations exclusively for him.
7. Mention some of the innovations which have improved the printing technology after the
17th century.[CBSE Sept. 2010]
Or
Highlight any three innovations which have improved the printing technology from 19th
century onwards.[CBSE 2014]
Answer: Invention which improved the printing technology after 17th century are listed below :
(i) Metal Press : In the 19th century, there were a series of innovations in the printing
technology. Now the press was made out of metal.
(ii) Rotary Printing Press : Richard March Hoe, an American inventor designed and improved the
printing press. He invented the Rotary Printing Press, a design much faster than the old flat-bed
printing press. The new press could print* about 8,000 sheets per hour. The new press was very
useful for printing newspapers.
(iii) Offset Press : In the late nineteenth century, the offset press was developed which could
print up to six colours at the same time.
(iv) Electrically Operated Presses : From the turn of the twentieth century, electrically operated
presses accelerated printing operations. A series of many other developments followed.
Methods of feeding paper improved, the quality of plates became better, automatic paper reels
and photoelectric control of the colour register were introduced.
The accumulation of several individual mechanical improvements transformed the appearance
of the printed texts.
8. “Oral culture and print culture were complimentary to each other”. Justify the statement
with any three suitable arguments. [CBSE 2013]
Answer: (i) Earlier, reading was restricted to the elites. Common people lived in a world of oral
culture.
(ii) With the printing press, books could reach out to wider sections of society. If earlier, there
was a hearing public, now a reading public came into being.
(iii) Publishers had to keep in mind the wider reach of the printed books. Even those who did
not read, could enjoy listening to the books being read out.
(iv) So, printers began publishing popular ballads and folk tales and such books would be
profusely illustrated with pictures. These were then sung and recited at gatherings in villages
and in taverns in towns.
9. How did the oral culture enter print and how was the printed material transmitted orally
Explain with suitable examples. [CBSE 2008 (F), Sept. 2012]
Or
How did the printers manage to attract the people, largely illiterate, towards, printed
books [CBSE Sept. 2012]
Answer: Oral culture entered print in the following ways:
(i) Printers published popular ballads and folk tales.
(ii) Books were profusely illustrated with pictures.
Printed material was transmitted orally in the following ways :
(i) These were sung at gatherings in villages, taverns and in towns.
(ii) They were recited in public gatherings. For example, Indian novelist Bankim Chandra
Chattopadhyay used to read out his novels to a gathering.
10. Explain the role of print in the religious reforms in India. [CBSE 2011]
Answer: (i) Debate over social issues: Print initiated an intense controversies between social
and religious reformers and the Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation,
monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry. In Bengal, as the debate developed, tracts
and newspapers proliferated, circulating a variety of arguments. To reach a wider audience, the
ideas were printed in the everyday, spoken language of ordinary people.
(ii) Ideas of Reformers: Print carried the ideas of social reformers to the common people. For
example Sambad Kaumudl carried the ideas and philosophy of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
(iii) Reforms in Muslims: In north India, the ulama were deeply anxious about the collapse of
Muslim dynasties. They feared that colonial rulers would encourage conversion, change the
Muslim personal laws. To counter this, they used cheap lithographic presses, published Persian
and Urdu translations of holy scriptures, and printed religious newspapers and tracts. The
Deoband Seminary, founded in 1867, published thousands upon thousands of fatwas telling
Muslim readers how to conduct themselves in their everyday lives, and explaining the meanings
of Islamic doctrines.
(iv) Reforms in Hindus: Among Hindus, too, print encouraged the reading of religious texts,
especially in the vernacular languages. The first printed edition of the Ramcharitmanas of
Tulsidas, a sixteenth- century text, came out from Calcutta in 1810.
11. ‘Print not only stimulate the publication of conflicting opinions amongst communities, but
it also connected communities and people in different parts of India.’ Explain.
[CBSE 2008 (O), 2009 (D), Sept. 2011]
Or
How did print help connect communities and people in different parts of India Explain with
examples.[CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]
Answer: (i) Debate on religious, social and economic issues : From the early nineteenth century,
there were serious debates on religious, social and economic issues. Different people had
different opinions regarding the colonial society. Reformers offered a variety of new
interpretations of the beliefs of different religions. There were many who criticised the existing
practices and campaigned for reforms while others countered.
(ii) Impact on debates : These debates were carried out openly in public and in print. Printed
tracts and newspapers not only spread the new ideas, but they also shaped the nature of the
debates.
(iii) New ideas and clashes : A wider range of people could now participate in these public
discussions and express their views. New ideas emerged through these clashes of opinions.
(iv) Pan-Indian identities : Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating pan-
Indian identities. Newspapers reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist
activities.
(v) Print and depressed classes : From the 19th century, issue of caste discrimination began to
be written. Jyotiba Phule, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, E. V. Ramaswamy wrote extensively on the
depressed classes and provided the depressed classes a common platform.
12. “By the end of the 19th century a new visual culture was taking shape.” Write any three
features of this new visual culture. [CBSE Comp. (O) 2008, Sept. 2010, 2011]
Answer: (i) Printing Press and visual culture : The Printing press had a deep impact on the visual
images also. Now, visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple copies.
(ii) Images for mass circulation : Painters like Raja Ravi Verrna produced images for mass
circulation. Wood engravers, who , made woodblocks were employed by the print shops. Cheap
prints and calendars could be bought even by the poor.
(iii) Caricatures and cartoons : By the 1870s, caricatures and cartoons were being published in
journals and newspapers. Some of these made fun of the educated Indian’s fascination to copy
Western tastes and clothes. Some openly criticised the imperial rule.
(iv) Reduction of cost and visual culture :
Mass production of visual images reduced the cost of production. So cheap prints and calendars
were available in the market even for the poor to decorate the walls of their homes.
(v) Indian form : The new visual culture acquired distinctively Indian forms and style. Artists like
Raja Ravi Verma depicted the scenes from Hindu epics.
13. ‘Not everyone welcomed the printed books, and those who did also had fears about it.’
Explain by giving examples.
Answer: (i) Fear of negative thoughts : Many were of the opinion that printed words and the
wider circulation of books, would have a negative impact on people’s minds.
(ii) Rebellious and irreligious thoughts : They feared that if there was no control over what was
printed and read, then rebellious and irreligious thoughts might gain importance.
(iii) Destruction of valuable literature :
There was also a fear in the minds of scholars that the authority of ‘valuable’ literature would
be destroyed.
(iv) Criticism of Roman Catholic Church : Martin Luther was a German monk, priest, professor
and a Church reformer. In 1517, he wrote Ninety Five Theses and openly criticized many of the
practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to a division within the Church, and
led to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation,
(v) Compilation of ancient and medieval scientific text : The ideas of scientists and philosophers
now became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and Medieval scientific texts
were compiled and published, and maps and scientific diagrams were widely printed. When
scientists like Issac Newton began to public 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. Thus their ideas about science,
reason and rationality found their way into popular literature.
14. Why did people in the eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring
enlightenment and end despotism? [CBSE 2011]
Answer: (i) Increase in literacy rate: Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries literacy
rates went up in most parts of Europe. By the end of the eighteenth century, in some parts of
Europe literacy rates were as high as 60 to 80 per cent. As literacy and schools spread in
European countries, there was a virtual reading mania.
(ii) Role of periodicals: The periodical press developed from the early eighteenth century,
Newspapers and journals carried information about wars and trade, as well as news of
developments in other places.
(iii) Ideas of scientists and philosophers: Similarly, the ideas of scientists and philosophers now
became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and medieval scientific texts were
compiled and published, and maps and scientific diagrams were widely printed. The writings of
thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were also widely printed
and read. Thus their ideas about science, reason and rationality found their way into popular
literature
(iv) Print a powerful engine of progress:
Louise-Sebastien Mercier, a novelist in eighteenth-century France, declared: ‘The printing press
is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep
despotism away.’ In many of Mercier’s novels, the heroes are transformed by acts of reading.
15. Explain the factors which were responsible for creating a virtual reading mania in
Europe. [CBSE 2014]
Or
How did a new reading public emerged with the printing press Explain. [CBSE 2010 (D)]
Or
Explain any three reasons for an increase in reading mania in Europe in the 18th Century.
[CBSE Sept. 2011]
Answer: (i) Johann Gutenberg’s printing press : The
revolution in printing was brought by Johann Gutenberg’s printing press. With the invention of
printing press, the cost of producing a book came down. So now even the common people
could afford the books.
(ii) Increase in literacy rate : The seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries saw the rapid rise of
literacy rate in most parts of Europe. Churches of different denominations set up schools in
villages. By the end of the eighteenth century, in some parts of Europe, the literacy rate was as
high as 60 to 80 per cent.
(iii) New forms of literature : New forms of popular literature were printed, which targeted new
audiences. There were almanacs or ritual calendars, along with ballads and folk tales.
(iv) Periodicals : The next phase was the development of periodicals. The periodicals combined
information about current affairs with entertainment. Newspapers and journals carried
information about wars and trade, as well as news of developments in other places.
16. ‘Many historians have argued that print culture created the conditions within which the
French Revolution occurred.’ Explain. [CBSE 2009 (O)]
Or
“Print culture created the conditions within which French revolution occurred.” Give any
three suitable arguments to support the statement. [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]
Answer: (i) Ideas of the enlightened : The print popularised the ideas of the enlightened
thinkers, who attacked the authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, e.g.,
Voltaire and Rousseau.
(ii) New culture : The print created a new culture of dialogue and debate and the public became
aware of reasoning. They recognised the need to question the existing ideas and beliefs.
(iii) Criticism of the noble class : The literature of 1780s mocked the royalty and criticised their
morality and the existing social order. This literature led to the growth of hostile sentiments
against the monarchy.
(iv) New thinking : Print did not directly shape the minds of the people, but it did open up the
possibility of thinking differently.
(v) Role of means of mass communication : Means of mass communication like newspaper,
journals, chapbooks carried information about wars, trade as well as news of development in
other places. All this had a impact on the minds of the people.
17. What did the spread of print culture in the 19th century Europe mean to :
(a) Children (b) Women (c) Workers.
Or
Explain, how had the print culture changed the way of life of women in late nineteenth
century in India.[CBSE 2010 (D)]
Answer: (a) Children :
(i) As primary education became compulsory from the late nineteenth century, children became
an important category of readers.
(ii) Production of school textbooks became critical for the publishing industry.
(iii) A children’s press, devoted to literature for children alone, was set up in France in 1857.
This press published new works as well as old fairy tales, and folk tales.
(iv) The Grimm Brothers in Germany spent years compiling traditional folk tales gathered from
peasants.
(v) Anything that was considered unsuitable for children or would appear vulgar to the elites,
was not included in the published version. Rural folk tales thus acquired a new form. In this
way, print recorded old tales, but also changed them.
(b) Women :
(i) Women as readers : Lives and feelings of women began to be written in intense ways. So
women became important as readers. Penny magazines were especially meant for women, as
were manuals teaching proper behaviour and housekeeping.
(ii) Women as writers : Many women novelists like Jane Austin, Bronte Sisters, George Eliot
wrote about women. Novels and other journals began exploring the world of women – their
emotions, identities, their experiences and problems. The writings of woman became important
in defining a new type of woman – a person with will, strength of personality, determination
and the power to think.
(iii) Novels and books on women : As the readership of women was increasing publishers
started producing novels and journals for women. Many journals began carrying writings by
women, and explained why women should be educated.
(c) Workers :
(i) Lending Libraries : Lending libraries had been in existence from the seventeenth century
onwards. In the nineteenth century, lending libraries in England became instruments for
educating the white-collar workers, artisans and lower-middle-class people.
(ii) Autobiographies : Sometimes, self- educated working class people wrote for themselves.
After the working day was gradually shortened from the mid nineteenth century, workers had
some time for self-improvement and self expression. They wrote political tracts and
autobiographies in large numbers.
(iii) Novels on the lives of the workers : In the 19th century, Europe entered the industrial age.
Factories came up, profits increased and the economy grew. But at the same time, workers
faced problems of unemployment, low wages, poor working conditions. Many novelists such as
Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy wrote about the adverse impact of industrialisation on the
lives of workers.
18. Trace the growth of print technology in India.
Answer: (i) Handwritten manuscripts : India had a very rich and old tradition of handwritten
manuscripts in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, as well as in various vernacular languages. Manuscripts
were copied on palm leaves or on handmade paper.
(ii) Print came to India : The printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in the
mid 16th century.
(iii) James Hicky and print : From 1780, James Augustus Hicky began to edit the Bengal Gazette,
a weekly magazine.
(iv) Print in the 18th century : By the close of the 18th century, a number of newspapers and
journals appeared in print. The first Indian weekly i.e. Bengal Gazette also came into picture in
the late 18th century
(v) Print in the 19th century : By the end of the 19th century, a visual culture started taking
place. By 1870’s caricatures and cartoons were being published in journals and newspapers.
19. How did the women writers use the print to express their opinions regarding the status of
women in India Explain.
Or
“Printing technology gave women a chance to share their feelings with the world outside.”
Support the statement with any five suitable examples. [CBSE 2013]
Answer: (i) Rashsundari Debi, a young married girl in a very orthodox household, learnt to read
in the secrecy of her kitchen. Later, she wrote her autobiography Amar Jiban which was
published in 1876. It was the first full- length autobiography published in the Bengali language. .
(ii) 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
generally, served.
(iii) In the 1880s, in present-day Maharashtra, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai wrote with
passionate anger about the miserable lives of the upper-caste Hindu women, especially the
widows. The poor status of women was also expressed by the Tamil writers.
(iv) In the early 20th century, the journals written by women became very popular in which
women’s education, widowhood, widow remarriage, etc., were discussed. Some of them
offered fashion lessons for women too.
20. ‘Printing press played a major role in shaping the Indian society of the 19th century.’
Explain by giving examples. [CBSE Sept. 2012, 2013]
Or
Explain the role of press in shaping the Indian society in the 19th century.
Or
How did print introduce debate and discussion Write three points. [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011,
2012]
Or
“Print led to intense controversies between social and religious reformers and Hindu
orthodoxy.” Support this statement with examples. [CBSE 2013]
Answer: (i) Variety of opinions : From the early nineteenth century, there were serious debates
on religious, social and economic issues. Different people had different opinions regarding the
colonial society. People and social reformers offered a variety of new interpretations of the
beliefs of different religions.
(ii) Shaping the opinion : Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread the new ideas, but they
also shaped the nature of the debate. A wider section of public could now participate in these
public discussions, and express their views. New ideas emerged through these clashes of
opinions.
(iii) Social reforms This was a time period of intense controversies between social and religious
reformers, and the Hindu orthodoxy over the social evils like widow immolation, child marriage,
sati system, pardah system, etc. In Bengal, as the discussions and debates developed, tracts and
newspapers proliferated circulating a variety of arguments.
For example : Raja Ram Mohan Roy published the Sambad Kaumudi from 1821, and the Hindu
orthodoxy commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to oppose Roy’s opinions.
(iv) Pan Indian : Newspapers, magazines, visual images helped in creating pan Indian identity.
(v) National newspapers : Despite repressive measures, national newspapers grew in numbers
in all parts of India. They reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities.
These national newspapers provided a base to the freedom struggle.
21. How were ideas and information written before the age of print in India How did the
printing technique begin in India Explain. [CBSE 2008, Sept. 2010]
Or
Explain the role of missionaries in the growth of press in India. [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Answer: (i) India had a very rich and old tradition of handwritten manuscripts – in Sanskrit,
Arabic, Persian, as well as in various vernacular languages. Manuscripts were copied on palm
leaves or on handmade paper. Pages were sometimes beautifully illustrated. They would be
either pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure preservation.
(ii) Manuscripts continued to be produced till well after the introduction of print, down to the
late nineteenth century.
Beginning (coming) of print technology in India.
(i) The printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in the mid-sixteenth
century. Jesuit priests learnt Konkani and printed several tracts. By 1674, about 50 books had
been printed in the Konkani and in Kanara languages.
(ii)The Catholic priests printed the first Tamil book in 1579 at Cochin, and in 1713, the first
Malayalam book was printed by them.
(iii) By 1710, Dutch Protestant missionaries had printed 32 Tamil texts, many of them were
translations of older works.
22. How was die print used to spread the religious texts by various communities Explain by
giving examples. [CBSE 2010 (F)]
Or
What was the main fear of the ‘Ulamas’ State any two steps taken by the ‘Ulamas’ to defend
their religion [CBSE 2013]
Or
How did religious communities in India make use of printing technology to spread their ideas
Explain.[CBSE-2012]
Answer: (A) Print and the Muslims :
(i) Ulemas and the print : In North India, the Ulemas, i.e., the religious heads of Muslims were
deeply worried about the collapse of the Muslim dynasties. They feared that the colonial rulers
would encourage conversion, and would change the Muslim personal laws. To counter this,
they used cheap lithographic presses which published Persian and Urdu translations of the holy
scriptures, and printed religious newspapers and tracts.
(ii) Deoband Schools : The Deoband Seminary which was founded in 1867, published many
fatwas making Muslim readers aware of the code of conduct to be followed in their everyday
lives, and explained the meanings of Islamic doctrines.
(iii) Various Muslim Sects : All through the nineteenth century, a number of Muslim sects and
seminaries appeared, each with a different interpretation of faith. Each was keen on enlarging
its followers and countering the influence of its opponents. The Urdu print helped them
conduct these battles in public.
(B) Print and the Hindus :
Among Hindus, too, print encouraged the readings of religious texts, especially in the
vernacular languages.
(i) The first printed edition of the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas came out from Calcutta (Kolkata)
in 1810.
(ii) In the mid-nineteenth century, cheap lithographic editions flooded the North Indian
markets.
(iii) From the 1880s, the Naval Kishore Press at Lucknow and the Shri Venkateshwar Press in
Bombay published many religious texts in vernacular languages,
(iv) The printed text was cheap, land portable. These could be easily carried by the people at
any place and time. They could also be read out to large groups of illiterate men and women.
(v) Religious texts and books started reaching a very wide circle of people, encouraging debates
and controversies within and among different religions.
23. Explain the impact of print culture on Indian women. [CBSE 2009 (O), Sept. 2012]
Or
Explain any three impact of printed books on women in India in the nineteenth century.
[CBSE Sept. 2010]
Answer: (i) Women education : Writers started writing about the lives and feelings of women,
and this increased the number of women readers. Women got interested in education, and
many women schools and colleges were set up. Many journals started emphasising the
importance of women education.
(ii) Women writers : In East Bengal, in the early nineteenth century, Rashsundari Debi, a young
married girl wrote her autobiography, Amar Jiban (means ‘my life’) which was published in
1876.
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. In the
1880s, in the present-day Maharashtra, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai wrote with
passionate anger about the miserable lives of the upper-caste Hindu women, especially the
widows. The poor status of women was also expressed by the Tamil writers.
(iii) Hindu writing and women : While Urdu, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi print culture had
developed earlier, Hindu printing began seriously only from the 1870s. Soon, a large section of
it was devoted to the education of women.
(iv) New journals : In the early 20th century, the journals written by women, became very
popular in which women’s education, widowhood, widow remarriage, etc., were discussed.
Some of them offered fashion lessons for women.
(v) Teachings for women : Ram Chaddha published Istri Dharam Vi char to teach women how to
be obedient wives. The Khalsa Tract Society published cheap booklets with a similar message.
Many of these were in the form of dialogues about the qualities of a good woman.
24. Describe the issue of caste as taken by the novelists in India. [CBSE 2013]
Answer: (i) Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of low caste protest movements, wrote about
the injustices of the caste system in his Gulamgiri.
(ii) In the twentieth century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naiker in
Madras wrote on caste and their writings were read by people all over India.
(iii) Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular journals and tracts
criticising ancient scriptures and envisioning a new and just future.
(iv) Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal in 1938 to show the links
between caste and class exploitation.
(v) The poems of Sudarshan Chakr were brought together and published in a collection called
Sacchi Kavitayan.