History

Print Culture and the Modern World

Question:

What did the spread of print culture in 19th century mean to the Reformers ?

Answer:

(i) In 1517, the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote Ninety Five Theses criticising many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. A printed copy of this was posted 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 lead to a division within the Church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
(ii) In India the print started intense controversies between social and religious reformers and the Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation, monotheism, Brah- manical priesthood and idolatry.
(iii) Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste' protest movements, wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his Gulamgiri (1871).
(iv) In the twentieth century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Madras, wrote powerfully on caste and their writings were read by people all over India.

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Print Culture and the Modern World

Q 1.

Name the first Weekly that appeared in India. Who bought it out ? (CBSE 2014)

Q 2.

What were Biliotheque Blue ?

Q 3.

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]

Q 4.

Which material was used to print pictures in Japan?

Q 5.

Name an Act which was passed by the British government to keep a regular track of the vernacular newspapers.

Q 6.

What were Chap books ? (CBSE 2014)

Q 7.

Write a brief note on Martin Luther.

Q 8.

Who printed the first Tamil book ?

Q 9.

Write about the different innovations in the printing technology during the 19th century ? [CBSE Sept. 2010]

Q 10.

What is manuscript ?

Q 11.

Name any four Indian women writers of the 19th century.

Q 12.

Study the given paragraph and answer the following questions that follow :
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 ….'
(i) Who said these words ?

(ii) Name the freedoms he is talking about.

Q 13.

Describe the issue of caste as taken by the novelists in India. [CBSE 2013]

Q 14.

Name two scholars whose writings inspired French people.

Q 15.

Who invented power driven cylindrical press ? What were its advantages ?

Q 16.

’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….’
Who said these words ?

Q 17.

Why did some people in the eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism ? [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]
Or
Assess the impact of print revolution on the European society. [CBSE 2013]

Q 18.

What was an accordion book"? Describe any two features of hand printing in China ?

Q 19.

When was print technology introduced in Japan?

Q 20.

What is calligraphy?

Q 21.

How was sale of books promoted in small towns?

Q 22.

Who was the major producer of printed material in China ? For what purpose this material was used ?

Q 23.

Who was the author of Amar Jiban ?

Q 24.

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

Q 25.

What were the features of the new books which were produced in Europe after the invention of the Gutenberg's press ?  [CBSE Sept. 2010]

Q 26.

What is calligraphy ?

Q 27.

Who was Marco Polo ?

Q 28.

Who was Martin Luther ?

Q 29.

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. Mention any two steps taken by them to counter this.

Q 30.

Write short notes to show what you know about:
a) The Gutenberg Press
b) Erasmus's idea of the printed book
c) The Vernacular Press Act
c) The Vernacular Press Act

Q 31.

Why did the demand for hand written books diminish?

Q 32.

How did the print revolution influence the reading habit of the people of Europe?

Q 33.

Name the first book published by Johann Guttenbcrg.

Q 34.

What was the role of cartoons and caricatures in the French Revolution ?

Q 35.

Who started publishing Sambad Kaumudi from 1821?

Q 36.

What was the basic objective of Ninety Five Theses ?

Q 37.

What was Vernacular Press Act ? (CBSE 2014)

Q 38.

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]

Q 39.

Explain any three features of handwritten manuscripts before the age of print in India. [CBSE Sept. 2010. 2011. 2012. 2013]

Q 40.

How did the print revolution influence the reading habit of the people of Europe?

Q 41.

How did the print revolution influence the reading habit of the people of Europe?

Q 42.

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]

Q 43.

Who said "Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one ? ] [CBSE 2010. 11, 12]

Q 44.

When did the first printing press come to India?

Q 45.

Who wrote Istri Dharam Vichar ?

Q 46.

Who wrote Gulamgiri ? (CBSE 2014)

Q 47.

What did the spread of print culture in the nineteenth century India mean to :
Reformers

Q 48.

Why did some people fear the effect of the easily available printed books ? Choose one example from Europe and one from India. [CBSE Sept. 2011]
Or
Explain the role played by print in bringing about a division in the Roman Catholic Church. [CBSE Sept. 2011]
Or
Explain the role played by print in the spreading of Protestant Reformation. [CBSE 2012, 2013]

Q 49.

What restrictions were imposed by the Vernacular Press Act on the Indian Press ? Explain. [CBSE-2011]
Or
In what ways the Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was a repressive step by the Government ? Explain. [CBSE-2011]

Q 50.

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