What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:
a) Women
b) The poor
c) Reformers.
a) Lives and feelings of women were written with intensity. This increased the number of women who took to reading. Liberal husbands and fathers started educating their womenfolk at home and some sent them to schools. Many journals began carrying writings by women, and explained why women should be educated. They also carried a syllabus and attached suitable reading matter which could be used for home-based schooling.
There was also a negative side to the introduction of books were women were concerned.
Conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed.
Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.
Social reforms and novels created a great interest in women's lives and emotions. Women's opinions and views were slowly considered and respected. Stories were written about how 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. Stories about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women, especially widows also appeared in print. These stories paved the way for the liberation of the suppressed Indian woman.
b) Very cheap small books were brought to markets in nineteenth-century and sold at crossroads, allowing poor people travelling to markets to buy them. Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding the access to books.
Libraries were usually located in cities and towns.
Caste discrimination was a major topic discussed in the print media.
c) During the early nineteenth century, there were intense debates on religious issues. Changes within the colonial society were debated in different ways, and religious beliefs were interpreted differently. Some criticised existing practices and campaigned for reforms, while others opposed reformers. These debates were carried out in public and in print.
Printed matter and newspapers spread the new ideas and the public were now more involved in state matters as they were more knowledgeable now.
As more people started reading about the controversies between social and religious reformers new ideas were born. The Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry was discussed and soon social reforms were born, championing the cause of the down trodden.
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]
Who said "Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one ? ] [CBSE 2010. 11, 12]
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]
Name an Act which was passed by the British government to keep a regular track of the vernacular newspapers.
’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 ?
Why did some people in eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?
What were the features of the new books which were produced in Europe after the invention of the Gutenberg's press ? [CBSE Sept. 2010]
Name any four languages in which Indian manuscript was prepared before the age of print.
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.
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
Write about the different innovations in the printing technology during the 19th century ? [CBSE Sept. 2010]
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.
"Oral culture and print culture were complimentary to each other”. Justify the statement with any three suitable arguments. [CBSE 2013]
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]
Explain how the print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India. [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2011]
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]
The shift from handprinting to mechanical printing led to the print revolution.’ Explain.
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]