History

Print Culture and the Modern World

Question:

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.

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Print Culture and the Modern World

Q 1.

What medium was used for writing ancient Indian scriptures?

Q 2.

Give reasons for the following:
a) Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
b) 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.
d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Q 3.

What was the theme of the book Gulamgiri ?

Q 4.

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

Q 5.

Mention any four social values which print culture promoted.

Q 6.

When was print technology introduced in Japan?

Q 7.

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

Q 8.

Give a brief description of the first form of print technology.

Q 9.

Explain the role of print in the religious reforms in India. [CBSE 2011]

Q 10.

Who were scribes ?

Q 11.

Name the first book published by Johann Guttenbcrg.

Q 12.

What is manuscript ?

Q 13.

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

Q 14.

What were Chap books ? (CBSE 2014)

Q 15.

Name two scholars whose writings inspired French people.

Q 16.

Name the paper with which Bal Gangadhar Tilak was associated.

Q 17.

’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 18.

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 19.

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

Q 20.

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

Q 21.

By the 17th century, as urban culture Ans. 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.

Q 22.

Give a brief description of the first form of print technology.

Q 23.

What is calligraphy?

Q 24.

Not everyone welcomed the printed books, and those who did also had fears about it.' Explain by giving examples.

Q 25.

Name the countries where the earliest kind of print technology was developed.

Q 26.

Who started publishing Sambad Kaumudi from 1821?

Q 27.

What were Biliotheque Blue ?

Q 28.

What was the basic objective of Ninety Five Theses ?

Q 29.

The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away". Who said these words ?

Q 30.

Name any four languages in which Indian manuscript was prepared before the age of print.

Q 31.

Who printed the first Tamil book ?

Q 32.

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

Q 33.

Why were the printed books popular even among illiterate people ? [CBSE Sept. 2010, 2012]

Q 34.

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.

Q 35.

Who brought out the first Indian newspaper published in English?

Q 36.

Give a brief description of the first form of print technology.

Q 37.

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]

Q 38.

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 39.

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]

Q 40.

Which material was used to print pictures in Japan?

Q 41.

When did the first printing press come to India?

Q 42.

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

Q 43.

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

Q 44.

The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion and a force that will sweep despotism away.'

Q 45.

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

Q 46.

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]

Q 47.

How did Gutenberg personalise the printed hooks suiting to the tastes and requirement of others ? [CBSE 2012]

Q 48.

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 49.

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 pedlars in villages in the eighteenth century Europe.  [CBSE-2012, 2014]

Q 50.

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]