CH 5 Print Culture Rdy Rdy
CH 5 Print Culture Rdy Rdy
CH 5 Print Culture Rdy Rdy
Ans: (a) Marco Polo, the Italian explorer, visited China and learnt the technology of woodblock
printing. When he returned to Italy in 1295, he brought this knowledge back with him. Gradually
this knowledge spread from Italy to other parts of Europe.
(b) In 1517, Martin Luther, the religious reformer, wrote ninety-five theses that criticised the
corrupt practices of the Catholic Church and pasted these on the church door in Wittenberg.
Very soon, thousands of copies of Luther’s theses were printed, spreading his ideas among
people. Martin Luther was deeply moved by realizing the power of printing, which brought about
the reformation movement and the eventual birth of Protestantism.
(c) Print and popular literature encouraged many distinctive interpretations of religious faiths
and ideas. In the 16th century, Manocchio, a roller in Italy, began to read books available readily
in his locality. He gave a new interpretation of the Bible and formulated a view of God and
creation that enraged the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, Manocchio was hauled up twice
and ultimately executed when the Roman Catholic Church began its inquisition.
(d) Mahatma Gandhi said these words in 1922 during the Non-cooperation Movement.
According to him, without the liberty of speech, the liberty of the press and freedom of
association, no nation can even survive. If the country was to get free from foreign domination,
then these liberties were quite important.
2. Write short notes on what you know about:
a) The Gutenberg Press b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book c) The Vernacular Press
Act
Ans: (a) The Gutenberg Press was the first printing press of Europe. It was invented by
Johannes Gutenberg of Strasbourg. He grew up in a large agricultural estate and had
knowledge and experience in operating olive and wine presses. He invented the printing press
around the year 1448 with the Bible being the first book to be printed.(b) Erasmus, the Latin
scholar, was not happy with the printing of books because he was afraid that this would lead to
the circulation of books with rebellious ideas. He felt that although a few books may give useful
information, the majority of books may just be irrelevant or illogical through which scandalous of
irreligious ideas will spread, ultimately leading to incitement of rebellion.(c) The Vernacular
Press Act was passed in 1878 by the British government in India. This act provided the
government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the Vernacular Press. If a
Vernacular Paper published any seditious material, the paper was banned, and its printing
machinery was seized and destroyed.
3. What did the spread of print culture in the nineteenth century India mean to?
2. Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one
example from Europe and one from India.
Ans: Some people, especially from the upper class fear the effect of easily available printed
books due to the spread of literacy among the common people. They feared that they might
lose their position or authorities. Some people thought that it might lead to the spread of
rebellions and irreligious thoughts.
Example:
(i) In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb the printed books through the Index of
Prohibited Books.
(ii) In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and various local
newspapers.
3. What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth-
century India?
Ans:
1. Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding access to books.
These libraries were located mostly in cities and towns and at times in prosperous villages. For
rich local patrons, setting up a library was a way of acquiring prestige.
2. From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination were written about in many
printed tracts and essays.
3. Jyotibha Phule, the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste’ protest movements, wrote about the
injustices of the caste system in his Gulamgiri (1871).
4. In the twentieth century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in
Madras (better known as Periyar) wrote powerfully on caste, and their writings were read by
people all over India.
5. Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular journals and tracts,
criticising ancient scriptures and envisioning a new and just future.
6. At the very least, it made poorer people aware of their rights and their place in society and
Print media showed the way in which they can improve their lot in life.
4. Explain how the print culture assisted in the growth of nationalism in India.
Ans: Print culture assisted in the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways:
1. By the end of the 19th century, a large number of newspapers in Indian vernacular languages
were published, making it easier to circumvent the language barriers among the various ethnic
groups of Indians.
2. These newspapers published articles written by national leaders. Their ideas were
communicated to the masses through these newspapers.
3. The people of different communities and places were thus connected by print media.
Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating a pan-Indian identity.
4. The nationalist newspapers exposed the colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist
activities. As these were written in spoken languages of various regions, the common man
could easily understand the content.
5. For example, when Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Balagangadhar Tilak wrote
articles sympathising with them. He was arrested which provoked protest among the masses.
Thus it is clear that print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.