NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 - Print Culture and the Modern World

Q1: Give reasons for the following:

(a) Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
Ans: The Italian explorer Marco Polo learned about woodblock printing during his visit to China. When he returned to Italy in 1295, he brought this knowledge with him, and gradually, it spread from Italy to other parts of Europe.
Woodblock(b) Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.
Ans: In 1517, Martin Luther, a religious reformer, wrote ninety-five theses criticizing the corrupt practices of the Catholic Church and posted them on the door of a church in Wittenberg. The quick printing of thousands of copies helped spread his ideas widely, sparking the Reformation and leading to the rise of Protestantism. Luther was deeply impressed by how printing helped his ideas reach so many people. 

Ninety Five Theses

(c) The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited Books from the mid-sixteenth century.
Ans: In the 16th century, print and popular literature helped people develop different interpretations of religious beliefs. Manocchio, a miller in Italy, found books easily available and came up with his own ideas about the Bible, God, and creation. His new views angered the Roman Catholic Church, leading to two trials and his execution during the Church's inquisition.  

(d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for the liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.
Ans: In 1922, during the Non-cooperation Movement (1920-22), Mahatma Gandhi stated that a nation needs freedom of speech, press, and association to thrive. He believed that these freedoms were essential for a country to free itself from foreign control. 

Formula of IndepenceQ2: 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
Ans:
(a) The Gutenberg Press

Johannes Gutenberg, from Strasbourg, invented the Gutenberg Press, the first printing press in Europe. Growing up on a large estate where he worked with olive and wine presses, he used this experience to create the printing press around 1448. The Bible was the first book printed using this groundbreaking technology. 

(b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book

Erasmus, the Latin scholar, was worried about the rise in book production due to printing. He feared that the widespread availability of books could spread rebellious ideas. Although he saw the value in some books, he was concerned that many might be irrelevant or illogical, leading to the spread of scandalous or irreligious ideas and potentially sparking rebellion.
(c) The Vernacular Press Act

In 1878, the British government in India passed the Vernacular Press Act, which gave them broad powers to censor reports and editorials in local language newspapers. If a newspaper published seditious content, it could be banned, and its printing equipment could be seized and destroyed.

Vernacular PressQ3: What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth-century India mean to:
(a) Women
(b) The poor
(c) Reformers
Ans: 
(a) Women
As more women learned to read and write, they became important readers and writers. With better literacy, many women grew interested in reading and writing. Several journals highlighted the value of educating women, which led to magazines and books being made just for them. The rise of print culture gave women some freedom to read and form their own opinions on different topics, especially those related to women.  

Rashundari Devi

(b) The poor
As literacy rates improved in both Europe and India, printed materials, especially for entertainment, became available to the poor. In England, "penny magazines" were sold by peddlers at low prices, making them affordable for even the poor. For those who couldn’t read, stories and folklore were shared aloud by others. Some book owners also rented out books for a small fee. In 19th-century Madras towns in India, very cheap small books became available, allowing the poor to take part in print culture.

(c) Reformers
Reformers used newspapers, journals, and books to highlight social issues in society. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy published 'Sambad Kaumudi' to raise awareness about the struggles of widows. From the 1860s onward, Bengali women writers like Kailashbashini Debi wrote books about women's experiences, focusing on issues such as being confined to their homes, kept ignorant, burdened with hard domestic work, and treated unfairly by the men they served.

Q4: Why did some people in eighteenth-century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?
Ans: 

• Spreading of new ideas: After the coming of the print culture, the ideas of scientists and philosophers now became more accessible to the common people. Ancient and medieval scientific texts were compiled and published.
• Scientific discoveries: Maps and more accurate scientific diagrams were widely printed. When scientists like Issac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could influence a much wider circle of scientifically-minded readers.
• Writings of scholars: The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were also widely printed, and could gain popularity. Thus, their ideas about science, reasoning and rationality found their way into popular literature.
• Books as a medium of progress: By the mid-18th century, books became a medium of spreading progress and enlightenment which could change society and the world. It was also believed that the books could literate society from despotism and tyranny.
• Ideas of enlightened thinkers: The print popularised the ideas of the enlightened thinkers like that of Martin Luther who attacked the authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, e.g., Voltaire and Rousseau.
• A new culture of dialogue and debate: The print created a new culture of dialogue and debate and the public, became aware of reasoning and recognized the need to question the existing ideas and beliefs.

Q5. Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.
Ans: 

• Not everyone welcomed the rise of printed books, and even those who did often had concerns. Many worried that the widespread circulation of books could negatively affect people's minds. They feared that without control over what was printed and read, rebellious and irreligious ideas might become prominent. Scholars also worried that the authority of important literature might be undermined. Religious authorities, monarchs, and even some writers and artists criticized the new printing technology. 
• In early modern Europe, one significant impact of this was on religion. For example, Martin Luther, a German monk and Church reformer, wrote the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, criticizing many practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He posted a printed copy on a church door in Wittenberg, challenging the Church to debate his ideas. Luther's writings were quickly copied and widely read, leading to a split in the Church and the start of the Protestant Reformation. 
• In other contexts, such as among conservative groups, there were fears about the effects of literacy on women. Some believed that educated women might face difficulties, such as becoming widows or being corrupted by reading certain literature. Despite these concerns, many women chose to defy these restrictions.

Q6. What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth-century India?
Ans:  The print reached to the poor in the 19th century. Publishers started producing small and cheap books. These books were sold at crossroads. Public libraries were set up by the Christian missionaries and the rich people.

Highlighting the issue of class discrimination : From the late 19th century, many writers started writing about the issue of class distinction.

• Jyotiba Phule was a social reformer. He wrote about the poor condition of ‘low caste’. In his book Gulamgiri (1871), he wrote about the injustices of the caste system.
• In the 20th century, B.R. Ambedkar also wrote powerfully against the caste system. He also wrote against untouchability.
• E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, also known as Periyar, too wrote about the caste system prevailing in Madras (Chennai). The writings of these writers were read by people all over India. Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular journals and tracts criticising ancient scriptures with a view to creating new and just future.

Poor workers and the print : 

• Factory workers were often too overworked to write about their own experiences and expectations. However, Keshibaba, a mill worker from Kanpur, wrote and published Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal in 1938, highlighting the connections between caste and class exploitation. Another Kanpur mill worker, writing under the name Sudarshan Chakra, published poems between 1935 and 1955, which were later collected in Sacchi Kavitayain. 
• By the 1930s, cotton mill workers in Bangalore started setting up libraries to educate themselves, following the example of workers in Bombay (Mumbai). These libraries were supported by social reformers who aimed to reduce excessive drinking among the poor, promote literacy, and sometimes spread nationalist ideas.

Q7. Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.
Ans:

• New ideas and debates: Many people criticized existing practices and campaigned for reforms, while others challenged the reformers' arguments. These debates happened openly in public and through print. Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread new ideas but also influenced the nature of the debates. This process helped foster the growth of nationalism.
• Connecting various communities: Print not only encouraged the spread of differing opinions among communities but also connected people across different parts of India. Newspapers transmitted news from one region to another, helping to build a sense of pan-Indian identity.
• Print and newspaper: Despite efforts to suppress them, nationalist newspapers increased across India. These newspapers reported on colonial misrule and promoted nationalist activities. For example, when Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Bal Gangadhar Tilak expressed his sympathy for them in his newspaper Kesari.
• Various novels on national history: Indian novelists wrote many works that helped create a sense of pan-Indian identity. For example, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Anandamath fostered a feeling of unity across India. Munshi Premchand’s Godan illustrated the exploitation of Indian peasants by colonial officials.
• Various images of Bharatmata: Printers like Raja Ravi Verma and Rabindranath Tagore created images of Bharatmata (Mother India) that inspired a sense of nationalism among Indians. Devotion to this mother figure became a way to demonstrate one's commitment to the nation.