Print Culture and the Modern World
Q.1: How were Chinese books made in ancient days?
Q.2: In imperial China, what was the main purpose of printing of books?
Q.3: What is the name of the first autobiography wrote in an Indian language? Who was the
author?
Q.4: Who was Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain?
Q.5: When and where did the first printing press come in India?
Q.6: Who started to print News Paper for the time in India? What was the name of the first News
Paper published by an Indian?
Q.7: Explain giving three points how did the print culture develop in India?
Q.8: What was the “Vernacular Press Act”? When and why it was enacted?
Q.9: What was the outcome of the Vernacular Press Act in India?
Answers
Q.1.Answer: In the ancient days after the invention of paper in China, it was
rubbed against the inked surface of wooden blocks, from one side only. This was
the traditional Chinese “Accordion Book”, in which paper was folded and stitched
at side. Later it was duplicated by skilled men.
Q.2.Answer: Imperial China was based on a system of large bureaucracy. The
employees were selected through written examination. For this purpose,
candidates required textbooks to prepare for this examination.
Q.3.Answer: Rashsundari Devi, a young married girl wrote her autobiography
“Amar Jiban” which was published in 1876. This was the first full-length
autobiography published in Bengali language. Rashsundari Devi belonged to a
conservative family and learnt reading-writing in the secrecy of her kitchen.
Q.4.Answer: Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain belonged to a highly conservative
Muslim family. She learnt reading-writing after much struggling with her own
effort. Later she became a noted educationalist and was strongly in favour of
women’s education. She criticized and condemned strongly those men who tried
to oppose women’s education.
Q.5.Answer: The printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in
the mid 16th century. Jesuit priests learnt Konkani language and printed several
tracts.
Q.6.Answer: James Augustus Hickey, a British, began to edit the ‘Bengal Gazette’
the first ever English weekly magazine from India later taken over by Gangadhar
Bhattacharya. Thus, Gangadhar Bhattacharya became the first Indian to publish a
news paper from India. By the close of 18th century a number of news papers and
journals started to appear in India.
Q.7.Answer:
(1) In India the printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in
the mid 16th century. Jesuit priests learnt Konkani language and printed several
tracts.
(2) By 1674, about 50 books had been printed in Konkani and Kanara languages.
Catholic priests printed books in Tamil language for the first time in 1579 in
Cochin. In 1713, first Malayalam books were printed.
(3) English printing developed much after the arrival of East India Company in
India. By the end of 18th century a number of news papers and journals appeared
in print. The first news paper to be published by an Indian was “Bengal Gazette”.
It was published by Gangadhar Bhattacharya from Calcutta. From the beginning of
19th century in India the print culture had become so popular that the social
reformers and even the common people including the poor started to feel the
benefit of it.
Q.8.Answer: After 1857 revolt, the attitude to the freedom of press changed.
Enraged Englishmen demanded the British government to control the ‘native’
press and also take actions against them. As vernacular newspapers became
assertively nationalist, the colonial government thought to impose strict control
on the vernacular presses.
As a result in 1878, the “Vernacular Press Act” was passed. This act was modeled
on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government extensive rights to censor
reports and editorials in the vernacular presses. The government started to keep
regular track of the vernacular newspapers which were published from different
provinces. According to this Act, if a report was judged seditious, the newspaper
was warned, and if the ignoring was ignored the press was liable to be seized and
the printing machines confiscated.
Q.9.Answer: In spite of the repressive measures taken by the Colonial
Government to control local vernacular press by enacting the “Vernacular Press
Act”, nationalist newspapers grew in numbers in all parts of the country. They
reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities. The
government tried to kill nationalist criticism by its all means. This in turn led to the
renewed protests.
Balgangadhar Tilak wrote his sympathies for the deported Punjab revolutionaries
in his publication “Kesari”. This led to his imprisonment provoking in turn
widespread protest all over India.
Q.1: 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 index of prohibited books from the
mid 16th century.
(d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of press
and freedom of association.
Ans:
(a) China had Woodblock printing since around 6th century. It was in 1295, that
the Italian explorer Marco Polo returned from his long stay in China, where the
woodblock printing was popular. He brought this technique with him to Europe.
(b) Through the publications of his protestant ideas, Martin Luther challenged the
orthodox practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote 95 theses
criticizing many of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther’s writings
were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This led to a
division within the church and to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. He
also translated the New Testament of which 5000 copies were sold within a few
days. These were impossible without the printing technology. Deeply grateful to
the print, Luther said, “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.”
This is the reason why Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.
(c) The Roman Catholic Church had to face many dissents from mid-16th century
onwards. People had written many books that interpreted the God and the
creation in their own ways or as they liked. Therefore, the church banned such
books and kept the record of such banned books. It was called the Index of
Prohibited Books.
(d) Gandhi considered that the liberty of speech, liberty of press and freedom of
association were three most powerful vehicles of expressing and cultivating public
opinion. Therefore, he said the fight for Swaraj was a fight for liberty of speech,
press, and freedom for association.
Q.2: Write short notes to show what you know about.
(a) The Gutenberg Press (b) Erasmus’s idea of printed book (c) The Vernacular
Press Act
Ans:
(a) The Gutenberg Press : The first printing press was developed by Johan
Gutenberg in 1430s. It was a developed form of the olive and wine presses. By
1448 Gutenberg perfected this system. The lead moulds were used for casting the
metal types for the letters of alphabet. The first book he printed was Bible. He
produced 180 copies of Bible in 3 years, which was much faster by standards of
the time, at the time.
(b) Erasmus’s idea of printed book : Erasmus was the Latin scholar and a Catholic
reformer. He criticized the printing of books. He thought that most of the books
are stupid, ignorant, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious. According to
him such books devaluate the valuable books.
Q.3: What did the spread of print culture in 19th century India mean to (a) Women (b) The poor (c) Reformers.
Ans:
(a) The spread of print culture in 19th century India benefitted Indian women
through learning and education. The liberal families supported the education of
women to study or read as they believed education and reading would make the
women corrupt. This led to the counter reaction, as most of the oppressed
women began to study and read books and learnt writing in secrecy. Some
literate women started to write books and their autobiographies. Rashasundari
Devi, a young married girl wrote her autobiography “Amar Jiban” which was
published in 1876. Overall, the print culture in 19th century India helped in spread
of the feeling of self-reliance among Indian women.
(b) The poor people benefitted from the spread of print culture because of the
availability of books at a low price. The readership among them increased due to
the publication of low priced books. Public libraries were also set up from the
early 19th century, expanding the access to the books where all people could gain
knowledge. Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers, the people like
factory workers too set up their libraries and some even wrote books. Kashibaba,
a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published ‘Chote aur Bade Ka Sawal’.
(c) Indian reforms of 19th century utilized print culture as the most potent means
of spreading their reformist ideas and highlight the unethical issues. They began
publishing various vernacular and English and Hindi newspapers and books
through which they could spread their opinions against widow immolation, child
marriage, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry to the common
people of the country. In this way the spread of print culture in the 19th century
provided them a space for attacking religious orthodoxy and to spread modern
social and political ideas to the people of different languages across the country.
Q.4: Why did some people in 18th century Europe think that print culture would
bring enlightenment and end despotism?
Ans: Many people in the 18th century Europe thought that the print culture has
the power in it to bring enlightenment and end despotism. This would help in
spreading of literacy and knowledge among all class of people. Social reformers
like Louise, Sebastian Mercier, and Martin Luther felt that the print culture is the
most powerful engine of progress and public opinion and hence, it would
definitely bring enlightenment and an end to despotism.
Q.5: 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 upper class and powerful class feared the effect
of easily available printed books. Their cause of fear was that due to the spread of
literacy among the common people they may loose their position or authorities.
Some people feared that this may lead to the spread of rebellions and irreligious
thoughts. For example (1) In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb the printed books through
the Index of Prohibited Books.
(2) In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and
various local newspapers. Also, some religious leaders and some people from
upper castes expressed their fear.
Q.6: What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in 19th
century India?
Ans: Refer to the Answer of Q. No.3b above.
Q.7: Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India?
Ans: The print culture immensely helped the growth in the growth of nationalism
in India in the following ways (a) Through vernacular press, oppressive methods of colonial rule were reported.
(b) The misrule of government and its initiative on curbing the freedom of press
spread the nationalist ideas that demanded freedom of press.
(c) Nationalist feelings and revolutionary ideas were secretly spread by the dailies
like - The Amrit Bazar Patrika, The Indian Mirror, Kesri, The Hindu, Bombay
Samachar etc. Through these newspapers national leaders always tried to
mobilize public opinion of Indian masses and unite them for the cause of
nationalism.
(d) The print culture helped in educating the people who then started to be
gradually influenced by the reformist and nationalist ideas of the various Indian
leaders like Raja Ram Mohun Roy, Tilak, Subhas Bose and Gandhiji etc.
.
The Print Revolution and its Impact.
1. Printing press, a new reading public emerged. Reduced the cost of
books, now a reading public came into being.
2. Knowledge was transferred orally. Before the age of print books were
not only expensive but they could not be produced in sufficient numbers.
3. But the transition was not so simple. Books could be read only by the
literate and the rates of literary in most European crematories were very
low, Oral culture thus entered print and printed material was orally
transmitted. And the hearing public and reading public became
intermingled.
Religious Debates and the fear of Print.
1. Print created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas.
2. Through the printed message, they could persuade people to think
differently and introduced a new world of debate and discussion. This
had significance in different sphere of life.
3. Many were apprehensive of the effects that the easier access to the
printed world and the wider
circulation of books, could have on people’s minds.
4. If that happened the authority of ‘valuable’ literature would be
destroyed, expressed by religious authorities and monarchs, as well as
many writers and artists, achievement of religion areas of Martin Luther.
5. A new intellectual atmosphere and helped spread the new ideas that
led to the reformation.
Print culture and the French Revolution :
1. Print popularized the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers.
Collectively, their writings provided a critical commentary on tradition,
superstition and despotism.
2. Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All values, forms
and institutions were re-evaluated and discussed by a public that had
become aware of the power of reason.
3. 1780’s there was an outpouring of literature that mocked the royalty
and criticised their morality. In the process, it raised questions about the
existing social order.
4. The print helps the spread of ideas. People did not read just one kind
of literature. If they read the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau, They were
also exposed to monarchic and church propaganda.
5. Print did not directly shape their minds, but it did open up the
possibility of thinking differently.
The Nineteenth Century (Women)
1. As primary education became compulsory from the late nineteenth
century. A large numbers of new readers were especially women.
2. Women became important as readers as well as writers. Penny
magazines were especially meant for women, as were manuals teaching
proper behaviour and house keeping.
3. In the nineteenth century, lending libraries in England, lower middle
class people. Sometimes self educated working class people wrote for
themselves. Women were seen as important readers. Some of the best
known novelists were women : Jane Austin, the Bronte sisters, George
Eliot. their writings became important in defining a new type of woman.
Discuss :
1. What was print revolution?
2. In eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring
enlightenment and end despotism discuss?
3. Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books?
Choose one example from Europe?
4. Give reason. Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in
praise of it?
5. Give reasons, the Roman Catholic Church began keeping an index of
prohibited books from the mid sixteenth century.
6. In nineteenth century in Europe. There was a great increase in women
literature? Explain it.