Print Culture and The Modern World
Short Questions
1. Where did the earliest kind of print technology develop?
Answer: In China, Japan, and Korea.
2. Which is the oldest Japanese book printed in AD 868?
Answer: The Buddhist Diamond Sutra.
3. Who invented the first printing press in Europe?
Answer: Johann Gutenberg.
4. Which was the first book printed by Gutenberg?
Answer: The Bible.
5. What was the main contribution of Martin Luther to print culture?
Answer: He wrote Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, starting the Protestant Reformation.
6. What was the Index of Prohibited Books?
Answer: A list of books banned by the Roman Catholic Church from 1558.
7. What are chapbooks?
Answer: Cheap, pocket-sized books sold by travelling pedlars in England.
8. Name one Enlightenment thinker whose works spread through print.
Answer: Jean Jacques Rousseau.
9. Who compiled German folk tales and published them in 1812?
Answer: The Grimm Brothers.
10. Which was the first English newspaper printed in India?
Answer: Bengal Gazette (1780) by James Augustus Hickey.
11. Who published the Indian-owned newspaper Bengal Gazette?
Answer: Gangadhar Bhattacharya.
12. Which Act imposed strict control over vernacular newspapers in India?
Answer: The Vernacular Press Act of 1878.
13. Who wrote the book Gulamgiri in 1871?
Answer: Jyotiba Phule.
14. Who wrote the autobiography Amar Jiban, the first in Bengali?
Answer: Rashsundari Debi.
15. Which famous Indian nationalist leader edited the newspaper Kesari?
Answer: Balgangadhar Tilak.
Long Questions
1. Explain the role of Gutenberg in the print revolution.
Answer: Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1430s at Strasbourg, Germany. He designed movable metal type and adapted models from olive and wine presses for printing. His press produced books faster and cheaper, beginning the great print revolution in Europe.
2. What impact did the print revolution have on reading culture?
Answer: The print revolution reduced the cost of books and made them widely available. Earlier people depended mainly on oral culture, but now reading became possible for larger groups. Both oral and reading traditions mixed, as books were read aloud even to illiterate people.
3. How did Martin Luther use print to spread his ideas?
Answer: In 1517, Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses criticising the Catholic Church. The theses were quickly reproduced by the printing press and reached thousands of readers. This spread his message widely and became the starting point of the Protestant Reformation.
4. Why did the Catholic Church fear the effect of print?
Answer: The Catholic Church feared that print would spread rebellious and irreligious ideas. Common people began to interpret the Bible differently, which challenged Church authority. To stop this, the Church created the Index of Prohibited Books in 1558 to ban such writings.
5. How did print contribute to the French Revolution?
Answer: Print popularised the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Rousseau and Voltaire, who criticised despotism and tradition. It created a culture of debate, where all values and authorities were questioned. Caricatures and underground writings mocked royalty and encouraged revolutionary thought.
6. Explain the role of women in the nineteenth-century print culture.
Answer: In the nineteenth century, women became important as both readers and writers. Many novels and journals were written for women, shaping new ideas of womanhood and education. In India, writers like Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai highlighted women’s sufferings and social injustice.
7. What were the developments in printing technology in the 19th century?
Answer: In the nineteenth century, printing presses became faster and more advanced. Richard Hoe’s cylindrical press could print 8,000 sheets per hour, and later offset printing allowed colour prints. Cheap paperbacks and book jackets also appeared, making books widely available to the public.
8. How did print encourage religious reform in India?
Answer: Print culture in India helped spread religious reform ideas through tracts, newspapers and cheap books. Rammohun Roy used his newspaper Sambad Kaumudi to fight against Hindu orthodoxy, while Muslim scholars used Urdu and Persian presses. The Deoband Seminary also published fatwas guiding Muslim society.
9. What was the impact of print on poor people in India?
Answer: Print brought knowledge within reach of poor people through cheap books and pamphlets sold in markets. Public libraries opened in towns and villages, giving access to workers and farmers. Reformers like Jyotiba Phule and B.R. Ambedkar used print to fight caste discrimination and inspire the masses.
10. What was the Vernacular Press Act of 1878?
Answer: The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 gave the colonial government power to censor Indian newspapers. If any article was found seditious, presses could be seized and printing machines confiscated. Even under such strict control, nationalist newspapers grew and strongly opposed colonial policies.
Leave a Reply