Very Short Answer Questions
- What were the three countries where printing technology developed?
- China, Japan and Korea.
- Explain woodblock printing.
- Paper was rubbed against the inked surface of woodblocks.
- Explain ‘Calligraphy’.
- It is the art of beautiful and stylised writing. Superbly skilled craftsmen could duplicate the beauty of calligraphy with remarkable accuracy.
- Why did Imperial state of China get books printed?
- China had a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its staffs through civil service examinations. Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under the sponsorship of the imperial state.
- What kind of books were written in China for new readership?
- New readership in China preferred fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary master pieces and romantic plays.
- Did women also read or write in China? Explain your answer.
- Rich women began to read, and many women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.
- Name the oldest printed Japanese book.
- The oldest Japanese books printed in AD 868, is the Buddhist ‘Diamond Sutra’, containing six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations.
- What kind of hand-printed books were available in Japan?
- Books on women, musical instruments calculations, tea ceremony, flower arrangements, proper etiquette, cooking and famous places.
- Who brought woodblocks printing technology from China to Europe?
- In 1295 Macro Polo, returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China. He brought woodblock technology to Italy, from where it spread to other European countries.
- What were the drawbacks of manuscripts?
- They were fragile.
- They were awkward to handle, and
- They could not be carried around easily.
- By 15th century, for what purposes was woodblock printing used in Europe?
- It was widely used in Europe to print textiles, playing cards and religious pictures with simple and brief texts.
- Who developed the first known printing press?
- Johann Gutenberg of Germany developed the first-known printing press in the 1430s.
- Who was Gutenberg?
- Gutenberg was the son of a merchant and grew up on a large agricultural estate. From his childhood, he had seen wine and olive presses.
- Which was the first book printed by first printing machine?
- The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took three years to produce them.
- What were the advantages of printing press?
- Printing reduced the cost of books. The time and labour required to produce each book came down, and multiple copies could be produced with greater ease.
- Who was Menocchio?
- Menocchio was a miller in Italy, who began to read books that were available locally. He reinterpreted the message of Bible and formulated a view of God and Creation that enraged the Roman Catholic Church
- What are heretical ideas?
- These were beliefs, which did not follow the accepted teachings of the Church. Heretical beliefs were severely punished.
- Who was Erasmus?
- Erasmus was a Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer, who criticised the excesses of Catholicism but kept his distance from Luther, expressed a deep anxiety about printing.
- What was ‘reading mania’?
- As literacy and schools spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading mania. It means people wanted books to read and printers produced books in ever-increasing numbers.
- Who were Pedlars?
- Pedlars around villages, who roamed carrying little books for sale.
- What were almanacs?
- An annual publication giving astronomical data, information about the movements of the Sun and moon, timing of full tides and eclipses, and much else that was of importance in the everyday life of people.
- What were chapbooks?
- They were little books for sale, carried by Pedlars known as Chapmen in England to sell them for a penny each
- What were ‘Biliotheque Bleue’?
- In France, Biliotheque Bleue were low priced small books printed on poor quality paper and bound in cheap blue covers.
- How did printing help thinkers and philosophers?
- The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Rousseau were widely printed and read. Thus, their ideas about science, reason and rationality found their way into the popular literature.
- How did print popularise the ideas of enlightened thinkers in France?
- Print popularised the ideas of enlightened thinkers. They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic powers of the state, thus, eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition.
- What did cartoons and caricatures suggest?
- Cartoons and caricatures typically suggested that the monarchy remained absorbed only in sensual pleasures while the common people suffered immense hardships.
- Where was Children Press set up?
- A Children’s Press devoted to literature for children alone, was set up in France in 1857.
- Who were Grimm Brothers?
- The Grimm Brothers in Germany spent years compiling traditional folk tales gathered from peasants.
- Name the earliest best-known women novelists.
- Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and George Eliot.
- What was typical about women novelists?
- Their writings became important in defining a new type of woman; a person with will, strength of personality, determination and the power to think.
- Who perfected power driven Cylindrical Press?
- Richard M. Hoe of New York had perfected the power-driven cylindrical press. This was capable of printing 8,000 sheets per hour and was particularly used for printing newspapers.
- In which language were manuscripts written in India?
- Handwritten manuscripts were written in Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian as well as in various vernacular languages.
- On what material were manuscripts written in India?
- Manuscripts were written on palm leaves or on handmade paper.
- When did first Printing Press come to India?
- The first printing press came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in the mid 16th century.
- What was Bengal Gazette?
- Bengal Gazette was a weekly magazine that described itself as a ‘commercial paper, open to all, but influenced by none’.
- Why did Governor General Warren Hastings persecute Hickey?
- Hickey published a lot of gossip about the company’s senior officials in India. Enraged by this, Warren Hastings persecuted Hickey and warned them not to damage the image of colonial government.
- Which was the first Indian weekly published by Indians?
- Indians began to publish Indian newspapers. The first to appear was the Weekly Bengal Gazette, brought out by Gangadhar Bhattacharya, who was close to Raja Rammohan Roy.
- Name the two Persian newspapers published in India.
- Jam-i-Jahanama
- Shamsul Akbar
- What do you understand by the terms ‘Fatwa and Ulama’.
- Ulama: Legal scholars of Islam and the Sharia (a body of Islamic Law).
- Fatwa: A legal pronouncement on Islamic law usually given by a Mufti (Legal scholar) to clarify issues on which the law is uncertain.
- What was ‘Deoband Seminary’?
- The Deoband Seminary founded in 1867, published thousands upon thousands of fatwas telling Muslim readers how to conduct themselves in their everyday lives, and explaining the meanings of Islamic doctrines.
- Who published religions’ texts in vernaculars in India?
- The Naval Kishore Press at Lucknow and The Shri Venketeshwar Press in Bombay published numerous religious texts in Vernaculars.
- Which new literacy forms entered the world of reading?
- Lyrics, short stories, essays about social and political matters and novels were new literacy forms which entered the world of reading.
- Who produced visual images for the manuscripts in India?
- Painters like Raja Ravi Verma produced images which could be reproduced in multiple copies after print came into existence.
- What was represented in caricatures and cartoons in India?
- Some caricatures ridiculed the educated Indians’ fascination with western tastes and clothes, while others expressed the fear of social change.
- Who was Rashsundari Debi?
- Rashsundari Debi was a young married girl in a very orthodox household, who learnt to read in the secrecy of her kitchen. She wrote her autobiography called ‘Amar Jiban’. It was a full-length autobiography in Bengali.
- What do you know about Kailashbashini Debi?
- She was a Bengali woman who wrote books highlighting the experience of women—about how women were imprisoned at home, kept in ignorance, forced to do hard domestic labour and treated unjustly by very people they served.
- What kind of books were written by Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai?
- They wrote with passionate anger about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women especially widows.
- Which book was written by Jyotiba Phule?
- Jyotiba Phule the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste’ protest movements, wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his book ‘Gulamgiri’.
- Which writers have spoken about lower caste system?
- Dr. B.R Amedkar from 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.
- Which mill workers were good writers also?
- Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published “Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal” in 1938 to show the links between caste and class exploitation.
- What was the Vernacular Press Act?
- In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press.
Short Answer Questions
- Describe in brief how printing developed in Japan.
- Buddhist monasteries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around AD 768-770.
- The oldest printed Japanese book was the Buddhist ‘Diamond Sutra’ with woodcut illustrations.
- Pictures were printed on textiles, playing cards and paper money.
- Printing of visual material led to interesting publishing practices.
- What was the apprehension of religious authorities and monarchs about printing?
- Not everyone welcomed the printed books and those who did also had fears about it.
- It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then rebellious irreligious thoughts might spread.
- If that happened, the authority of valuable literature would be destroyed.
- Who was Mercier? What were his views about books?
- Mercier was a novelist in the 18th century.
- He declared that “the printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism away.”
- In many of Mercier’s novels, the heroes are transformed by the acts of reading.
- Mercier believed that power of print will bring down despotism.
- How did the printing press help in collecting children as its new readership? or What kind of printing material was printed for the children?
- Primary education had become compulsory from the late 19th century.
- Publishing industry started production of school textbooks.
- A children press was set up in France in 1857.
- The Grimm brothers in Germany spent years compiling traditional folk tales.
- Anything that was considered unsuitable for children was not published.
- Old fairy tales and folktales were written.
- What was the Portuguese influence on printing?
- The printing press first came to Goa with the Portuguese missionaries in the mid 16th century.
- Jesuit priests learnt Konkani and printed several tracts.
- By 1674, about 50 books had been printed in the Konkani and Kanara languages.
- Dutch protestant in missionaries had printed 32 Tamil texts, many of them were translations of older works.
- What was the role of new ‘visual image’ culture in printing, in India?
- By the end of 19th century, a new visual culture had started.
- With the increasing number of printing presses, visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple copies.
- Painters like ‘Raja Ravi Varma’ produced images for mass circulation.
- Why is China called the major producer of printed material?
- The imperial state in China was, for a very long time, the major producer of printed material.
- China possessed a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel through the civil service examinations.
- Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers, under the sponsorship of the imperial state. From the 16th century, the number of candidates went up and that increased the volume of print.
- How did print revolution gradually spread in other European countries?
- During the hundred years, between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most countries of Europe.
- Printers from Germany travelled to other countries, seeking work and helped start new presses.
- As the number of printing presses grew, book production boomed.
- Why was Menocchio executed?
- Menocchio was a miller in Italy who began to read books that were available in his locality.
- He reinterpreted the message of the Bible and formed his own views of God that enraged the Roman Catholic Church.
- Menocchio was declared a heretic and ultimately executed.
- The Roman Catholics then imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers, and began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books.
- How did print culture affect women in the 19th century?
- Women became important as readers as well as writers.
- Penny magazines were especially meant for women, as were manuals teaching proper behaviour and housekeeping.
- When novels began to be written in the 19th century, women were seen as important readers.
- Some of the best known novelists had defined a new type of woman; as a person with will, strength of personality, determination and the power to think.
- Who brought the print revolution to British India and how?
- James Augustus Hickey began to edit the ‘Bengal Gazette’, a weekly magazine.
- It was a private English magazine, not having British influence on it, which introduced English printing in India.
- Hickey published a lot of advertisements, on import and sale of slaves. He also published gossips about the company’s senior officials in India. Enraged by this, Governor General Warren Hastings persecuted Hickey.
- What kind of literature was printed in Punjab in the early 20th century?
- Folk literature was widely printed in Punjab.
- Ram Chaddha published the fast selling Istri Dharam Vichar to teach women how to be obedient wives.
- ‘The Khalsa Tract Society’ published cheap booklets with a similar message. Many of these were written on qualities of a good woman.
- What role did Battala play in printing technology, in Bengal?
- An entire area in central Calcutta—the Battala was devoted to the printing of popular books.
- Here one could buy cheap editions of religious tracts and scriptures.
- A lot of these books were illustrated with woodcuts and coloured lithographs.
- Pedlars took the Battala publications to their homes, enabling women to read them in their leisure time.
- What do you know about ‘wood-block’ printing?
- This was a system of hand printing.
- Initially books in China were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of wood blocks.
- As both sides of the thin, porous sheet could not be printed, the traditional Chinese ‘accordian book’ was folded and stitched at the side.
- State how mechanical printing surfaced in China.
- The new readership developed in China which needed a new technology to print.
- Western printing techniques and mechanical presses were imported in the late 19th century as western powers established their outposts in China.
- Shanghai became the hub of the new print culture and from hand printing there was now a gradual shift to mechanical printing.
- What type of books were printed in Japan?
- Printing of visual material led to interesting publishing practices.
- In the late 18th century, illustrated collections of paintings depicted an elegant urban culture, involving artists, courtesans and tea house gatherings.
- There were books on women, musical instruments, calculations,flower arrangements, proper etiquette, cooking and famous places.
- How were handwritten manuscripts organised with their expanded demand?
- Production of handwritten manuscripts was organised in new ways to meet the expanded demand of books.
- Scribes or skilled handwriters were no longer solely employed by wealthy or influential patrons but increasingly by booksellers as well.
- More than 50 scribes often worked for one bookseller.
- What were the drawbacks of manuscripts?
- Manuscripts could not satisfy the everincreasing demand for books.
- Copying was an expensive, laborious and time-consuming business.
- Manuscripts were fragile, awkward to handle and could not be carried around easily as they were big and heavy.
- How did print technology enhance the production of books?
- Printing presses were set up in most countries of Europe after its invention by Gutenberg.
- Printers from Germany travelled to other countries, seeking work and helping start new presses. As the number of printing presses grew, book production boomed.
- The second half of the 15th century saw 20 million copies of printed books flooding the markets in Europe.
- What are the advantages of printing presses?
- Printing reduced the cost of books.
- The time and labour required to produce each book came down.
- Multiple copies could be produced with great ease.
- How did publishers persuade common people to welcome the printed books?
- The publishers had to keep in mind the wider reach of the printed work; even those who did not read could certainly enjoy listening to books being read out.
- So printers began publishing popular ballads and folk tales. Such books would be profusely illustrated with pictures to create interest.
- These were then sung and recited at gatherings in villages and in taverns in towns.
- What was the significance of printing for people to spread their ideas?
- Print created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas and introduced a new world of debate and discussion.
- Even those who disagreed with established authorities could now print and circulate their ideas.
- Through the printed message, they could persuade people to think differently and move them to action.
- What was periodical press?
- The periodical press developed from the early 18th century, combining information about current affairs with entertainment.
- Newspapers and journals carried information about wars and trade.
- It also gave news about the development in other places of the world.
- How did the ideas of scientists and philosophers become more accessible to people?
- Ancient and medieval scientific texts were compiled and published and, maps and scientific diagrams were widely printed.
- When scientists like Isaac Newton began to publish their discoveries, they could influence a much wider circle of scientifically minded readers.
- The writings of thinkers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were also widely printed and read.
Thus their ideas about science, reason and rationality found their way into the popular literature. - Give three types of arguments on the effects of print technology on French Revolution.
- The ideas of enlightenment thinkers: Collectively, their writings provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition and despotism. People argued for the rule of reason rather than custom and demanded that everything be judged through the application of reason and rationality. The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely and those who read these books saw the world through new eyes.
- Print created a new culture of dialogue and debate: People had become aware of the power of reason and recognised the need to question existing ideas and beliefs. So new ideas of social revolution came into being.
- There was an outpouring of literature that mocked the royalty and criticised their morality: Many cartoons and caricatures suggested that monarchy enjoys its own comforts, while common people suffered. The literature was circulated underground and led to the growth of hostile sentiments against the monarchy.
- Were manuscripts used widely in everyday’s life in India?
- Manuscripts were not widely used in everyday’s life. Even though pre-colonial Bengal had developed an extensive network of village primary schools, students very often did not read texts.
- They only learnt to write as teachers dictated portions of texts from memory and students wrote them down.
- Many thus became literate without even actually reading any kind of texts.
- What was the role of cartoons and caricatures in Indian printing?
- By 1870, caricatures and cartoons were being published in journals, newspapers, commenting on social and political issues.
- Some caricatures ridiculed the educated Indians’ fascination with western clothes and tastes, while others expressed the fear of social change.
- There were imperial caricatures highlighting nationalists as well as nationalist cartoons criticising imperial rule.
- How did interest for writing develop in mill workers?
- Workers in factories were too overworked and lacked in education to write much about their experiences. But Kashi baba a Kanpur mill worker, wrote and published ‘Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal’, to show the links between caste and class exploitation.
- The poems of another Kanpur mill worker, who wrote under the name of ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ and published a collection of poems called ‘Sacchi Kavitayen’.
- By 1930s, Bangalore cotton mill workers set up libraries to educate themselves,following the example of Bombay workers.
Cheap prints and calendars were bought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their houses.
Long Answer Questions
- Describe how pedlars sold books around the villages in Europe.
- Booksellers employed pedlars, who roamed around villages, carrying little books for sale.
- In England, penny chapbooks were carried by petty pedlars known as ‘chapmen’ and sold for a penny, so that even the poor could buy them.
- In France were the ‘Biliotheque Blene’, which were low-priced small books printed on poor quality paper and bound in cheap blue cover, that were also sold by pedlars.
- Trace the history of print revolution in India.
- The printing press first came to Goa with the Portuguese missionaries in the mid 16th century.
- Books were printed in Konkani and Kanara languages.
- Catholic priests printed the first Tamil book, in 1579 at Cochin.
- By 1710, Dutch protestant missionaries had printed 32 Tamil texts, many of them were translations of older works.
- By 1780, James Augustus Hickey began to edit the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine.
- By the close of 18th century, a number of newspapers were published by Indians too. The first to appear was the weekly ‘Bengal Gazette’ brought out by Gangadhar Bhattacharya, who was close to Rammohan Roy.
- How did the British pass certain regulations to control freedom of press in India?
- The printing press first came to Goa with the Portuguese missionaries in the mid 16th century.
- Books were printed in Konkani and Kanara languages.
- Catholic priests printed the first Tamil book, in 1579 at Cochin.
- By 1710, Dutch protestant missionaries had printed 32 Tamil texts, many of them were translations of older works.
- By 1780, James Augustus Hickey began to edit the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine.
- By the close of 18th century, a number of newspapers were published by Indians too. The first to appear was the weekly ‘Bengal Gazette’ brought out by Gangadhar Bhattacharya, who was close to Rammohan Roy.
- How did the print revolution lead to the development of a reading mania in Europe?
- As literacy and schools spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading mania that developed.
- New forms of popular literature appeared to target new readers.
- There were ritual calendars along with ballads and folk tales.
- In England, penny chapbooks were carried by petty pedlars, known as chapmen and sold for a penny, so that even the poor could buy them.
- In France, these low-priced books were called ‘Biliotheque Blene’, as they were bound in cheap blue covers.
- There were romances, histories, books of various sizes, serving different purposes and interests.
- Periodical press developed to combine information on current affairs with entertainment.
- The ideas of scientists and scholars had now become more accessible to the common people.
- Scientists like Isaac Newton began to publish their discoveries. Writings of thinkers like Thomas Paire, Voltaire and Rousseau also affected the thinking of the people.
- How did a new reading culture bloom in China?
- By 17th century, print was no longer used just by scholar officials. Merchants used print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information.
- Reading increasingly became a leisure activity.
- The new readership preferred fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces and romantic plays.
- Rich women began to read and many women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.
- Was the new technology able to displace the existing art of producing books by hand?OR Why did printed books initially resemble written manuscripts in appearance and layout?
- In fact, printing books at first closely resembled the written manuscripts in appearance and layout.
- The metal letters imitated the ornamental handwritten styles.
- Borders were illuminated by hand with foilage and other patterns and illustrations were painted.
- In the books printed for the rich, space for decoration was kept blank on the printed page. Each purchaser could choose the design and decide on the painting school that would do the illustrations.
- Was print able to shape the minds of people of France directly?
- There can be no doubt that print helped to spread the ideas but we must remember that people did not read just one kind of literature.
- If they read the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau, they were also exposed to monarchical and Church propaganda.
- They were not influenced directly by everything they read or saw.
- They accepted some ideas and rejected others. They interpreted things their own way.
- Print did not directly shape their minds but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently.
- How were workers influenced by the print revolution?
- Lending libraries had been in existence from the 17th century onwards.
- In the 19th century, lending libraries in England became instruments for educating white collar workers, artisans and lower middle class people.
- Sometimes, self-educated working class people wrote for themselves.
- When their working hours were reduced, they could get time for self-improvement and self expression. They wrote political tracts and autobiographies in large numbers.
- Trace the development of Printing Technology in Europe.
- By the late 19th century, the press came to be made out of metal.
- By the mid 19th century, Richard M. Hoe of New York had perfected the power-driven cylindrical press. This was capable of printing 8,000 sheets per hour. This press was particularly useful for printing newspapers.
- In the late 19th century,the offset press was developed which could print up to six colours at a time.
- By 20th century, electrically operated presses accelerated printing operations.
- Other developments were—Methods of feeding paper improved, the quality of plates became better, automatic paper reels and photoelectric controls of the colour register were introduced.
- Which new strategies were opted by the printers and publishers to sell their products?
- Printers and publishers continuously developed new strategies to sell their products.
- In the 19th century periodicals, serialised novels, gave birth to a particular way of writing novels.
- In 1920s, popular works were sold in cheap series called the Shilling Series in England.
- The dust cover or the book jacket is also a twentieth century innovation.
- With the onset of Great Depression in the 1930s, publishers feared a decline in book purchases. To sustain buying, they brought out cheap paperback editions.
- Give a brief account of manuscripts of India.ORHow were ideas and information written before the age of print in India?
- 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 hand-made paper.
- Pages were sometimes beautifully illustrated. They would be either pressed between wooden covers or sewn together to ensure preservation.
- Manuscripts continued to be produced till well after the introduction of print, down to the late 19th century.
- Manuscripts were highly expensive and fragile. They had to be handled carefully.
HOT Questions
- How did the hearing public & the reading public become intermingled? Examine. OR How did a new reading public emerge with the printing revolution?
- Access to books created a new culture of reading. Earlier reading was restricted to the elites.
- Before the age of print, books were not only expensive but they could not be produced in sufficient numbers.
- Now books could reach out to the wider sections of people. If there was a ‘hearing public’ earlier, now a ‘reading public’ emerged.
- “Printing is the ultimate gift of God & the greatest one”. Who said this? How did print help to promote protestant Reformation?
- Martin Luther was a religious reformer. He wrote Ninety Five Theses, criticising many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.
- A printed copy of this was posted on a church door in Wittenberg. It challenged the Church to debate his ideas.
- Luther’s writings were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely, which led to the division of the Church and the beginning of the ‘Protestant Reformation’.
- Luther’s translation of the New Testament sold 5,000 copies within a few weeks.
- Deeply grateful to print, Luther said, “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.”
- Scholars believed that print helped in spreading the new ideas that led to Reformation.
- “Printing technology gave women a chance to share their feelings with the world outside.” Support the statement with any five suitable examples.
- Lives and feelings of women began to be written in particularly vivid and intense ways.
- Women’s reading, therefore increased enormously in the middle class homes.
- Liberal husbands and fathers began educating their womenfolk at home and sent them to schools when women’s school, were set up in the cities and towns after mid 19th century.
- Many journals began carrying writings by women, and explained why women should be educated.
- “Print led to intense controversies between social and religious reformers and Hindu orthodoxy”. Support this statement with example. or How were social and religious reforms carried out with the help of printing in India?
- From the early 19th century, there were intense debates around religious issues.
- Some criticised existing practices and campaigned for reform, while others countered the arguments of reformers.
- To reach a wider audience, the ideas were printed in the spoken language of the ordinary people.
E.g.: Raja Rammohan Roy published the ‘Sambad Kaumudi ’ and the Hindu orthodoxy published the ‘Samachar Chandrika’ to oppose his opinions. - “Print did not only stimulate the publication of conflicting opinions among communities but it also connected communities and people in different parts of India” support the statement with examples.
- Folk literature was widely printed in Punjab.
- Ram Chaddha published the fast selling Istri Dharam Vichar to teach women how to be obedient wives.
- The Khalsa Tract Society published cheap booklets with a similar message. Many of these were written on qualities of a good woman.
- An entire area in central Calcutta—the Battala was devoted to the printing of popular books.
- Here one could buy cheap editions of religious tracts and scriptures.
- A lot of these books were illustrated with woodcuts and coloured lithographs.
- Pedlars took the Battala publications to their homes, enabling women to read them in their leisure time.
- Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of ‘Low Caste’ protest movement, wrote about the injustices in his Gulamgiri.
- B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswami Naicker, wrote powerfully on caste and their writings were read by people all over India.
- Print played a significant role in awakening sentiments of nationalism amongst the Indians. Explain the statement with examples.
- Various nationalist newspapers reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities.
- Attempt to disrupt nationalist writings, provoked militant protest.
- This led to renewed cycle of persecution and protest.
- When Punjab revolutionaries were deported, Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote with great sympathy about them in his Kesari.
This led to his imprisonment in 1908 and widespread protests all over India.
Self
- In Europe, who was the inventor of the printing press?
- What was the basic objective of selling penny and chapbooks in England?
- Who started to edit the Bengal Gazette weekly?
- Name the author of Gulamgiri (1871).
- How did Governor-General William Bentinck react to the petition filed by editors of English and Vernacular newspaper?
- What was an ‘accordion book’? Describe any two features of hand printing in China.
- Who was Marco Polo? What was his contribution to print culture?
- How did Martin Luther’s writings bring reforms in religious field? Explain.
- How did books create a new culture of reading? Give three examples.
- What is manuscripts and what were its shortcomings?
- Which was the first book printed by Gutenburg? Explain any 4 unique features of it.
- What role was played by the print culture in bringing the French Revolution?
- How did the print initiate public debates and affect the religious and social reforms? Explain.
- Describe any five strategies developed by the printers and publishers in the 19th century to sell their products.
- What restrictions were imposed by the Vernacular Press Act on the Indian Press? Explain.
Important Terms:
- Calligraphy: The art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush.
- Bureaucracy: Relating to a system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
- Illustration: To furnish (a book, magazine, etc.) with drawing, pictures or other artwork intended for explanation. 4.
- Vellum: Fine parchment made originally from the skin of a calf.
- Scribes: A person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of printing.
- Platen: It is a small board, which is pressed onto the back of the paper to get the impression from the type. It is used in letterpress printing.
- Ballad: A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next.
- Taverns: Places where people gathered to drink alcohol, to be served food, and to meet friends and exchange news.
- Protestant Reformation: was a major 16th century European movement aimed initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
- Inquisition: a period of prolonged and intensive questioning.
- Heretical: holding an opinion at odds with what is generally accepted.
- Prohibited: that has been forbidden; banned.
- Denominations: Sub-groups within a religion
- Almanac: An annual publication giving astronomical data information about the movements of the sun and moon, timing of full tides, etc.
- Chapbooks: a small paper-covered booklet, typically containing poems or fiction.
- Despotism: the exercise of absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.
- Ulama: a body of Muslim scholars who are recognised as having specialised knowledge of Islamic sacred law and theology.
- Fatwa: ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognised authority.
- Censorship: The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or threat to security.
- Important Events:AD 594 – Earliest print technology was developed in China, Japan and Korea.AD 768-770 – Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology to Japan.11th century – Chinese paper reached Europe through the silk route.15th century – Woodblocks were being widely used in Europe for printing textiles, playing cards and religious pictures with simple, brief texts.1430s – Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.1450-1550 – Printing presses were set up in most countries of Europe.1517 – Martin Luther, a religious reformer wrote ‘Ninety Five Theses’ criticizing many of the practices and rituals of Roman Catholic Church.1558 – The Roman Church troubled by effects of popular readings and questionings of faith, imposed several controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of prohibited books.Mid-16th century – The first printing press came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries.1674 – About 50 books had been printed in Konkani and in Kanara languages.1780s – Literature mocked the royalty and criticized their morality. This resulted in the growth of hostile sentiments against the monarchy.1780s – James Augustus Hickey began the Bengal Gazette, a weekly magazine.1810 – The first printed edition of the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, a 16th century text, appeared.1820s – The Calcutta Supreme Court passed certain regulations to control press freedom and the company began encouraging publication of newspapers that would celebrate the British rule.1821 – Raja Ram Mohan Roy published the Sambad Kaumudi and the Hindu orthodoxy commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to oppose his opinions.1822 – Two Persian newspapers were published, Jam-i-Jahan Nama and Shamsul Akhbar. A Gujarati newspaper, the Bombay Samachar, was also published.1835 – Faced with urgent petitions by editors of the English and vernacular newspapers, Governor-General Bentinck agreed to revise press laws. Thomas Macaulay formulated new rules that restored their earlier freedoms.1860s – Few Bengali women such as Kailashbashini Debi wrote books highlighting the experiences of women.1871 – Jyotiba Phule, the Maratha pioneer of ‘low caste’ protest movements, wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his Gulmagiri.1876 – Rashsundari Debi’s autobiography, Amar Jiban, was published. It was the first full-length autobiography published in the Bengali language.1878 – The Vernacular Press Act was passed, modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press.1880s – Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai wrote with passionate anger about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women, especially widows.1907 – When the Punjab revolutionaries were deported, Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote with great sympathy about them in his Kesari.1920s – Popular works were sold in cheap series, called the Shilling Series in England.1930s – Bangalore cotton millworkers set up libraries for educating themselves.
print culture and the modern world |
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