Class 10, Print Culture and the Modern World | CBSE (CCE) Solutions | NCERT Social Science

History | Chapter 7, India and The Contemporary World - II (Textbook Exercise Question Answers)

NCERT CBSE (Social Science) History Solutions

Class X India and the Contemporary World-II

Chapter 7, Print Culture and the Modern World

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. Luthers 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) Erasmuss 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) Erasmuss 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.
(c) The Vernacular Press Act : Page-175, Topic 9, 3rd paragraph (Make 5 points from entire
Para)
After the revolt of 1857, printing machinery confiscated.
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.
(i) The liberal families supported the education of women to study or read as they believed
education and reading would make the women corrupt.
(ii) This led to the counter reaction, as most of the oppressed women began to study and
read books and learnt writing in secrecy.
(iii) 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.
(iv) From the 1860s, a few Bengali women like Kailashbashini Debi wrote books highlighting
the experiences of women about how women were imprisoned at home, kept in ignorance,
forced to do hard domestic labour and treated unjustly by the very people they served.
(v) In the 1880s, in present-day Maharashtra, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabai wrote
with passionate anger about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women, especially
widows.
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.
(i) The readership among them increased due to the publication of low priced books.
(ii) Public libraries were also set up from the early 19th century, expanding the access to the
books where all people could gain knowledge.
(iii) Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers, the people like factory workers too set up
their libraries and some even wrote books.
(iv) Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published Chote aur Bade Ka Sawal in 1938 to
show links between caste and class exploitation.
(v) The poems of another Kanpur millworker, who wrote under the name of Sudarshan Chakr
between 1935 and 1955, were brought together and published in a collection called Sacchi
Kavitayan.
.
(b) (i) Indian reforms of 19th century utilized print culture as the most potent means of
spreading their reformist ideas and highlight the unethical issues.
(ii)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.

(iii) 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.
(iv) Martin Luthers Ninety Five Thesis lead to a division within the Church and to the
beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
(v) Louise Sebastian Mercier believed that books could change the world, liberate society from
despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule.
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.
Print culture 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.
Martin Luthers Ninety Five Thesis lead to a division within the Church and to the beginning of
the Protestant Reformation.
Louise Sebastian Mercier believed that books could change the world, liberate society from
despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule.

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. Example, Balgangadhar Tilaks Kaseri is one of such effort to
promote nationalism in India.
Assignment No.3 reference solutions
*Note:- For reference only

SA 1

1.

Assignment 3 (Chapter-7)

Why did imperial China become a major producer of printed material

from early times? Explain.

2.

How did printing become a part of urban culture in the 17th century in
China?

3.

Bring out giving examples the interesting printing practices that emerged
in Japan in the 17th century.

4.

In what ways did print revolution transform the lives of people? How did
the idea of science and reason become popular among masses?

5.

To what extent did the print culture create conditions for the French
Revolution?

6.

Discuss the various innovations that took place in printing technology in

the nineteenth century.

7.

What impact did the spread of print culture in the 19th century India
have on women?

8.

What were the drawbacks of handwritten manuscripts?

9.

Describe the first printed book of Gutenberg the Bible.

10.

What was vernacular press act? What was the objective behind passing it
by the British in India?

Answer1: (a) The imperial state in China was, for a very long time, the major
producer of printed material.

(b) China possessed a huge bureaucratic system which recruited its personnel
through civil service examinations.
(c) Textbooks for this examination were printed in vast numbers under the
sponsorship of the imperial state.
(d) From the sixteenth century, the number of examination candidates went up
and that increased the volume of print.
(e) By the seventeenth century, as urban culture bloomed in China, the uses of
print diversified.
Answer2: Page-154, Topic-1, 3rd paragraph (Make 5 points from the whole para)

By the seventeenth wrote about their lives.

Answer 3: Page-155, Topic-1.1, 2nd paragraph (Make 3 points from the whole para)
Printing of visual material cooking and famous places.
Answer4: (a) 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.
(b) The ideas of scientists and philosophers now became more accessible to the
common 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 popular literature.
Answer5: Page-163, Topic-4.2, Three points given on that page. (Write the
points in details carefully)
Answer6: Page-166, Topic-5.2, 1st paragraph, 3rd line onwards(Make 5 points)
By the mid-nineteenth century, appearance of printed texts.
Answer7: Refer Q. No.-3 (a) TBQ (Write the same answer)
Amswer8: Page-167, Topic-6.1, 2nd Paragraph continued on next page (Entire
Paragraph.make 5 points)
Answer9: Refer Q.No-2 (a) TBQ (Write the same answer)
Answer10: Page-175, Topic 9, 3rd Paragraph, Complete (Write in 5 points)