Print Culture and the Modern World

Write in brief

1.Give reasons for the following: 

a)Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.
Answer: In 1295, Marco Polo, a great explorer, returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China. China already had the technology of woodblock printing. Marco Polo brought this knowledge back with him. In this way woodblock print came to Europe.
b)Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it.

Answer: Deeply grateful to print, Luther said, ‘Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one.’ In 1517, he wrote Ninety Five Theses criticising many of the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church.Several scholars, in fact, think that print brought about a new intellectual atmosphere and helped spread the new ideas that led to the Reformation.

c)The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited books from the mid-sixteenth century.

Answer: The Roman Church, troubled by effects of popular readings and questionings of faith, imposed severe controls over publishers and booksellers and began to maintain an Index of Prohibited Books from 1558.

d)Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi said these words in 1922 during the Non-cooperation Movement (1920-22). According to him, without the liberty of speech, the liberty of the press and freedom of association, no nation can even survive. If the country was to get free from foreign domination, then these liberties were quite important.

2.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 

Answer:-

a) The Gutenberg Press: The Gutenberg Press was the first printing press of Europe. It was invented by Johannes Gutenberg of Strasbourg. He grew up in a large agricultural estate and had knowledge and experience in operating olive and wine presses. He invented the printing press around the year 1448 with the Bible being the first book to be printed.

b)Erasmus’s idea of the printed book: Erasmus, the Latin scholar, was not happy with the printing of books because he was afraid that this would lead to the circulation of books with rebellious ideas. He felt that although a few books may give useful information, the majority of books may just be irrelevant or illogical through which irreligious ideas will spread, ultimately leading to incitement of rebellion.

c)The Vernacular Press Act: The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 by the British government in India. This act provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the Vernacular Press. If a Vernacular Paper published any seditious material, the paper was banned, and its printing machinery was seized and destroyed.

3.What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to: 

a)Women 

b)The poor 

c)Reformers

Answers:-

(b) The Poor: As the literacy rate improved in Europe as well as in India, printed material, especially for entertainment, began to reach even the poor. In England ‘penny magazines’ were carried by peddlers and sold for a penny, so that even poor people could buy them. Those who could not read could listen to the stories and folklore. These stories and folklore could be read out to them by others. Books could be hired on a nominal fee from some book owners. Even in India, very cheap small books were brought to the market in 19th century Madras towns,  which allowed poor people to have access to print culture.

(c) Reformers: Reformers used newspapers, journals and books to highlight the social evils prevailing in the society. Raja Ram Mohan Roy published the ‘Sambad Kaumudi’ to highlight the plight of widows. From the 1860s, many Bengali women writers 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 were treated unjustly by the menfolk they served.

(a) Women: Women became as important as readers and writers. Reading habits improved among them. With an increase in literacy, women took great interest in reading and writing. Many journals started emphasizing the importance of women’s education. Many magazines and books were especially published for women. The print culture gave women some amount of freedom to read and develop their own views on various issues, especially those related to women.

Discuss

1.Why did some people in eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism? 

Answer: The spreading of new ideas after the coming of 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. By the eighteenth 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 liberate society from despotism and tyranny. The writings of thinkers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Paine and Voltaire were also widely printed and gained popularity. Thus their ideas about science, rationality and reasoning found their way into popular literature. 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.

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

Answer: Some people, especially from the upper class fear the effect of easily available printed books due to the spread of literacy among the common people. They feared that they might lose their position or authorities. Some people thought that it might lead to the spread of rebellions and irreligious thoughts, for exapmle:
(i) In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church tried to curb the printed books through the Index of Prohibited Books.
(ii) In India, the Vernacular Press Act imposed restrictions on Indian press and various local newspapers.
3.What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth century India? 

Answer: Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding access to books. From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination were written about in many printed tracts and essays. Jyotiba Phule, wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his Gulamgiri (1871). In the twentieth century, B.R. Ambedkar in Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker in Madras wrote on caste, and their writings were read by people all over India. Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular journals and tracts, criticising ancient scriptures. At the very least, it made pooer people aware of their rights and their place in society and Print media showed the way in which they can improve their lot in life.
4.Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.
Answer: By the end of the 19th century, a large number of newspapers in Indian vernacular languages were published, making it easier to cut the language barriers among the various ethnic groups of Indians. These newspapers published articles written by national leaders. Their ideas were communicated to the masses through these newspapers. The people of different communities and places were thus connected by print media. Newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating a pan-Indian identity. The nationalist newspapers exposed the colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities. For example, when Punjab revolutionaries were deported in 1907, Balagangadhar Tilak wrote articles sympathising with them. He was arrested which provoked protest among the masses. In this way print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.