NOTES PREPARED BY
KHURSHEED AHMED
TEACHER IN SCHOOL
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
"CHAPTER 5" {History}
Print Culture and the Modern World"
TERMINOLOGY
1.Calligraphy:-The art of beautiful, decorative & stylized writing.
2.Vellum:-A parchment made from the skin of animals..
3.Compositor:-The person who composes the text for printing.
4.Ballad:-A historical account or folk tale in verse usually
5.Heretical:-Apostasy, beliefs other than Christians or teaching of the church.
6.Taverns:-Places where people gather to drink alcohol, serve food, to meet friends & exchange news
7.Satiety: - The State of being fulfilled much beyond the point of satisfaction.
8.Sedition:-An action, speech or writing against government.
9.Inquisition:- A former Roman Catholic court for identifying and punishing heretics.
10.Despotism: A system of Govt, in which absolute power is exercised by an individual without any check.
Write in brief:
1. Give reasons the following:
(a) Wood blockprint only came to Europe after 1295:
Woodblock printing was invented in China in 594 A.D. Till the end of 13th century the European were not having any knowledge about it. It was only in 1295 that woodblock printing came to Europe from China through silk route. It was in the year of 1295 that Marco Polo, a great European explorer returned to Italy after many years of exploration in china and brought the technology of woodblock printing with him. This technology soon spread from Italy to the rest of Europe.
(b) Martin Luther was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it:
Martin Luther, the pioneer of protestant reformation in Germany was in favour of print and spoke out in praise of it, because it helped him to popularize and spread his ideas against the wrong practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He was shocked to witness the worldliness and spiritual emptiness of the Catholic Church. He attacked the very concept, which lay behind the sale of indulgences by nailing his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle-Church at Wittenberg. He enunciated the doctrine of justification by faith and didn't believe on Catholic means of salvation. His theses got wide publicity and received lukewarm response. He also translated the New Testament and 5000 copies if it were sold within few weeks. His rejection of infallibility of the pope and the doctrines of Church led to the division of the Church and beginning of the Protestant Reformation. All this was possible with the help of print. Deeply grateful to print, Luther said, “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one."
(c) The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an index of prohibited books from the mid 16th century:
The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an index of prohibited books from the mid-16th century (1558) because print and popular religious literature stimulated distinctive individual interpretations of faith. Menocchio, a miller in Italy formulated a view of God and Creation that enraged the Roman Catholic Church. Besides, the new interpretation of Bible reached to people and they started questioning the authority of church through their writings.
(d) Gandhi said the fight for swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press and the freedom of association:
According to Mahatma Gandhi, liberty of speech, press and freedom of association was the most powerful vehicle of expressing and cultivating public opinion. The British government in India was seeking to crush these particularly after the First World War. Gandhi felt that denial of these rights was not compatible with the idea of Swaraj or self-rule. So, he said that the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty and freedom of association.
2: Write Short Note on:
(a) Gutenberg press:
The first printing press was developed by Johann Gutenberg in the 1430s at Strasburg, Germany. He had good experience of wine and olive presses and had acquired the expertise to create lead moulds used for making small ornaments. He adapted this experience to produce printing press, the olive press provided him the model for the printing press and moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet ie. 26 letters of Roman alphabet. Gutenberg press came to be known as moveable Roman printing machine devised as a way of moving the metal types around to compose different words of the text. By 1448 CE, he perfected the system. The first book printed by him was Gutenberg Bible. It took three years to produce 180 copies of it.
(b)Erasmus's idea of the printed book:
Erasmus was a Latin scholar and a catholic reformer. He criticized the excesses of
Catholicism but remained away from Martin Luther, because he wanted reforms within church and not by open revolt against church. He expressed deep anxiety about printing of books. He was deeply concerned about the great number of books being published during his time. He believed that some books provide some
worthwhile knowledge, but the great numbers of them are hurtful to scholarship. Printers fill the world with not only unimportant but stupid, ignorant, disgraceful, irreligious and seditious books. Such books even devalue the valuable books.
(c)The Vernacular Press Act:
The Vernacular press Act was passed in March, 1878 to control publications in vernacular languages like Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu etc. It imposed severe restrictions on the freedom of Indian press. It provided the government with
extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. Now the government started regularly tracking the vernacular newspapers. If there was a report against British rule, the newspaper was warned and for the second mistake,
there was provision to seize the press and confiscate printing machinery.
3:What did the spread of print culture in 19th century India mean to:
(a)Women:
The spread of printing culture in 19h century India benefitted Indian women. It facilitated their education and emancipation. In the 19h century many schools were set up for women to improve their condition. The number of women readers increased to a great extent as their lives and feelings began to be written in clear and intense ways. Now liberal husbands and fathers began educating their women. Besides, a number of women's schools were setup in the towns and cities. The educated women now pleaded strongly in favour of women education and end of injustice done to them. A few women writers like Kailash bashni Debiin Bengal, Tarabai Shinde and Pandita Ramabaiin Maharashtra came ahead and wrote on the miserable lives of women. They also discussed the issue like women's education, widowhood, widow remarriage etc. Rashsundari Devi wrote a full length autobiography, “AMAR JIBAN” which was published in 1876. This all became possible because of the spread of print culture.
(b) The Poor:
The poor people were benefitted by the spread of print culture in the 19th century. The availability of books at low prices and establishment of public libraries increased readership among the poor. It expanded their access to knowledge and facilitated them to protest against injustices done to them. Jyotirao Phule, the pioneer of 'low castes' protest movements, wrote about the injustices of the caste system in his book, “GULAMGIRI”, 1871. Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers they wrote books, Kashibaba, a Kanpur mill worker, wrote and published "Chhoteaur Bade kasawal' in 1938 to show the links between caste and class exploitation.
(c) Reformers:
The spread of print culture in the 19th century India greatly helped the reformers. They utilized it as the most potent means of spreading their reformist ideas and highlight the evil practices, unethical issues and injustice prevailing in the Indian society. Print culture in the form of newspapers, journals and books not only spread the new ideas but prepared the people for change. The reformers began publishing newspapers, books, Journals, Magazines etc. In vernacular languages to spread their opinions against sati system, child marriage, idolatry, brahmanical priesthood etc. and also to support women education, widow remarriage, women's rights etc. Likewise, the Ulema used cheap lithographic presses and published Persian and Urdu translations of Holy Scriptures to save the Muslim conversion to Christianity. So, the 19th century print culture provided reforms a space to overhaul the society.
4. Why did people in 18th century Europe think that print culture would bring
enlightenment and end despotism?
In 18th century a strong desire and enthusiasm developed for reading in European countries (reading mania). The cheap and diversified books helped the individuals to read, which developed rational thinking, scientific outlook, liberalism and democratic ideas among them. The writings of thinkers like Thomas Paine, Voltaire, J.J. Rousseau, John Locke, Montesquieu and other philosophers were widely printed and read and hence their ideas found their way into popular literature, almanacs, ballads, folk journals, newspapers, tales etc. The wide spread and easy access of people to the knowledge, developed common belief among them that the print culture would bring enlightment and end despotism. E.g. Louise-Sebastian, 18th century French novelist declared, “The printing press is the most powerful engine of progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep the despotism away.”
5. Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.
The easier access and wider circulation of printed books created fears among some
people. They were mostly those who held some power or authority. They gave different reasons in support of their fear. The religious authorities feared that the uncontrolled circulation and reading of printed books might spread rebellious and irreligious thoughts. By it the authority of valuable literature would be destroyed. Monarchs and other rulers feared that print can lead to the growth of hostile sentiments against them and they may lose their power.
Example from Europe: Erasmus expressed deep anxiety about the easily available printed books. He considered them harmful to scholarship as he said that most of them carry ignorant, disgraceful, irreligious and seditious information. So, they devalue the valuable books.
Example from India: The orthodox Brahmans expressed fear against easily available printed books on Hinduism. They considered it as a serious challenge to their age-old monopoly over the Hindu religious scriptures.
6. What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in 19th century India?
The print culture not only took up the cause of women but equally it took up the problems of the poor classes of the society- the laborers, the workers and the down trodden. Very cheap small books were brought to markets and sold at crossroads, allowing poor people travelling to markets to buy them. Public libraries were set up expanding the access to books and readership among the poor. Issues of caste discrimination began to be written about in many printed tracts and essays. This helped in bringing these issues to the forefront of public consciousness and facilitated them to protest against injustices done to them. Jyotirao Phule wrote a book Gulamgiri, in which he highlighted the injustice in the caste system. Workers in factories were too overworked and lacked the education to write about their experiences. Encouraged and inspired by the social reformers some workers took initiative to write stories about their condition, KashiBaba, a Kanpur mill worker, wrote and published "Chhoteaur Bade kasawal.” to show links between caste and class exploitation. So worker's problems also came to the forefront.
7. Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India?
Print culture started in India in 1780 with the publication of first newspaper, Bengal Gazette by James Augustus Hickey. However, the real beginning of the print culture started in the early 19th century. The growth of print culture over the century helped in developing a culture of dialogue among the people. The leaders like Ram Mohan Roy, D. B. Naoroji, Tilak, Bose, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, M.A Jinnah and Gandhiji played a great role in spreading the reformist and nationalist ideas through print culture. Despite repressive measures, nationalist newspapers grew in all parts of India and assisted the growth of nationalism to a great extent. This is revealed from the following points:
(1)Through press, oppressive methods and exploitative nature of the colonial rule was exposed to the mannen of india. It facilitated the shaping of united protest against the colonial rule, Nationalist feelings and revolutionary ideas were spread by the dailies like the Amrit Bazaar Patrika, the Hindu, Kenari, Maratha, the Indian Mirror, and Young India etc. Through these newspapers nationalist leaders tried to mobilize public opinion against the British rule. They assisted the growth of nationalism in India.
(iii) Print culture also helped in eradicating the social evils, which reduced the gap between people based on caste etc. and hence assisted in growth of nationalism In conclusion, print culture helped in the spread of knowledge and
information about the national and international developments. So, it became a powerful vehicle of political education and growth of nationalism and led to independence of India in 1947.
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