Everyday Life, Culture And PoliticsClass 10 History NCERT Solutions

In eighteenth-century Europe, many people believed that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism for three main reasons:

Some people feared the effect of easily available printed books because they believed it would lead to the spread of rebellious, irreligious, and seditious ideas among the masses. This was seen as a threat to the authority of established institutions like the Church and the state, as it meant a loss of control over what people read, thought, and believed.

Example from Europe: The Roman Catholic Church was deeply apprehensive about the effects of print. It feared that popular readings of religious texts could lead to individual interpretations that questioned the Church's doctrines. The case of Menocchio, a sixteenth-century Italian miller who read available books and formulated a view of God that was deemed heretical, is a prime example. Troubled by such challenges to its authority, the Church established the Inquisition to repress dissent and, from 1558, began maintaining an 'Index of Prohibited Books' to prevent people from reading materials it considered dangerous to their faith.

Example from India: In nineteenth-century India, conservative social groups feared the impact of print, particularly on women. As the text states, 'Conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed and Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.' This fear stemmed from the belief that education and exposure to new ideas through print would disrupt the traditional social order and challenge patriarchal norms. Similarly, the British colonial government feared the nationalist press, which it saw as seditious. This fear led to the passing of the Vernacular Press Act in 1878 to censor newspapers and suppress anti-colonial sentiments.

The spread of print culture in nineteenth-century India had several transformative effects for poor people:

Print culture played a crucial role in assisting the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways:

a) Woodblock printing technology was developed in China. For centuries, goods like silk and spices reached Europe from China via the silk route, but the knowledge of this print technology did not. It was only in 1295, when the great explorer Marco Polo returned to Italy after many years of exploration in China, that he brought this knowledge with him. Following his return, Italians began producing books with woodblocks, and the technology gradually spread to other parts of Europe.

b) Martin Luther was in favour of print because it was a powerful tool that helped him spread his ideas and challenge the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote his 'Ninety Five Theses' criticising the practices and rituals of the Church. A printed copy was posted on a church door, and his writings were immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This led to a division within the Church and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Deeply grateful for the role print played in his movement, Luther famously 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 1558 because it feared the effects of popular readings and questionings of faith. The spread of printed books allowed individuals, even those with little education, to interpret religious texts for themselves. This sometimes led to the formulation of heretical ideas that challenged the Church's authority. For example, Menocchio, an Italian miller, reinterpreted the Bible in a way that enraged the Church and was ultimately executed. To repress such dissenting ideas and control the spread of literature it considered anti-religious, the Church imposed severe controls on publishers and booksellers by maintaining this index.

d) Mahatma Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj was a fight for these freedoms because he recognized them as the most powerful vehicles for expressing and cultivating public opinion against colonial rule. Liberty of speech, the press, and association were essential for nationalists to critique government policies, spread ideas of freedom and self-rule, and mobilize the masses. The British colonial government frequently tried to crush these freedoms through censorship and repressive acts to weaken the nationalist movement. Therefore, Gandhi believed that the struggle for India's independence (Swaraj) was inseparable from the struggle to secure these fundamental rights for its people.

a) The Gutenberg Press: Developed by Johann Gutenberg in Strasbourg, Germany, in the 1430s, the Gutenberg Press was the first-known printing press in Europe. Gutenberg, who had expertise as a goldsmith and was familiar with wine and olive presses, adapted existing technology to create his innovation. He used moulds to cast movable metal types for the letters of the alphabet and used an olive press as the model for his printing press. The first book he printed was the Bible, producing about 180 copies in three years. This press could print 250 sheets on one side per hour, a vast improvement over manual copying. It marked the shift from hand printing to mechanical printing and initiated the print revolution in Europe.

b) Erasmus's idea of the printed book: Erasmus, a Latin scholar and Catholic reformer, expressed deep anxiety about the impact of printed books. While he was a critic of the excesses of Catholicism, he feared the consequences of the uncontrolled circulation of printed material. In his work Adages (1508), he argued that the sheer multitude of new books was harmful to scholarship. He was concerned that the world was being filled with 'stupid, ignorant, slanderous, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious books.' He believed that this flood of trifling and harmful literature would cause even valuable publications to lose their value, creating a state of satiety where even good things become harmful.

b) The Vernacular Press Act: Passed in 1878 by the colonial government in India, the Vernacular Press Act was a repressive measure designed to control the 'native' press. After the Revolt of 1857, vernacular newspapers had become increasingly nationalist and critical of colonial rule. The Act, modelled on the Irish Press Laws, provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. The government began to keep regular track of newspapers, and if a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was first warned. If the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and its printing machinery confiscated. It was a clear attempt to throttle nationalist criticism and suppress freedom of the press in India.

a) Women: The spread of print culture in nineteenth-century India had a significant impact on women's lives. They became an important category of readers and writers. Journals and magazines began to be published specifically for women, discussing issues like education, widow remarriage, and housekeeping. While conservative families feared that literacy would corrupt women, liberal husbands and fathers began educating their female relatives at home. This led to the emergence of notable women writers like Rashsundari Debi, Tarabai Shinde, and Pandita Ramabai, who wrote about their experiences and the plight of women. Print provided a medium for women to read, express their thoughts, and engage with the ongoing social debates.

b) The poor: Print culture made books and information accessible to the poor for the first time. Very cheap, small books were sold at markets and crossroads in nineteenth-century Madras, allowing poor people travelling to markets to buy them. Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding access to books. This enabled working-class people to educate themselves. Some, like the Kanpur millworker Kashibaba, even began to write and publish. He wrote Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal to highlight the links between caste and class exploitation. Print gave the poor access to knowledge and a platform to voice their concerns and experiences.

b) Reformers: For social and religious reformers, print was a powerful tool to propagate their ideas and engage in public debate. From the early nineteenth century, reformers like Rammohun Roy used printed tracts and newspapers, such as the Sambad Kaumudi, to challenge existing practices like widow immolation and idolatry. This led to intense public controversies, as orthodox groups also used print to counter the reformers' arguments. Print carried these debates to a wider audience, helping to shape public opinion. Later, reformers like Jyotiba Phule, B.R. Ambedkar, and Periyar used print powerfully to critique the injustices of the caste system and advocate for social equality.