NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 Print Culture and the Modern World
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 Print Culture and the Modern World (Social Science), contains solutions to various questions in Exercise for Chapter 5. At the end of the Solutions, all the keywords which are important to understand Print Culture and the Modern World Class 10 History, have been explained in a simple and easy to understand manner. NCERT Solutions for Class 10 Social Science help to check the concept you have learnt from detailed classroom sessions and application of your knowledge.
| Category | NCERT Solutions for Class 10 |
| Subject | History (Social Science) |
| Chapter | Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World |
Download NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World – NCERT Exercises
Write in Brief
Ques.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 an Index of Prohibited Books from the mid-sixteenth century.
d) Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for the liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.
Ans.1:
- The technique of woodblock printing was unknown to Europe. It was until 1295 when Marco Polo, an Italian explorer returned from China where he learnt the technique of woodblock printing and introduced it to Italy. The technique gradually spread from Italy to other parts of Europe.
- Martin Luther was highly in favour of print. As an act of protest, he wrote Ninety-Five Theses criticizing the practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. He challenged the Church to conduct debates on his ideas. This led to the beginning of Protestant Reformation. His writings became popular and his translation of the New Testament was sold extensively.
- As the print and religious literature became widely popular, people began interpreting faith accordingly. Menocchio, an Italian miller, reinterpreted Bible in a way that angered the Roman Catholic Church. Such popular and widespread effects of reading made the Roman Catholic Church maintain an Index of Prohibited Books since 1558.
- These words said by Mahatma Gandhi in a speech during the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922 expresses how he firmly believed that to oppose the domination of the colonial power and to gain freedom, the masses needed to have the freedom of speech and expression that would help them express their protest against the colonial power.
Ques.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
Ans.2:
a) The Gutenberg Press: The Gutenberg Press was invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1448. He was the son of a merchant and grew up to be a proficient goldsmith. Based on his extensive knowledge, he designed an innovative olive press which used metal moulds to cast letters on the paper. The first book printed by him was the Bible.
b) Erasmus’s idea of the printed book: Erasmus, a Latin scholar and a Catholic reformer believed that such wide circulation of books could be harmful to the society as it would inspire rebellion. In his opinion, the scandalous, stupid, irreligious, and ignorant books were much more in circulation and as a result, even the valuable literature was losing its value.
c) The Vernacular Press Act: As the nationalist movement strengthened and people began mobilising the masses with the help of print culture, the Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 and major restrictions were imposed on the print activities. This act gave the colonial government the powers to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. The government now could keep tracks of vernacular newspapers. If a report was seditious, the newspaper was warned, and the machinery was confiscated with the press being seized in case the warning was ignored.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 Print Culture and the Modern
Ques.3: What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth-century India mean to:
a) Women
b) The poor
c) Reformers
Ans.3: The spread of print culture in the nineteenth century had different importance for different sections of the society.
a) Women: The spread of print culture in India greatly helped women to express themselves. Women in liberal homes were allowed to study as women’s schools were being set up widely. Women increasingly began writing and journals also began publishing their writings. However, not all women got the opportunity to study as they belonged to orthodox families. These women tried to rebel and learn secretly. Rashsundari Debi wrote her autobiography Amar Jiban, which was published in 1876. Eventually, women writers started coming forward from different states of India. The spread of print gave women a platform to express their ideas, opinions, and conditions, and raise issues for their upliftment.
b) The poor: As print culture continued to spread, it also started developing in a manner to be able to suit the requirements of different sections of the society. Small, cheap books were introduced in Madras that were feasible to be bought by the poor. These books generally contained traditional folklore and tales with illustrations, making it easier for the poor to read and understand. The print also helped the workers in factories to express their condition and views.
c) Reformers: Print culture also served as a weapon for the reformers to mobilise the masses and raise questions against the irrelevant and discriminatory practices. Jyotiba Phule of Maharashtra wrote about the injustices of the caste system. Other profound reformers who widely worked to eradicate caste system and wrote extensively were B.R. Ambedkar of Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker of Madras. Various factory workers like Kashibaba of Kanpur and Sudarshan Chakra also began writing about caste and class exploitation.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 – Discuss
Ques.1: Why did some people in eighteenth-century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?
Ans.1: Some people in the eighteenth-century Europe thought that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism due to the following reasons:
- The development and spread of print culture exposed people to a plethora of new ideas and opened up ways for discussions and debate. This helped people to think more critically and rationally. As the ancient texts were reinterpreted, it gave people a way to express their views and opinions and know those of others.
- Print greatly influenced the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers and scholars. Their writings widely criticised the monarchial rule and condemned despotism, tradition, and superstition. They demanded the rule of reason. The excessive powers of the Church and the monarch were questioned by them. People widely read Voltaire and Rousseau and started analyzing by reasoning and questioning. They began thinking rationally and critically.
- Newspapers and informational journals were also widely printed. Eventually, scientific texts, both ancient and new were also printed. The writings and discoveries of various scholars like Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Newton were widely printed and read.
- It was believed that the spread of print culture would put an end to despotism. It was also believed that by the act of reading, enlightenment and transformation would be brought.
Ques.2: Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.
Ans.2: Some people greatly feared the effects of easily available printed books. They feared that such extensive availability of reading material would corrupt the readers and the importance of the religious literature and imperial powers will be hampered. This could be seen both in Europe and India.
- In Europe, as print and religious literature became widely popular, people began interpreting faith accordingly. Menocchio, an Italian miller, reinterpreted Bible in a way that angered the Roman Catholic Church. Such popular and widespread effects of reading that questioned the Church made the Roman Catholic Church maintain an Index of Prohibited Books written as early as 1558.
- In India, as the nationalist movement strengthened and people began mobilising masses with the help of print culture, the Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 and major restrictions were imposed on the print activities. This act gave the colonial government the powers to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. The government now kept tracks of vernacular newspapers. If a report was seditious, the newspaper was warned, and the machinery confiscated and the press was seized if the warning was ignored.
Ques.3: What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth-century India?
Ans.3: As print culture continued to spread, it also developed in order to suit the requirements of different sections of the society. Small, cheap books were introduced in Madras that were feasible to be bought by the poor as well. These books generally contained traditional folklore and tales with illustrations, making it easier for the poor to read and understand. The print also helped the workers in factories to express their condition and views. Print culture also served as a weapon for the reformers to mobilise the masses and raise questions against the irrelevant and discriminatory practices. Jyotiba Phule of Maharashtra wrote about the injustices of the caste system. Other profound reformers who widely worked to eradicate caste system and who wrote extensively known to have participated were B.R. Ambedkar of Maharashtra and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker of Madras. Various factory workers like Kashibaba of Kanpur and Sudarshan Chakra also began writing about caste and class exploitation.
Ques.4: Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.
Ans.4: Print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India in the following ways:
- Newspapers and books were being published in vernacular languages that helped people from all regions of the country to understand the cause of nationalism and as a resulted it motivated them to fight for freedom.
- The print also helped different sections of people with various other ideas and identities to come together and provide them an unique pan-Indian identity.
- Social reformers and national leaders began publishing newspaper articles, poetry, books, etc. that communicated the idea of nationalism and the importance of freedom from the colonial rule.
- The nationalist newspapers came up in huge numbers during the nationalist movement. these newspapers covered instances and news of colonial misrule. For example, Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote in his newspaper Kesari, a heart wrenching article for the deported Punjab revolutionaries.
Topics Covered in Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World Class 10 History (Social Science)
1. The First Printed Books
1.1 Print in Japan
2. Print Comes to Europe
2.1 Gutenberg and the Printing Press
3. The Print Revolution and Its Impact
3.1 A New Reading Public
3.2 Religious Debates and the Fear of Print
3.3 Print and Dissent
4. The Reading Mania
4.1 Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world!
4.2 Print Culture and the French Revolution
5. The Nineteenth Century
5.1 Children, Women and Workers
5.2 Further innovations
6. India and the World of Print
6.1 Manuscripts Before the Age of Print
6.2 Print Comes to India
7. Religious Reform and Public Debates
8. New Forms of Publication
8.1 Women and Print
8.2 Print and the Poor People
9. Print and Censorship
Important Terms Relevant for NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World :
Calligraphy:Refers to the art of beautiful and stylish writing
Vellum:A parchment made from animal skin
Platen:Refers toa part of the printing press which is pressed into the back of the paper to get an impression. It changed from being made of wood to steel
Compositor:The person who composes the text that is to be printed
Ballad:Traditional and historical folk tales which are mostly sung or recited.
Taverns:Gathering places where food and drinks were served and people gathered to discuss news.
Protestant Reformation:A sixteenth-century movement to reform the Catholic Church dominated by Rome. Martin Luther was one of the very famous Protestant reformers.
Inquisition:A former Roman Catholic court that identified and punished heretics.
Heretical:Beliefs opposing the accepted teachings of the Church.
Satiety:The point where one is fulfilled beyond satisfaction.
Seditious:A set of writings, speeches, and actions that oppose the government.
Denominations:Subgroups within a religion.
Almanac:An annual publication consisting of astronomical information that was important to people in everyday life.
Chapbook:Pocket-size cheap books that were sold by peddlers called chapmen.
Despotism:A system of government where there existed no legal and constitutional checks and there were absolute powers vested in one individual.
Ulama:Legal scholars of Islam and the sharia
Fatwa:A legal pronouncement on Islamic law given by mufti at times when the law was uncertain.
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History
- Chapter 1 – The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
- Chapter 2 – Nationalism in India
- Chapter 3 – The Making of a Global World
- Chapter 4 – The age of Industrialisation
- Chapter 5 – Print Culture and the Modern World