PYQs and Important Questions asked in Board Exams from the Class 10 History Chapter “Print Culture and the Modern World”. Previous Years’ Questions are a good way to prepare for Board Exams. Enjoy free learning here.
PYQs: Print Culture and the Modern World
SQP: 2024-25
Q1. ‘By the seventeenth century, as urban culture bloomed in China, the uses of print diversified’. Explain the statement by giving suitable examples.
Answer:
- Expansion of Literacy & Education: As urban culture grew, literacy increased, leading to a higher demand for books, including novels, plays, and poetry, which became popular among the educated class.
- Variety of Printed Materials: Printing was no longer limited to official documents. Merchants, scholars, and common people started using printed materials such as calendars, dictionaries, and guidebooks.
- Rise of Fiction & Entertainment Books: The printing of fictional narratives, romantic stories, and adventure tales became widespread, appealing to a larger audience beyond the scholarly elite.
Thus, printing in China evolved to meet the changing interests of society, making books more accessible and diverse.
PYQs: 2022-23
No questions were asked in 2023-24 CBSE Board Exam.
Q1. How did print come in India? Explain with example.
Answer:
- Introduced by Portuguese (1557): The first printing press in India was set up by Portuguese missionaries in Goa. They printed religious texts in Konkani and Tamil.
- Danish Contribution (1713): Danish missionaries established a press in Tranquebar (Tamil Nadu) and printed Tamil texts.
- British Printing (1780): James Augustus Hickey started Bengal Gazette, India’s first newspaper, in Calcutta.
- Vernacular Printing Growth (19th Century): Newspapers like Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali) and Bombay Samachar (Gujarati) spread reformist ideas.
- Religious and Social Influence: Hindu and Muslim religious groups used printing to spread teachings and debates.
- Nationalist Press (Late 19th Century): Newspapers like Kesari (Tilak) and Hind Swaraj (Gandhi) spread nationalist ideas, fueling the freedom struggle.
Q2. “By the end of 19th century a new visual culture took shape in India”. Explain the statement with examples.
Answer:
- Mass Production of Images: With the rise of printing presses, visual images could be reproduced in multiple copies, making them accessible to the public.
- Raja Ravi Varma’s Paintings: Famous painter Raja Ravi Varma created mythological and historical paintings that were mass-printed and widely circulated.
- Cheap Prints and Calendars: Markets were flooded with religious prints, calendars, and posters, which even the poor could afford to decorate their homes and workplaces.
- Wood Engraving and Lithography: Local artists set up workshops for woodblock and lithographic printing, producing illustrated books and pamphlets.
- Caricatures and Cartoons: Newspapers and magazines began publishing cartoons and caricatures on social and political issues, mocking Westernized Indians and criticizing British rule.
- Impact on Society: Printed images shaped public perceptions of tradition, modernity, nationalism, and religious beliefs, influencing political and social movements.
Q3. Examine any three effects of Print culture on the French Revolution.
Answer:
The impact of print culture on the French Revolution:
- Spread of Revolutionary Ideas: Print culture helped in the circulation of Enlightenment ideas by philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau, who criticized monarchy and promoted liberty, equality, and fraternity.
- Increased Public Awareness: Newspapers, pamphlets, and books spread political awareness among common people, enabling them to question the divine right of kings and demand democratic rights.
- Criticism of the Monarchy: Satirical cartoons and pamphlets mocked the French monarchy and aristocracy, leading to growing resentment against their luxurious lifestyle and misuse of power.
Another Answer:
- Circulation of Ideas – Print created the possibility of wide circulation of ideas. Those who disagreed with established authorities could now print and spread their thoughts, persuading people to think differently.
- Mobilization of Masses – Print led to the faster mobilization of the masses toward political ideals such as freedom, liberty, and justice, which were central to the French Revolution.
- Awakening Against Oppression – Print helped highlight the draconian decisions of political institutions like monarchs and the higher estates. This awareness awakened the people, encouraging them to join the revolution.
