Print Culture and the Modern World PYQ Class 10

The author of 'Book of Marvels' is:

[1 marks]

Assume you are doing research on \(15^{th}\) century print culture. Which of the following would be the most significant advantage for your research?

[1 marks]

Read the given source and answer the questions that follow :

Print and Censorship

The power of the printed word is most often seen in the way governments seek to regulate and suppress print. The colonial government kept continuous track of all books and newspapers published in India and passed numerous laws to control the press. During the First World War, under the Defence of India Rules, 22 newspapers had to furnish securities. Of these, 18 shut down rather than comply with government orders. The Sedition Committee Report under Rowlatt in 1919 further strengthened controls that led to imposition of penalties on various newspapers. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Defence of India Act was passed, allowing censoring of reports of war-related topics. All reports about the Quit India movement came under its purview. In August 1942, about 90 newspapers were suppressed.

(34.1) Explain the meaning of 'censor'.

(34.2) Why did the colonial administration keep an eye on books and newspapers?

(34.3) Why did Gandhiji start a nationwide Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act? Explain any two reasons.

[4 marks]

Read the following source carefully and answer the questions that follow :

Printed Words

This is how Mercier describes the impact of the printed word, and the power of reading in one of his books:

'Anyone who had seen me reading would have compared me to a man dying of thirst who was gulping down some fresh, pure water.... Lighting my lamp with extraordinary caution, I threw myself hungrily into the reading. An easy eloquence, effortless and animated, carried me from one page to the next without my noticing it. A clock struck off the hours in the silence of the shadows, and I heard nothing. My lamp began to run out of oil and produced only a pale light, but still I read on. I could not even take out time to raise the wick for fear of interrupting my pleasure. How those new ideas rushed into my brain! How my intelligence adopted them!'

34.1 How does the passage reflect the immersive nature of reading of Mercier?

34.2 Why did Mercier describe himself as a virtual writer ?

34.3 How did reading influence Mercier's intellectual capacity and his engagement with new concepts ? Explain in any two points.

[4 marks]

Which one of the following aspects was common between the writings of B.R. Ambedkar and E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker?

[1 mark]

Explain the implication of print culture on the religious reforms in India during 19th century.

[3 marks]