Class 10 Social Science Chapter 5 Print Culture and the Modern World (History) Practice Paper 4

Class: X Subject: Social Science Session: 2025-26 Chapter: 05 - Print Culture and the Modern World Time: 1½ Hours Max. Marks: 40

General Instructions:

1. All questions are compulsory.

2. This question paper contains 20 questions divided into five sections A, B, C, D and E.

3. Section A contains 10 MCQs of 1 mark each.

4. Section B contains 4 questions of 2 marks each.

5. Section C contains 3 questions of 3 marks each.

6. Section D contains 1 question of 5 marks.

7. Section E contains 2 Case Study Based questions of 4 marks each.

SECTION A - Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)

Q1. Between which years did book production boom dramatically in Europe?
(a) 1350-1450
(b) 1450-1550
(c) 1550-1650
(d) 1650-1750

Q2. What was vellum?
(a) A type of ink
(b) A printing press
(c) Parchment made from animal skin
(d) A woodblock

Q3. How many copies could Gutenberg's press print on one side per hour?
(a) 150 sheets
(b) 250 sheets
(c) 350 sheets
(d) 450 sheets

Q4. What was the name given to the cheap series of books published in England in the 1920s?
(a) Penny Series
(b) Shilling Series
(c) Crown Series
(d) Pound Series

Q5. Who among the following compiled traditional German folk tales?
(a) The Grimm Brothers
(b) The Wright Brothers
(c) The Marx Brothers
(d) The Bronte Sisters

Q6. Which magazine was published between 1832 and 1835 aimed primarily at the working class in England?
(a) Worker's Magazine
(b) Penny Magazine
(c) Labour Journal
(d) People's Magazine

Q7. Who wrote "Istri Dharm Vichar" in Punjab?
(a) Rammohun Roy
(b) Ram Chaddha
(c) Jyotiba Phule
(d) Gangadhar Bhattacharya

Q8. Which area in central Calcutta was devoted to printing of popular books?
(a) Park Street
(b) Battala
(c) College Street
(d) Bowbazar

Q9. In which year did Governor-General Bentinck revise the press laws?
(a) 1825
(b) 1835
(c) 1845
(d) 1855

Q10. Who wrote "Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal" in 1938?
(a) Sudarshan Chakr
(b) Kashibaba
(c) B.R. Ambedkar
(d) Periyar

SECTION B - Short Answer Questions (2 marks each)

Q11. How did the introduction of printing press affect manuscript production in Europe?

Q12. Why were manuscripts expensive and difficult to handle before the age of print?

Q13. What was the Battala area famous for in Calcutta? What kind of literature was available there?

Q14. Mention any two writers who wrote about women's issues in Maharashtra in the 1880s.

SECTION C - Short Answer Questions (3 marks each)

Q15. Explain the role of Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau in shaping public opinion through print.

Q16. How did print culture help in the growth of nationalism in India? Explain with examples.

Q17. Describe the fears and anxieties expressed by Erasmus about the spread of printed books.

SECTION D - Long Answer Question (5 marks)

Q18. Examine the development of print technology from China and Japan to Europe. How did this technology evolve and spread across different regions?

SECTION E - Case Study Based Questions (4 marks each)

Q19. Case Study 1: "In 1791, a London publisher, James Lackington, wrote in his diary: 'The sale of books in general has increased prodigiously within the last twenty years. The poorer sort of farmers and even the poor country people in general who before that period spent their winter evenings in relating stories of witches, ghosts, hobgoblins … now shorten the winter night by hearing their sons and daughters read them tales, romances, etc. If John goes to town with a load of hay, he is charged to be sure not to forget to bring home Peregrine Pickle's Adventure … and when Dolly is sent to sell her eggs, she is commissioned to purchase The History of Joseph Andrews.'" Based on the above passage, answer the following questions:

(i) According to James Lackington, how had book sales changed in twenty years? (1 mark) (ii) How did poor country people spend their winter evenings before the spread of print? (1 mark) (iii) How did the availability of books change rural life in England? (2 marks)

Q20. Case Study 2: "In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. From now on the government kept regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces. When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the printing machinery confiscated." Based on the above passage, answer the following questions:

(i) On which law was the Vernacular Press Act modelled? (1 mark) (ii) What powers did this Act give to the government? (1 mark) (iii) What could happen to a newspaper that ignored government warnings? (2 marks) DETAILED ANSWER KEY - PAPER 04

SECTION A - Answers to MCQs

Ans 1.
(b) 1450-1550 In the hundred years between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most countries of Europe, and book production boomed with 20 million copies printed. Ans 2.
(c) Parchment made from animal skin Vellum was a parchment made from the skin of animals, used for producing luxury editions of handwritten manuscripts meant for aristocratic circles and rich monastic libraries. Ans 3.
(b) 250 sheets The Gutenberg press could print 250 sheets on one side per hour, which was much faster than hand- copying manuscripts.

Ans 4.
(b) Shilling Series In the 1920s in England, popular works were sold in cheap series called the Shilling Series to sustain book purchases during the Great Depression. Ans 5.
(a) The Grimm Brothers The Grimm Brothers in Germany spent years compiling traditional folk tales gathered from peasants and published them in a collection in 1812. Ans 6.
(b) Penny Magazine Penny Magazine was published between 1832 and 1835 in England by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, aimed primarily at the working class.

Ans 7.
(b) Ram Chaddha In Punjab, Ram Chaddha published the fast-selling Istri Dharm Vichar to teach women how to be obedient wives. Ans 8.
(b) Battala In Bengal, an entire area in central Calcutta called Battala was devoted to the printing of popular books, including cheap editions of religious tracts and literature. Ans 9.
(b) 1835 In 1835, Governor-General Bentinck agreed to revise press laws. Thomas Macaulay formulated new rules that restored the earlier freedoms. Ans 10.
(b) Kashibaba Kashibaba, a Kanpur millworker, wrote and published "Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal" in 1938 to show the links between caste and class exploitation.

SECTION B - Answers to Short Answer Questions

Ans 11. The introduction of printing press affected manuscript production: • The new technology did not entirely displace the existing art of producing books by hand. • Printed books at first closely resembled written manuscripts in appearance and layout. • For rich patrons, space for decoration was kept blank on printed pages so they could choose designs and illustrations. • Manuscripts continued to be produced alongside printed books for those who valued unique, hand- crafted books. Ans 12. Manuscripts were expensive and difficult to handle because:

• Copying was an expensive, laborious, and time-consuming business. • Manuscripts were fragile and awkward to handle. • They could not be carried around or read easily as the script was written in different styles. • Their circulation therefore remained limited to wealthy and educated elite. Ans 13. The Battala area in Calcutta: • Battala was an entire area in central Calcutta devoted to the printing of popular books. • Here one could buy cheap editions of religious tracts and scriptures. • Literature that was considered obscene and scandalous was also available.

• By the late nineteenth century, many books were profusely illustrated with woodcuts and coloured lithographs. • Pedlars took Battala publications to homes, enabling women to read them in their leisure time. Ans 14. Two writers who wrote about women's issues in Maharashtra in the 1880s:

1. Tarabai Shinde - wrote with passionate anger about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women, especially widows.

2. Pandita Ramabai - wrote about the injustices faced by upper-caste Hindu women and widows.

SECTION C - Answers to Short Answer Questions

Ans 15. Role of Enlightenment thinkers in shaping public opinion through print: • Print popularized the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau. • Their writings provided a critical commentary on tradition, superstition, and despotism. • They argued for the rule of reason rather than custom, demanding that everything be judged through the application of reason and rationality. • They attacked the sacred authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state. • This eroded the legitimacy of the social order based on tradition.

• The writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely, and readers saw the world through new eyes - questioning, critical, and rational. • Many believed that books could change the world, liberate society from despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect would rule. Ans 16. Print culture helped in the growth of nationalism in India: • Print connected communities and people in different parts of India by conveying news from one place to another, creating pan-Indian identities.

• From the early nineteenth century, intense debates around religious and social issues were carried out in public through print. • Nationalist newspapers grew in numbers in all parts of India despite repressive measures. • They reported on colonial misrule and encouraged nationalist activities. • When Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote sympathetically about Punjab revolutionaries in his newspaper Kesari in 1907, it led to his imprisonment in 1908, which provoked widespread protests all over India. • Gandhi said in 1922: "The fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association." • Print helped nationalist ideas reach common people, creating awareness about colonial exploitation and the need for freedom.

Ans 17. Erasmus's fears about the spread of printed books: • Erasmus, a Latin scholar and Catholic reformer, expressed deep anxiety about printing in his work Adages (1508). • He feared that books were flooding the world in such large numbers that they created a "glut" or excess. • He believed that even good things in excess (satiety) could be harmful to scholarship. • He worried that printers filled the world with books that were "not just trifling things" but also "stupid, ignorant, slanderous, scandalous, raving, irreligious and seditious." • He felt that the sheer multitude of books was hurtful because even valuable publications would lose their value in this flood of printed material.

• He questioned where these "swarms of new books" would not fly to, expressing concern about their widespread reach and potential negative influence.

SECTION D - Answer to Long Answer Question

Ans 18. Development and spread of print technology from China and Japan to Europe:

1. Origins in China (AD 594 onwards): • The earliest kind of print technology was developed in China, Japan, and Korea. • From AD 594 onwards, books in China were printed by rubbing paper against the inked surface of woodblocks. • China had invented paper, which was essential for printing. • The traditional Chinese 'accordion book' was folded and stitched at the side as both sides of thin paper couldn't be printed. • The imperial state in China was the major producer of printed material, especially textbooks for civil service examinations.

• By the seventeenth century, print diversified to include trade information, fictional narratives, poetry, and plays.

2. Development in Japan (AD 768-770 onwards): • Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan around AD 768-770. • The oldest Japanese book, the Buddhist Diamond Sutra (AD 868), contained six sheets of text and woodcut illustrations. • In medieval Japan, books were cheap and abundant, with poets and prose writers being regularly published. • In the late eighteenth century, Edo (Tokyo) saw illustrated collections depicting urban culture. • Kitagawa Utamaro's ukiyo prints influenced European artists like Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh.

• Libraries and bookstores were filled with books on diverse topics.

3. Technology Reaches Europe (1295): • In the eleventh century, Chinese paper reached Europe via the silk route. • In 1295, Marco Polo returned to Italy after exploring China and brought back knowledge of woodblock printing. • Italians began producing books with woodblocks, and the technology spread across Europe. • However, luxury editions were still handwritten on vellum for aristocratic circles.

4. Gutenberg's Innovation (1430s-1448): • Johann Gutenberg developed the first known printing press in Strasbourg, Germany in the 1430s. • He adapted the olive press mechanism and used moulds for casting metal types. • By 1448, he perfected the system with moveable type printing. • The Gutenberg press could print 250 sheets per hour, much faster than woodblock printing. • He printed about 180 copies of the Bible in three years.

5. Spread Across Europe (1450-1550): • Between 1450 and 1550, printing presses were set up in most European countries. • Printers from Germany traveled to other countries seeking work and helping start new presses. • Book production boomed - from 20 million copies in the late fifteenth century to 200 million in the sixteenth century.

6. Technological Evolution: • By the late eighteenth century, the press was made of metal. • By mid-nineteenth century, Richard M. Hoe perfected the power-driven cylindrical press (8,000 sheets per hour). • The offset press could print six colors at a time. • From the early twentieth century, electrically operated presses accelerated operations further. Conclusion: Print technology evolved from simple woodblock printing in China to sophisticated moveable type and mechanical presses in Europe, transforming from a slow manual process to rapid mass production, revolutionizing the spread of knowledge and ideas across the world.

SECTION E - Answers to Case Study Based Questions

Ans 19. (i) According to James Lackington, the sale of books had increased prodigiously (enormously) within the last twenty years before 1791. (ii) Before the spread of print, poor country people spent their winter evenings relating stories of witches, ghosts, and hobgoblins through oral tradition. (iii) The availability of books changed rural life in England: • Poor farmers and country people now spent winter nights hearing their sons and daughters read tales and romances to them. • Books became part of everyday life - when people went to town for work or markets, they were asked to bring back specific books.

• Reading replaced oral storytelling traditions, bringing literacy and printed literature even to rural areas. • Books provided entertainment and education to people who previously had limited access to written material, transforming rural culture and expanding knowledge beyond urban centers. Ans 20. (i) The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was modelled on the Irish Press Laws. (ii) The Act provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. The government also kept regular track of vernacular newspapers published in different provinces.

(iii) What could happen to newspapers that ignored government warnings: • When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was first warned by the government. • If the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized by the authorities. • The printing machinery could be confiscated, effectively shutting down the newspaper. • This gave the colonial government powerful tools to suppress nationalist criticism and control public discourse, though it also led to militant protests and renewed cycles of persecution and resistance.