Question

Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.

Answer 1

The people who feared the effect of easily available printed books were the ones who held some power, whether in terms of religion, caste, class or politics. The fear was that their power and authority would get eroded if ideas questioning their power and authority gained mass popularity. In Europe, for example, the Roman Catholic Church conveyed its sense of apprehension for the print medium by stating that the promotion of new "printed" readings of faith would lead to blasphemous questionings of faith and encourage heretical ideas. It considered itself to be the sole authority for interpreting religion. Hence, it set up the Index of Prohibited Books in 1558 to repress any published material that it felt corroded this authority.

In India, apart from the colonial government which did its bit in regulating and suppressing newspapers and books that questioned and criticised colonial authority, the religious leaders and the upper castes also displayed their fear of the print medium. They understood that their religious and social superiority was in danger due to the easily accessible "printed" ideas contradicting their systems of beliefs. They knew that the popularisation of such ideas would incite people to rebellion.