what was the effect of print on the poor in the twentieth century
Answers
(i) Public libraries : The print reached to the poor in the 19th century. Publishers started producing small and cheap books. These books were sold at crossroads. Public libraries were set up by the Christian missionaries and the rich people.
(ii) Highlighting the issue of class discrimination : From the late 19th century, many writers started writing about the issue of class distinction.
(i) Jyotiba Phule was a social reformer. He wrote about the poor condition of ‘low caste’. In his book Gulamgiri (1871), he wrote about the injustices of the caste system.
(ii) In the 20th century, B.R. Ambedkar also wrote powerfully against the caste system. He also wrote against untouchability.
(iii) E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, also known as Periyar, too wrote about the caste system prevailing in Madras (Chennai). The writings of these writers were read by people all over India. Local protest movements and sects also created a lot of popular journals and tracts criticising ancient scriptures with a view to creating new and just future.
(iv) Poor workers and the print : Workers in factories were too overworked, and thus, lacked the education to write about their expectations and experiences. But Keshibaba, a Kanpur mill worker wrote and published Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal in 1938 to depict the links between caste and class exploitation. The poems of another Kanpur mill worker, who wrote under the name of Sudarshan Chakra between 1935 and 1955, were brought together, and published in a collection called Sacchi Kavitayain. By the 1930s, Bangaluru cotton mill workers set up libraries to educate themselves. By doing so, they were following the example of Bombay (Mumbai) workers. These libraries were sponsored by social reformers who tried to restrict excessive drinking among the poor, to bring literacy and, sometimes, to propagate the message of nationalism.