How did print help connect communities and people in different parts of India ? Explain with examples.
From the early nineteenth century, there were intense debates around religious issues. Different interpretations about the beliefs of different religions were given. Print culture published such ideas which resulted in more participation in public discussions. For example, there were controversies between social and religious reformers and Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation (sati system), monotheism, idolatry. The newspapers published these controversies in the spoken language of ordinary people. In North India, The ulama were worried that the colonial rulers would encourage conversion and change the Muslim personal laws. They, therefore, started cheap lithographic presses. Islamic doctrines were explained. A number of Muslim sects appeared giving different interpretation of faith. In all these activities, Urdu print helped them conduct these battles in public. Among Hindus, too, print encouraged the reading of religious texts in vernacular languages. For example, Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas was published from Calcutta in 1810. Thus, religious texts reached a large number of people and encouraged them to take part in discussions, debates and controversies. It is, therefore, rightly said that print encouraged the publication of conflicting opinions among communities. ‘ However, newspapers conveyed news from one place to another, creating pan-Indian identities. It, therefore, connected communities and people in different parts of India.
