MCQs:

1. Where and when was the first printing press introduced in India?

   – A) Calcutta, 1800

   – B) Bombay, 1700

   – C) Goa, mid-16th century

   – D) Delhi, 1750

2. What was the first Tamil book printed in India?

   – A) Tirukkural

   – B) Tholkappiyam

   – C) Catechism

   – D) Mahabharata

3. Who started the first Indian newspaper, the Bengal Gazette?

   – A) Rammohun Roy

   – B) Gangadhar Bhattacharya

   – C) Balgangadhar Tilak

   – D) James Augustus Hickey

4. What was a major effect of print culture in colonial India?

   – A) Decrease in literacy rates

   – B) Decline in nationalist movements

   – C) Spread of reformist and nationalist ideas

   – D) Suppression of local languages

Answers and Explanations:

1. C) Goa, mid-16th century – The first printing press was brought to Goa by Portuguese missionaries.

2. C) Catechism – The first Tamil book printed in India was a religious text, the Catechism, in 1579.

3. B) Gangadhar Bhattacharya – He published the first Indian-run newspaper, the Bengal Gazette.

4. C) Spread of reformist and nationalist ideas – Print culture played a vital role in spreading social reform and anti-colonial sentiments.