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Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.

Q1. [1] medium thorough-understanding
Which of the following best explains why nineteenth-century Indian social reformers chose to publish in vernacular languages rather than in Sanskrit or Persian? (A) Sanskrit and Persian typefaces were not available on printing presses at the time (B) Reaching a wider public of ordinary readers required writing in languages people actually spoke (C) The colonial government banned publications in classical languages (D) Vernacular texts were cheaper to print than texts in classical scripts
  1. A Sanskrit and Persian scripts were incompatible with the new printing presses available in India.
  2. B Colonial authorities had banned the use of classical languages in the press.
  3. C To reach the widest possible audience and draw more people into public debate.
  4. D Ordinary languages were considered more prestigious than classical ones by the orthodoxy.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:04 · grounding rag
Model Answer

Answer: C

Reformers published in vernacular languages to reach the widest possible audience, drawing more ordinary people into public debate, as ideas needed to be printed in everyday spoken languages people actually understood.

Source: Religious Reform and Public Debates, Chapter 5

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Explanation

The textbook explicitly states: "To reach a wider audience, the ideas were printed in the everyday, spoken language of ordinary people." Option C directly reflects this. Options A, B, and D are not supported by the source — Sanskrit/Persian presses existed (ulama used them), no ban on classical languages is mentioned, and classical languages were never called less prestigious. The examiner expects you to link vernacular print to wider reach and public participation.

Previous-year CBSE Grade 10 board exam questions, organised by subject and chapter, each with a model answer — free to read and print.