Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

The statement is valid — print in nineteenth-century India was used simultaneously to challenge tradition and to defend it.

Challenging tradition: Reformers like Rammohun Roy used print to attack practices such as widow immolation and idolatry. He published the Sambad Kaumudi (1821) to spread reformist ideas to a wider audience in the spoken vernacular language.

Defending tradition: The Hindu orthodoxy commissioned the Samachar Chandrika to counter Roy's views. Similarly, the ulama used cheap lithographic presses to publish Persian and Urdu translations of holy scriptures and the Deoband Seminary (founded 1867) issued thousands of fatwas to preserve Islamic practices against colonial influence.

Common outcome: Print widened participation in debate, allowing conflicting opinions to clash publicly and new ideas to emerge — making it a genuinely double-edged weapon.

Source: Chapter 5 — Religious Reform and Public Debates

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• Examiners expect both sides of the argument with specific evidence — names of newspapers, reformers, orthodox groups, and dates.
• "Double-edged weapon" must be addressed directly: show it challenged tradition (Roy/Sambad Kaumudi) AND defended it (Samachar Chandrika, Deoband fatwas, Urdu press).
• A brief conclusion tying both sides together earns the final mark.
• Avoid writing a general essay on print culture — stay focused on religious reform debates as the question specifies.