Q1. [3] deep thorough-understanding
[3m, short_answer] In 1938, Kashibaba, a Kanpur millworker, wrote and published Chhote Aur Bade Ka Sawal. What does this example reveal about the relationship between print culture and the self-expression of marginalised communities in colonial India? Support your answer with at least one other example from this period.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 15:05 · grounding rag
Model Answer
The example of Kashibaba reveals that print culture empowered marginalised communities in colonial India to voice their own experiences and challenge social hierarchies. A Kanpur millworker could now author and publish his own work, bypassing elite intermediaries. Print gave the poor a platform for self-expression and protest that was previously unavailable.
Another example: Sudarshan Chakr, a Kanpur worker, wrote and published poems under a pen name, showing that workers actively used print to articulate their grievances and assert their identity during the nationalist period.
Source: Print Culture and the Modern World, Chapter 5
Explanation
- The examiner expects you to identify the core idea: print democratised expression for the marginalised (workers, lower castes, women).
- You must name at least one other example — Sudarshan Chakr (millworker-poet) is the standard textbook example alongside Kashibaba.
- Avoid long explanations; state the point and the significance concisely.
- 3 marks = one clear central argument + supporting example + brief significance.