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New Forms of Publication
By the end of the nineteenth century, a new visual culture was taking shape. With the setting up of an increasing number of printing presses. visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple copies. Painters like Raja Ravi Varma produced images for mass circulation. Poor wood gngravers who made woodblocks and were employed by print shops. Cheap prints and calendars, easily available in the bazaar, could be bought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their homes or places of work. These prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion and politics, and society and culture. By the 1870s, caricatures and cartoons were being published in journals and newspapers, commenting on social and political issues. Some caricatures ridiculed the educated Indians’ fascination with Western tastes and clothes, while others expressed the fear of social change. There were imperial caricatures lampooning nationalists, as well as pationalist cartoons criticising imperial rule.
How did the development of printing technology impact visual culture?
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Solution and Explanation
2. Dissemination of Ideas: It facilitated the spread of political, social, and religious messages through posters, cartoons, and newspapers.
3. Growth of Commercial Art: Advertisements, book illustrations, and calendars incorporated artistic visuals, influencing public perception.
How did Raja Ravi Varma contribute to the mass circulation of art in India?
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Solution and Explanation
2. Depiction of Indian Mythology: His artwork, portraying Hindu gods and goddesses, popularized Indian culture and traditions.
3. Fusion of Indian and Western Art Styles: He blended Indian themes with European techniques, creating a distinct style that appealed to the masses.
How did visual culture shape the memory of the 19th-century social landscape? Explain.
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Solution and Explanation
2. Religious and Cultural Identity: Visual representations in books and calendars helped preserve Indian traditions and strengthen nationalistic sentiments.
3. Photography and Documentation: The emergence of photography helped record historical events, social movements, and everyday life, influencing historical memory.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
Loans from Co-operatives
Besides banks, the other major source of cheap credit in rural areas are the co-operative societies. Members of a co-operative pool their resources for co-operation in certain areas. There are several types of co-operatives possible such as farmers co-operatives, weavers co-operatives, industrial workers co-operatives etc. Krishak Co-operative functions in a village not very far away from Sonpur. It has 2300 farmers as members. It accepts deposits from its members. With these deposits as collateral, the co-operative has obtained a large loan from the bank. These funds are used to provide loans to members. Once these loans are repaid, another round of lending can take place. Krishak Co-operative provides loans for the purchase of agricultural equipment, loans for cultivation and agricultural trade, fishery loans, loans for construction of houses and for variety of other expenses.- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Social Science
- Reading Comprehension
Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
The Need for Political Parties
As we have seen, large societies need representative democracy. As societies became large and complex, they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. They needed some ways, to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfil these needs that every representative government has. We can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Social Science
- Reading Comprehension
Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
The Independence Day Pledge, 26 January 1930
“We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that they may have full opportunities of growth. We also believe that if any government deprives people of these rights and oppresses them, the people have a further right to alter it or abolish it. The British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian
people of their freedom but based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually. We believe, therefore, that India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence.”- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Social Science
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the following text:
(1) Creativity is our most precious resource and the most inexhaustible one. As anyone who has ever spent any time with children knows, every single human being is born creative; every human being is innately endowed with the ability to combine data and perceptions, materials and ideas and devise new ways of thinking and doing. What fosters creativity? More than anything else: the presence of other creative people, contrary to that creativity is the province of great individual geniuses. In fact, creativity is a social process. Our biggest creative breakthrough comes when people learn from, compete with, and collaborate with other people.
(2) Cities are centres of creativity. With their diverse populations, dense social networks, and public spaces, people can meet spontaneously and spark or catalyse new ideas. With their infrastructure for finance, organization, and trade, they allow the idea to swiftly reach its destination.
(3) A study tracking the decline of unconventional thinking ability as children age states that while 98 percent of 3 to 5-year-olds exhibited creative thinking, this dwindled to 10 percent among 13 to 15-year-olds and a mere 2 percent among 25-year-olds. Thus, adulthood witnesses the erosion of innate creativity. There is a variance in creative vitality across cities. Although all cities harbour creative individuals by default, some are saturated with leaders, institutions, and people that inhibit creativity.
(4) Creativity (or the lack of it) follows the same general contours of the great socio-economic divide– our rising inequality– that plagues us. According to estimates, roughly one-third of people are able to do work which engages our creative faculties to some extent, whether as artists, musicians, writers, techies, innovators, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, journalists, or educators. That leaves a group termed “the other 66 percent”, in which their creativity is subjugated, ignored, or wasted.
(5) Creativity itself is not in danger. It is flourishing all around us– in science and technology, arts and culture, in our rapidly revitalizing cities. But we still have a long way to go if we want to build a truly creative society that supports and rewards creativity for each one of us. (Created for academic usage / 410 words)- CBSE Class X - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- (1) In today’s contemporary online shopping landscape, a perfect storm of choice engulfs consumers. Research consistently indicates that individuals presented with a limited selection tend to make more confident and efficient decisions compared to those confronted with overwhelming choices.
(2) Consequently, assisting consumers in navigating the vast expanse of options available online has evolved into a thriving industry on a global scale. Many brands and retailers now employ marketing strategies revolving around the aspects given in the table below:
(3) For a relatively new breed of consumer product startups, a different approach emerges entirely. Rather than attempting to navigate the existing sea of products, these companies claim to revolutionize conventional consumer choices. Some brands offer limited, functional,
mid-priced products, instilling customer confidence and breaking the cycle of consumerism.
(4) The global product abundance could be more equitable. Unfortunately, creators often prioritize wealthier consumers.
(5) For startups promising accessible simplicity, their very structure may eventually lead them back to an overwhelming array of choices: Most of these companies rely on hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital funding, and their inventors typically expect rapid growth. (Adapted for academic usage)- CBSE Class X - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in CBSE X exam
- Name the place where nuclear power plant is located in Uttar Pradesh.
- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Mineral and Energy Resources
- Name an oil field of India located in the Arabian Sea.
- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Mineral and Energy Resources
- Name the place where Mahatma Gandhi led the movement of cotton mill workers.
- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Nationalism in India
- Name the place where major sea port is located in Gujarat.
- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Transport and Communication
- Name the place where an International Airport is located in Punjab.
- CBSE Class X - 2025
- Transport and Communication