Question

Arrange the following events of ‘print culture’ in chronological order and choose the correct option:

I. Publication of ‘Sambad Kaumudi’
II. Publication of weekly magazine ‘Bengal Gazette’
III. ‘Vernacular Press Act’ was implemented
IV. The first printed edition of the ‘Ramcharitmanas’

• A. III, I, IV, II
• B. III, I, II, IV
• C. II, IV, III, I
• D. II, IV, I, III

Hint:

Fix the earliest and the latest item first. The English weekly of Hickey starts the list, and a law made to control Indian newspapers has to come after those newspapers already existed.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept:

• Instead of recalling all four years, this question can be cracked by elimination, using just the two items whose position is easiest to be sure about.
• Print in India began with the English press and ended this list with a restrictive law, so the first and last positions are the giveaway.

Step 1: Decide what must come first.
The Vernacular Press Act was a reaction against Indian newspapers, so those newspapers had to exist before it. A law cannot come before the thing it controls. So item III cannot be first.
That removes options (A) and (B), because both begin with III.

Step 2: Only options (C) and (D) survive.
(C) reads II, IV, III, I and (D) reads II, IV, I, III. Both agree that II comes first and IV comes second, so the decision rests only on the order of I and III.

Step 3: Place III against I.
Sambad Kaumudi was a Bengali weekly of the reform era, running well before the government felt the need to curb the Indian-language press. The Act of 1878 came as a response to such papers, not before them.
So I must come before III.

Step 4: Read off the surviving order.
II first, IV second, then I, then III. Option (C) puts III before I, so it fails. Option (D) fits.

Final Answer: (D) II, IV, I, III