CHAPTER -01 HOW WHEN AND WHERE HISTORY
I. Important Terms:
1. History: It is the sum of events that have occurred in the past.
2. Periodization: the process of dividing the history into various parts or periods.
3. Subjugation: The action of bringing someone or something under control by force.
4. Colonisation: When the subjugation of one country by another country leads to the political, social, cultural
and economic changes. We refer to the process of colonisation. It is usually done for economic exploitation.
5. Census: It refers to the process of counting of population for official purposes. It is carried out in every 10
years.
6. Archives: A place where important documents or records are kept.
7. Museum: A building in objects of historical or scientific interest are kept to show them to the public.
8. Calligraphists: one who is specialised in the art of handwriting.
II. Very Short Answers:
1. Who was James Mill?
Ans: James Mill was a Scottish economist and political philosopher. He published a massive three volume
work ‘A history of British India’.
2. What was Mill’s opinion about Asian societies?
Ans: In Mill’s opinion all Asian societies were at lower level of civilization than Europe.
3. What evil practices, according to James Mill, dominated the Indian social life before the British came to
India?
Ans: According to James Mill, the evil practices like religious intolerance, caste system, superstitious practices
etc dominated the Indian society.
4. Why do many historians refer to modern period as colonial period?
Ans: Because, under British rule people did not have equality, freedom or liberty (which were the symbols of
modernity).
5. What was an important aspect of the history written by the British historians in India?
Ans: The rule of each Governor-General was an important aspect of the history written by British historians.
6. What official records do not tell?
Ans: Official records do not tell what other people in country felt, and what lay behind their actions.
7. Mention an important source used by the historians in writing about last 230 years of Indian history?
Ans: The official records of the British Administration.
8. Name the symbol of British power.
Ans: Britannia.
III. Short answers:
1. How did James Mill view India?
Ans:
a) James Mill did not have any positive idea about India. He thought that all Asian societies were at a lower
level of civilization than Europe.
b) According to him, before the British came to India, the Hindu and Muslim rulers ruled the country.
c) He felt that evil practices dominated the Indian social life and thought that only British can civilize India.
d) And suggested that the British should conquer India to ensure the progress of the Indians.
e) For India was not capable of progress without British help.
2. What did the British do to preserve important official documents and letters?
Ans:
a) British believed that act of writing was important. Every agreement, transaction, policy decision, and
investigation was written. It would be helpful in the future for further studies and debates.
b) To preserve the official documents and letters, the British had set up record rooms attached to all the
administrative institutions.
c) The village Tehsildar’s office, the collectorate, the commissioner’s office, the provincial secretariats,
the law courts-all had their record rooms.
d) They also established specialised archives and museum to preserve the records.
3. What official records do not tell? How do we came to know about them?
Ans:
a) Official records do not always help us understand what other people in the country felt.
b) We came to know about them from diaries of people, account of pilgrims, autobiographies and popular
books that were sold in local bazaars.
c) Leaders and reformers wrote.to spread their ideas, poets and novelists wrote to express their feelings.
d) With the spread of printing press, newspapers were published, leaders and social reformers wrote to
spread their ideas.
4. Division of Indian history into ancient, medieval and modern period too had a problem. Justify the
statement.
Ans: a) This periodization had been borrowed from the west where the modern period was associated with
the growth of science, democracy and liberty.
b) Medieval term was used to describe a society where these features of modern society did not exist.
c) It is difficult to accept modern period as Indians did not have equality, freedom and liberty under the
British rule.
d) The country also lacked economic growth and progress. Hence, some historians refer to modern period as
colonial period also.
5. Write a brief note on the National Archives of India.
Ans:
The National Archives of India is the repository of non-current records of the Government of India and is
holding them in trust for the use of administrators and scholars. It is an Attached Office of the Department
of Culture under Ministry of Tourism & Culture. It was set up in March 1891 in Kolkata as the Imperial Record
Department and subsequent to the transfer of the National Capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911 it was
shifted to its present building in New Delhi, in 1926.
Long answer type questions:
1. Explain the importance of survey under the colonial administration.
Or
Why did surveys become a common practice under the colonial administration?
Ans:
a) The British believed that a country had to be properly known before it could be effectively administered.
Therefore they carried out detailed surveys by 19th century. The surveys were as follows:
b) They conducted revenue surveys in villages.
c) They also made effort to know the topography, the soil quality, the flora and fauna, the local histories and
the cropping patterns.
d) Census was also conducted for every 10 years and prepared a detailed record of people, their castes,
religion and occupation.
e) They also carried out botanical, zoological, archaeological and forest surveys etc.
2. “History is boring because it is all about memorizing dates.” Is such a conception true?
Ans:
a) History is certainly about changes that occur over time. It is about finding out how things were in the past
and how things have changed.
b) As soon as we compare the past with the present we refer to time, we talk of “before” and “after”. But
time does not have to be always precisely dated in terms of a particular year or a month.
c) Sometimes it is actually incorrect to fix precise dates to processes that happen over a period of time.
d) Similarly, we cannot fix one single date on which British rule was established, or the national movement
started, or changes took place within the economy and society.
e) All these things happened over a stretch of time. We can only refer to a span of time, an approximate
period over which particular changes became visible.
3. How did the invention of the printing press help in spreading news and information?
Ans:
a) In the early years of the nineteenth century documents were carefully copied out and beautifully
written by calligraphists.
b) By the middle of the nineteenth century, with the spread of printing, multiple copies of these records
were printed as proceedings of each government department.
c) As printing spread, newspapers were published and issues were debated in public.
d) Leaders and reformers wrote to spread their ideas, poets and novelists wrote to express their feelings.
e) Poets and novelists could also write and express their feelings and sentiments, which now could reach
a larger audience.
4. How did British conquer and establish their rule in India?
Ans:
a) The formal British rule in India commenced after the Battle of Plassey 1757, when the Nawab of
Bengal surrendered his dominions to the British East India Company.
b) The British Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to a political entity which
virtually ruled India.
c) They subjugated local Nawabs and Rajas.
d) They established control over the economy and society.
e) They collected revenue to meet all their expenses.
f) They also brought changes in rules, tastes and customs and practices.
g) They moulded everything in their favour and subjugated the country.
5. Political map of India with states and Union Territory.
