D.A.

V SCHOOL, PALLIKARANAI
How, When and Where
CLASSWORK NOTES
I. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING
1. What is history (or) what do you understand by the meaning of the word
history?
Ans. 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.
2. What did Indians convey by handing over ancient text to Britannia (or) who
saw the preparation of map as an essential process of domination and why?
Ans. Rennel was asked by Robert Clive to produce maps of Hindustan. An
enthusiastic supporter of British conquest of India, Rennel saw preparation of maps
as essential to the process of domination. The picture here tries to suggest that Indians
willingly gave over their ancient texts to Britannia – the symbol of British power – as if
asking her to become the protector of Indian culture.
3. Why do we continue to associate history with a string of dates?
Ans. This association has a reason. There was a time when history was an account of
battles and big events. It was about rulers and their policies. Historians wrote about
the year a king was crowned, the year he married, the year he had a child, the year
he fought a particular war, the year he died, and the year the next ruler succeeded to
the throne. For events such as these, specific dates can be determined, and in
histories such as these, debates about dates continue to be important.
4. Old advertisement helps to create new markets for products. Give reason.
Ans. Old advertisements help us understand how markets for new products were
created and new tastes were popularised. 1922 advertisement for Lipton tea suggests
that royalty all over the world is associated with this tea. In the background we see the
outer wall of an Indian palace, while in the foreground, seated on horseback is the
third son of Queen Victoria of Britain, Prince Arthur, who was given the title Duke of
Connaught.
5. Name any five Governor General and Viceroy during the British period.
Ans. Hastings, Wellesley, Bentinck, Dalhousie, Canning.
6. Why do we divide history into different periods?
Ans. We do so in an attempt to capture the characteristics of a time, its central features
as they appear to us. So the terms through which we periodise – that is, demarcate
the difference between periods – become important. They reflect our ideas about the
past. They show how we see the significance of the change from one period to the
next.

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7. How did James Mill view India?
Ans. Mill thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilisation than
Europe. According to his telling of history, before the British came to India, Hindu and
Muslim despots ruled the country. Religious intolerance, caste taboos and
superstitious practices dominated social life. British rule, Mill felt, could civilise India.
To do this, it was necessary to introduce European manners, arts, institutions and laws
in India. Mill, in fact, suggested that the British should conquer all the territories in India
to ensure the enlightenment and happiness of the Indian people. For India was not
capable of progress without British help.
8. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history made by James
Mill?
Ans. Variety of faiths exist simultaneously in these periods. We should not characterise
an age only through the religion of the rulers of the time. To do so is to suggest that
the lives and practices of the others do not really matter. We should also remember
that even rulers in ancient India did not all share the same faith.
9. How did the historians classify Indian history?
Ans. Historians have usually divided Indian history into ‘ancient’, ‘medieval’ and
‘modern’. This division too has its problems. It is a periodisation that is borrowed from
the West where the modern period was associated with the growth of all the forces of
modernity – science, reason, democracy, liberty and equality. Medieval was a term
used to describe a society where these features of modern society did not exist. Under
British rule people did not have equality, freedom or liberty. Nor was the period one of
economic growth and progress. Many historians therefore refer to this period as
‘colonial’.
10. Define Colonisation.
Ans. When the subjugation of one country by another leads to these kinds of political,
economic, social and cultural changes, we refer to the process as colonisation.
11. Why did the British believe that the act of writing was important (or) why did
the Britishers preserve official documents?
Ans. The British believed that the act of writing was important. Every instruction, plan,
policy decision, agreement, investigation had to be clearly written up. Once this was
done, things could be properly studied and debated. This conviction produced an
administrative culture of memos, notings and reports.
12. Who are Calligraphists? How were they important in nineteenth century?
Ans. In the early years of the nineteenth century, these documents were carefully
copied out and beautifully written by calligraphists – that is, by those who specialised
in the art of beautiful writing.

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13. What did the British setup in order to preserve all their documents carefully?
Ans. The British felt that all important documents and letters needed to be carefully
preserved. So they set up record rooms attached to all administrative institutions. The
village tahsildar’s office, the collectorate, the commissioner’s office, the provincial
secretariats, the law courts – all had their record rooms. Specialised institutions like
archives and museums were also established to preserve important records.
14. Explain the importance of surveys under colonial administration? (Or) why
did surveys become a common practice under colonial administration?
Ans. The practice of surveying became common under the colonial administration.
The British believed that a country had to be properly known before it could be
effectively administered. By the early nineteenth century, detailed surveys were being
carried out to map the entire country. In the villages, revenue surveys were conducted.
The effort was to know the topography, the soil quality, the flora, the fauna, the local
histories, and the cropping pattern – all the facts seen as necessary to know about to
administer the region. From the end of the nineteenth century, Census operations
were held every ten years. These prepared detailed records of the number of people
in all the provinces of India, noting information on castes, religions and occupation.
There were many other surveys – botanical surveys, zoological surveys,
archaeological surveys, anthropological surveys, forest surveys.
15. What does the image of “Rebels of 1857” convey from British perspective?
Ans. “Mutinous sepoys share the loot”. In British representations, the rebels appear as
greedy, vicious and brutal.
16. Do official records always help in understanding the people in the country?
Justify.
Ans. No. These records do not always help us understand what other people in the
country felt, and what lay behind their actions. We have diaries of people, accounts of
pilgrims and travellers, autobiographies of important personalities, and popular
booklets that were sold in the local bazaars.
17. How will the information historians get from old newspapers be different
from that found in police reports?
Ans. Police reports are official documents which may be biased at time. It conveys
only the official’s viewpoint.