8 His CH 1

CLASS: 8
HISTORY
CHAPTER-1 HOW, WHERE AND WHEN?
NEW WORDS:
i. Taboo
ii. Periodisation
iii. Subjugation
iv. Survey
v. Topography
vi. Colonization
vii. Archives
viii. Imperial
ix. Calligraphist
x. Contemporary
 VERY SHORT Q/A

1. What do you understand by 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. Who became the first governor general of British India?

Ans. Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of India in 1773.
3. What did James Mills think about all Asian societies?

Ans. Mill thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of
civilisation than Europe.
4. How have historians divided Indian history?

Ans. Historians have usually divided Indian history into ‘ancient’, ‘medieval’
and ‘modern’.
5. What do you mean by the term ' Colonisation'?

Ans. When one country subjugate another country which leads to political,
economic, social and cultural changes refers to colonisation.
6. What is done under Census?
Answer. It records the number of people living in all the provinces of India
and gathers information on castes, religions and occupation.
7. Who prepared the first map of India and when?

Answer: James Rennel in 1782.
 SHORT QUES/ANS
1. Why dates are important in history?
ANS.
i. Dates are important, as they note when

certain events happened. They are important
because history is recorded chronologically.
ii. It helps to know that one event happened

before another event so that one can
examine the relationship between events.
iii. Dates also serve to mark periods in history.
2. Why did the British preserve official documents?

Answer:
i. Official records of the British administration serve as important source
of history of this period.
ii. The British rulers believed that every instruction, plan, policy, decision,
agreement, investigation should be clearly written up. This was
necessary for proper study and debate about an issue.
iii. Hence, they carefully preserved all official records and created several
archives for the purpose.
3. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history that James
Mill offers?
Answer.
i. James Mill was a Scottish economist and political philosopher, who published
a massive three-volume work, A History of British India.
ii. Bill has put Indian History into three periods – Hindu, Muslim and British .
iii. The problem with the periodisation of Indian History that James Mill offer is
the superiority of British shown over Hindu and Muslim.
iv. It is also not justified to characterize an age through the religion of the rulers of
the time.
v. It is worth-mentioning that even rulers in ancient India did not share the
same faith.
 LONG QUES. AND ANS.
Q.1. How did the British conquer India and establish their rule?
Answer. The British conquered India in the following ways:
i. They subjugated local nawabs and rajas.
ii. They established control over the economy and society.
iii. They collected revenue to meet all their expenses, bought goods they
wanted at lower prices and produced crops they needed for export.
iv. They brought changes in rulers and tastes, customs and practices.
v. Thus, they moulded everything in their favour and subjugated the country
very soon.
Q.2. How did surveys become important under the colonial

administration?
Answer. The British gave much importance to the practice of surveying because
they believed that a country had to be properly known before it could be
effectively administered. Therefore, they carried out detailed surveys by the early
19th century in order to map the entire country:
i. They conducted revenue surveys in villages.
ii. They made efforts to know the topography, the soil quality, the flora, the
fauna, the local histories and the cropping pattern.
iii. They also introduced census operations, held at the interval of every ten years
from the end of the 19th century. They prepared detailed records of the
number of people in all the provinces of India, noting information on castes,
religions and occupation separately.
iv. The British also carried on several other surveys such as botanical surveys,
zoological surveys, archeological surveys, forest surveys, etc. In this way,
they gathered all the facts that were essential for administering a country.
Q.3. Define the following:

Answer:
i. Periodisation: Ponding any event into periods.
ii. Subjugation: Gaining control over a country.
iii. Calligrapher: One who is specialised in the art of beautiful writing.
iv. Survey: The act of examining and recording the measurements, features etc. of an
area of land to prepare a map or plan for it.
v. Archives: A place where historical documents or records of a government, an
organisation, etc, are stored.
ACTIVITY: Interview your mother or another member of your family

to find out about their life. Now divide their life into different periods
and list out the significant events in each period. Explain the basis of
your periodization.

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CLASS: 8

 VERY SHORT Q/A

2. Who became the first governor general of British India?

3. What did James Mills think about all Asian societies?

4. How have historians divided Indian history?

5. What do you mean by the term ' Colonisation'?

7. Who prepared the first map of India and when?

i. Dates are important, as they note when

ii. It helps to know that one event happened

iii. Dates also serve to mark periods in history.

2. Why did the British preserve official documents?

 LONG QUES. AND ANS.

Q.2. How did surveys become important under the colonial

Q.3. Define the following:

ACTIVITY: Interview your mother or another member of your family

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