HISTORY (VIII)-CHAPTER 1 HOW, WHEN AND WHERE NCERT SOLUTIONS

 

HISTORY (VIII)-CHAPTER 1

HOW, WHEN AND WHERE

NCERT SOLUTIONS

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1.State whether true or false:
(a) James Mill divided Indian history into three periods – Hindu, Muslim, Christian.
(b) Official documents help us understand what the people of the country think.
(c) The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.
Answer.
(a) False
(b) False
(c) True

2. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history that James Mill offers?
Answer. James Mill divided Indian history into three periods – Hindu, Muslim and British. This periodisation has its own problem.

(i) It is difficult to refer to any period of history as ‘Hindu’ or ‘Muslim’ because a variety of faiths existed simultaneously in these periods.

(ii)  It focused only on the religion of rulers, it ignore the faith of common people.

3.Why did the British preserve official documents?
Answer. The British preserved documents because of the following reasons:

1. Any information or proof of any decision can be read/used from the preserved documents.
2. The preserved documents reveal the progress made by country in the past.
3. One can study the notes and reports which were prepared in the past
4. Documents were helpful in understanding social, economical and history of those times.

4. How will the information historians get from old newspapers be different from that found in police reports?
Answer. The information printed in newspaper are usually affected by the views and opinions of the reporters, news editors etc. But what historians find in police reports are usually true. But it did not provide the information about the ordinary citizens, their life etc. Police report provide the official information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and Where Exercise Questions

Question.1.
A History of British India was written by
(i)(a) Charles Darwin
(b) James Mill
(c) Albert Einstein
(d) ThomasHardy

(ii) The first Governor-General of India was
(a) Lord Dathousie
(b) Lord Mountbatten
(c) Lord William Bentinck
(d) Warren Hastings

(iii) The National Archives of India came up in the
(a) 1920s
(b) 1930s
(c) 1940s
(d) 1950s

(iv) The word ‘Calligrapher’ means
(a) One who is specialised in the art of painting.
(b) One who is specialised in the art of music.
(c) One who is specialised in the art of beautiful writing.
(d) One who is specialised in the art of public speaking.

(v) Census operations are held
(a) every five years
(b) every seven years
(c) every ten years
(d) every twelve years
Answer.
(i)(b), (ii)(d), (iii)(a), (iv)(c), (v)(c).

Question.2.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence.
(i) The colonial government gave much importance to the practice of
(ii) Historians have usually divided Indian history into ancient, and
(iii) A History of British India is a massive work.
(iv) Mill thought that all Asian societies were at a level of civilisation than Europe.
(v) The British established specialised institutions like and to preserve important documents.
Answer.
(i) Surveying
(ii) medieval- modem
(iii) three-volume
(iv) lower
(v) archives- museums

Question.3.
State whether each of the following statements is True or False.
(i) The British were very particular about preserving official documents.
(ii) Printing began to spread by the middle of the 20th century.
(iii) The periodisation of Indian history offered by James Mill was not at all accepted.
(iv) The British carried out detailed surveys by the early 19th century in order to map the entire country.
(v) James Mill glorified India and its culture in his book A History of British India.
Answer.
(i) True,
(ii) False,
(iii) False,
(iv) True,
(v) False.

Question.4.
Match the items given in Column A correctly with those given in Column B.

Answer.
(i) (c), (ii) (a), (iii) (d), (iv) (b).

Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and Where Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Name the events for which specific dates can be determined.
Answer.
The year a king was crowned, the year he married, the year he had a child, the year he fought a particular battle, the year he died, etc.

Question 2.
What was an important aspect of the histories written by the British historians in India?
Answer.
The rule of each Governor-General was an important aspect.

Question 3.
Who was James Mill?
Answer.
He was a Scottish economist and political philosopher and is known for his book A History of British India.

Question 4.
What was Mill’s opinion about the Asian societies?
Answer.
In Mill’s opinion all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilisation than Europe.

Question 5.
What evil practices, according to James Mill, dominated the Indian social life before the British came to India?
Answer.
According to James Mill, the evil practices that dominated to the Indian social life were religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious practices.

Question 6.
How did paintings project Governor- General?
Answer.
Paintings projected Governor-Generals as powerful figures.

Question 7.
Why do many historians refer to modem period as colonial?
Answer.
It is because, under British rule people did not have equality, freedom or liberty—the symbols of modernity.

Question 8.
Mention one important source used by historians in writing about the last 230 years of Indian history.
Answer.
The official records of the British administration.

Question 9.
What is done under census?
Answer.
It records the number of people living all the provinces of India and gathers information on castes, religions and occupation.

Question 10 .
What do official records not tell?
Answer.
Official records do not tell what other people in the country felt, and what lay behind their actions.

Question 11.
Why do we try and divide history into different periods?
Answer.
We do so in order to capture the characteristics of a time, its central features as they appear to us.