History chapter -How ,when and where? class 8

DEAR STUDENTS OF CLASS 7 C
do it in notebook

Textbook exercises and Q/Ans of ch-1 History 

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? 

A.   The problem with the periodisation of Indian History that James Mill offers, is the superiority of British shown over Hindu and Muslim. James Bill has put Indian History into three periods – Hindu, Muslim and British, claiming that it was necessary to introduce European manners, arts, institutions and laws in India.

James Mill’s views have several defects given below:

a. He thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilisation when compared to Europe.

b. According to his telling of history, before the British came to India, Hindu and Muslim despots ruled the country.

c. Religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious practices dominated social life before the British came to India

3. Why did the British preserve official documents?

A.  British had preserved official documents, because they thought if they write and record everything, it will later be easier for them to study them and debate. They kept official records of what they thought was right, so that in the future, those records can serve as proofs of all the decisions that they had taken.

Q3. How will the information historians get from newspapers be different from that found in police reports?

A. In order to write history we have to go through various sources of history such as autobiographies, newspapers, magazines, police reports, etc. The difference we find in police reports and newspapers is that police reports describe about the administration setup during that time but with the biasness of perception of the officer. Whereas the newspapers describe about the real happenings of that time. Here also one finds the perception of the writer against the administration which could be both positive and negative.