Dr. D. Y.

Patil Public School

Affiliation No. 1130679
Class: 8 English
Notes of Chapter 3 Glimpses of the Past

1. Look at picture 1 and recall the opening lines of the original

song in Hindi. Who is the singer ? Who else do you see in this
picture ?
Answer: The Hindi song’s opening lines are Aye Mere Watan ke
Logon.
The singer is Lata Mangeshker. Others in the picture are Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Smt. Indira Gandhi.
In the picture below there are national leaders who worked tirelessly
for the Indepen-dence. They are : Rani Laxmi Bai, Sardar Bhagat
Singh, Bahadur Shah Jafar, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma
Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

2. In picture 2 what do you understand by the Company’s

“superior weapons” ?
Answer: Company’s superior weapons” refers to their more efficient
guns.

3. Who is an artisan ? Why do you think the artisans suffered ?

(picture 3)

Answer: An artisan is a person who is skilled in an applied art; a

craftsperson. The expert artisans of India worked so well that there
was no parallel to their creation. So British goods could not be sold
in the country as long as they produced goods. To make them
incapable of doing their work, the British cut their thumbs
4. Which picture, according to you, reveals the first sparks of
the fire of revolt ?

Answer: The first part of picture no. 7 reveals the first sparks of
revolt. In it the santhals are seen revolting in 1855. They massacred
Europeans and their supporters alike.

1 WORKING WITH THE TEXT (Page 45)

Answer the following questions.

Question. 1.
Do you think the Indian princes were short-sighted in their
approach to the events of 1757 ?

Answer:
Indian princes were indeed short-sighted in their approach to the
events of 1757. They fought against each other and sought the help
of the British. They could not see that this will eventually make the
British most powerful. This happened and they had to suffer for their
short-sightedness.

Question. 2.
How did the East India Company subdue the Indian princes ?

Answer:
Indian princes fought one another. Very often they sought the help
of East India Company to do so. As a result they became weak. The
company subdued them all one by one.
Question. 3.
Quote the words used by Ram Mohan Roy to say that every
religion teaches the same principles.

Answer:
The words of Raja Ram Mohan Roy were : “Cows are of different
colours. But the colour of their milk is the same. Different teachers
have different opinions but the essence of every religion is the
same.”

Question. 4.
In what ways did the British officers exploit Indians ?

Answer:
The British passed a resolution. Under it an Indian could be jailed
without trial in a court. British goods were imported into India tax-
free. The English prospered on the company’s loot while Indian
industries began to die. Even the Governor-General Bentinck
reported, “The bones of cotton weavers are bleaching the plains of
India.”

Question. 5.
Name these people.
(i) The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and
died fighting.

Answer: Tipu Sultan

(ii) The person who wanted to reform the society.

Answer:Raja Ram Mohan Roy

(iii) The person who recommended the introduction of English
education in India.

Answer: Lord Macaulay

(iv) Two popular leaders who led the revolt (Choices may vary).

Answer: Nana Saheb Peshwa and Kunwar Singh

Question. 6.
Mention the following.
(i) Two examples of social practices prevailing then.

Answer: Untouchability and child marriage.

(ii) Two oppressive policies of the British.

Answer: (a) The British passed a resolution under which an Indian

could be jailed with-out trial in a court.
(b) The British supported the British industry. To do so they made
imports to India tax-free. Consequently Indian industry began to die.

(iii) Two ways in which common people suffered.

Answer: (a) The British did not care about the needs of Indians.
(b) The farmers were heavily taxed and the thumbs of the artisans
were cut.
(iv) Four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of
Independence.

Answer: (a) Santhals had lost their lands. They became desperate.
They revolted and killed the British and their supporters alike.
(b) The white soldiers got huge pay. The Indian soldier was lowly
paid. This created discontentment among the soldiers.
(c) Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow was bitter. She had lost her kingdom.
(d) Many landlords were sore. They had lost their lands because of
the Britishers’ policies.