Question.1.

State whether true or false:

(a) James Mill divided Indian history into three period- Hindu, Muslim, Christian.
(b) Official documents help understand what the people of the country think.
(c) The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.

Answers
(a) False
(b) False
(c) True

Question.2. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history that
James Mill offers?
Answer 2 James Mill divided Indian history into three periods – Hindu, Muslim
and British. This periodisation has its own problem. It is difficult to refer to any
period of history as ‘Hindu’ or ‘Muslim’ because a variety of faiths existed
simultaneously in these periods. It is also not justified to characterise an age
through the religion of the rulers of the time. What it suggests is that the lives
and practices of others do not really matter. It is worth-mentioning that even
rulers in ancient India did not all share the same faith.

Question 3. Why did the British preserve official documents?

Answer 3 The British preserved documents because:

1. Any information or proof of any decision can be read/used

from the preserved documents.
2. The preserved documents reveal the p o l i c i e s a n d t h e
progress made by the country during that period.
3 . These documents were useful in understanding the social,
political, cultural and economic history if that period.
4. The notes and reports which were prepared in the past may be used in
modern times.

Question 4. How will the information historians get from old newspapers be
different from that found in police reports?
Answer 4 The information printed in newspaper are usually affected by the
views and opinions of the reporters, news editors etc. But what historians find
i n p o l i c e r e p o r t s a r e u s u a l l y true and realistic.
Question 5. Can you think of examples of surveys in your world today? Think
about how toy companies get information about what young people enjoy
playing with or how the government finds out about the number of young people
in school. What can a historian derive from such surveys?

Answer 5 Surveys are done by government and private companies on

demographic changes, employment, incomes, tastes, interests,
possessions etc. These surveys are done manually or with the use of
technology. Historians may get information about preferences, life style,
demographic changes, political, social, economic life, of people of that area or
region.

Q 6 Fill in the blanks –

1. A History of British India was written by _________________

2. The first Governor-General of India was _______________
3. The National Archives of India came up in the _______________
4. The word ‘Calligrapher’ means _______________
5. Census operations are held every_______________
6. The colonial government gave much importance to the practice of_______
7. Historians have usually divided Indian history into ancient, and _________
8. The British established specialised institutions like ________________and
to preserve important documents.

Answer 6

1. James Mill
2. Warren Hastings
3. 1920s
4. One who is specialised in the art of beautiful writing
5. 10 years
6. Surveying
7. medieval- modem
8.  archives- museums

Q 7 Key Terms

Colonisation - The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over

another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Subjugation of one country by another, taking full control.
Ancient – Belonging to the very distant past (earliest age) and no longer exists.
Medieval – Linked to middle age
Modern – history up to present day
Archives – Place where important historical documents are stored.
Census – The population count and record done for a country.
Q 8 Match the items given in Column A correctly with those given in Column B

Answer 7 (i) (c), (ii) (a), (iii) (d), (iv) (b)

Important Time Periods

1773: Warren Hastings became the First Governor-General of India.

1817: ‘A History of British India’ published by James Mill.

1857: Massive rebel against British rule broke out in 1857.

1920: The National Archives of India came up.