How, When and Where

Very Short Answer Type Question

1. When The National Archives of India came up?
Answer: The National Archives of India came up in the 1920s.
2. How did paintings project Governor-Generals?
Answer: Paintings projected Governor-Generals as powerful figures.
3. Who became the first governor general of British India?
Answer: Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of India in
1773.
4. What did James Mills think about all Asian societies?
Answer: Mill thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of
civilisation than Europe.
5. How have historians divided Indian history?
Answer: Historians have usually divided Indian history into ‘ancient’,
‘medieval’ and ‘modern’.
6. What do you mean by the term ‘ colonisation’?
Answer: When one country subjugates another country which leads to
political, economic, social and cultural changes refer to colonisation.
7. Who was James Mill?
Answer: James Mill was a Scottish economist and political philosopher, who
published a massive three-volume work, A History of British India.
8. Who wrote the book ‘A History of British India’?
Answer: In 1817, James Mill, a Scottish economist and political philosopher,
published a massive three-volume work, A History of British India.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. What do you understand by history?
Answer: 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. With what did the British historians associate the modern period?
Answer: The British modern period was associated with the growth of all
the forces of modernity – science, reason, democracy, liberty and equality.
3. What evil practices, according to James Mill, dominated the
Indian social life before the British came to India?
Answer: Religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious practices
dominated social life.
4. What was an important aspect of the histories written by the
British historians in India?
Answer: In the histories written by British historians in India, the rule of
each Governor- General was important.
5. What official records do not tell?
Or
What were the things that official records did not tell?
Answer: Official records do not always help us understand what other
people in the country felt, and what lay behind their actions.
6. Mention 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 war, the year he died, and the
year the next ruler succeeded to the throne.
7. Why do many historians refer to modern period as colonial?
Answer: Under British rule people did not have equality, freedom or liberty.
Nor was the period one of economic growth and progress. Many historians
therefore refer to this period as ‘colonial’.
8. Who are calligraphists? How were they important in the early
nineteenth century?
Answer: Calligraphists are those who are specialized in the art of beautiful
handwriting. In the early years of the nineteenth century documents were
carefully copied out and beautifully written by calligraphists.
9. Mention one important source used by historians in writing about
the last 250 years of Indian history.
Or
What sources do historians use in writing about the last 250 years
of Indian history?
Answer: One important source is the official records of the British
administration. Other sources include diaries of people, accounts of pilgrims
and travellers, autobiographies of important personalities, and popular
booklets that were sold in the local bazaars.
10. What do official records not tell? How do we come to know
about them?
Or
What official records do not tell? From where do we get such
information?
Answer: Official records do not always help us understand what other
people in the country felt, and what lay behind their actions. For that we
have diaries of people, accounts of pilgrims and travellers, autobiographies
of important personalities, and popular booklets that were sold in the local
bazaars.
11. Why did the British preserve official documents?
Answer: The British believed that the act of writing was important. Every
instruction, plan, policy decision, agreement, investigation had to be clearly
written up. Once this was done, things could be properly studied and
debated. This conviction produced an administrative culture of memos,
notices and reports.
12. By what criteria do we choose a set of dates as important?
Answer: The dates we select, the dates around which we compose our story
of the past, are not important on their own. They become vital because we
focus on a particular set of events as important. If our focus of study
changes, if we begin to look at new issues, a new set of dates will appear
significant.
13. Why do we try and divide history into different periods?
Answer: We do so in an attempt to capture the characteristics of a time, its
central features as they appear to us. So the terms through which we
periodise – that is, demarcate the difference between periods – become
important. They reflect our ideas about the past. They show how we see the
significance of the change from one period to the next.
14. How did the British conquer India and establish their rule?
Answer: British came to conquer the country and establish their rule,
subjugating local nawabs and rajas. For this, they established control over
the economy and society, collected revenue to meet all their expenses,
bought the goods they wanted at low prices, produced crops they needed
for export. They also brought changes about in values and tastes, customs
and practices.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. How did the invention of the printing press help in spreading
news and information?
Answer: In the early years of the nineteenth century documents were
carefully copied out and beautifully written by calligraphists. By the middle
of the nineteenth century, with the spread of printing, multiple copies of
these records were printed as proceedings of each government department.
As printing spread, newspapers were published and issues were debated in
public. Leaders and reformers wrote to spread their ideas, poets and
novelists wrote to express their feelings.
2. What did the British do to preserve important official documents
and letters?
Or
Why did the British set up record rooms attached to all
administrative institutions?
Answer: The British also felt that all important documents and letters
needed to be carefully preserved. So they set up record rooms attached to
all administrative institutions. The village tahsildar’s office, the collectorate,
the commissioner’s office, the provincial secretariats, the lawcourts – all had
their record rooms. Specialised institutions like archives and museums were
also established to preserve important records.
3. James Rennel was supporter of British Rule in India. Discuss.
Answer: Rennel was asked by Robert Clive to produce maps of Hindustan.
An enthusiastic supporter of British conquest of India, Rennel saw
preparation of maps as essential to the process of domination. He had
produced the first map in 1782. The frontispiece to the first map tries to
suggest that Indians willingly gave over their ancient texts to Britannia – the
symbol of British power – as if asking her to become the protector of Indian
culture.
4. Why we continue to associate history with a string of dates?
Or
What was the reason behind the use of dates in history?
Answer: This association has a reason. There was a time when history was
an account of battles and big events. It was about rulers and their policies.
Historians wrote about the year a king was crowned, the year he married,
the year he had a child, the year he fought a particular war, the year he
died, and the year the next ruler succeeded to the throne. For events such
as these, specific dates can be determined, and in histories such as these,
debates about dates continue to be important.
5. How did James Mill view India?
Answer: James Mill’s view about India
Mill thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilisation than
Europe.
According to his telling of history, before the British came to India, Hindu
and Muslim despots ruled the country. Religious intolerance, caste taboos
and superstitious practices dominated social life.
British rule, Mill felt, could civilise India. Mill, in fact, suggested that the
British should conquer all the territories in India to ensure the enlightenment
and happiness of the Indian people. For India was not capable of progress
without British help.
6. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history that
James Mill offers?
Or
The Periodisation of Indian History made by James Mill during 1817
was unjustified. Why?
Answer: James Mill divided Indian history into three periods—Hindu, Muslim
and British. This periodisation has its own problem.
It is not correct 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. To do so is to suggest that the lives and practices of the others
do not really matter.
It is worth-mentioning that even rulers in ancient India did not all share the
same faith.
7. Historians divide Indian history into ancient, medieval and
modem. But this division too has its problems. What are these
problems?
Or
Historians divided history into ancient, medieval and modern
period. What is the problem with this periodisation?
Or
‘Dividing Indian history into ancient, medieval and modern periods
by historians too has its problem’ Explain.
Or
Historians have divided Indian history into ‘ancient’, ‘medieval’ and
‘modern’. What problems does this division have?
Answer: Moving away from British classification, historians have usually
divided Indian history into ‘ancient’, ‘medieval’ and ‘modern’. This division
too has its problems.
It is a periodisation that is borrowed from the West where the modern period
was associated with the growth of all the forces of modernity – science,
reason, democracy, liberty and equality. Medieval was a term used to
describe a society where these features of modern society did not exist.
It is difficult to accept this characterisation of the modern period because
under British rule people did not have equality, freedom or liberty. Nor it was
the period one of economic growth and progress. Many historians therefore
refer to this period as ‘colonial’.
8. How important are dates?
Or
“History is boring because it is all about memorizing dates.” Is such
a conception true?
Or
In the common-sense notion, history was synonymous with dates.
Discuss
Answer: 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. As
soon as we compare the past with the present we refer to time, we talk of
“before” and “after”. But time does not have to be always precisely dated in
terms of a particular year or a month. Sometimes it is actually incorrect to
fix precise dates to processes that happen over a period of time. Similarly,
we cannot fix one single date on which British rule was established, or the
national movement started, or changes took place within the economy and
society. All these things happened over a stretch of time. We can only refer
to a span of time, an approximate period over which particular changes
became visible.
9. How did surveys become important under the colonial
administration?
Or
Explain the importance of survey under the colonial administration.
Or
Why did surveys become a common practice under the colonial
administration?
Answer: The practice of surveying also became common under the colonial
administration. The British believed that a country had to be properly known
before it could be effectively administered. By the early nineteenth century
detailed surveys were being carried out to map the entire country. In the
villages, revenue surveys were conducted. The effort was to know the
topography, the soil quality, the flora, the fauna, the local histories, and the
cropping pattern – all the facts seen as necessary to know about to
administer the region. From the end of the nineteenth century, Census
operations were held every ten years. These prepared detailed records of
the number of people in all the provinces of India, noting information on
castes, religions and occupation. There were many other surveys – botanical
surveys, zoological surveys, archaeological surveys, anthropological
surveys, forest surveys.

Question 1
Define the word ‘history’.
Solution:
History is ‘a record of all known past events’.
Question 2
What are the events that are usually recorded in history books?
Solution:
The events that are usually recorded are wars, crowning of kings and events related to kingdoms and the
lives of rulers.
Question 3
Mention a few other events, which if recorded, will make history more interesting to everyone.
Solution:
Historians could write about the cultural changes in society, about how people travelled and exchanged
news in the olden days and about the livelihood of people in the past.
Question 4
Who created the first map of India?
Solution:
Major James Rennel an English geographer, historian and pioneer of oceanography prepared the first Map
of India. He was directed by Major-General Sir Robert Clive to prepare the map.
Question 5
What do we mean by ‘time-span’ in connection with historical events?
Solution:
When a specific date cannot be fixed for an event in the past and only an approximate period can be fixed
this period of time is called the time-span. When we talk about changes that took place in certain social
practices specific dates cannot be fixed only a time-span can be mentioned, like ‘ people in India gave up
the practice of sati during the late 19th century’.
Question 6
What did British historians in India write about?
Solution:
British historians in India wrote about the Governor Generals and Viceroys who ruled India. Their History
books contained the activities, policies and achievements of the Governor Generals and nothing more. All
the recorded events with specific dates were linked to the lives of these Governor Generals.
Question 7
Why is it important to have dates or time frames while writing History?
Solution:
We need dates and time-spans to divide the history book into chapters. It is necessary to give each chapter
some consistency. Dates help us record history in a way that makes some sense and can be followed.
Dates also help historians to focus on those particular events about which they are writing.
Question 8
Who wrote the book ‘The History of British India’?
Solution:
‘The History of British India’ was written by James Mill. James Mill was born in 1773. He was a Scottish
historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. His greatest literary achievement was this book.
Question 9
Why did James Mill divide his book, ‘The History of British India’ into the Hindu, Muslim and British
Periods?
Solution:
According to Mill before the British came to India, Hindu and Muslim dictators ruled the country. There was
religious intolerance, caste discrimination and superstitious practices in the Indian society. James Mill felt
that only the British could bring enlightenment and happiness to the Indians by refining them. He felt that
European culture, arts and law were necessary to uplift the downtrodden Indians.
So, James Mill divided his book into 3 periods; namely the Hindu, Muslim and British; to establish his view
that the period before British rule was one of darkness and British rule represented all the forces of
progress and civilisation.
Question 10
How were historians able to write about the last 250 years of Indian history?
Solution:
The historians were able to write about the last 250 years of Indian history from the official records
maintained by the British Administration.
Question 11
How were records preserved during the British rule?
Solution:
Archives and museums were established to preserve important records.
Question 12
Write a brief note on the National Archives of India.
Solution:
The National Archives of India is the repository of non-current records of the Government of India and is
holding them in trust for the use of administrators and scholars. It is an Attached Office of the Department
of Culture under Ministry of Tourism & Culture. It was set up in March 1891 in Kolkata as the Imperial
Record Department and subsequent to the transfer of the National Capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in
1911 it was shifted to its present building in New Delhi, in 1926.
Question 13
Apart from official records what are the other sources of information that is available to historians?
Solution:
The other sources of information that is available to historians are,
Diaries of people
Accounts of pilgrims and travellers
Autobiographies of important personalities
Popular booklets and newspapers
Books and letters written by Leaders, reformers, poets and novelists

Question 1.
Whom did Robert Clive ask to produce the maps of Hindustan?
Answer:
Rennel was asked to produce the maps of Hindustan by Robert Clive.
Question 2.
Who was given the title of ‘Duke of Connaught’?
Answer:
Third son of Queen Victoria – Prince Arthur was given the title.
Question 3.
Who was the Ist Governor-General of the British in India?
Answer:
Warren Hastings was the Ist Governor-General of the British in India.
Question 4.
What was the name of the three-volume work published by James Mill?
Answer:
The name of the three-volume work published by James Mill was ‘A History
of British India’.
Question 5.
What does the Census operations consist of?
Answer:
Census operation consists of the detailed records of the number of people in
all provinces in India, information on castes, religions and occupations of the
people at that time.
Question 6.
What is history?
Answer:
History is about finding of things that were in the past and it also narrates
how the things have changed.
Question 7.
What was felt by Mill about the caste and religion?
Answer:
About the in Indian caste and religious system Mill was felt there was
religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious belief.
Question 8.
What are the forces of modernity?
Answer:
Science, reason, democracy, liberty and equality.
Question 9.
What all were absent under British rule.
Answer:
Equality, freedom and liberty were absent under British rule.
Question 10.
In which century did the printing got spread?
Answer:
By the middle of 19th century.
Question 11.
Which practice became important under colonial administration?
Answer:
The Practice of Surveying.
How, When and Where Class 8 Extra Questions Short Answer Type
Question 1.
Moving away from the British classification, how did historians usually divide
the history of India?
Answer:
When we move away from the British classification, historians usually
divided the Indian history into three categories that are:
Ancient
Medieval
Modern
Question 2.
What were the sources used by historians in writing the History at the time
of the British rule?
Answer:
The historians used the following sources in writing the history:
The official records of the British administration.
The letters and documents that were preserved carefully.
Records being preserved from the administration offices.
Letters and memory that were kept in the archives.
Question 3.
Why can’t we get to know easily and accurately about history of people who
were not literate?
Answer:
Sources that were produced by those who were literate have no experience
of what the tribals, peasants, the workers of mines or the poors on street
liked, so we cannot get to know easily and accurately about the history of
people who were not literate at the time.
Question 4.
What is Modernity and its forces?
Answer:
Modern period in west was related to the growth of the modernity and it
focuses are science, reason, democracy, liberty and equality.
How, When and Where Class 8 Extra Questions Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Why are Dates important in History? And what was there in history written
by the British Historians?
Answer:
In History, the dates are really important because the dates focuses on a
particular set of events and changes that took place during a particular
period of time.
The History that was written by the British historians in India had considered
the rule of Ist Governor-General, Warren Hastings which extended till last
Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten. In brief, we can say that the British historians
wrote only those points which were important to them and have only
glorified their deeds and events in their historical accounts.
Question 2.
Who was James Mill, and how did he divide the History India? In what sense
did he take Asian Society and Indian society?
Answer:
James Mill was a Scottish economist and a political philosopher, who had
published a massive three-volume work i.e. “A History of British India. James
Mill divided the history of India in three periods – Hindus, Muslims and
British. Mill thought that the Asian Society was at a lower level of civilization
than that of Europe. According to him before the rule of the British, the
Indian Society was ruled by Hindu and Muslim despots and religious
intolerance, caste taboos and superstition were spread.
Question 3.
What is the problem behind the classification of History into Ancient,
Medieval and Modem?
Answer:
The problem behind the classification is that the periodization has been
borrowed from the west where the Modern Period was associated with the
growth of all the forces of modernity – science, reason, democracy, liberty
and equality. Medieval was used to define society where there was absence
of modern forces. So this was unacceptable as British rule was the period in
which all liberty, equality, freedom were taken from Indians.
Picture Based Questions Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and
Where
Look at the picture given below and answer the following questions:

Question:
1. What does the picture describes?
2. When was the building made?
3. How is it related to British Rule.
Answer:
1. The picture is a building called ‘National Archives in India’.
2. The Building was made in 1920’s.
3. The Building reflects the importance of this institution in relation to
British.

Chapter Test How When and Where

1. History is about finding out how things were in the past and how things have
________
1. Ended/completed
2. Changed
3. Started
4. Evolved
2. From the list of the record rooms set up by the British, pick out the odd man out
:
1. British offices
2. Collectorate, Museums
3. Village Tahsildar?s office
4. Law court, Provincial Secretariat
3. Present day historians think that History is beyond the rulers and dynasties.
What do they look upon then?
1. Historians only study about the past events
2. Historians deal with a host of other issues like how people earned their
livelihood, what they produced, how cultures and society changed etc
3. Historians study about the past and present of great men .
4. Historians only deal with how man is a social animal
4. Which one from the given list would you add to complete the circle of
documents?

1. Official documents
2. Biological surveys
3. Forest surveys
4. Accounts of Pilgrims
5. Listed below are a few statements with respect to the British rule in India. Which
one do you think is a wrong statement?
1. British established control over the economy and society without changing
the customs and practices prevalent in India
2. British conquered the country and established their rule subjugating local
nawabs and rajas
3. British produced the crops they needed for export .
4. British collected revenue to meet all the expenses bought goods they wanted
at low prices
6. Match the columns:

Column A Column B

i. James Mill (a) Governor-General

ii. Official documents (b) Botanical Garden

iii. Warren Hastings (c) A History of British India

iv. Custard Apple (d) Preserved

7.
1. Historians have usually divided Indian history into ancients, …………… and
……………
2. A history of British India is a massive ………. Work.
3. Mill through that all Asian societies were at a ……………. level of
civilisation than Europe.
 4. The British established specialized institution like ……….. and ………. to
preserve important documents
8. State True or False:

1. James Mill divided Indian history into three periods-Hindu, Muslim,

Christian.
2. Official documents help us understand what the people of the country
think.
3. The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.
4. Newspapers provide accounts of the movement in different parts of the
country.
9. What do officials records not tell?
10. What was one of the important source do historians use in writing?
11. What evil practice, according to James Mill, dominated the Indian social
life before the British came to India?
12. What do official records not tell? How do we come to know about them?
13. Why are officials records important for British administration?
 Ch-1 How When and Where

Answer
1.
2. Changed, Explanation: As soon as we compare the past with the present we
refer to time, we talk of before and after.
3. British offices, Explanation: The village tahsildar’s office,the collectorate,the
commissioner’s office, the provincial secretariats,the law courts-all had their
record rooms. Specialised institutions like archives and museumswere also
established to preserve important documents.
2. Historians deal with a host of other issues like how people earned their
livelihood, what they produced, how cultures and society changed etc
Explanation: Besides dates and events historians also discuss about other
issues and questions regarding lives of people in the past.
4. Accounts of Pilgrims, Explanation: When we search other sources we find
diaries of people, Accounts of pilgrims and travellers, autobiographies of
important personalities and popular booklets.
5. British established control over the economy and society without changing
the customs and practices prevalent in India
Explanation: Britishers established control over the economy and society,
collected revenue to meet all their expenses, bought the goods they wanted
for export. They brought changes in values and tastes, customs and
practices.
1. James Mill – (c) A History of British India
2. Official documents – (d) Preserved
3. Warren Hastings – (a) Governor-General
4. Custard Apple – (b) Botanical Garde
1. medieval; modern
2. three-volume
3. lower
4. archives; museums
1. False
2. False
3. True
4. True
2. Officials records do not tell what other people in the country felt, and what lay
behind their actions.
3. The officials record of the British administration.
4. According to James Mill, the evil practices that dominated to the Indian social
life were religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious practices.
1. Official records do not always help us understand what other people in the
country felt, and what lay behind their actions.
2. For that we have diaries of people, accounts of pilgrims and travelers,
autobiographies of important personalities, and popular books, etc.
3. With the spread of printing press, newspapers came to be published and
issued began to be debated in public. Leaders and reforms wrote to spread
their ideas, poets and novelists wrote to express their feelings.
1. One important source is the official records of the British administration as
they believed that the act of writing was important.
2. Every instruction, plan, policy decision, agreement, an investigation was
clearly written up.
3. They produced an administrative culture of memos, notings, and reports.
4. The British felt that all important documents and letters needed to be
carefully preserved. So they set-up record rooms attached to all
administrative institutions.
5. The village tahsildar’s office, the collectorate, the secretariats, the law-
courts- all had their record rooms.
6. Specialised institutions like archives and museums were also established to
preserve important.
7. Letters and memos that moved from one branch of the administration to
another in the early years of the nineteenth century can still be read in the
archives.