PRUDENCE SCHOOL, ASHOK VIHAR
SOCIAL SCIENCE
2020-2021
GRADE 8: HISTORY
CHAPTER 1: HOW, WHEN AND WHERE
Meaning of History
• History is a record of important incidents and events.
• It is about the lives of the people who made a difference to the world.
• It is also a study about the human evolution.
• History is hence, a subjective study of events that occurred in the past.
Difference in the meaning of History by different historians
• Each historian has a different perspective to an event.
• According to British historians, history of British Raj in India is all about the lives of the
different Governor Generals of India. It began with the first Governor General Warren
Hastings and ends with Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy.
• Whereas, an Indian historian focused on India’s development under the British Raj and
wrote about the lives of the common people - their means of livelihood, the food they ate,
the clothes they wore, changes in their social norms etc.
• The history of the commoners is also different from that of the Governor Generals.
NOTE:
• There are no precise dates for events that take place over a period of time. E.g. we cannot fix
a date as to when British came to India.
• Some dates are significant because of a particular set of event that happened on that day.
E.g. 15th August is an important date in Indian History as it is on this day that we got
independent.
• However, now more emphasis is given on why things happen (i.e. events) and not on when
things happened (i.e. the dates).
DATES THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IMPORTANT:-
• The dates around which we write history become important because we focus on a
particular set of events that are important.
• When the focus changes and we look at a new set of events, a new set of dates become
significant.
• As such, old sets of dates lose importance and a new set of dates comes into focus.
• For example, for the British historians, the rule of each Governor General was significant.
So, the history of British India revolved around the Governor Generals and their
achievements.
• They hardly gave importance to the events which occurred outside this purview.
• Thus, the importance of the set of dates changes according to the events which are
highlighted by the people.
NEED TO PERIODISE HISTORY:-
• Periodisation helps us to understand the sequence in which various events occurred and
their effects.
• It captures the significant features of a particular period and helps us to differentiate it
from other periods.
PERIODISATION OF INDIAN HISTORY:-
• It was in 1817 that James Mill in his book A History of British India divided Indian
history into the following three parts:
THE HINDU PERIOD
THE MUSLIM PERIOD
THE BRITISH PERIOD
• However, Indian historians have usually divided Indian history into the following:
ANCIENT PERIOD
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
MODERN PERIOD
Problems with dividing Indian History by the Indian Historians
• 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 divide the history on the basis of the religion of the rulers of that
particular time as by doing this we tend to ignore the religion of the common people.
• This kind of periodisation was borrowed from the West where the modern period
signifies modern developments like growth, development, rational spirit, liberty and
equality.
• The modern period in India was not associated with such changes of modern
development. Thus, many historians refer to the period of British rule as the ‘Colonial’
period and not as the modern period.
MEANING OF COLONIAL:-
• The process of subjugation (controlling) of one country by another that leads to political,
economic, social and cultural changes is called colonization.
• For e.g.-British came to India, established their rule, subjugated the local nawabs and
rajas, collected revenue to meet their expenses, bought goods they wanted at low prices,
etc.
• The British rule brought about changes in Indian values, tastes, customs and practices.
• Thus, by bringing these changes the British colonized India in the nineteenth century.
NEED FOR PRODUCING AND PRESERVING RECORDS BY THE BRITISH:-
• The official records of the British administration are an important source. Every plan,
instruction, policy, decision, agreement and investigation was clearly written and
recorded.
• The British felt that all the important letters and documents were to be carefully
preserved. As such, they set up record rooms attached to administrative institutions.
• Institutions such as archives and museums were also established for preserving records.
• During the colonial rule, all administrative offices such as the collectorate, the
tahsildar’s office, the commissioner’s office, the provincial secretariats and the law
courts had their own record rooms.
• These documents were skilfully copied in the early years by calligraphists.
• With the spread of printing by the mid-nineteenth century, each document came to be
printed by the government department.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION OF MODERN INDIAN HISTORY:-
A] OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE BRITISH ADMINISTRATION:
• The British kept written records of every key instruction, meeting, transaction,
investigation, plan, policy decision and agreement.
• They attached record rooms with all the important administrative institutions.
• The British built specialized institutions like museums and archives to preserve
important documents.
• Historians gather important information about the provincial administrative system
from the reports, memos, noting and letters preserved in the 19th century in the
archives and record rooms across India.
B] SURVEY:-
• For effective administration, the British carried out a number of surveys in the early 19th
century.
• Detailed surveys were carried out by the British to map the entire country.
• Revenue surveys were conducted in villages in order to know the topography, the quality
of soil, flora, fauna, cropping pattern, etc.
• Other surveys such as botanical surveys, archaeological surveys, zoological surveys,
forest surveys and anthropological surveys were also carried out.
• By the end of the 19th century, Population survey or censuses of all the Indian
provinces were being carried out every ten years. This helped to collect information on
the religion, caste and occupation of the people.
• These surveys have helped historians to collect information about modern India.
C] NON-OFFICIAL SOURCES:-
• Writings of reformers, poets and novelists.
• Personal diaries of personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel.
• Newspapers, popular books like The Discovery of India and Glimpses of World.
• History, autobiographies of personalities like Mahatma Gandhi.
• Accounts of travellers and pilgrims give a deep insight into the lives of the common
people.
• Oral stories, traditions and cultural practices of the local people like the tribal, mine
workers etc.
LIMITATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL RECORDS:-
• Since these surveys and records were conducted by the British, they reflect colonial thoughts
and ideologies.
• These records only tell us about what the British officials thought about the people, their
culture and languages. Thus, these records do not tell us about the general notions of the
people, their beliefs and ideologies.
• These records did not tell about the general feelings of the people and also they did not tell
about the history of illiterate people in India.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER:-
• James Rennel, in 1782 was asked by Robert Clive to produce the maps of
HINDOOSTAN (presently called as Hindustan). Indian Brahmans themselves gave
shastras (frontispiece) to Britannia (presently called as Britain) which further helped them
in domination of Hindustan.
• Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of India in 1773.
• The National Archives of India was set up in 1920 at the time when New Delhi was
built by the British.
• Colonization:-When the subjugation of one country by another leads to kinds of
political, economic, social and cultural changes, it is called as the colonialism.
