Chapter-1. How, When, and Where
Understanding “How, When and Where” helps students explore the beginnings of modern Indian history. This chapter introduces how historians record and interpret events that shaped our past. It explains how dates, periods, and sources are categorized to study the British rule in India. Students learn the importance of official records and how they influence our understanding of historical facts. The chapter also highlights how colonial documentation shaped the perception of India’s history. For students preparing for exams, NCERT Solutions for Class 8 offer accurate explanations of key concepts, helping to improve understanding and revision. With Class 8 Notes, learners can summarize important topics like the importance of classification in history, role of archives, and how new historical perspectives emerged. If you’re struggling with understanding the timeline of events or analyzing historical changes, Class 8 Home Tuition from experienced tutors can provide individual guidance. Tutors simplify complex topics, ensure concept clarity, and prepare students for assessments effectively.
Mastering this chapter lays the foundation for understanding colonialism and the evolution of Indian society, making it essential for success in Class 8 Social Science exams.
History is about changes that occur over time. It is about finding out how things were in the past and how things have changed. Most of us have our moments of wonder, when we are curious, and we ask questions that actually are historical. Like when did people begin to drink tea or coffee?
When were railways built and how did people travel long distances before the age of railways? How people got to hear about things before newspapers began to be printed? All such historical questions refer us back to notions of time. But time does not have to be always precisely dated in terms of a particular year or a month. All these things happened over a stretch of time. There was a time when history was an account of battles and big events.
Historians now look at how people earned their livelihood, what they produced and ate, how cities developed and markets came up, how kingdoms were formed and new ideas spread, and how cultures and society changed.
Which Dates?
The dates we select, are not important on their own. They become vital because we focus on a particular set of events as important. For e.g. in the histories written by British historians in India, the rule of each Governor-General was important. All the dates in these history books were linked to these personalities - to their activities, policies, achievements.
If we have to focus on the activities of different groups and classes in Indian society we need another format for our history. This would mean that the old dates will no longer have the significance the earlier had. A new set of dates will become more important for us to know.
How do we periodise?
In 1817, James Mill, a Scottish economist and political philosopher, published, a massive three volume work, A History of British India. In this he divided Indian history into three periods- Hindu, Muslim and British.
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.
To do this it was necessary to introduce European manners, arts, institutions and laws in 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. India was not capable of progress without British help. We cannot refer to any period of history as "Hindu" or "Muslim". This division has problems-
- Variety of faiths exist simultaneously in these periods
- This division suggested that the lives and practices of the others do not really matter.
- Even rulers in ancient India did not share the same faith.
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. But in India, people did not have equality, freedom and liberty under British rule. Nor was the period one of economic growth and progress. Many historians therefore refer to this period as ‘colonial'.
Do Check: Ruling the Country Side Class 8 Notes
What is Colonial?
British conquered the country and established their rule, subjugating local nawabs and rajas. 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.
British rule brought changes in values and tastes, customs and practices. When the subjugation of one country by another leads to these kinds of political, economic, social and cultural changes, we refer to the process as colonisation.
Sources of History
Administration produces Records
One important source is the official records of the British administration.
Every instruction, plan policy decision, agreement, investigation was clearly written up. This produced an administrative culture of memos, notings and reports.
Steps taken by the British:
- The British 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Surveys become important
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. 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 as seen 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.
What official records do not tell
Official records tell us what the officials thought, what they were interested in, and what they wished to preserve for posterity. These 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.
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. To understand how history was experienced and lived by the tribels and the peasants, the workers in the mines or the poor on the streets is a more difficult task.
Do Check: When People Rebel Class 8 Notes
Exercise Questions
Ques. James Mill was a -
(A) An Indian economist
(B) An Italian economist
(C) A Scottish economist
(D) A Dutch economist
Ques. History is about -
(A) changes that occur over time
(B) finding out how things were in past
(C) how things have changed
(D) all of the above
Ques. Who wrote History of British India ?
(A) Rippon
(B) Liton
(C) James Mill
(D) Irwin
Ques. Who was asked by Robert Clive to produce the maps of Hindustan ?
(A) Hastings
(B) Brahmans
(C) Rennel
(D) None of these
Ques. Now-a-days history lays emphasis on -
(A) dates
(B) periods
(C) other issues as compared to dates and periods
(D) none of the above
Ques. The census operations are held every
(A) 1 year
(B) 5 years
(C) 10 years
(D) 20 years
Ques. Who published the massive three-volume work, A History of British India ?
(A) Hindus
(B) Muslims
(C) Warren Hastings
(D) James Mill
Ques. What was important in the histories written by British historians in India ?
(A) The role of Kings in making India a great country.
(B) How the British defeated the French and captured India.
(C) The rule of each Governor-General
(D) The role of Indians who supported the British in establishing their rule over India.
Subjective Questions
- What is history ?
- How does history help us ?
- Why do we connect history with dates ?
- What are Census ?
- What is calligraphy ?
- What is the title of the book written by James Mill ? Short answer type questions :
- What were the drawbacks of official records?
- Why do we divide history into different periods ?
- What should be the base of selection of dates ?
- How can we write history in different ways ?
- What was the misconception of James Mills ?
- How various surveys helped the British administration ?
- How the periodisation done by James Mill differ from other Historians ?
- What is Colonial ?
- How the various surveys conducted by British became a important source of history ?
Do Check: The Indian Constitution Class 8 Notes
Answers to Exercise
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- (C)
- (C)
- (C)
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- (D)
- (C)