NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and Where

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and Where Social Science

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Chapter 1 How, When and Where NCERT Solutions for Class 8 History

Let’s recall

1. State whether true or false:

(a) James Mill divided Indian History into three periods- Hindu, Muslim, and Christian.

(b) Official documents help us understand what the people of the country think.

(c) The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.

Solution

(a) False

(b) False

(d) True

Let's Discuss

2. What is the problem with the periodization of Indian History that James Mill offers?

Solution

James Mill divided his book into three periods, namely: Hindu, Muslim, and British. According to his prejudiced version of Indian history, British rule represents all the forces of progress and civilization, while the period before British rule represents darkness, ignorance, despotism, religious intolerance, caste taboos, superstitious practices, etc.

The view of Mill has several problems which are not acceptable due to reasons:

• A variety of faiths, apart from Hinduism and Islam, existed in the periods categorized as Hindu and Muslim by Mill.

• All rulers in ancient India did not share the same faith.

• It is this country from where two other religions like- Buddhism and Jainism developed and spread to other parts of the world while the Hindu religion also existed.

3. Why did the British preserve official documents?

Solution

• Britain preserved the important official documents because these served as records of what the officials felt, what they were interested in, and assumptions about their future.

• The British believe that writing is more important than speaking because the documents in archives and museums can be utilized for reference at a later period whenever needed for studying or debating.

• These can be used to provide an insight or proof of any decision or action taken earlier on some matter.

4. How will the information historians get from old newspapers be different from that found in police reports?

Solution

• Historians gather information from numerous sources. Official documents in the archives, old newspapers, diaries of people, accounts of pilgrims, autobiographies of important personalities and booklets are just some examples.

• Information from newspapers is varied and based on incidents that have happened across the country whereas; information from police reports is limited and localized. Because of this fact sometimes the information historians get from police reports is not as useful as it is from old newspapers.

• However, for any incident, the newspaper may not mention all of the reasons behind this. The report is biased according to the reporter's mindset while in a police report we find some evidence and reporting unbiased.