CHAPTER-1 HOW, WHEN AND WHERE
POINTS TO REMEMBER
1. History is about changes that occur over time.
2. History was earlier associated with dates.
3. historians now write about many other issues like how people earned their
livelihood,what they produced and how cultures and societies changed.
4. Dates become important because we focus on a particular set of events.
5. History is divided into chapters so that it makes sense and is connected to each
other.
6. James Mill wrote a book “A History of British India” where he divided Indian history
into three periods-Hindu,Muslim and British. Mill thought all societies were at a lower
level of civilisation than Europe.
7. Importance given to surveys by the British-surveys conducted for eg.Revenue
surveys,census,forest surveys etc.
8. Official records tell us what officials thought and what they were interested in.
9. To understand what common man felt we need to look for unofficial records like
diaries of people,accounts of pilgrims and travellers,autobiographies and important
personalities
Class Subject Topic Month
VIII HISTORY HOW WHEN AND WHERE APRIL
WHAT IS HISTORY?
History is story of man’s past. It is about changes that occur over time. It is
about finding out how things were in the past and how things have changed.
WHY IS HISTORY ASSOCIATED WITH DATES?
*All historical questions refer us back to notions of time. It is incorrect to fix
precise dates to processes that happen over a period of time such as when the
British rule was established. For all these things we can refer to an approximate
period over which particular changes became visible.
* History is also associated with specific dates because 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
fought a particular war, the year he died. For events such as these, specific
dates can be determined.
APART FROM POLITICAL HISTORY WHAT ARE THE OTHER ISSUES
HISTORIANS WRITE ABOUT?
* Apart from political history, now historians write about a host of other issues.
* They look at how people earned their livelihood, what they produced and ate.
* How cities developed and markets came up.
* New ideas that spread and how cultures and society changed.
WHAT IS THE CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING A SET OF DATES AS
IMPORTANT?
*The dates around which we compose our story of the past, are not important
on their own. They become vital because we choose to focus on a particular set
of events.
*If our focus of study changes, a new set of dates will become significant.
* Eg in histories written by the British historians, all the dates were linked to
the Governor - Generals - to their activities, policies, achievements. The
chronology of their lives marked the different chapters of the history of British
India. In such histories Indians have no place.
* Post independence, old dates no longer have the significance they earlier
had. A new set of dates have become more important for us, such as our
Independence Day, Republic Day etc.
WHY DO WE PERIODISE?
* We divide history into periods so as to capture the characteristics of a time,
its central features.
* Demarcation shows us the significance of the change from one period to the
next.
JAMES MILL’S PERIODIZATION OF INDIAN HISTORY AND VIEWS ON
ASIAN SOCIETIES.
* 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.
- 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 could civilise India by introducing European manners, arts,
institutions and laws in India.
- 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.
DRAWBACK OF JAMES MILL’S PERIODIZATION
*It is incorrect to classify any period of history as “Hindu” or “Muslim” because
a variety of faiths existed simultaneously in both these periods.
*We should also remember that even rulers in ancient India did not all share
the same faith.
* An age should not be characterised only by the religion of the rulers.To do so
is to suggest that the lives and practices of the others do not really matter.
HOW HAVE INDIAN HISTORIANS DIVIDED INDIAN HISTORY AND
PROBLEMS WITH IT?
*Indian historians have divided Indian history into ‘ancient’, ‘medieval’ and
‘modern’.
*This division too has problems. This periodisation is borrowed from the West
where the modern period was associated with certain characteristics – science,
reason, democracy, liberty and equality.
*Medieval was a term used to describe a society where these features of
modern society did not exist. Though we refer to the British period of Indian
history as modern, 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’.
WHAT IS COLONIZATION?
Colonizations is a process where :
*One country subjugates another politically.
* Economic exploitation
*Tries to reshape its society and culture.
WHAT WERE THE SOURCES USED IN WRITING LAST 250 YEARS OF
INDIAN HISTORY?
Administrative Records
*One important source is the official records of the British administration. 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, notings and reports.
*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.
SURVEYS
*The practice of surveying 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 19th century detailed surveys were carried out to map the entire
country.
* Various kinds of surveys were conducted:
- 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.
- 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.
- Botanical & zoological surveys.
- Archaeological surveys.
- Anthropological surveys,
- Forest surveys.
WHAT WERE THE DRAWBACK OF THE OFFICIAL/ ADMINISTRATIVE
RECORDS?
*British left us a vast body of official records. They 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.
HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY
FELT, AND WHAT LAY BEHIND THEIR ACTIONS?
*There are plenty of other sources that help us to understand what others felt
and what motivated their actions, though they are more difficult to get than
official records.
*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.
