NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science History Chapter 1 How, When and Where contain solutions to the exercises given in the History book Our Pasts -III. These answers have been explained in a manner that you will easily understand all the concepts and get your doubts cleared without even seeking anyone’s assistance. You can read and download all the questions and answers in PDF format.
Class 8 History Chapter 1 How, When and Where Questions and Answers
Question 1: State whether true or false:
(a) James Mill divided Indian History into three periods- Hindu, Muslim, and Christian
Answer: False
(b) Official documents help us to understand what the people of the country think.
Answer: False
(c) The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.
Answer: True
Question 2: What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian History that James Mill offers?
Answer: James Mill’s way of dividing Indian history into Hindu, Muslim, and British parts is too simple and not fair. He only used the religion of the rulers to split history, which ignores the rich stories and different people of India. According to Mill British rule represents progress and civilisation, while the period before British rule represents darkness, ignorance, religious intolerance, caste taboos, superstitious practices, etc.
Furthermore, Mill viewed Asian societies as less civilised than European ones. By doing so, he justified British colonial rule as a civilizing mission. He ignored the contributions and developments of Indian civilizations before British intervention. This view is wrong because it doesn’t see the good things in India’s history before the British came and it supports the idea that British rule was helpful, which is not true for everyone.
Question 3: Why did the British preserve official documents?
Answer: The British preserved official documents because they thought that by keeping all the records in writing it would be easier to know about the decisions taken in the past. This approach allowed them to study and debate these documents properly. Preserving documents was part of creating an administrative culture focused on memos, notings, and reports.
Question 4: How will the information historians get from old newspapers be different from that found in police reports?
Answer: Newspapers are like a big conversation that tells us what people were thinking and talking about back then. They have stories on all sorts of things – from what’s happening in government to what movies are popular. This helps us understand what life was like and what mattered to people.
On the other hand, police reports are official records that police write about crimes and accidents. These reports are very detailed, but they just focus on the facts of what happened, without opinions or extra stories. By looking at both newspapers and police reports, we can get a full picture of the past – what people cared about and how society dealt with problems.