Ch 1: Sources For The History Of Modern India

Question 1

List prominent Sources for the study of history.

Answer 1

Archives, architecture, literary works which includes memoirs, Biographies, and travel Accounts besides fiction, Oral traditions, Newspapers & Journals, Creative Literature, and Paintings.

Question 2

In what period was The East India Company active in India?

Answer 2

The Records of The East India Company provide a detailed record of trading conditions during the period 1600 - 1857.

Question 3

How are the Records of other European powers important for constructing the history of India?

Answer 3

The Records of The Portugese, Dutch & French are useful for constructing the economic history of 17th and 18th century. Also, much can be gathered from them about the political set up as well.

Question 4

What are the categories of official Records used to construct Modern Indian History?

Answer 4

1. Central Government Archives
2. State Government Archives
3. Records of intermediate and subordinate authorities
4. Judicial Records
5. Private Archives
6. Archives Sources available abroad

Question 5

Where are the GoI Archives contained?

Answer 5

The National Archives of India, located in New Delhi contains most of the Archives of Government of India.

Question 6

What kind of department or branch Records did The East India Company maintain?

Answer 6

The East India Company’s work was distributed across various branches such as public or general, revenue, political, military, secret, commercial, Judicial, education, etc.

Question 7

Who was the first Surveyor General of Bengal?

Answer 7

James Renell was the first Surveyor General of Bengal in 1767, appointed to oversee scientific mapping of unknown regions of the country and its bordering lands.
Their Records provide valuable information on not only geographical matters but also socio-economic conditions and other important historical aspects.

Question 8

What are the Home Political Records series?

Answer 8

The papers bearing on the emergence of the nationalist movement were part of the public series of the Home department records; but in 1907, a new series of Records- Home Political - was started to deal exclusively with Political and communal issues.

Question 9

What are the Records of the Reforms Office useful for?

Answer 9

The Records of the Reforms Office are very useful for an analytical study of the constitutional developments from 1920 to 1937.

Question 10

What Records comprise source material of the State Government Archives?

Answer 10

1. The former British Indian Provinces
2. The erstwhile princely states which were incorporated in the Indian Union after 1947
3. The Foreign administrations other than those of the British
4. The Records of those Indian powers which were overtaken by the British.

Question 11

Where are the Records of those Indian powers overtaken by the British sourced from?

Answer 11

1. The Archives of the Kingdom of Lahore (Khalsa Darbar Records from 1800 to 1849)
2. Peshwa Daftar housed in Alienation Office, Pune, for the study of Maratha History for a period of almost a century before the fall of the Peshwas
3. Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner, houses the princely States’ history of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, etc
4. Dogra Rule from 1846 in J&K has its historical Records housed in Jammu
5. Gwalior, Rewa, Bhopal, Indore in MP; Travancore, Cochin in Kerala; Mysore in Karnataka; Kolhapur in Maharashtra.

Question 12

What and where are the Sources of history of Bengal Presidency?

Answer 12

The early Records of Fort Williams (Bengal Presidency) were lost during the sack of Calcutta in 1756, but the Archives of Bengal Presidency after the British victory in the Battle of Plassey have survived more or less in a complete series, which are partly available in the National Archives of India & partly in the State Archives of West Bengal.

Question 13

Discuss the Archives of The Bombay Presidency.

Answer 13

The Archives of The Bombay Presidency, housed in The Maharashtra Secretariat Records Office, Mumbai, are extremely useful in studying The history of Western India - Maharashtra, Gujrat, Sindh, and the Kannada Speaking districts of The Bombay Presidency which were incorporated in Mysore in 1956.

Question 14

Discuss the Records of The Madras Presidency.

Answer 14

The Records of The Madras Presidency begin from 1670 AD and include Records of the Governor and Council of Fort St. George. In these Records, there is plenty of information bearing on the rise of the English East India Company as a political power in the South and in the Deccan, including the Anglo-French struggle and the conflicts with other Indian powers.

Question 15

What is the period and where are the Archives related to the history of Portugese posessions in India?

Answer 15

They belong to the period from 1700 to 1900 and are preserved in Goa. The orders & dispatches from Lisbon received in Goa and the responses and reports dispatched from India to Portugal consist the most significant historical materialamong the Portugese Archives.

Question 16

Where are the Dutch Records housed?

Answer 16

The Dutch Records of Cochin and Malabar are in the Madras Record Office and those of Chinsura in the State Archives of West Bengal.

Question 17

Where are the French Archives housed?

Answer 17

The French Archives of Chandernagore and Pondicherry were taken to Paris by the French authorities before they relinquished these settlements.

Question 18

Where are Danish Archives located?

Answer 18

The Archives of the Danish possessions were also transferred to Copenhagen when the Danes sold Tranquebar and Serampore to the English East India Company in 1845. The remaining Danish Records, mainly relating to Tranquebar (1777 - 1845) are now housed in the Madras Record Office.

Question 19

Which are the earliest available Judicial Archives of European rule in India?

Answer 19

Housed in Madras Record Office, the Archives of the Mayor’s court at Fort St. George, beginning from AD 1689, are the earliest available Judicial Archives.

Question 20

Which are the surviving Records of the British Judiciary in West Bengal?

Answer 20

The pre Plassey (1757) Records of the Mayor’s court at Fort Williams are lost, but those for the years 1757-73 and Archives of the Supreme Court of Bengal (1774-1861) are kept in the record room of the Calcutta High Court.

Question 21

Where are the Records of the Mayor’s court of Bombay kept?

Answer 21

The Records of the Mayor’s Court at Bombay established in 1728 are available in the Maharashtra Secratariat Record Office.

Question 22

What do the Judicial Records of the East India Company contain and how are they useful to us?

Answer 22

Apart from containing the proceedings and minutes of court, they contain copies of wills, probate, and the letters of administration, which are useful for genealogical studies and for investigations pertaining to the State of society and economic conditions in the respective regions.

Question 23

What are the Archives contained in the parliamentary papers useful for?

Answer 23

The most significant archival Publications are the parliamentary papers which include many excerpts from the records of the East India Company and the Government of India under the crown. The reports of the parliamentary select committees; various Royal commissions constituted on specific subjects like education, civil reforms, and famines, and the parliamentary debates on the Indian Empire are indispensable

Question 24

Give an example of private archives maintained by the British.

Answer 24

Private Archives comprise papers and documents of individuals and families of note who played a significant role in the development of modern India. The papers of eminent leaders of the Nationalist Movement and the records of organisations like the Indian National Congress are kept in the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi. The Archives of banks, business houses, and Chambers of Commerce are extremely useful in the study of economic changes.

Question 25

Where in England are the records pertaining to the Indian rule kept?

Answer 25

In England the India Office Records, London and the records kept in the British Museum are very valuable.

Question 26

Which type of records are kept at India Office Records, London?

Answer 26

The minutes of the Courts of Director and the General Court of the East India Company and various committees constituted from time to time; the minutes and correspondence of the Board of Control or the Board of Commissioners for the affairs of India; and the records of the secretary of state and the India council.

Question 27

Which type of records are kept in the British Museum which pertain to the rule of British in India?

Answer 27

The British Museum possesses collection of papers of British Viceroys, Secretaries of States, and other high ranked Civil and Military officials who were posted in India.

Question 28

Where are the records of French East India Company kept?

Answer 28

The Archives Nationale, Paris and the Archives of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs, colonies, and war have records that throw light on the history of French possessions as well as Socio-Political conditions.

Question 29

Where are the records of the Dutch and Portugese East India Company kept?

Answer 29

The records of the Dutch East India company is available in Rijksarcheif, the Hague, and that of the Danish and Portuguese are kept in Copenhagen and Lisbon respectively. These throw light on the history of Dutch and Portuguese possessions as well as the Socio-Political conditions.

Question 30

Discuss the importance of Archives preserved in Pakistan pertaining to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent.

Answer 30

The West Pakistan Record Office Lahore, Record Office Peshawar records available in Sindh, etc. give information about the regional history of the Indian subcontinent, besides shedding light on India's relations with Afghanistan, Iran, and other neighbouring countries in the Colonial era.

Question 31

Which type of travel accounts are found?

Answer 31

Many Travellers, traders, mercenaries, and civil servants who came to India have left accounts of their experiences and their Impressions of various parts of India

Question 32

List a few travel accounts made by British citizens.

Answer 32

1. Bishop Heber's Journal 2. Abbe Dubois's Hindu Manners and Customs 3. George Forster, Benjamin Heyne, James Burnes (Narrative of a visit to the Court of Sinde) 4. Alexander Burnes (Travels into Bokhara) 5. CJC Davidson (Diary of the travels and adventures in Upper India) 6. John Butler (Travels and adventures in the Province of Assam)

Question 33

List a few travel accounts made by non British citizens.

Answer 33

1. Victor Jacquemont (Letters from India: Describing a Journey in the British Dominions of India, Tibet, Lahore and Cashmere during the years 1828, 1829,1830, 1831) 2. Baron Charles (Travels in Kashmir and the Punjab) 3. William Moorcroft

Question 34

Who was William Bolts?

Answer 34

The first attempts to publish newspapers in India were made by the disgruntled employees of the English East India Company who sought to expose the malpractices of private trade. William bolts, in 1776, resigned from the company and announced his intention to publish on newspaper. His plan although ended before materializing.

Question 35

Who was James Augustus Hickey?

Answer 35

In 1780, James Augustus Hickey published the first newspaper in India entitled the Bengal gazette or Calcutta general advertiser. The press however was seized within 2 years, owing to his outspoken criticism of government officials.

Question 36

Name some old newspapers and journals catering to intellectual entertainment of Europeans and Anglo Indians

Answer 36

The Calcutta Gazette (1784), The Madras Courier (1788), and The Bombay Herald (1789).

Question 37

Are newspapers a dependable source of history of modern India?

Answer 37

Newspapers depict almost all aspects of life in colonial India from around 1870s onwards. From the 1920s onwards, newspapers track the major events during the freedom struggle. However, newspaper accounts cannot be seen as an prejudiced or completely objective

Question 38

Name some newspapers published by journalists from the Indian National Congress.

Answer 38

1. The Hindu and Swadesmitran under the editorship of G. Subramanya Ayyar. 2. Kesari and Maharatta under Bal Gangadhar Tilak. 3. Bengalee under Surendranath Banerjea. 4. Amrita Bajar Patrika under Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh. 5. Sudharak under Gopal Ganesh Agarkar. 6. Indian Mirror under N.N. Sen. 7. Voice of India under Dadabhai Naoroji. 8. Hindustan and Advocate under GP Verma.

Question 39

Name a few newspapers Published by Indian nationalists And revolutionaries Living abroad.

Answer 39

1. Indian sociologist, London, under Shyamji Krishnaverma. 2. Bande Mataram, Paris, under Madam Cama. 3. Talwar, Berlin, under Virendranath Chattopadhyay. 4. Ghadar, San Francisco, under Lala Hardyal.

Question 40

Discuss the importance of oral history. Also point to the shortcomings of the same.

Answer 40

Oral history allows historians to broaden the boundaries of their discipline and corporate their findings from the nonwritten oral sources of history. However, many historians remains sceptical of the veracity of oral history.

Question 41

When did novels emerge on the Indian scene?

Answer 41

In the second half of 19th century.

Question 42

Who was Bankim Chandra Chatterjee?

Answer 42

One of the earliest writers was the Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838 - 94). His novels are mostly historical, the best known among them being Anandmath (1882), noted for its powerful lyrics Vandemataram, and the depiction of the Sanyasi Revolt. His last novel Rajasimha can be called the Grand Finale to his remarkable career.

Question 43

Who was Iccharam Suryaram Desai?

Answer 43

A fine scholar of medieval Gujarati literary history, his first novel Hind Ane Britannia, was one of the earliest Indian novels with political over tones.

Question 44

Discuss a few Tamil Novelist of the British Era.

Answer 44

1. Girija Devi, Mohan Rajini (1931) 2. Ramatirthammal, Dasikalin Mosavalai (1936)

Question 45

What were the company paintings?

Answer 45

The company paintings also referred as Patna Kalam, emerged under the patronage of the East India Company. They picturize the people and scenes as they existed at the time. Trades, festivals, dances, and the attire of people are visible in these works. Company Paintings continue to be popular in the 19th Century until the introduction of Photography in India in the 1840s.

Question 46

What were the Kalighat paintings?

Answer 46

The Kalighat painting that came to fore in Calcutta in the 19th Century depicted not only mythological figures but also ordinary people engaging in their everyday lives. The latter pictures captured the social changes taking place in Calcutta of the time. These paintings made a comment on the social evils of the time; some of these paintings satirised certain modes adopted by the people of the time.