Comprehension Check (Page 45)

Questions:

1. Look at picture 1 and recall the opening lines of the original song in Hindi. Who is the singer? Who else do you see in this picture?
2. In picture 2 what do you understand by the Company’s ‘superior weapons?
3. Who is an artisan? Why do you think the artisans suffered? (Picture 3)
4. Which picture, according to you, reveals the first sparks of the fire of revolt?

Answers:

1. The opening lines of the Hindi Song are “Aye Mere Waten Ke Logon, Turn Khub Logo Nara: Ye Shubh Din Hai Hum Sab Ka Lehralo Tiranga Pyara, Par Mat Bhulo Seema Par Veron Ne Hain Pran Gawayen.” It was sung by Lata Mangeskar. We see Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Mrs. Indira Gandhi in this picture.
2. The East India Company conquered India by using their superior weapons, the guns and diplomacy.
3. An artisan is a craftsman, skilled in some trade. They suffered because the goods that they produced lost demand in the Indian market.
4. Picture 7 reveals the first spark of the fire of revolt.

Working With the Text (Page 45)

Answer the following questions.

Question 1:
Do you think the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach to the events of 1757?
Answer:
Yes, the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach. They fought against each other with the help of the British. Thus the British became the virtual rulers.

Question 2:
How did the East India Company subdue the Indian Princes?
Answer:
The East India company spread their wings in India to promote their trade. They supported one Indian Prince to finish the other. As a result power passed onto their hands.

Question 3:
Quote the words used by Ram Mohan Roy to say that every religion teaches the same principles.
Answer:
The words of Ram Mohan Roy spoken to his wife were: “Cows are of different colours, but the colour of their milk is the same. Different teachers have different opinions but the essence of every religion is the same.”

Question 4:
In what ways did the British officers exploit Indians?
Answer:
The British rulers passed a resolution under which an Indian could be sent to jail without trial in a court. The goods manufactured in England were exempted from custom duty. The officers prospered on the company’s loot and their private business flourished.

Question 5:
Name these people.

1. The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and died fighting.
2. The person who wanted to reform the society.
3. The person who recommended the introduction of English education in India.
4. Two popular leaders who led the revolt (choices may vary.)

Answer:

1. Tipu Sultan of Mysore.
2. Raja Ram Mohan Roy of Bengal.
3. Lord Mecaulay
4. Nana Sahib Peshwa, Kunwar Singh, Begum Hazrat Mahal.

Question 6:
Mention the following.

1. Two examples of social practices prevailing then.
2. Two oppressive policies of the British.
3. Two ways in which common people suffered.
4. Four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of Independence.

Answer:

1. Untouchability and child marriage.
2. The British masters allowed imports in India tax free. They ruined Indian cottage industries,
3. The farmers were taxed heavily and the thumbs of skilled workers were cut.
4. (a) Santhals who lost their land became desparate and they revolted.
   (b) The sepoys in the English army were paid much less than the white soldiers. So they were discontented and angry.
   (c) The Brahmins were furious when they came to know that the bullets they had to bite, contained cow fat and pig-fat.
   (d) Many landlords were sore because the British policies deprived them of their land and estate.

Working With Language (Page 45)

In comics what the characters speak is put in bubbles. This is direct narration. When we report what the characters speak, we use the method of indirect narration.
Study these examples:
First farmer: Why are your men taking away the entire crop?
Second farmer: Your men have taken away everything.

Officer: You are still in arrears. If you don’t pay tax next week, I’ll send you to jail.

• The first farmer asked the officer why his men were taking away the entire crop.
• The second farmer said that their men had taken away everything.
• The officer replied that they were still in arrears and warned them that if they did not pay tax the following week, he (the officer) would send them (the farm­ers) to jail.

1.Change the following sentences into indirect speech.

(i) First man: We must educate our brothers.
Second man: And try to improve their material conditions.
Third man: For that we must convey our grievances to the British Parliament.
The first man said that________________ a__________________________________
The second man added that they _____b______________________________________
The third man suggested that___________ c__________________________________
(ii) First soldier: The white soldier gets huge pay, mansions and servants.
Second soldier: We get a pittance and slow promotions.
Third soldier: Who are the British to abolish our customs?
The first soldier said that______________ a___________________________________
The second soldier remarked that_____ b ______________________________________
The third soldier asked___________________ c________________________________

Answer:

(i)
(a) they must educate their brothers.
(b) should try to improve their material conditions,
(c) they must convey their grievances to the British Parliament.
(ii)
(a) the white soldier got huge pay, mansions and servants.
(b) they got a pittance and slow, promotions.
(c) who the British were to abolish their customs.

Speaking and Writing (Page 46)

Question 1:
Play and act the role of farmers who have grievances against the policies of the government. Rewrite their speech bubbles in dialogue form first.

See NCERT Textbook Pages 47-48

(i)Ask one another questions about the pictures.

• Where is the fox?
• How did it happen?
• What is the fox thinking?
• Who is the visitor?
• What does she want to know?
• What is the fox’s reply?
• What happens next?
• Where is the goat?
• Where is the fox now?
• What is the goat thinking?

Answer:

(i) The fox is in the well.
She fell into the well by accident.
The fox thinks how to get out of there.
The visitor is a goat.
She wants to know whether the water is sweet.
The fox replies that the water is very sweet and she had a lot of it.
The goat wanted to taste the water.
The goat is dragged into the water by the fox.
The fox comes out of the well.
The goat is thinking of her mother’s advice not to trust any stranger.
(ii)Write the story in your own words. Give it a title.

Answer:

Once a fox fell into a well accidentally. She thought how to get out of the well. A goat arrived there by chance. She looked into the well. She asked the fox if the water was sweet. The cunning fox played a trick. She told a lie that the water was very, very sweet, and she had had enough of it. The foolish goat also wanted to taste the water. The fox invited her into the well. The goat reached there soon. Now the fox rode on the goat’s back and climbed out of the well. Then she thanked the goat for help. The goat was reminded of her mother’s words that she must never go by the advice of a stranger.

Question 2:
Read the following news item.

See NCERT Textbook Page 49

Based on this news item write a paragraph on what you think about this new method of teaching history.

Answer:
Attempt yourself.

Question 3:
Find the chapters in your history book that correspond to the episodes and events described in this comic. Note how the information contained in a few chapters of history has been condensed to a few pages with the help of pictures and ‘speech bubbles’.
Answer:
Attempt yourself.

Question 4:
Create a comic of your own using this story.
Once the Sun and the Wind began to quarrel, each one saying that he was stronger than the other. At last they decided to test each other’s strength. A man with a cloak around his shoulders was passing by. The Wind boasted, “Using my strength I can make that man take off the cloak.” The Sun agreed. The Wind blew hard. The man felt so cold that he clasped his cloak round his body as tightly as possible.
Now it was the turn of the Sun which shone very hot indeed. The man felt so hot that he at once removed the cloak from his body. Seeing the man taking off the cloak, the Wind conceded defeat.
Answer:
Attempt yourself.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
What helped the East India Company to overpower Indian princes?
Answer:
Indian princes were always engaged in fighting with one another. The rivalries paved the way for the East India Company to overpower Indian princes.

Question 2:
Who was Tipu Sultan? What happened to him?
Answer:
Tipu Sultan was a far-seeing ruler of Mysore. He was dead against the British and their policies. He fought them till he died fighting.

Question 3:
Why did Ram Mohan Roy go to England? What did he tell the British there?
Answer:
Ram Mohan Roy went to England to see what made the British so powerful. There he told them that they (Indians) accepted them as rulers and they must accept them (Indians) as subjects. He also reminded them of the responsibility a ruler owed to his subjects.

Question 4:
What was Regulation III?
Answer:
In 1818, the British had passed Regulation III. Under this Regulation, an Indian could be jailed without trial in a court.

Question 5:
What did Macaulay suggest in 1835?
Answer:
An Englishman Macaulay suggested that Indians should be taught through the English language.

II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1:
How did the British East India Company eventually become the ruler of India? What tactics did they adopt to expand their empire?
Answer:
The British came to India as traders. Their chief motive was to make a fortune. But they needed political power to carry on their trade. They imposed heavy taxes on the peasants. The Indian goods lost their demand because the market was flooded with imported English goods. These goods didn’t have to pay import duty. The British, in this way, ruined the skilled Indians. They dethroned the Indian rulers and took advantage of their rivalries. Slowly and steadily they spread their empire all over India.

Question 2:
How did the white rulers cripple Indian industries?
Answer:
The white rulers were chiefly traders. Their chief aim was to make profits at all cost. Hence, they began to ruin Indian industries. They imposed heavy taxes on farmers. They destroyed Indian cottage industries in order to sell goods manufactured in England. They exempted all goods imported from England from duties. In this way, their business flourished while the Indian industries died. The British made the Indians weak as well as poor.

Question 3:
How did the resentment against the white man grow leading to armed revolt?
Answer:
The white rulers adopted all the mean and foul tactics to take over the princely states. By 1856, they had conquered the whole of India. The Indian princes became their puppets. The British forced Indians to adopt Christian religion. They paid low wages to Indian soldiers. This created resentment among all sections of society, and the army as well. The so-called 1857 mutiny was, in fact, India’s first War of Independence.

Question 4:
Give a brief account of the role of Raja Rammohan Roy in spreading awareness in the Indian society.
Answer:
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a learned man, a social reformer and a true nationalist. He was from Bengal. He understood well what was wrong with the Indian society. He called upon the people to fight against social evils of untouchability and child marriage. He also asked the people to throw out superstitions. He asked them to feel proud of their culture and learn English. Then alone they would be able to write to the British Parliament for a fair deal.