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Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

What was Birsa’s vision of a golden age? Why do you think such a vision appealed to the people of the region?

Birsa’s vision of a golden age was to have their land free of dikus. He considered that age to be the ‘age of truth’. According to Birsa, in the golden age, the tribal sirdars will be able to rule themselves and no one will be there to dictate terms to them. His golden age vision was to have an age with no vices like liquor, witchcraft, sorcery and uncleanliness. He did not want any role of outsider participants like missionaries, Hindu landlords, moneylenders, traders and Europeans.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

What accounts for the anger of the tribals against the dikus?

Tribals were not happy with the dikus who were considered as ‘outsiders’ by them. The tribals wanted to be shifting cultivators and not be peasant cultivators. The dikus were settling in at the tribals’ lands, wanting the latter to sell their lands or rent their lands at very high-interest rates. This made the tribals unhappy. Also, the tribal chiefs lost their administrative powers under the British rule. Later, the tribals were evacuated from their lands, and they had to look for other livelihood options.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

How did the powers of tribal chiefs change under colonial rule?

Under the British rule, the functions and powers of the tribal chiefs changed considerably. They were allowed to keep their land titles over a cluster of villages and rent outlands, but they lost much of their administrative power and were forced to follow laws made by the British officials in India. They also had to pay tribute to the British, and discipline the tribal groups on behalf of the British. They lost the authority that they had earlier enjoyed among their people and were unable to fulfil their traditional functions.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

What problems did shifting cultivators face under British rule?

The British always had problems with shifting cultivators, as they were always moving for pasture lands. The British wanted the shifting cultivators to become peasant cultivators. The British thought it was easier to control and administer peasant cultivators than shifting cultivators. Hence, shifting cultivators faced problems when the company planned the land revenue system.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

State whether true or false: (a) Jhum cultivators plough the land and sow seeds. (b) Cocoons were bought from the Santhals and sold by the traders at five times the purchase price. (c) Birsa urged his followers to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery. (d) The British wanted to preserve the tribal way of life.

(a) Jhum cultivators plough the land and sow seeds – False (b) Cocoons were bought from the Santhals and sold by the traders at five times the purchase price – True (c) Birsa urged his followers to purify themselves, give up drinking liquor and stop believing in witchcraft and sorcery – True (d) The British wanted to preserve the tribal way of life – False

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

(a) The British described the tribal people as ____________. (b) The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is known as ____________. (c) The tribal chiefs got ____________ titles in central India under the British land settlements. (d) Tribals went to work in the ____________ of Assam and the ____________ in Bihar.

(a) The British described the tribal people as wild and savage. (b) The method of sowing seeds in jhum cultivation is known as broadcasting. (c) The tribal chiefs got land titles in central India under the British land settlements. (d) Tribals went to work in the tea plantations of Assam and the coal mines in Bihar.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why did Mahatma Gandhi think that English education had enslaved Indians?

Mahatma Gandhi argued that colonial education created a sense of inferiority in the minds of Indians. It made them see Western civilisation as superior and destroyed the pride they had in their own culture. Gandhi thought that there was poison in English education, that it was sinful, it enslaved Indians and cast an evil spell on them. Charmed by the West and appreciating everything that came from the West, Indians educated in these institutions began admiring British rule. Mahatma Gandhi wanted an education that could help Indians recover their sense of dignity and self-respect. During the national movement, he urged students to leave educational institutions in order to show to the British that the Indians were no longer willing to be enslaved.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why did Mahatma Gandhi want to teach children handicrafts?

According to Mahatma Gandhi, education should be all-round, drawing out of the best in child and man, encompassing body, mind and spirit. His beliefs were that literacy is not the end of education and not even the beginning. He thought that literacy was only one of the means by which men and women could be educated. Therefore, he thought that the child’s education should begin by teaching them useful handicrafts and enabling them to create something from the moment they begin training. “I hold that the highest development of the mind and the soul is possible under such a system of education. Only every handicraft has to be taught not merely mechanically as is done today but scientifically, i.e. the child should know the why and the wherefore of every process,” quotes by Gandhi.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India?

James Mill and Thomas Macaulay felt that the knowledge of English would allow Indians to read some of the finest literature that the world had produced; it would make them aware of the developments in Western science and philosophy. The teaching of English could thus be a way of ‘civilising’ people, changing their tastes, values and culture. They also felt that the aim of education should be to teach what was useful and practical. So, Indians should be made familiar with the scientific and technical advances that the West had made, rather than with the poetry and sacred literature of the ‘Orient’.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why did William Jones feel the need to study Indian history, philosophy and law?

William Jones shared a deep respect for ancient cultures, both India and the West. Indian civilisation, he felt, had attained its glory in the ancient past but had subsequently declined. In order to understand India, it was necessary to discover the sacred and legal texts that were produced in the ancient period. Only those texts could reveal the real ideas and laws of the Hindus and Muslims. William Jones believed that only a new study of these texts could form the basis of future development in India.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

State whether true or false: (a) James Mill was a severe critic of the Orientalists. (b) The 1854 despatch on education was in favour of English being introduced as a medium of higher education in India. (c) Mahatma Gandhi thought that the promotion of literacy was the most important aim of education. (d) Rabindranath Tagore felt that children ought to be subjected to strict discipline.

Answer. (a) True (b) True (c) False (d) False

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Match the following: William Jones Promotion of English education Rabindranath Tagore Respect for ancient cultures Thomas Macaulay Gurus Mahatma Gandhi Learning in a natural environment Pathshalas Critical of English education

Answer. William Jones Respect for ancient cultures Rabindranath Tagore Learning in a natural environment Thomas Macaulay Promotion of English education Mahatma Gandhi Critical of English education Pathshalas Gurus

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why were Jyoti Rao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker critical of the national movement? Did their criticism help the national struggle in any way?

Jyoti Rao Phule and Ramaswamy Naicker both were critical of the national movement, as they thought that there were no differences between anti-colonialists and colonialists. Phule thought that the upper-caste people who wanted to fight against the British would want to rule once the British left. Phule was always against the upper caste people, as he called them the ‘outsiders.’ Naicker was a part of the Congress party, and his experiences led him to believe that the party was not free from the taint of casteism. So, he was reluctant to take part in the anti-British national movement that was not concerned about creating a caste-less society. Their criticism helped strengthen the national struggle. Reformists started restructuring their thoughts to get rid of the differences between the upper caste and lower caste. The national struggle became the tool to eradicate caste differences, and religious and gender inequality.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

What did Ambedkar want to achieve through the temple entry movement?

n 1927, Ambedkar started a temple entry movement, in which his Mahar caste followers participated. Brahman priests were outraged when the Dalits used water from the temple tank. His aim was to make everyone see the power of caste prejudices within society.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why did Phule dedicate his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves?

Jyotirao Phule wrote his book, ‘Gulamgiri’ in 1873. The title of the book means ‘Slavery.’ From 1861 to 1865, the American Civil war was being fought. The Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. Phule dedicated his book to all those Americans who had fought to free slaves, thus establishing a link between the conditions of the “lower” castes in India and the black slaves in America.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

How did Jyotirao, the reformer, justify his criticism of caste inequality in society?

Jyotirao Phule, who stood against caste inequality, believed that the upper castes being ‘Aryans’, were not the original inhabitants of their lands. He put forward his opinions by telling people that the land has always belonged to the lower-caste people and that the Aryans were outsiders. He looked forward to the golden age when lower-caste people would live peacefully without the intrusion of upper castes.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

In the British period, what new opportunities opened up for people who came from castes that were regarded as “low”?

The poor from the villages and small towns, many of them from low castes, began moving to the cities where there was a new demand for labour. Some also went to work in plantations in Assam, Mauritius, Trinidad and Indonesia. The poor and the people from low castes saw this as an opportunity to get away from the oppressive hold that upper-caste landowners exercised over their lives and the daily humiliation they suffered.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

Why were Christian missionaries attacked by many people in the country? Would some people have supported them too? If so, for what reasons?

The Christian missionaries were attacked by the people, as they were involved in the religious conversion of poor and tribal people, that is, converting a Hindu into a Christian. These missionaries also set up schools for tribal and poor kids to learn. However, the larger section of people who looked down upon the poor people and tribal people did not like the idea of exposing tribal people to education. Hence, the attacks on Christian missionaries started.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

What were the different reasons people had for not sending girls to school?

There were the following reasons for people not sending their girls to school: They feared that schools would take girls away from home. Schools will prevent them from doing their domestic duties. Girls had to travel through public places in order to reach school. Travelling to schools would have a corrupting influence on them. They felt that girls should stay away from public spaces.

Social StudiesClass 8CBSE

How did the knowledge of ancient texts help the reformers promote new laws?

Ram Mohan Roy was well-versed in Sanskrit, Persian and several other Indian and European languages. He tried to show through his writings that the practice of widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts. The strategy adopted by Ram Mohan Roy was used by later reformers as well. Whenever they wished to challenge a practice that seemed harmful, they tried to find a verse or sentence in the ancient sacred texts that supported their point of view. They then suggested that the practice, as it existed at present, was against early tradition. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar used the ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry.

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