HOW WHEN AND

WHERE

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• 1 Importance of dates• 2 record keeping• 3 archives

How important are dates?

They help in finding out how things were in the past and how things have changed. Earlier, history was an account of battles and big events such as the following: The year a king was crowned The year he was married and had a child The year he fought a particular war or battle The year he died The year the next ruler succeeded to the throne For such events, dates were important. However, now the concept has changed. More emphasis is given on why things happen and not on when things happened.

Which dates? The dates around which we write history become important because we focus on a particular set of events that are important. When the focus changes and we look at a new set of events, a new set of dates become significant. In histories that revolve around the lives of the British Governor Generals, the status and activities of Indians do not fit in. For focusing on Indian activities, a new format is required. As such, old sets of dates lose importance and a new set of dates comes into focus.

JAMES MILL

James Mill (6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was a founder of

classical economics, together with David Ricardo,[1] and the father of influential philosopher of liberalism, John Stuart Mill.

Mill was born at Northwater Bridge, in the parish of Logie Pert, Angus, Scotland, the son of James Mill, a shoemaker. His mother, Isabel Fenton,

of a family that had suffered from connection with the Stuart rising, resolved that he should receive a first-rate education, and sent him first

to the parish school and then to the Montrose Academy, where he remained until the unusual age of seventeen and a half. He then entered the University of Edinburgh, where he distinguished himself as a Greek

scholar.

Warren hasting( became the first governal genera l of India in 1773 )

Warren Hastings, PC (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.Warren Hastings was born at Churchill, Oxfordshire in 1732 to a poor father and a mother who died soon after he was born.[1] He attendedWestminster School where he was a contemporary of the future Prime Ministers Lord Shelburne and the Duke of Portland.[2] He joined theBritish East India Company in 1750 as a clerk and sailed out to India reaching Calcutta in August 1750.[3] Hastings built up a reputation for hard work and diligence, and spent his free time learning about India and mastering Urdu and Persian.[4] He was rewarded for his work in 1752 when he was promoted and sent to Kasimbazar, an important British trading post in Bengal where he worked for William Watts. While there he received further lessons about the nature of Indian politics.

James mill a Scottish economist and political philosopher. He divided India history into – Hindu , Muslim and British.So the terms through which we periodise is demoarcate the difference between periods become important . They reflect our ideas about the past . The show how we see the significance of the change from one period to the next. The modern period was associated with the forces of modernity like reason, science, liberty, democracy and equality. The medieval period was associated with a society where modernity did not exist.

HOW D0 WE PERIODISE

It was in 1817 that James Mill in his book A

History of British India divided Indian history into the following three parts:

The Hindu period The Muslim period The British period

However, Indian historians have usually divided Indian history into the following:

Ancient history Medieval history Modern history

ADMINISTRATION PRODUCES RECORDS

The British believed that the act of writing was important. Every instruction plan policy decision agreement investigation had to be clearly written up. The British also felt that all important documents and letters also felt that all important documents and letters need to be carefully preserved. so they set up record rooms attached to all administrative institutions.

SURVEYS BECOME IMPORTANTThe British believed that a country had to be properly known before it could be effectively administrated.Census operation were held every ten years. These prepared detailed records of the number of people in all the provinces of India.

What official record do not tellThese records do not always help us understand what other people in the country felt and what lay behind their action.When we begin to search for these other sources we find them plenty, though there are more difficult to get than official records.We will not be able to understand how history was experienced and lived by the trebles and the peasants, the workers in the mines or the poor on the streets.

Official records do not help us in knowing what other people in the country felt and what lay behind their

actions.

For knowing that, unofficial records are read, which of course were more difficult to find as compared to the

official records. Some of the non-official records were as follows:

Personal diaries of people Accounts of travellers and pilgrims

Autobiographies of important people Popular booklets

Newspapers Writings of reformers, poets and novelists

The British came to India, established their rule, subjugated the local nawabs and rajas, collected

revenue to meet their expenses, bought goods they wanted at low prices, etc.

The British rule brought about changes in Indian values, tastes, customs and practices.

The process of subjugation of one country by another that leads to political, economic, social and cultural

changes is called colonization.

COLONIAL

What sources do historians use in writing the Modern Indian history?

Administration produces records The official records of the British administration are an important source. Every plan, instruction, policy, decision, agreement and investigation was clearly written. The British felt that all the important letters and documents were to be carefully preserved. As such, they set up record rooms attached to administrative institutions. Institutions such as archives and museums were also established for preserving records. Surveys Detailed surveys were carried out by the British to map the entire country. Revenue surveys were conducted in villages in order to know the topography, the quality of soil, flora, fauna, cropping pattern, etc. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, census operations were held every ten years, which provided information about the distribution of population in different provinces, castes, religions and occupations. Other surveys such as botanical surveys, archaeological surveys, zoological surveys, forest surveys and anthropological surveys were also carried out.

A custard apple plant of 1770s

Mapping and surveying draw by jams prinsep 1832

The rebels of 1857

The national archives of India

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QUESTION ANSWERS

Qn.What is the problem with the periodisation of the Indian history that James Mill offers?Ans. In his massive three-volume work, A History of British India, James Mill divides Indian history into three periods − Hindu, Muslim and British. According to his prejudiced version of Indian history, the British rule represents all the forces of progress and civilisation, while the period before British rule represents darkness, ignorance, despotism, religious intolerance, caste taboos, superstitious practises, etc. However, the periodisation of Indian History on the basis of religion is problematic for several reasons. A variety of faiths, apart from Hinduism and Islam, existed in the periods categorised as Hindu and Muslim by Mill. Also, it is not right to classify an age according to the religion of the rulers of the time. To do so would suggest that the lives and the practises of the others do not really matter. Another point to keep in mind is that all rulers in ancient India did not share the same faith.

Qn. Why did the British preserve official documents?Ans. For the British, the act of writing was important. Every official document had to be clearly written up and preserved. Once this was done, things could be properly studied and debated. The preserved documents could be used as a point of reference whenever required.Qn. State whether true or false:(a) James Mill divided Indian history into three periods − Hindu, Muslim, Christian.False(b) Official documents help us understand what the people of the country think.False(c) The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.True

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