VIII SST REVISION FOR MID TERM- HISTORY

The study of Pasts (as per the book- think? not PAST) is known as history but it is a simplification of the word history-  how to divide thousands of years of the period for study is a complex problem. Many historians divided history according to their point of view -  and also used sources (written and archaeological sources) relevant to their perspective 

The first chapter of the class VIII History book is based on the above-mentioned theme - How, When, and Where dealt with dates and periodization. history writing has shifted from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach, Apart from kings and their kingdoms now history has space for common people and culture.

James Mill thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilization than European societies and he divided Indian history into three periods - Hindu, Muslim, and British. He justified the colonization (subjugation and exploitation of India by the British) by arguing that British rule represented all the forces of progress and civilization. how could a lower level of civilization attract many European countries to its land? British preserved all documents related to their actions and policies.  They thought that it would help them to understand and rule India.

 The second chapter - From Trade to Territory explained how traders became rulers of India. Britishers formed the East India Company to trade in east Asia. and they acquired a charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 to trade in the East( who was Vasco de Gama?). After establishing their factories in Surat (1613) and Machilipatnam they moved to Bengal.  The first English company in Bengal was set up on the bank of the river Hugali in 1651. They were trading duty-free (tax-free) but they wanted more rights and concessions. Nawabs of Bengal were not interested in granting more concessions and they were worried due to illegal trade and fortification by the British. East India Company fought two wars in Bengal- the battle of Plassey (1757) and the battle of Buxar (1764) and got the right of Diwani (revenue) or the right to collect tax.

After acquiring the Bengal company adopted different policies to expand its rule- policies were as follows                  1. Subsidiary alliance - whichever state signed this treaty would keep an English resident in their court and they were not allowed to have their army. the state had to keep the British army and bear the financial burden of the army. if the Indian rulers failed to complete their financial obligation, part of their territories were taken away as a penalty. Awadh and Hyderabad lost some territory under this treaty                                                                                                                            2. British paramountcy- they claimed that they were supreme in India and they could annex any Indian kingdom - Sindh, and Punjab were annexed under this policy                                                                                                                                                                                                                              3. The doctrine of lapse- if an Indian ruler died without a male heir his kingdom would lapse. it would become part of the company's territory. Satara(1848), Sambalpur (1850), Udaipur (1852), Nagpur (1853), and Jhansi (1854) were annexed under this policy.                                                                           The company also defeated the tipu sultan (Mysore) in 1799 and the Marathas in 1817-19, 

to control such vast territory they divided India into presidencies and appointed a governor for each presidency. they also established courts and an office of collectors for smooth administration and transformed the traditional army into a modern army.

Chapter 3 Ruling the countryside is in the continuity of Chapter 2, after acquiring taxation rights (Diwani in 1765) the company introduced different types of systems to collect revenue (Lagaan/tax) from ruler India or peasants/farmers - they introduced Permanent settlements in 1793, revenue was fixed and zamindars become agents (he collects revenue from peasants) as well as the owner of the land but if zamindars failed to pay revenue on the due date to company their land was to be sold to another person. in Ryotwari system cultivators directly paid revenue to the company, the field of cultivators carefully and separately surveyed before assessment of revenue. in the Mahalwari system the charge of collecting the revenue and paying it to the company was given to the village headman (who devised these systems and where was implemented ?) British also forced cultivators to produce cash crops and indigo. there were two types of systems of indigo cultivation- Nij and Ryoti. Ryots (peasants) were reluctant to grow indigo as it was not good for the soil and they were interested in rice cultivation instead of indigo. Indian rulers and peasants were not happy due to these oppressive policies. 

Tribal societies were also not happy with the British administration, Chapter 4, Tribal, dikus (who were outsiders?) and the vision of the Golden Age examine this issue. British discouraged jhum cultivation (what is jhum cultivation?) and forced tribal people to settle down. they introduced forest laws and encroached on the natural rights of these societies. the tribal chief also lost their power under colonial rule. numerous tribal people rose against the colonial forest laws. Birsa Munda was one such revolter, who led a movement against missionaries, moneylenders, landlords, and the British. Birsa talked of a golden age- a Satyug, a society where tribal have the right to cultivate their land, plant trees, people love each other, and live an honest life indirectly freedom from outsiders.

All sections of society (Chapter 2, Ruler 3 Peasants,4 Tribes ) were not satisfied with British policies and they revolted against colonial rule, This issue is discussed in Chapter 5- (FOR NEXT TERM) When People Rebel: 1857 and after. The revolt of 1857 is known as the first war of Indian independence. the causes of the revolt of  1857 are visible in chapters 2,3,4, These can be explained under political causes, social causes, economic causes, and religious causes in a nutshell long-term causes. some short-term causes and immediate causes also contributed to the revolt of 1857. Politically rulers like Nana Saheb, Rani Laxmibai, and Nawabs (Awadh) were affected by British policy. socially and economically people and peasants were losing their livelihoods and culture. even sepoys were not happy with the discriminatory policy of the British. people revolted at the different centers like Barrackpore, Meerut, Jhansi, Delhi, Kanpur, and Lucknow  (find leaders of different centers) but the company succeeded in controlling the revolt. some important changes brought by the British after the revolt of 1857 were - the powers of East India Company were transferred to the British crown. the governor-general was given the title of Viceroy, the proportion of Indian soldiers in the army was reduced, British adopted the policies of no interference towards Indian social and religious practices.

in conclusion, these chapters are in sequence so read them thoroughly and prepare personal notes for learning instead of rote learning of question answers.