GRADE 8 CHAPTER 1.

HOW WHEN & WHERE

1. What is the problem with the periodization of Indian history that James Mill offers?
The problem with the periodization of Indian History that James Mill offers is the superiority of British
shown over Hindu and Muslim. James Mill has put Indian History into three periods – Hindu, Muslim
and British, claiming that it was necessary to introduce European manners, arts, institutions and
laws in India.
James Mill’s views have several defects given below:
a. He thought that all Asian societies were at a lower level of civilization when compared to Europe.
b. According to his telling of history, before the British came to India, Hindu and Muslim despots
ruled the country.
c. Religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious practices dominated social life before the
British came to India
2. Why did the British preserve official documents?
British had preserved official documents because they thought if they write and record everything, it
will later be easier for them to study them and debate. They kept official records of what they thought
was right, so that in the future, those records can serve as proofs of all the decisions that they had
taken.

The British preserved documents because of the following reasons:

 Any information or proof of any decision can be read/used from the preserved
documents.
 The preserved documents reveal the progress made by country in the past.
 One can study the notes and reports which were prepared in the past
 Their copies may be made and used in modern times.
 Documents were helpful in understanding social, economic and history of those
times.

2. How will the information historians get from old newspapers be different from that
found in police reports?
Answer.
The nature of information that the historians get from old newspapers and police reports can be
entirely different. Typically, a historian would collect information from a wide variety of sources that
includes both official and unofficial documents. The police report comes from an administrative
viewpoint, and the types of details that we can obtain from them are often restricted.
A police report is strictly confined to the procedures and is concerned with record-keeping, rather
than building a narrative. Journalism and reporting tools follow a different approach that might bring
out the finer details about an event or a happening. Often police reports might oversee or neglect
information that does not directly serve the function of law enforcement.
Being a mass media, newspapers provide more backdrop, context and elaborate descriptions. But
the relative merits and accuracy of a piece of information from any source can only be determined
after proper research and investigation. For getting a balanced and clearer picture of a period in
history, historians often go through as many sources as possible, while keeping in mind the biases
and interests that could be behind them.

Can you think of examples of surveys in your world today? Think about how toy
companies get information about what young people enjoy playing with or how the
government finds out about the number of young people in school. What can a historian
derive from such surveys?
Answer.
Surveys are done by government and private companies.

 on demographic changes, employment, incomes, tastes, interests, possessions,

etc.
 Manually or with use of technology.
 At different places like home, schools, institution, malls, etc.
Historians may get information about preferences, life style, demographic
changes, political, social, economic life, etc.

RESOURCES GRADE 8
Question 1:

Answer the following questions.

1. Why are resources distributed unequally over the Earth?

The distribution of resources depends upon a number of physical factors like
terrain, climate and altitude. Since these factors differ so much over the Earth,
the distribution of resources is unequal

2. What is resource conservation?

Using resources carefully and giving them time to get renewed is called resource
conservation

2. Why are human resources important?

 People can make the best use of nature to create more resources when they
have the knowledge, skill and technology to do so. This is why human beings
are a special resource. It is the abilities of human beings which help in
transferring a physical material into a valuable resource. Hence, human
resources are important.

3. What is sustainable development?

Balancing the need to use resources and also conserving them for the future is called
sustainable development. In other words, sustainable development means utilizing
resources in such a manner that not only are the present requirements met but also the
needs of the future generations are taken care of.