5. Write in detail about the various sources information of modern Indian history.
Answers
Explanation:
Primary Resources
Artefacts from archeological sites, coins, monuments, inscriptions, travelogues and autobiographies are all primary sources of information. For modern history of India, primary sources of information include government reports, letters, photographs, maps, diaries, newspapers and films.
Answer:
Modern Indian History
Sources of Information on Modern Indian History
A primary source of information for historians is the official records of the British administration. The British kept written records of every key instruction, meeting, transaction, investigation, plan, policy decision and agreement. They attached record rooms with all the important administrative institutions.
The British built specialized institutions like museums and archives to preserve important documents.
Historians gather important information about the provincial administrative system from the reports, memos, notings and letters preserved in the 19th century in the archives and record rooms across India.
For effective administration, the British carried out a number of surveys in the early 19th century.
By the end of the 19th century, censuses of all the Indian provinces were being carried out every ten years. This helped to collect information on the religion, caste and occupation of the people. These surveys have helped historians to collect information about modern India.
Personal diaries of personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, newspapers, popular books like The Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History, autobiographies of personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, and accounts of travellers and pilgrims give a deep insight into the lives of the common people.
How to Periodise
Periodisation helps us understand the sequence in which various events occurred and their effects. It captures the significant features of a particular period and helps us to differentiate it from other periods.
James Mill, a Scottish political philosopher and economist, divided Indian history on the basis of religion into three periods namely, Hindu, Muslim and British.
Historians have classified Indian history on the basis of time - as ancient, medieval and modern. This classification method was borrowed from the west and has its own set of problems. In the West, the modern period is associated with growth and progress.
The British ruled India between 1858 and 1947 and imposed their values and customs over the Indian people. This process of establishing control over a country by another country that brings about a social, economic, political and cultural change is termed as colonisation
Importantance of Dates
History is a record of important incidents and events. History is about the lives of the people who made a difference to the world.
History is hence a subjective study of events that occurred in the past. Each historian has a different perspective to an event.
According to British historians, history of British Raj in India is all about the lives of the different Governor Generals of India. It begins with the first Governor General Warren Hastings and ends with Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy.
Whereas, an Indian historian focused on India’s development under the British Raj will write about the lives of the common people - their means of livelihood, the food they ate, the cloths they wore, and continue with the changes in social norms. The history of the commoners is different from that of the Governor Generals.
There are no precise dates for events that take place over a period of time. Some dates are significant because of a particular set of events.