Bhagya – Page 32 – Jharkhand Board Solution

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 7 Human Environment: Settlement, Transport and Communication

September 4, 2024September 3, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 7 Human Environment: Settlement, Transport and Communication

→ Places where people build their homes are called as settlements. The settlements grew near the river valleys as water was available and land was fertile. The civilizations that grew along the banks of rivers were Indus, Tigris, Nile and Hwang-He.

→ Settlements are of two types:

permanent or
temporary.

→ Temporary settlements

Temporary settlements are the settlements which are occupied for a short time.
The people who live in deep forests, hot and cold deserts and mountains often dwell in the temporary settlements.

→ Permanent settlements are the settlements where people build homes to live in.

The villages are rural settlement where people are occupied in activities such as agriculture, fishing, forestry, crafts work and trading. These type of settlements can be compact or scattered.
A closely built area of dwellings wherever flat land is available is known as a compact settlement.
A scattered settlement is a settlement where dwellings are spaced over an extensive area. It is mostly found in hilly tracts, thick forests and regions of extreme climate.
People build houses to suit their environment in rural areas. In regions of heavy rainfall, they have slanting roofs as the houses are constructed on a raised platform or stilts.
Thatched roofs are common in areas of hot climate which have thick mud walled houses. Local materials such as stones, mud, clay, straw, etc., are used to construct houses.
The people are engaged in manufacturing, trading, and services in urban settlements.

→ Transport

The means by which people and goods move is known as transport.
Transport was made easier by the invention of the wheel.
Different means of transport was developed but even today people use animals for transport.
The animals such as donkeys, mules, bullocks and camels are used for transport in India. Whereas, in the Andes Mountains of South America, llamas are used and yaks are used in Tibet.
The early traders took either the sea route or the land route from other countries to reach India which took many months. Modem means of transport such as airplanes have made travel faster. It takes only 6-8 hours to travel from India to Europe and hence saves time and energy.
The four important means of transport are:
- roadways
- railways
- waterways
- airways.

→ Roadways

The most used means of transport for short distances are roads. They can either be metalled (pucca) or unmetalled (kutcha).
Roads have also been built in territories such as deserts, forests and even high mountains. One of the highest roadways in the world is Manali-Leh highway in the Himlayan Mountains.
Subways or under paths is the roads built underground. Roads which are built over raised structures are known as flyovers.

→ Railways

The Industrial Revolution and invention of the steam engine helped in rapid growth and development of rail transport.
In course of time, the steam engines have been replaced by diesel and electric engines. In many places to make the journey faster, superfast trains have been launched.
The network of Indian railway is the largest in Asia and well developed.

→ Waterways:

The cheapest means of transport for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances are the waterways.
There are two types of waterways
- inland waterways and
- sea routes.
Inland waterways are navigable rivers and lakes. The Ganga-Brahmaputra river system in India, the Great Lakes in North America and the Nile river in Africa are some of the major inland waterways.
For transporting merchandise and goods from one country to another, sea routes and oceanic routes are mainly used and are connected with the ports.
Singapore and Mumbai in Asia, New York, Los Angeles in North America, Rio
de Janerio in South America, Durban and Cape Town in Africa, Sydney in Australia, London and Rotterdam in Europe are some of the major ports of the world.

→ Airways

The fastest way of transport is the airways which has been developed in the early twentieth century. It is the most expensive and exorbitant due to high cost of fuels.
To reach the most remote and distant places specially where there are no roads and railways, this mode of transport is used.
Due to bad weather such as fog and storms, air traffic is adversely affected and very troublesome.
Some of the major airports are Delhi, Mumbai, New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Cairo.
Helicopters are very useful in most inaccessible areas.

→ Communication

The process of conveying messages to others is known as the communication.
Different modes and means of communication are used to provide information, to educate as well as to entertain people.
Mass media contains newspapers, radio and television so that we can communicate with a large number of people.
Satellites made the communication even more faster and have helped in oil exploration, survey of forest, underground water, mineral wealth, weather forecast and disaster warning.
Now-a-days, we can send electronic mails or e-mails through Internet.
Cellular phones are the wireless telephonic communications which have become very popular nowadays.
Internet had made our lives more comfortable and easier and also provides us
with worldwide information and interaction. We can book tickets for movie or reserve a resort or hotel online.
We have become a large global society due to interconnectivity of people, services and institutions all across the world.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 1 The Indian Constitution

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 1 The Indian Constitution

→ In large societies in which different communities of people live together, these rules are formulated through consensus and in modem countries this consensus is usually available in written form. A written document in which we find the rules is called a Constitution.

→ Why Does a Country Need a Constitution?

The Constitution serves several purposes. First, it lays out certain ideals that form the basis of the kind of country that we as citizens aspire to live in. Or, a Constitution tells us what the fundamental nature of our society is.
A Constitution helps serve as a set of rules and principles that all persons in a country can agree upon as the basis of the way in which they want the country to be governed.
This includes not only the type of government but also an agreement on certain ideals that they all believe the country should uphold.
In 2006 the people of Nepal finally succeeded in putting an end to the powers of the King. The people had to write a new Constitution to establish Nepal as
a democracy. The reason that they did not want to continue with the previous Constitution is because it did not reflect the ideals of the country that they want Nepal to be and that they have fought for.
The people of Nepal adopted a new Constitution for the country in 2015.
The second important purpose of a Constitution is to define the nature of a country’s political system.
The Constitution plays a crucial role in laying out certain important guidelines that govern decision making within these societies.

→ In a democracy, we choose our leaders so that they can exercise power responsibly on behalf of common people.

However, there is always the possibility that these leaders might misuse their authority and the Constitution usually provides safeguards against this.
In democratic societies, the Constitution often lays down rules that guard against the misuse of authority by our political leaders.
The Right to Equality is one of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
Another important function that a Constitution plays in a democracy is to make sure that a dominant group does not use its power against other, less powerful people or groups.
The Constitution usually contains rules that ensure that minorities are not excluded from anything that is routinely available to the majority.
Another reason why we have a Constitution is precisely to prevent this tyranny or domination by the majority of a minority.
The third significant reason why we need a Constitution is to save us from ourselves.
The Constitution helps to protect us against certain decisions that we might take that could have an adverse effect on the larger principles that the country believes in.

→ The Indian Constitution: Key Features

By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Indian national movement had been active in the struggle for independence from British rule for several decades.
During the freedom struggle the nationalists had devoted a great deal of time to imagining and planning what a free India would be like.
The leaders work was to work out the ways in which a democratic government would be set up in India and the rules that would determine its functioning.
• This was done not by one person but by a group of around 300 people who became members of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and who met periodically for the next three years to write India’s Constitution.
When the Constitution was being written, India was going through considerable turmoil. The partition of the country into India and Pakistan was imminent, some of the Princely States remained undecided about their future, and the socio-economic condition of the vast mass of people appeared dismal.
The final document also reflects its concern for eradicating poverty through socio-economic reforms as well as emphasising the crucial role the people can play in choosing their representatives.

→ The key features of the Indian Constitution are given below:

Federalism
Parliamentary Form of Government
Separation of Powers
Fundamental Rights
Secularism

→ Federalism:

This refers to the existence of more than one level of government in the country. In India, we have governments at the state level and at the centre. Panchayati Raj is the third tier of government.
The vast number of communities in India meant that a system of government needed to be devised that did not involve only persons sitting in the capital city of New Delhi and making decisions for everyone.
It was important to have another level of government in the states so that decisions could be made for that particular area.
While each state in India enjoys autonomy in exercising powers on certain issues, subjects of national concern require that all of these states follow the laws of the central government.
Under federalism, the states are not merely agents of the federal government but draw their authority from the Constitution as well. All persons in India are governed by laws and policies made by each of these levels of government.

→ Parliamentary Form of Government:

The different tiers of government consist of representatives who are elected by the people.
The Constitution of India guarantees universal adult suffrage for all citizens.
The people of India have a direct role in electing their representatives.
Every citizen of the country, irrespective of his/her social background, can also contest in elections. These representatives are accountable to the people.

→ Separation of Powers:

According to the Constitution, there are three organs of government. They are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
The legislature refers to our elected representatives.
The executive is a smaller group of people who are responsible for implementing laws and running the government.
The judiciary refers to the system of courts in this country.
In order to prevent the misuse of power by any one branch of government, the Constitution says that each of these organs . should exercise different powers.

→ Fundamental Rights:

The section on Fundamental Rights has often been referred to as the ‘conscience’ of the Indian Constitution.
Fundamental Rights protect citizens against the arbitrary and absolute exercise of power by the State.
The Constitution guarantees the rights of individuals against the State as well as against other individuals.
The Constitution also guarantees the rights of minorities against the majority.
As Dr Ambedkar has said about these Fundamental Rights, their object is two-fold.
The first objective is that every citizen must be in a position to claim those rights.
Secondly, these rights must be binding upon every authority that has got the power to make laws.
The Constitution also has a section called Directive Principles of State Policy.
This section was designed by the members of the Constituent Assembly to ensure greater social and economic reforms and to serve as a guide to the independent Indian State to institute laws and policies that help reduce the poverty of the masses.

→ Secularism:
A secular state is one in which the state does not officially promote any one religion as the state religion.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Understanding Secularism

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 2 Understanding Secularism

→ The acts of discrimination take place more easily when one religion is given official recognition by the State at the expense of other religions.

→ What is Secularism?

The Indian Constitution allows individuals the freedom to live by their religious beliefs and practices as they interpret these.
In keeping with this idea of religious freedom for all, India also adopted a strategy of separating the power of religion and the power of the State.
Secularism refers to this separation of religion from the State.

→ Why is it Important to Separate Religion from the State?

The most important aspect of secularism is its separation of religion from State power. This is important for a country to function democratically.
If the majority religious group has access to State power. then it could quite easily use this power and financial resources to discriminate against and persecute persons of other religions.
This tyranny of the majority could result in discrimination, coercion and at times even the killing of religious minorities.
The tyranny of the majority and the violation of Fundamental Rights that can result is one reason why it is important to separate the State and religion in democratic societies.
Another reason that is important to separate religion from the State in democratic societies is because we also need to protect the freedom of individuals to exit from their religion, embrace another religion or have the freedom to interpret religious teachings differently.

→ What is Indian Secularism?

The Indian Constitution mandates that the Indian State be secular.
According to the Constitution, only a secular State can realise its objectives to ensure the following:
- That one religious community does not dominate another;
- That some members do not dominate other members of the same religious community;
- That the State does not enforce any particular religion nor take away the religious freedom of individuals.
The Indian State works in various ways to prevent the domination. First, it uses a strategy of distancing itself from religion.
The Indian State is not ruled by a religious group and nor does it support any one religion.
Government schools cannot promote any one religion either in their morning prayers or through religious celebrations. This rule does not apply to private schools.
The second way in which Indian secularism works to prevent the domination is through a strategy of non-interference.
The third way in which Indian secularism works to prevent the domination is through a strategy of intervention.
In order to prevent the religion-based exclusion and discrimination of Tower castes’, the Indian Constitution bans untouchability.
To ensure that laws relating to equal inheritance rights are respected, the State may have to intervene in the religion-based ‘personal laws’ of communities.
The intervention of the State can also be in the form of support.
The Indian Constitution grants the right to religious communities to set up their own schools and colleges.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the legislature from making laws ‘respecting an establishment of religion’ or that ‘prohibit the free exercise of religion’.
In the U.S.A., the separation between State and religion means that neither the State nor religion can interfere in the affairs of one another.
Unlike the strict separation between religion and the State in American secularism, in Indian secularism the State can intervene in religious affairs. This is the difference.

→ In Indian secularism, though the State is not strictly separate from religion it does maintain a principled distance vis-a-vis religion.

This means that any interference in religion by the State has to be based on the ideals laid out in the Constitution.
The Indian State is secular and works in various ways to prevent religious domination.
The Indian Constitution guarantees Fundamental Rights that are based on these secular principles.
The knowledge that such rights exist makes us sensitive to the violations that occurs and enables us to take action when these violations take place.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 Why Do We Need A Parliament?

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 Why Do We Need A Parliament?

→ The Parliament enables citizens of India to participate in decision making and control the government, thus making it the most important symbol of Indian democracy and a key feature of the Constitution.

→ Why should People Decide?

People from various backgrounds joined the struggle and they were inspired by the ideas of freedom, equality and participation in decision- making.
As far back as 1885, the Indian National Congress demanded that there be elected members in the legislature with a right to discuss the budget and ask questions.
The Government of India Act 1909, allowed for some elected representation.
While these early legislatures under the British government were in response to the growing demands of the nationalists, they did not allow for all adults to vote nor could people participate in decision making.
With the coming of independence, we were going to be citizens of a free country.
This did not mean that the government could do what it felt like, it meant that the government had to be sensitive to people’s needs and demands.

→ People and their Representatives

The take-off point for a democracy is the idea of consent, i.e., the desire, approval and participation of people.
The basic idea in the democratic government is that the individual or the citizen are the most important person and that in principle the government as well as other public institutions need to have the trust of these citizens.
People would elect their representatives to the Parliament, then, one group from among these elected representatives form the government.
The Parliament, which is made up of all representatives together, controls and guides the government.

→ The Role of the Parliament

Created after 1947, the Indian Parliament is an expression of the faith that the people of India have in principles of democracy.
The Parliament in our system has immense powers because it is the representative of the people.
The Lok Sabha is usually elected once every five years.
Each of these constituencies elects one person to the Parliament. The candidates who contest elections usually belong to different political parties.
Once elected, these candidates become Members of Parliament or MPs. These MPs together make up the Parliament.
Once elections to the Parliament have taken place, the Parliament needs to perform the following functions:

→ To Select the National Government

Parliament of India consists of the President, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
After the Lok Sabha elections, a list is prepared showing how many MPs belong to each political party.
For a political party to form the government, they must have a majority of elected MPs.
The Opposition in Parliament is formed by all the political parties that oppose the majority party/coalition formed.
The largest amongst these parties is called the Opposition party.
One of the most important functions of the Lok Sabha is to select the executive.
The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha.
From the MPs who belong to the majority party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with her to implement decisions.
These ministers then take charge of different areas of government functioning like health, education, finance, etc.
The different political parties join together with similar interests as they didn’t get majority of votes and who are interested in similar concerns to form what is known as a coalition government.
The Rajya Sabha functions primarily as the representative of the states of India in the Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha can also initiate legislation and a bill is required to pass through the Rajya Sabha in order to become a law.
The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of various states.

→ To Control, Guide and Inform the Government

The question hour is an important mechanism through which MPs can elicit information about the working of the government.
This is a very important way through which the Parliament controls the executive.
Asking questions of the government is a crucial task for every MP.
The Opposition parties play a critical role in the healthy functioning of a democracy.
The government gets valuable feedback and is kept on its toes by the questions asked by the MPs.
The MPs as representatives of the people have a central role in controlling, guiding and informing Parliament and this is a key aspect of the functioning of Indian democracy.

→ Law-Making
Law-making is a significant function of Parliament.

→ Who are the People in Parliament?

Parliament now has more and more people from different backgrounds.
There has also been an increase in political participation from the Dalits and backward classes.
There is a realisation that when interests and experiences separate us it is important to ensure that communities that have been historically marginalised are given adequate representation.
With this in mind, some seats are reserved in Parliament for SCs and STs.
Similarly, it has more recently been suggested that there should be reservation of seats for women.
It is issues of this kind that force the country to ask certain difficult and often unresolved questions about whether our democratic system is representative enough.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 5 Rulers and Buildings

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 5 Rulers and Buildings

→ Kings and their officers built two kinds of structures between the eighth and the eighteenth centuries: the first were forts, palaces and tombs which were safe, protected and the second were structures meant for public activity including temples, mosques, tanks, wells, caravan, sarais and bazaars. From the eighteenth century only, domestic architecture like large mansions (havelis) of merchants has survived.

→ Engineering Skills and Construction:

Buildings and monuments provide a deep understanding of the technologies used for construction.
Architects started adding more rooms, doors and windows to buildings between the seventh and tenth centuries.
The trabeate or corbelled style was used in the construction of temples, mosques, tombs and in buildings attached to large stepped-wells (baolis) between the eighth and thirteenth centuries.
From the twelfth century, two technological and stylistic developments are visible. First is the weight of the superstructure above the doors and windows was sometimes carried by arches. This architectural form was called “arcuate”. Second is, the use of Limestone cement increased in construction.
The temples were decorated with detailed carved structures and had shikhara as well in the early eleventh century.

→ Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks
As temples and mosques were the places of worship hence they were beautifully constructed. They also exhibit the pow’er, wealth and devotion of the patron.

Kings constructed all the largest temples. These depicted the”picture of the world they rule. On the other hand, the other lesser deities in the temples were gods and goddesses of the allies and subordinates of the ruler. The temple w’as a miniature model of the world ruled by the king and his allies.
There were people who did not claim to be incarnations of god and they were Muslim Sultans and Padshahs but Persian court chronicles described the Sultan as the “Shadow of God”.
Rulers got the chance to proclaim their close relationship with God by constructing the places of worship which was important in an age of rapid political change. Rulers also offered encouragement and support to the learned and pious people.
Sultan Iltutmish constructed a large reservoir just outside Dehli-i Kuhna called as the Hauz-i Sultani or the “King’s Reservoir” for which he acclaimed lots of respect universally.

→ Why were Temples Targeted?

Temples were built by the kings to demonstrate their devotion to God and their power and wealth, hence they attacked on one another’s kingdoms and looted the temples.
In the early ninth century, the Pandyan king Shrimara Shrivallabha invaded Sri Lanka and defeated the king, Sena I (831-851) and seized the Buddha monasteries and all the jewels. This blowed the pride of them.
In the early eleventh century, when the Chola King Rajendra I built a Shiva temple in his capital. He filled it with prized statues of gods and goddesses seized from defeated rulers.
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed the temples during war as the one he did was Somnath temple which was attacked many times and sacked the temple as he tried to win credit and accolades. Even Portuguese attacked the temples and mosques in 1546.

→ Gardens, Tombs and Forts:

Architecture became more complex under the Mughals. Babur was interested in planning and laying out formal gardens which were placed within rectangular walled enclosures and divided into four quarters by artificial channels called as Chahar Bagh.
During Akbar’s reign, many important architectural innovations happened. One of the important aspects of Mughal architecture which was first visible in Humayun’s tomb was the central towering dome and the tall gateway (pishtaq).
During Shah Jahan’s reign, we observe a huge amount of construction activity especially in Agra and Delhi. The ceremonial halls were carefully planned for public and private audience (diwan-i khas or diwan-i aam). These courts were also described as chihil sutnn or forty-pillared halls, placed within a large courtyard.
The Chahar Bagh garden was also known as the “river-front garden”. The Taj Mahal, the greatest architectural accomplishment of Shah Jahan’s reign also adapted the river-front garden.
He developed this form of architecture as a means to control the access that people had to the Yamuna river.

→ Region and Empire:

Between the eighth and eighteenth centuries there was also a considerable sharing of ideas across regions due to increased construction activities, the traditions of one region were adopted by another.
The local rulers in Bengal had developed a roof that was designed to resemble a thatched hut. This “Bangla dome” was liked by the Mughals very much that they used it in their architecture. The impact of other regions was also evident. In Akbar’s capital at Fatehpur Sikri many of the buildings used the architectural styles of Gujarat and Malwa.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 4 The Mughal Empire

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 4 The Mughal Empire

→ In the middle age, Mughals had a very powerful empire. From the latter half of the sixteenth century till the seventeenth century, they expanded their kingdom from Agra and Delhi and controlled nearly over all the subcontinent.

→ Who were the Mughals?

The Mughals were the successor of the two great descent of rulers.
From their maternal side, they were the descendants of Genghis Khan and from their paternal side, they were the descendant of Timur. However, Mughals were proud of their Timurid ancestry. They celebrated their genealogy pictorially.

→ Mughal Military Campaigns

The first Mughal emperor, Babur captured Delhi and Agra by defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the battle of Panipat in the year 1526.
After the death of Babur in 1530, his son Humayun became the second Mughal emperor.
Humayun was defeated by Sher Khan twice in Chausa (1539) and Kanauj (1540) and forced him to flee to Iran. He recaptured Delhi in 1555 with the help of Safavid Shah but died in an accident a year later.
At the age of 13 years, Akbar became the emperor of Delhi. He was handling
the empire successfully as he was very competent. He seized Chittor in 1568 and Ranthambhor in 1569. He started the military campaign in Gujarat during the period 1570-1585 which was followed by the campaigns in Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. In 1605, Akbar died.
Jahangir became emperor in 1605, he was the son of Akbar. He continued the military campaigns started by Akbar. He campaigned against Sikhs and Ahoms. He died in the year 1627.
Shah Jahan continued the campaign in the Deccan. Amongst Shah Jahan’s sons there was a conflict over succession. Aurangzeb was victorious and his three brothers were killed including Dara Shukoh in Agra, Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of the life. He died in the year 1666.
Aurangzeb succeeded the throne and one of his major campaign was against Maratha chieftain Shivaji. Initially, Aurangzeb got success but later on Shivaji became an independent king and resumed campaigns against Mughals.
Marathas started the guerrilla warfare hence from 1698, Aurangzeb personally managed campaigns. He also faced revolt in north India of the Jats, Sikhs and Satnamis.

→ Mughal Traditions of Succession
Mughal followed the Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance means a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons. They didn’t believe in the rale of primogeniture or birthright, where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate.

→ Mughal Relations with Other Rulers

Mughal campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority. But many rulers also joined them voluntarily as the Mughals became powerful. The Rajputs were the one who joined. Many of them married their daughters into Mughal families and received high positions. But many were against them as well like the Sisodiya Rajputs.
However, they were honourably treated by the Mughals even if defeated, given their lands (watan) back as assignments (watanjagir).

→ Mansabdars and Jagirdars

The people who joined Mughal service were enrolled as Mansabdars. They were an individual who holds a mansab which means to hold a position or a rank.
Mughals used a grading system to fix three things viz; rank, salary and military responsibilities.
Zat was a numerical value which determined the rank and salary.
Mansabdars received their salary as revenue assignments known as jagirs which were similar to iqtas.
Jagirs were carefully assessed during the Akbar’s reign so that their salary were more or less equal to the mansabdar. But it was not same in the reign of Aurangzeb means the actual revenue collected was often very less from the granted sum. Hence, many jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible while they had a jagir.

→ Zabt and Zamindars

The term zamindar was used to describe all intermediaries, whether they were local headmen of villages or powerful chieftains.
Akbar’s revenue minister, Todar Mai did a survey on crop yield and based on the data he fixed the tax on each crop for a ten-year period from 1570-1580.
The revenue system was introduced by Todar Mai and was called as zabt.
Zamindars had powers. Due to Mughal exploitation, zamindars and peasants revolted against them. Hence, from the end of the seventeenth century, it challenged the stability of the Mughal Empire.

→ A Closer Look – Akbar’s Policies

Abul Fazl wrote Akbar Nama which gives us details about Akbar’s reign.
As per Abul Fazl. the empire was divided into provinces known as subas and were governed by a subadar. Each province had a diwan or a financial officer.
Subadars were supported by different officers. They were the military paymaster called as Bakhshi. the minister in charge of religious and patronage called as Sadr, military commanders known as Faujdars and town police commissioners known as Kotwal.
Religious discussions were done at ibadat khana. Akbar got support from Abul Fazl in framing a vision of governance around the idea of Sulh-i Kul. These principles were later followed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

→ The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After

Mughal empire had administrative and military efficiency which led to economic and commercial prosperity. They enjoyed a great deal of influence and power.
The wealthier peasantry, artisans, merchants were rising high in monetary terms and
power, whereas, the primary producers lived in poverty.
Hence, by the end of the seventeenth century, the Mughal empire started declining which gave rise to many independent provinces like Hyderabad and Awadh.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years

→ The Arab geographer, Al-Idrisi made the map of the world in 1154 CE showing Indian subcontinent.

In 1720s, French people made maps which were quite different from Al-Idrisi’s map.
Cartographers are the skilled people who draw and develop maps which involve scientific, technological and art aspects.

→ New and Old Terminologies:

Over the period of time, historical records and facts existed through different languages. There is a vast difference in grammar, vocabulary and in the meaning of words as well. The term Hindustan was used by Minhaj-i-Siraj, a Persian chronicler in 13th century, which has now become India.
Babur in the early 16th century used “Hindustan” to describe the geography, fauna and the culture of the subcontinent. Whereas, in 14th century, Amir Khusrau used, the word “Hind” for the same context.
Historians are very cautious about the terms and words they use as they had different meanings in the past. For example, by “foreigner” we mean who is not Indian. But in the medieval time, it meant any unfamiliar person who was part of the same village but not a part of the particular society or culture.
In Hindi, the term pardesi and in Persian ajnabi are used for “foreigner”.

→ Historians and their Sources:

Historians use different sources to learn about the past. These sources are coins, inscriptions, textual records and architecture.
People started using paper in this period and historians got many information. They used to write holy texts, ruler’s chronicles, letters and teachings of saints.
Manuscripts were kept in libraries and archives. They were collected from wealthy people, monasteries, rulers and temples.
Manuscripts helped the historians but faced many difficulties as scripts were handwritten. Printing press was not invented.
People used to revise their chronicles at different times. The 14th century author, Ziyauddin Barani wrote his first chronicle in 1356 CE and second one after two years and they differ a lot with each other.

→ New Social and Political Groups:

Historians faced challenges between 700 BC and 1750 CE as there were many different technological developments took place. Some of them were the spinning wheel in weaving, the Persian wheel in irrigation and firearms in combat.
The subcontinent also saw development in food and beverages; potatoes, chillies, com, tea, coffee. This came with people and hence it was a period of political, social, economic and cultural changes.
One of the influential communities emerged in this period. It was of Rajputs or “Rajaputra”. They were warriors, rulers, chieftains, soldiers and were known as Kshatriyas by caste which existed from 8th to 14th centuries.
This period experienced the extension of agriculture and clearing of forests. Many forest dwellers migrated and changed their habitat.
Peasant group came into existence influenced by regional markets, monasteries, chieftains and temples.
Gradually, people were grouped into sub-castes or “jatis” based on their occupation. The status of the same jati could vary from place to place. These were not permanent and diversified according to the power, influence and resources controlled by members of the jati.
Jati Panchayats were formed. They framed their own rules and regulations. But jatis were also bound to follow the rules of the village.
Chieftain governed several villages which was a small unit of a state.

→ Region and Empire:

By 700 CE many regions developed their own geographical dimensions along with their own languages and cultural traits.
Between 700 and 1750 CE, there were significant developments as many areas were ruled by different kingdoms.

→ Old and New Religions:

During these 1000 years, religious tradition developed majorly.
Hinduism saw many changes during this period. It includes worshipping of new deities, construction of temples by kingdoms and rise of Brahmanas as a prominent group in society.
Other developments were the rising of the idea of bhakti.
Muslims regarded Quran as their holy book. It appeared in 7th century and the teachings were brought by the merchants in the subcontinent.
There were sets of followers in Islam as well and divided into two sects – Shia and Sunni.

→ Thinking about Time and Historical Periods

British historians in the middle of the 19th century divided the history of India into three periods – Hindu, Muslim and British.
Their concept was based on religion of the ruler as there was no major development in the social, economic or cultural aspects.
The Indian societies–reached a level of prosperity that attracted many European trading companies.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 9 The Making of Regional Cultures

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 9 The Making of Regional Cultures

→ Today regional cultures are often the product of complex processes of intermixing of local traditions and cultures with the ideas from the other parts of the subcontinent. Some of the traditions appear to be specific to some regions or areas, others seem to be similar across regions and yet others derive from older practices in a specific region but take a new form in other regions.

→ The Cheras and the Development of Malayalam:

In the ninth century, the Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram was established in the south-western part of the peninsula which is now a part of present-day Kerala and Malayalam was spoken and used in this area. In official records in the subcontinent, this one is the earliest examples of the use of a regional language.
But at the same time, the Cheras also drew upon Sanskritic traditions. Around the twelfth century, the first literary works in Malayalam are directly bounded to Sanskrit. A fourteenth-century text, named as the Lilatilakam was composed in Manipravalam means ‘diamonds and corals’ referring to the two languages which were Sanskrit and the regional language.

→ Rulers and Religious Traditions: The Jagannatha Cult:

Regional cultures grew around religious traditions in other regions. One of the best instance of this process is the cult of Jagannatha which means lord of the world, a name for Vishnu at Puri, Orissa (now Odisha).
Till date, the local tribal people make the wooden image of the deity which suggests that the deity was originally a local god.
One of the major rulers of the Ganga Dynasty, Anantavarman, decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannatha at Puri in the twelfth century. In 1230, King Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity and announced officially himself as the ‘deputy’ of the god.
Those who conquered Orissa (now Odisha) such as the Mughals, the Marathas and the English East India Company, they attempted to gain control over the temple. They thought that this would make their rule admissible to the local people as its authority in social and political matters also increased.

→ The Rajputs and Traditions of Heroism:

The Rajputs are often acknowledged as contributing to the distinctive culture of Rajasthan. From about eighth century, the Rajput rulers cherished the ideal of the hero who fought heroically and often choosing death on the battlefield rather than to face defeat.
Many stories and narratives about Rajput heroes were recorded in the form of poems and songs which were recited by specially trained minstrels.
Women are also portrayed as following their heroic husbands in both life and death, there are many tales about the practice of sati or the immolation of widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands.

→ Beyond Regional Frontiers: The Story of Kathak

One of the dance form is Kathak which is now associated with several parts of north India. The word kathak is derived from katha which means a word used in Sanskrit and other languages for story.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the growth of the bhakti movement, Kathak began to evolve into a distinct mode of dance. Radha-Krishna tales were enacted in folk plays called rasa lila where folk dance combined with the basic gestures of the kathak story-narrators.
Kathak was performed in the court under the Mughal emperors and their nobles where it developed in a form of dance with a distinctive style.
Kathak developed in two traditions or gharanas— one in the courts of Rajasthan (Jaipur) and the other in Lucknow. Under the assistance and support of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh it grew into one of the major art form.
After the independence, Kathak was recognized as one of the six classical dances of India. The other classical dances are Kathakali, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Manipuri and Kuchipudi.

→ Painting for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures

Another tradition that developed in different ways was that of miniature painting. In earlier days, miniatures were beautifully painted on palm leaves or wood found in western India which were used to illustrate Jaina texts.
Most of the miniatures were exchanged as gifts and were viewed only by the exclusive people, the emperor and his close associates.
Mughal artistic tastes had an impact on the regional courts of the Deccan and the Rajput courts of Rajasthan. But, they retained and developed their distinctive characteristics. Also the themes from mythology and poetry were described at centres such as Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh.
In the late seventeenth century, another region that attracted miniature paintings was the Himalayan foothills and had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. The most popular painting was Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari.
In the mid-eighteenth century, the Kangra artists developed a style in miniature painting. The source of creativity and innovation was the Vaishnavite traditions. Kangra painting was different from others as they used soft colours including cool blues and greens, and a lyrical treatment of themes.
Also ordinary and simple women and men painted on pots, walls, floors, cloth and their works of art have occasionally survived, unlike the miniatures that were carefully preserved in palaces for centuries.

→ A Closer Look: Bengal – The Growth of a Regional Language

By the third-fourth centuries BCE, commercial ties began to develop between
Bengal and Magadha (south Bihar) which may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit.
The verbal and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger during fourth century. The Chinese traveller Xuan Zang in the seventh century marked that languages related to Sanskrit were in use all over Bengal.
Bengal became the centre of a regional kingdom under the Palas in the eighth century. When Akbar conquered Bengal in 1586, it formed the nucleus of the Bengal suba. Bengali developed as a regional language, while Persian was the language of administration.
By the fifteenth century, the Bengali group of dialects became united by a common literary language based on the spoken language of the western part of the region which is now known as West Bengal. Though Bengali is derived from Sanskrit, it passed through several stages of evolution. It includes a wide range of non-Sanskrit words which derived from a variety of sources such as tribal languages, Persian, and European languages all become a part of modem Bengali.
The early Bengali literature may be divided into two categories—one indebted to Sanskrit and the other independent of it. The first consists of translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Mangalakavyas means auspicious poems which deals with local deities and bhakti literature such as the biographies of Chaitanyadeva, the leader of the Vaishnava bhakti movement.
And, the second one consists of Nath literature such as the songs of Maynamati and Gopichandra and stories of Dharma Thakur, fairy tales, folk tales and ballads.

→ Pirs and Temples:

There were community leaders who also performed and served as teachers and adjudicators and were sometimes attributed with supernatural powers. These people were referred as pirs who also get affection and respect.
These also included saints or Sufis and other religious personalities, brave colonisers and deified soldiers, varied Hindu and Buddhist deities and even animistic spirits. Thus, the cult of pirs became very popular and their shrines can be found everywhere in Bengal.
In Bengal, most of the modest brick and terracotta temples were built with the support of different Tow’ social groups, such as the Kolu (oil pressers) and the Kansari (bell metal workers). Many families belonging to these social groups got benefits with the coming of the European trading companies which created new economic opportunities.
Their social and economic position were improving and hence, they proclaimed their status through the construction of temples. The temples began to copy the double- roofed means dochala or four-roofed means chauchala structure of the thatched huts. This led to the evolution of the typical Bengali style in temple architecture.
In some of the temples particularly in Vishnupur in the Bankura district of West Bengal, decorations reached a high degree of excellence. As the interior was comparatively plain but the outer walls of many temples were decorated with paintings, ornamental tiles or terracotta tablets.

→ Fish as Food:

Since, Bengal is a riverine plain hence it produces plenty of rice and fish. One of the most important occupation was fishing and Bengali literature contains several references to fish. Apart from this, terracotta plaques on the walls of temples and viharas (Buddhist monasteries) depicts the scenes of fish being dressed and taken to the market in baskets.
From a thirteenth century Sanskrit text from Bengal, the Brihaddharma Purana permitted the local Brahmanas to eat certain varieties of fish.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 3 The Delhi Sultans

September 3, 2024September 2, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 7 Social Science Notes History Chapter 3 The Delhi Sultans

→ Delhi became an important city in the twelfth century.

It was under the Tomara Rajputs and Chauhans that Delhi became an important commercial centre.
Many rich Jaina merchants lived in the city and constructed several temples. Coins minted here, called dehliwal, had a wide circulation.
In the beginning of the thirteenth century, the transformation of Delhi into capital started with the foundation of Delhi Sultanate.

→ The rulers of Delhi Table 1:

Rajput Dynasties Tomaras Early twelfth century	1165
Ananga Pala	1130 – 1145
Chauhans	1165 – 1192
Prithviraj Chauhan	1175 – 1192
Early Turkish Rulers	1206 to 1290
Qutbuddin Aybak	1206 – 1210
Shamsuddin Iltutmish	1210 – 1236
Raziyya	1236 – 1240
Ghiyasuddin Balban	1266 – 1287
Khalji Dynasty	1290 to 1320
Jalaluddin Khalji	1290 – 1296
Alauddin Khalji	1296 – 1316
Tughlaq Dynasty	1320 to 1414
Ghiyasuddin Tughluq	1320 – 1324
Muhammad Tughluq	1324 – 1351
Firuz Shah Tughluq	1351 – 1388
Sayyid Dynasty	1414 to 1451
Khizr Khan	1414 – 1421
Lodi Dynasty	1451 to 1526
Bahlul Lodi	1451 – 1489

→ Finding out about the Delhi Sultans

Inscriptions, coins and architecture gives us a lot of information.
Tarikh (singular) / tawarikh (plural), were written in Persian, the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans.
Tawarikh were written by learned men: secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers who lived in Delhi and advised rulers on governance, stressing the significance of just rule based on gender and birthright distinctions.
Sultan Iltutmish’s daughter, Raziyya, became Sultan in 1236. But she was dethroned in 1240 as nobles were not satisfied to have a queen as a ruler.

→ From Garrison Town to Empire: The Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate

The control of the Delhi Sultans rarely went beyond heavily fortified towns occupied by garrisons in the early thirteenth century.
During the reigns of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq expansion occurred in the Delhi Sultanate.
Expansions occurred along the ‘internal frontier’ and ‘external frontier’ of the Sultanate.
The armies of the Delhi Sultanate had defeated rival armies and seized cities. The Sultanate collected taxes from the peasantry and dispensed justice in its kingdom.

→ A Closer Look: Administration and Consolidation under The Khaljis and Tughluqs

To administer the vast kingdom or Sultanate it required reliable administrators and govemers.
Iltutmish, favoured their special slaves purchased for military service, called bandagan in Persian. They were trained and Sultan could rely and trust upon them.
The Khaljis and Tughluqs continued to use bandagan and raised people of humble birth, who were often their clients, to high political positions in their kingdom.
In Persian tawarikh, the Delhi Sultans were criticised for appointing the “low and base- born” to high offices.
Military commanders were appointed as governors of territories of different sizes. These lands were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti by the Khalji and Tughluq monarchs.
There were three types of taxes
1. on cultivation called kharaj and amounting to about 50 percent of the peasant’s produce,
2. on cattle and
3. on houses under the reign of Alauddin Khalji.
Genghis Khan, a Mongol ruler increased its attacks on Delhi which forced Khaljis and Tughluqs to mobilise large standing army in Delhi.

→ The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

The Sayyid and Lodi dynasties ruled Delhi and Agra until 1526 after the Tughluqs. This period saw the emergence of groups like the Afghans and the Rajputs.
Many independent rulers flourished and became prosperous as well in Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malwa, Jaunpur and whole south India.
Sher Shah Suri established his own Suri Dynasty from 1540-1555. Sher Shah’s administration became a model which was followed by Akbar as well. He took some segment from Alauddin Khalji and made them more efficient and powerful.

JAC Class 7 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

August 30, 2024August 29, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture

→ Three types of economic activities are involved in transformation from a plant to a finished product. These are primary, secondary and tertiary activities.

Agriculture, fishing and gathering are examples of primary activities. It includes all those connected with extraction and production of natural resources.
Manufacturing of steel, baking of bread and weaving of cloth are examples of secondary activity. It is concerned with the processing of the primary resources.
Transport, trade, banking, insurance and advertising are examples of tertiary activities. These provide support to the primary and secondary sectors through services.
In the world, 50 per cent of persons are engaged in agricultural activity. Two-thirds of India’s population is still dependent on agriculture.
The land on which the crops are grown is known as arable land. Favourable topography of soil and climate are vital for agricultural activity.

→ Farm System:

The important inputs in agriculture or farming are seeds, fertilisers, machinery and labour.
Ploughing, sowing, irrigation, weeding and harvesting are other operations involved.
The outputs from the system include crops, wool, dairy and poultry products.

→ Types of Farming:
Farming is categorised into two main types. These are subsistence farming and commercial farming.

→ Subsistence Farming:

This type of farming is practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family.
Subsistence farming can be categorised as intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence farming.

→ Intensive Subsistence Farming:

In this type, the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labour.
Rice is the main crop. Other crops include wheat, maize, pulses and oilseeds.
It is prevalent in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions of south, southeast and east Asia.

→ Primitive Subsistence Farming:

It can be categorised in shifting cultivation and nomadic herding.
Shifting cultivation is also known as ‘slash and bum’ agriculture.
It is practised in the thickly forested areas of Amazon basin, tropical Africa, parts of south-east Asia and north-east India.
These are the areas of heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation.
Crops like maize, yam, potatoes and cassava are grown.
Once the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot.

→ Nomadic herding is the type of farming where herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and water, along defined routes. Due to climatic constraints and terrain, this type of movement arises.

Commonly reared animals are sheep, camel, yak and goats.
They provide milk, meat, wool, hides and other products to the herders and their families.
It is practised in the semi-arid and arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India, like Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.

→ Commercial Farming:

In this type of farming, crops are grown and animals are reared for sale in market.
Commercial farming is categorised in three types: commercial grain farming, mixed farming and plantation agriculture.

→ Commercial grain farming crops are grown for commercial purpose.

Commercially grown grains are wheat and maize.
Major areas are temperate grasslands of North America, Europe and Asia.

→ Mixed farming:

In this type of farming, the land is used for growing food and fodder crops and rearing livestock,
Major areas are in Europe, eastern USA, Argentina, south-east
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

→ Plantation agriculture:

In this type of farming, single crop of tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana or cotton are grown.
Large amount of labour and capital are required. Transport network is essential for such farming.
Majorly they are found in the tropical regions of the world. Some of the examples are rubber in Malaysia, coffee in Brazil, tea in India and Sri Lanka.

→ Major Crops:

Major food crops are wheat, rice, maize and millets. Jute and cotton are fibre crops. Important beverage crops are tea and coffee.
Crops are grown to meet the requirements of the growing population.

→ Rice:

It is the major food crop of the world.
It is the staple diet of the tropical and sub¬tropical regions.
China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka and Egypt are the major producers of rice.
It needs high temperature, high humidity and rainfall. It grows best in alluvial clayey soil.

→ Wheat:

It requires moderate temperature and rainfall during growing season and bright sunshine at the time of harvest.
USA, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Australia and India are the leading producers of wheat. In India it is grown in winter.

→ Millets:

Millets are also known as coarse grains. It includes jowar, bajra and ragi.
It can be grown on less fertile and sandy soils. It needs low rainfall and high to moderate temperature and adequate rainfall.
Leading producers are India, Nigeria, China and Niger.

→ Maize:

It requires moderate temperature, rainfall and lots of sunshine and fertile soil.
North America, Brazil, China, Russia, Canada, India, and Mexico are the producers of maize.

→ Cotton:

It requires high temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth.
It grows best on black and alluvial soils.
The leading producers of cotton are China, USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt.

→ Jute:

It is also known as the ‘Golden Fibre’.
It requires high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid climate and grows well on alluvial soil.
The leading producers of jute are India and Bangladesh.

→ Coffee:

It requires warm and wet climate and well drained loamy soil.
The leading producer is Brazil followed by Columbia and India.

→ Tea:

It requires cool climate and well-distributed high rainfall throughout the year for the growth of its tender leaves.
Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka produce the best quality tea in the world.

→ Agricultural Development:

It refers to efforts made to increase farm production in order to meet the growing demand of increasing population.
Another aspect of agricultural development is mechanisation of agriculture.
The major aim of agricultural development is to increase food security.
Developing countries which has large populations usually practice intensive agriculture.
Larger holdings are more suitable for commercial agriculture as in USA, Canada and Australia.

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes

JAC Class 8 Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Civilising the Native, Educating the Nation

August 30, 2024August 29, 2024 by Bhagya

JAC Board Class 8th Social Science Notes History Chapter 7 Civilising the Native, Educating the Nation

→ How the British saw Education The tradition of Orientalism

William Jones was appointment as a junior judge at the Supreme Court that the Company had set up in Calcutta. In addition to being an expert in law, Jones was a linguist.
He had studied Greek and Latin at Oxford, knew French and English and also had learnt Arabic and Persian.
He also learnt Sanskrit language.
Englishmen like Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed were also busy discovering the ancient Indian heritage and mastering Indian languages and translating Sanskrit and Persian works into English.
Together with them, Jones set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and started a journal called Asiatick Researches.
Jones and Colebrooke shared a deep respect for ancient cultures, both of India and the West.
They felt that indian civilisation 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.
This project which was done by Kones and Civilising the “Native”, Educating the Nation Colebrooke believed that would not only help the British leam from Indian culture but it would also help Indians rediscover their own heritage and understand the lost glories of their past.

→ In this process, the British would become the guardians of Indian culture as well as its masters.

British felt that institutions should be set up to encourage the study of ancient Indian texts and teach Sanskrit and Persian literature and poetry.
The officials also thought that Hindus and Muslims ought to be taught what they were already familiar with and what they valued and treasured, not subjects that were alien to them.
They believed in this way that they could win a place in the hearts of the “natives” and only then could the alien rulers expect to be respected by their subjects.
With this object in view a madrasa was set up in Calcutta in 1781 to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic law.
The Hindu College was established in Benaras in 1791 to encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts that would be useful for the administration of the country.
But many were very strong in their criticism of the Orientalists.

→ “Grave errors of the East”

From the early nineteenth century many British officials began to criticise the Orientalist vision of learning and said that knowledge of the East was full of errors and unscientific thought. Eastern literature was non-serious and light-hearted.
James Mill was one of those who attacked the Orientalists. He said that the British effort should not be to teach what the natives wanted or what they respected in order to please them and ‘win a place in their heart’.
By the 1830s, the attack on the Orientalists became sharper. One of the most outspoken and influential of such critics of the time was Thomas Babington Macaulay.
Macaulay said that who could deny ‘a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia’.
Macaulay emphasised on teaching of English could thus be a way of civilising people, changing their tastes, values and culture.
Following Macaulay’s minute, the English Education Act of 1835 was introduced.
The decision was to make English the medium of instruction for higher education and to stop the promotion of Oriental institutions such as the Calcutta Madrasa and Benaras Sanskrit College.

→ Education for commerce

In 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company in London sent an educational despatch to the Governor- General in India.
It was issued by Charles Wood who was the President of the Board of Control of the Company and it has come to be known as Wood’s Despatch.
One of the practical uses the Despatch pointed to was economic.
Introducing Indians to European ways of life would change their tastes and desires and create a demand for British goods.
Wood’s Despatch also argued that European learning would improve the moral character of Indians. It would make them truthful and honest and thus supply the Company with civil servants who could be trusted and depended upon.
Several measures were introduced by the British. One of them was education departments of the government were set up to extend control over all matters regarding education.
In 1857, while the sepoys rose in revolt in Meerut and Delhi, universities were being established in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.

→ What Happened to the Local Schools? The report of William Adam

In the 1830s, William Adam, a Scottish missionary had been asked by the Company to report on the progress of education in vernacular schools.
He found that there were over 1 lakh pathshalas in Bengal and Bihar.
These institutions were set up by wealthy people or the local community. At times they were started by a teacher {guru).
These were small institutions with no more than 20 students each.
There were no fixed fee, no printed books, no separate school building, no benches or chairs, no blackboards, no system of separate classes, no roll call registers, no annual examinations and no regular timetable.
In some places, classes were held under a banyan tree and in other places in the comer of a village shop or temple, or at the guru s home.
The rich had to pay more fees than the poor.
Teaching was oral and the guru decided what to teach in accordance with the needs of the students.
The guru interacted separately with groups of children with different levels of learning.
Adam also discovered that this flexible system was suited to local needs.

→ New routines, new rules

After 1854, the Company decided to improve the system of vernacular education. It felt that this could be done by introducing order within the system, imposing routines, establishing rules, ensuring regular inspections.
The Company appointed a number of government pandits. The task of the pandit was to visit the pathshalas and by to improve the standard of teaching.
Teaching was now to be based on textbooks and learning was to be tested through a system of annual examination.
Students were asked to pay a regular fee, attend regular classes, sit on fixed seats and obey the new rules of discipline.
Pathshalas which accepted the new rules were supported through government grants. Those who were unwilling to work within the new system received no government support.
The new rules and routines had another consequence on poor families. Inability to attend school came to be seen as indiscipline as evidence of the lack of desire to learn.

→ The Agenda for a National Education

From the early nineteenth century many thinkers from different parts of India began to talk of the need for a wider spread of education.
Impressed with the developments in Europe, some Indians felt that Western education would help modernise India.
However, there were other Indians who reacted against Western education.
Civilising the “Native”, Educating the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore were two such individuals.

→ “English education has enslaved us”

Mahatma Gandhi argued that colonial education created a sense of inferiority in the minds of Indians.
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 Indians were no longer willing to be enslaved.
Mahatma Gandhi strongly felt that Indian languages ought to be the medium of teaching.
Mahatma Gandhi said that western education focused on reading and writing rather than oral knowledge as it valued textbooks rather than lived experience and practical knowledge.
He argued that education ought to develop a person’s mind and soul.
People had to work with their hands, leam a craft and know how different things operated. This would develop their mind and their capacity to understand.

→ Tagore’s “abode of peace”

Rabindranath Tagore started the institution in 1901.
The experience of his school days in Calcutta shaped Tagore’s ideas of education.
According to Tagore, the existing schools killed the natural desire of the child to be creative, her sense of wonder.
He chose to set up his school 100 kilometres away from Calcutta, in a rural setting.
He saw it as an “abode of peace” (Santiniketan) where living in harmony with nature, children could cultivate their natural creativity.
Gandhiji was highly critical of Western civ-ilisation and its worship of machines and technology. But, Tagore wanted to com¬bine elements of modem Western civilisa¬tion with what he saw as the best within Indian tradition.
Tagore emphasised the need to teach sci¬ence and technology at Santiniketan along with art, music and dance.
Some thinkers wanted changes within the system set up by the British and felt that the system could be extended so as to include wider sections of people.
Others urged that alternative systems could be created so that people were educated into a culture that was truly national.