Chapter 1: How, When & Where - Summary, Class VIII (History) - Class 8 PDF Download

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CLASS – VIII (HISTORY)     
 
 
Chapter-1: How, When and Where 
 
SUMMARY 
 
Importance of Dates 
Certain historical events need to be seen in the context of dates. A major part of history is about kings 
and rulers. Ascension of a ruler to the throne, important battles fought by him and succession of 
power are some of the events which can be expressed with reference to time. Dates are important for 
correlating such events.  
Some events do not happen on a particular date but take a very long period to materialize. For 
example; the freedom of India took many years of mass struggle to turn into a reality. Such events are 
studied in the context of various other events.  
James Mill: James Mill was a Scottish economist and political philosopher. In 1817, he wrote A 
History of British India. Mills divided the Indian history into three periods and called them Hindu, 
Muslim and British periods.  
 
Criticism of Mill’s Periodisation:  
Although Hinduism is the religion of most of the Indians; the Muslim period did not begin one fine 
day. Muslims had been living in India from much earlier than beginning of the Islamic rule in India. 
Even during the peak of the Mughal Empire, there were many territories which were ruled by Hindu 
kings. Moreover, the British projected the so called Hindu and Muslim periods as the dark ages. They 
thought that the British rule would take India towards enlightenment. This was also a wrong notion.  
 
Periodisation by Other Historians: 
 Some other historians divided the Indian history into three periods, viz. ancient, medieval and 
modern. This periodisation too had its shortcomings. Compared to the modern period, the medieval 
and ancient periods were projected as the dark ages which were devoid of scientific knowledge. On 
the contrary, there had been various scientific advancements during the ancient and medieval periods.  
 
Administrative Records  
Official records of the British administration serve as important source of history of this period. The 
British rulers believed that every instruction, plan, policy, decision, agreement, investigation should 
be clearly written up. This was necessary for proper study and debate about an issue. They carefully 
preserved all official records and created several archives for the purpose.  
While these records provide valuable information, we need to be careful while interpreting them. We 
should keep in mind that those records were written from the perspective of the British officials. They 
may have overlooked certain issues or may have modified certain aspects to suit their needs.  
 
Surveys  
The British believed that a country should be known in a better way to rule it in a better way. Detailed 
surveys were conducted in the 19th century to map the country. Revenue surveys were conducted in 
villages. Surveys were also conducted about flora and fauna. Census was conducted to collect data 
about caste and religious composition of the Indian population.