Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 3 Question Answers - Glimpses of the Past

I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. What helped the East India Company to overpower Indian princes?
 Ans. Indian princes were always engaged in fighting with one another. The rivalries paved the way for the East India Company to overpower Indian princes.

Q2. Who was Tipu Sultan? What happened to him?
 Ans. Tipu Sultan was a far-sighted ruler of Mysore. He was dead against the British and their policies. He fought them till he died fighting.

Q3. Why did Ram Mohan Roy go to England? What did he tell the British there?
 Ans. Ram Mohan Roy went to England to see what made the British so powerful. There he told them that they (Indians) accepted them as rulers and they must accept them (Indians) as subjects. He also reminded them of the responsibility a ruler owed to  his subjects.

Q4. What was Regulation III?
 Ans. In 1818, the British had passed Regulation III. Under this Regulation, an Indian could be jailed without trial in a court.

Q5. What did Macaulay suggest in 1835?
 Ans. An Englishman Macaulay suggested that Indians should be taught through the English language.

II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q1. How did the British East India Company eventually become the ruler of India? What tactics did they adopt to expand their empire?
 Ans. The British came to India as traders. Their chief motive was to make a fortune. But they needed political power to carry on their trade. They imposed heavy taxes on the peasants. The Indian goods lost their demand because the market was flooded with imported English goods. These goods didn’t have to pay import duty. The British, in this way, ruined the skilled Indians. They dethroned the Indian rulers and took advantage of their rivalries. Slowly and steadily they spread their empire all over India.

Q2. How did the white rulers cripple Indian industries?
 Ans. The white rulers were chiefly traders. Their chief aim was to make profits at all cost. Hence, they began to ruin Indian industries. They imposed heavy taxes on farmers. They destroyed Indian cottage industries in order to sell goods manufactured in England. They exempted all goods imported from England from duties. In this way, their business flourished while the Indian industries died. The British made the Indians weak as well as poor.

Q3. How did the resentment against the white man grow leading to armed revolt?
 Ans. The white rulers adopted all the mean and foul tactics to take over the princely states. By 1856, they had conquered the whole of India. The Indian princes became their puppets. The British forced Indians to adopt Christian religion. They paid low wages to Indian soldiers. This created resentment among all sections of society, and the army as well. The so-called 1857 mutiny was, in fact, India’s first War of Independence.

Q4. Give a brief account of the role of Rammohan Roy in spreading awareness in the Indian society.
 Ans. Ram Mohan Roy w as a l earned man, a social reformer and a true nationalist. He was from Bengal. He understood well what was wrong with the Indian society. He called upon the people to fight against social evils of untouchability and child marriage. He also asked the people to throw out superstitions. He asked them to feel proud of their culture and learn English. Then alone they would be able to write to the British Parliament for a fair deal.