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Class 8 History Chapter 6 Important Question Answers - Civilising the Native , Educating the Nation

Q1. Why did the British decide to educate the Indians? 
Ans: The British in India wanted not only territorial conquest and control over revenues. They also felt that they had a cultural mission: they had to “civilize the natives”, and change their customs and values. 

Q2. Who was William Jones? 
Ans:
  • In 1783, a person named William Jones arrived in Calcutta. He had an appointment as a junior judge at the Supreme Court that the company had set up. In addition to being an expert in law, Jones was a linguist. 
  • He had studied Greek and Latin at Oxford knew French and English, had picked up Arabic from a friend, and had also learnt Persian. 
  • At Calcutta, he began spending many hours a day with pandits who taught him the subtleties of Sanskrit language, grammar and poetry. 
  • Jones discovered the ancient Indian heritage, mastered and Persian works in English. He had set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal and started a journal called Asiatic Researchers. 
  • He shared a deep respect for ancient cultures, both of India and the West. 

Q3. Mention the name of the society set up by Jones. 
Ans: Jones set up the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and started a journal called Asiatic Researchers. 

Q4. Describe the attitude of Colebrook towards India. 
Ans: 
  • Colebrook came to represent a particular attitude forwards India. 
  • He had a deep respect for ancient cultures, both of India and the West Indian civilization. 
  • He felt, 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. 
  • Only those texts could reveal the real ideas and laws of the Hindus and Muslims, and only a new study of these texts could form the basis of future development in India. 
  • Colebrook went about discovering ancient texts, understanding their meaning translating them, and making their findings known to others. 
  • This project, he believed, would not 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. 

Q5. When was the English Education Act introduced and what were its features? 
Ans: The English Education Act was introduced in 1835. It was introduced by Macaulay features:- 
English was made the medium of instruction for higher education. English textbooks began to be produced for schools. And to stop the promotion of Oriental institutions like the Calcutta Madrasa and Banaras Sanskrit College. These institutions were seen as “temples of darkness that were falling 
of themselves into decay”. 

Q6. What was Gandhi’s view on British Education? 
Or 
Why did Mahatma Gandhi think that English education has enslaved Indians? 
Ans:
  • Mahatma Gandhi argued that colonial education created a sense of inferiority in the minds of Indians. It made them see Western civilization as superior and destroyed the pride they had in their own culture. 
  • There was poison in this education, said Mahatma Gandhi, it was sinful, it enslaved. Indians, it cast an evil spell on them. 
  • 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 the British that Indians were no longer willing to be enslaved. 
  • Education in English crippled Indians distanced them from their own social surroundings, and made them “strangers in their own lands”. Speaking a foreign tongue, and despising local culture, the English educated did not know how to relate to the masses. 
  • Western education, Mahatma Gandhi said, focused on reading and writing rather than oral knowledge; it valued textbooks rather than lived experience and practical knowledge. 
  • He argued that education ought to develop a person’s mind and soul.

Q7. Write a short note on Tagore’s “abode of peace”. 
Ans: Tagore wanted to set up a school where the child was happy, where she could be free and creative, and where she was able to explore her own thoughts and desires. Tagore felt that childhood ought to be a time of self–learning, outside the rigid and restricting discipline of the schooling system set up by the British. Teachers had to be imaginative, understand the child, and help the child develop her curiosity. According to Tagore, the existing schools killed the natural desire of the child to be creative, and her sense of wonder. 
Tagore was of the view that creative learning could be encouraged only within a natural environment. So he chose to set up his school 100 kilometres away from Calcutta, in a rural 

Q8. Why did William Jones feel the need to study Indian history, philosophy and law? 
Ans:
  • Jones shared a deep respect for ancient cultures, both of India and the West. Indian civilization, he felt, 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. 
  • Only those texts could reveal the real ideas and laws of the Hindus and Muslims and only a new study of these texts could form the basis of future development in India. 

Q9. Why did James Mill and Thomas Macaulay think that European education was essential in India? 
Ans:
  • James Mill thought that the British effort should be to teach what the natives wanted, or what they respected in order to please them and “win a peace in their heart”. 
    James Mill and Thomas Macaulay thought that European education would enable Indians to recognize the advantages that flow from the expansion of trade and commerce and make them see the importance of developing the resources of the country. 
  • Introducing European ways of life would change their tastes and desires and create a demand for British goods because Indians would begin to appreciate and buy things that were produced in Europe. 
  • It would also 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 demanded. It could also instil in people a sense of duty and commitment to work and develop the skills required for administration. 
  • Macaulay felt that knowledge of English would allow Indians to read some of the finest literature the world had produced. It would make them aware of the developments in Western Science and philosophy. The teaching of English could civilize peoplesetting. He saw it as an abode of peace (Santiniketan), where living in harmony with nature, children could cultivate their natural creativity. 

Q10. Why did Mahatma Gandhi want to teach children handicrafts? 
Ans. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to teach children handicrafts because that would develop their minds and their capacity to understand. This would also enable them to know how different things operated. This would help them to have lived experience and practical knowledge. 

Q11. What according to the British was their responsibility towards India? 
Ans. They 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. Only them, they believed, could the British hope to win a place in the hearts of the “native”, only them could the alien rubbers expect to be respected by their subjects. 

Q12. Mention the two schools of thought that wanted to introduce education in India. 
Ans. They 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. Only then, they believed could the British hope to win a place in the hearts of the “native”, only then could the alien rulers expect to be respected by their subjects. 

Q13. Describe the differences of opinion between the orientalists and the anglicists. 
Ans. 
ORIENTALISTS 
  • Orientalists thought to understand India it was necessary to discover the sacred and legal texts that were produced in the ancient period. 
  • They thought that Eastern education would help Indians rediscover their own heritage and understand the lost memories of their past as well as it would help the British become the guardians of Indian culture and masters. 
  • They also believed in the British, in order to win a place in the hearts of the “natives”. Indians ought to be taught what they were already familiar once and what they valued not subjects that were had to them.
ANGLICISTS 
  • Anglicists said that knowledge of the East was full of errors and unscientific thought, and Eastern literature was won –serious and light-hearted. 
  • Anglicists thought the aim of education ought to be to teach what was useful and practical. So Indians should be made familiar with the scientific and technical advances that they had made. 
  • They felt that knowledge of English would make the Indians aware of the developments in Western science and philosophy. Teaching English could be a way of civilizing people, and changing their castes, values and cultures. 

Q14. What steps did the East India Company take to improve the system of vernacular education? 
Ans:
  • East India Company appointed a number of government pundits, each in charge of looking after four to five schools 
  • The task of the pundit was to visit the path shapes and try and improve the standard of teaching. Each guru was asked to submit periodic reports and take classes according to a regular timetable. 
  • Teaching was now based on textbooks and learning was tested through annual examinations. 
  • Students were asked to pay regular fees, 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 document Class 8 History Chapter 6 Important Question Answers - Civilising the Native , Educating the Nation is a part of the Class 8 Course Social Studies (SST) Class 8.
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FAQs on Class 8 History Chapter 6 Important Question Answers - Civilising the Native , Educating the Nation

1. What is the meaning of "civilising the native" in the context of the article?
Ans. "Civilising the native" refers to the colonial practice of imposing European culture, values, and education on indigenous populations in order to assimilate them into the colonizers' way of life.
2. How did the process of "civilising the native" affect the indigenous people?
Ans. The process of "civilising the native" often led to the loss of indigenous cultures, languages, and traditions. Indigenous people were forced to abandon their own ways of life and adopt European customs, which resulted in cultural assimilation and marginalization.
3. What was the aim of educating the nation during colonial times?
Ans. The aim of educating the nation during colonial times was to create a class of educated individuals who could serve as intermediaries between the colonial administration and the local population. Education was seen as a means of producing a loyal and obedient workforce to support the colonial agenda.
4. How did education serve the colonial administration's interests?
Ans. Education served the colonial administration's interests by promoting colonial ideologies and values, reinforcing the power dynamics between the colonizers and the indigenous population, and ensuring the continuation of colonial rule by shaping the minds of the educated elite to support the colonial agenda.
5. What were the consequences of the "civilising the native" and education policies on the indigenous communities?
Ans. The consequences of "civilising the native" and education policies on indigenous communities included the erosion of cultural identity, loss of traditional knowledge and practices, social and economic inequalities, and the perpetuation of colonial power structures. These policies had long-lasting impacts on indigenous communities, often leading to marginalization and discrimination.
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