Very Short, Short and Long Answers - History, Class 8 PDF Download

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE  QUESTIONS
 

Q.1. What is the literal meaning of sarvajanik?
Ans. The literal meaning of sarvajanik is ‘of or for all the people’. It is made  of two words − sarva = all + janik = of the people.
 

Q.2. Who was A.O. Hume? What role did he play in the history of India?
Ans. A.O. Hume was a retired British official. He played an important role in bringing Indians from the various regions together.
 

Q.3. Who was the Viceroy of India at the time of the partition of Bengal. [V. Imp.]
Ans. At that time Lord Curzon was the Viceroy of India.
 

Q.4. What was the Swadeshi Movement known as in deltaic Andhra?
Ans. In deltaic Andhra the Swadeshi Movement was known as the Vandemataram Movement.
 

Q.5. Name the three leading members of the Radical group. [V. Imp.]
Ans. Bepin Chandra Pal, Balgangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai.
 

Q.6. Why did Mahatma Gandhi alongwith other Indians establish the Natal Congress in South Africa?
Ans. He did so in order to fight against racial discrimination in South Africa.
 

Q.7. Name three places where Gandhiji started local movements.
Ans. Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad.
 

Q.8. Why did Rabindranath Tagore renounce his knighthood? [V. Imp.]
Ans. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood to express the pain and anger of the country following the Jallianwala Bagh atrocities.
 

Q.9. Who were the leaders of the Khilafat agitation?
Ans. The leaders of the Khilafat agitation were Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali.
 

Q.10.What does ‘Punjab wrongs’ refer to? [V. Imp.]
Ans. It refers to Jallianwalla Bagh massarcre that occurred on 13 April, 1919 in Amritsar on Baishakhi day.
 

Q.11.Who was Chitta Ranjan Das?
Ans. He was a lawyer from East Bengal and was active in the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Q.12.What does RSS stand for? [V. Imp.]
Ans. RSS stands for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
 

Q.13.Who was Bhagat Singh? What slogan did he raise? [V. Imp.]
Ans. Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary nationalist. His slogan was—Inquilab Zindabad.
 

Q.14.What does HSRA stand for?
Ans. HSRA stands for Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
 

Q.15.Why did Mahatma Gandhi decide to break the Salt Law? [V. Imp.]
Ans. Mahatma Gandhi decided to break the Salt Law because it established the monopoly of the state on the manufacture and sale of salt.
 

Q.16. On what condition were the Congress leaders ready to support the British war effort at the time of the Second World War? [V. Imp.]
Ans. The Congress leaders were ready to support the British war effort on condition that they would declare India’s independence after the war.
 

Q.17. Did the British accept their condition?
Ans. No, the British did not accept their condition.
 

Q.18. Who raised the slogan ‘do or die’? [V. Imp.]
Ans. Mahatma Gandhi raised this slogan.
 

Q.19.Why did the Muslim League announced 16 August 1946 as ‘Direct Action Day’? [V. Imp.]
Ans. It announced 16 August, 1946 as ‘Direct Action Day’ in support of its demand for Pakistan.
 

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
 

Q.1. What were the dem ands of the Congress in its early years? [V. Imp.]
Ans. In its early years the Congress was moderate in its objectives and methods. It made several demands; which are given below:
(a) The Congress demanded a greater voice for Indians in the government and in administration.
(b) It demanded that Indians be placed in high positions in the government. For this purpose it called for Civil Service examinations to be held in India as well, not just in London.
(c) The Congress demanded for the separation of the judiciary from the exceutive.
(d) The repeal of the Arms Act and the freedom of speech and expression was also a major demand of the Congress.
(e) It also demanded reduction of revenue, cut in military expenditure and more funds for irrigation.
 

Q.2. What caused the partition of Bengal in 1905?
Or Under what pretext, did the British divide Bengal? [V. Imp.]
Ans. At the time of partition Bengal was the biggest province of British India which comprised Bihar and parts of Orissa. The British argued for dividing Bengal for reasons of administrative convenience. But it was a totally false argument. In fact, the partition of Bengal was closely tied to the interests of British officials and businessmen. The British also wanted to curtail the influence of Bengali politicians and split the Bengali people. It was therefore, instead of removing the non-Bengali areas from the province, they separated East Bengal and merged it with Assam.
 

Q.3. What were the consequences of the partition of Bengal? [V. Imp.]
Ans.(a) The partition of Bengal enraged people all over the country. Both the Moderates and the Radicals in the Congress opposed this action of the British.
(b) Public meetings and demonstrations began to be organised. Novel methods of mass protest were also developed. They struggled against the partition of Bengal came to be known as Swadeshi Movement. In Bengal this movement was the strongest. In other regions such as in deltaic Andhra the movement was called the Vandemataram Movements.
 

Q.4. What was the Khilafat agitation?
Ans. In the year 1920 the British imposed a harsh treaty on the Turkish Sultan, known as Khalifa. It enraged people. Indian Muslims wanted that the Khalifa be allowed to retain control over Muslim sacred places in the erstwhile Ottoman empire. The leaders of the Khilafat agitation Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, now wished to start a full-fledged Non-Cooperation Movement. They got support from Mahatma Gandhi who urged the Congress to campaign against ‘Punjab wrongs’, the Khilafat wrong and demand swaraj.
 

Q.5. How did people participate in the Non-Cooperation Movement during 1921-22? [V. Imp.]
Ans.(a)During these years, thousands of students left government controlled schools and colleges. (b) Man y lawyers such as Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, C. Rajagopalachari and Asaf Ali gave up their practices. (c) British titles were surrendered and legislatures boycotted. (d) People lit public bonfires of foreign cloth.
 

Q.6. Why was the Simon Commission sent to India? Why did Indians boycott it? [V. Imp.]
Ans. The British government in England sent a Commission headed by Lord Simon in the year 1927 to decide India’s political future. As the Commission had no Indian representative, it was boycotted by all political groups. When the Commission arrived it met with demonstrations with banners saying ‘Simon Go Back’.
 

Q.7. What role did Ambabai play in the Indian freedom struggle?
Ans. Ambabai came from Karnataka. She had been married at age twelve and was widowed at sixteen. Afterwards she began participating in the Indian freedom struggle. She picketed foreign cloth and liquor shops in Udipi. She was arrested, served a sentence and was rearrested. Between prison terms she made powerful speeches, taught spinning and organised prabhat pheris.
 

Q.8. Write a brief paragraph on Maulana Azad.
Ans. Maulana Azad was a great leader of the Indian freedom struggle. He was born in Mecca to a Bengali Father and an Arab Mother. He was wellversed in several languages. He was a scholar of Islam and an exponent of the notion of wahadat-i-deen, the essential oneness of all religions. He was an active participant in the movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. He was a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. He never approved Jinnah’s two-nation theory. He wanted a country in which Hindus and Muslims lived in perfect harmony.
 

Q.9. Write a brief note on Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.
Ans. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the Pashtun leader from the North-West Frontier Province. He was popularly known as Badshah Khan. He founded the Khudai Khidmatgars, which was a powerful non-violent movement among the Pattans of his province. He was a staunch supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity and was strongly opposed to the partition of India. He criticised his Congress colleagues for agreeing to the division of India in 1947.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
 

Q.1. What was the Rowlatt Act? Give an account of the Rowlatt Satyagraha. [Imp.]
Ans. The British passed the Row latt Act in the year 1919. The Act curbed fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and strengthened police powers. The Act was very repressive and therefore it enraged Indians. Prominent leaders of the freedom struggles such as Mahatma Gandhi, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, etc. felt that the government had no right to restrict the basic freedoms of people. They viewed the Act as devilish and tyrannical.
Gandhiji decided to oppose this Act. He asked people of India to observe 6 April 1919 as a day of non-violent opposition to the Act, as a day of ‘humiliation and prayer’ and hartal. He organised Satyagraha Sabhas to launch the movement.
The Rowlatt Satyagraha spread far and wide. It became the first AllIndia struggle against the British government. In April 1919 several demonstrations and hartals took place in the country. But the government suppressed them taking brutal measures. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the climax of its brutality. This incident took place on 13 April in Amritsar on Baishakhi day. Thousands of people had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate the occasion. General Dyre opened fire on them all of a sudden.
Both Hindu and Muslim unitedly criticised the British action.
 

Q.2. Describe Gandhi’s march to Dandi. [V. Imp.]
Ans. Gandhi ji felt that Purna Swaraj would not come on its own. It had to be fought for. He was very much worried about government’s Salt Law. In 1930, he decided to break this law.

According to the law, the state had a monopoly on the manufacture and sale of salt. Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent leaders of the freedom struggle thought that it was sinful to tax salt because it is an essential item of our food. Both the rich and the poor needed it equally. Gandhiji felt that his Salt March would become popular and would represent the genral desire of freedom to a specific grievance shared by all.
On 6 April, 1930, Gandhiji alongwith his followers marched for over 240 miles from Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi. Here, they broke the government law by gathering natural salt found on the seashore, and boiling sea water to produce salt. A large number of people including women participated in this historic march. The government tried to crush the movement through brutal action against peaceful satyagrahis. Thousands were arrested and sent to jail. But the movement played a significant role in achieving freedom of India.
 

Q.3. Under what circumstances did Gandhiji initiate the Quit India Movement? [V. Imp.] 
Ans. In September 1939, the Second World War broke out. The British government in India needed help from the Indian leaders. The leaders were ready to support the British war effort. But in return they wanted that India be granted independence after the war. The British refused to accept the demand. This enraged the Congress ministries. They all resigned to show their protest.
Mahatma Gandhi was deeply perturbed. He now decided to initiate a new phase of movement against the British rule in the middle of the Second World War. This movement came to be known as the Quit India Movement. Gandhiji thought that the British must Quit India without further delay. He raised the slogan ‘do or die’ which spread among the common mass very soon. But at the same time he warned the people not to be violent in any condition.
The British took repressive measures. Gandhiji along with other leaders were sent to jail immediately. But this did not prevent the movement from spreading. It specially attracted peasants and the youth who gave up their studies to join the movement. Communications and symbols of state authority were attacked all over the country. In several areas people set up their own governments. The British tried to repress these developments severely. About 90,000 people were arrested and wound 1,000 killed in police firing. But the movement did not go in vain. It brought freedom very close.
 

SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS
 

1. Read the following extract (Source 2) and answer the questions that follow:
"In pursuit of gold"

This is what a Moderate leader, Dinshaw Wacha, wrote to Naoroji in 1887: Pherozeshah is nowadays too busy with his personal work … They are already rich enough … Mr. Telang too remains busy. I wonder how if all remain busy in the pursuit of gold can the progress of the country be advanced?
 

Questions: (i) Who was Dinshaw Wacha? (ii) Whom did he write to? (iii) What did he write in the letter?
Answers: (i) Dinshaw Wacha was a Moderate leader of the Congress.
(ii) He wrote to Naoroji.
(iii) He wrote in the letter that if people like Pherozeshah and Telang remained busy in making wealth, then how would the country achieve its independence?
 

PICTURE-BASED QUESTIONS

Observe the pictures and answer the questions that follow:

1.

Questions: (i) Who is he?  (ii) Which book did he write?(iii) What was the book about?
Answers: (i) He is Dadabhai Naoroji.
(ii) He wrote a book named Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.
(iii) The book offered a scathing criticism of the economic impact of British rule

2. 

Questions: (i) Identify the above personality.
(ii) Which state did he belong to?
(iii) Write two sentences about him.
Answers: (i) Lala Lajpat Rai.
(ii) He belonged to Punjab.
(iii) He was one of the leading members of the Radical group. He criticised the moderates for their politics of petitions:

3.

Questions: (i) Describe the image given above.
(ii) Who is holding the tricolour?
Answers: (i) In the above image Mahatma Gandhi has been shown as a divine being occupying a place within the pantheon of Indian gods. Here he is driving Krishna’s chariot, guiding other nationalist leaders in the battle against the British.
(ii) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is holding the tricolour.