Class 10 || History || Novels, Society and History || NCERT Solutions

 

Question 1 : Outline the changes in technology and society which led to an increase in readers of the novel in eighteenth-century Europe.

Answer: There were many innovations in the print technology which made it possible to print large number of copies. Literacy level increased in Europe during this period. People became more affluent and had more spare time. Effective marketing strategies also helped in increasing the sale of novels. Many authors could become free from the stranglehold of patrons and thus could experiment with literary styles. These factors led to an increase in readers of the novel in eighteenth century Europe.

Explain the following:

(a) Social changes in Britain which led to an increase in women readers

Answer: During the eighteenth century, the middle class became more prosperous. Women could get more spare time which they utilized to read and write novels.

(b) What actions of Robinson Crusoe make us see him as a typical colonizer?

Answer: Robinson Crusoe does treat coloured people as humans but as inferior creatures. He rescues them and then enslaves them. He does not ask the name of a slave but gives him a name Friday. These actions reveal that Robinson Crusoe was a typical colonizer.

(c) After 1740, the readership of novels began to include poorer people.

Answer: With the introduction of circulating libraries in 1740; people could get easier access to books.

(d) Novelists in colonial India wrote for a political cause.

Answer: Many novelists were not convinced with the way the colonial rulers portrayed the history and present of India. They wanted to create their own portrayal of India. Many novelists also wanted to establish the superiority of Indian literature and Indian public. These were the reasons that novelists in colonial India wrote for a political cause.

Write short notes on following:

(a) The Oriya novel

Answer: In 1877-78, Ramashankar Ray, a dramatist, began serialising the first Oriya novel, Saudamani. But he could not complete it. Within thirty years, however, Orissa produced a major novelist in Fakir Mohon Senapati (1843-1918). The title of his novel is Chaa Mana Atha Guntha (1902). This novel deals with possession of land. This novel deals with an age old problem of land grabbing in rural India.

(b) Jane Austen’s portrayal of women

Answer: Jane Austen wrote about the rural women of her time. In her novels, the rural women are always preoccupied with finding a suitable match for marriage; in the form of wealthy husbands.

(c) The picture of the new middle class which the novel Pariksha-Guru portrays.

Answer: In this novel, the new middle class was facing the conflict of adapting a modern lifestyle alongwith maintaining the traditional ethos. The characters in his novel are English educated but also masters in Sanskrit. They wear western outfits but keep long hairs. This novels highlights the pitfalls of blind aping of the western culture.

Answer the following questions:

Question 1 : Discuss some of the social changes in nineteenth-century Britain which Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens wrote about.

Answer: In the nineteenth century, Europe entered the industrial age. While industrialization created new opportunities of growth and development, it also created new problems for the workers and the city life. It was the ordinary worker, who always suffered in the mad race for profits. Many novelists created stories around the problems of ordinary people in the new cities. Charles Dickens and Emile Zola were the notable authors of this period.

Question 2 : Summaries the concern in both nineteenth-century Europe and India about women reading novels. What does this suggest about how women were viewed?

Answer: Women often had to live in the confines of homes. Novels provided them a window to the outer world. Because of novels they could indulge in the pleasure of reading in their privacy. However, women were not encouraged to read or write; especially in India. This shows the biased attitude about women.

Question 3 : In what ways was the novel in colonial India useful for both the colonizers as well as the nationalists?

Answer: For the colonizers, novels provided a good source of information about Indian culture and society. They could utilize that knowledge to have a better understanding about India. For the nationalists, many novels provided tools to spread the idea of nationalism. Many nationalist leaders themselves were highly motivated by some novels.

Question 4 : Describe how the issue of caste was included in novels in India. By referring to any two novels, discuss the ways in which they tried to make readers think about existing social issues.

Answer: Many authors began to write about the life of lower caste people. For example; Saraswativijayam is a novel about the conflict between Nambuthiri and Nayars. Nayars were the tenants of Nambuthiri in Kerala. This novel is about a Nayar girl who refuses a foolish but rich Namboothiri and instead marries an educated Nayar. They finally migrate to Madras and the husband clears the Civil services examination. This novel shows the importance of education in rising through the social ladder. Similarly, the Bengali novel Titash Ekti Nadir Naam deals with the life of Mallas; a fisher community.

Question 5: Describe the ways in which the novel in India attempted to create a sense of pan-Indian belonging.

Answer: People from all walks of life could read novels. This helped in creating a sense of collective identity on the basis of one’s language. Novels also helped people to understand about the culture of other parts of the country. These aspects helped in creating a sense of pan-Indian belonging.

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Class 10 || History || Print Culture and the Modern World || NCERT Solutions

Question 1 : Explain how print culture assisted the growth of nationalism in India.

Answer: Print culture helped in developing a culture of dialogue among people. Ideas of social reform could be spread in a better way. Gandhiji spread his ideas of swadeshi in powerful way through newspapers. Many vernacular newspapers came up in India. These helped in spreading the message of nationalism to majority of the Indian masses. Even in spite of repressive measures print culture was a revolution which could not be stopped.

Give reasons for the following:

Question 2 : Woodblock print only came to Europe after 1295.

Answer: Marco Polo returned to Italy from China in 1295 and brought with him the knowledge of woodblock printing.

Question 3 : Martin Luther was in favor of print and spoke out in praise of it.

Answer: Martin Luther’s criticism of Roman Catholic church reached a large section of masses because of print. Hence he was in favor of print and spoke out in praise of it.

Question 4 : The Roman Catholic Church began keeping an Index of Prohibited books from the mid-sixteenth century.

Answer: Because of print new interpretation of Bible reached to people and they started questioning the authority of church. Due to this the Roman Catholic Church began keeping and index of Prohibited books from the mid – sixteenth century.

Question 5 : Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Answer: The power of the printed word is most often seen in the way governments seek to regulate and suppress print. The colonial government kept continuous track of all books and newspapers published in India and passed numerous laws to control the press. Because of this Gandhi said the fight for Swaraj is a fight for liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and freedom of association.

Write short notes on following:

Question 6 : The Gutenberg Press

Answer: Gutenberg was the son of a merchant and grew up on a large agricultural estate. From his childhood he had seen wine and olive presses. Subsequently, he learnt the art of polishing stones, became a master goldsmith, and also acquired the expertise to create lead moulds used for making trinkets. Drawing on this knowledge, Gutenberg adapted existing technology to design his innovation. The olive press provided the model for the printing press, and moulds were used for casting the metal types for the letters of the alphabet. By 1448, Gutenberg perfected the system. The first book he printed was the Bible. About 180 copies were printed and it took three years to produce them. By the standards of the time this was fast production.

Question 7 : Erasmus’s idea of the printed book

Answer: Erasmus thought that books were not good for sanctity of scholastic knowledge. He was of the opinion that printed books would glut the market with contents which will do more harm than good to society. Because of this the value of good content would be lost in the din.

Question 8 : The Vernacular Press Act

Answer: In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, modelled on the Irish Press Laws. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. From now on the government kept regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces. When a report was judged as seditious, the newspaper was warned, and if the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized and the printing machinery confiscated.

What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to:

Question 9 : Women

Answer: Because of printing technique books became cheaper. Many hawkers started selling books from door to door. This created easy availability of books for majority of women. Apart from this many liberal males encouraged women from their families to read. Novels contained interesting descriptions of women’s lives. This created interest among women readers. Women, who were earlier cocooned inside their homes could now know about the outside world thanks to the print technology. This created a spurt of many women writers in India. It can be said that print culture not only created readers among women but also writers among them.

Question 10 : The poor

Answer: Very cheap small books were brought to markets in nineteenth-century Madras towns and sold at crossroads, allowing poor people traveling to markets to buy them. Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding the access to books.

From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination began to be written about in many printed tracts and essays. This helped in bringing these issues to the forefront of public consciousness.

Workers in factories were too overworked and lacked the education to write much about their experiences. But some workers took initiative to write stories about their conditions. These narratives contained issues related to class oppression. So worker’s problems also came to the fore.

Answer the following questions:

Question 11 : What did the spread of print culture in nineteenth century India mean to reformers?

Answer: From the early nineteenth century there were intense debates around religious issues. Different groups confronted the changes happening within colonial society in different ways, and offered a variety of new interpretations of the beliefs of different religions. Some criticised existing practices and campaigned for reform, while others countered the arguments of reformers. These debates were carried out in public and in print. Printed tracts and newspapers not only spread the new ideas, but they shaped the nature of the debate. A wider public could now participate in these public discussions and express their views. New ideas emerged through these clashes of opinions.

This was a time of intense controversies between social and religious reformers and the Hindu orthodoxy over matters like widow immolation, monotheism, Brahmanical priesthood and idolatry. In Bengal, as the debate developed, tracts and newspapers proliferated, circulating a variety of arguments. To reach a wider audience, the ideas were printed in the everyday, spoken language of ordinary people.

Question 12 : Why did some people in eighteenth century Europe think that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism?

Answer: Because of print books became affordable for masses. This helped in spreading revolutionary ideas to a vast section of society in a more efficient way. Many contemporary thinkers, like Martin Luther and Monochhio could fire people’s imagination because of help from print technology. Even for scientists it became easier to share knowledge and spread knowledge. So, people in eighteenth century Europe started thinking that print culture would bring enlightenment and end despotism.

Question 13 : Why did some people fear the effect of easily available printed books? Choose one example from Europe and one from India.

Answer: Not everyone welcomed the printed book, and those who did also had fears about it. Many were apprehensive of the effects that the easier access to the printed word and the wider circulation of books, could have on people’s minds. It was feared that if there was no control over what was printed and read then rebellious and irreligious thoughts might spread. If that happened the authority of ‘valuable’ literature would be destroyed. Expressed by religious authorities and monarchs, as well as many writers and artists, this anxiety was the basis of widespread criticism of the new printed literature that had began to circulate.

Example from Europe: Erasmus thought that books were not good for sanctity of scholastic knowledge. He was of the opinion that printed books would glut the market with contents which will do more harm than good to society. Because of this the value of good content would be lost in the din.

Example from India: Conservative Hindus believed that a literate girl would be widowed and Muslims feared that educated women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.

Question 14 : What were the effects of the spread of print culture for poor people in nineteenth century India?

Answer: Very cheap small books were brought to markets in nineteenth-century Madras towns and sold at crossroads, allowing poor people traveling to markets to buy them. Public libraries were set up from the early twentieth century, expanding the access to books.

From the late nineteenth century, issues of caste discrimination began to be written about in many printed tracts and essays. This helped in bringing these issues to the forefront of public consciousness.

Workers in factories were too overworked and lacked the education to write much about their experiences. But some workers took initiative to write stories about their conditions. These narratives contained issues related to class oppression. So worker’s problems also came to the fore.

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Class 10 || History || Work, Life and Leisure || NCERT Solutions

 

Question 1 : Explain what is meant by the Haussmanisation of Paris. To what extent would you support or oppose this form of development? Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper, to either support or oppose this, giving reasons for your view.

Answer: Baron Haussman was the town planner who tried to build a perfect city of Paris. In the process, a large number of people were displaced. Although it resulted in the development of a beautiful city, but it ended up alienating a lot of people in the process.

A city does not develop only because of its beautiful buildings and well planned transport network. The city also develops because of its people. A city is always a mosaic of varieties of people who contribute in their own way in developing the soul of the city. Rich and poor; everyone has his own role to play in development of a city. Haussmanisation may sound good in theory but has no place in practical life.

Answer the following questions:

Question 1 :  What were the changes in the kind of work available to women in London between the nineteenth and the twentieth century? Explain the factors which led to this change.

Answer During the War years, many women got employment in the factories because most of the men were busy at the battlefronts. Once the War was over, women gradually lost their jobs. Most of them were forced to household duties. Some women began to start tailoring, washing and matchbox making to earn some money.

Question 2 : How does the existence of a large urban population affect each of the following? Illustrate with historical examples.

(a) A private landlord

Answer A private landlord can increase his earnings by renting out tenements. This was the case during the later part of nineteenth century and early twentieth century in London. The situation was same in Bombay during the early twentieth century.

(b) A Police Superintendent in charge of law and order

Answer A large number of urban populations create many inequalities in the society. People who may not be able to find gainful employment may resort to petty crimes. Poor housing conditions also provide a ground for development of resentment among the people. The situation may lead to a spurt in crime. For Police Superintendent, the situation can be very challenging as he has to keep the crime under check.

(c) A leader of a political party

Answer For a leader of a political party, a large urban population presents both threat and opportunity. Keeping the largely disgruntled population under control can be a challenge. If a political party finds proper solution to the problem of people, then it can create a huge support base for itself.

Question 3 : Why well-off Londoners supported the need to build housing for the poor in the nineteenth century ?

Answer The poor sanitary conditions in one-room tenements posed a threat of epidemics. Moreover, such houses were also potential fire hazards. To keep the city safe from epidemics and fire, the well-off Londoners supported the need to build housing for the poor in the nineteenth century.

Question 4 : Why a number of Bombay films were about the lives of migrants ?

Answer Most of the workers in the film industry themselves were migrants from various parts of the country. They probably better understood the problems of migrants. This is the reason that a number of Bombay films were about the lives of migrants.

Question 5 : What led to the major expansion of Bombay’s population in the mid-nineteenth century? Write in brief.

Answer Following are some of the reasons for expansion of Bombay’s population in the mid-nineteenth century:

• Growth in trade of cotton and opium.
• Opening of many textile mills.
• Expansion of railways.

Question 6 : What forms of entertainment came up in nineteenth century England to provide leisure activities for the people.

Answer Libraries, art galleries and museums were established in the nineteenth century to provide people with a sense of history and pride in the British achievements.

Question 7 : Explain the social changes in London which led to the need for the Underground railway. Why was the development of the Underground criticised ?

Answer Initial public reaction towards the Underground was negative. Many people were critical of the way many houses were demolished to make way for construction of underground. Many people were not comfortable of the idea of travelling in smoke filled underground railway. But ultimately, the Underground proved to be a huge success. It enabled people to live far off from their workplace. People had no longer to live in overcrowded places which helped in improving the quality of life.

Question 8 : To what extent does government regulation and new laws solve problems of pollution? Discuss one example each of the success and failure of legislation to change the quality of

(a) Public Life

Answer Court’s order to use CNG in public transport in Delhi can be a good example. After the court made it mandatory to use CNG in public transport in Delhi, the air quality of Delhi had improved remarkably. It has definitely helped in improving the quality of life for the general public.

(b) Private Life

Answer For improving the private life, the government needs to implement a package of legislation as well as some empowerment tool for the citizens. All of us know that LPG is a cleaner kitchen fuel than coal, cowdung or firewood. Seamless availability of LPG across most of the urban India has helped in minimizing the use of conventional kitchen fuels. This has improved the quality of life of a housewife who earlier had to suffer the constant smoke from the chulha.

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Class 10 || History || The Age of Industrialization || NCERT Solutions

 

Question 1 : Write True or False against each statement:

1. At the end of the nineteenth century, 80 per cent of the total workforce in Europe was employed in the technologically advanced industrial sector.
   Answer: False
   
   
2. The international market for fine textiles was dominated by India till the eighteenth century.
   Answer: True
   
   
3. The American Civil War resulted in the reduction of cotton exports from India.
   Answer: False
   
   
4. The introduction of the fly shuttle enabled handloom workers to improve their productivity.
   Answer: True

Explain the following:

Question 1 : Women workers in Britain attacked the Spinning Jenny.

Answer: Women workers in Britain saw the Spinning Jenny as a threat for their livelihood. This was the reason, they began to attack the Spinning Jenny.

Question 2 : In the seventeenth century merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisans within the villages.

Answer: There were powerful trade and craft guilds in urban areas. These associations controlled competition and prices and prevented entry of a new player in the market. Because of them, it was difficult for new merchants to set business in towns. Hence, the merchants from towns in Europe began employing peasants and artisan within the villages; during seventeenth century.

Question 3 : The port of Surat declined by the end of the eighteenth century.

Answer: The East India Company had consolidated its business by the mid-eighteenth century. This led to decline of the earlier centres of trade; like Surat.

Question 4 : The East India Company appointed gomasthas to supervise weavers in India.

Answer: The Company tried to eliminate the existing traders and brokers who were connected with the cloth trade. It tried to establish a more direct control on the weavers. A paid servant; called gomastha was appointed to supervise weavers, collect supplies, and examine the quality of cloth.

Answer the following questions

Question 1 : Explain what is meant by proto-industrialization. Write in brief.

Answer: The period of industrialization before the first factories came up in Europe. This period was marked by merchants from towns getting products made in villages. The proto-industrial system was a network of commercial exchanges. It was controlled by merchants. Goods were produced by peasants who worked within their family farms and not in factories. The finished product passed through several stages and reached the markets of London. From London, the products were supplied to the international market.

Question 2 : Why did some industrialists in nineteenth-century Europe prefer hand labor over machines?

Answer: During this period, there was no shortage of human labour. Because of good supply of workers, there was no problem of labour shortage or high wages. As a result, the merchants and industrialists preferred to manage with human labour rather than investing in costly machines.

Question 3 : How did the East India Company procure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles from Indian weavers?

Answer: The Company prevented weavers from dealing with other buyers. This was done through the system of advances. Under this system, the weavers were given loans to purchase raw materials. Once a weaver took the advance, he could not sell his produce to any other trader.

Question 4 : Why did industrial production in India increase during the First World War?

Answer: The First World War changed the situation. The British mills became busy in meeting the needs of the army. This resulted in decline of imports to India. There was a vast home market to be catered by the Indian mills. The Indian mills were also asked to supply goods for the British army. This created a boom in industrial activities. All of this led to growth of industry in India during this period.

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Class 10 || History || The Making of Global World || NCERT Solutions

 

Question 1: Imagine that you are an indentured Indian laborer in the Caribbean. Drawing from the details in this chapter, write a letter to your family describing your life and feelings.

Answer:Some excerpts from the letter can be as follows:

• Life is very difficult and we have work for long hours. We are not allowed to go back from here. Smallest sign of rebellion is being dealt with lot of cruelty.
• We have learnt to cope with our life and are trying to find some happiness in this situation. We celebrate Muharram and Holi together.
• We also experiment cooking new dishes.
• Many of us have forgotten our dialects.

Question 2: Give two examples of different types of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth century, choosing one example from Asia and one from the Americas.

Answer: Two examples of global exchanges which took place before the seventeenth century are as follows:

1. Example from Asia: Noodles travelled from China to India, Italy and different parts of the world.
2. Example from Americas: Potatoes travelled from Americas to Ireland.

Question 3: Explain how the global transfer of disease in the pre-modern world helped in the colonization of the Americas.

Answer: By the mid-sixteenth century, the Portuguese and Spanish colonization of America began in a decisive way. But the conquest could not be facilitated because of arms and ammunition but because of a disease. Europeans had been exposed to small pox and hence they had developed immunity against this disease. But the Americans had been isolated from the world and they had no immunity against small pox. When the Europeans reached there, they carried the germs of small pox along with them. The disease wiped off the whole communities in certain parts of America. And thus, the Europeans could easily get control of the Americas.

Question 4: Give two examples from history to show the impact of technology on food availability.

Answer: Railways helped in transporting foodgrains from different countries to Europe. Large scale transportation made the food cheaper and improved availability. This ensured availability of quality food at affordable prices in Europe.

Steamship and refrigeration technology helped in transporting processed meat from America to Europe. The people of Britain could now afford meat which improved their diet.

Question 5: What is meant by the Bretton Woods Agreement?

Answer: United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference was held in July 1944 at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, USA. The Bretton Woods Conference established the International Monetary Fund. This organization was established to deal with external surpluses and deficits of its members. The agreement arrived at this conference is often referred to as the Bretton Woods Agreement.

Write a note to explain the effects of the following:

(a) The British government’s decision to abolish the Corn Laws.

Answer: Abolition of Corn Laws had following effects:

• Imported food became cheaper than locally grown food in Britain.
• Vast areas of land were left uncultivated and a large number of people became unemployed. People migrated to cities; in large numbers; in search of work. Many people also migrated overseas.
• Falling food prices resulted in increased demand for food in Britain. To fulfill the demand, large tracts of land were cleared in Eastern Europe, America, Russia and Australia.
• The foodgrains also needed to be supplied to the ports. For this, railway lines were to be laid so that the agricultural hubs could be connected to the ports. Moreover, new habitations also had to come up in agricultural hubs. For all these activities, capital flowed from financial centres; such as London; to these places.
• There was shortage of labour in Americas and Australia. The demand for workforce resulted in large scale migration of people to these places.

(b) The coming of rinderpest to Africa.

Answer: Rinderpest arrived in Africa in the late 1880s. It came with the horses which were imported from British Asia. Those horses came as reinforcements for Italian soldiers who were invading Eritrea in East Africa. Rinderpest spread in the African continent like the forest fire. It reached to western coast of Africa by 1892 and within five years after that, it reached to southernmost tip of the continent. Rinderpest wiped off 90% of the cattle population of Africa during this period.

Loss of cattle meant loss of livelihood for the Africans. They had no choice but to work as laborer's in plantations and mines. Thus, a cattle disease enabled the Europeans to colonise Africa.

(c) The death of men of working-age in Europe because of the World War.

Answer: The First World War wreaked large scale havoc around the world in many senses. About 9 million people died and 20 million people were injured in the wake of the war.

Most of the people who were killed or maimed were people from working age. This resulted in a significant reduction in the number of able-bodied workforce in Europe. Due to fewer earning members in the families, the household incomes drastically reduced in Europe.

(d) The Great Depression on the Indian economy.

Answer: The Depression affected the Indian economy as well. Between 1928 and 1934, the imports and exports of India became nearly half. During this period, the wheat prices in India fell by 50%.

In spite of falling prices of farm produce, the government continued to demand the same revenue from the farmers. Thus, farmers were the worst sufferers in this situation. Many farmers were forced to utilize their savings, sell their lands and jewelry. Thus, India became a net exporter of precious metal during this period.

The depression proved less grim for the urban dwellers in India. With falling prices, many urban landowners and salaried people found the life much easier. Under pressure from the nationalist leaders, the industrial protection grew which led to more investment in the industries.

(e) The decision of MNCs to relocate production to Asian countries.

Answer: In the last two decades, many MNCs have relocated production to Asian countries because of low wages in these countries. This new trend has increased employment opportunities in countries; like India, China, Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, etc.

This has also helped in increasing disposable income of people and in increasing demand. As a result, countries; like India, China and Japan have emerged as major economic forces in the world economy.

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