CBSE Class 8 Social Science Advanced How, When and Where MCQs Set 01

Answer: (c) A Scottish economist

Explanation:
1. James Mill was born in 1773 and wrote 'The History of British India'.
2. He was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist and philosopher.
3. So he was a Scottish economist.

Teacher's Note:
1. Mill was a Scot, not an Indian, which is why his book looks at India from a British point of view.
2. Remember his name together with the three periods he created: Hindu, Muslim and British.

Answer: (d) all of the above

Explanation:
1. History studies how things were in the past.
2. It also studies how things have changed and the changes that happen with time.
3. All three statements are correct, so the answer is all of the above.

Teacher's Note:
1. When every option is a true statement, 'all of the above' is the safe answer.
2. History is a story of change, not a list of dates.

Answer: (c) James Mill

Explanation:
1. The book 'The History of British India' was written by the Scottish historian James Mill.
2. Ripon, Lytton and Irwin were Viceroys of India, not authors of this book.
3. So the answer is James Mill.

Teacher's Note:
1. Link the book with its author and with his three-period division of Indian history.
2. Ripon, Lytton and Irwin are names of British Viceroys, useful for elimination.

Answer: (c) Rennell

Explanation:
1. The book's picture caption says that James Rennell was asked by Robert Clive to prepare maps of Hindustan.
2. Rennell supported British conquest and saw maps as necessary for control.
3. So the answer is Rennell.

Teacher's Note:
1. Maps were a tool of administration; the British wanted to know the land they ruled.
2. The name is spelt Rennell.

Answer: (c) other issues as compared to dates and periods

Explanation:
1. Earlier, history was mostly a list of dates, rulers and battles.
2. Today historians give more attention to other issues such as how people lived and how society and the economy changed.
3. So the answer is other issues as compared to dates and periods.

Teacher's Note:
1. Dates are still needed, but they are no longer the main point of history.
2. Think of history as a study of change in the lives of people.

Answer: (c) 10 years

Explanation:
1. Census operations began under the British from the end of the 19th century.
2. They were held once in every ten years.
3. So the answer is 10 years.

Teacher's Note:
1. Even today India holds its census every ten years.
2. The census records numbers of people, their castes, religions and occupations.

Answer: (a) 3rd June 1947

Explanation:
1. Lord Mountbatten announced the plan to partition the British Indian Empire on 3rd June 1947.
2. Pakistan became a separate nation on 14 August and India became independent at midnight on 15 August 1947.
3. So the answer is 3rd June 1947.

Teacher's Note:
1. Remember the sequence: 3 June (announcement), 14 August (Pakistan), 15 August (India).
2. Only one option carries the year 1947 together with the right date.

Answer: (c) The rule of each Governor-General

Explanation:
1. British historians wrote the history of India as the story of its British rulers.
2. Their books were arranged around each Governor-General and what he did.
3. So the answer is the rule of each Governor-General.

Teacher's Note:
1. Official histories followed the careers of officials, not the lives of ordinary people.
2. Compare this with the nationalist writers who looked for India's own past.

Answer: (a) 1931

Explanation:
1. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in March 1931.
2. 1905 was the partition of Bengal, 1877 was Queen Victoria becoming Empress of India and 1600 was the founding of the East India Company.
3. So the answer is 1931.

Teacher's Note:
1. Attach each date to one event and the options sort themselves out.
2. The pact was between Mahatma Gandhi and the Viceroy Lord Irwin.

Answer: (b) Lord Mountbatten

Explanation:
1. Lord Mountbatten was the last British Governor-General and announced the partition in June 1947.
2. Lord Curzon ordered the partition of Bengal in 1905, Lord Dalhousie served earlier in the 19th century, and Macaulay was not a Governor-General.
3. So the answer is Lord Mountbatten.

Teacher's Note:
1. 'Last' goes with 1947, the year of independence.
2. Macaulay is remembered for his minute on education, not as a Governor-General.

Answer: (d) a-v, b-iii, c-ii, d-iv, e-i

Explanation:
1. James Mill was born in 1773, so a matches (v).
2. The Bengal Gazette, India's first newspaper, appeared in 1780, so b matches (iii).
3. Lord Mountbatten announced the partition in 1947, so c matches (ii).
4. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in 1919, so d matches (iv). Lord Curzon ordered the partition of Bengal in 1905, so e matches (i).
5. The set a-v, b-iii, c-ii, d-iv, e-i is option (d).

Teacher's Note:
1. Match the sure ones first (1947, 1919, 1905, 1780) and the remaining pair falls into place.
2. Check each pair against its date before choosing the option.