To what extent are census data useful in reconstructing patterns of urbanisation in the colonial context?
A careful study of the data collected through the census provides us a lot of information in understanding the trend of urbanisation. It can be examined as under:
(a) The process of urbanisation was sluggish in India after 1800.
(b) In the nineteenth century and in first two decades of the twentieth century the proportion of the urban population was very low and stagnant.
(c) Which recorded between 1900 and 1940, A 13% increase in the urban population which recorded between whereas during the same period, these was a overall 10% increase in the population of the whole country.
(d) The data, thus, collected helps us in the enumeration of people according to their age, sex, caste, religion, occupation, etc.
What are the problems of using official sources in writing about the history of peasants?
How did the Paharias respond to the coming of outsiders?
Why was the jotedar a powerful figure in many areas of rural Bengal?
What were the concerns that influenced town planning in the nineteenth century?
Why was the charkha chosen as a symbol of nationalism?
What do visual representations tell us about the revolt of 1857? How do historians analyse these representations?
How did the American Civil War affect the lives of ryots in India?
How did women experience Partition?
In what way was the livelihood of the Paharias different from that of the Santhals?
Why was the revolt particularly widespread in Awadh? What prompted the peasants, taluqdars and zamindars to join the revolt?
On an outline map of India, trace the major rivers and hill ranges. Plot ten cities mentionedin the chapter, including Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, and prepare a brief note on why the importance of any two cities that you have marked (one colonial and one pre-colonial) changed in the nineteenth century.
What do the terms “White” and “Black” Town signify?
How did the Constituent Assembly seek to resolve the language controversy?
Examine the strengths and limitations of oral history. How have oral-history techniques furthered our understanding of Partition?
What did the rebels want? To what extent did the vision of different social groups differ?
On an outline map of the subcontinent, mark out the areas described in this chapter. Find out whether there were other areas where the Permanent Settlement and the ryotwari system were prevalent and plot these on the map as well.
Why is Partition viewed as an extremely significant marker in South Asian history?
Why were many zamindaris auctioned after the Permanent Settlement?
What are the different colonial architectural styles which can be seen in Bombay city?
What historical forces shaped the vision of the Constitution?