How were urban centres transformed during the eighteenth century?
(i)The disintegration of the mughal empire after the death of Aurangzab paved the way of emergence of paverful regional powers. The capital cities of these regional kingdom likes Lucknow, Poona, Nagpur and Barda now become important. Taking the advantage of this opportunity many nobles and officials created new urban settlements such as the qasbah and ganj.
(ii)The European companies too had set up their bases in different parts of India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For example the Portugues (in Panaji in 1570) and the British in Madras in 1639. With the expansion in commercial activity, towns began to emerge as trading centres.
(iii)From the mid-eighteenth century trading. Centres like Surat and Dhakha which had grown in the seventeenth century now began to decline as trade shifted to other places. When the British acquired Bengal and the east Indian’s Company’s trade hereafter expanded the colonial port cities likes Madras and Calcutta. These new part cities began to emerge as the new economic capitals.
(iv)In these newly developed cities many new buildings were built and new occupations developed. People flocked to these cities in large numbers. By the nineteenth century these newly developed cities become the biggest cities in India.
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?
What were the concerns that influenced town planning in the nineteenth century?
How did prominent Indian merchants establish themselves in the colonial city?
What historical forces shaped the vision of the Constitution?
What connection did some of the members of the Constituent Assembly make between the political situation of the time and the need for a strong Centre?
Why did the salt laws become an important issue of struggle?
Discuss the different arguments made in favour of protection of the oppressed groups.
Discuss the evidence that indicates planning and coordination on the part of the rebels.
To what extent were social relations transformed in the new cities?
Why did Mahatma Gandhi think Hindustani should be the national language?
In what way was the livelihood of the Paharias different from that of the Santhals?