PART 3 CH12 Colonial Cities (Important Question Answer)

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III

CH12 COLONIAL CITIES 

(URBANISATION, PLANING AND ARCHITECTURE)

IMPORTANT QUESTION ANSWER

2 Marks

Q1. To what extent are census data useful in reconstruction patterns of urbanization in the colonial context? 

Ans. Census data are very useful in reconstructing pattern of urbanization in the colonial context. 

(i) These data are useful of know exact number of population as well as the total population of white and blacks. 

(ii) These data also tell us upto what extent total number of people or total population had been affected adversely by the fearful or deadly diseases. 

(iii) Census data provide us complete information about total number of different communities, their language, their works and means of livelihood as well as about their caste and religion also. 

Q2. What were Civil Lines during the colonial rule? 

Ans. After the Revolt of 1857 British attitudes in India were shaped by a constant fear of rebellion. They felt that towns needed to be better defended, and white people had to live in more secure and segregated enclaves, away from the threat of the “natives”. Pasturelands and agricultural fields around the older towns were cleared, and new urban spaces called “Civil Lines” were set up. White people began to live in the Civil Lines.

Q3. Why did the records of the colonial cities were preserved? 

Ans. (i) To know the change of population. 

(ii) For reconstructing the history of growth of the colonial cities

Q4. Write a common characteristics of the three colonial cities Bombay, Calcutta and Madras? 

Ans. The English East India Company established their administrative and trade centers in these cities. Ports developed near these cities. 

Q5. Write the names of any three hill stations established by the British in India? 

Ans. Shimla, Mount Abu and Darjeeling. 

Q6. Why were the hill stations developed in India by Britishers? 

Ans. (i). Need of British army. 

(ii). Strategic places of Army. 

(iii). Cool climate temptation for Britisher. 

(iv). Free from epidemics. 

(v). Healthy climate 

(vi). Home away home for Britishers.

4 MARKS

Q7. Assess the impact of health and defence needs on town planning in Colonial Calcutta. 

Ans. In 1756, Sirajudula the Nawab of Bengal sacked the small fort which the British traders had built to house their goods. Consequently, when Sirajudaula was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, the British built a new fort. Fort William could not be easily attacked. Around Fort William, a vast open space was left which came to be known as the Maidan or garer-math. This was done so there would be no obstructions to a straight time of fire from the Fort against an advancing enemy army. Soon the British began to move out of the Fort and build residences along the periphery of the Maidan. This was how the English Settlement in Calcutta started taking shape. The vast open space around the Fort became Calcutta’s first significant town planning measure. Lord Wellesley was concerned about the conditions that existed in the Indian part of the city the fith, overcrowding and the poor drainage. He wrote a minute (an administrative order) in 1803 on the need for town planning and set up various committees for this purpose. It was believed that creating open places in the city would make the city healthier. Consequently, many bazaars, ghats, burial ground and tanneries were cleared or removed. After Wellesley’s departure, the Lottery Committee carried on with the work of Town Planning. In its drive to make the Indian areas cleaner, the committee cleared the river bank of encroachment and pushed the poor to the outskirts of Calcutta. The outbreak of cholera and plague epidemics in the 19th century gave a further impetus to town planning. The government believed that there was a direct link between living conditions and the spread of disease. Densely built up areas were regarded as insanitary as it obstructed sunlight and circulation of air.

Q8. What was the condition of the cities during the colonial rule in India? 

Ans. (a). New class of laborious poor and workers were emerging. Rural labourers were migrating to the cities for employment. Many were migrating due to the attractive city life. 

(b). Colonial rulers conducted surveys. They collected the statistical datas and published the governmental reports time to time. 

(c). Maps of Madras, Bombay and Culcutta were quite different from the old ons. Architecture of the buildings were changed. 

(d). A large number of labours were coming to the hill stations where plantation of tea and coffee were done. 

(e). There were a number of opportunities for women in the cities. Some social reformers supported women educations which was opposed by the orthodox opposed it. Gradually the participation of women in public places increased. They entered into the new occupations of the cities as maid, factory labourers, teachers, actress etc.

7 MARKS

Q9. Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: 

“Escaping to the Countryside” 

This is how the famous poet Mirza Ghalib described what the people of Delhi did when the British forces occupied the city in 1857: Smiting the enemy and driving him before them, the victors (i.e., the British) overran the city in all directions. All whom they found in the street they cut down … For two to three days every road in the city, from the Kashmiri Gate to Chandni Chowk, was a battlefield. Three gates - the Ajmeri, the Turcoman and the Delhi - were still held by the rebels … At the naked spectacle of this vengeful wrath and malevolent hatred the colour fled from men’s faces, and a vast concourse of men and women … took to precipitate flight through these three gates. Seeking the little villages and shrines outside the city, they drew breath to wait until such time as might favour their return.

(i) Who was Mirza Ghalib? 

Ans. Mirza Ghalib was a famous poet. 

(ii) What was happening in Delhi in 1857 and why? 

Ans. After the revolt of 1857, Delhi was beseized by the rebels. But soon it was recovered by the British army. 

(iii) Which three gates were under the rebels, while British army was in Delhi? 

Ans. The three gates were - the Ajmeri, the Turcoman and the Delhi. 

(iv) What was the condition of the people of Delhi? 

Ans. The colour fled frommen’s faces, and a vast concourse of men and women … took to precipitate flight through these three gates. Seeking the little villages and shrines outside the city, they drew breath to wait until such time as might favour their return.