Get here the summary, questions, answers, textbook solutions, extras, and pdf of Chapter 1 “Ideas of History” of the West Bengal Board (WBBSE) Class 10 (Madhyamik) History (Social Science) textbook. However, the given notes/solutions should only be used for references and should be modified/changed according to needs.
In history, we examine how things have evolved over time. From prehistoric times to the present, it chronicles humanity’s long and winding journey. The study of history is a great way to gain insight into past events. As a result, the events of the past become more understandable. How things have changed since then is something we are well aware of. Learning about past cultures and lifestyles is one of the benefits of historical research. Modern cultures have their foundations in the cultures of the past.
The field of study known as “historiography” examines the methods used by historians to piece together historical events. The historiography of a topic is a catalogue of the various means, resources, and approaches used by historians to investigate it. Understanding how people’s personalities and cultures have changed over time through the lens of sports history is possible thanks to historical research. The modern forms of many of today’s most popular sports can be traced back to simpler games and pastimes of the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a long history linking sports to national pride and identity, as is the case with many other forms of recreation.
Food is defined as anything eaten for the purpose of maintaining life. People’s dietary habits change as they move up or down the socioeconomic ladder. Food preparation and eating rules can be very different from one culture to the next. Each culture has its own way of life, and this includes the foods that people like to eat. The influence of religious norms on people’s preferences regarding what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and what does not. A person’s spiritual beliefs can affect their eating habits just as much as anything else in their lives.
Historians call the study of the intricate and varied history of clothing “historiography.” We shouldn’t forget that the clothes we wear also have a history to share. While dress codes exist in every culture, some are more strict than others. Because of their significance to the group’s identity, these practises eventually became widely accepted. As culture evolves and people’s perspectives change, so do these concepts. The fashion people wore also changed accordingly. Changes in how people dress have been one of the clearest signs that the modern world has come to a culture.
The development of civilization was aided by the network of roads and telephones. Since India is a river country, numerous ancient Indian civilizations emerged along its waterways. Boats were the obvious mode of transportation due to their proximity to the shore. On land, bullock carts were the most efficient mode of transportation. Bullock carts are still in use today, especially in more rural areas, for the transportation of goods. Transport was also provided by elephants and horses. Around the middle of the 20th century, there was a big change in how transportation systems worked. Earlier, people relied on slower modes of transportation, but now we have trains, buses, planes, and metro rails. The Dak Chowki was the primary mode of communication before the development of railroads and the telegraph. Thanks to tools like the internet, science has gotten to the point where you can learn about the whole world in just a few minutes.
The visual arts enrich our understanding of the past. As a result, it helps bring attention to cultural history and encourages the recording of oral histories. There is no better way to get a complete picture of past events, situations, and people than through paintings and photographs.
Military history is the study of wars and how they have changed politics, culture, and the economy over the course of human history. War’s origins, opposing ideologies’ military tenets, governmental support for armed conflict, the technological, strategic, leadership, and tactical frameworks employed, and their evolution over time, are all central themes in the study of military history. In military history, everything about war is written down, from the beginning to the end.
One of the most pressing issues in academia today is studying women’s history. Women have always been pivotal figures in our culture and our history. The study of women of historical significance, both as individuals and as parts of larger groups, as well as the impact of historical events on these women, are all central to the field of women’s history.
Information about India’s past is primarily gleaned from official government documents. Records kept by British officials, police and intelligence reports, letters and correspondence from government officials, and the accounts of English officers, written in the context of their own experiences, all constitute official government documents.
In an autobiography, the author writes about his or her own life from his or her own unique point of view. A public figure’s memoir is an autobiographical account of that person’s life and times. Bipin Chandra Pal’s autobiography, Sattar Batsar, is a one-of-a-kind work that sheds light on many vague events that took place in his native India. Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, women’s rights activist and feminist educator. Her autobiography, “Jibaner Jharapata,” tells us a lot about her and the world right now. Rabindranath’s upbringing is reflected in his autobiography, “Jiban Smriti.” It has done a good job of depicting life in the 1860s and 1870s.
Reconstructing modern Indian history relies heavily on articles published in periodicals and newspapers. The newspapers “Bangadarshan” and “Somprakash,” for example, made the Indian people more aware of politics by pointing out the wrongdoings of the British government.
Very short questions and answers
1. Who is referred to as the “Father of History”?
Answer: Herodotus is regarded as the “Father of History.”
2. When was the “British Society of Sports History” founded?
Answer: The “British Society of Sports History” was founded in 1982.
3. When was the Dramatic Performance Act passed?
Answer: The Dramatic Performance Act was passed in 1876.
4. Give the names of two Buddhist manuscripts.
Answer: “Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita” and “Dharani” are two Buddhist manuscripts.
5. What year was the Indian Academy of Fine Arts founded?
Answer: The Indian Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1919.
6. When was the Hindu College established?
Answer: The Hindu College was established in 1817.
7. Explain Panchali Gan.
Answer: During the nineteenth century, Bengali ballad songs were referred to as Panchali Gan.
8. When did Mohan Bagan Athletic Club win the IFA shield?
Answer: In 1911, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club defeated East Yorkshire Regiment to become the first Indian team to win the IFA shield.
9. Who wrote the book ‘India: Food & Cooking: The Ultimate Book on Indian Cuisine’?
Answer: Pat Chapman is the author of ‘India: Food & Cooking: The Ultimate Book on Indian Cuisine.’
10. Who invented the famous Bengali sweetmeat ‘Rosogolla’?
Answer: The iconic Bengali sweetmeat, “Rosogolla,” was invented by Nobin Chandra Das of Baghbazar, Kolkata.
11. What was the first Bengali sound film?
Answer: ‘Dena Paona’ was the first Bengali sound film.
12. When was the Calcutta National Theatre founded?
Answer: Calcutta National Theatre was founded in 1872.
13. When and where was India’s first railway built?
Answer: In 1853, the first Indian railway was built between Bombay and Thane.
14. Who is Medha Patkar?
Answer: Medha Patkar is an Indian social activist and the leader of the “Narmada Bachao Andolan” people’s movement.
15. How were the Indian forests divided under the Indian Forest Act of 1878?
Answer: The Indian Forest Act of 1878 classified Indian forests as reserved forests (under government control), protected forests (under government control in part), and village forests (controlled by villages).
16. Who is referred to as the “Father of Revolutionary Thoughts”?
Answer: Bipin Chandra Pal is widely regarded as the “Father of Revolutionary Thoughts.”
17. Who is referred to as ‘Punjab Kesari’?
Answer: Lala Lajpat Rai is known as ‘Punjab Kesari.’
Short questions and answers
1. What exactly do you mean by “social history”?
Answer: Social history refers to research into the cultural norms and practises of a society, as well as its economic and social interactions. The arts, including literature, academia, music, and the like, also fall under this umbrella.
2. What is local history?
Answer: Researching one’s own community’s past can shed light on crucial moments in the larger historical narrative. Local history focuses on a specific area and incorporates the cultural, social, and economic history of that area.
3. Why is it important to study local history?
Answer: What we call “local history” is really just the study of history as it pertains to a specific region. It’s a great tool for learning about a place’s history, people, and economy. Knowledge of the area’s history, culture, ethnography, geography, national history, etc., is invaluable. National histories can be pieced back together through the study of local histories.
4. Define historiography?
Answer: For historians, the past is a study of change over time. Historiography is the study of how historians construct their narratives. A topic’s historiography is a list of the different sources, methods, and techniques that historians have used to study it.
5. What is Subaltern Studies?
Answer: South Asian academics have developed a field known as “Subaltern Study,” which focuses on the masses rather than the ruling classes. Traditional methods of writing history have ignored the aspirations and frustrations of the lower class of Indians, but the Subaltern historiography rectifies this.
6. Who directed and produced the first Indian silent film, and when was it made?
Answer: Raja Harishchandra was India’s first silent film. The film was directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke.
7. For what reason did the British ban the Bengali weekly “Somprakash”?
Answer: ‘Somprakash’ published numerous articles both supporting widow remarriage and the spread of women’s education as well as many articles criticising the Indigo planters. Its editor, Dwarkanath Bidyabhushan, was forced to sign a bond and pay a fine under the Vernacular Press Act for writing articles criticising British policy in Kabul. Due to the editor’s refusal to pay this fee, publication of the paper was terminated.
8. Why do you think newspapers are so crucial to understanding the past?
Answer: We rely on newspapers as our “ears” and “eyes” on the world. When attempting to document modern events, newspapers are among the most reliable sources available. It is important for historians to know about a country’s economy, sports, games, entertainment, trade, and commerce, among other things.
9. What is “new social history”?
Answer: Discussions of the past often include discussions of society. Prior to the 20th century, the discussions of social history largely focused on royalty, aristocracy, and the elite, but in recent years, historians have shifted their attention to the middle class, working class, and poor. As a result, the term “new social history” has come to be used to describe the study of society.
Long questions and answers
1. What do you mean when you say “history,” and what did people talk about in the last century when they discussed the past?
Answer: Stories from the past are what we mean when we say “history.” So, the study of history includes not just the historical times, but also the prehistoric, historical, and modern times as well.
In the past, only the elite and the most pivotal moments in social, political, and religious history were given serious attention in the field of history. These included tales of kings and princes, which were popular in the past because of the widespread interest in the rise and fall of dynasties, battles, conquests, the triumphs and tribulations of valiant generals and heroes, and so on. For the better part of the previous century, people were primarily interested in the customs and habits of the nobility, aristocracy, local lords, landlords, and other elite social groups. One of the most talked-about topics in the past century was religion. Earlier, people talked about all the major political events that had happened. It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to imperialism, colonialism, and the spread of western ideas. Discussions of the past often turned to disasters, such as floods, droughts, earthquakes, epidemics, and massive loss of life.
2. Discuss the history visual arts.
Answer:Photographs and paintings are the most common forms of visual art. We can learn more about past events with the help of photographs. To put it simply, it is evidence of things that have already happened. Photographs from the past have many uses, such as being a window into the past, a way to keep oral histories alive, and a way to make people more aware of history. A photograph can help convey the true nature of a given scene. Historic paintings can tell us a lot about how people lived centuries ago. Colour and texture in a painting can tell us a lot about the culture that made it. Paintings provide a multifaceted look at a topic or subject. Examining the finer points of historical paintings allows us to learn how much they differed from modern art.
3. Write a short note on Bipin Chandra Pal.
Answer: In India, the extremist leader Bipin Chandra Pal (1858-1932) is known as the “Father of Revolutionary Thoughts” His autobiography ‘Sattar Batsar,’ which spans the years 1858 to 1880, remains unfinished. His work was serialised in ‘Prabasi Patrika.’ He has described his childhood and school life, his education, his journey to Calcutta, his membership in the Brahmo Samaj, his involvement in the independence and Swadeshi movements, his association with the Hindu Mela and Nabogopal Mitra, and so on. His autobiography paints a vivid picture of Orissa in 1879. It reflects all aspects of Orissa and Bengal society, including art, culture, literature, religion and religious activities, social rights, and festivals. His writings reflect the impressions of a young perceptive mind during a transitional period of enormous political upheaval and unprecedented wide turmoil that resulted in total transformation of Indian life and thought. His autobiography is without a doubt a one-of-a-kind composition that provides evidence of many untraceable occurrences in the country.
4. In what ways has the study of dramas past developed into a vital component of contemporary visual arts?
Answer: The cultivation of drama has its origin in the civilizations of ancient times. The ancient Greek dramas still impress the audience in different countries.
i. Cultivation of drama in Europe: Even though dramatic performances were common in ancient Europe, the modern cultivation of dramatic art didn’t gain popularity until the 18th and 19th centuries. Plays by Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Ben Jonson, John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw, etc., have achieved phenomenal success.
ii. Cultivation of drama in Bengal: The 18th and 19th centuries saw the birth of modern Bengali theatre. This art form, which emerged in the 18th century, flourished in the 19th century, and it is still going strong today. Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Dinabandhu Mitra, Girishchandra Ghosh, Rabindranath Tagore, Dwijendralal Roy, Sisir Bhaduri, Sambhu Mitra, Utpal Dutta, and others made significant contributions.
iii. Reflection of society: Contemporary events, oppression, tyranny, social discrimination, imperialism, nationalism, etc. are reflected in the plays from various countries and societies. Thus, drama functions as both a mirror and a form of social media.
iv. History of drama: Today’s historians devote considerable time and energy to the investigation of the stage’s past. Among the most influential are Brajendranath Bandhopadhyay’s Bangiya Natyashalar Itihas, Satyajiban Mukhopadhyay’s Drishya Kavya Parichay, Asutosh Bhattacharya’s Bangla Natya Sahityer Itihas, Selim Al Deen’s Madhyajuger Bangla Natya, Simon Zakaria’s Bangladesher Lok Nat.
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