Q1. State whether true or false:

(a) James Mill divided Indian history into three periods – Hindu, Muslim, Christian.

Answer: False

(b) Official documents help us understand what the people of the country think.

Answer: False

(c) The British thought surveys were important for effective administration.

Answer: True

Q2. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history that James Mill offers?

Answer: James Bill has put Indian History into three periods – Hindu (from the earliest time to 11^th century CE), Muslim (from 11^th century to 18^th century), and British (from 18^th century onwards). This periodisation has its own problem. Today’s historians rejected this periodisation because the religion of the ruler alone cannot be the basis of labeling the entire society or the period. This periodisation by James Mill was an attempt to establish that India was intolerant, superstitious, racially backward, and inferior to the British.

The problem with the periodisation of Indian History that James Mill offers, is the superiority of British shown over Hindu and Muslim.

Q3. Why did the British preserve official documents?

Answer: British had preserved official documents because they thought if they write and record everything, it will later be easier for them to study them and debate or any other person to know about the decisions taken in the past. They kept official records of what they thought was right so that in the future, those records can serve as proof of all the decisions that they had taken. Their copies may be prepared and used in the present time if needed so.

Q4. How will the information historians get from old newspapers be different from that found in police reports?

Answer: The information printed in the newspaper is usually affected by the views and opinions of the reporters, news editors, etc. But what historians find in police reports are usually true and realistic.

The nature of the information that the historians get from old newspapers and police reports can be entirely different. Typically, a historian would collect information from a wide variety of sources that includes both official and unofficial documents. The police report comes from an administrative viewpoint and the types of details that we can obtain from them are often restricted.

Being a mass media, newspapers provide more backdrop, context and elaborate descriptions. But the relative merits and accuracy of a piece of information from any source can only be determined after proper research and investigation. For getting a balanced and clearer picture of a period in history, historians often go through as many sources as possible, while keeping in mind the biases and interests that could be behind them.