Contents
Chapter 3 Glimpses of the Past
Class 8 – English – Honeydew
| Class | Class 8 |
| Subject | English |
| Book Name | Honeydew |
| Chapter Name | Glimpses of the Past |
| Category | Class 8 English NCERT Solutions |
Comprehension Check
Question 1 Look at picture 1 and recall the opening lines of the original song in Hindi. Who is the singer? Who else do you see in this picture?
Answer The opening lines of the original song in Hindi are:
“Aye mere watan ke logon, tum khub laga lo naara
yeh shubh din hai ham sab ka, lehralo tiranga pyaara
par mat bhulo seema par, veeron ne hai praan ganvaaye
kuchh yaad unhe bhee kar lo – (2)
jo laut ke ghar naa aaye – (2)
This beautiful heart-touching track was sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
In the picture, we see great leaders of India, namely – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Question 2 In picture 2 what do you understand by the Company’s ‘superior weapons?
Answer The East India Company’s “superior weapons” refers to the arms and ammunition such as guns and cannons, wit, strict rules and regulations, and diplomacy of the British rulers.
Question 3 Who is an artisan? Why do you think the artisans suffered? (Picture 3)
Answer An artisan is a skilled craft worker who manually creates decorative or functional items. The artisans suffered as the British were extracting high taxes from them, and because of this, they were facing an economic loss on their products.
Question 4 Which picture, according to you, reveals the first sparks of the fire of revolt?
Answer Picture 7 – The Sparks (1855-57) reveals the first sparks of the fire of revolt.
Working with the text (Page 45)
Answer the following questions.
Question 1: Do you think the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach to the events of 1757?
Answer Yes, the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach to the events of 1757. They did not understand the bad intention of the Britishers. They slowly became virtual rulers who tried to capture the whole country by winning the confidence of princes and helping them win small battles against other local princes.
Question 2: How did the East India Company subdue the Indian Princes?
Answer The Britishers were very smart and cunning in their strategy and used divide and rule policy. The East India company spread their wings in India to promote their trade. The Indian princes were constantly fighting with each other and they asked the English merchants to help them with their fights. It was very difficult for people to live peacefully due to constant fights. These rivalries indirectly helped the East India Company subdue the Indian princes one at a time and slowly gain complete control over the masses.
Question 3: Quote the words used by Ram Mohan Roy to say that every religion teaches the same principles.
Answer Ram Mohan said, “Cows are of different colors, but the colour of their milk is the same. Different teachers have different opinions, but the essence of every religion is the same.”
Question 4: In what ways did the British officers exploit Indians?
Answer The British rulers passed a resolution under which an Indian could be sent to jail without trial in a court. The goods manufactured in England were exempted from custom duty. They imposed high taxes on the peasants and reduced the import duty on goods manufactured in England. They even cut off the thumbs of expert artisans.
Question 5: Name these people.
1) The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and died fighting.
1) Tipu Sultan of Mysore fought pitched battles against the British and died fighting.
2) The person who wanted to reform the society.
2) Raja Ram Mohan Roy, a learned man from Bengal, wanted to reform society.
3) The person who recommended the introduction of English education in India.
3) Macaulay, an Englishman, recommended the introduction of English education in India.
4) Two popular leaders who led the revolt (choices may vary.)
4) Two popular leaders who led the revolt were Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad and Peshwa Nana Saheb.
Question 6: Mention the following.
(i) Two examples of social practices prevailing then.
(i) Untouchability and child marriage
(ii) Two oppressive policies of the British.
(ii) The British did not impose any import duty on goods manufactured in England that ruined Indian cottage industries and in 1818 they passed Regulation III, under which an Indian could be jailed without trial in a court.
(iii) Two ways in which common people suffered.
(iii) The farmers were heavily taxed by the British, and the thumbs of the skilled artisans were cut to ruin their business.
(iv) Four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of Independence.
(iv) The four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of Independence are :
1) Santhals from Bengal who lost their lands rebelled.
2) There was a huge difference in payment of the East India Company’s army, this made sepoys take stand for themselves.
3) Brahmin soldiers were deceived by making them do things against their religion. The grease on the bullet that the Brahmins soldiers had to bite was made from the fat of pigs and cows.
4) British’s strict policy made the landlords lose their lands and made them angry.
Working with Language
Question 1 Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
(i) First man: We must educate our brothers.
Second man: And try to improve their material conditions.
Third man: For that, we must convey our grievances to the British Parliament.
a) The first man said that ___________________________________
b) The second man added that _______________________________
c) The third man suggested that ______________________________
(ii) First soldier: The white soldier gets huge pay, mansions and servants.
Second soldier: We get a pittance and slow promotions.
Third soldier: Who are the British to abolish our customs?
a) The first soldier said that __________________________________
b) The second soldier remarked that ___________________________
c) The third soldier asked ____________________________________
Answer (i)
(a) The first man said that they must educate their brothers.
(b) The second man added that they must try to improve their material conditions.
(c) The third man suggested that they must convey their grievances to the British Parliament.
(ii)
(a) The first soldier said that the white soldier got huge pay, mansions, and servants.
(b) The second soldier remarked that they got a pittance and slow promotions.
(c) The third soldier asked who the British were to abolish their customs.
Speaking and Writing
Question 1 Playact the role of farmers who have grievances against the policies of the government. Rewrite their ‘speech bubbles’ in dialogue form first.
Second farmer: “We grow food but we are dying of hunger.”
Question 2 Look at the pictures,
(1) Ask one another questions about the pictures.
5) Where is the fox now? What is the goat thinking?
Answer
She had advised her to be careful while taking the advice of strangers.
The Fox and the Goat
There was a fox in a forest. Accidentally the fox fell into a well. It did not know how to get out. After some time, there came a goat. The goat peeped into the well. She saw the water and the fox. She asked the fox if the water was sweet. The fox replied that it was very sweet. He added that he had drunk too much. The goat expressed a desire to taste it. The fox asked it to jump into the well. The goat did so. All at once the fox jumped on the goat’s back. From there it jumped out of the well. Then the fox said to the goat ‘Come out when you can ?’ The goat now understood that she had been fooled. She remembered her mother’s advice. The mother had told her to be careful while taking the advice of the strangers.
Question 3 Read the following news item.
History becomes fun at this school
Mumbai: Students in the sixth grade of a certain school in Navi Mumbai love their history lessons thanks to a novel teaching aid. It is not surprising given the fact that their study material includes comic books and they use their textbooks for reference to put things into perspective. Besides, students are encouraged to tap other sources of information as well. During History classes, students pore over comic strips of historical periods, enact characters of emperors and tyrants, and have animated discussions on the subject. History has become fun.
In the class students are asked to read the comic strip aloud, after which they break up into groups of four, discuss what they have heard and write a summary. Each group leader reads his group’s summary aloud and the whole class jumps into discussion and debate, adding points, disagreeing, and qualifying points of view. A sixth-grade student Says, ‘It’s a lot of fun because everyone gets a chance to express themselves and the Summary takes everyone’s ideas into account.’
According to the school principal, the comic strip format and visuals appeal to students. A historian feels that using comics in schools is a great idea. Comics and acting help students understand what characters in the story are actually thinking. (adapted from The Times of India, New Delhi, October 2007)
Based on this news item, write a paragraph on what you think about this new method of teaching history.
Answer There is no doubt that this new method of teaching history is novel and interesting. Moreover, the pictures stay in the mind longer than the words. So it will be very useful if history is taught through comic strips. There is, however, one snag. At present the syllabus is so huge that it may not be possible to do so. Moreover, many students may spend a long time looking at the pictures. They will have fixed ideas about a historic personality. The pictures may give them ideas that may not be completely true.
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