Question and Answer forum for K12 Students
Laxmi The compilation of these History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
India’s history is enriched by various monuments built over centuries. These famous buildings and structures represent the culture and heritage of a place and time in history. Over the years many rulers of India would build these grand structures as a sign of progress and wealth. Come let us explore their unique architecture.
The compilation of these Print Culture and the Modern World Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
Do you know which was the first book ever to be commercially printed? It was a 42 line version of the Bible known as the Gutenberg Bible. It was printed in the 1450s and started the printing revolution and the print culture which became very significant in the history of mankind. Let us find out more about it.
The introduction of print technology was seen in China, Japan, and Korea. By the 17th Century, as modern culture emerged in China, the uses of print diversified. Shanghai, in fact, became the hub of the new print culture.
This was about China, similarly, the same culture was adopted by the people of Japan. Through China, Japan got enlightened with this technology. Buddhist missionaries from China introduced hand-printing technology into Japan.
In the 11th century, Chinese paper reached Europe via the silk route. In 1295, Marco Polo, a great explorer returned to Italy with complete knowledge of printing. Italians started printing books with woodblocks and soon technology reached every part of Europe.
With this exports of books started and Europe begun to send books to many different countries. But due to the fragile nature of manuscripts, they got very messy and awkward to handle. So in the 1430s, Johann Gutenberg invented new printing technology, creating the first known printing press at Strasbourg, Germany. The first book which Gutenberg printed was Bible in 1448.
The Print Revolution and its Impact
With time, a new culture emerged, and access to books made people adopt the reading culture. But with this several debates were put forward related to the fear of the spread of rebellious and irreligious thoughts. In 1517, the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ which criticized various practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This lead to Protestant Reformation.
Because of the reading culture, the literacy rate of the countries increased to 60-80%. Newspapers and Journals got fame and information was carried about wars and trade as well as news of developments in other places. This included the French revolution too.
India and the World of Print
In the mid 16th century, the first printing press came to Goa through Portuguese missionaries. By 1674, more than 50 books were printed in Konkani and Karana languages. Next came the first Tamil book in 1579.
A literary firm developed in Europe and soon acquired Indian forms and styles. Other forms like lyrics, short stories, and essays about social and political matters also entered the world of reading.
Educated and liberal men started educating their wives and daughters at home. But still, some conservative Hindus thought that a literate girl would be widowed. Similarly, Muslims were frightened by the thought that women would be corrupted by reading Urdu romances.
Print and Censorship
Before 1798, the colonial state was not afraid of censorship that by the 1820s, the Calcutta Supreme Court passed certain regulations to control press freedom.
After the revolt of 1857, the attitude to freedom of the press completely changed. The Vernacular Press Act was passed which provided the government extensive rights to censor reports and journals in the vernacular press. But even after such massive measures, nationalist newspapers grew in numbers in all parts of India.
Example:
Question:
Printing created possibilities for a wider circulation of ideas. Who of the following hailed printing as the ultimate gift of God?
a. Martin Luther
b. Gutenberg
c. Roman Catholic Church
d. All of the above
Answer:
The correct answer is option “a”.
Through the publications of his Protestant ideas, Martin Luther challenged the orthodox practices of the Roman Catholic Church. His publications were very vastly distributed and led to his success. This was impossible without printing technology. Deeply grateful to the print Luther famously said “Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one”.
The compilation of these History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
Here is a fact that you may not know, it is the Chinese who actually invented printing. Chinese monks would manually print books with blocks dipped in ink! This was perhaps the turning point in the history of our world. Printing helped spread knowledge and information and made the world as we know it possible. Let us learn about the history of printing.
The compilation of these Peasant and Farmer Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
Agriculture is clearly known to be the backbone of any civilization. Man’s first occupation was farming. Let us know more about the peasants and farmers who are responsible for the food we put on our tables. The history of peasants and farmers developed not only in a specific part of the world but all over the globe. Today we will discuss the three important regions where it developed, England, the USA, and India.
Open Fields and Common Land in England
In England, the countryside had a lot of open fields. The peasants and farmers cultivated these open fields which were strips of land near the village. At the beginning of every year, people were allotted these strips of land which were of varying quality. This was to ensure that everybody got a share of good and bad land.
And beyond these divided strips was the common land which was used by all and everybody had access to common land to collect fodder, firewood, berries and to graze cattle. For the poor, the common land was very helpful as it sustained their survival if their crop didn’t make any money in the market.
Everything was peaceful and well going until the 16th century. During the 16th century, wool‘s demand rose in the world market. Farmers started to trespass in the common land to improve the sheep breed as it promised good feed. These acts were known as enclosures. They did not let the poor who were dependent on that land to access it. As the enclosures started to trespass the common land, there was no concept of common land left.
During the mid 18th century, this act of enclosing on common land spread through the entire countryside in England to fulfill the increasing demand for foodgrains because of industrialization. Then, the British government passed 4000 acts of legalizing these enclosures.
Grain Cultivation
During the mid-18th century, the population of England expanded four times. Britain was on the tip of industrialization. People were moving to cities. There was a drop in farmers. As more and more people migrated in the urban areas. There was an increase in the demand for foodgrains.
The market of foodgrains expanded and needless to say, this motivated the landowners to get more enclosure of land. The result of this act was that the production of foodgrains increased like never before. Britain was producing 80% of the food the population consumed. Due to this dire need for foodgrains, landowners enclosed on common lands even more.
The forests were cut down, took over marshes, and turned larger areas into fields. The poor farmers had no longer access to the common grounds. This was a very hard time for the poor as their income was deteriorating, work was uncertain and even their customary rights were fading off.
Innovation in Agriculture
The threshing machine was invented during the Napoleonic war. This meant less dependency on labour and plus a boost in production. A single machine could do the work of 20 labourers. Soldiers returned after the war and found no jobs. Economic stress begins to cover Britain as the workers were opposing the introduction of a threshing machine.
After grains started coming into England from Europe, the prices fell. Landowners began to reduce the production of the grain. An agricultural depression clouded England. In the midst of the introduction of threshing machines, riots broke out due to the pressure of unemployment. The farmers were facing threats from a mythic figure name ‘Captain Swing’. During midnight the farms were burnt and stock inside was reduced to ashes. The government issued arrest of the protestors.
The Land of Promises
As the enclosures and grain cultivation were happening in England, most of the landscape was not under the control of white Americans. Till 1780’s they were settled in the small narrow strip of coastal land of the East. By the early 20th century, this situation was reversed when white Americans moved westwards as they displaced the native local tribes and took control of the West coast of America.
While moving West, they cleared the land and cultivated wheat. As they gained control of both the coastal lines, there was an increase in population. And the wheat they cultivated, paid off. The export market in America boomed. This scenario motivated the farmers to produce more. Furthermore, during the first world war, Russia cut off the wheat supply. President Wilson urged the farmers to cultivate more wheat, he said: “Plant more wheat, i.e Wheat will win this war.”
Introduction to Technology
With a boom in the demand for wheat, the farmers upgraded their equipment and installed new technology to produce the supply of wheat. Tractors, discs, ploughs, and mechanical reapers were used in the production of wheat.
Poor farmers were adversely affected by the technological uprise in the USA. These poor farmers bought expensive equipment on loan. Just then the demand for wheat in the market dropped and export stopped. Prices fell and poor farmers could not repay the loans they took for the machinery. Wheat and corn turned into animal feed. The great depression of the 1930s ruined the poor farmers.
Dustbowl
America experienced dust storms during the 1930s. The wind blew with great speed, uprooting every vegetation in its way. Farmers burned the trees which had deep roots in the earth. There were no rains for years. The temperature started to increase and the whole region became a dust bowl. People were blinded and choked, cattle suffocated, and covered the fields and covered river surface till fishes died.
Opium Cultivation in India
British trade with China and the history of opium cultivation in India connect together. East India Company of England was buying tea from China to sell it in England. Very soon the tea became very famous and the demand in England increased and the supply also increased from East India Company. To balance their trade with China, they looked for a commodity they could sell to China. They found opium. England bought tea from China and hence China bought opium from England.
When England took Bengal under their control they looked after the maximum production of opium. Market expansion of China allowed a large amount of opium to flow from Bengal to China.
Unwilling Cultivators:
As British made sure to maximize the production of opium. The peasants opposed them because of the following reasons:
The British discovered that opium produced in British territories was declining, whereas in territories not under British rule the production was increasing. Those traders were selling opium directly to China. This moved the British government to establish a monopoly over this trade.
Example:
Questions:
The number of opium chests exported to China by the British government in Bengal before 1767 was?
a. 400
b. 500
c. 600
d. 700
Answer:
The correct option is “b”.
Before 1767 no more than 500 chests were being exported from India. Within four years the quantity trebled. A hundred years later in 1870, the government was exporting 50,000 chests annually.
The compilation of these History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
The discovery of agriculture was the first big step towards a civilized life. Farming began around 10,000 BC when hunter-gatherers began cultivation. And ever since the peasant has been toiling to provide you and your family the food on your tables. So let us learn about the history and struggles of farmers from around the world.
The compilation of these Pastoralists in the Modern World Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
During the Neolithic revolution, we first saw the practice of nomadic pastoralism. It is when humans made use of animals for domestic purposes and started raising and herding cattle. So now let us learn more about the pastoral nomads of India and their movements.
The origin of nomadic pastoralism is traced back to the Middle Ages. The first nomadic pastoralist society is said to develop somewhere around 8500 BC to 6500 BC. In India too you will find many such tribes that practice nomadic pastoralism.
Nomads, as we know, are tribes and groups of people that do not permanently settle in one place. They move around from one place to another in no set pattern to look for their livelihoods. They do not possess a permanent house or any other such possessions.
The main feature of nomadic pastoralism is that these nomads have the same occupation, they herd cattle. They use these cattle for secondary purposes as well, such as dairy products like milk, furs, hides, leather, manure, etc. So pastoral nomads move from place to place looking for pasture for their cattle and to trade their products.
Normally pastoral nomads flourish in mountainous or hilly regions. These areas are covered with grasslands, forests, shrubs etc. giving them pastures for their cattle to sustain and survive. Such areas also have a more ideal climate and temperatures for cattle like sheep and goats.
In India, nomadic pastoralism is practiced by a lot of tribes in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. Let us take a look at few such tribes.
Gujjar Tribe from Garhwal
Garhwal is in the sub-mountainous range of the Himalayas in the state of Uttrakhand. The Gujjar tribe that is found in the region are pastoral nomads. The tribe was originally from the Jammu region, but they migrated south to the hills of Uttar Pradesh around the 19th century. They were looking for fresh pastures for their cattle.
Now the Gujjars roam around the hills of the Garhwal and Kumaon regions. They head up to the region of Bhabar in the winter which is covered in dry forests. Then in the summertime, they move to the meadows of the Bugyals. This cyclic movement of the tribe between seasons is a feature of many tribes of this region like the Bhotiyas, Sherpas, etc.
Dhangars from Maharashtra
The Dhangars are a prominent tribal community that is found in Maharashtra. In fact, the word “dhangar” is associated with cattle wealth in Sanskrit. The dhangars are traditionally cattle herders, blanket weavers, cow and buffalo herders, butchers and even occasionally farmers.
The dhangars are in the Konkani region in the months of January to June. This is an agricultural area of Maharashtra. The framers of the area supply the dhangars with grains. Before the monsoon hits the tribe migrates to the plateaus, because heavy rainfall does not suite the cattle, especially the sheep.
Gollas Herders of Karnataka
These tribes are found in Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh as well. They are mostly found in the dry plateau of the regions. The region is semi-arid with very little rainfall. But it is covered in shrub forests and some grass. This provides pastures for the cattle.
The Gollas only herd cattle. They practice no other occupation or do any farming as the conditions are not suitable.
Raikas of Rajasthan
These pastoral nomads live in the deserts of Rajasthan. The tribe has two groups. one is the Maru group that rear camel, and then the Raikas that herd sheep and goats. During the monsoons, the Raikas stay in their respective villages of Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur etc. Once the rainy season ends the pastures dry up. So they roam in search of newer pastures and water for their cattle.
More than half the pastoral population on Earth lives on the continent of Africa. By an estimation, there are about 22 million pastoral nomads in Africa even today. Some of the well-known pastoral nomad tribes in Africa are the Maasai, Berbers, Somali, Boran, and a few others.
Most of these tribes raise cattle like goats, camels, sheep, donkeys, etc. They sell their milk, hides, meat, fur, wool, etc to earn a living. Most of these tribes also combine other activities with cattle herding. They practice agriculture, do odd jobs to supplement their income.
One of the more prominent tribes of Africa is the Maasai. They were a tribe rich in culture and wealth. However just like in India colonialism has created a lot of problems for them. They lost major parts of their fertile grazing lands to boundary disputes between British Kenya and the German Tanganyika.
The British also encouraged the locals to cultivate more land, and they themselves benefited from this. But again this shrank the land available for pastures. By the time the colonial rule ended in most parts of Africa a lot of damage had already been done. The tribes had suffered huge losses.
Example:
Question:
The Banjara tribe is found in which state of India?
a. Madhya Prade
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Uttar Pradesh
d. Himachal
Answer:
The correct option is “c”.
The Banjaras are the famous tribes of Uttar Pradesh. They are quite popular for their culture and folk music.
The compilation of these History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
It may surprise you but there are still millions of nomads and nomadic communities around the world who have no permanent homes. One such type of nomad is pastoral nomads who are cattle herders and roam around in search for pastures for their cattle. Let us learn more about them.
The compilation of these On the Trail of the Earliest People Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
In times like these everything is available at a click of a button, even the most basic aspects of human life like food and socializing. But our earliest ancestors were not so lucky. Back then, even before civilization took over the earliest people, i.e. the primitive man lived out in the open. Let’s understand more about our long-lost ancestors.
Needless to say, the earliest people were hunter-gatherers. Because they lived out in the open, they had to hunt other animals, gather plants and fruits to produce food. Animals in that period were very fast and quick. To survive among them meant that the earliest people had to be as quick, alert and to have a good presence of mind.
As gatherers, they had a good knowledge of the plants and fruits. Considering these facts and the activities they performed, they moved from one place to another. The reasons for their nomadic life were:
The earliest people lived in the prehistoric period. The main material used then for making tools was stone. Undoubtedly because of the use of stones for making tools, this period is known as the Stone Age. Stone Age further is divided into three phases, namely
Palaeolithic Stone Age
The world ‘Palaeolithic’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘Palaeo’ and ‘Lithos’. The word ‘Palaeo’ means Old and ‘Lithos’ means Stone. Therefore this period is known as the Old Stone Age. Old Stone Age extends from 2 million years ago to 12,000 years ago. The tools during this period were made of stone and were blunt and no refinements.
We can see in this figure that these tools are big and blunt and lack refinements. Historians believe that these tools were made 2 million years ago. We also see the tools of later periods. They are smaller and much sharper. These were made many thousand years after.
Mesolithic Stone Age
These tools were developed 10,000 years ago. These are much smaller and show sharper edges. Apart from stones, harder objects like bones and woods were also used to make tools and multiple other purposes. In India, some of these stones are still in use for grinding wheat to make flour and grinding spices. These uses of these tools were multi-dimensional such as:
Have you seen the movie called ‘Ice Age (part 1)’? You should. You will have a clearer idea of the climate during the Stone Age. During the Stone Age, ice was all around and there was almost no vegetation on Earth. After global warming, Ice age came to a stop as the ice began melting 12,000 years ago.
The end of the ice age paved a way for the clearance of vast spaces of land and warm temperature for the vegetation to grow. And more vegetation meant the better availability of food for animals and plants. This was the period during which our everyday mammals proliferated.
After the meltdown of ice, the grass families began to grow in most parts of the world. Wheat, Rice, and Corn are the parts of the grass family.
The earliest people were spread all over the world, even in India. Some major sites during which Stone Age people lived in India are:
The two most common distinctions between these sites were: River and the availability of Stones. Where there is water there is life, surroundings near the river are always flourished and the availability of natural vegetation is plenty. These sites are located on the Deccan Plateau, it has plenty of stones so the resources needed to make tools were easily available.
The places where the people could get all the resources for making tools such as stones and wood were used as sites for tool making. These places are called factory sites. In some locations, people also habituated on these sites. Such sites are called habitation cum factory sites. Historians have discovered larger stones and unfinished tools. These were the proofs that these were the location of factory sites.
Historians have guessed the derivation of the methods for making these tools. The possible methods of making tools back then are:
The discovery of fire changed the very fabric of human living. It definitely changed human life dramatically. People might have learned to use fire after seeing the flares of a forest fire. It might also be possible that people have learned to produce fire by rubbing two stones together while shaping them. It was used for various purposes as cooking, clearing forest and protection from animals.
Many cave paintings have been found in cave dwellings of the Stone Age. For example, the caves in Bhimbhetka. The majority of these paintings portray animals and hunting. Historians believe these paintings might be made as a part of the ritual. Another possibility is that people had enough spare time to think about the nature around them.
They also portray that people used to live in the community as living together provided protection against predators, the herd can kill any big animal with their tools. Historians believed that men went hunting and women lived in the caves taking care of children and collecting plants, berries, and roots.
Example:
Question:
Why did the hunter-gatherers travel from place to place?
Answer:
Hunter-gatherers travelled from place to place in search of food. Once food resources at a place were exhausted, they needed to go to a new place.
The compilation of these History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
Very recently in January of 2018, the fossils of what is imagined to be the oldest human were found in Israel. It is believed to be almost 175,000 years old! Can you imagine the life and livelihoods of these ancient ancestors of ours? Let us learn a little bit more about the fascinating history of the homo sapiens.
The compilation of these Novels, Society and History Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
Do you remember the first novel you read? Novels and stories give us a new perspective on adventure and commitment that has the ability to stay with us for a lifetime. But where this life-altering art was developed? And what is the story of the novel itself? Let us see it.
“It is only novels in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties the liveliest effusions of wit and humor are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language.” Such a beautiful and precise definition of Novel by Jane Austen
A novel is long work of written fiction. A novel is a modern form of literature and the invention of printing made this form of literature possible. The novel is a product of development in print culture and technology. A novel is the result of print which is a mechanical invention. Without print back then the novel could not reach a large audience. Improvements in communication were the reason for the emergence of common interests among the readers, they saw themselves with the lives and stories of the characters.
The spread of the novel began in the 17th century and flowered in the 18th century. They were established in England and France during the 17th century but only during the 18th century growing readership and the earnings of authors increased drastically. This gave freedom to the authors from financial dependence on the patronage of aristocrats. As their earnings increased, they began to experiment with different literally styles.
The Publishing Market
Novels were pricey and not affordable by the poor classes. Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones (1749) sold at three shillings for each of its six volumes. Circulating libraries started in 1740 and the general public could get access to books. New innovations in printing and new innovations in marketing helped in increasing sales and reducing the prices. An example of this is when publishers in France realized they could make high profits by hiring out novels by the hour.
The novel seemed more realistic and made the reader travel in the author’s imaginative world. People were deeply involved in the characters. The first novel serialized in a magazine was Charles Dickens’s Pickwick Paper in 1836. Magazines were cheaper and illustrated. Serialization became the reason to relish suspense.
The World of Novel
During the 19th century, the Industrial age took over Europe which resulted in unemployed poor, people living in workhouses. It also created issues for workers in city life. Charles Dickens’s novel Hard Times illustrated the terrible condition of Urban life under capitalism. Also, Emili Zola’s Germinal described the life of French miners.
The novels reflected the contemporary development in society. The problem of city life was a major theme of novelists. For example, Thomas Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge brought the vast majority of urban readers closer to the rural communities through his stories.
Women Writers
During the eighteenth century, women utilized their free time to read and write novels. They explored the world of women, their emotions, identities, experiences, and problems. Charlotte Bronte’s (1816-1855) Jane Eyre portrayed an independent and assertive girl who protests against hypocrisy and cruelty. Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) Pride and Prejudice portrays the lives of women in rural society in early 19th century England.
Novels for Young
Novels for a young generation were based on heroism. The hero of such a novel usually was a daring, positive and powerful person. R.L Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1833) idealized a new type of man, his novels were full of adventures.
Rudyard Kipling wrote Jungle Book (1894) where colonizers were shown as heroic and honourable who confronted the natives, adapting themselves to strange places, colonizing territories and developing nations. Helen Hunt Jackson (Ramona- 1884), Sarah Wolsey (What Katy Did- 1872) wrote love stories for girls.
During Colonialism, most of the novels were written to glorify the conquest of the Europeans. Eventually, in the twentieth century, some of them did show the darker side of colonial occupation. The novel was not known in India until the 19th century. Many Indian authors tried to translate the English novels but they eventually didn’t enjoy doing that. Great Epics were written in verses.
The first novel was written in Marathi and Bengali. Baba Padmanji’s ‘Yamuna Paryatan’ (1857) is a simple story about the conditions of widows. Next ‘Muktamala’ by Lakshman Moreshwar Halbe (1861). Hari Narayan Apte wrote the most well-known novels. He wrote historical novels, his Ushakala is famous. Naro Sadashiv Richard wrote Manju Ghosha, writings full of amazing events.
Novels in South India: As we know, initially the Indian authors translated English novels in their native language. Chandu Menon wrote the first Malayalam novel Indulekha in 1889. Kandukuri Viresalingam wrote the first Telegu novel Rajashekhara Caritamu in 1878.
Novels in Hindi: Bharatendu Harishchandra was the pioneer of modern Hindi literature. The first modern Hindi novel was written by Srinivas Das of Delhi known as Pariksha-Guru (1882). The theme of this novel was the blind copying of western culture and advocates preserving the traditional culture. Another novel by Devaki Nandan Khatri named Chandrakanta made Hindi really popular. Premchand wrote in popular Urdu and then shifted to Hindi. Gandhiji and his views on women, child marriage, and dowry were influenced by Premchand’s popular novel Sevasadan (1936)
Novels in Bengal: These were love stories based on historical events. Domestic novels of Bengal portrayed romantic relationships between men and women. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya’s first novel Durgeshnandini (1865) started a new trend of portraying ordinary people. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938) became the most popular novelist in Bengal and probably in the rest of India because of his uniqueness of storytelling in the simplest language.
The Novel in the Colonial World
For the colonial administrators, the Novel provided a good source to understand the life and social hierarchy in India. It was easy for them to understand different scenarios of Indian society through the help novels. Few of them were translated into English; by British administrators or Christian missionaries. Many novels highlighted the social ills and provided solutions for the same. Many novels told stories about the past so that people could connect with the past.
Pleasure of Reading
Needless to say, novels soon became a very popular medium of entertainment among the middle class. Novels seemingly helped in spreading silent reading. In the nineteenth century and probably in the early twentieth century, people often read out loudly for several other people to hear. Eventually, people adapted to read in silence. Detective and mystery novels often had to be sent for reprints to meet the demand of readers. Many novels were printed as many as twenty-two times.
Women and Novel
Reading novels was prohibited for women and children. It was believed that novels were having a negative impact on the minds of women and children. Parents started keeping novels in secret places so, out of children’s reach. Young people had to read them in secret. Older women who could not read took the help of their grandchildren to enjoy listening to a novel.
In the early twentieth century, women in India also began to write novels and short stories. Many women writers had to write the novel in secret because society saw it as blasphemy. However, many women turned into writers and wrote poetry, essays and autobiographies despite the resistance from society.
Caste Practices
Few authors started to highlight the struggle of lower caste people in their writings. The theme of multiple novels was about the conflicts arising out of the marriage between a lower caste and an upper caste. People from the lower caste became authors; like Potheri Kunjambu from Kerala. Many lower-class communities got space in the literary era through novels.
In Bengal, many novels were about Marathas and Rajputs. These novels showed the nation to be full of adventure, heroism romance, and sacrifice. The novel allowed the colonized subjects to give shape to their desires. Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay’s Anguriya Binimoy (1857) is about Shivaji’s adventures against Aurangzeb. Bankim’s Anandamath (1882) is a novel about a secret Hindu militia which fights Muslims to establish a Hindu kingdom.
These novels inspired many kinds of freedom fighters. Many of these novels also reveal the problems associated with thinking about the nation. We know that India cannot be a nation of only a single religious community.
Example:
Question 1.
In what ways was the novel in colonial India useful for both the colonizers as well as the nationalists?
Answer:
For the nationalists, many novels provided tools to spread the idea of nationalism. Novels motivated nationalist leaders. For the colonizer’s administrators, novels were provided as a source of information about the Indian cultural scenarios. They utilized that knowledge to have a better understanding of India.
Question 2.
In which language the earliest Indian novel was written?
(a) Tamil
(b) Hindi
(c) Bengali
(d) Telugu
Answer:
(c) Bengali