Chapter-wise NCERT Solutions Of Class 12 History - Themes in Indian History - III

Chapter 1 : Colonialism and the Countryside

Officials felt that agriculture, trade and the revenue resources of the state could all be developed by encouraging investment in agriculture. While many zamindars were facing a crisis at the end of the eighteenth century a group of rich peasants were consolidating their position in the villages. The fifth report was one such report produced by a select committee. The undergrowth that spread like a mat below the trees and the patches of grass that covered the lands left fallow provided pasture for cattle. He was inevitably critical of the lifestyles of forest dwellers and felt that forests had to be turned into agricultural lands.british cotton manufacturer had for long been worried about this dependence on American supplies.exports merchants and sahukars in Maharashtra were no longer keen on extending long term credit.but the moneylender now refused loans.

Chapter 2 : Rebels and the Raj

Everything and everybody connected with the white man became a part. British rule as one british officer noted collapsed like a house made of cards. Sepoys or their emissaries moved from one station to another. People were thus planning and talking about the rebellion. The british tried to explain to the sepoys that this was not the case but the rumour that the new cartridges were greased with the fat of cows and pigs spread like wildfire across the sepoy lines of north india. This perception was aggravated by the activities of Christian missionaries. Thus neither taluqdars nor peasants had any reasons to be happy with the annexation. The rebels wanted to restore that world. The skeletons strewn on the ground are meant to be a cold warning of the futility of rebellion. To the british public such paintings were reassuring.

Chapter 3 : Colonial Cities

 Towns were often defined in opposition to rural areas. Towns by contract were populated with artisans, traders, administration and rulers. The relationship that he had with other groups and classes determined their place in society and in the town. Often people themselves refused to cooperate or gave evasive answers to the census officials. Railway towns like jamalpur, waltair and barely developed. But many people resented these attempts to change traditional patriarchal norms. It was here that the superiority of the british and the subordinate position of the Indian merchants was most apparent. A new black town developed  further to the north. they used their privileged position in government to acquire wealth. The history of town planning in Calcutta of course did not end with the building of fort William and the maidan. By the late nineteenth century official intervention in the city became more stringent. It was as if the grandeur of the cities had to reflect the authority of imperial power.

Chapter 4 : Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement

He had been invited on account of his work in south africa, rather than his status within india. When his turn came to speak, Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the laboring poor. Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Where most other politicians talked down to them gandhiji appeared not just to like them but to understand them and relate to their lives. This progress of the salt march can also be traced from other sources: the American newsmagazine, true. The conference to London was inconclusive, so Gandhiji returned to India and resumed civil disobedience. The british responded with much force yet it took more than a year to suppress the rebellion. Early in 1946 fresh elections were held to the provincial legislatures. Nehru edited a collection of letters that were written to him during the national movement and published a bunch of old letters. The letters and reports written by policemen and other officials were secret at the time but now can be accessed in archives.

Chapter 5 : Understanding Partition

 One late afternoon, when the hindu mob had been at its furious worst, my father discovered he was perhaps the only muslim youth of the village left alive. India haters in Pakistan and Pakistan haters in India both products of partition. Every myth in these constructions has been systematically critiqued by historians. They emphasise that the events of 1947 were intimately connected to the long history of hindu muslims conflict throughout medieval and modern times. Yes it would be incorrect to see partition as the outcome of a simple unfolding of communal tensions. In the untied provinces the muslim league wanted to form a joint government with the congress. Initially even muslim leaders did not seriously raise the demand for Pakistan as a sovereign state. People began realizing the folly of the violence they had unleashed on the city's muslims but it was only gandhiji martyrdom that finally ended this macabre drama of violence. This is significant because the histories that we read often regard the life and work of the mass of the people in the past as inaccessible or unimportant.

Chapter 6 : Framing the Constitution

The discussions within the constituent assembly were also influenced by the opinions expressed by the public. It was a momentous resolution that outlined the defining ideals of the constitution of independent India and provided the framework within which the work of constitution making was to proceed. Governments do not come into being by state papers. This demand for separate electorates provoked anger and dismay amongst most nationalists. It was a suicidal demand he argued that would permanently isolate the minorities, make them vulnerable and deprive them of any effective say within the government. As for the santhanam felt that the proposed allocation of powers would cripple them. The argument for greater power to the provinces provoked a strong reaction in the assembly. There was already a unitary system in place imposed by the colonial government. From the end of the nineteenth century, however, Hindustani as a language had been gradually changing. On this occasion peace in the house was restored through Jawaharlal Nehru intervention but the language issue continued to disrupt proceedings and agitate members over the subsequent three years.