How when and where?

Calligraphists are those who are specialized in the art of fine handwriting. In the early years of the nineteenth century, when the use of printing was not that common, these calligraphists were appointed to carefully copy these documents and write them beautifully.

The British were of the belief that before administering a country it is important to know it properly. By the early nineteenth century, the British conducted detailed surveys to map the entire country. Revenue surveys, census surveys, botanical surveys, archaeological surveys, anthropological surveys, forest surveys were carried out to know more about the region that they were to administer.

In 1817 James Mill published a three volume work-A history of British India. In this he divided Indian history into three narrow periods that were the Hindu age, Muslim age and British age. It represents a biased view, as James Mill was an imperialist historian who believed that except European culture all other countries of the world and their culture were uncivilized and illiterate. Therefore, when he wrote History, he glorified British colonialism and imperialism.

The use of dates in history is a must because when we read about a particular phase or period in the form of a story, the dates provide a framework to present the story in sequence. The main objective of dates is that they will help to create a sensible story under proper timeline of events and incidents.

The memorization of dates is not vital because by remembering the dates only we would not be able to understand the events and their relevant period of happening. The important thing is that one should be curious about things, events and persons. The new approach in history put more stress on vital exploits of events, living pattern, society and culture.

The British historians divided the Indian History into three periods as ancient, medieval and modern period.

The most important source of knowledge about the past are literary sources. The British had started the method and system of keeping records of every plan, policy, decision, instruction, agreement etc. They started preserving important written documents like letters, memos etc. Record rooms were established in all-important offices from urban to rural areas. Later on the archives and museums were established to keep these records and documents safe for the future.

The limitation of this method was that except Europe, we couldn’t find sequences and evidences to define these three ages in other countries of the world. For example- British came to India and ruled without following the principles of democracy, equality, and freedom etc. In Europe presence of these features were symbol of modern age.

When a country occupies another country, takes up its sovereign status and directs its politics, society and economy then this process is known as colonization.

No, we can’t consider the official records as the perfect literary source for our information because they provide and represent the administrative view of the events and people of that time. These records can only give the official view of a picture but not of a common man or the persons talked about in records.

History is defined as changes that occur over a period of time. It is about searching of facts to know how things were in the past and how they got changed.

The advertisement of Lipton tea created in 1922 suggested that royalty the world over used this tea. It showed the outer wall of an Indian palace and in the center of the picture, the third son of Queen Victoria of Britain, Prince Arthur the Duke of Connaught is depicted seated on the horseback.

The modern period was associated with the growth of all the features of modernity – science, reason, democracy, liberty and equality. It was distinguished from the medieval period by acknowledging the absence of these features. During that period the British did not have equality and freedom nor was there any sign of economic progress.

Earlier History was an account of big battles and events. Historians wrote about rulers and their policies. They wrote about the year a king was crowned, the year he was married, the year he had a child, the year he fought a war, the year he died and the year the next ruler made it to the throne.

James Mill was a Scottish economist and political philosopher. He published a huge three-volume work- A History of British India.James Mills suggested that the British rule could civilize India. He said that all the territories of India should be conquered to make sure the enlightenment and civilization should reach the Indian people. According to him India would not be able to achieve advancement without British help.

The British set up record rooms to preserve all important documents and letters. The record rooms were attached to all administrative institutions. All the administrative offices, the village tahsildar’s office, the collectorate, the commissioner’s office, the provincial secretariats and the law courts had record rooms attached to their offices. The British also set up specialised institutions like archives and museums to preserve important records. In the early nineteenth century, these documents were carefully copied out and beautifully written by calligraphists. By the middle of the nineteenth century and with the spread of printing, several copies of these records were printed as proceedings of each government department

More than 2000 policemen refused to take food during police strike in Delhi in 1946.

Britannia’ was the symbol of British power as shown in frontispiece by James Rennel.

By the early nineteenth century, detailed surveys were carried out to map the entire country. Botanical surveys were one of them. Botanical gardens and natural history museums were established by the British. Plant specimens were collected from the botanical gardens and the museums gave information about the uses of different species of plants. These surveys provided a basic assessment of habitat type.

The official records were written by the British officials. They gave information about the thoughts, interests of the officers and what they wanted to preserve for future generations. These records did not tell us about the feelings of the common people and what lay behind their actions.

The British associated the modern period with growth of all the forces of modernity like science, reason, democracy, liberty and equality.

Historians use various records, governmental and non-governmental to write modern Indian history. Official records of the British administration are also widely used in writing history. The British set up a record room attached to all administrative institutions. The Village tahsildar’s office, the collectorate and the commissioner’s office had numerous amounts of the written records. Letters and memos can still be found in the archives and one can use it as a genuine source for writing history. Reports of the district officials form an integral part of the sources available to modern historians for writing of history. Survey records also form an important source for modern historians. However, a government record omits many issues and one needs to consult non-governmental records too.

The period of human past of which we do not find any written document because human beings living in that period were illiterate or did not know how to write. This period is known as pre-historic period.

The basic difference between proto-historic and historic period is that written records of these periods are there, but the documents of proto-historic period are not deciphered due to unknown language and script.

The memorization of dates is not vital but the important thing is that one should be curious about things, events and persons. The new approach for history is utilized according to which, history is written with vital exploits of events, living patterns, society and culture.