The Class 8 is an important year in a student’s life and Maharashtra State Board Social Science History is one of the subjects that require dedication, hard work, and practice. It’s a subject where you can score well if you are well-versed with the concepts, remember the important formulas and solving methods, and have done an ample amount of practice. Worry not! Home Revise is here to make your Class 8 journey even easier. It’s essential for students to have the right study material and notes to prepare for their board examinations, and through Home Revise, you can cover all the fundamental topics in the subject and the complete Maharashtra State Board Class 8 Social Science History Book syllabus.
Q1. (A) Rewrite the statements by choosing the appropriate options.
(1) The Servants of India Society was founded by ………….. .
(a) Ganesh Vasudev Joshi
(b) Bhau Daji Lad (c) M.G.Ranade
(d) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(2) The first session of Indian National Congress was held at ………….. .
(a) Pune
(b) Mumbai
(c) Kolkata
(d) Lucknow
(3) ……………. wrote the Geeta Rahasya.
(a) Lokmanya Tilak
(b) Dadabhai Nowrojee
(c) Lala Lajpat Rai
(d) Bipinchandra Pal
(B) Write the names
(1) Moderate leaders ______ _______
(2) Extremist leaders ______ _______
Answer 1: The Servants of India Society was founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
Answer 2: The first session of Indian National Congress was held at Mumbai.
Answer 3: Lokmanya Tilak wrote the Geeta Rahasya.
Answer B (1): Moderate Leaders –Gopala Krishna Gokhule, Surendranath Banerjee, Feroza Shah mehta
Answer: (2) Extremist leaders –Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
2. Explain the following statements with reasons.
(1) In the struggle for independence, a sense of identity was awakened among the Indians.
(2) Two groups were formed in the Indian National Congress.
(3) Lord Curzon decided to partition Bengal.
Answer 1: During the struggle for independence, a sense of identity was awakened among the Indians because of the following reasons.
Answer 2: On 28 December 1885, the first session of Indian National Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit School in Mumbai. In 1907, it was divided into two groups. The division occurred mainly due to extremists and moderates at the Surat Session of Indian National Congress. From 1885 to 1907, moderates dominated INC and they appointed Rash Behari Ghosh to be the president. However, extremists were of the opinion that the methods followed by the moderates hadn’t achieved goals and hence wanted Lala Lajpat Rai or Bal Gangadhar Tilak to be president. The session was shifted to Surat from Pune so that Bal Gangadhar Tilak couldn’t preside over it which led the division.
Answer 3: The British decided to use the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ to create a rift between Hindu-Muslim community. The then Viceroy Lord Curzon contributed to it. Bengal was a very large province. To carry out the work of this province was difficult from an administrative point of view. By putting up this reason, in 1905, he declared the partition of Bengal province. With this partition, arrangement was made such that majority Muslims will remain in East Bengal and West Bengal for majority of Hindus. The hidden strategy of the British was, if the Hindu-Muslims were divided, due to partition, then the freedom movement would be weakened.
3. Write Short Notes.
(1) Objectives of Indian National Congress
(2) Anti Partition Movement
(3) Four point program of Indian National Congress
Answer 1: Objectives of the Indian National Congress
Answer 3: Four point programme of Indian National Congress Gopal Krishna Gokhale was the President of Indian National Congress session of 1905. He supported the anti partition movement. Dadabhai Nowrojee was the President of the 1906 session. For the first time he pronounced the word ‘Swaraj’ from the stage. In his Presidential speech he gave the message that remain united, try sincerely and fulfill the aim of Swaraj. So that today we will be able to save lakhs of people suffering from poverty, hunger, diseases and India will get a respectable position among developed countries.
In the same session Swaraj, Swadeshi, National Education and Boycott, this 4 point programme was unanimously accepted by the Indian National Congress. Due to the Swadeshi movement we will be self-sufficient. To follow the path of Swadeshi we need to bring together capital, resources, manpower and such other forces and from this the benefit of the country could be achieved. It was decided that boycotting of foreign goods is the first step and boycott of foreign rule will be the next step. Due to boycott we will be able to attack the roots of British imperialism, was the opinion of some of the leaders.
4. Explain the background behind the establishment of Indian National Congress with the help of the following points.
• Centralisation of administration
• Economic exploitation
• Western education
• Study of Ancient Indian History
• Role of newspapers
Answer 4 a: Centralisation of administration –Due to British administration, its implementation on India brought the nation under one roof in its true sense. Due to identical reforms all over the country and equality before law, the feeling of nationalism developed among the people. For the convenience of administration and swift movement of the army the British built network of roads and railways. But these facilities benefited the Indians as well. People from different parts of India came in contact with each other, there was an increase in communication and the feeling of nationalism grew.
Answer b: Economic exploitation –The Indian wealth was flowing towards England by all means. Due to the imperialist policy of England there was the beginning of economic exploitation of India. Farmers were compelled to take cash crops, burden of land taxes, continuous famines all this broke down the backbone of Indian agriculture. Traditional industries declined which led to rise in unemployment. The Capitalists exploited the worker class. Various new taxes were imposed on the middle class. This led to growth of discontent among the people.
Answer c: Western education –Due to the spread of western education, new ideas such as Justice, Liberty, Equality, Democracy, etc. were introduced to the Indians. Rationalism, Scientific attitude, humanity, nationalism these principles were accepted by the Indians. Therefore, there inculcated a feeling that we are capable of carrying out the work of the country and its progress is possible by following these principles. India is a country of diverse languages but with the introduction of English language, India got a new medium of communication.
Answer d: The ‘Asiatic Society’ was established at Bengal by the British. Many Indian and western scholars started study of Indian culture. The manuscripts in Sanskrit, Persian and other languages were examined and research was published. Dr.Bhau Daji Lad, Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar these Indian scholars made intensive study of ancient Indian culture. After understanding that we are blessed with glorious ancient tradition, the Indians were awakened with a sense of Identity. The ‘Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute’ has been working since the last 100 years in Pune.
Answer e: Role of newspapers –During this period, English and Vernacular newspapers and periodicals came to be published. Through these newspapers, political and social awakening took place. Newspapers like Darpan, Prabhakar, Hindu, Amrit Bazar Patrika, Kesari, Maharatta started criticising the Government.
Q5. Discuss the Lucknow Pact.
Answer: In the Lucknow session of Indian National Congress in 1916, under the leadership of Lokmanya Tilak, an attempt was made to resolve the dispute in the Indian National Congress. In the same year there was an agreement between Indian National Congress and Muslim League known as the ‘Lucknow Pact’. According to this pact, the Indian National Congress agreed to seperate electorates to Muslims and Muslim League agreed to support the Indian National Congress in its work for getting political rights to India.
Q6. Write a short note on establishment of Muslim League.
Answer: The British became very disturbed looking at the overwhelming response to the Indian National Congress in the anti partition movement. The British once again followed the policy of ‘divide and rule’. They started using the propaganda that for safeguarding the interest of Muslims they should have a seperate political organisation. Due to the motivation of the British government a committee of upper class Muslims under the leadership of Aga Khan met Governor General Lord Minto. Due to the motivation from Lord Minto and other British officers, the Muslim League was established in 1906.