Chapter 19 -
Reforms in India during the rule of the East India Company
1. 1. Answer-
a) What is the Code of Lord Cornwallis known as?
Answer: the Proceedings of Lord Cornwallis known as the Cornwallis Code.
b) Who introduced permanent settlement in India?
Answer: Permanent settlement in India was introduced by Lord Cornwallis.
c) Which Governor General introduced land leasing in India?
Answer: Lord Hastings introduced land leases.
d) Which English Governor General prepared Charles Wood's letter on education?
Answer: Charles reply letter regarding education Prepared by Lord Delhousie.
5) Who wrote the first woman's autobiography in India?
Answer: Rajsundari Devi wrote the autobiography of the first woman in India.
2. 2. Match part 'A' with part 'B'-
Answer:
3. 3. Correct/incorrect judgment —
a) The Emperor of Delhi was present when the East India Company established itself as a monarchy in India
Fakhshiar/Bahadur Shah II.
Answer: Farukhshiar.
b) In 1781, Warren Hastings/Lord Hastings opened a madrassa in Calcutta.
Answer: Warren Hastings.
c) Military forces by the East India Company to protect the interests of the Company/to acquire new states
They were formed.
Answer: To protect the interests of the company.
(d) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan/Nawab Abdul Latif established the Anglo Oriental College.
Answer: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
e) The author of Satya Rath Prakash was Dayananda Saraswati/Raja Rammohan Roy.
Answer: Dayananda Saraswati.
4. Typing-
(a) Raja Rammohan Roy
Answer: Raja Rammohan Roy was a famous social reformer of Bengal. He tried to build an anti-idolatry and caste-free Indian society. Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahma Sabha in 1828 and later in 1830 it became a social reform organization called the Brahma Samaj. Later, Devendra Nath Tagore, father of the poet Rabindranath Tagore, became his associate. Rammohan Roy helped Lord William Bentinck to remove the evils of society such as satidah and female infanticide. He also emphasized the education of women. Remarriage of underage widows was considered a major responsibility of the Brahmin community. While carrying out such reforms, Raja Rammohan Roy saw another major flaw in Indian Hindu society. At that time, Indians who ate with Christians or went abroad for higher education were declared fallen by the Hindu community and expelled from society. These people were highly educated but had to convert to Christianity for fear of such stigma in society. Raja Rammohan Roy took these educated people into Hinduism by initiating them into the Brahmin religion he had established.
(b) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Answer: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the main sponsor of the Aligarh Movement. In the late 18th century, the light of Western education inspired Muslims. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan inspired the Muslims of North India to adopt the English language and new ideas. In 1877, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan established the Anglo Oriental College for Muslim students in Aligarh. It focused on science education. This later became the University of Aligarh. Gradually, the spirit of social and religious reforms developed among the Muslims. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan created awareness by banning the practices of veil, polygamy and child marriage prevalent in their society.
(c) Swami Vivekananda
Answer: He is a priest of the Kali temple in Dakshineswar, Calcutta and a disciple of spiritual guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa. Swami Vivekananda realized the importance of Paramahansa's teachings and accepted his discipleship. Later, in 1897, Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission to spread the teachings of Paramahansa.
(d) Dayananda Saraswati
Answer: Swami Dayananda Saraswati's real name was Mool Shankar. He was the founder of the Arya Samaj and a famous social reformer. He believed in God and opposed idolatry. The Arya Samaj, the organization he founded, did not accept caste discrimination, opposed child marriage, insisted on widow marriage and claimed that seafaring was not contrary to Hinduism. Swami Dayananda Saraswati also introduced conversion to Hinduism in imitation of Islam which was called 'Shuddhi' He wrote a book on social reforms called Satya Rath Prakash.
(e) Debendra Nath Tagore
Answer: Debendra Nath Tagore was the father of the poet Rabindra Nath Tagore. He was also known as a socially conscious person. He was an associate of Raja Ram Mohan Roy in the social reform movements in Bengal in the 18th century. In collaboration with Raja Ram Mohan Roy, he helped to eradicate the evils of society such as satidah and female child murder. He also emphasized the education of women.
5. 5. Write the answer in 50 words—
(a) Who introduced the permanent settlement? What are the conditions?
Answer: During his reign, Lord Cornwallis introduced a permanent revenue system in place of five-year or one-year revenue settlements.
According to the permanent settlement, the zamindars were entitled to enjoy the land but if they could not pay the fixed amount or revenue required by the government, the zamindar's land went under the government. This system empowered the zamindar class but caused considerable suffering to the peasants.
(b) What were the judicial reforms under British rule?
Answer: During the British rule, some changes were made to the trial system. Different laws were in force in different parts of the former Indian empires. Instead, the East India Company established a kind of law-court throughout India. Lord Cornwallis made some adjustments to the Dewani and Sadar Nizam Courts (Courts of Criminal Cases) to facilitate trials. The Governor General, Lord May or Hastings, appointed Indians to the courts and increased the powers of the Indian Munsifs and became the favorite of the people of this country.
(c) What were the reform works of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar?
Answer: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a prominent social worker of Bengal. He tried hard to awaken the society for the promotion of women's education. As a result, in the mid-19th century, many women took up education at home. Rajsundari Devi of Calcutta showed special interest in education. He wrote an autobiographical book in Bengali called ‘Amar Jeevan ’. This was the first autobiographical book by an Indian woman. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar placed great emphasis on remarriage of widows and set an example in the society by marrying a widow to his son.
