Class 8 Social (History) - Our Pasts
III
Colonialism and The City - The Story
of An Imperial Capital
NCERT Answers for Chapter 14, Chapter Exercise (Important questions only)
Question.3: Identify three
differences in the city design of New Delhi and Shahjahanabad.
Answer:
Some major differences in the city design of New Delhi and Shahjahanabad are as
follows:
1. New Delhi has no walls around the city while Shahjahanabad was
a walled city.
2. New Delhi was planned and spacious whereas Shahjahanabad was
unplanned and much congested city.
3. New Delhi has broad and wide streets, sprawling bungalows
whereas Shahjahanabad had crowded mohallas, winding lanes and Havellis.
Question.4: Who lived in the “white” areas in cities such
as Madras?
Answer:
In Madras, Bombay or Calcutta, the living spaces of Indian and the British were
sharply separated. Indians lived in the “Black” areas while the British lived
in the well laid out “White” areas.
Question.5: What is meant by
de-urbanization?
Answer:
For the convenience of trade the British developed new centers of trade like
Calcutta, Madras and Bombay on Eastern and Western coastal areas respectively.
In late 18th century these places became as Presidency cities under
the British rule. Cities which used to be very important since the ancient and Mughal
period gradually lost their importance. Simultaneously many towns manufacturing
specialized goods started to decline due to a drop in the demand for what they
produced. Old trading centers and ports could not survive when the flow of
trade moved to the new centers. Trades and exports via the earlier important
ports like Surat, Masulipatnam etc failed dramatically. At the same time, the
earlier centers of regional power collapsed when local rulers were defeated by
the British and new centers of administration emerged. Hence, more and more
people began to shift from the places which used to be important cities in the
past. This process is described as de-urbanization.
Some
of the cities which were de-urbanized during the 19th century are
Surat, Masulipatnam and Seringapatnam.
Question.6: Why did the British
choose to hold a grand Durbar in Delhi although it was not the capital?
Answer:
There was a symbolic importance. Once the revolt broke out in 1857, many
spectacular events took place in Delhi. In 1877, the then viceroy of India
Lytton organized a Durbar to acknowledge Queen Victoria as the Empress of India
in Delhi although Delhi was not the capital. The British had realized that the
Mughal was still important to the people and they saw him as their leader. It
was therefore very important to celebrate British power with pomp and show in
the city where the Mughal Emperors had ruled and the place which had turned into
a rebel stronghold in 1857.
By
holding Delhi Durbar the British wanted to show their superiority and ultimate
power or supremacy to every Indian. By holding this Durbar they also tried to
send a signal to all Indians that the Mughal emperor was no more their ruler,
the British Queen was the Queen of India too. In 1911, when King George was
crowned in England a Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the occasion. The
Delhi Durbar was a show-off of the British.
Question.7: How did the old city of
Delhi change under British rule?
Answer:
The 1857 revolt, in which Delhi remained under rebel control for four months,
compelled the British to review and renew their policies towards India. After
the British regained the city, they embarked on a campaign of revenge and
plunder. The British took a policy to wipe out the memories of Mughal past from
Delhi and endorse themselves in the minds of the people of Delhi and the whole
country. The area around red fort was completely cleared of gardens, pavilions and
mosques. Particularly the mosques were either destroyed or put to other uses.
For example, the Zinat-al-Masjid was converted into a bakery, worshipping in
Jama Masjid was forbidden for 5 years. One third of the city was demolished.
The systems of wells or Baolis were broken and the canals were filled up. In
the 1870s, the Western walls of Shahjahanabad were broken to establish the
railway and to allow the city to expand beyond the walls.
At
this time they constructed a new city known as New Delhi as a 10 square mile
city on Raisina Hill, South of the old city. New Delhi was designed much better
in all respect than the old city of Delhi.
The
people in the old walled city were neglected as they were Indians. The British
Government did little for the development and improvement of the old city of
Delhi, and its people.
Question.8: How did the partition
affect life in Delhi?
Answer:
The partition of India in 1947 led to a massive transfer of people on both
sides of the new border. As a result the population of Delhi swelled.
Immediately after the partition severe communal riots broke out in many places.
Thousands of people in Delhi were killed; their houses were looted and burnt.
Over two-thirds of the Delhi Muslims migrated and almost 44000 homes were
abandoned. Their places were taken by equally large number of Sikh and Hindu
refugees who came from Pakistan. Nearly 500,000 people were added to Delhi
population. Delhi became a city of refugees. They stayed in camps, schools,
military barracks and gardens, hoping to build new homes. Those who were
fortunate got the opportunity to occupy the residences that were vacated. The
Government also tried to rehabilitate these refugees in and around Delhi.
The
skills and occupations of the refugees were quite different from those of the
people whom they replaced. Many of the Muslims who went to Pakistan were
artisans, traders and labourers while the new migrants who came to Delhi were
lawyers, teachers, shopkeepers, rural landlords. Partition changed their
occupations and life-style as they had to take up new jobs and business here.
The large migration of people from Pakistan and other parts to Delhi resulted
into a total change of culture, tastes and sensibilities in food, dress and
style of living.
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