COLONIAL CITIES

Question 1

Jawaharlal Nehru’ grandfather, Ganga Dhar Nehru, was the kotwal of ______ before the revolt of 1857.

Answer 1

Delhi.

Question 2

Term Qasbah meaning in history of modern India?

Answer 2

Qasbah is a small town in the countryside, often the seat of a locale notable.

Question 3

European commercial companies had set up base in different places early during the Mughal era
1. The Portuguese in ________
2. The Dutch in ________
3. The British in _________
4. The French in ________

Answer 3

1. The Portuguese in Panaji in 1510.
2. The Dutch in Masulipatnam in 1605.
3. The British in Madras in 1639.
4. The French in Pondicherry in 1673.

Question 4

The first all India census was attempted in _____.
Is it a valuable source for studying urbanization in India?

Answer 4

• 1872, Thereafter, from 1881, decennial (conducted every 10 years) census became a regular feature.
  This collection of data is an invaluable source for studying urbanization in India.

Question 5

1. The introduction of railways in 1853 meant a change in the fortunes of towns. Economic activity 1941 gradually shifted away from traditional towns which were located along old routes and rivers.
2. For instance, Mirzapur on the Ganges, which specialised in collecting cotton goods from the Deccan, increased when a railway link was made to Bombay.
   True/false?

Answer 5

1. True
2. False- For instance, Mirzapur on the Ganges, which specialised in collecting cotton goods from the Deccan, declined when a railway link was made to Bombay.

Question 6

What is Doric, Ionic and Corinthian in history of modern India?

Answer 6

Ionic was one of the three orders (organizational systems) of Ancient Greek architecture.
The other two being Doric and Corinthian.
One feature that distinguished each other was the style of the capital at the head of the columns.

Question 7

After the revolt of 1857
1. Civil Lines were set up, White people began to live in the Civil Lines.
2. Cantonments- places where Indian troops under European command were stationed - were also developed as the safe enclaves.
True/false?

Answer 7

1. True
2. True.

Question 8

From the 1860s and 1870s, stringent administrative measures regarding sanitation were implemented and building activity in the Indian towns was regulated. Underground piped water supply and sewerage and drainage systems were also put in place around this time. ________ thus became another way of regulating Indian towns.

Answer 8

Sanitary Vigilance.

Question 9

How was Simla (present day Shimla) founded?

Answer 9

Was founded during the course of the Gurkha war (1815-16).

Question 10

Anglo-Maratha war of 1818 led to the British interest in _________; and Darjeeling was wrested from the rulers of Sikkim in ______.

Answer 10

Mount Abu.
1835.

Question 11

Term Sanitariums with respect to history of modern India?

Answer 11

The hill stations were also developed as Sanitariums, i.e, places where soldiers could be sent for rest and recovery from illnesses.

Question 12

In 1864 the Viceroy _________ officialy moved his council to Simla, setting seal to the practice of shifting capitals during the hot season.

Answer 12

John Lawrence.

Question 13

She was a pioneering figure in Bengali theatre and was one of the prime movers behind the setting up of the Star theatre (1883) in Calcutta?

Answer 13

Binodini Dasi.

Question 14

Meaning of tamashas and swangs with respect to history of modern India?

Answer 14

Tamashas (folk theatre)
Swangs (satires).

Question 15

The Company had first set up its trading activities in the well established port of Surat on the west coast. Subsequently the search for textiles brought British merchants to the east coast. In 1639 they constructed a trading post in Madraspatam. This settlement was locally known as Chenapattanam. The Company had, purchased the right of settlement from the local Telugu lords, __________, who were eager to support trading activity in the region.

Answer 15

The Nayaks of Kalahasti.

Question 16

Which fort became the nucleus of White Town?
Who was allowed to live within the fort?

Answer 16

Fort St George.
Color and religion determined who was allowed to live within the fort.
The company did not permit any marriages with Indians.
Other than English, the Dutch and Portuguese were allowed to stay here because they were European and Christian.

Question 17

Term Pet and Puram meaning with respect to history of modern India?

Answer 17

Pet is a tamil word meaning settlement.
Puram is used for a village.

Question 18

Term ———- area meant for
1. Chintadripet-
2. Washerman-
3. Royapuram- ?

Answer 18

1. Chintadripet- area meant for weavers.
2. Washerman- colony of dyers and bleachers of cloth.
3. Royapuram- settlement for Christian boatmen who worked for the company.

Question 19

Term dubashes meaning with respect to history of modern India?

Answer 19

Dubashes were Indians who could speak two languages- the local language and English.

Question 20

Role of dubashes in modern India?

Answer 20

They worked as agents and merchants, acting as intermediaries between Indian society and the British.
They used their privileged position in government to acquire wealth.
Their powerful position in society was established by their charitable works and patronage of temples in the Black town.

Question 21

Madras settlement
1. Initially jobs with the company were monopolised by the Vellalars, a rural caste who took advantage of the new opportunities provided by British rule.
2. With the spread of English education in the nineteenth century, brahmins started competing for similar positions in the administration.
True/false.

Answer 21

1. True
2. True.

Question 22

Who were Telugu Komatis, Paraaiyars and Vanniyars (modern india)?

Answer 22

1. Telugu Komatis were a powerful commercial group that controlled the grain trade in the city. Gujarati bankers had also been present since the eighteenth century.
2. Paraiyars and Vanniyars formed the labouring poor.
   The Nawab of Arcot settled in nearby Triplicane which became the nucleus of a substantial Muslim settlement. Mylapore Road and, Triplicane were earlier Hindu religious centres that supported a large group of Brahmins. San Thome with its cathedral was the centre for Roman Catholics. All these settlements became part of Madras city.

Question 23

In 1757, when Sirajudaula was defeated in the battle of Plassey, the East India Company decided to build a new fort, one that could not be easily attacked.
Calcutta has grown from three villages called __________.

Answer 23

Sutanati, Kolkata and Govindapur.

Question 24

Why a vast open space was left around the new Fort William?

Answer 24

Around the Fort William they left a vast open space which came to be locally known as the Maidan or garer-math.
This was done so that there would be no obstructions to a straight line of fire from the Fort against an advancing enemy army.

Question 25

What was the “Minute on Calcutta town improvement”?

Answer 25

Governor General Lord Wellesley (1798-1805) began the planning process with his prescriptive ‘Minute on Calcutta’ in 1803 which led to the setting up of the Lottery Committee in 1817— so called because funds for city development were raised through public lotteries.

Question 26

Who was the Governor General when the Lottery Committee was set up?

Answer 26

Francis Edward Rawdon Hastings– 1st marquess of Hastings was the Governor General of India (1813 to 1823).

Question 27

Why was Lottery Committee so named?

Answer 27

1. Lottery Committee was so named because funds for town improvement were raised through public lotteries.
2. Raising funds for the city was still thought to be the responsibility of public minded citizens and not exclusively that of the government.

Question 28

Cholera started spread from 1817 and in 1896 plague made its appearance.
The cause of these diseases had not yet been established firmly by medical science.
There was a direct correlation between living conditions and the spread of disease. Such views were supported by prominent Indian merchants in the city, such as _______ and _________, who felt that Calcutta needed to be made more healthy.

Answer 28

Dwarkanath Tagore and Rustomjee Cowasjee.

Question 29

Thatched huts were banned in ______ and tilted roofs made mandatory.

Answer 29

1836.

Question 30

Which city was declared as the Urbs Prima in Indis modern India?

Answer 30

In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened and this further strengthened Bombay government and Indian merchants used this opportunity to declare Bombay Urbs Prima in Indis.

Question 31

Term chawl meaning with respect to history of modern India?

Answer 31

The lack of space in the city and crowding led to a type of building unique to Bombay the chawl, the multi-storeyed single room apartments with long open corridors built around a courtyard.