[Topic wise IAS Modern Indian History Question Bank (1979-2015)]: (5) Social and Cultural Developments

Social and Cultural Developments: The state of indigenous education, its dislocation; Orientalist-Anglicist controversy, The introduction of western education in India; The rise of press, literature and public opinion; The rise of modern vernacular literature; Progress of science; Christian missionary activities in India.
————————

1. Write a critical note on: “Impact of western contact on social changes in the first half of  19th  century.” [1981, 20m]

2. Review the educational policy of the English East India Company. To what extent did it serve the imperial interests of Great Britain? [1988, 60m]

3. Nowhere was the influence of the missionaries felt more than in relation to the women’s movement. [1989, 20m]

4. What was the Anglicisit-Orientalist controversy about? How was it resolved and with what results? [1990, 60m]

5. “The Government of India from Canning to Curzon was regarded‚ as a white man’s burden rather than as a call to creative effort or the preparation for a new era.” Comment. [1995, 20m]

6. “India broke her British fetters with western hammers.” Comment. [1997, 20m]

7. The Christian Missionary propaganda from 1813 onwards was “often insensitive and wounding.” Comment. [1999, 20m]

8. The British Indian State experienced the ‘wind of change’ with the arrival of Lord William Bentinck. Comment. [1999, 20m]

9. “India broke her British fetters with Western hammers.” Comment. [2002, 20m]

10. Examine the impact of British rule on Indian Society in the 19th Century. [2004, 60m]

11. “The vernacular press in the nineteenth century was both newspaper as well as ‘views-papers’ that enlightened the dormant masses.” Comment. [2008, 20m]

12. “The educated middle class in the 19th century often found the domain of reason to be oppressive, as it implied the historical necessity of ‘civilizing’ colonial rule.” Comment. [2010, 20m]

13. Orientalism produced a knowledge of the past to service the needs of the Colonial States.” Elucidate. [2011, 20m]

14. “The vernacular press in nineteenth century India served not just as newspapers but more importantly as views-papers.” Comment. [2011, 20m]

15 .“The current practice of categorization of ‘Early Modern India’ is based on a shift from the old imperialist periodization of ‘Muslim India’ – ‘British India’ to the more secularist one of ‘Medieval India’ – ‘Modern India’, which puts Indian history in a universalist chronological Structure.” Critically evaluate. [2012, 10m]

Posted from WordPress for Android