How did the medieval British historians approach Indian history and how is it different from today's approach?
Explanation:
This answer for this question can be broken down into three parts.
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Classification of Indian history by 19th century British historians and its drawbacks (2mark)
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Factors considered for the classification of Indian history by present day historians (1 mark)
Answer:
In the middle of the nineteenth century British historians divided the history of India into three periods: “Hindu”, “Muslim” and “British”. This division ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent and other significant developments in the economy, society and culture. Opposed to this purely religious division, nowadays historians look at the economic and social factors to characterise the major events from the past. Apart from religion they considers the spread of peasant societies, the rise of regional and imperial state formations, the development of Hinduism and Islam as major religions and the arrival of European trading companies.
Explanation:
This answer for this question can be broken down into three parts.
-
Classification of Indian history by 19th century British historians and its drawbacks (2mark)
-
Factors considered for the classification of Indian history by present day historians (1 mark)
Answer:
In the middle of the nineteenth century British historians divided the history of India into three periods: “Hindu”, “Muslim” and “British”. This division ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent and other significant developments in the economy, society and culture. Opposed to this purely religious division, nowadays historians look at the economic and social factors to characterise the major events from the past. Apart from religion they considers the spread of peasant societies, the rise of regional and imperial state formations, the development of Hinduism and Islam as major religions and the arrival of European trading companies.
