NCERT 8th Class (CBSE) Social Science: Colonialism And Urban Change

Question: Discuss in brief the different causes of decline of the small cities, during the British rule.

Answer: Industrialisation led to the rise of new cities like Leeds and Manchester in England, led to rapid urbanization. Even the colonial India was divided by the British into three Presidencies of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras for administrative purposes. With the emergence of new centres, smaller cities declined due to decline of old trading centres and ports, defeat of local rulers by the British. Port towns of Surat and Machlipatnam and pilgrimage towns like Madurai, Kanchipuram and Bhubneshwar also declined.

Delhi remained the capital for more than a thousand years under different rulers. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the capital city of Shahjahanabad, was having a market, the Grand Mosque, and Dargahs, Khanqahs and idgahs. Earlier, Pandavas named it Indraprastha while Rajput ruler Prithviraj controlled Delhi during 11th century. Delhi Sultans fortified Delhi for the first time. Delhi started to decline in 1803 after the British gained control. The Presidencies were demarcated in ‘Black areas’ and ‘White areas’ for Indians and the British. Period of Delhi Renaissance witnessed the establishment of the Delhi College but Delhi was ransacked after the Revolt of 1857, Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled to Burma and many palaces were razed to the ground. Shahjahanabad’s wall was dismantled to lay rail lines. Delhi Durbars were organised in 1877 and in 1911. British shifted the capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911. Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker designed the India Gate, the Viceroy House, and the Parliament House. Colonial Bungalows replaced havelis during the British rule. After the partition, Delhi became a city of refugees, urban culture changed to Punjabi. Different changes were done to meet the need of refugees, led to the decline of havelis.

Question: Discuss a brief historical ground of Delhi’s before development of New Delhi.

Answer:

1. The Indian capital city of Delhi has a long history, and has been an important political centre of India as the capital of several empires. Much of Delhi’s ancient history finds no record and this may be regarded as a lost period of its history. Extensive coverage of Delhi’s history begins with the onset of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century. Since then, Delhi has been the centre of a succession of mighty empires and powerful kingdoms, making Delhi one of the longest serving Capitals and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.
2. It is considered to be a city built, destroyed and rebuilt several times, as outsiders who successfully invaded the Indian Subcontinent would ransack the existing capital city in Delhi, and those who came to conquer and stay would be so impressed by the city’s strategic location as to make it their capital and rebuild it in their own way.
3. The core of Delhi’s tangible heritage is Hindu, Islamic (spanning over seven centuries of Islamic rule over the city) with expansive British-era architecture in Lutyens’ Delhi dating to the British rule in India.
   Significant prehistoric sites in Delhi include Anangpur (in the Badarpur region), as well as Harappan excavations near Narela and Nand Nagari.
4. References to Delhi’s history in ancient literature are based on myths and legends. According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, a city called Indraprastha, “City of the God Indra”, was the capital of the Pandavas. There is a strong belief that Purana Qila was built over the site of ancient Indraprastha. Northern Black Polished Ware (c. 700-200 BCE) have been excavated at the site, and pieces of Painted Grey Ware were found on the surface, suggesting an even older settlement, possibly going back to ca. 1000 BCE.
5. In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273-236 BCE) was discovered near Srinivaspur. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were brought to by Firuz Shah Tughluq in the 14th century. The famous Iron pillarnear the Qutub Minar was commissioned by the emperor Kumara Gupta I of the Gupta dynasty (320-540 CE) and transplanted to Delhi during the 10th century.