NCERT Syllabus Class 8 History

Themes

Objectives

(a) An overview of the period.

(b) Introduction to the new geographical categories.

(c) An outline of the time frame.

(d) An introduction to the sources.

(b) Delineate major developments within the time frame.

(c) Suggest how the sources of study for this period are different from those of earlier periods.

(a) Mercantilism and trade-wars.

(b) Struggle for territory, wars with Indian rulers.

(c) The growth of colonial army and civilian

administration.

(b) Show how the consolidation of British power was linked to the formation of colonial armies and administrative structures.

(a) Colonial agrarian policies; their effect on peasants and landlords.

(b) Growth of commercial crops.

(c) Peasant revolts: focus on indigo rebellions.

(b) Show the continuities and changes with earlier societies.

(c) Discuss how growth of new crops often disrupted

the rhythms of peasant life and led to revolts.

(a) Changes within tribal economies and societies in the nineteenth century.

(b) Tribal revolts: focus on Birsa Munda.

(b) Show how government records can be read against the grain to reconstruct histories of tribal revolts.

(a) Decline of handicrafts in the nineteenth century.

(b) Brief reference to growth of industries in the twentieth century.

de-industrialisation and industrialisation.

(b) Give an idea of the technologies of weaving and the lives of weavers.

(a) The rebellion in the army and the spread of the movement.

(b) The nature of elite and peasant participation.

(b) Point to the changes in colonial rule after 1857.

(c) Illustrate how vernacular and British accounts can be read to understand the rebellion.

(a) The new education system – schools, syllabi, colleges, universities, technical training.

(b) Changes in the indigenous systems.

(c) Growth of ‘National education’.

(b) Discuss how the politics of education is linked to questions of power and cultural identity.

(a) Debates around sati, widow remarriage, child marriage and age of consent.

(b) Ideas of different reformers on the position of women and women’s education.

(b) Outline the history of new laws that affect women’s lives.

(c) Illustrate how autobiographies, biographies and other literature can be used to reconstruct the histories of women.

(a) Arguments for caste reform. The ideas of Phule, Veerasalingam, Sri Narayana Guru, Periyar, Gandhi, Ambedkar.

(b) Consequences and implications of the activities of the reformers.

(b) Discuss why the question of caste was central to most projects of social reform.

(a) De-urbanisation and emergence of new towns.

(b) Implications of colonial policies and institutions – municipalities, public works, planning, railway links, police.

(b) Introduce students to the history of urban spaces through photographs.

(c) Show how new forms of towns emerged in the colonial period.

architecture

(a) Impact of new technologies and institutions: art schools, printing press.

(b) Western academic style and nationalist art.

(c) Changes in performing arts – music and dance enter the public arena.

(d) New forms of writing.

(e) New architecture.

(b) Discuss how these changes are linked to the emergence of a new public culture.

(c) Illustrate how paintings and photographs can be used to understand the cultural history of a period.

(a) Overview of the nationalist movement from the 1870s to the 1940s.

(b) Diverse trends within the movement and different social groups involved.

(c) Links with constitutional changes.

(b) Show how contemporary writings and documents can be used to reconstruct the histories of political movements.

(a) National and regional developments since 1947.

(b) Relations with other countries.

(c) Looking to the future.

(b) Illustrate how newspapers and recent writings can be used to understand contemporary history.