The Glimpses of the Past - Reading Comprehension

AP / NCERT Grade 8 Honeydew Chapter 3
Reading Comprehension The Glimpses of the Past

Reading Comprehension 1

 The Company’s conquests (1757-1849)

 (Scene 1: A Map of India)

Narrator: With its superior weapons, the British East India Company was extending its power in 18th century India.

 (Scene 2: Inside a palace)

Narrator: Indian princes were short-sighted.

Indian princes: That upstart Rajah Bah! Call the English merchants. They will help me to defeat him.

Narrator: The people had no peace due to such constant fights.

(Scene 3: At war)

Narrator: The rivalries helped the East India Company and it could easily subdue Indian princes one by one.

 (Scene 4: Sacrifice of Tipu Sultan)

Narrator: A far-seeing ruler like the brave Tipu of Mysore fought the British till he died fighting!

Narrator: How did Indians react to these conquests? (People with varied opinions can be seen discussing the conquests of Britishers)

 (Scene 5: Three royal men can be seen discussing inside a palace)

Royal man 1: Thank God, there is peace in the country now! No more wars and no looting by thugs!

Royal man 2: It is God who sent the British!

Royal man 3: Our destiny is linked with them!

 (Scene 6: Four common people can be seen reacting to the conquest of Britishers)

Man 1: The white man has killed or dethroned our kings.

Man 2: Some kings were not good, but after all, they were of this land.

Man 3: Now we have become slaves of foreigners!

1. What advantage did the British East India Company have over Indian princes in the 18th century?

   a) Superior numbers of troops

   b) Advanced technology and weapons

   c) Strong political alliances with other Indian rulers

   d) Better understanding of Indian culture

2. How did the rivalry among Indian princes affect the East India Company's conquests?

   a) It made it difficult for the East India Company to gain power.

   b) It led to the defeat of the East India Company by Indian princes.

   c) It allowed the East India Company to easily subdue Indian princes.

   d) It resulted in a period of peace in India.

3. Who was Tipu Sultan, and how did he react to the British conquest?

   a) He was an ally of the British and supported their conquest.

   b) He surrendered to the British without a fight.

   c) He fought the British until his death.

   d) He negotiated a peace treaty with the British.

4. How did the common people react to the British conquest of India?

   a) They celebrated the British as liberators.

   b) They saw the British as allies against their own rulers.

   c) They lamented the loss of their native rulers.

   d) They supported the British in their conquest.

5. The passage suggests that all Indian royal figures and common people had a unified opinion about the British conquest. (True/False)

Reading Comprehension 2

British Rule (1765-1836)

 (Scene 1-2: Religious leaders can be seen speaking to a crowd of people)

Narrator: Religious leaders preached ideas like untouchability and child marriage.

Religious leader 1: Anyone who crosses the seas loses his religion.

Religious leader 2: All the misery in the world is due to women.

 (Scene 3: Britishers can be seen having conversations with each other)

Narrator: The truth was that Indians had lost self-respect. The British scorned them.

British man 1 (addressing to another English man): The natives are unworthy of trust, incapable of honesty–

Indian man: True, your honour, but I am honest.

 (Scene 4: A British man speaks to a poor farmer)

Narrator: Being merchants, the British wanted quick profits, their heavy taxes forced farmers to abandon their fields.

British man: You are still in arrears. If you don’t pay next week. I will send you to jail.

Farmer: But your men are taking all my crop!

 (Scene 5: The Britishers can be seen discussing the new inventions)

Narrator: Still, the British invented other methods which gave them more profits.

British man 1: The goods manufactured in England should not have any import duty when brought into India.

British man 2: A good idea!

Narrator: The East India Company’s laws began to cripple Indian industries.

 (Scene 6: Starvation of Indians)

Narrator: Inevitably famines followed. Between 1822 and 1836 fifteen lakh Indians died of starvation.

Narrator: The British policies ruined the expert artisans and their business.

 1. What harmful ideas were preached by some religious leaders during the British rule in India?

   a) Ideas of equality and unity

   b) Ideas of tolerance and acceptance

   c) Ideas of untouchability and child marriage

   d) Ideas of religious freedom

2. How did the British view the Indian people according to the passage?

   a) They respected and trusted them.

   b) They saw them as honest and capable.

   c) They scorned and distrusted them.

   d) They admired their culture and traditions.

3. What impact did heavy taxes imposed by the British have on Indian farmers?

   a) The taxes had no effect on farmers.

   b) Farmers were able to pay the heavy taxes.

   c) Farmers were forced to abandon their fields.

   d) British officials helped farmers with their taxes.

4. What effect did the East India Company's policies have on Indian industries?

   a) They boosted Indian industries.

   b) They had no impact on Indian industries.

   c) They supported and promoted Indian industries.

   d) They began to cripple Indian industries.

5. Fill in the Blanks:

"Inevitably famines followed. Between 1822 and 1836 fifteen lakh Indians died of __________."

Reading Comprehension 3

Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)

 (Scene 1: Raja Ram Mohan Roy's conversation with a political member)

Narrator: Ram Mohan Roy, a learned man from Bengal, understood what was wrong with the country.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (to a political member): Let us not despise ourselves, our ancient culture is great. And we are capable of greater achievements. We must first reform our society. Superstitions have been ruining us.

(Scene 2: At Roy's house)

Narrator: He told his wife Uma–

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (to his wife): Cows are of different colours, but the colour of their milk is the same. Different teachers have different opinions but the essence of every religion is the same.

 (Scene 3: Roy's meeting with common people)

Narrator: He was attracted by science and modern knowledge.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Knowledge should be practical and scientific.

Narrator: He started newspapers but the suspicious British stopped them in 1823.

 (Scene 4: In England)

Narrator: He crossed the seas and went to England to see what made the British powerful. There he told them–

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (to the Britishers): We accept you as rulers, and you must accept us as subjects. But you must remember the responsibility a ruler owes to his subjects.

1. What was Ram Mohan Roy's primary concern, as mentioned in the passage?

   a) Gaining political power

   b) Preserving ancient culture

   c) Advancing scientific knowledge

   d) Promoting superstitions

2. According to Ram Mohan Roy, what was the common essence of all religions?

   a) Different religions have different essences.

   b) The essence of every religion is the same.

   c) There is no essence to any religion.

   d) The essence of religion is superstition.

3. Why did the British authorities stop Ram Mohan Roy's newspapers in 1823?

   a) They feared the newspapers would promote British culture.

   b) They wanted to suppress freedom of speech.

   c) The newspapers were critical of British rule.

   d) The newspapers had low readership.

4. Where did Ram Mohan Roy travel to learn from the British, as mentioned in the passage?

   a) He went to England.

   b) He went to the United States.

   c) He went to China.

   d) He did not travel abroad.

5. State True or False

Ram Mohan Roy believed that the British rulers should accept the responsibility they owed to their subjects. (True/False)

bbca true

Reading Comprehension 4

Oppression (1765-1835)

 (Scene 1: Indians at jail)

Narrator: But the British continued to oppress Indians. In 1818, they had passed Regulation III. Under it, an Indian could be jailed without trial in a court.

 (Scene 2: Three Britishmen can be seen enjoying their party)

Narrator: All the time British officers in India drew big salaries and also made fortunes in private business.

 (Scene 3: Exporting goods)

Narrator: By 1829, Britain was exporting British goods worth seven crore rupees to India.

Narrator: The British prospered on the Company’s loot while Indian industries began to die.

 (Scene 4: The life of Indian weavers)

Narrator: Governor-General Bentinck reported back home –

Bentinck: “The bones of cotton weavers are bleaching the plains of India.”

1. What did Regulation III, passed in 1818, allow the British to do in India?

   a) Export more British goods

   b) Promote Indian industries

   c) Jail Indians without trial in a court

   d) Provide trial and legal rights to Indians

2. How did British officers in India benefit during this period?

   a) They drew small salaries and struggled financially.

   b) They focused solely on their official duties.

   c) They earned significant salaries and made fortunes in private business.

   d) They supported Indian industries.

3. What was the impact of Britain's export of goods to India by 1829, as mentioned in the passage?

   a) It boosted Indian industries.

   b) It led to economic prosperity for India.

   c) It caused the British to suffer losses.

   d) It harmed Indian industries.

4. Who were the individuals referred to as "the bones of cotton weavers" in the passage?

   a) British officers in India

   b) Indian industrialists

   c) Indian weavers

   d) British merchants

5. What does the term "prospered" mean in the context of the passage?

   a) Suffered losses

   b) Achieved success and wealth

   c) Maintained a stagnant state

   d) Exported goods to India

Reading Comprehension 5

Dissatisfaction (1835-56)

 (Scene 1: Macaulay and Bentinck can be seen having a conversation with each other)

Narrator: Education in India was in Persian and Sanskrit. In 1835, a Englishman named Macaulay suggested a change.

Macaulay: We should teach the natives through the English language.

Bentinck : I agree.

 (Scene 2: Common people having conversation with each other)

Narrator: English education produced clerks to whom the British gave petty jobs under them. Incidentally, it also produced a new generation of intellectuals.

Indian man 1: We must educate our brothers.

Indian man 2: And try to improve their material conditions.

Indian man 3: For that we must convey our grievances to the British Parliament.

 (Scene 3: A Map of India- 1856)

Narrator: By 1856, the British had conquered the whole of India.

 (Scene 4: Several people can be seen sitting under a tree and discussing how to drive the Britishers out)

Narrator: They cared little about the needs of Indians.

Man 1: Our kings have become puppets, and we have lost our old jobs.

Man 2: And lands.

Man 3: They are converting, our brothers!

Man 4: You only talk! Do something to drive then out!

1. What suggestion did Macaulay make regarding education in India in 1835?

   a) To continue teaching in Persian and Sanskrit

   b) To introduce French as the primary language of education

   c) To teach the natives through the English language

   d) To abolish education in India

2. What was the unintended consequence of English education in India, as mentioned in the passage?

   a) It produced a new generation of intellectuals.

   b) It created unity and harmony among the Indian people.

   c) It had no impact on the Indian population.

   d) It led to British control over clerks and petty jobs.

3. By what year had the British conquered the whole of India, as mentioned in the passage?

   a) 1835

   b) 1856

   c) 1830

   d) 1870

4. What were the major concerns of the people discussing under the tree in Scene 4?

   a) Concerns about the British converting to Indian religions

   b) Concerns about losing their lands and old jobs

   c) Concerns about the introduction of English education

   d) Concerns about the unity of Indian kings

5. Fill in the Blanks:

"They cared little about the needs of Indians. Our kings have become puppets, and we have lost our old jobs. And lands. They are converting, our brothers! You only talk! Do something to __________ them out!"

cdbb drive

Reading Comprehension 6

The Sparks (1855-57)

(Scene 1: A terrific war)

Narrator: Taxes continued to ruin the peasants. In Bengal, the Santhals who had lost their lands under new land rules, became desperate. In 1855, they rose in rebellion and massacred Europeans and their supporters alike.

 (Scene 2: Soldiers can be seen talking to each other)

Narrator: Discontent was brewing in the East India Company’s army too.

Soldier 1: The white soldier gets huge pay, mansions to live in, servants.

Soldier 2: While we get a pittance and slow promotions!

Soldier 3 & 4: The Angrez asks us to cross the sea which is against our religion. Who is the topiwala to abolish our age-old customs?

Sepoy Mangal Pande (to himself): We must drive out the Angrez.

Narrator: Sepoy Mangal Pande attacked the adjutant of his regiment and was executed.

 (Scene 3: Sepoys revolted against the Europeans)

Narrator: Thousands of other sepoys revolted. They were stripped of their uniforms, humiliated and put in irons.

 (Scene 4: Three men can be seen having conversation with each other)

Narrator: Few Englishmen had care to understand Indian customs or the people’s mind.

Indian man: Oh, proud Brahmin soldiers, do you know that the grease on the bullet you have to bite is made from the fat of cows and pigs?

Brahmin soldier: What ?

Muslim man: The white man has deceived us too!

 (Scene 5: People were sending chapaties from one village to another village)

Narrator: Soon, chapaties were sent from village to village to tell the people that their emperor would want their services.

Man : Yes, all my village men will be ready.

 (Scene 6: Indian soldiers circulates lotus flowers)

Narrator: Similarly lotus flowers circulated among Indian soldiers.

Soldier 5: Death to the foreigner!

Narrator: The masses gave all help and shelter to the patriots.

1. What triggered the rebellion of the Santhals in 1855?

   a) High taxes imposed by the British

   b) Discontent among Indian soldiers

   c) Massacres of Europeans by the Santhals

   d) Religious conflicts

2. Why did many Indian sepoys revolt against the British in the East India Company's army?

   a) They were well-paid and well-treated.

   b) They were unhappy with their slow promotions.

   c) They objected to crossing the sea on religious grounds.

   d) They had complete trust in the British leadership.

3. What caused discontent among Brahmin and Muslim soldiers in the British army?

   a) Differences in salary

   b) Religious customs related to bullet grease

   c) Lack of promotions

   d) Uniform issues

4. How did the people show their support for the rebellion and their readiness to serve their emperor?

   a) Sending letters to the British

   b) Sending chapaties from village to village

   c) Circulating money among Indian soldiers

   d) Organizing protests in the cities

5. In the context of the passage, what does "patriots" refer to?

   a) Soldiers fighting for the British

   b) Supporters of the British rule

   c) Supporters of the rebellion against the British

   d) Religious leaders

Reading Comprehension 7

Revolt (1857)

 (Scene 1: War at Meerut)

Narrator: Then there was a violent outbreak at Meerut.

 (Scene 2: At Delhi)

Narrator: The sepoys marched to Delhi.

Sepoys (in chorus): Long live our Emperor Bahadur Shah!

(Scene 3: A war spread wider)

Narrator: The rebellion spread wider.

(Scene 4: A few men can be seen talking to each other)

Narrator: Many landlords had lost their lands because of the British policies, and they were sore.

Landlord 1: The white man’s rule must end!

Landlord 2: Yes, we will help you.

1. What was the starting point of the violent outbreak mentioned in the passage?

   a) Delhi

   b) Meerut

   c) Agra

   d) Lucknow

2. Where did the sepoys march to in the passage, shouting "Long live our Emperor Bahadur Shah"?

   a) Lucknow

   b) Agra

   c) Delhi

   d) Meerut

3. What was the cause of discontent among many landlords that led them to support the rebellion?

   a) Loss of their lands due to British policies

   b) Gains in their wealth and property

   c) Favorable treatment by the British

   d) British rule's stability

4. What is the primary theme of this passage?

   a) The loyalty of sepoys to the British

   b) The economic success of landlords

   c) The outbreak of a rebellion against the British

   d) The prosperity brought by British rule

5. What does the term "sore" mean in the context of the passage?

   a) Physically injured

   b) Angry or resentful

   c) Afflicted with an illness

   d) Excited and enthusiastic

Reading Comprehension 8

The Fight for Freedom (1857)

 (Scene 1: Begum Hazrat Mahal at her palace)

Narrator: Many former rulers like Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow were bitter.

Begum Hazrat Mahal: The white man has taken away my kingdom!

Narrator: They joined the upsurge against the foreigner.

 (Scene 2: A large group of people can be seen listening to Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad)

Narrator: Popular leaders like Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad told the people –

Maulvi Ahmedulla: Rise, brothers, rise! The Angrez is ruining our land!

Narrator: The people rose everywhere, in Bareilly, Kanpur and Allahabad.

 (Scene 3: At a palace)

Narrator: Azimulla Khan told Tatya Tope

Azimulla Khan: We should have Peshwa Nana Saheb as our leader in this war of independence.

Narrator: The patriots pounced upon the British and fought pitched battles all over North India.

 (Scene 4: At river Ganges)

Narrator: Eighty-year old Kunwar Singh of Bihar received a bullet in his wrist.

Kunwar Singh: Mother Ganga! This is my last offering to you!

1. What sentiment did former rulers like Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow feel, as mentioned in the passage?

   a) Happiness and contentment

   b) Bitterness and resentment

   c) Indifference towards the British

   d) Gratitude for the British rule

2. Who was Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad, and what message did he convey to the people?

   a) He was a British officer who praised their rule.

   b) He was a popular leader who called for resistance against the British.

   c) He was a religious leader advocating cooperation with the British.

   d) He was a historian documenting the British rule.

3. Who did Azimulla Khan suggest as the leader of the war of independence?

   a) Kunwar Singh

   b) Tatya Tope

   c) Begum Hazrat Mahal

   d) Peshwa Nana Saheb

4. What did the patriots do during the period mentioned in the passage?

   a) Collaborated with the British

   b) Fought against the British in various battles

   c) Sought peaceful negotiations with the British

   d) Supported the British rule

5. What does the term "pitched battles" mean in the context of the passage?

   a) Battles fought with arrows and bows

   b) Battles fought on a flat, level field

   c) Battles fought with preplanned strategies

   d) Battles fought with great intensity and determination