NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 3 Glimpses of the Past
NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 3 Glimpses of the Past are provided below. These solutions contain answers to all the textbook questions. All the questions are solved by experts with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments and homework. NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 3 Glimpses of the Past are prepared as per the latest CBSE syllabus and curriculum. Students of Class 8th can study the answers provided here to score well in their school exams.
Glimpses of the Past Class 8 NCERT Questions and Answers
Comprehension Check (Page 45)
Question 1: Look at picture 1 and recall the opening lines of the original song in Hindi. Who is the singer? Who else do you see in this picture?
Answer: The opening lines of the Hindi Song are “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon, Tum Khub Laga lo Naara: Ye Shubh Din Hai Hum Sab Ka Lehralo Tiranga Pyara, Par Mat Bhulo Seema Par Veron Ne Hain Pran Gawayen.” It was sung by Lata Mangeskar. We see Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Mrs Indira Gandhi in this picture.
Question 2: In picture 2 what do you understand by the Company’s ‘superior weapons?
Answer: The East India Company’s “superior weapons” refers to the arms and ammunition such as guns and cannons, wit, strong rules and regulations and diplomacy of the British rulers.
Question 3: Who is an artisan? Why do you think the artisans suffered? (Picture 3)
Answer: An artisan is a craftsman, skilled in some trade. They suffered because the goods that they produced lost demand in the Indian market.
Question 4: Which picture, according to you, reveals the first sparks of the fire of revolt?
Answer: Picture 7 reveals the first spark of the fire of revolt.
Working with the Text
Answer the following questions.
Question 1: Do you think the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach to the events of 1757?
Answer: Yes, the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach. They fought against each other with the help of the British. Thus the British became the virtual rulers.
Question 2: How did the East India Company subdue the Indian Princes?
Answer: The Indian princes were constantly at war with each other. They called the English merchants to help them in their fights. The people had no peace due to such constant fights. The rivalries helped the East India Company subdue the Indian princes one by one.
Question 3: Quote the words used by Ram Mohan Roy to say that every religion teaches the same principles.
Answer: According to Ram Mohan Roy, “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.”
Question 4: In what ways did the British officers exploit Indians?
Answer: The British rulers passed a resolution under which an Indian could be sent to jail without trial in a court. The goods manufactured in England were exempted from custom duty. The officers prospered on the company’s loot and their private business flourished.
Question 5: Name these people.
(i) The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and died fighting.
(ii) The person who wanted to reform the society.
(iii) The person who recommended the introduction of English education in India.
(iv) Two popular leaders who led the revolt (Choices may vary.)
Answer: (i) Kunwar Singh
(ii) Ram Mohan Roy
(iii) Macaulay
(iv) Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad and Peshwa Nana Saheb
Question 6: Mention the following.
(i) Two examples of social practices prevailing then.
(ii) Two oppressive policies of the British.
(iii) Two ways in which common people suffered.
(iv) Four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of Independence.
Answer: (i) Untouchability and child marriage.
(ii) The British masters allowed imports in India tax free. They ruined Indian cottage industries.
(iii) The farmers were taxed heavily and the thumbs of skilled workers were cut.
(iv) (a) Santhals who lost their land became desperate and they revolted.
(b) The sepoys in the English army were paid much less than white soldiers. So they were discontented and angry.
(c) The Brahmins were furious when they came to know that the bullets they had to bite, contained cow fat and pig-fat.
(d) Many landlords were sore because the British policies deprived them of their land and estate.
Working with Language
In comics what the characters speak is put in bubbles. This is direct narration. When we report what the characters speak, we use the method of indirect narration.
Study these examples:
First farmer: Why are your men taking away the entire crop?
Second farmer: Your men have taken away everything.
Officer: You are still in arrears. If you don’t pay tax next week, I’ll send you to jail.
- The first farmer asked the officer why his men were taking away the entire crop.
- The second farmer said that their men had taken away everything.
- The officer replied that they were still in arrears and warned them that if they did not pay tax the following week, he (the officer) would send them (the farmers) to jail.
1. Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
(i) First man: We must educate our brothers.
Second man: And try to improve their material conditions.
Third man: For that we must convey our grievances to the British Parliament.
The first man said that_____________________________
The second man added that they ___________________
The third man suggested that________________________
Answer: (i) The first man said that they must educate their brothers.
The second man added that they should try to improve their material conditions.
The third man suggested that they must convey their grievances to the British Parliament.
(ii) First soldier: The white soldier gets huge pay, mansions and servants.
Second soldier: We get a pittance and slow promotions.
Third soldier: Who are the British to abolish our customs?
The first soldier said that_____________________________
The second soldier remarked that___________________
The third soldier asked_____________________
Answer:
The first soldier said that the white soldier got huge pay, mansions and servants.
The second soldier remarked that they got a pittance and slow, promotions.
The third soldier asked who the British were to abolish their customs.
Speaking and Writing
Question 1: Play and act the role of farmers who have grievances against the policies of the government. Rewrite their speech bubbles in dialogue form first.
Answer: Speech bubbles
First farmer : “The English are taking all my crops.”
Second farmer : “Even after taking all my crops they say I have arrears to pay. They threaten to send me to jail.”
First farmer : “Our cotton crop was sold at high price. Now the English force us to give it cheap to them.”
Second farmer : “Then the famines have broken our backs.”
First farmer : “Yes, there are no signs of rain this year too.”
Second farmer : “We grow food but we are dying of hunger.”
Question 2: Look at the pictures.
See NCERT Textbook Pages 47-48
(i) Ask one another questions about the pictures.
- Where is the fox?
- How did it happen?
- What is the fox thinking?
- Who is the visitor?
- What does she want to know?
- What is the fox’s reply?
- What happens next?
- Where is the goat?
- Where is the fox now?
- What is the goat thinking?
Answer:
- The fox is in the well.
- She fell into the well by accident.
- The fox thinks how to get out of there.
- The visitor is a goat.
- She wants to know whether the water is sweet.
- The fox replies that the water is very sweet and she had a lot of it.
- The goat wanted to taste the water.
- The goat is dragged into the water by the fox.
- The fox comes out of the well.
- The goat is thinking of her mother’s advice not to trust any stranger.
(ii) Write the story in your own words. Give it a title.
Answer: Once a fox fell into a well accidentally. She thought how to get out of the well. A goat arrived there by chance. She looked into the well. She asked the fox if the water was sweet. The cunning fox played a trick. She told a lie that the water was very, very sweet, and she had had enough of it. The foolish goat also wanted to taste the water. The fox invited her into the well. The goat reached there soon. Now the fox rode on the goat’s back and climbed out of the well. Then she thanked the goat for help. The goat was reminded of her mother’s words that she must never go by the advice of a stranger.
Question 3: Read the following news item.
See NCERT Textbook Page 49
Based on this news item write a paragraph on what you think about this new method of teaching history.
Answer: There is no doubt that this new method of teaching history is novel and interesting. Moreover, the pictures stay in the mind longer than the words. So it will be very useful if the history is taught through comic strips. There is, however, one snag. At present the syllabus is so huge that it may not be possible to do so. Moreover, many students may spend long time in looking at the pictures. They will have fixed ideas about a historic personality. The pictures may give them the ideas which may not be completely true.
Question 4: Find the chapters in your history book that correspond to the episodes and events described in this comic. Note how the information contained in a few chapters of history has been condensed to a few pages with the help of pictures and ‘speech bubbles’.
Answer: Do it yourself.
Question 5: Create a comic of your own using this story.
Once the Sun and the Wind began to quarrel, each one saying that he was stronger than the other. At last they decided to test each other’s strength. A man with a cloak around his shoulders was passing by. The Wind boasted, “Using my strength I can make that man take off the cloak.” The Sun agreed. The Wind blew hard. The man felt so cold that he clasped his cloak round his body as tightly as possible.
Now it was the turn of the Sun which shone very hot indeed. The man felt so hot that he at once removed the cloak from his body. Seeing the man taking off the cloak, the Wind conceded defeat.
Answer: Self attempt.