Civilising the “Native”, Educating the Nation – Case-based Questions with Answers
Class 8 — Social Science (History)
Chapter 6: Civilising the “Native”, Educating the Nation
NCERT — Chapter-based Case Questions
CBSE Exam Ready
Prepared for
CBSE Class VIII
CBSE Board Examinations — Systematic order
- Section A: Objective & Case-based Questions — practice contextual understanding and source-reading.
- Section B: Short Answer & Long Answer — apply knowledge and write structured responses.
- Focus: For case-based questions, identify the social/political context, the actor(s), and the consequences (short & long term).
Topic 1: British Educational Policies in India
Understanding official policies, motives, and key documents.
Case 1 — An Education Policy
1. The British administration published a policy recommending the promotion of western-style education through English and supporting universities in India. Identify the likely policy document and explain two important features of this policy.
Answer: The policy is Wood’s Despatch (1854). Two important features: (a) It recommended the establishment of universities in major cities to teach western sciences and literature; (b) It promoted English education as a medium for higher learning while suggesting support for vernaculars at the primary level.
Explanation: Wood’s Despatch is often called the ‘Magna Carta of English education in India’. It laid the foundation for state-supported education and formal institutions — vernaculars were to be used at elementary levels and English for higher education.
Case 2 — Cost and Purpose
2. A British official argued that educating a small number of Indians in English would create a class trained to serve administrative needs. Which historian’s view does this describe, and what was the colonial purpose behind such an education policy?
Answer: This describes Thomas Babington Macaulay’s view (Macaulay’s Minute, 1835). Colonial purpose: to create a class of Indians who were ‘English in taste, in opinions and morals’ to assist in administration and spread European knowledge and values, making colonial rule more effective.
Explanation: Macaulay insisted on English-medium higher education and distrusted indigenous learning systems. The motive was administrative convenience and cultural alignment with Britain.
Case 3 — Vernacular vs English
3. When the British encouraged English for higher education, some argued the vernaculars should still be supported at primary levels. Why was support for vernacular languages at the basic level considered important?
Answer: Vernacular support at primary levels was important because it increased literacy accessibility among the rural and lower-income population, helped children learn in their mother tongue, and preserved local knowledge and culture at the first stages of schooling.
Explanation: English-medium schools were concentrated in towns and accessible only to a few. Using vernaculars at the primary stage made early education more inclusive and practical for most Indians.
Topic 2: Missionary and Private Education
Role played by missionaries, private groups and local initiatives in spreading modern education.
Case 4 — Missionary Schools
4. Missionary societies established many schools that taught reading, writing and arithmetic and sometimes religious instruction. What were two major outcomes of missionary education on Indian society?
Answer: (a) It increased access to western-style literacy and numeracy for many communities; (b) It introduced modern subjects, critical thinking and new social ideas (such as questions about caste and women’s education), which influenced later reform movements.
Explanation: Missionary schools often targeted under-served groups, promoting literacy and sometimes social mobility. Their curriculum and emphasis on modern subjects influenced Indian intellectuals and reformers.
Case 5 — Fees and Accessibility
5. A local squire notes that many missionary schools were affordable while new English-language colleges charged high fees. How did cost influence the social reach of different kinds of schools?
Answer: Lower-cost missionary and vernacular schools were more accessible to the poor and rural populations, whereas costly English colleges were attended mainly by the urban elite and those with financial means, limiting social reach of higher education.
Explanation: Affordability determined who could benefit: primary vernacular and missionary schools broadened basic literacy, while elite English institutions created a small educated class linked to administration and professions.
Topic 3: Education as a Tool for Social Reform
How education connected with social reforms and reformers’ aims.
Case 6 — Reformers’ Goals
6. Reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed that education could help end social evils. Give two examples of social reforms reformers hoped to promote through education.
Answer: (a) Abolition of practices like sati and other harmful customs through raising public awareness; (b) Promotion of women’s education and widow remarriage to improve social status and rights of women.
Explanation: Educated citizens were expected to question unjust traditions and support legislative and social change — reformers promoted modern education to encourage such critical thinking.
Case 7 — Role of Print
7. The spread of print culture (books, newspapers, pamphlets) often accompanied modern education. How did print help social reform movements?
Answer: Print helped spread ideas quickly and widely, enabling reformers to publicise arguments against social injustices, mobilise public opinion, and educate readers about new political and social concepts.
Explanation: Newspapers and pamphlets became platforms for debate and awareness — they reached literate readers and stimulated public discussion on reform issues.
Topic 4: Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Pioneers of Modern Education
Contributions of Roy and other early reformers in promoting modern education and social change.
Case 8 — Roy’s Approach
8. Raja Ram Mohan Roy criticised many orthodox practices and supported modern learning. Mention two ways in which he promoted modern education.
Answer: (a) He supported the study of western sciences and rational inquiry alongside religious reform; (b) He established and supported institutions and publications to spread modern ideas and argued for education in both vernaculars and English when useful.
Explanation: Roy founded journals that discussed ideas, argued with colonial officials for reforms, and believed education was central to social uplift and rational debate.
Case 9 — Collaboration
9. Early reformers often worked with British officials and missionaries. Why did some Indian reformers collaborate with these groups, and what was one potential drawback?
Answer: Collaboration was pragmatic — reformers needed resources, protection and platforms that British officials or missionaries could provide. Drawback: Such collaboration sometimes led to criticism that reformers were too aligned with colonial interests or that local traditions were being undermined.
Explanation: Access to printing presses, funding or legal support made collaboration effective, but it also risked alienating conservative sections of society.
Topic 5: Universities, Schools and the New Professions
How new institutions shaped careers and public life.
Case 10 — New Professions
10. The growth of colleges and universities produced new professions (lawyers, doctors, clerks). Explain how the emergence of these professions impacted Indian society.
Answer: These professions created a small but influential English-educated middle class that played key roles in administration, law and public life. They helped spread modern ideas and later became leaders in social and political movements.
Explanation: The educated middle class often used their skills to critique social injustices and later to organise for political rights and reforms.
Case 11 — Location and Reach
11. Universities were mainly set up in big towns. How did this urban concentration affect rural education and national literacy levels?
Answer: Urban concentration meant higher education remained inaccessible to most rural people — literacy and educational improvements were uneven, with towns advancing faster than villages, and many regions lagging behind.
Explanation: Infrastructure, teachers and institutions were concentrated in towns; rural schools were fewer and often underfunded, contributing to regional disparities in education.
Topic 6: Indian Responses — Adoption, Adaptation, Resistance
How Indians responded to modern education: embraced, adapted, or opposed.
Case 12 — Elite Adoption
12. Many Indian elites sent their children to English-medium schools. What were two reasons for this trend?
Answer: (a) English education opened up jobs in the colonial administration and professions; (b) It offered social prestige and access to modern knowledge and networks.
Explanation: For elite families, English education was an investment that promised stability and improved social standing within the colonial system.
Case 13 — Cultural Anxiety
13. Some traditional communities feared that western education would erode their religious and cultural values. How did this anxiety manifest and what were typical responses?
Answer: Anxiety led to resistance to English schools, the creation of traditional pathshalas and madrasas to preserve religious learning, and public debates defending indigenous systems. Some communities emphasised vernacular and religious education instead.
Explanation: The tension between modern and traditional education produced debates about identity, and many communities chose to protect their cultural forms of learning.
Topic 7: Curriculum Changes and Methods
Shifts in what and how students learned.
Case 14 — New Subjects
14. Modern schools introduced subjects like science, history and mathematics. How did learning these subjects change students’ outlook?
Answer: Learning modern subjects encouraged empirical thinking, curiosity about the natural world, and broader historical perspectives — students developed a more analytical mindset compared to rote traditional learning.
Explanation: The new curriculum trained students to observe, experiment and reason — qualities that supported social reform and modern professions.
Case 15 — Teacher Role
15. Teachers in new schools were expected to teach methods different from traditional masters. What was one major difference in teaching methods?
Answer: Major difference: emphasis on classroom instruction, textbooks and structured lessons instead of one-to-one guru–shishya relationships and oral transmission used in traditional settings.
Explanation: Modern schools introduced regular timetables, assessments, and textbooks that standardised what students learned across institutions.
Topic 8: Women and Education
The chapter highlights attempts to open schooling to women and girls.
Case 16 — Education for Women
16. Reformers supported education for women. Mention two reasons why educating women was seen as important by them.
Answer: (a) Educated women could raise literate and healthy families and contribute to moral and social improvement; (b) Education was seen as a step toward improving women’s social position, including challenging child marriage and encouraging widow remarriage and property rights.
Explanation: Reformers believed women’s education would transform society from within by changing family attitudes and creating more informed mothers and citizens.
Case 17 — Barriers
17. Even with reform efforts, many girls did not go to school. Name two major barriers to girls’ education in the nineteenth century.
Answer: (a) Social conservatism and fear of mixing with males or losing traditional roles; (b) Economic constraints — families preferred to invest limited resources in boys’ education.
Explanation: Patriarchal norms and poverty often prevented girls from receiving formal schooling despite reformers’ efforts.
Topic 9: Legacy of Colonial Education
Long-term effects and debates about colonial-era education.
Case 18 — Positive Legacies
18. List two positive legacies of colonial education in India.
Answer: (a) Establishment of modern schools, colleges and universities that created a base for future educational expansion; (b) Development of a trained group of professionals and intellectuals who contributed to social reform and later nationalist movements.
Explanation: While colonial motives were mixed, the infrastructure of modern education persisted and became a resource for Indians in the long run.
Case 19 — Criticisms & Debate
19. Critics argue that colonial education served British interests more than Indian needs. Give two points that support this criticism.
Answer: (a) Emphasis on English and classical western knowledge sidelined many indigenous systems and practical local skills; (b) Education policies produced a small literate elite rather than mass education, maintaining colonial control and administrative convenience.
Explanation: The limited reach and specific goals of colonial education often meant it did not address widespread social and economic needs of the majority.
Case 20 — Thinking Like a Historian
20. Reading this chapter, how would you evaluate the statement: "Colonial education both empowered and limited Indian society"? Give a concise balanced answer.
Answer: Balanced evaluation: Colonial education empowered Indians by introducing modern subjects, institutions and professions and by creating an informed public; at the same time it was limited because it often served colonial goals, emphasised English over indigenous knowledge, and did not reach the majority of the population.
Explanation: The historical view recognises mixed outcomes — both enabling modernisation and reinforcing colonial hierarchies. This balanced answer is suitable for CBSE style evaluations.
Note: These case-based Q–A pairs are strictly aligned with the NCERT Class 8 History syllabus (Chapter 6). Use them for revision, classroom practice and CBSE-style preparation.