Complete NCERT textbook questions with model answers for Class 10 History Chapter 4. These solutions follow CBSE marking scheme patterns and show how to structure answers for 1, 3, and 5 marks questions. Focus on answer writing technique rather than just memorizing content.
Write in Brief (1 Mark Questions)
Exam Tip: 1-mark answers should be precise, direct, and not exceed 20-30 words. No explanation needed.
Answer: Early entrepreneurs in India were wealthy merchants and bankers like Dwarkanath Tagore and Dinshaw Petit who established industries in the 19th century using accumulated capital from trade.
Answer: Proto-industrialisation refers to the phase before factories, where merchants gave advances to peasants to produce goods for international markets while still working from home.
Answer: James Watt invented the modern steam engine in 1769, though Thomas Newcomen had created an earlier version in 1712.
Answer: The Spinning Jenny was a multi-spindle spinning frame invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 that allowed one worker to spin multiple threads simultaneously.
Short Answer Questions (3 Marks)
Exam Tip: 3-mark answers should be 60-80 words with clear points. Structure: Introduction + 2-3 points + Conclusion.
Answer: Many 19th-century European industrialists preferred hand labour over machines due to economic considerations, market demands for quality, and specific production requirements that made mechanization less advantageous in certain industries.
- Seasonal demand: Industries like gas works and breweries had seasonal peaks where temporary hand labour was cheaper than maintaining machines year-round
- Quality requirements: Luxury goods and intricate designs required skilled artisans that machines couldn't replicate
- Labour abundance: Cheap surplus labour from villages made human workers more economical than expensive machinery
- Market fragmentation: Small, varied markets demanded customized products better made by hand
- Traditional prestige: Hand-made goods carried higher status and could command premium prices
This preference demonstrates that industrialization wasn't a simple linear progression but involved complex economic calculations about profitability and market conditions.
Answer: The East India Company established control over Indian weavers through a combination of advances (dadni system), legal coercion, and elimination of competition to ensure regular supplies of cotton and silk textiles for European markets.
| Method | Mechanism | Impact on Weavers |
|---|---|---|
| Advances System | • Provided loans (dadni) to weavers • Binding contracts for future production • Fixed below-market prices |
• Created debt bondage • Limited market freedom • Reduced profit margins |
| Legal Coercion | • Gomasthas (company agents) supervision • Penalties for dealing with others • Cloth quality inspections |
• Loss of autonomy • Fixed workplace requirements • Punishments for defaults |
| Market Control | • Eliminated Indian traders • Monopoly over raw materials • Control over distribution |
• Dependence on company • No alternative buyers • Vulnerability to price changes |
This systematic control transformed independent weavers into dependent producers, marking the beginning of colonial deindustrialization in India's textile sector.
Answer: The Indian cotton textile industry faced multiple challenges in the late 1800s including foreign competition, colonial policies, technological backwardness, and market constraints that hindered its growth despite early promise.
| Problem Area | Specific Challenges | Consequences |
|---|---|---|
| British Competition | • Manchester imports with duty-free access • Mechanized production advantage • Economies of scale |
• Market share loss • Price competition • Quality disadvantage |
| Colonial Policies | • Export duties on Indian textiles • Import duties on British machinery • Discriminatory railway freight rates |
• Cost disadvantages • Technological lag • Transportation bias |
| Technological Issues | • Outdated spinning technology • Power shortage in mills • High initial investment costs |
• Lower productivity • Intermittent operations • Limited expansion |
| Market Constraints | • Limited domestic purchasing power • Competition from handlooms • World War I disruptions |
• Slow demand growth • Internal competition • Supply chain issues |
These problems were partially overcome only during WWI when imports declined, giving Indian mills temporary protection and growth opportunity.
Long Answer Questions (5 Marks)
Exam Tip: 5-mark answers need 120-150 words with proper structure: Introduction, 4-5 main points with examples, and conclusion.
Answer: Indian merchants and bankers played a crucial role in early industrialization by providing capital, entrepreneurial skills, and commercial networks, though their impact was limited by colonial constraints and they operated within a system dominated by European capital and policies.
Contributions of Indian Merchants and Bankers:
Limitations: Despite their contributions, Indian industrialists faced discrimination in government contracts, limited access to technology, and competition from better-funded European firms, operating within a colonial economy designed primarily to serve British interests.
Answer: Under East India Company rule, Indian weavers experienced a dramatic decline from prosperous independent artisans to impoverished dependent producers, victims of systematic exploitation through the company's monopsony control and colonial economic policies.
| Period | Economic Condition | Social Status | Production Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Company (Before 1750) |
• High demand in Asian and European markets • Good income and bargaining power • Multiple buyer options |
• Respected artisans • Community autonomy • Cultural prestige |
• Independent production decisions • Market-determined prices • Flexible work arrangements |
| Early Company Rule (1750-1800) |
• Advances (dadni) created debt • Fixed below-market prices • Declining real income |
• Loss of bargaining power • Gomastha supervision • Reduced social status |
• Binding contracts • Quality specifications imposed • Production quotas |
| Mature Company Rule (1800-1850) |
• Widespread indebtedness • Alternative occupations lost • Pauperization |
• Near-serf status • Migration for survival • Community disintegration |
• Company monopoly control • No market alternatives • Production for export only |
Tragic Transformation: The weavers' plight symbolizes colonial deindustrialization - skilled artisans were reduced to poverty, their technologies became obsolete, and India transformed from textile exporter to importer, with weavers either abandoning their looms or becoming agricultural laborers.
Map-Based Question
Important: Map questions carry 2-3 marks. Always label clearly and include a key/legend if needed.
a) Important centres of cotton textile production in 18th century
b) Major jute producing areas
c) Early iron and steel plants
d) Important ports for industrial exports
e) Regions with significant coal mining
[Image: Industrial map of India 1750-1900 showing textile centers, mining areas, and industrial regions]
Map showing: Textile centers (Surat, Masulipatnam, Dhaka, Murshidabad), Jute areas (Bengal delta), Iron/Steel plants (Jamshedpur, Burnpur, Bhadravati), Export ports (Bombay, Calcutta, Madras), Coal regions (Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro)
Answer Key for Map:
- Cotton textile centers: Surat (Gujarat), Masulipatnam (Andhra), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Murshidabad (Bengal), Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
- Jute producing areas: Bengal delta (West Bengal and Bangladesh), Assam valley, Bihar
- Early iron/steel plants: Jamshedpur (Tata Steel 1907), Burnpur (IISCO), Bhadravati (Mysore Iron Works), Kulti
- Industrial export ports: Bombay (cotton), Calcutta (jute, tea), Madras (textiles, hides)
- Coal mining regions: Jharia, Raniganj (West Bengal), Bokaro (Jharkhand), Singrauli (MP), Talcher (Odisha)
Extra Practice Questions
Answer: The industrialization processes in Britain and India during the 19th century followed fundamentally different trajectories due to Britain's status as the colonial power and India's position as a colony, resulting in contrasting patterns of technological adoption, capital formation, and economic outcomes.
| Aspect | Britain (Colonial Power) | India (Colony) |
|---|---|---|
| Timing & Initiation | • First Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) • Indigenous technological innovation • Voluntary transformation |
• Delayed start (mid-19th century) • Technology import/adaptation • Colonial imposition/response |
| State Role | • Supportive policies (patents, infrastructure) • Protective tariffs • Colonial market access |
• Discriminatory colonial policies • Free trade imposed • Revenue extraction focus |
| Capital Sources | • Domestic savings and investment • Profits from colonies and trade • Developed banking system |
• Merchant capital conversion • Limited European investment • High-cost borrowing |
| Labour Conditions | • Urban migration created factory workforce • Child labour prevalent initially • Gradual labor laws improvement |
• Rural-urban linkages maintained • Handicraft displacement created labour surplus • Extremely low wages |
| Sectoral Pattern | • Textiles → Iron/Steel → Engineering • Balanced industrial structure • Technological leadership |
• Processing of raw materials (jute, cotton) • Consumer goods emphasis • Capital goods dependency |
Colonial Divide: While Britain experienced organic industrial growth that made it the "workshop of the world," India suffered deindustrialization of traditional sectors and developed only limited, dependent industrialization serving colonial needs.
Answer: The First World War (1914-1918) had a profound dual impact on Indian industries, creating both challenges through supply disruptions and opportunities through import substitution, ultimately stimulating industrial growth and changing the relationship between Indian capital and the colonial state.
| Impact Type | Positive Effects (Opportunities) | Negative Effects (Challenges) |
|---|---|---|
| Market Conditions | • Import substitution due to reduced British imports • War supplies demand (jute sacks, uniforms) • New export markets in Asia |
• European market access lost • Shipping shortages increased costs • Raw material import difficulties |
| Industrial Growth | • Cotton textile expansion (86 new mills 1913-1918) • Steel industry development (TISCO war contracts) • Engineering and chemical industries start |
• Machinery imports restricted • Technical personnel shortage • Uneven sectoral growth |
| Capital & Profits | • High war profits (200-300% in some industries) • Indian capital accumulation increased • Industrial investment capability enhanced |
• Inflation reduced real wages • Speculative bubble creation • Post-war adjustment crises |
| State Relations | • Increased bargaining power for Indian capitalists • Fiscal Commission (1921) recognition of Indian industry • Tariff protection demands strengthened |
• War taxation increased costs • Price controls on essential goods • Continued colonial policy constraints |
Lasting Legacy: WWI proved a watershed moment that demonstrated Indian industrial potential, accelerated import substitution, increased nationalist economic demands, and laid foundations for inter-war industrial growth despite post-war difficulties.
Answer Writing Checklist
Final Note: These solutions demonstrate how to write answers, not just what to write. Practice adapting this structure to different questions.
