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How did reinterpretati… (Class 10 Social Science 2025, Q21a)

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Social ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2025, set 32/2/1 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 10 Social Science 2025: question 21(a)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2025, paper 32/2/1, section B, question 21(a), for 2 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q21(a) · 2 marks · Very short answerNationalism in India

How did reinterpretation of history become a means of creating a sense of nationalism by the end of the 19th century in India? Explain.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2025 board paper, set 32/2/1.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Think of how the British described Indians.

Hint 2

How did Indians answer this by looking at ancient times?

Hint 3

What did nationalist histories ask readers to do about the present?

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. The British portrayed Indians as backward and primitive, unfit to rule themselves. In reply, Indians began looking into the past to find India's achievements and rebuild national pride.

    1 mark

  2. Nationalist histories praised the glorious ancient age of art, architecture, science, mathematics, religion, law, philosophy, crafts and trade. They said this was followed by decline under colonisation, and urged readers to take pride in the past and struggle against British rule.

    1 mark

Answer: Reinterpreting history gave Indians pride in a glorious past and inspired them to struggle against colonial rule.

Where the marks are

  • Indians countered the British view of them as backward by rediscovering past achievements (1 mark)
  • Histories glorified ancient India, showed decline under colonisation and urged struggle for change (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Nationalism in India, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2025 board paper, set 32/2/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.