Reforms : Characteristics and Observations ~ Chapter 2 History (Madhyamik Important Question and Answer )

Reform: Characteristics & Observations (History Chapter 2 W.B)

Very Short Questions and Answer 

Question 1: Who was the editor of ‘The Bengal Gazette’?

Answer: James Augustus Hicky was the editor of ‘The Bengal Gazette’.

Question 2: Name one satirical prose written by Kaliprasanna Singha.?

Answer: One satirical prose by Kaliprasanna Singha was ‘Hutom Pyanchar Naksha’.

Question 3: Who composed ‘Hutom Pyanchar Naksha’?

Answer: Kaliprasanna Singha composed ‘Hutom Pyanchar Naksha’.

Question 4: Name one English week which exposed the oppression of indigo planters.?

Answer: One English week which exposed the oppression of indigo planters was the ‘Hindoo Patriot’.

Question 5: Name one Bengali periodical of colonial Bengal with a strong emphasis on women’s issues.?

Answer: One Bengali periodical of colonial Bengal with a strong emphasis on women’s issues was ‘Bamabodhini Patrika’.

Question 6: In which year was ‘Bamabodhini Patrika’ first published?

Answer: ‘Bamabodhini Patrika’ was first published in 1863.

Question 7: In which year was ‘Grambarta Prakashika’ first published?

Answer: ‘Grambarta Prakashika’ was first published in 1863.

Question 8: Which was the first Bengali literary work that portrayed a satirical picture of society?

Answer: A ‘Hutom Pyanchar Naksha’ by Kaliprasanna Singha was the first literary work in Bengali that portrayed a satirical picture of society.

Question 9: Who was the editor of ‘Hindoo Patriot’?

Answer: Harish Chandra Mukherjee was the editor of the ‘Hindoo Patriot’.

Question 10: Who was the editor of ‘Amrita Bazar Patrika’?

Answer: Sisir Kumar Ghosh was the editor of ‘Amrita Bazar Patrika’.

Question 11: Who composed ‘Nil Darpan’?

Answer: Dinabandhu Mitra composed ‘Nil Darpan’.

Question 12: Who translated ‘Nil Darpan’ into English?

Answer: ‘Nil Darpan’ was translated into English by Michael Madhusudan Dutta in the name of James Long.

Question 13: In which year was the Vernacular Press Act passed?

Answer: The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878.

Question 14: In which language was ‘Hindoo Patriot’ published?

Answer: ‘Hindoo Patriot’ was published in the English language.

Question 15: Who was Harish Chandra Mukhopadhyay?

Answer: Harish Chandra Mukhopadhyay was a journalist and the editor of ‘Hindoo Patriot’.

Question 16: By what name was Harinath Majumdar known to the common people?

Answer: Harinath Majumdar was known to the common people as ‘Kangal Harinath’.

Answer 17: Which was the first newspaper published in Kolkata?

Answer: Bengal Gazette was the first newspaper published in Kolkata.

Question 18: When and against whom did the indigo rebellion break out?

Answer: The indigo rebellion broke out in 1858-59 against the British indigo planters.

Question 19: When was the National Theatre established in Kolkata?

Answer: The National Theatre was established in Kolkata in 1872.

Question 20: Who wrote Aanandamath ?

Answer: The author of Anandamathis Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Question 21: When was Widow Remarriage Act passed?

  Answer: In 1856, legislators enacted the Widow Remarriage Act.

 Question 22: Who established the Ramkrishna mission ? 

Answer: Swami Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission.

 Question 23: When and who founded the widow Remarriage society? 

Answer: Widow Remarriage Society was founded in 1850 by Vishnu Shastri Pandit.

Question 24: When was the sati system abolished and by whom ?  

Answer: The sati system was abolished in the year 1829 by Lord William Bentinck.

Question 25: Who started the anti -sati movement ?

Answer: Rammohan Roy started the anti-sati movement.

Question 26: Who founded the Bharat Varshiya Bramho samaj ?

Answer: It was Keshab Chandra Sen who established the Bharat Varshiya Brahmo Samaj.

 Question 27: Who was the first Indian to perform a human dissection?  

Answer: Indian physician Madhusudan Gupta was the irst to dissect a human body.

 Question 28: Who were Calcutta University 's first female graduate?  

Answer: The first two women to graduate from Calcutta University were Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu.

Question 29:  Who founded the Serampore Baptist Mission ? 

Answer: The Baptist Mission at Serampore was established by William Carey, Marsh man, and Ward.

Question 30: Who was the Calcutta Asiatic Society's founder?

Answer: The Calcutta Asiatic Society was established by William Jones.

Question 31: Name two books written by Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar .

Answer: Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar authored the books Varnaparichay and Kathamala.

Question 32: Name the college founded by Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Answer: Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar founded the prestigious Metropolitan College.

Short Questions and Answer 

Question 1: In which year was the ‘Grambarta Prakashika’ paper first published? Who was its first editor?

Answer: In 1863 the ‘Grambarta Prakashika’ paper was first published. Its first editor was Harinath Majumdar who was popularly known as Kangal Harinath.

Question 2: When was Bengal Gazette published and by whom?

Answer: Bengal Gazette was published on 29 January 1780 by James Augustus Hickey.

Question 3: How significant was Harinath Majumdar as a journalist of rural society?

Answer: Harinath Majumdar was the editor of ‘Grambarta Prakashika’, the aim of which was to bring out the conditions of rural Bengal in front of everyone. The condition of the rural society and its people due to the social and economic oppression of the British Raj was portrayed by ‘Grambarta Prakashika’.

Question 4: What was the reaction on the part of the English when ‘Nil Darpan’ was published in English?

Answer: When ‘Nil Darpan’ was published in English under the pseudonym of James Long, the government became furious with James Long and he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 1000/-.

Question 5: How was the Babu culture of Calcutta exposed by ‘Hutom Pyanchar Naksha’?

Answer: Kaliprasanna Singha in his famous work ‘Hutom Pyanchar Naksha’ gave a vivid picture of the mental downfall of the Bengali middle class ‘Babu’. He was very much critical of the culture of the ‘Babus’ who were English educated and were blind followers of western culture. The comical mixture of the eastern and western modes of life of the ‘Babus’ is the object of ridicule in the book.

Question 6: What were the main features of the weekly paper ‘Hindoo Patriot’?

Answer: The main features of the paper ‘Hindoo Patriot’ was

[i ] It exposed the oppression by the indigo planters in Bengal.

[ii] It protested against the Vernacular Press Act and the Immigration Bill.

[iii] It protested against polygamy.

[iv] It created public opinion in favor of women’s education.

Question 7: What was discussed in ‘Grambarta Prakashika’?

Answer: In ‘Grambarta Prakashika’, there were discussions on contemporary social conditions, literature, philosophy, science, etc. It also published news about the oppression of the zamindars on the farmers, the indigo planters on the ryots, the torture faced by the farmers in the hands of the moneylenders, etc

Question 8: What is the New Bengal movement?

Ans: The movement related to religious, social and western education in the first half of the 19th century under the leadership of DeRozio, Principal of Hindu College is known as Navabanga Movement.

Question 9 : Who wrote the  Neeldarpan ? What subject is written?

Ans: 'Nildarpan' written by Deenbandhu Mitra was originally written on the incident of unspeakable cruelty of the Neelkar sahibs on the indigo farmers.

Question 10: What was the purpose of Bamabodhini magazine?

Ans: Published in 1863 AD, the purpose of this magazine was to free women from the rule of male society by educating the armed women of the contemporary society.

Question 11:  What is the Meckley minute? Or what do you mean by Meckley minutes?

Ans: The report presented by William Bentinck's law secretary Meckley in 1835 AD in support of English and Western education is known as Meckley Minutes.

Question 13:  What sparked the nineteenth century socio-religious reform movements in India? 

Ans: Education from the West familiarised Indians with the more liberal and progressive ideas of the West. Reason and discretion had to take the place of their previously held beliefs. As a result of this shift in perspective, social and religious reform movements emerged in the nineteenth century.

Question 14: Who established the Bramho Samaj? What social reform objectives did it pursue ?

Ans:Raja Rammohan Roy is credited as the founder of the Brahmo Samaj. The Brahmo Samaj was a social reform movement that sought to increase religious tolerance and promote a shared belief in the oneness of God and man.

Question 15: What exactly does ' Nababidhan' mean ? 

Ans: In the 19th century, Bengal saw great social reform from Keshab Chandra Sen. He was swayed by Ramkrishna Paramhansa. In an efort to reconcile the best of Christianity with the tenets of Hinduism, he founded a syncretic school of spiritualism known as the “Nababidhan,” or New Dispensation. This synthesis of religious ideas encouraged brotherhood and love while condemning societal ills. The doctrine “God is conscience” was thus formulated.

Question 16: What doctrine did Swami Vivekananda present at Chicago's parliament of religions ? 

Ans:At the Parliament of Religions ( 1893) in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda articulated the Hindu faith’s core principles. Essentially, he declared Vedanta to be the world’s greatest universal religion. He spoke about the inclusiveness of Indian culture and how it treats everyone as a brother, both friends and foes.

Question 17: Who was Haji Muhammad Mohsin ?

Ans: Haji Muhammad Mohsin was a major contributor to the Bengali community. He went on a spiritual quest that took him to Mecca, Medina, Kufa, and Karbala. He became known as “ Haji” after completing the Hajj. He invested heavily in bringing quality education to the Muslim world. When he had extra cash, he donated it to charities that helped the less fortunate.

Question 18: Write a note on Lalon Fakir.

Ans: Lalon Fakir was a mystic, songwriter, philosopher, and social reformer from Bengal. He is revered as a symbol of religious tolerance because his music influenced the likes of Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam, and other prominent poets, thinkers, and religious figures. He did not discriminate based on religion or social status, and the songs he wrote were about universal issues.

Question 19: Who were the young Bengals? What were the young Bengals goals?  

Ans: A group of Hindu College students, inspired by their professor Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, launched a vigorous rationalist reform movement in the 1920s. Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Rasik Krishna Mallick, Radhanath Sikdar, Ramtanu Lahiri, etc., were some of Derozio’s favourite students, and they were referred to as Young Bengal. They fought back against social ills like sati, untouchability, casteism, and more.They hoped that by introducing Western ideas to India, they could help her develop more quickly. Their goal was to liberate the Indian people from poverty, illiteracy, and superstition so that they could be remade in the image of the West.