Q1. [4]
The sense of collective belonging
As the national movement developed, nationalist leaders became more and more aware of such icons and symbols in unifying people and inspiring in them a feeling of nationalism. Another means of creating a feeling of nationalism was through reinterpretation of history. By the end of the nineteenth century many Indians began feeling that to instill a sense of pride in the nation, Indian history had to be thought about differently. The British saw Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of governing themselves. In response, Indians began looking into the past to discover India's great achievements. They wrote about the glorious developments in ancient times when art and architecture, science and mathematics, religion and culture, law and philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. This glorious time, in their view, was followed by a history of decline, when India was colonised. These nationalist histories urged the readers to take pride in India's great achievements in the past and struggle to change the miserable conditions of life under British rule.
Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow :
- 8.1 How did icons help to unite Indians during the freedom struggle ? [1]
- 8.2 Why did nationalists feel the need to rewrite Indian history ? [1]
- 8.3 How did nationalist histories portray India's past and present ? [2]
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2026 32/5/1 Q8
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 06:52 · grounding stimulus
Model Answer
8.1 Icons and symbols helped unite Indians by inspiring a feeling of nationalism and a sense of collective belonging among the people during the national movement.
8.2 Nationalists felt the need to rewrite Indian history because the British portrayed Indians as backward and primitive, incapable of self-governance. To counter this, Indians wanted to instil pride in the nation by highlighting India's great past achievements.
8.3 Nationalist histories portrayed ancient India as a glorious period when art, architecture, science, mathematics, religion, philosophy, crafts and trade had flourished. This golden age was then followed by a period of decline brought about by British colonisation. These histories urged Indians to take pride in their glorious past and struggle against the miserable conditions of colonial rule.
Source: Chapter – The Age of Nationalism, Section – The Sense of Collective Belonging
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Explanation
- 8.1 is 1 mark — one line directly from the passage about icons/symbols.
- 8.2 is 1 mark — focus on the British portrayal of Indians as the trigger for rewriting history.
- 8.3 is 2 marks — needs two clear points: (i) glorification of ancient India, and (ii) portrayal of colonisation as decline + call to struggle. Examiners look for both sides of the portrayal.
- Always quote specific examples from the passage (art, science, philosophy, etc.) for full marks in 8.3.
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