Modern Indian History NCERT – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering essential terms, people and policies discussed in the Modern Indian History lecture notes.

Historical questions

Queries that investigate past events, changes and timelines to understand how things evolved.

Periodise

To divide history into distinct chronological eras based on defining characteristics.

Archive

A systematically preserved collection of historical records and documents for research.

Survey

An organised study to gather, analyse and present information about a subject or area.

Census

A comprehensive enumeration that collects demographic, social and economic data of a population at a particular time.

Colonization

The establishment of political, economic, social and cultural control by one power over another territory.

Mercantile

Relating to trade or commerce, especially for profit through buying cheap and selling dear.

Farman

A royal edict or official decree issued by a sovereign, often granting privileges.

Qazi

A judge in the Islamic judicial system who interprets and administers Muslim law.

Mufti

A Muslim jurist responsible for issuing legal opinions to guide qazi-administered courts.

Diwani

Right to collect revenue on behalf of the sovereign; granted to the East India Company in Bengal in 1765.

Puppet

A ruler or person controlled by another power, lacking real authority.

Impeachment

A formal charge of misconduct brought against a public official, leading to a trial.

Dharmashastras

Ancient Sanskrit texts prescribing social rules, duties and codes of behaviour.

Sawar

A cavalryman; literally ‘one on horseback’ in Persian and Urdu.

Musket

A heavy, muzzle-loaded infantry gun used before rifles became common.

Matchlock

An early firearm in which ignition was triggered by a slow-burning match.

Permanent Settlement

1793 revenue system fixing land tax permanently and recognising zamindars as proprietors in Bengal.

Ryotwari System

Revenue arrangement where the government settled land tax directly with individual cultivators (ryots).

Mahalwari Settlement

Revenue system (1822) that assessed and collected land tax at village or estate (mahal) level through headmen.

Subsidiary Alliance

British policy forcing Indian rulers to accept British troops for protection and pay for them, limiting sovereignty.

Doctrine of Lapse

Annexation policy under Lord Dalhousie: states without a natural male heir lapsed to Company rule.

Paramountcy

Theory that British authority was supreme over Indian states, justifying annexations for security.

Resident (political)

Company officer stationed at a princely court to supervise and influence internal affairs.

Nabob

Anglicised term for Company officials who amassed wealth in India and lived lavishly.

Sepoy

An Indian soldier employed in the European colonial armies, especially the East India Company.

Indigo

Blue dye plant cultivated in India; central to colonial trade, labour coercion and 1859 ‘Blue Rebellion’.

Nij System

Indigo cultivation method where planters grew the crop on directly managed estates.

Ryoti System

Indigo production method binding peasants (ryots) to grow indigo on part of their land for planters.

Blue Rebellion

1859-60 peasant uprising in Bengal against oppressive indigo cultivation.

Jhum Cultivators

Tribal groups practising shifting (slash-and-burn) agriculture in forested hill regions.

Khonds

Tribal community of Orissa traditionally reliant on hunting, gathering and shifting cultivation.

Baigas

Central Indian tribe known for forest-based livelihood and reluctance to perform wage labour.

Paharias

Hill-dwelling shifting cultivators of Rajmahal hills, displaced by British policies and Santhal settlement.

Santhals

Tribal cultivators who cleared forests in Rajmahal, later led the 1855-56 Santhal Uprising.

Zamindar

Landholder recognised by the British to collect revenue; intermediary between state and cultivators.

Jotedar

Prosperous peasant or village landholder in Bengal controlling large tracts and employing sharecroppers.

Adhiyar / Bargadar

Sharecropper in Bengal who cultivated jotedar land for a fixed share (often half) of the produce.

Revenue Settlement

Government assessment fixing land tax rates and collection methods in a territory.

Collectorate

District office headed by a Collector responsible for revenue, administration and law-order.

Arms Act 1878

Colonial law restricting Indians from possessing firearms without licence.

Vernacular Press Act 1878

Law empowering the Raj to confiscate presses and suppress Indian language newspapers critical of rule.

Ilbert Bill

1883 proposal to allow Indian judges to try Europeans; fierce white opposition led to dilution.

Objectives Resolution

Guiding principles moved by Nehru in 1946 Constituent Assembly outlining goals of sovereign republic.

Constituent Assembly

Body elected/ nominated (1946-49) to draft and adopt the Constitution of independent India.

Universal Adult Franchise

Right of all adult citizens, irrespective of gender, caste or income, to vote in elections.

Hindustani

Composite lingua franca blending Hindi and Urdu; proposed by Gandhi as national language.

Separate Electorates

Electoral system where minorities vote for their own representatives; introduced for Muslims in 1909.

Centre Bias

Provisions in Indian Constitution granting extensive powers to the Union over states (e.g., Article 356).

Princely State

Semi-autonomous kingdom under indirect British rule through treaties with native princes.

Round Table Conference

Series of London meetings (1930-32) between British and Indian leaders on constitutional reforms.

Quit India Movement

Nation-wide 1942 mass agitation demanding immediate British withdrawal; slogan “Do or Die.”

Cabinet Mission

1946 British delegation proposing a federal constitution to keep India united; plan failed.

Mountbatten Plan

June 1947 proposal by Viceroy Lord Mountbatten leading to partition and transfer of power on 15 Aug 1947.

Khilafat Movement

1919-24 pan-Islamic protest in India to protect Ottoman Caliphate; allied with Non-Cooperation.

Non-Cooperation Movement

1920-22 mass campaign led by Gandhi to boycott British institutions and goods for swaraj.

Civil Disobedience Movement

1930-34 struggle involving breach of colonial laws, beginning with the Salt March.

Salt Satyagraha

Gandhi’s 240-mile Dandi March (1930) challenging salt monopoly; catalyst of Civil Disobedience.

Swaraj

Self-rule; goal of Indian national movement ranging from greater autonomy to complete independence.

Satyagraha

Gandhian method of non-violent resistance based on truth and civil disobedience.

Viceroy

British Crown’s representative heading the Government of India before independence.

Orientalists

Scholars valuing and studying classical Asian languages and literature, advocating their promotion.

Anglicists

Advocates of replacing Oriental learning with English education and Western knowledge in India.

Hindustan (language debate)

Term used for proposed national language blending Sanskritised Hindi and Persianised Urdu.

Madrasa

Traditional Islamic institution imparting education in Arabic, Persian, theology and law.

Pathshala

Indigenous vernacular village school in pre-colonial and early colonial India.

Khadi

Hand-spun, hand-woven cloth promoted by Gandhi as symbol of self-reliance and swadeshi.

Charkha

Spinning wheel emblematic of Gandhian economic self-sufficiency and rural employment.

Panchayat

Traditional village council; also used for decision-making gatherings among sepoys during 1857 revolt.

Praja Mandal

People’s organisation in princely states campaigning for responsible government and integration with India.