Short Notes for Class 8

Short Notes for class 8

History

Chapter 2

Tipu Sultan - was one of the most powerful and famous rulers of India. He was the son of Haider Ali and ruled Mysore from 1782 to 1799. Mysore exported huge amounts of pepper and cardamom to the Company. In 1785, Tipu stopped the export through all the ports and merchants of his kingdom. He maintained friendly terms with the French in India and modernised his army with their help. So the Company became angry with Tipu and wanted to control and crush him. Four wars were fought between 1767-1799. Haider Ali and Tipu fought valiantly in all the battles. But in the 1799, during the last - Battle of Seringapatam - the Company won against Tipu. Thus, Tipu was a fearless ruler and was also called the Tiger of Mysore.

Chapter 3

Indigo - A blue dye was manufactured from Indigo plants cultivated in the 18th century in India. The East India Company tried its best to expand the cultivation of indigo. William Morris, a famous poet and artist in Britain developed prints on cotton cloth using indigo, which became famous in Britain. India was the biggest supplier of Indigo in the world at that time. The Indian indigo cloth was being used by manufacturers in Italy, France and Britain to dye cloth since the 13th century. By the 19th century indigo cultivation expanded rapidly in Bengal. The British devised 2 systems for indigo cultivators - nij and ryoti. But both systems manipulated the poor peasants and paid them very low prices. So the indigo farmers, landlords and village headmen revolted against the British around 1859. This revolt was also called the 'Blue Rebellion'

Chapter 4

Birsa movement - Birsa was a tribal who came from the Munda tribe in Chottanagpur in Bihar. Birsa was educated at a missionary school and was influenced by different preachers . His movement was aimed at reforming tribal society by giving up vices and urged his followers to recover their glorius past. All tribes of the region were unhappy with the British rule and faced a lot of problems. Their livelihoods and religion appeared to be in danger. The Britishers were worried about the political aims of Birsa and arreted him for 2 years. After his release he toured villages for support to urge them to destroy the Dikus and Europeans and establish a kingdom under his rule. The followers destroyed symbols of Diku and European power. They destroyed police stations, churches, raided properties of moneylanders and landlords. The white flag was a symbol of Birsa Raj. In 1900, Birsa died of cholera and the movement faded out.
Chapter 5

The 1857 Rebellion - was a historical event in India's freedom struggle.
The East India Company after a 100 years of conquest and administration, faced a massive rebellion that started in May 1857. A large number of people all over the nation began to see the British as a their common enemy. People needed to communicate, take initiative and display the confidence to over throw the Company's rule in India. Sepoys mutinied in many places and large number of people from different sections of the society and country rose in rebellion. It was the biggest armed resistance to colonialism in the world in the 19th century. It started in Meerut and spread rapidly to many other parts of the country. Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Tantia Tope, BahadurshahZafar, MangalPandey and many others were the heroes of the 1857 rebellion.

Civics

Chapter 3

Why do we need a Parliament?
The Parliament of India - was created after 1947 as a foundation of democracy. The Parliament has a lot of power because it is the representative of the people.
The main functions of the Parliament are:
To select the National Government
To control, guide and inform the Government
To make laws

The parliament of India consists of the president, the RajyaSabha and the LokSabha. The LokSabha is usually elected every 5 years. Each constituency elects one person to the Parliament. These candidates belong to different political parties. Once elected they become become Members of Parliament.
After the LokSabha election, the party having the majority elected MP’s becomes the ruling party. The Prime Minister is the leader of the ruling party. The political party who opposes the majority party is called an opposition party. Sometimes many different political parties who are opposing the ruling party come together to form a coalition party.One of the most important functions of the LokSabha is to select the executive. The executive is a group of people who work together to implement the laws made by the Parliament. From the MP’s who belong to the ruling party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to take charge of different portfolios like health, finance, education etc.
The RajyaSabha represents the States of India in the Parliament. The members of RajyaSabha are elected by the elected members of Legislative Assemblies of different states. The main function is to review and alter laws initiated by LokSabha. It also initiates legislation and a bill is required to pass through the RajyaSabha to become a law.