Read the statements (A) and (B) carefully: (A) : In 1817, James Mill published…
2024
Read the statements (A) and (B) carefully:
(A) : In 1817, James Mill published 'A History of British India' in three volumes.
(B) : In this he divided Indian history into three periods - Ancient, Medieval and Modern.
Choose the correct option of the following:
- A.
Both (A) and (B) are true
- B.
Both (A) and (B) are false
- C.
(A) is true but (B) is false
- D.
(A) is false but (B) is true
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: Colonial administrator-historians periodized India's past differently from today's standard Ancient–Medieval–Modern framework. James Mill's 'The History of British India' (1817) instead split Indian history by the religion of the ruling power — a Hindu period, a Muslim period, and a British period — a scheme later historians criticised for reducing a complex past to religious identity.
Application: Statement (A) checks out: Mill's three-volume work did appear in 1817, a well-documented publication fact. Statement (B) does not: Mill's actual periods were Hindu, Muslim, and British, not Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. So (A) holds while (B) does not.
Cross-check: The Ancient–Medieval–Modern division is the periodization now used in standard historiography (for instance in NCERT's history textbooks) to organise Indian history chronologically, in contrast to Mill's religion-based Hindu, Muslim, and British classification — confirming that (B) describes a scheme distinct from the one Mill actually used.