History exam pattern

In the O level examination, there are five Questions out of which, the candidates can choose any
three. Each question has three parts and carries 25 marks each.
Part A consists of an answer of a short question from the source given in the Question Paper, which
carries 4 marks in total.
Part B will always be ‘Why’ type questions the examiners will expect you to give more than one
reason in the answer. They are not asking you for every possible reason you can think of, but will
expect you to find tow or three important reasons for an answer. The examiners are not asking you
to tell everything you know about the question. Instead, they want you to use only the information
that is necessary to answer the question. Always make a brief plan before you answer a question
and start your answer with a direct response to the question. There is no need to waste time with
lengthy background information and there are no marks given to such information. This part of
Question will carry 7 marks.
Part ‘C’ Questions sometimes will be based on three topics or persons, or whether you agree with a
comment, or whether you think a policy or person was successful. You must make sure that you give
both sides of the argument and finally give your opinion. The best way to plan to answer this
question is to treat it like two halves. Take each side of the answer and list what you think should go
in. once you have made the plan, and then you need to start the answer by addressing the question
straight away. If you work your way through your plan like this, you can expect a very high mark. To
score full marks however, you need to add a final judgment. This question will carry 14 marks. It is
of utmost importance to give evaluation of the points you present in your answer, it will take you to
the top marks.

Causes of the Downfall of the Mughal Empire

There were many reasons for the downfall of the Mughal Empire. When the British entered the sub-
continent the Mughal Empire was already weak. Indians were not united because they belonged to
different cultures, territories and religions, as they were fighting amongst each other, which divided
them and made them weak. After the death of Mughal Emperor there was a problems of
succession. When Shah Jahan fell ill, his four sons started fighting for the power even though he was
alive. Huge sums were wasted in fighting to succeed the throne, which continued to erode the
empire. Many historians blame Aurangzeb for the decline of the Empire. The Empire had become so
huge that it was very difficult to control, for this reason, he introduced the Mansabdari system,
which was not effective and was not efficiently supervised by the Emperor.
Feudal system was very common at that time due to which many taxes were imposed on the
farmers as a result the agriculture was destroyed. They were also very cruel to the local people so
wherever Mughal forces settled they destroyed the crops to show their power. Many Mughal
emperors interfered into the religious matters of the non-Muslims Akbar introduced Deen-e-Ilahi,
which was mixture of Hinduism and Islam. It was totally unpopular amongst the people. Aurangzeb
imposed the Jizia tax on non-Muslims, which further worsened the condition. Many non-Muslims were
also converted to Islam by force. The Mughal Rulers, Nawabs and Princes in the Empire were leading
lavish lifestyle. They were indulged in a very luxurious life became extravagant which made them
arrogant and neglected their duties they slowly went bankrupt. Many Mughal emperors were
inefficient, incapable and had no caliber to run the state. They moved away from Islamic teachings
and ignored Islamic way of life. The nobles in the King’s court were slowly gaining power and were
taking over the decision-making rights.
The communication between the different provinces of the Empire was very difficult therefore; the
emperor did not know what was happening around the Empire. By the time, the Emperor would find
out about a problem it would be too late. It would take months to implement a remedy for a
problem. As there were many different kinds of cultures and people, the emperor had to face many
rebellions. The cost of crushing these rebellions was very high. The Mughal forces were very weak in
war affairs while they were not trained properly the power of Mughals was declining such as during
the rule of Aurangzeb he was unable to defeat the Marhatas in Dacca. Marathas were growing
rapidly within the empire that the Mughals were not able to defeat.
As compared to the Mughal forces, the Western forces were very strong and well equipped with
latest weapons. There was no Navy in the Mughal forces while the British were having a very strong
and well-managed Navy. They were technologically much more advanced than the Mughals and
started interfering in the political affairs of the Empire and one day overcame the whole of Mughal
Empire.

PAST PAPER/MARK SCHEME/EXAMINER REPORT

(Please use these mark schemes as a guide not as an answer)
(c) ‘The policies of Aurangzeb were the main reason for the decline of the Mughal
Empire.’ Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer. [14]
LEVEL 1: Simplistic statement He was an important ruler. (1–2)
LEVEL 2:Description of reasons in generalHe taxed non-Muslims and destroyed number of Hindu
templs(3-6)
LEVEL 3: Explains one factor (7–10)
LEVEL 4: Explains more than one factor including Aurangzeb’s policies Aurangzeb had an intolerant
attitude to non-Muslims. He introduced a tax on non-Muslims called the Jizya. He destroyed Hindu
temples and tried to ban Hindu practices. Taxation was high as he had to pay for the cost of military
campaigns such as the Deccan Wars and he spent highly on luxurious palaces. Because of these, he
became an unpopular ruler. After his death, Mughal Emperors were renowned for living an
extravagant lifestyle and spending money with little thought to the effect it had on the economy of
the Empire. This led to inefficiencies and a lack of interest in the running of the Empire. The absence
of a definite line of succession led to a significant amount of in fighting amongst his successors,
which, also led to instability and the downfall of the Empire. (9–13)
LEVEL 5: As Level 4 – also produces a judgment or evaluation. (14)
Part (c) on the reasons why the Mughal Empire declined was generally well answered but to reach a
Level 4 mark, candidates had to ensure that they included the policies of Aurangzeb as well as other
reasons since this was included in the stem of the question. However for the weaker candidates
there was a similar problem to previous years whereby those candidates who merely identified the
reasons why the Empire declined e.g. corrupt, weak successors, no law of succession, the British etc.
then they would only ever achieve a Level 2 mark. As explained in previous years the art of a
good answer to this or any part (c) question, is to explain why, for example, these reasons failed
to prevent the decline of the Empire. However on the other hand, there were many candidates who
were able to recognize the demands of the question, were able to answer it well and gain near or
maximum marks.

The East India Company and British Colonial rule in the Sub-Continent.
The first Europeans to enter the sub-continent were the Portuguese in 1498 under VASCO DEGAMA,
who were in search of spices and Christians. They established the city of GOA in 1510. They were
followed by a chain of foreigner including the Dutch, the French and the British. In the year 1600
Queen Elizabeth 1 granted a charter to British East India Company to trade in Africa. However, many
foreigners (the Dutch) had already established trade there, therefore the East India Company moved
to India. In the 1608, the first ship reached at Surat but Jehangir did not allow them to trade with
India so they did not get favorable support from the Mughals due to the Portuguese influence. In
1612, Shah Jahan allowed them to trade with India. Sir Thomas Roe gained the consideration of the
Mughals. The company started their trade and shifted their head quarter to Bombay in 1662. Robert
Clive made EIC strong enough to defeat the French. In 1686 when Aurangzeb came in power he
suspected the EIC of using their own coins and avoided the payment of the taxes so he fought, and
defeated them, they were forgiven after they paid a heavy fine. In 1690, EIC was so prosperous that
they established the city of Calcutta. Till the early 18th century the EIC had three main bases
namely Madras, Calcutta and Bombay, which were called as “PRESIDENCIES”. By 1740, about 10%
revenue of British was generated in India. The EIC defeated the Dutch easily but the French were the
main competitors against them. In 1751 French were defeated in the Wars of Acrot and Pondicherry
by EIC. Now they were able to monopolize trade in India. In 1757 due to French insistence, the
Nawab of Bengal Siraj_ ud_ Daula attacked EIC in Calcutta in which he was defeated in the famous
battle of Plassey due to the treachery of his general Mir Jafar. In 1764 battle of Boxar was fought in
which EIC defeated Mir Qasim, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and the Nawab of Oudh and got the
control over the revenue of Bengal, Behar and Orisa. EIC made huge profit due to its monopoly of
trade. Local people were exploited many of them died in serious famines; the British Parliament
condemned EIC and passed a regulation act in 1773 to make EIC directly responsible to the British
Parliament. Then in 1784, the British Govt passed the India Act and took the direct control of Indian
affairs, appointed Governor General who would have control of the three presidencies and there
would be provincial Governors and commander in chief of the armed forces. EIC lost the
administrative powers and continued to trade.
In 1784 the first British Governor General Warren Hastings signed a treaty with the Marathas ending
the first Maratha war so they got the chance to extend their control in other areas with their help. In
1799, Marathas helped the British to invade Mysore. Tipu the Sultan of Mysore was killed and the
British took his lands. In 1803, British entered Delhi Mughal Emperor Shah Alam was forced to
accept that he was ruling under British protection. Therefore, by the time the British entered Delhi
the Mughal control ceased to exist. In 1818 British defeated Marathas and they were forced to
accept British control. In 1833, The Indian Charter Act was passed which said that Indians could be
part of civil service administering India. They employed about 1000 administrators in Indian Civil
Service, who were chosen by open public examination those exams were held in England and in
English. So India was governed by an able but entirely British group of officers.
Later on, in 1829, British banned the practice of Suttee and in 1834, they made English as the
official language of administration and in 1835; Thomas Macaulay decided that English would be the
language in which education will be given. In 1843 British conquered Sindh without any possible
justification but as an excuse to regain their pride, which they lost in Afghanistan and did not want
that Sindh should fall in the hands of Ranjit Singh the ruler of Punjab because he did not help them
in Afghanistan campaign. In 1849, they conquered Punjab and NWFP after the death of Ranjit Singh.
Ghulab Singh Dogra who helped British was given Kashmir as a reward. In 1848, Governor General
Dalhousie extended the British control by introducing the Doctrine of Lapse that any ruler died
without a natural heir his state will lapse to the British. So Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi fell into British
hands. This was an unpopular policy, which caused much resentment in India and convinced Indians
that British were greedy land grabbers. The British assumption of power in the Subcontinent had
taken less than 100 years from the Battle of Plassey.
(b) Why was Britain successful in increasing its control of some parts of the subcontinent
in the years 1750 to 1850?
LEVEL 1:Simplistic statement. (1) They were good fighters.
LEVEL 2: Identifies reasons. (2–4) They had more resources and better-quality weapons.
LEVEL 3: Explains reasons. (5–7) The Battles of Plassey and Buxar gave the British the vast riches of
Bengal and favourable trading rights with the local nawabs. This provided massive new resources
which the British could use to consolidate its control. The British also introduced governors-general
into the provinces who administered them on British lines and provided yet more control. The East
India Company army, using its vast local resources and superior weapons and skills, was
increasingly taking control of more land. The Indian states were disunited politically and militarily – a
situation of which the British took full advantage
the question focused on the reasons why the British were successful in increasing its control of some
parts of the sub-continent. For those candidates who had been well prepared for the examination
this caused few problems for them and many answers from these candidates were accurate and
relevant scoring a good mark within Level 3.

Why was EIC interested in the Indian Sub-Continent.

There many reasons for the formation of EIC in the sub-continent. The splendor and wealth of the
Mughals attracted the EIC to India. They wanted to spend sometime in the sub-continent. Due to the
various trade opportunities like spices, cotton, cloth, diamond, gold and even opium. India was
considered as the world most important trading centre because of its vast resources. Its products
and metal works were highly valued in Britain. They wanted to establish a base in this region
because of its important geographic location and they could easily keep an eye on the surrounding
countries. British wanted to take benefit from the weak position of the Govt, they were having a fear
that if they would not capture the area then French, Dutch and Portuguese would capture the wealth
of this region. After 1818, the end of the Maratha power prepared the way for the eventual British
takeover of India.

Explain why the East India Company got involved in the sub-continent during the
seventeenth century.
LEVEL 1: Simplistic statement. (1) They were interested in the country.
LEVEL 2: Identifies reasons. (2–4) To trade and extend their sphere of influence in the East.
LEVEL 3: Explains reasons. (5–7)Traders reported evidence of immense wealth in the sub-Continent
which led to the EIC establishing a trading base there since they saw a profitable future. It also
wanted to establish its influence in the sub-Continent and to oust the Dutch and Portuguese. The EIC
also wanted to establish a strategic port in the sub-continent that would protect its trading interests
there.
It caused few problems as most candidates were able to explain why the East India Company got
involved in the sub-continent. As a result many candidates scored a Level 3mark, often reaching the
maximum allowable.

Why were the British able to conquer India?

By the time, British entered Subcontinent the Mughal Empire was already in decline. They did not
face any serious challenge when they were expanding their influence in India. At that time there was
no strong uniting force in India, it was a collection of disunited territories with a variety of different
rulers, religions, culture and civilizations. The Indian often fought with each other and allied the
British to attack their neighbours as Marathas helped the British to defeat Tipu the Sultan of Mysore
and helped them against the Mughals. Many Rulers of India were feudal lords who loved wealth and
paid little attention to their empire, lived luxurious life and ignored their estates, which declined
sharply. Indians were technologically far behind than British. They were not skilled diplomats,
inefficient rulers and had a very weak army with lack of modern weapons. On the other hand, British
were much more advanced than Indians, technologically and militarily because of the Industrial
Revolution, they had the superior weapons; means of communication and had the confidence that
they will prosper. They considered themselves as superior to the Indians and wanted their superior
culture to spread in India. There were great opportunities for profitable trade and for imposing
efficient British administrative system on a country, which was in stagnation and decline. They
foresaw that they would succeed and believed that they were destined to rule the large parts of the
world. Britain with a population of only about 10 million people was able to take over a huge land of
350 million people.