Material and written sources
Grandmother takes a letter, an old photo and a coin out of an old trunk and tells the story of your family. She unfolds the past just by looking at objects and papers. Historians work in exactly the same way.
The sources of history are the things that give us information about the past. For Modern Indian history there are four kinds: material (objects, buildings), written (papers, books), oral (spoken tradition) and audio-visual (pictures, sound, films).
Key idea 1 : Material sources — Offices, bridges, roads, prisons, palaces and forts of the British period, and also statues, memorials and coins, are material sources. Visiting the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, Manibhavan in Mumbai or the Sevagram Ashram at Wardha tells us about the architecture, people’s lives and leaders’ work of that time. A plaque on a statue gives the name, birth and death years and a short note on the person’s work.
Key idea 2 : Written sources — Newspapers, periodicals, autobiographies, biographies, letters, factory records, books, maps and plans are written sources. Newspapers such as Dnyanoday, Dnyanprakash, Amrit Bazar Patrika, Deenbandhu and Kesari awakened people. Dr. Ambedkar started ‘Mooknayak’ in 1920 and ‘Bahishkrit Bharat’ in 1927. Maps of the Survey of India show how a city changed over time.
Key idea 3 : Handling a written source — Check the author’s opinion and viewpoint before using a document as proof. These sources are kept in archives and must be preserved for the next generation.
- Easy : Coins, buildings and statues are material sources.
- Medium : An old map shows no road near a village but today’s map shows one. What does this tell us? — The road was built later and the village grew.
- Exam-type : How did newspapers become more than a source of news? — They published analysis of events, leaders’ views and editorials, and also wrote on social reform.
In the figure: There are four kinds of sources. In this section we studied the first two.
What you can touch or visit is material; what is written on paper is written.
Maps feel different from text, but the textbook lists maps and plans under written sources.
Memory clue: Material = visit, written = read.
Spot the difference
| Kind | Examples | What we learn |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Cellular Jail, statues, coins | Buildings, life and work of that time |
| Written | Newspapers, autobiographies, maps | Events, policies and people’s views |
Practice questions
- 1Name the four kinds of sources of history.
- 2Which palace in Pune gives information about Mahatma Gandhi’s life?
- 3What kind of source is the Cellular Jail?
- 4What information does a plaque on a statue give?
- 5Who started ‘Mooknayak’ and ‘Bahishkrit Bharat’, and when?
- 6What care should be taken with written sources of the modern period?
- 7How did newspapers become a tool of social reform in the British period?
- 8How can maps help us understand the history of a city?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Material, written, oral and audio-visual.
- 2The Aga Khan Palace.
- 3A material source.
- 4The full name, birth and death years and a short note on the person’s work.
- 5Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar; 1920 and 1927.
- 6Examine the author’s opinion and viewpoint, and preserve the documents.
- 7They printed articles on social issues along with political events and awakened people.
- 8Comparing maps of different periods shows how roads, buildings and settlements changed.
Oral and audio-visual sources
Grandfather tells stories of the old days, mother sings folk verses and the phone holds an old video. Your family’s history survives both as what is heard and what is seen.
What passes by word of mouth from generation to generation is an oral source. What is recorded on camera, sound recording or film is an audio-visual source.
Key idea 1 : Oral sources — Inspirational songs, powadas, folk verses, folk tales, fairs, jalsas, art troupes and interviews are oral sources. A powada is a ballad that sings the story of a brave person’s work. Powadas were composed on the uprising of 1857, the bravery of revolutionaries, the work of the Satyashodhak Samaj and the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. Some inspirational songs are now written down, but many live only in the memory of freedom fighters.
Key idea 2 : Audio-visual sources — Photographs are visual sources. Paintings of earlier periods may be doubtful, but photographs are considered more reliable. Sound recordings can be heard; examples are the national anthem sung by Rabindranath Tagore himself and the speeches of Subhas Chandra Bose. Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundation of the Indian film industry in 1913. Film records of the Dandi March, the Salt Satyagraha and the Quit India Movement are available today.
Key idea 3 : Preservation — The sources of the modern period are far more numerous and varied than earlier ones. Only by preserving them can we hand the rich tradition of history to the next generation.
- Easy : A powada is an oral source and a photograph is an audio-visual source.
- Medium : Which is more reliable, an old painting or a photograph? — The photograph, because it records exactly what was there at that moment.
- Exam-type : Why are audio-visual recordings valued? — We can see and hear an event as it happened; still, check who made the recording and when.
In the figure: Films and newspapers grew in the same period, so the sources of this time come in many forms.
Oral = heard, audio-visual = seen and heard. Both last only if recorded or preserved.
It is wrong to think all oral sources are false. Compare them with other sources before using them.
Memory clue: Powada, folk verse, interview = oral; photo, recording, film = audio-visual.
Spot the difference
| Source | Example | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|
| Powada | Powada of 1857 | Shows the spirit among people |
| Photograph | Photos of leaders | Shows faces, dress and places |
| Recording | A speech of Subhas Chandra Bose | Shows the way of speaking and the points made |
Practice questions
- 1What is a powada?
- 2Name two oral sources.
- 3Give two examples of audio-visual sources.
- 4Why is a photograph considered more reliable than an old painting?
- 5Who laid the foundation of the Indian film industry and when?
- 6What kind of source is a sound recording? Give one example.
- 7How can an interview become a source of history?
- 8Why is it necessary to preserve oral and audio-visual sources?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1A ballad form that sings the story of a brave person’s deeds or of an event.
- 2Powadas and inspirational songs (folk verses, folk tales or interviews are also correct).
- 3Photographs and films (sound recordings are also correct).
- 4Because a photograph records what was actually there at that moment.
- 5Dadasaheb Phalke, in 1913.
- 6An audio-visual (audio) source; e.g. the national anthem sung by Tagore.
- 7When a living witness’s account is recorded, it becomes evidence of the past.
- 8Because if they are lost, living evidence of events is lost for ever.