Class 12 History Chapter 12 — Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports
Welcome to HSLC Guru. This article presents a complete English-medium question and answer guide for ASSEB Class 12 History (Themes in Indian History — Part III) Chapter 12, “Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports”. Solutions cover all NCERT textbook exercises, short and long answer questions, multiple-choice questions, and important key terms — designed to help students prepare thoroughly for the Higher Secondary Final examination.
About the Chapter
This chapter examines the transformation of Indian urban centres under colonial rule between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. It explores how the East India Company and later the British Crown reshaped existing towns and built new ones, especially the three Presidency cities — Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. Through town plans, census records, and municipal reports, students learn how colonial cities reflected racial segregation, administrative control, and the rise of new social classes such as the Western-educated Indian elite.
Summary
From the eighteenth to the twentieth century, urbanisation in India underwent a dramatic transformation under colonial rule. Many older cities such as Surat, Masulipatnam, and Dhaka declined, while new colonial port towns rose to prominence. The British East India Company established three Presidency cities — Madras (1639), Bombay (1661), and Calcutta (1690) — which became the political, economic, and cultural centres of British power in India. These cities developed around fortified European settlements: Fort St. George in Madras and Fort William in Calcutta, each surrounded by an esplanade or open ground for security.
Colonial cities were divided into two distinct zones — the White Town, where Europeans lived in spacious bungalows with gardens, churches, and clubs, and the Black Town, inhabited by Indians in densely populated quarters with markets, temples, and bazaars. This racial segregation was reinforced by town planning, sanitation policies, and architectural design. After the Revolt of 1857, the British became more concerned with security and surveillance, leading to wider roads, the demolition of many old buildings, and stricter regulation of urban space.
Following the establishment of municipal corporations in the mid-nineteenth century (Madras 1688 — earliest, Bombay and Calcutta later in the 1870s), urban administration was systematised. These bodies handled sanitation, taxation, drainage, lighting, and public health, and produced detailed municipal reports that became valuable historical sources. Bombay developed grand civic buildings in Gothic, Indo-Saracenic, and neoclassical styles — including the Secretariat, University, High Court, Victoria Terminus, and the Gateway of India. In 1911 the capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi, and architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker designed New Delhi as an imperial showcase, completed in 1931, with grand avenues, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and the Secretariat buildings on Raisina Hill.
Colonial cities also gave rise to a new Indian elite — lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists, traders, and clerks educated in Western institutions — who eventually became the leadership of the nationalist movement. The chapter shows how cities were not just spaces of colonial control but also arenas of contestation, where Indians redefined modernity, identity, and political consciousness.
সাৰাংশ
অষ্টাদশ শতিকাৰ পৰা বিংশ শতিকালৈ ঔপনিৱেশিক শাসনৰ অধীনত ভাৰতৰ নগৰীয়কৰণৰ ক্ষেত্ৰত ব্যাপক পৰিৱৰ্তন ঘটিছিল। চুৰাট, মছলিপত্তনম আৰু ঢাকাৰ দৰে পুৰণি নগৰবোৰ অৱনতিৰ পথত গ’ল আৰু নতুন ঔপনিৱেশিক বন্দৰ নগৰৰ উত্থান হ’ল। ব্ৰিটিছ ইষ্ট ইণ্ডিয়া কোম্পানীয়ে প্ৰতিষ্ঠা কৰা তিনিখন প্ৰেচিডেন্সি নগৰ — মাদ্ৰাজ (১৬৩৯), বম্বে (১৬৬১), আৰু কলিকতা (১৬৯০) — ভাৰতত ব্ৰিটিছ ক্ষমতাৰ ৰাজনৈতিক, অৰ্থনৈতিক আৰু সাংস্কৃতিক কেন্দ্ৰ হৈ পৰিল। এই নগৰবোৰ দুৰ্গসদৃশ ইউৰোপীয় বসতিৰ চাৰিওফালে গঢ় লৈ উঠিছিল — মাদ্ৰাজত ফ’ৰ্ট চেণ্ট জৰ্জ আৰু কলিকতাত ফ’ৰ্ট উইলিয়াম। নগৰবোৰ “বগা চহৰ” (White Town) আৰু “ক’লা চহৰ” (Black Town) ৰূপে বিভক্ত আছিল, যিয়ে বৰ্ণবৈষম্য আৰু প্ৰশাসনিক নিয়ন্ত্ৰণ প্ৰতিফলিত কৰিছিল।
১৮৫৭ চনৰ বিদ্ৰোহৰ পিছত ব্ৰিটিছসকলে নগৰ পৰিকল্পনাৰ ক্ষেত্ৰত নতুন পদ্ধতি গ্ৰহণ কৰে। মিউনিচিপাল কৰ্পোৰেচন স্থাপন হ’ল আৰু সেইবোৰে স্বাস্থ্য, পানী যোগান, পথ আৰু নলা ব্যৱস্থা চম্ভালিলে। বম্বেত গথিক, ইণ্ডো-চাৰাচেনিক আৰু নিয়ো-ক্লাছিকেল শৈলীৰ গৃহ নিৰ্মাণ হ’ল। ১৯১১ চনত ৰাজধানী কলিকতাৰ পৰা দিল্লীলৈ স্থানান্তৰিত হয় আৰু এডৱিন লুটিয়েন্স আৰু হাৰবাৰ্ট বেকাৰে নতুন দিল্লী পৰিকল্পনা কৰে। ঔপনিৱেশিক নগৰবোৰে এক নতুন ভাৰতীয় অভিজাত শ্ৰেণীৰো জন্ম দিলে যিসকলে পিছলৈ জাতীয়তাবাদী আন্দোলনৰ নেতৃত্ব ল’লে।
NCERT Textbook Questions and Answers
1. To what extent are census data useful in reconstructing patterns of urbanisation in the colonial context?
Answer: Census data, first collected systematically in 1872 and decennially from 1881, provide invaluable information for historians studying urbanisation under colonial rule. They record population size, age, sex, caste, religion, occupation, and place of residence, and enable researchers to trace shifts in city growth, migration patterns, and the changing social composition of urban centres. By comparing successive censuses, one can identify which towns expanded (typically Presidency cities and railway hubs) and which declined (older trading centres like Surat or Murshidabad).
However, census data have limits. Categories were often imposed by colonial officials and reflected European preconceptions — for example, caste categories were rigidly fixed, and women’s occupations were frequently undercounted because domestic labour was considered non-economic. Many poor urban dwellers, slum residents, and itinerant labourers escaped enumeration. Despite these biases, when read alongside municipal reports, maps, and contemporary literature, census records remain a foundational source for the history of colonial urbanisation.
2. What do the terms “White” and “Black” Town signify?
Answer: The terms “White Town” and “Black Town” refer to the racial division of colonial cities, especially the three Presidency cities — Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. The White Town was the area where European officials, merchants, and soldiers lived. It was characterised by spacious bungalows set in large compounds, well-laid streets, churches, clubs, parks, and proximity to the fort. Sanitation, lighting, and policing were of high quality, and architecture reflected European tastes — neoclassical or Gothic.
The Black Town, by contrast, was the densely populated quarter inhabited by Indians — merchants, artisans, weavers, dock workers, and servants. Houses were closely packed, streets were narrow, and civic amenities were poor. Markets, bazaars, temples, and mosques crowded the lanes. The terms were not just descriptive but ideological — they reflected colonial assumptions of racial superiority and the fear of “native” disease and disorder. After the 1857 Revolt, segregation became even more rigid for security reasons.
3. How did prominent Indian merchants establish themselves in the colonial city?
Answer: Indian merchants played a vital role in the economic life of colonial cities. In Calcutta, the banians (agents) and dewans served the East India Company as intermediaries in trade, finance, and revenue collection. They acquired wealth through their connections with European firms and invested in land, real estate, shipping, and moneylending. Names like Dwarkanath Tagore, Motilal Seal, and Rustomjee Cowasjee became prominent.
In Bombay, Parsi, Gujarati, Bohra, and Marwari merchants invested in the cotton trade, the opium trade with China, shipping, and later in textile mills. Families like Tata, Wadia, Petit, and Jejeebhoy built business empires and constructed mansions in elite localities. They donated to charitable causes, founded hospitals, schools, and libraries, and engaged in civic life through municipal corporations. By the late nineteenth century, this merchant class had emerged as a major force in urban economy and politics, paving the way for industrial capitalism in India.
4. Examine how the worlds of work changed in the Presidency cities. Did everyone benefit from these changes?
Answer: The Presidency cities transformed work patterns in profound ways. Traditional artisans such as weavers, dyers, and metalworkers faced ruin as machine-made British goods flooded the market. At the same time, new occupations emerged — clerks, telegraph operators, railway workers, lawyers, doctors, journalists, teachers, dock labourers, factory workers, and domestic servants. The expansion of trade, government bureaucracy, education, and printing created opportunities for educated Indians.
However, the benefits were unequally distributed. A small Indian elite — the bhadralok in Calcutta, professionals and merchants in Bombay and Madras — prospered. The vast majority, however, lived in poverty. Migrant labourers from the countryside crowded into slums, mill workers laboured under harsh conditions for low wages, and women workers were paid less than men. Rural artisans displaced by colonial trade often became urban poor. Thus, while the colonial city created new economic opportunities, it also produced sharp inequalities and a stratified urban society.
5. What were the concerns that influenced town planning in the nineteenth century?
Answer: Several concerns shaped colonial town planning in the nineteenth century. First, defence was paramount — forts had to be protected by open esplanades, and after 1857 wider roads were built to allow rapid troop movement. Second, sanitation and public health became critical after epidemics of cholera and plague swept Indian cities in the 1860s and 1890s. Authorities cleared “unhealthy” Indian neighbourhoods, built drains, sewers, and water supply systems, and enforced building regulations.
Third, racial separation was institutionalised — civil lines, cantonments, and hill stations were created exclusively for Europeans. Fourth, imperial display influenced the design of New Delhi, with grand avenues, vistas, and monumental buildings projecting British power. Fifth, commerce and administration required modern infrastructure — railway stations, post offices, courts, and warehouses. Together these concerns produced a colonial city that was orderly, segregated, monumental, and surveilled.
6. To what extent were social relations transformed in the new cities?
Answer: Colonial cities transformed social relations significantly. Caste boundaries weakened in the workplace, where workers from different backgrounds laboured together in mills, docks, and offices. Public transport, schools, courts, and theatres brought people of varied communities into contact. The emergence of a Western-educated middle class created new networks of association — debating societies, newspapers, sports clubs, and political associations like the Indian National Congress (1885).
Yet old hierarchies persisted and even hardened in some ways. Residential segregation along caste, religious, and racial lines was reinforced. Women remained largely confined to the domestic sphere, though a few from elite families began to enter education and public life. Class distinctions sharpened — the rich lived in mansions while the poor crowded into slums. Communal identities, sometimes intensified by colonial census categorisation, became more rigid by the early twentieth century. Thus, the colonial city was both a site of social fluidity and of new forms of inequality.
7. What were the new architectural styles introduced in the colonial cities?
Answer: Colonial cities saw three principal architectural styles. The neoclassical style, derived from ancient Greek and Roman traditions, featured columns, pediments, and symmetrical forms. It was used for public buildings such as the Town Hall in Bombay (1833) and Government House in Calcutta. It was thought to convey rationality, order, and imperial authority.
The neo-Gothic style, inspired by medieval European cathedrals, used pointed arches, tall spires, and stained glass. Notable examples include the Bombay Secretariat, University of Bombay, the High Court, and Victoria Terminus (1887, designed by F. W. Stevens). The Indo-Saracenic style fused European structures with Indian motifs — domes, chhatris, jharokhas, and arches. Examples include the Gateway of India (1924) and the Prince of Wales Museum. New Delhi, designed by Lutyens and Baker (1911–31), combined classical and Indian elements in monumental form, exemplified by Rashtrapati Bhavan.
8. Look at Figs 10.2 and 10.3 (in the textbook) and describe what you see. How are the dwellings of the rich and poor different?
Answer: The dwellings of the rich and poor in colonial cities differed dramatically. The houses of the rich — Europeans and the Indian elite — were spacious bungalows or mansions set within large compounds. They had high ceilings, verandahs, gardens, separate quarters for servants, and modern amenities such as piped water and electricity. The architecture combined European styles with Indian features.
The dwellings of the poor were cramped and unsanitary. In Bombay, working families lived in chawls — multi-storeyed tenements with shared toilets and water taps and tiny one-room flats. In Calcutta, the poor lived in bustees — slums of mud and bamboo huts with no drainage. Streets were narrow and overcrowded. The contrast between elite and working-class housing reveals the deep economic and racial inequalities of the colonial city.
Short Answer Questions
1. When were the three Presidency cities founded?
Answer: Madras was founded in 1639, Bombay was acquired by the East India Company in 1661, and Calcutta was founded in 1690 by Job Charnock.
2. What is meant by “deurbanisation”?
Answer: Deurbanisation refers to the decline of older Indian cities such as Surat, Masulipatnam, Dhaka, and Murshidabad during colonial rule, as trade and political importance shifted to new colonial port cities like Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.
3. What was Fort St. George?
Answer: Fort St. George was the fortified British settlement established at Madras in 1640. It was the centre of the White Town and housed the Governor, troops, and European residents.
4. What was Fort William?
Answer: Fort William was the fortified British settlement at Calcutta. The original fort was attacked by Siraj-ud-Daulah in 1756; a new, larger Fort William was built after the Battle of Plassey (1757), surrounded by a vast esplanade.
5. Who designed New Delhi?
Answer: New Delhi was designed by the British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, beginning in 1911. It was inaugurated in 1931 as the new imperial capital after the transfer from Calcutta.
6. What is a chawl?
Answer: A chawl is a multi-storeyed tenement building in Bombay where mill workers and the urban poor lived. Each floor had a row of one-room flats opening onto a common verandah, with shared toilets and water.
7. What is meant by Indo-Saracenic architecture?
Answer: Indo-Saracenic is a colonial architectural style that fused Indian elements such as domes, chhatris, jharokhas, and arches with European structural forms. The Gateway of India and the Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay are examples.
8. When was the first all-India census conducted?
Answer: The first all-India census was conducted in 1872. From 1881 onwards, censuses were taken regularly every ten years (decennially).
9. Who were the banians?
Answer: Banians were Indian agents and intermediaries who served European trading firms in Calcutta. They handled local business, managed credit, and many became wealthy and prominent.
10. What is a hill station?
Answer: Hill stations were settlements developed by the British in cool, elevated locations such as Simla, Darjeeling, and Ootacamund. They served as summer retreats, sanitaria for soldiers, and administrative centres during the hot months.
11. What was the Town Hall of Bombay?
Answer: The Town Hall of Bombay, completed in 1833, was a neoclassical building that housed public meetings, the Asiatic Society, and a library. It symbolised the civic culture of the colonial elite.
12. What is Victoria Terminus?
Answer: Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) is the grand neo-Gothic railway station of Bombay, designed by F. W. Stevens and completed in 1887. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Long Answer Questions
1. Discuss the major changes in patterns of urbanisation in India during the colonial period.
Answer: Urbanisation in colonial India underwent profound restructuring. Older trading and political centres such as Surat, Masulipatnam, Dhaka, Murshidabad, Patna, and Hyderabad declined as British power expanded. Surat lost its trade to Bombay; Murshidabad declined after Plassey (1757); Dhaka’s muslin industry was ruined by British textiles. This process is often called deurbanisation.
At the same time, new colonial cities rose. The three Presidency cities — Madras (1639), Bombay (1661), and Calcutta (1690) — emerged as the principal centres of British administration, trade, and culture. Smaller towns developed around cantonments, railway junctions, mining and plantation areas, and hill stations. From the late nineteenth century, industrial cities like Kanpur and Jamshedpur appeared. Urban populations grew steadily, but India remained predominantly rural — by 1900, only about 11 per cent lived in towns. The pattern was thus one of selective and uneven urban growth tied closely to colonial economic interests.
2. Describe the racial division of colonial cities into White Town and Black Town.
Answer: Colonial cities were structured around the racial division between the White Town (European area) and the Black Town (Indian area). In Madras, the White Town was around Fort St. George, while Indians lived in surrounding settlements such as Royapuram, Triplicane, and Chintadripet. In Calcutta, Europeans lived in Chowringhee and along the Maidan, while Indians lived in north Calcutta — Burrabazar, Bagbazar, and Sobhabazar. In Bombay, Europeans occupied the Fort area, while Indian merchants and workers lived in the native town to the north.
The White Town had broad streets, parks, churches, clubs, and bungalows; the Black Town was densely packed with bazaars, temples, and crowded houses. The British justified segregation on grounds of climate, sanitation, and security, but the underlying motive was racial superiority and fear. After the 1857 Revolt, segregation hardened. By the late nineteenth century, however, the Indian elite began moving into formerly European areas, and the strict racial geography started to blur.
3. Describe the development of municipal administration in colonial cities.
Answer: The earliest municipal corporation in India was set up at Madras in 1688, but its functions were limited. After 1857, with growing concerns about epidemics, sanitation, and urban order, the British established more powerful municipal bodies. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation was reorganised in 1876, and the Bombay Corporation in 1872. These bodies managed water supply, drainage, sewage, street lighting, taxation, public health, schools, and markets.
Municipal corporations published detailed annual reports — invaluable historical sources today — covering births, deaths, diseases, finances, and infrastructure. By the late nineteenth century, elected Indian members began participating in these bodies, providing one of the earliest training grounds for Indian political leaders such as Surendranath Banerjea and Pherozeshah Mehta. Municipal politics became an important site of nationalist contestation, as Indians demanded greater representation and resisted discriminatory taxation and racial restrictions.
4. Discuss the planning and architecture of New Delhi.
Answer: The decision to shift the capital from Calcutta to Delhi was announced at the Delhi Durbar of December 1911 by King George V. The British saw Delhi as an ancient seat of empire, and locating the capital there would project British rule as the legitimate successor of the Mughals. Architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker were commissioned to design the new capital.
Construction began in 1912 and was inaugurated in 1931. The plan featured wide avenues radiating from a central axis, vast vistas, hexagonal road patterns, and grand public buildings on Raisina Hill. Viceroy’s House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) crowned the hill, flanked by the two Secretariat buildings. Other features included India Gate, the Parliament House (designed by Baker), and Connaught Place. The architecture mixed European classical forms with Indian motifs — chhatris, jaalis, and the use of red and cream sandstone — creating a distinct imperial Indo-Saracenic style. New Delhi was designed not as a city for Indians but as a stage for British imperial display, a stark contrast with the densely populated Old Delhi.
5. How did colonial cities give rise to a new Indian elite?
Answer: The Presidency cities became the cradle of a new Indian elite. Western-style education in colleges such as Hindu College (1817), Elphinstone College (1856), and Madras Christian College produced a generation of professionals — lawyers, doctors, journalists, civil servants, and teachers. The most famous example was Calcutta’s bhadralok, a Bengali middle class that combined landed wealth with Western learning.
In Bombay, Parsi and Gujarati merchants built industrial fortunes; in Madras, Tamil Brahmins dominated the professions. This elite founded newspapers (Hindu Patriot, Amrita Bazar Patrika, Times of India), reform associations (Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj), and political bodies (Indian National Congress, 1885). They debated questions of social reform, women’s education, and ultimately national independence. Although a small section of Indian society, this urban elite shaped modern Indian thought, literature, and politics. The colonial city, conceived as an instrument of empire, thus also produced its eventual challengers.
Presidency Cities — Comparative Table
| Feature | Madras | Bombay | Calcutta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of Foundation | 1639 | 1661 (transferred to EIC 1668) | 1690 |
| Founder / First English Settler | Francis Day | Charles II / EIC | Job Charnock |
| Fort | Fort St. George (1640) | Bombay Castle / Fort area | Fort William (rebuilt 1773) |
| Region / Province | Coromandel Coast (Tamil Nadu) | Western India (Maharashtra) | Bengal |
| Main Trade | Cotton textiles, indigo | Cotton, opium, shipping | Cotton, jute, opium, indigo |
| Black Town Areas | Royapuram, Triplicane, Chintadripet | Native Town (north of Fort) | Burrabazar, Bagbazar, Sobhabazar |
| Capital of British India | No | No | Yes (until 1911) |
| Famous Buildings | Fort St. George, San Thome Church, High Court | Town Hall, Victoria Terminus, Gateway of India | Writers’ Building, Government House, Victoria Memorial |
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
1. Madras was founded by the East India Company in:
(a) 1639 (b) 1661 (c) 1672 (d) 1690
Answer: (a) 1639
2. Bombay came into the possession of the English East India Company in:
(a) 1639 (b) 1661 (c) 1690 (d) 1757
Answer: (b) 1661
3. Calcutta was founded by Job Charnock in:
(a) 1639 (b) 1661 (c) 1690 (d) 1773
Answer: (c) 1690
4. Fort St. George is located in:
(a) Madras (b) Bombay (c) Calcutta (d) Delhi
Answer: (a) Madras
5. Fort William is located in:
(a) Madras (b) Bombay (c) Calcutta (d) Delhi
Answer: (c) Calcutta
6. The first all-India census was conducted in:
(a) 1857 (b) 1872 (c) 1881 (d) 1901
Answer: (b) 1872
7. Decennial census operations in India began in:
(a) 1857 (b) 1872 (c) 1881 (d) 1911
Answer: (c) 1881
8. The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in:
(a) 1905 (b) 1911 (c) 1919 (d) 1931
Answer: (b) 1911
9. New Delhi was inaugurated as the imperial capital in:
(a) 1911 (b) 1921 (c) 1931 (d) 1947
Answer: (c) 1931
10. New Delhi was designed by:
(a) Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker (b) F. W. Stevens (c) Charles Correa (d) Le Corbusier
Answer: (a) Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker
11. Victoria Terminus in Bombay was designed by:
(a) Edwin Lutyens (b) F. W. Stevens (c) Herbert Baker (d) William Emerson
Answer: (b) F. W. Stevens
12. Victoria Terminus was completed in:
(a) 1857 (b) 1872 (c) 1887 (d) 1911
Answer: (c) 1887
13. Working-class housing in Bombay was known as:
(a) Bustee (b) Chawl (c) Haveli (d) Bungalow
Answer: (b) Chawl
14. Working-class slums in Calcutta were known as:
(a) Chawl (b) Bustee (c) Cantonment (d) Civil Lines
Answer: (b) Bustee
15. The architectural style that combines Indian and European elements is called:
(a) Neoclassical (b) Neo-Gothic (c) Indo-Saracenic (d) Baroque
Answer: (c) Indo-Saracenic
16. The Town Hall of Bombay (1833) is built in which style?
(a) Neoclassical (b) Neo-Gothic (c) Indo-Saracenic (d) Mughal
Answer: (a) Neoclassical
17. The Gateway of India was completed in:
(a) 1911 (b) 1924 (c) 1931 (d) 1947
Answer: (b) 1924
18. Banians and dewans were primarily associated with:
(a) Madras (b) Bombay (c) Calcutta (d) Delhi
Answer: (c) Calcutta
19. The earliest municipal corporation in India was set up in:
(a) Madras in 1688 (b) Bombay in 1872 (c) Calcutta in 1876 (d) Delhi in 1911
Answer: (a) Madras in 1688
20. Hill stations such as Simla and Darjeeling were primarily developed for:
(a) Indian princes (b) British officials and soldiers (c) Industrial workers (d) Pilgrims
Answer: (b) British officials and soldiers
21. The bhadralok class was prominent in:
(a) Madras (b) Bombay (c) Calcutta (d) Lahore
Answer: (c) Calcutta
22. The Indian National Congress was founded in:
(a) 1857 (b) 1872 (c) 1885 (d) 1911
Answer: (c) 1885
23. Rashtrapati Bhavan was originally known as:
(a) Government House (b) Viceroy’s House (c) India House (d) Civil Secretariat
Answer: (b) Viceroy’s House
24. Which old city declined sharply due to the British policy of free trade in textiles?
(a) Surat (b) Dhaka (c) Murshidabad (d) All of these
Answer: (d) All of these
25. The first major industrial city in colonial India was:
(a) Bombay (b) Madras (c) Kanpur (d) Jamshedpur
Answer: (a) Bombay
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Presidency City | One of the three principal cities (Madras, Bombay, Calcutta) under separate Presidencies of British India |
| White Town | The European section of a colonial city, with bungalows, churches, and clubs |
| Black Town | The Indian section of a colonial city, with crowded bazaars, temples, and tenements |
| Esplanade | An open ground around a fort, kept clear for defence |
| Cantonment | A military settlement laid out separately from the civilian town |
| Civil Lines | European residential areas in towns where colonial officials lived |
| Hill Station | A settlement at high altitude (e.g. Simla, Darjeeling) used as summer retreat |
| Chawl | Multi-storeyed working-class tenement in Bombay |
| Bustee | Slum area in Calcutta with mud-and-bamboo huts |
| Bungalow | Spacious single-storeyed European-style house in compound |
| Banian | Indian agent serving European trading firms in Calcutta |
| Dewan | Chief revenue / financial officer; also Indian agent of EIC |
| Bhadralok | Bengali middle-class educated elite of Calcutta (“respectable people”) |
| Census | Official enumeration of the population, first taken across India in 1872 |
| Municipal Corporation | Body responsible for civic administration — sanitation, water, taxes, roads |
| Neoclassical | Architectural style based on Greek and Roman models |
| Neo-Gothic | Style inspired by medieval European cathedrals; pointed arches, spires |
| Indo-Saracenic | Hybrid style combining Indian and European architectural elements |
| Deurbanisation | Decline of older Indian cities under colonial rule |
| Town Planning | Systematic design of urban space — streets, sanitation, zoning |
| Raisina Hill | Site of the Viceroy’s House and Secretariats in New Delhi |
| Edwin Lutyens | Chief British architect of New Delhi (1911-31) |
| Herbert Baker | Architect of the Secretariat and Parliament House in New Delhi |
Continue your preparation with all chapters of ASSEB Class 12 History (Themes in Indian History — Parts I, II, III) on HSLC Guru. Bookmark this page and share it with classmates preparing for the Higher Secondary Final examination.