Which one of the following pairs about the letters and reports of the…

Which one of the following pairs about the letters and reports of the colonial state is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → Writings of policemen and other government officials - kept secret at the time of writing

Option (1) Fortnightly Reports of the Home Department - prepared from the early nineteenth century — Incorrect. The Home Department prepared these reports from the early twentieth century. The century in this pair has been changed.

Option (2) Fortnightly Reports of the Home Department - based on information sent by Congress committees — Incorrect. These reports were based on police information from the localities. They often showed what higher officials saw or wished to believe.

Option (3) Writings of policemen and other government officials - kept secret at the time of writing — Correct. Letters and reports by policemen and officials were secret at the time. Today historians can read them in archives.

Option (4) Fortnightly Reports on the Salt March - welcomed it as an enthusiastic response of the masses — Incorrect. The Home Department was unwilling to accept any enthusiastic mass response. It saw the march as a drama and an antic.

NCERT (2026-27): “6.3 Through police eyes
Another vital source is government records, for the colonial rulers kept close tabs on those they regarded as critical of the government. The letters and reports written by policemen and other officials were secret at the time; but now can be accessed in archives. Let us look at one such source: the fortnightly reports that were prepared by the Home Department from the early twentieth century. These reports were based on police information from the localities, but often expressed what the higher officials saw, or wanted to believe. While noticing the possibility of sedition and rebellion, they liked to assure themselves that these fears were unwarranted. If you see the Fortnightly Reports for the period of the Salt March you will notice that the Home Department was unwilling to accept that Mahatma Gandhi’s actions had evoked any enthusiastic response from the masses. The march was seen as a drama, an antic, a desperate effort to mobilise people who were unwilling to rise against the British and were busy with their daily schedules, happy under the Raj.”

Which one of the following pairs about the letters and reports of the colonial state is correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → Writings of policemen and other government officials - kept secret at the time of writing