NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Work, Life and Leisure

These NCERT Solutions for Class 10 History Work, Life and Leisure are prepared by experts who are familiar with the latest CBSE guidelines. You can use them to score maximum marks in your exams. Class 10 History NCERT Solutions will become your comprehensive guide in easy learning and evaluating yourself. Students can easily review the answers they prepared and also know whether they learned it properly or not.

Work, Life and Leisure Class 10 History NCERT Solutions

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1. Give two reasons why the population of London expanded from the middle of the eighteenth century.

Solution

(i) Even though there were no large factories in London, it attracted migrant populations. There lived in London numerous clerks, shopkeepers, artisans, workers, soldiers, servants, casual labourers, street-sellers and beggars.

(ii) There were five major types of industries in London. These were clothing and footwear; wood and furniture; metals and engineering; printing and stationery; and, precious products like watches and surgical instruments. These industries employed a large number of people.

2. What were the changes in the kind of work available to women in London between the nineteenth and the twentieth century? Explain the factors which led to this change.

Solution

(i) Women in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were employed in large numbers because they earned lower wages than men. With the growth of technology, many of them lost their industrial jobs and were forced to work at other places.

(ii) Some women took up jobs as maids. Other women took up other jobs like tailoring, washing or matchbox-making to make extra money.

(iii) In the twentieth century, women got employed in the industries and offices because most of the male citizens were fighting at the front. Women weren’t expected to have domestic occupations anymore.

3. How does the existence of a large urban population affect each of the following? Illustrate with historical examples.
(a) A private landlord
(b) A Police Superintendent in charge of law and order
(c) A leader of a political party

Solution

(a) Effect on a private landlord: With a large urban population, private landlords are able to sell the plots of land he owns to needy people at very high rates. He constructs cheap tenements on his land and charges high rents from the tenants. When industrialisation took place in England, a large number of rural people migrated to London. Due to which London’s population increased, which allowed property owners to provide cheap dwelling places to migrants and make large profits.

(b) Effect on a Police Superintendent in charge of law and order: As London’s population grew, the crime rate increased. According to an estimate, there were twenty thousand criminals in London in the 1870s. These criminals included thieves, robbers, pickpockets, tricksters and gamblers. The law and order situation was uncontrolled in London. Therefore, the Police Superintendent faced many difficulties in maintaining law and order. He used surveys and data to study the population of criminals in order to watch their activities and investigate their ways of life.

(c) Effect on a leader of a political party: A large urban population can help a leader of a political party in many ways. He can easily draw large crowds to serve his political agenda. He instigates people to agitate against the government. He asks the workers to form a trade union. He leads successful processions against the government and the owners of factories. For example, the poor in London strike in 1886, the riots of late-1887 and the dock workers strike in 1889 were all sparked by political leaders.

4. Give explanations for the following:
(a) Why well-off Londoners supported the need to build housing for the poor in the nineteenth century.
(b) Why a number of Bombay films were about the lives of migrants.
(c) What led to the major expansion of Bombay’s population in the mid-nineteenth century.

Solution

(a) The well-off Londoners supported the need to build housing for the poor in the nineteenth century because of the following reasons:
(i) The majority of the poor’s one-room dwellings posed a serious hazard to public health. They were overcrowded, filthy, and poorly ventilated.
(ii) Many individuals were concerned about the dangers of fires caused by substandard housing.
(iii) The labourers had a widespread fear of social chaos and revolt.

(b) A number of Bombay films depicted the life of migrants because of the following reasons:
(i) The majority of persons working in the Bombay film industry were migrants from Lahore, Calcutta, and Madras. As migrants in Bombay, they had encountered numerous challenges. Because it was based on their personal experiences, it proved to be an excellent concept for their films.
(ii) Bombay was a congested metropolis. There was a severe housing and water shortage. More than 70% of the working population (mainly migrants) lived in crowded chawls. As a result, they faced real life challenges. Such immense constraints may readily be transformed into compelling film concepts.

(c) The following factors led to a major expansion of Bombay’s population in the mid-nineteenth century:
(i) In 1819, Bombay became the capital of the Bombay Presidency. It happened following the defeat of the Marathas during the Anglo-Maratha Wars. Consequently, more people moved to Bombay.
(ii) With the rise of cotton and opium trade, Bombay attracted a slew of traders, bankers, artisans, and shopkeepers.
(iii) The first cotton mill in Bombay was founded in 1854. By 1921, there were 85 cotton mills in operation. Only one-fourth of the labourers were born in Bombay, while the rest came from neighbouring districts like Ratnagiri.
(iv) Bombay was an important port in India’s marine trade. As a result, a big number of individuals arrived at the bustling waterfront to work.

Discuss

5. What forms of entertainment came up in nineteenth century England to provide leisure activities for the people.

Solution

There were numerous forms of entertainment that arose in nineteenth-century England to provide people with leisure activities:

• An annual “London Season” was one of the sources of relaxation for the upper classes. It included opera, theatre, and classical music performances.
• Pubs, talks, and political action meetings fulfilled the same role for the working classes.
• Libraries, art galleries, and museums were all new forms of leisure made possible by the utilisation of public funds.
• The lower classes were also huge fans of music halls and movie theatres. Industrial workers were encouraged to enjoy coastal holidays to unwind from the stresses of working in polluted factory environments.

6. Explain the social changes in London which led to the need for the Underground railway. Why was the development of the Underground criticised?

Solution

As a result of the drive to decongest London, suburban development led to the growth of the city beyond the point where people could walk to work.

Even though these suburbs had been built, the people could not be convinced to leave the city and stay so far away from their places of work without some form of public transportation. Thus, the Underground rail system was formed to solve this housing issue.

Because underground travel was seen as dangerous, the Underground’s development was criticized. Many considered it an aggravating factor of the city’s mess and unhygienic conditions.

In addition, many houses were demolished in order to clear the way for the Underground. It resulted in many Londoners being displaced.

7. Explain what is meant by the Haussmanisation of Paris. To what extent would you support or oppose this form of development? Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper, to either support or oppose this, giving reasons for your view.

Solution

Housesmanization of Paris refers to the re-building of Paris by Baron Haussmann in the mid-18th century. Louis Napoleon III appointed Haussmann as the chief architect of the new city when he came to power. New streets, straight sidewalks, boulevards and avenues were laid out, as well as full-grown trees planted. Haussmann’s architectural plans had both positives and negatives. 

Negatives: Forcible reconstruction to enhance a city’s beauty and impose order has become synonymous with his name. His plans led to the displacement of 350,000 people from the center of Paris. Among those who were displaced were many poor people.

Positives: Nearly one in five working people are employed by public works. Although Haussmann’s work was criticized by wealthy and poor alike during his time, Paris remained a symbol of civic pride for the French, and it continued to influence other parts of the world through new architectural, social, and intellectual developments in the twentieth century.

8. To what extent does government regulation and new laws solve problems of pollution? Discuss one example each of the success and failure of legislation to change the quality of
(a) public life
(b) private life

Solution

The government plays an important role in controlling the rates of pollution in a city. However, passing laws alone is not enough. The laws also need to be properly enforced. Additionally, it is a fact that people tend to find ways around laws.. In addition to legislations, government also needs to implement intensive public awareness campaigns aimed at educating the public about the need to control pollution and how they contribute to it.

Examples to show the success of legislation to change the quality of

Public Life: During colonial Calcutta, industrial smoke was successfully controlled by the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Commission, which was established by the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act of 1905.

Private life: The Clean Air Act of 1956 was passed by the British government. In order to control domestic sources of smoke pollution, it introduced the concept of smokeless zones. In these areas, smokeless fuels had to be burnt. This led to a marked reduction of pollution in British cities.

Example to show the failure of legislation to change the quality of

Public Life: Smoke control laws began to be implemented in British cities as early as the 1840s. However, these laws had little effect on reducing smoke emissions. Smoke is difficult to monitor or measure, which made it easy for factory and steam engine owners to get away with small adjustments to their machinery, which did nothing to stop the smoke.

Private life: During colonial times, a vast population relied on dung and wood as fuel for their daily needs. This led to significant air pollution in Calcutta. Although the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Commission was successful in controlling industrial smoke, it found it difficult to control household smoke.