Social Science (087) — CBSE Class 10 board question

The colonial administrative system was made more rational and efficient through three key developments:

1. Railways: The introduction of railways enabled faster movement of goods, troops, and officials across vast territories. It helped the British consolidate political control and ensured efficient supply chains for trade and governance.

1. Print Culture: Print allowed standardisation of laws, official records, and regulations. Printed documents, notices, and reports made communication between administrative units uniform and systematic, reducing dependence on oral traditions.

1. Western-style Administration: The British established a formal bureaucracy with paid officials (like gomasthas), clear hierarchies, and written rules. This eliminated informal local arrangements, enforced uniform control, and reduced competition — as seen when the East India Company used systematic management to control weavers and monopolise trade.

Together, these changes replaced fragmented, personalised local systems with a centralised, standardised colonial administration.

Source: Chapter 4 (The Making of a Global World / Age of Industrialisation), Section 3.2

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• The question asks you to analyse, so don't just describe — show how each factor contributed to rationality/efficiency.
• CBSE expects roughly 3 distinct points for a 5-mark answer of this type.
• The source passages directly support the gomasthas/company control point; extrapolate railways and print logically from the given texts.
• Avoid vague phrases like "it was very helpful." Use precise terms: centralised control, standardised, uniform, monopoly.
• End with a brief concluding line tying all three together — examiners reward this for full marks.