The Need for History

 The Need for History

What is history ?

The time in which we live is the present . The time that precedes the present is called the past . History tells us about events in the past . History is a coherent account of the significant events of the past . History is generally divided into three periods -- ancient , mediaeval and modern .

In the study of history , we try to understand what happened in the past . Man has been living on the earth for thousands of years . In the course of this long period , man has made progress with great perseverance . His path was not an easy one . Mankind has struggled hard to make progress . We learn about this in history ,

The need for history

Man used the resources available in his environment to get food , clothing and shelter . Human life became comfortable with the help of nature . It can be enriched further only if nature is conserved .

We often wonder how man lived in the past what his food was like , how he clothed himself and so on . The study of history provides answers to such questions .

We learn about the progress made by our ancestors through the study of history and it gives us a sense of pride . At the same time , the study of history enables us to make further progress by avoiding the mistakes made by our ancestors .

Chronology in history

We need to know as to when exactly the different events in the past took place . Certain events are inter - related . For example , after James Watt improved the steam engine , such engines came to be used on a large scale . If we study events in a chronological order , that is , according to their time sequence , we understand the co relation between them . A particular method is used to refer to time while arranging the events in chronological order .

Time line

In the system commonly used today , time is measured from the year when Jesus Christ was born . This method of referring to time is now used in all parts of the world for the convenience of international transactions .

What is the year of the event which took place 100 years after the birth of Jesus Christ ? It is 100 AD . ( AD is short for Anno Domini . It means ' in the year of the Lord ' . )

During the Indian freedom struggle , the ' Quit India movement was launched in 1942. We say that it was launched in ' AD 1942 ' or ' 1942 AD ' because this event took place 1942 years after the birth of Christ . All events taking place after the birth of Christ are referred to in this way .

But many important events have taken place before the birth of Jesus Christ . How do we refer to them ?

Vardhaman Mahavir was born 599 years before the birth of Jesus Christ . Therefore , we say that Vardhaman Mahavir was born in the year * 599 BC ' ( 599 Before Christ ) . Look at the time line given on page 3 in order to understand this better

When we refer to historic periods , we often mention centuries . For example , we say that ' European merchants started coming to India for trade from the 16th century onwards ' , or , ' Social reform movement in Maharashtra began in the 19th century ' . In statements like these , the word century ' stands for 100 years .

The period from AD 1 to AD 100 is called the first century of the Christian era . The period of 100 years from 1901 to 2000 is called the 20th century . The first century BC is the period of 100 years just before the birth of Jesus Christ . When we say that Buddhism was founded in the sixth century BC , we mean that it was founded some time between 600 BC and 501 BC .

Reference to a particular year indicates the specific time of an event ; whereas reference to a century indicates an approximate or broad period of time .