question_answer

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Colin Mackenzie

Born in 1754, Colin Mackenzie became famous as an engineer, surveyor and cartographer. In 1815 he was appointed the first Surveyor General of India, a post he held till his death in 1821. He embarked on collecting local histories and surveying historic sites in order to better understand India's past and make governance of the colony easier. He says that 'it struggled long under the miseries of bad management... before the South came under the benign influence of the British government'. By studying Vijayanagara, Mackenzie believed that the East India Company could gain ?much useful information on many of these institutions, laws and customs whose influence still prevails among the various Tribes of Natives forming the general mass of the population to this day?.

(a) Who was Colin Mackenzie? Give his introduction.

(b) Mention what Mackenzie did to make governance of the colony easier.

(c) According to him, what benefits would the East India Company gain after studying Vijayanagara? Explain in brief.

 

Answer:

(a) Colin Mackenzie was born in 1754. He became famous as an engineer, surveyor and cartographer. He was appointed the first Surveyor General of India in 1815 and held lids post till his death in 1821.

(b) Colin Mackenzie embarked on collecting local histories and surveying historic sites in order to better understand India?s past and make governance of the colony easier.

(c) Colin Mackenzie opined that the East India Company could gain ?much useful information on many of these institutions, laws and customs whose influence still prevails among the various Tribes of Natives forming the general mass of the population to this day.?