With reference to the Indian History, Alexander Rea, A. H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Walter Elliot were associated with

Direct example: this snippet states that Alexander Rea supervised archaeological excavation at Adichanallur and published the findings in the ASI report.

A student could treat this as direct evidence that Rea was involved in excavations and then compare other names against ASI reports or site-specific excavation accounts.

Confirms Rea conducted excavations at Adichanallur (1899–1905) and displayed artefacts—an example of British archaeologists working on Indian sites.

Use the pattern of British archaeologists working in India to check whether Longhurst, Sewell, Burgess or Elliot held similar field roles or published site reports.

Shows that officers of the Archaeological Survey of India (e.g., Alexander Cunningham) visited and excavated Indian sites—establishes the institutional context for many excavations.

A student could investigate whether the other named individuals were ASI officers or worked with ASI, which would make association with excavations more likely.

Lists several archaeologists (Daya Ram Sahni, Wheeler, R.S. Bisht, etc.) and their excavations—illustrates the common practice of named individuals conducting site digs and being recorded in excavation chronologies.

Compare the chronology and list format here with biographical or bibliographic records for Longhurst, Sewell, Burgess, and Elliot to see if they appear in excavation lists.

Defines archaeology and emphasizes that excavations reveal material culture—indicates that being 'associated with excavations' normally means supervising, conducting, publishing, or recording digs.

Use this definition as a criterion: check whether each named person supervised, conducted, or published excavation reports to judge their association.

States that English printing in India began as private English enterprise with James Augustus Hickey in 1780 (the Bengal Gazette) — an explicit example of who established the earliest English press.

A student could check whether any of the five names were newspaper proprietors/editors or otherwise active in journalism around 1780–early 19th century to test their association with the press's establishment.

Lists early English newspapers (Bengal Gazette, Bengal Journal, Calcutta Chronicle, Madras Courier, Bombay Herald), showing the form and names of outlets that constitute the 'establishment' of English press.

A student could see whether any of the five individuals are linked to these specific titles or similar early papers to infer involvement in establishing the English press.

Explains Company concerns and later encouragement of officially sanctioned newspapers — a pattern showing some press was founded by private critics and some by officials/Company supporters.

A student could determine whether each named person was a private independent publisher/critic or an official/administrator (which would suggest different likelihoods of founding independent English press).

Describes large-scale growth of Indian-owned English and vernacular newspapers in the second half of the 19th century, indicating a later phase of press expansion distinct from the initial establishment.

A student could place each person chronologically: if someone was active in the later 19th-century expansion versus the 1780 founding, it affects their plausibility as founders of the English press.

Discusses press regulation and the Amrita Bazar Patrika's tactics (turning into English to evade regulation), illustrating legal/linguistic dynamics that shaped which papers were 'English' and who might establish them.

A student could check whether the individuals were involved in legal/administrative contexts influencing press language/status, which would bear on their role in establishing English press outlets.

Describes missionaries as a distinct group among visitors to India who wrote to encourage their societies to send more missionaries to India for the purpose of evangelising—implicitly linking missionaries with church-establishment activity.

Check whether any of the named persons were missionaries (or worked closely with missionary societies) and whether they operated in princely states where missionary activity could lead to church establishment.

Defines what a princely state was (regions under Indian rulers with British paramountcy), giving the geographical/political context where missionaries or officials might establish churches.

Use the definition to map where each individual worked and see if those locations were princely states at the time, to judge plausibility of church-establishment there.

Shows Alexander Rea functioning as an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officer involved in excavations—illustrating that some listed names are civil servants/officials rather than missionaries.

A student could use this pattern (civil servant/archaeologist role) to infer that Rea was less likely to be involved in founding churches compared with individuals explicitly described as missionaries or ecclesiastical agents.

Describes Walter Elliot as a British commissioner who collected antiquities—again indicating an administrative/official role rather than a missionary one.

Using this, a student could prioritize checking whether Elliot’s administrative postings were in princely states and whether commissioners typically sponsored or opposed church establishments in those regions.

Lists prominent archaeologists and institutional activity (Asiatic Society, ASI) showing a pattern of scholarly/official engagement in India distinct from missionary activity.

A student could use these institutional links to distinguish which named individuals were archaeologists/ASl-affiliated (less likely to found churches) versus those connected to missionary societies (more likely).

Explains who promoted and authorised early railway construction (European business community and the Governor‑General), indicating that promoters were commercial directors and high colonial officials rather than archaeologists or collectors.

A student could check the professional/official roles of the five named people — those identified as railway engineers, company directors, or transport administrators are more likely to have been involved in construction.

Gives the timeline and geography of early railway proposals (first suggestion in Madras, steam railways proposed in 1834), useful for linking individuals who worked in Madras or in that early period to railway projects.

A student can compare the career locations and dates of the five individuals with the places/times of early railway development (e.g., Madras in 1830s–1840s) to see who could plausibly have been involved.

Describes the colonial purposes and sponsors of railway routes (movement of raw materials and integration for British benefit), implying involvement by officials working on economic/transport policy and by commercial interests.

Check whether any of the five had roles in economic administration, transport policy, or commercial enterprises; such links would make their association with railway construction more plausible.

Shows Walter Elliot's role as a district commissioner and antiquarian activity (collecting sculpture), which suggests his primary work was administrative/archaeological rather than engineering or railway construction.

A student could use this to tentatively eliminate Elliot from being a railway constructor unless further evidence shows he had transport/engineering duties.

Identifies Alexander Rea as an Archaeological Survey of India excavator and reporter (1902–03), indicating his profession was archaeology, not railway building.

Use Rea's documented archaeological role to deprioritise him as a railway constructor and focus verification on the remaining names who might have engineering or administrative transport links.