Epigraphy

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the true statements regarding the nature and content of ancient inscriptions, a primary source for historians.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

(A) Routine agricultural practices and events of daily life are the subject-matter of inscriptions: This statement is generally incorrect. Inscriptions were costly to produce and were intended to be permanent records. Therefore, they were typically used to record important matters like royal edicts, donations to temples, land grants, or victories in war, not the mundane events of daily life.
(B) Record the achievements, activities or ideas of those who commissioned them: This is correct. This was the primary purpose of most inscriptions. For example, Ashoka's inscriptions recorded his ideas on Dhamma, and the Prashastis (eulogies) recorded the achievements of kings.
(C) Writings are engraved on hard surfaces such as stone, metal or pottery: This is the definition of an inscription (or epigraph). The use of durable materials ensured their longevity. This statement is correct.
(D) The earliest inscriptions were in Prakrit: This is correct. The earliest substantial body of historical inscriptions in India, the edicts of Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE), were composed in various dialects of Prakrit, which was the common language of the people at the time.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Statements (B), (C), and (D) are correct, while statement (A) is incorrect. Therefore, the correct option is (4).

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the scholar who was the first to decipher the two major ancient scripts of India, Brahmi and Kharosthi. This was a monumental breakthrough in the study of early Indian history.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

(1) James Prinsep: He was an English scholar, orientalist, and antiquary who worked as an assay master at the mint of the British East India Company in Calcutta. In the 1830s, after years of painstaking work, he successfully deciphered the Brahmi script. The question mentions the year 1838, by which time his decipherment was complete and had been published. This allowed the edicts of Emperor Ashoka to be read for the first time, revolutionizing the understanding of the Mauryan period. He also made significant progress on the Kharosthi script.
(2) Alexander Cunningham: He was a protégé of Prinsep and later became the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India. He did extensive archaeological work but was not the one who deciphered the scripts.
(3) D.C. Sircar: A renowned Indian epigraphist and historian of the 20th century.
(4) R.E.M. Wheeler: A British archaeologist who also served as Director-General of the ASI and is known for his scientific approach to excavations, particularly at Harappan sites.
Step 3: Final Answer:
James Prinsep was the scholar who deciphered the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts.