Important Questions: Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years - UPSC MCQ

The period of the Great Mughals, which began in 1526 with Babur’s accession to the throne, ended with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707(i.e. 18th Century). Aurangzeb’s death marked the end of an era in Indian history.

A cartographer is someone who is skilled in the art and science of map-making. Cartography involves representing geographical areas and locations accurately on a flat surface, which is essential for understanding different regions.

A place where documents and manuscripts are stored as records for knowledge is called an archive.

Manuscript culture uses manuscripts to store and disseminate information; in the West, it generally preceded the age of printing. In early manuscript culture, monks copied manuscripts by hand.

Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau, better known as Amīr Khusrau Dehlavī was a Sufi musician, poet and scholar from India. He was an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent. He was a mystic and a spiritual disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi, India. He said that Sanskrit did not belong to any region. It was an old language that common people did not know, only the Brahmanas spoke it.

The term 'Hindustan' was used for the first time by Minhaj-i Siraj, a thirteenth-century Persian chronicler. He, with this term, meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. It was used in a political sense for lands constituting a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultan.

Tabaqat-i Nasiri, named for Sultan Nasir-ud-Din, is an elaborate history of the Islamic world written in Persian by Minhaj-i-Siraj Juzjani and completed in 1260.

The forest dwellers had to migrate because of deforestation and extension of agriculture. the forest dwellers are dependent on the forests for food, clothing, and shelter. thus the clearing of forests directly affects their lives.

• Punjab: A historically significant region in northern India, known for its rich culture and history.
• Haryana: Located adjacent to Delhi, this region has deep historical roots and was part of various empires.
• Lands between Ganga and Yamuna: This fertile area has been crucial for agriculture and civilization, encompassing parts of present-day Uttar Pradesh.

The term ‘foreigner’ is used in the sense of a person who is not an Indian. In the medieval period it was applied to any stranger who appeared, say in a given village, someone who was not a part of that society or culture. In this sense a forest-dweller was a foreigner for a city-dweller. But two peasants living in the same village were not foreigners to each other, even though they may have had different religious or caste backgrounds.

Manuscripts were collected by wealthy people, rulers, monasteries and temples. 
They were placed in libraries as well as archives. These manuscripts and documents were rich and vital sources of information for the historians. But they were difficult to use.

d) Introduction of new religion and culture by Mughal rulers.

The Mughal Empire, which flourished from the early 16th century to the 18th century, brought significant cultural, architectural, and religious developments to India, including the promotion of a syncretic culture that blended elements of Persian, Indian, and Islamic traditions.

Here’s a brief overview of the other options:

• a) Arrival of the Portuguese in the 18th century: The Portuguese actually arrived in India in the late 15th century (1498), not the 18th century. Their arrival marked the beginning of European colonial influence in India, but it is not classified under the medieval period.

• b) Decline of the Gupta Empire: The Gupta Empire declined around the 6th century, which is considered part of the early medieval period. Therefore, this does not fit the timeframe for significant developments during the medieval period.

• c) The industrial revolution: This occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, well after the medieval period, and is associated more with Europe than India.

Thus, option d is the most accurate choice.

New foods and beverages arrived in the subcontinent – potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee. Remember that all these innovations – new technologies and crops – came along with people, who brought other ideas with them as well.

As societies became more differentiated, people were grouped into jatis or sub castes and ranked on the basis of their backgrounds and their occupations. These jatis framed their own rules and regulations to manage the conduct of their members. These regulations were enforced by an assembly of elders, described in some areas as the jati panchayat. But jatis were also required to follow the rules of the village.