Ques 1: Identify any two strategies evolved by Brahmanas to enforce the norms of Varna Order from c, 600 BCE to 600 CE.
Ans: Two strategies evolved by the Brahmanas to enforce the norms of Varna order are:
(a) They tried to assert that the Varna order was of divine origin.
(b) They advised kings to ensure that these norms were followed within their kingdoms.
Ques 2: Examine how the amara-nayaka system was a political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire?
Ans: The Military Commanders of the Rayas of the Vijayanagara were known as Amara-nayakas They had to do the following works:
(a) They kept control over the forest and were given territories to govern by the rayas.
(b) They were entitled to collect the right of land revenue and other taxes. They had to pay tribute to the Rayas once in a year.
Ques 3: 'The relationship between India and Pakistan has been profoundly shaped by the legacy of partition.' Explain any two consequences of it.
Ans: The two consequences of it:
(a) It has created the feelings of animosity and distrust between the two communities.
(b) It has created the feeling of taking revenge to correct the historic wrongs? among both the communities.
Ques 4: Describe the distinctive features of domestic architecture of Mohenjodaro.
Ans: The domestic architecture of Mohenjodaro had distinctive features:
(a) The lower town of Mohenjodaro had an expansion of residential buildings. All these buildings had a courtyard.
(b) The rooms were on all the sides of the courtyards.
(c) In the hot and dry weather, the courtyards were the centre of activities like cooking and weaving.
(d) While constructing residential buildings, the people had full concern for privacy. These buildings did not had any window in the walls, along the ground level. Besides, the main entrance did not give a direct view of the interior or the courtyard.
(e) Every house had its own bathroom and well.
Ques 5: Explain the language and content of Mahabharata.
Ans: (a) Mahabharata is one of the major epics. It was originally written in Sanskrit. Today it is available in world?s leading languages.
(b) It contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces and settlements.
(c) The content or Mahabharata is broadly divided into two sections: narrative and didactic.
(d) The narrative section contains stones while didactic sections contains prescriptions about social norms.
Ques 6: Examine the causes that made Al-Biruni visit India.
Ans: The causes that made Al-Biruni visit India are:
(a) Al-Biruni studied the translated work in Sanskrit, Mathematics, Medicine, Astronomy in Arabic. Some of the works he had studied were the famous works of the time.
(b) Staying in Ghazni, he came into contact with very famous Indian scholars who were taken as his captives by Mohd. Ghazni and were brought to Ghazni.
(c) So he developed a keen interest to know and study the Indian culture and literature.
(d) Mohd. Ghazni who made Punjab a part of its empire, encouraged a feeling of mutual understanding among the people.
Ques 7: How do you think that the chronicles commissioned by the Mughal Emperors are an important source for studying Mughal history?
Ans: (a) Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal Emperors are an important source to study the empire and its court. They were written in order to project a vision of an enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella. The authors of Mughal chronicles focused on events related to life of the rulers their family, the court and the nobles, wars and administrative systems.
(b) These chronicles were written in Persian. This language flourished as a language of the court and of literary writings, alongside North Indian languages, especially Hindavi and its regional variants. The Mughals were Chagtai Turks by origin Turkish was their mother tongue.
(c) Chronicles narrating the events of the Mughal emperor's reign contained written texts, images that described an event in visual forms.
(d) When scenes and themes in a book were to be given visual expression, the scribe left blank spaces on nearby pages, paintings executed separately by artists, were inserted to accompany what was; described in words.
Ques 8: Examine the events that took place during 1920s and 1930s which consolidated the communal identities in the country.
Ans: The events that took place during 1920s and 1930s that further consolidated the communal identities in the country are as follows:
An important development came in 1906 with the formation of the All India Muslim League at Dacca. The founder members of the league were Muslim landlords and Nawabs. They supported the partition of Bengal and demanded for separate electorates for Muslims. In the elections that were under the Provision of Act of 1935, the congress secured a majority in 7 out of 11 Provinces and formed coalition government in two provinces. The Muslim League could form governments in the Provinces of Punjab and Bengal only with the help of the Unionist Party in Punjab and Krishak Party in Bengal. The Muslim League tried to hamper the functioning of the congress ministries and went on critising their functioning. Muslim League dubbed the congress rule as Hindu rule and denounced the Congress as a fascist party.
Ques 9: Describe the different arguments made in favour of protection of depressed classes in the Constituent Assembly.
Ans: It was felt that the oppressed classes like tribals and untouchables required special attention and safeguards to enable them to raise their status and come to the level of the general population. Tribals were regarded backward. They were not accepted well in the society. They were almost rejected and dejected from all spheres of social and community living. For their upliftment they were required to be assimilated in the society. They were also required to be brought into the mainstream of the society.
Ques 10: 'Gandhiji was as much a social reformer as he was a politician. He believed that in order to be worthy of freedom, Indians had to get rid of social evils such as child marriage and untouchability. Indians of one faith had also to cultivate a genuine tolerance for Indians of another religion - hence his emphasis on Hindu - Muslim harmony.' In the light of the above statement, highlight the values upheld by Mahatma Gandhi.
Ans: In the light of the above statement, we can say that Mahatma Gandhi was a person of high morals with social attachment. He was social philosopher, social reformer and a true patriotic leader who not only understood the dire requirement for India's progress but also tried his best to propagate the policies among all classes of the society. He was a true philanthropist.
Ques 11: Explain the agricultural practices followed by the cultivators to increase productivity from c. 600 BCE to 600 CE.
Or
Explain the main features of the Mauryan administration.
Ans: One such strategy was the shift to plough agriculture, with spread in fertile alluvial river valley such as those of the Ganga and Kaveri from 6th century BCE. The iron tipped plough share was used to turn the alluvial soil areas which had high rainfall. Moreover, in some parts of the Ganga valley production of paddy dramatically increased by the introduction of transplantation, although this meant back breaking work for the producers. While the iron plough share let to the growth in agricultural productivity, its use was restricted to certain parts of the sub-continent cultivators in areas which were semi-arid, such as parts of Punjab and Rajasthan did not adopt till the twentieth century, and those living in hilly tracts in the north eastern and central parts of the sub-continent practiced hoe agriculture which was much better suited to the terrain.
Another strategy adopted to increase agricultural production was the use of irrigation, through wells and tanks, and less commonly, canals. Communities as well as individuals organised the construction of irrigation works. The latter, usually powerful men including kings, often recorded such activities in inscriptions.
Or
The main features of the Mauryan administration are as follows:
(a) There were five major political centres in the empire the capital Patliputra, and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjaini, Tosali and Suvrnagiri.
(b) It was likely that administrative control was strongest in areas around the capital and the provincial centres. These centres were carefully choosen, Taxila and Ujjaini being situated on important long distance trade routes, while Suvranagiri was important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka.
(c) Communication along both land and riverine routes was vital for the existence of the empire. Journeys from the centre to the provinces could have taken weeks not months. These meant arranging provisions as well as protection of those who were on the move. The army was important to ensure the latter.
(d) Megasthenese mentions a committee with six sub - committees for coordinating military activity. Of these, one looked after the navy, the second managed transport and provisions, third was responsible for foot soldiers, the forth for horses, the fifth for the chariots and the sixth for elephants.
(e) The activities of the second subcommittee were rather varied arranging bullock carts to carry equipment, procuring food for the soldiers and fodder for animals and recruiting servants and assistants to look after the soldiers.
(f) Ashoka also tried to hold his empire together propagating Dhamma, the principles of which were simple and virtually universally applicable. This would ensure the well-being of the people.
(g) He recruited special officers known as Dhamma Mahamattas. It was their duty to spread the message of dhamma.
(h) The areas under the Pataliputra were under the direct control of the emperor. This meant that officials were appointed to collect taxes from farmers, herders, crafts person and the traders of the village.
Ques 12: Identify the relationship between the Sufis and the State from the eighth to the eighteenth century.
Or
Identity the relation-ship of the Alvars and Navanars of Tamil Nadu with the State from the eighth to the eighteenth century.
Ans: (a) Sufism emerged as a powerful movement in India during the medieval period. The Suits were liberal in their outlooks. They were critics of the dogmatic definitions and the scholastic methods of interpreting Quran and Sunna adopted by the theologists. They sought an interpretation of the Quran on the basis of their personal experiences and considered it as their supreme duty to serve humanity.
(b) The Chistis kept themselves aloof from the politics and never wished to get any government aid or assignment. They maintained a distance from political and worldly power.
(c) They accepted unasked grants made by the Delhi Sultan or other elite. They spent accumulated wealth in forms of donations in arranging the facilities for the pilgrims. The common people were deeply influenced by the charismatic power of Sufi saints. That is why, the Sultan even wanted to secure their support. They not only wanted their association but also desired support and legitimacy from them.
(d) It was under the influence of Chishti Saints, the Sultan spurned the demand of Ulema to impose Sharia. It was because the Sultan knew very well that the most of the people were non-Muslims. By imposing Sharia on them, they did not want to take any risk. They got the support of Sufis who did not believe in the interpretation of Sharia by Ulema.
(e) The Sufi acted as a mediator between Allah and the common people and it was believed that on the persuasion of the Sufis, God improved the material and spiritual condition of the common people.
(f) In spite of this there were some instances of conflicts between Sufis and the Sultan, because both wanted to acertain their authorities by emphasising on certain rules and regulations. Such ritual includes kissing of feet and prostration.
(g) Sometimes the Sufi Shaikhs were also adorned with a high sounding titles. Eg. Shaikh Nizzamuddin Auliya was adorned with the title of Sultan Ul Mashaikh.
(h) The Surawardi and Naqshbondi Sufis also had close relations with the state during Mughal Empire. Some Sufis had even secured the royal offices in the court and did not believe in the life of austerity. Sufis accepted court offices but the Chishti Sufis did not accept it.
Or
(a) The Alvars were the devotee of Lord Vishnu and played a remarkable role in popularising Vaishnavism in South India. By the 10th century the composition of twelve Alvar poets were compiled in an anthology, known as Nalayira Divyaprabandham. It is written in Tamil and consisted of 4000 devotional songs.
(b) The Nayanars were the devotees of lord Shiva in the Southern India. The Chola rulers of south had intimate relations with them. It was because of the fact that nayanars had immense status in the society. So these ruler, the chela wanted to get their supports.
(c) They tried to claim me divine support and with this motive they built magnificent Shiva temples at Chidambaram. Thanjavur and Gangaikadacholapuram.
(d) In. these temples, bronze made sculptures of Lord Shiva were kept and known as Nataraj.
(e) There is an inscription evidence around 945 which tells as that the Chola ruler Parantaka I had adorned Nataraja temples of Chidambaram with consecrated metal image of Appyar, Sambandar and Sundarar.
(f) Krishna I, a Rashtrakuta ruler, who built Kailash temple at Ellora, also granted for the construction of many temples. These rulers not only popularised die hymns of Shiva but also made a great contribution in the compilation of Tevaram.
(g) Since both the sects were against the caste system that existed in the society, the rulers also considered their point of view and coordinated the thought process of both Alvars and Nayanars.
(h) The Chola rulers patronised those Alvars and Nayanars saints who sang hymns in the temples. They came from all the sections of the society including the untouchable castes like Puliayar and Panars.
Ques 13: 'After introducing the Permanent Settlement in Bengal the zamidars regularly failed to pay the land revenue demand." Examine the causes and consequences of it.
Or
'A chain of grievances in Awadh linked the prince, taluqdars, peasants and sepoys to join hands in the revolt of 1857 against the British? Examine the statement.
Answer: (a) Permanent Settlement was introduced in the late 18th century by Lord Cornwallis. Under this system, Zamindars collected the land revenues from peasants. The amount payable by Zamindars to the East India Company was fixed and any excess on the revenue collection was the profit to the Zamindars.
(b) Many Zamindars defaulted on the payment towards the company. The reasons were Many believed that the amount payable by the Zamindars was on the higher side. The Company gave the reason that the food grain production will normally increase and also the land under cultivation would also expand. However, the amount payable to the Company would remain fixed. Hence some may find it on the higher side on the long-term basis payable was justifiable. Despite all the argument many Zamindars believed that the amount payable to the Company was too high and in case of poor food grain production, it was not possible to pay up. Hence many Zamindars defaulted.
(c) Permanent Settlement had weakened the Zamindars. They were not enforcing law and order and dispensing justice at the local level. As their strength was weakened, their ability to extract taxes also suffered. All these resulted in defaults by Zamindars.
(d) The consequences of it can be classified as administrative, economic, social and political. Administratively, by giving the landlords the responsibility of revenue collection, the government avoided its own duty. The landlords regarded the revenue collection as their rightful duty but never thought it in administrative way. Many landlords were oppressive by nature. They punished the people, tortured them and at times put them to great hardships.
(e) Economically, permanent settlement had several drawbacks. The land revenue was fixed in a random way. The nature of the soil, etc., was not taken into consideration. So, good and bad plots were assessed in the same manner that was defective assessment. Similarly, the revenue was fixed permanently. If the productivity of the land increased, the revenue did not increase proportionately. That was a loss to the Company. So, the Zamindars prospered to a great extent. The government or Company never thought about the benefit of the people.
(f) Socially, a small class of landlords formed the upper aristocracy in the society. They enjoyed social prestige arising out of status and wealth. Their presence prominently showed the existence of a class of nobility at the top.
Politically, the British Government regarded the landlords as the loyal supporters of the Empire.
Or
A chain of grievances in Awadh linked the prince, taluqdars, peasants and sepoys to join hands in the revolt of 1857 against the British?
The Mutiny of 1857 which was a rebellion of the sepoys, turned into mass uprising were everyone from princes to peasants joined in. One report of the government says that 75 per cent of men in Awadh were involved in the rebellion.
Following are the causes:
(i) Unceremonious removal of Nawabs: The Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Alt Shah was removed by Dalhousie on the pretext of poor governance. It was looked upon by the people as high insult to them. The local people sympathized with the Nawab. Thus, the public sentiment was against the British government that got a vent during the revolt.
(ii) The ruling elite of Awadh: The ruling elite was dislodged from the position of power and prestige. They were rendered unemployment. They began to feel hardships and it had a cascading impact, the people dependent on them also slipped in depravity.
(iii) The agrarian unrest: There were strong anti-British sentiments in Awadh from the level of talukdars to peasants. Talukdars were rich landlords collecting taxes and enforcing law and order. They enjoyed a lot of autonomy as long as they paid revenue to the Nawabs. The talukdars faced the heavy hands of the British masters. Their autonomy ceased to exist. Their foot soldiers were disarmed and disbanded. The peasants were oppressed more as hardships engulfed the talukdars. Peasants were over assessed and forced to pay higher taxes than ever.
(iv) Muslim anger: Muslims in North India looked upon the British as snatcher of their empire. The Awadh, which has the substantial Muslim population burst out against the Company's rule when it got an opportunity.
(v) The government of East India Company described the mass uprising as Muslim conspiracy. Preserving Indian culture, many believed that the company was pushing European culture and Christianity on the Indians. The rebels wanted to reverse the process.
(vi) New Cartridge: The company introduced a new cartridge for its soldiers. It was to be bitten before use by soldiers. It was reported that it was made of the fat of cow and pig. Hence, soldiers of both Hindu and Muslim thought that it was a conspiracy of the Company to destroy their religion.
(vii) Racial discrimination: During the early phase of the company rule, British soldiers and officers had friendly relation with the Indian soldiers. Things changed after 1835 and British began to consider themselves as superior. All senior positions in the army were given to them and even at the same ranks Britishers were paid more. The native soldiers were treated with disrespect.
Ques 14: Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Buddhism in Practice
This is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, and contains the advice given by the Buddha to a wealthy householder named Sigala:
In five ways should a master look after his servants and employees ... by assigning them work according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them in sickness; by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave at times...... In five ways should the clansmen look after the needs of samanas (those who have renounced the world) and brahmanas: by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open house to them and supplying their worldly needs.
There are similar instructions to Sigala about how to behave with his parents, teacher and wife.
(i) In what ways should a master look after his servants and employees?
(ii) In what ways should the clansmen look after the needs of samanas?
(iii) Explain the main aspects of Buddhist philosophy.
Ans: (i) There are five ways to look after the servants and the employees: assigning them work according to their strength, supplying them with food and wages, tending them in sickness, sharing delicacies and granting leaves at times.
(ii) The clansman should look after the needs of samanas in the following ways: by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open house to them, supplying their worldly needs.
(iii) According to the Buddhist philosophy the world is transient and constantly changing, it is also soulless as there is nothing permanent or eternal Within this transient world sorrow is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following- the path of moderation between severe penance and self - indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles.
Ques 15: Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The Ain on land revenue collection
Let him (the amil-guzar) not make it a practice of taking only in cash but also in kind. The latter is effected in several ways. First, kankut: in the Hindi language kan signifies grain, and kut, estimates..... If any doubts arise, the crops should be cut and estimated in three lots, the good, the middling and the inferior, and the hesitation should be removed. Often, too, the land taken by appraisement, gives a sufficiently accurate return. Secondly, batai, also called bhaoli, the crops are reaped and stacked and divided by agreement in the presence of the parties. But in this case several intelligent inspectors are required; otherwise, the evil-minded and false are given to deception. Thirdly, khet-batai, when they divide the fields after they are sown. Fourthly, lang batai) after cutting the grain, they form it in heaps and divide it among themselves, and ceash takes his share home and turns it to profit.
(i) Explain the kankut system of land revenue.
(ii) How as the land revenue assessed in the case of batai or bhaoli?
(iii) Do you think that the land revenue system of the Mughals was flexible?
Ans: (i) In the Kankut system, in the Hindi language kan signifies grain and kut estimates. If any doubts arise the crops should be cut and estimated in three lots, the good the middling and the inferior, and the hesitation should be removed. Often, too, the land taken by appraisement, gives a sufficiently accurate return.
(ii) Batai also called bhaoli, the crops are reaped and stacked and divided by agreement in the presence of the parties.
(iii) Yes, the land revenue system of the Mughals was flexible.
Ques 16: Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A rural city?
Read this excerpt on Madras from the Imperial Gazetteer, 1908: ... the better European residences are built in the midst of compounds which almost attain the dignity of parks; and rice-fields frequently wind in between these in almost rural fashion. Even in the thickly peopled native quarters such as Black Town and Triplicane, there is little of the crowding' found in many other towns'?
(i) Where and why were better European residences built?
(ii) Explain the condition of black towns.
(iii) State the meaning of gradual urbanisation of Madras (Chennai).
Ans: (i) The European residencies were built in the midst of compounds so that they can get the space for parks, and the rice-fields frequently wind in and out between these in almost rural fashion.
(ii) The black towns were thickly populated, with less hygienic living conditions and with no planning.
(iii) Gradual urbanisation of Madras (Chennai) indicated the development of the city. With the defeat of the French in 1761, Madras (Chennai) became more secure and began to grow into an important commercial town. It developed by incorporating innumerable surrounding villages and by creating opportunities and spaces for a variety of communities.
Ques 17: (i) On the given political outline map of India, locate and label the following appropriately:
(a) Masulipatanam-a territory under British control during 1857.
(b) Goa-a territory under the Mughals.
(ii) On the same map of India, three places which are major Buddhist sites have been marked as A, B and C. Identify them and write their correct names on the lines drawn near them.
Ans:
