Class 7 History Chapter 5 Question Answers - Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities

Q1. On what basis was the society divided?
Ans:
Changes in Varna based Society:

• In almost the entire subcontinent, society was already divided on the basis of varna.
• These rules, prescribed by the Brahmanas, were accepted by the rulers of large kingdoms.
• The differences between the high and low, and between the rich and poor, increased.
• Under the Delhi Sultans and the Mughals, this hierarchy between social classes grew further.
• With the growth of economy and the needs of society, people with new skills were required.
• Smaller castes, or jatis, emerged within varnas.
• New castes appeared amongst the Brahmanas.
• Many tribes and social groups formed caste-based society and were given the status of jatis.
• Specialised artisans like—smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas.
• Jatis, surpassed varna, and became the basis of society organisation.

Q2. Give main features of the tribal societies.
Ans:
Main Features of the Tribal Societies:

• Members of each tribe were united by kinship bonds.
• Many tribes obtained their livebhood from agriculture.
• Others were hunter-gatherers or herders.
• Some tribes were nomadic and moved from one place to another.
• A tribal group controlled land and pastures jointly, and divided these amongst households according to its own rules.
• Many large tribes evolved in different parts of the subcontinent.
• They usually lived in forests, hills, deserts and places difficult to reach.
• Sometimes they clashed with the more powerful caste-based societies.
• The tribes retained their freedom and preserved their separate culture.

Q3. Which tribes inhabited North West and North East India? Write about them.
Ans:

• Some powerful tribes controlled large territories.
• In Punjab, the Khokhar tribe was very influential during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
• Afterwards the Gakkhars became more important.
• Their chief, Kamal Khan Gakkhar, was made a noble (mansabdar) by Emperor Akbar.
• In Multan and Sind, the Langahs and Arghuns dominated vast regions.
• Afterwards they were defeated by the Mughals.
• The Balochis were another large and powerful tribe in the north-west.
• They were divided into many smaller clans under different chiefs.
• In the western Himalaya there lived the shepherd tribe of Gaddis.
• In the distant north-eastern part of the subcontinent the Nagas, Ahoms and many others lived.

Q4. Describe the tribal groups of west and central India.
Ans:

• In many areas of present-day Bihar and Jharkhand, Chero chiefdoms had emerged by the twelfth century.
• They were not entirely subdued by the Mughals.
• Under Aurangzeb, Mughal forces captured many chero fortresses and defeated the tribe.
• The Mundas and Santhals were among the other important tribes that lived in Bihar and Jharkhand and also in Orissa and Bengal.
• The Maharashtra highlands and Karnataka were home to Kolis, Berads and numerous others.
• Kolis also lived in many areas of Gujarat.
• Further South, Koragas, Vetars, Maravars and many others lived in large numbers.
• Bhils were spread across Western and Central India.
• By the late sixteenth century, many of them settled themselves as agriculturists and some even zamindars.
• Many Bhil clans are still hunter gatherers.
• The Gonds were found in great numbers across the present-day states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Q5. Who were the Banjaras? Why were they important?
Ans:
Yes, the Banjaras were the most important nomadic traders and were important for the economy.

• They were hired by merchants, they bought grain where it was cheaper and carried it to places where it was costlier.
• From there they took something else for another place.
• Alauddin Khalji used Banjaras to transport grains to city markets.
• They found mention in the memoirs of Jahangir and were even used by Mughal army during campaigns.

Q6. Give an account of the life of Banjaras.
Ans:
The Life of Banjaras: Peter Mundy, an English trader who came to India during the early seventeenth century, has described the Banjaras.

• In the morning we met a tanda of Banjaras with 14,000 oxen.
• They were all laden with grains such as wheat and rice.

These Banjaras carry their household, wives and children, along with them.

• One tanda consists of many families.
• Their way of life is similar to that of carriers who continuously travel from place to place.
• They own their oxen. They are sometimes hired by merchants, but most commonly they are themselves merchants.
• They buy grain where it is cheaply available and carry it to places where it is dearer.
• From there, they again reload their oxen with anything that can be profitably sold in other places.

In a tanda there may be as many as 6 or 7 hundred persons.

• They do not travel more than 6 or 7 miles a day that, too, in the cool weather.
• After unloading their oxen, they turn them free to graze as there is enough land here, and no one is there to forbid them.

Q7. How was varna based society changed?
Ans:
Changes in Varna based Society:

• In almost the entire subcontinent, society was already divided on the basis of varna.
• These rules, prescribed by the Brahmanas, were accepted by the rulers of large kingdoms.
• The differences between the high and low, and between the rich and poor, increased.
• Under the Delhi Sultans and the Mughals, this hierarchy between social classes grew further.
• With the growth of economy and the needs of society, people with new skills were required.
• Smaller castes, or jatis, emerged within varnas.
• New castes appeared amongst the Brahmanas.
• Many tribes and social groups formed caste-based society and were given the status of jatis.
• Specialised artisans like—smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas.
• Jatis, surpassed varna, and became the basis of society organisation.

Q8. Discuss the administration of Gond State.
Ans:
The administrative system of Gond kingdom was centralized.

• The kingdom was divided into Garhs. Each Garh was controlled by a Gond clan.
• Garhs were further divided into units of 84 villages called chaurasi which were further subdivided into 12 villages called barhots.
• The society was divided into unequal social classes. Brahmanas received land grants and became more influential.
• The Gond chiefs wanted to be recognized as Rajputs so the Raja of Garha Katanga assumed the title of Sangram shah.
• The mughals finally defeated the Gonds and annexed a part of kingdom.

Q9. How did Rani Durgawati die?
Ans:

• Dalpat died early.
• Rani Durgawati was very capable.
• She started ruling on behalf of her five-year-old son, Bir Narain.
• Under her, the kingdom became even more extensive.
• In 1565, the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked Garha Katanga.
• Rani Durgawati put up a strong resistance.
• She was defeated but preferred to die rather than surrender. Her son also died fighting soon after.

Q10. Give an account of the Ahoms and their rule.
Ans:

• The origin of the Ahoms is from Myanmar.
• They migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from Burma (Myanmar) in the thirteenth century.
• They created a new state by suppressing the older political system of the bhuiyans (landlords).
• Dining the sixteenth century, they annexed the kingdoms of the chhutiyas (1523) and of Koch-Hajo (1581).
• They also defeated many other tribes.
• They built a large state, and for this they used fire-arms as early as the 1530s.
• By the 1660s they could even make high quality gunpowder and cannons.

The Ahoms faced many invasions from the south-west:

• In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom.
• Despite their brave defence, the Ahoms were defeated.
• The direct Mughal control over the region was established but it did not last long.

Q11. Explain the Ahom society.
Ans:

• Almost all adult males served in the army during war.
• They were also engaged in building dams, irrigation systems and other public works.
• The Ahoms also introduced new method of rice cultivation.
• Ahom society was divided into clans or khels.
• There were very few castes of artisans, so they came from the adjoining kingdoms.
• A khel often controlled several villages.
• The peasant was given land by his village community.
• Even the king could not take it away without the community’s consent.
• In the beginning the Ahoms worshipped their own tribal gods.

During the first half of the seventeenth century, they were influenced by Briahmanas.

• Temples and Brahmanas were granted land by the king.
• In the reign of Sib Singh (1714-1744), Hinduism became their major religion.
• The Ahom kings did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism.

Ahom society was very sophisticated.

• Poets and scholars were given land grants.
• Theatre was encouraged.
• Important works of Sanskrit were translated into the local languages.
• Historical works, known as buranjis, were also written-first in the Ahom language and then in Assamese.