Very Short Answer Type Question
1. Who was al-Idrisi?
Answer: al-Idrisi was an Arab cartographer.
2. Who is a ‘cartographer’?
Answer: Cartographer is one who draws a map.
3. What difference do you notice in the map drawn by al-Idrisi?
Answer: In the map drawn by al-Idrisi we find a completely different view. Here south India is shown at the present north India and Sri Lanka is the island at the top
4. Who used the term Hindustan for the first time and when?
Answer: Minhaj-i Siraj used the term ‘Hindustan’ for the first time in the thirteenth century.
5. What sources do the historians use for the study of a particular period of history? [V. Imp.]
Answer: The historians use the sources like coins, inscriptions, architectures and textual records for the study of specific period.
6. What do you mean by archives?
Answer: Archives were the places where manuscripts were collected.
7. Who were scribes?
Answer: Scribes were those professionals who used to copy down the manuscripts.
8. How did the scribes copy down the manuscripts?
Answer: Scribes copied down the manuscripts by hands.
9. What factors contributed to the variety of developments?
Answer: The new technologies and innovations came to the subcontinent with the people who came from other areas and settled here.
10. What were the new groups of people to be prominent in this age? [V. Imp.]
Answer: Rajputs, Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas were the groups which came to be prominent in this age. They availed most of the opportunities of the society.
11. What do you mean by Jati Panchayat?
Answer: Jati Panchayat was the assembly of elders which controlled the conduct of the members of their jati They had their own rules and regulations.
12. Who was the Chief of the village?
Answer: Villages were controlled by a Chieftain. Even the smaller Jati Panchayats were bound to follow the village administration.
13. Why did Brahmanas dominate in the society during this period? [Imp.]
Answer: Brahmanas were the only class of people who were proficient in Sanskrit language. This was the reason that made them prominent.
14. Who were the patrons?
Answer: Patrons were a group of the rulers and rich class of people who provided protection and livelihood to the brahmanas, artists and poets.
15. What was the major development of this age?
Answer: The emergence of the idea of bhakti was the major development of this age.
16. How history was divided by historians during the middle of the nineteenth century?
Answer: The British historians divided the history of India into three periods—:P
- Hindu,
- Muslim and
- British.
17. What was the basis of such division?
Answer: Such division was made on the basis of the religion as the historians did not consider any aspect more prominent other than the developments in religions.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. What was the stretch of Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban’s Empire?
Answer: According to a Sanskrit Prashasti Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban’s empire was stretched from Bengal (Gauda) in the east to Ghazni (Gajjana) in Afghanistan in the west. It also included all of south India (Dravida)
2. Describe the different languages used in this period?
Answer: In this period, various languages were used, in every region. Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri, Dvarsamudri, Telangani, Gujari, Awadhi and Hindawi.
3. What changes took place during 700 and 1750? [V. Imp.]
Answer: Many technologies like Persian wheel in irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving, and firearms in combat made their appearance. Some new foods and beverages like potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee also arrived in the subcontinent.
4. State the difference between Shia and Sunni.
Answer: The Shia Muslims went by the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali, and Sunni Muslims accepted the authority of the early leaders or the “Khalifas”.
5. Who coined the term “Hindustan” in the thirteenth century and which areas were covered under it?
Answer: The term ‘Hindustan’ was used in the thirteenth century by Minhaj-i-Siraj, a chronicler who wrote in Persian. The areas that he used this term for were Punjab, Haryana, and the lands between Ganga and Yamuna. He used the term in political terms for the land that came under the Delhi Sultan.
6. Why was there a dramatic increase in the variety of textual records between 700 to 1750 CE?
Answer: During this period, paper became cheaper and widely available. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the variety of textual records between 700 to 1750 CE. People started using paper to write holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters and teachings of saints, petitions and judicial records and for registers of accounts and taxes.
7. Mention the vegetables, beverages and technologies that came to Indian subcontinent from other continents?
Answer: Vegetables such as corn, chilies, potatoes, and beverages such as tea and coffee and new technologies like Persian wheel for irrigation and spinning wheel in textile industry and firearms to be used in battle came to the subcontinent from other continents.
8. In the Medieval period, for whom was the term foreigner used?
Answer: In the medieval period, a “foreigner” was any stranger who was not a part of a particular society or culture. Therefore, a forest-dweller might have been regarded as a “foreigner”, by 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.
9. Why did Brahmanas become important in Hindu society in the early 8th century?
Answer: Brahmanas became important during this period due to the following reasons:
(i) They had knowledge of Sanskrit texts, which made them respectable in the society.
(ii) They had support of their patrons, who were new rulers and searching for prestige.
10. Describe the major developments in religion and the religious traditions?
Answer: During this period many changes were witnessed in religion. Peoples belief in the divine was sometimes personal and at other times collective. Other changes occurred in what we call ‘Hinduism’ today, as Brahmans earned a lot of respect in society. There was an emergence of the idea of “Bhakti” of a loving, personal deity that devotees could reach without the aid of priests or elaborate rituals.
11. Compare the value of paper in the thirteenth and fourteenth century?
Answer: In the thirteenth century if a scholar wanted to copy a book, but he did not have enough paper, he washed the writing of a manuscript, he did not want and dried the paper and used it again. In the fourteenth century, there was a shortage of paper and the condition was that, if you bought some food from the market you might be lucky if the shopkeeper wrapped it for you in some paper.
12. Describe the difficulties faced by historians in using manuscripts?
Answer: There was no printing press in those days so the writers copied manuscripts by hands. As a result of coping there occurred small but significant differences in the manuscripts. Small changes were introduced- a word here, a sentence there. Slowly and steadily as copying over centuries grew so the original writing was lost somewhere. Reading these manuscripts over the centuries proved to be difficult and the historians had to face difficulties.
13. What are sources? How are sources helpful to historians?
Answer: Sources are important to trace the ancient records. Historians use these sources to learn about the past depending upon the period of their study and the nature of their investigation. The different sources of Historical studies are:
Archeological – its sources are Monuments, temples, coins, tombs, ornaments and paintings.
Literary – its sources are Chronicles, autobiographies, farmans, religious books, inscriptions.
14. What difference do you trace out in the region of Hindustan of thirteenth century and the modem India?
Answer: The term ‘Hindustan’ in the thirteenth century implied the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. Minhaj-i Siraj used the term in a political sense for lands consisting of a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultanate. The areas included in this term shifted with the extent of the Sultanate. However, it never included south India.
15. What does time mean for historians? How does it help them? [V. Imp.]
Answer: Time, for historians, doesn’t mean just a passing of hours, days or years. Instead it reflects changes in social and economic organization, in the persistence and transformation of ideas and beliefs. In order to study historical developments historians divide the past into large segments. It makes the study convenient. The historians study different aspects of the specific period and then assess the comparative developments their impact on society and their contribution to future generation.
16. What do you mean by pan-regional rule? What was its impact? [V. Imp.]
Answer: Pan-regional rule applies to the trend of extending the empire to the region beyond one’s own state. With the decline of the Mughal Empire in the eighteenth century many regional states emerged. Consequently a chance of sharing different traditions in the realms of governance, economy, elite cultures and languages was brightened. People knew a lot of new thing, manners, etc, without losing their own culture and identity.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. What was the process of copying manuscript? What were its drawbacks? [Imp.]
Answer: As there was no printing press during the period between 700 and 1750, Scribes used to copy down the manuscripts which were hand-written. Sometimes it was difficult to recognize the original script. So the Scribes used their own way of interpreting the facts. Consequently, there were differences were found in the copies written by different Scribes. As all the copies were handwritten, it was difficult to recognize which was the original one. It was the drawback of such copying.
2. Trace out the major changes in the society during 700 and 1750? What was its main reason? [V. Imp.]
Answer: A number of changes took place in society during 700 and 1750. This period traced the technological appearance of Persian wheel in irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving and firearms in combat. Potatoes, com, chillies, tea and coffee were some of the new foods and beverages. These developments came with the arrival of the people who migrated to this land. As a result this period saw various changes in the economic, political, social and cultural life,
3. What was the change in the religion of the time? Trace out major developments? [V. Imp.]
Answer: The period between 700 and 1750 witnessed major changes in religion. It was seen prominently in Hinduism. The worship of new deities, the construction of temples by royalty and the growing importance of Brahmanas, the priests, as dominant groups in society were some of the major developments. The idea of bhakti emerged. Merchants and migrants brought the new teachings of ‘Quran’, the holy book of the Muslims. A class of patrons emerged. They were the rulers who provided shelter and protection to the ulemas—the learned theologians and jurists. Muslims were divided into two groups—Shia and Sunni. Shia Muslims believed in Prophet Muhammad’s authority while the Sunnis accepted the authority of the early leaders—Khalifas.
4. What were the major developments in the religious traditions between 700 and 1750?
Answer: Period between 700 and 1750 witnessed major developments in religious traditions.
(i) During this period, some important changes occurred in Hinduism. Worship of new deities and construction of temples by Kings began. The importance of Brahmana and priests increased. They became dominant groups in the society.
(ii) Another major development was emergence of the idea of Bhakti in which devotees did not require the aid of priests or elaborate rituals to reach their personal deity.
(iii) During this period, new religions also appeared in the subcontinent. Teachings of the Holy Quran were brought to India in the 7th century by merchants and migrants.
5. Who were the Rajputs?
Answer: (i) The name Rajput is derived from “Rajaputra”, the son of a ruler.
(ii) Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, a body of warriors who were Kshatriya by caste was termed as Rajputs.
(iii) The Rajputs were not just rulers and chieftains, but also soldiers and commanders who served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent. This group of people became important in this period.
(iv) Poets and bards of these Rajput rulers ascribed some great qualities, such as great valour and immense sense of loyalty, to these rulers.
6. Describe the Social changes that took place in the years between 700 and 1750 AD
Answer: The social changes that took place in the ten years led to the society becoming more complex. New technology like the persian wheel in irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving and the firearms in combat were developed. New foods and beverages like potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee were introduced. These innovations were brought by travellers who came and settled in new lands. People were grouped into jatis, or sub-caste on the basis of their backgrounds and their occupations. The Rajputs became most powerful and a chivalric code of conduct was developed. Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas also became important.
7. Why was the information from the manuscripts difficult to use during the thousand years?
Answer: During this period, there was no printing press so the manuscripts were copied by the scribes by hand. The copying of the manuscripts relied upon the accuracy of the scribes. While copying the manuscripts, the scribes made unintentional errors. At times, scribes would also correct the spelling, grammar and alter what they believed to be mistakes inherent in the text. They amended apparent historical and geographical errors. These small differences grew over centuries of copying until manuscripts of the same text became substantially different from one another. As a result, historians find it difficult to use the information from the manuscript and have to read different manuscript versions of the same text to guess what the author had originally written.
8. What changes did technology bring about in the lives of people from 700 CE to 1750 CE?
Answer: Technology revolutionised the lives of people within a span of thousand years. People started travelling long distances in search of opportunities. New food crops arrived in the Indian sub-continent due to new technological inventions in agriculture. There were Persian wheels used in irrigation and spinning wheel in weaving. Gradually forests were cleared and agriculture extended through modern mechanical tools. Many forest dwellers began to migrate and started tilling land, acquiring the title of ‘peasants’. These peasants were influenced by the regional market dynamics and priests. As a result, society became more differentiated and people were grouped into caste and sub-castes depending upon their occupation and background.
9. What were ‘jatis’? How were the affairs of jatis regulated?
Answer: As society became more differentiated, people were grouped into jatis or sub-castes. They were ranked on the basis of their backgrounds and occupations. The status of same jati could vary from area to area. Jatis framed their own rules and regulations to administer the behaviour of their members. An assembly of elders, described in some areas as the jati panchayat, enforced these regulations. Besides they had to follow rules of their village. Several villages were governed by a chieftain.
10. Why the British Historians periodization of Indian history is not correct one?
Answer: The British Historians periodized Indian history as Hindu India, Muslim India and British India. This periodization focused only on the religions of the ruler and rejected the rich diversity of the Indian subcontinent. It did not serve the very purpose of the periodization. That is to say, to capture the characteristics of each periods in the history. Apart from this, to study history from religious perspective is not a rational and scientific way. That is why Indian historians have shifted the periodization to non-religious periodization- Ancient, Medieval and Modern periods.
11. What do you understand by the Discontinuity in historical Sources?
Answer: Historians use coins, inscriptions, and manuscripts for reconstructing the history of ancient period. Very few original manuscripts are available and manuscripts which are available are the reproduction of scribes and some times information provided in these sources are not reliable. As scribe fails to understand the information given in the Historical text which led to the misinterpretation of facts. And moreover there is a lack of continuity as text do not follow time line. In Medieval period use of paper to issue Royal orders began instead of inscriptions. As paper has less durability than inscription caused the discontinuity in the availability of historical sources.
