HISTORY

General Instruction for question paper:

(i) Answer all the questions. Marks are indicated against each question.(ii) Answers to questions carrying 2 marks (Part - A Questions 1 to 3) should not exceed 30 words each.(iii) Answers to questions carrying 4 marks (Part - B Sections I, II) Questions 4 to 10 should not exceed 80 words each.(iv) Answers to questions carrying 8 marks (Part - C Questions 11 to 14) should not exceed 350 words each with choice.(v) Part - D has three sources based questions. Each carries 7 marks.

(vi) Map skill (Part E) will be of 5 marks. Test items will be of ‘identification and significance”. Attach the maps with the answer scripts.

DESIGN OF THE QUESTION PAPER (2015-16)The weight age or the distribution of marks over the different dimensions of the paper shall be as

follows:-Themes VSA

2marksSA

4marksSourceBased

7 marks

Map skill LA8marks

Total

Book I(Ancient India)

2(1) 4+4 7(1) 8(1) 25

Book II(Medieval India)

2(1) 4+4 7(1) 8(1) 25

Book III(Modern India)

2(1) 4+4 7(1) 8(1) 25

PROJECT WORK 20MAP 5*1=5 05

2*3=6 4*6=24 7*3=21 5 8*3=24 100

Note: Value Based Question can be from Book I, II, III textbooks and carry 04 marks. Accordingly marks can be reduced from weight age of the corresponding sections.

LIST OF MAPSBook 1

P-2. Mature Harappan sites:Harappa, Banawali, Kalibangan, Balakot, Rakhigarhi, Dholavira, Nageshwar, Lothal, Mohenjodaro,

Chanhudaro, Kot Diji.P-30. Mahajanapada and cities :

Vajji, Magadha, Kosala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara, Avanti, Rajgir, Ujjain, Taxila, Varanasi.P-33. Distribution of Ashokan inscriptions:

i) Kushanas, Shakas, Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Guptas ii) Cities/towns: Mathura, Kannauj, Puhar, Braghukachchha iii) Pillar inscriptions - Sanchi, Topra, Meerut Pillar and Kaushambi. iv) Kingdom of Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas.P-43. Important kingdoms and towns: i) Kushanas, Shakas, Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Guptas

ii) Cities/towns: Mathura, Kanauj, Puhar, Braghukachchha, Shravasti, Rajgir, Vaishali, Varanasi, VidishaP-95. Major Buddhist Sites:

Nagarjunakonda, Sanchi, Amaravati, Lumbini, Nasik, Bharhut, BodhGaya, Shravasti, Ajanta.Book 2

P-174. Bidar, Golconda, Bijapur, Vijayanagar, Chandragiri, Kanchipuram, Mysore, Thanjavur, Kolar, Tirunelveli, QuilonP-214. Territories under Babur, Akbar and Aurangzeb: Delhi, Agra, Panipat, Amber, Ajmer, Lahore, Goa.

Book 3P-297. Territories/cities under British Control in 1857:

Punjab, Sindh, Bombay, Madras Fort St. David, Masulipatam, Berar, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Avadh, Surat, Calcutta, Dacca, Chitagong, Patna, Benaras, Allahabad and Lucknow.

P-305. Main centres of the Revolt:Delhi, Meerut, Jhansi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Azamgarh, Calcutta, Benaras, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Agra, Avadh.

P-305. Important centres of the National Movement:Champaran, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Benaras, Amritsar, Chauri Chaura, Lahore, Bardoli, Dandi, Bombay

(Quit India Resolution), Karachi.

CHAPTER- 1 ( BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES)

Key conceps in nutshells:-

Period :- ( I ) Early Harappa culture – Before 2600 BCE (II) Mature Harappa culture-2600BCE to 1900 BCE (III) Late Harappa culture- After 1900 BCEExtent of Harappan civilisation :- Northern boundary-Manda Southern Boundary-Daimabad Eastern boundary- Alamgirpur Western boundary-SutkagendorCharacteristics of the Harappan Civilisation :-

Two Sections :- ( I ) The Citadel ( II ) The Lower TownCarefully planned drainage system.At burials in Harappan sites the dead were generally laid in pits.Seals and sealings were used to facilitate long distance communication.Exchanges were regulated by a precise system of weignts, usually made of a stone called Chert and generally cubical, with no markings.Some archaeologist are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers, whereas other archaeologist feel that there was no single ruler but several rulers.Several explanation for the decline of Harappan civilisation are Climatic changes, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting and/or drying up of rivers.Metals known :- Gold, Silver, Copper, Bronze.

Scripts :- The Harappan scripts are undeciphered. There are 375-400 signs. The script was written from right to left.Craft :- The place Chanhudaro was totally involved for craft production. There were experts in bead makings, shell cutting, seal making, weight making. Lothal was also one of the important place for craft production.Modes of Transportation :- Bullock carts and Boats.

Sr. Important Questions and Answers Marks Page No1 Describe any two features of the Harappan cities.

Ans. Planned City.Divided into two parts:- citadel and lower tower

2 marks 5

2 List the raw material required for craft production in Harappan Civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained.Ans.Stone,clay,copper,tin,bronze,gold,faience,shell,carenelian,jasper,crystal,satellite,quartz,timber They established settlement such as Nageshwar, Shortugahai and Balakot. They might have sent expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region of Rajasthan(for copper) and South India(for gold)

2 marks 10

3 Mention any four items found in the graves of the Harappan.Ans. Pottery, ornaments, jewellery, shell rings, priest stone, Beads. Copper mirror also found

2marks

10

4 Give any two features of Harappan Script.Ans. Not alphabetical as it has too many signs. Written from right to left as wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left

2 marks 15

5 What are the causes of decline of Harappan Civilisation?Ans. Change of climate, cutting of forests, excessive floods, the shifting of path or drying up of rivers , overuse of landscape.

2/4 marks

17

6 Which evidences give us information about Harappan civilisation?Ans. Remains of cities and towns, Beads, querns, stone blades and pots, burials of bones of animals, seals and weights.

2 marks 17

7 Give two features of the Harappan settlements.Ans. Large settlements with large and small buildings, planned network of roads and drainage system.

2 marks 6

8 Describe the features of weights system of the Harappan Civilisation.Ans. Made up of stone called Chert , cubical with new markings , binary denomination (1 , 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 , 32…upto 12800).

2 marks 16

9 “Our knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilisation is poorer than that of the other Civilisation” Explain it by your arguments?Ans. YES. Because…….The script of that age has hitherto not been deciphered. The easy method behind knowledge about other civilization.

Archaeologists and historians find the Harappan script enigmatic because

i. It is undeciphered

ii. Harappan seals have a line of writing which is probably the name and title of the owner

iii. Most inscriptions are short

iv. The longest inscription contains about 26 signs

v. It is pictographic vi. It was not alphabetical

vii. It has too many signs viii. It was written from right to left

ix. It has been found on various objects like seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods

x. 375-400 symbols found

2/ 4marks

15,18

10 What were the confusion in the minds of Cunningham while studying Harran Civilization?Ans. He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the 4&7th CE. He thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley In fact, Cunninghum’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic (c. sixth century BCE-fourth century) and the later periods.

2 marks 19

Cunningham was

i. An archaeologist ii. The first Director General of ASI

iii. He began archaeological excavations in the Indus Valley in the mid 19th century

One source he collected:

i. Harappan seal ii. Terracotta objects

iii. Harappan inscriptions iv. Harappan artefacts

v. Chinese buddhist pilgrim’s accounts

11 What were the differences in the techniques adopted by Marshall and Wheeler in studying Harappan Civilisation?Ans. Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the mound, ignoring the stratigraphy of the site.This meant that all the artefacts recovered from the same unit were grouped together, even if they were found at different stratigraphic layers. As a result, valuable information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost.3 R.E.M. Wheeler, rectified this problem. Wheeler recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines.

2/4 marks

20

12 “Burials are better source to trace social differences prevalent in the HarappanCivilization”. Discuss.Ans. 1. Studying burials is a strategy to find out social differences. 2. At burials in Harappan sites the dead were generally laid in pits. Sometimes, there were differences in the way the burial pit was made – in some instances; the hollowed-out spaces were lined with bricks. 3. Some graves contain pottery and ornaments, perhaps indicating a belief that these could be used in the afterlife. Jewellery has been found in burials of both men and women.

2 marks 09

13 Write a note on the Drainage system of the Harappa.Ans. 1. A well planned drainage system.2.The drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum. Covered with big bricks and stones which could be lifted easily to clean the drains.3. Smaller drains from houses on both the sides of the streets came and joined a brick laid main channel.4. Bigger drains which cleared the rain water were 2 and half feet to 5 feet in circumference..5. For sewage from the houses, pits were provided at either side of the street.6. All this shows that the Indus Valley people took great care to keep their cities neat and clean.

4 marks 06

14 Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society.Ans. Some archaeologists are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers and that everybody enjoyed equal status. Others feel there was no single ruler but several.There are indications of extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery seals weights and bricks.Notably bricks though obviously not produced in any single centre were of a uniform

4 marks 6

ratio throughout the region, from Jammu to Gujarat.Under the guidance and supervision of the rulers’ plans and layouts of the city were prepared. Big buildings palaces forts, tanks wells, canals, granaries were constructed.Roads lanes and drains were also constructed and cleanliness was maintained under the overall supervision of the ruler.The ruler might have taken interest in economy of the state or city states. He used to inspire the farmer to increase agricultural production.He used to motivate the craftsmen to promote different handicrafts. Internal as well as external trade was promoted by the ruler.He used to issue common acceptable coins or seals, weights and measurements.During the natural calamity such as flood earthquake, epidemic etc. the ruler used to provide grains and other eatables to the affected people.He used to play active role to defend cities or state from foreign attack.

15 How can you say that the Harappan culture was an urban one?Ans. We can say that the Harappan culture was an urban one, due to the following reasons:The cities were well planned and thickly populated.The roads were straight and wide.The houses were made of burnt bricks and contained more than one storey.Every house had a well and a bathroom.The drainage system was excellent with house drains emptying into street drains.The citadel of Harappa had public buildings.Lothal had a dockyard and was an important trading centre.After the decline of the Harappan culture, town planning was forgotten and there was absence of city life for about a thousand years.

4 marks 5

16 Write a short note on the agriculture technology of Harappans?Ans. Agriculture was the chief occupation of the Harappans.The prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds of grains.But it is more difficult to reconstruct actual agricultural practices.Archaeologists have found evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan.Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known,and archaeologist extrapolate from this that oxen were used for ploughing.Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali.The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting that two different crops were grown together.

4 marks 3,4

17 Discuss how archaeologist reconstructs the past.Ans. 1. Material evidences, allows archaeologists to better reconstruct Harappan life. This material could be pottery, tools, ornaments, household objects, etc.2. Recovering artefacts is just the beginning of the archaeological enterprise. Archaeologists then classify their finds.3. The second, and more complicated, is in terms of function: archaeologists have to decide whether, for instance, an artefact is a tool or an ornament, or both, or something meant for ritual use.4. An understanding of the function of an artefact is often shaped by its resemblance with present-day things – beads, querns, stone blades and pots are obvious examples.5. Archaeologists also try to identify the function of an artefact by investigating the context in which it was found.6. The problems of archaeological interpretation are perhaps most evident in attempts to reconstruct religious practices.7. Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship.8. Many reconstructions of Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, that is, from the present to the past.

8 marks 23

9. Remains of crops, saddle querns or pit are studied to identify food.10. Archaeologists observe the different layers of site and try to find out different things which give picture of socio-economic conditions, religions and cultural life of the past people.

18 Numismatics is an important source for the historians to reconstruct the past. Give two examples.Ans. 1 Studying coins help to establish dynastic linkages.2 The discovery of coins in certain areas can be used to reconstruct commercial networks.3 The kind of metal used in minting throws valuable light on the economy of the particularPeriod.4 The inscriptions on the coins sometimes mention the titles of the Kings and describe theirMilitary achievements.5 Any other relevant point.

2 marks 22

19 Historians trace the socio economic and religious beliefs of the Harappans by reconstructing the past through the relics available:Ans. 1 The discovery of pots and querns in the Harappan sites and their burial sites provideEnormous information.2 Traces of cotton, combined with the dresses depicted on seals and sculptures, give us anIdea about the sartorial style of the Harappan people.3 The female figures on seals indicate towards the phenomenon of worship of motherGoddess.4 Plant motifs seem to suggest the practice of nature worship.5 The discovery of conical stones indicates linga worship and recurrence of a figure surrounded by animals, points towards the existence of the cult of ‘proto-Shiva’.6 The study of weights - measures and seals found in Harappan sites gives valuable information about their economic status7 Any other relevant points.

4marks

22,23

20 Describe briefly how the centres of craft production are identified?Ans. 1 Identifying raw material like stone, shells and metals etc.2 Identifying unfinished craft objects like pottery, jewellery, beads, shell objects etc.3 Identifying rejected waste materials at the place of production like Chanchudaro Lothal, Dholavira, Nageshwar and Balakot raw materials and rejected waste materials have been found.

4 marks 10&

map

21 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:(How Artefacts Are Identified)

Processing of food required grinding equipment as well as vessels for mixing, blending and cooking. These were made of stone, metal and terracotta. This is an excerpt from one of the earliest reports on excavations at Mohenjodaro, the best-known Harappan site: Saddle querns … are found in considerable numbers … and they seem to have been the only means in use for grinding cereals. As a rule, they were roughly made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone and mostly show signs of hard usage. As their bases are usually convex, they must have been set in the earth or in mud to prevent their rocking. Two main types have been found: those on which another smaller stone was pushed or rolled to and fro, and others with which a second stone was used as a pounder, eventually making a large cavity in the nether stone. Querns of the former type were probably used solely for grain; the second type possibly only for pounding herbs and spices for making curries. In fact, stones of this latter type are dubbed “curry stones” by our workmen and our cook asked for the loan of one from the museum for use in the kitchen.FROM ERNEST MACKAY, Further Excavations at Mohenjodaro, 1937.Q1. Which types of querns have been found in Mohanjodaro?Ans. Saddle querns

7 marks 4

Q2. Write any two characteristics of saddle querns?Ans. They found in considerable numbers. Made up of hard, gritty igneous rocks or sandstone.Q3. What are the two kinds of saddle?Ans. Those on which another smaller stone was pushed or rolled to and fro used for grind grains and cereals those with which a second stone was used as a pounder used for grind herbs and spices

22 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The Most Ancient System Yet Discovered

About the drains, Mackay noted: “It is certainly the most complete ancient system as yet discovered.” Every house was connected to the street drains. The main channels were made of bricks set in mortar and were covered with loose bricks that could be removed for cleaning. In some cases, limestone was used for the covers. House drains first emptied into a sump or cesspit into which solid matter settled while waste water flowed out into the street drains. Very long drainage channels were provided at intervals with sumps for cleaning. It is a wonder of archaeology that “little heaps of material, mostly sand, have frequently been found lying alongside drainage channels, which shows … that the debris was not always carted away when the drain was cleared”. FROM ERNEST MACKAY, Early Indus Civilisation, 1948. Drainage systems were not unique to the larger cities, but were found in smaller settlements as well. At Lothal for example, while houses were built of mud bricks, drains were made of burnt bricks.Q1. The drainage of which places have been found?Ans. Indus valley civilisationQ2. What was the drawback in the sanitation system?Ans. The debris not always removed when the drains were clearQ3. Except the drains, enumerate any four characteristics of these houses?Ans. Each house had a courtyard, bathroom and a well , floor made of bricks , few double stored houses

7 marks 7

23 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Evidence of an “invasion”

Deadman Lane is a narrow alley, varying from 3 to 6 feet in width … At the point where the lane turns westward, part of a skull and the bones of the thorax and upper arm of an adult were discovered, all in very friable condition, at a depth of 4 ft 2 in. The body lay on its back diagonally across the lane. Fifteen inches to the west were a few fragments of a tiny skull. It is to these remains that the lane owes its name.FROM JOHN MARSHALL, Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation, 1931.Sixteen skeletons of people with the ornaments that they were wearing when they died were found from the same part of Mohenjodaro in 1925. Much later, in 1947, R.E.M. Wheeler, then Director-General of the ASI, tried to correlate this archaeological evidence with that of the Rigveda, the earliest known text in the subcontinent. He wrote: The Rigveda mentions pur, meaning rampart, fort or stronghold. Indra, the Aryan war-god is called puramdara, the fort-destroyer.Where are – or were – these citadels? It has in the past been supposed that they were mythical … The recent excavation of Harappa may be thought to have changed the picture. Here we have a highly evolved civilisation of essentially non- Aryan type, now known to have employed massive fortifications … What destroyed this firmly settled civilisation? Climatic, economic or political deterioration may have weakened it, but its ultimate extinction is more likely to have been completed by deliberate and large-scale destruction. It may be no mere chance that at a late period of Mohenjodaro men, women, and children, appear to have been massacred there. On circumstantial evidence, Indra stands

7 marks 18

accused.FROM R.E.M. WHEELER, “Harappa 1946”, Ancient India, 1947.In the 1960s, the evidence of a massacre in Mohenjodaro was questioned by an archaeologist named George Dales. He demonstrated that the skeletons found at the site did not belong to the same period: Whereas a couple of them definitely seem to indicate a slaughter, the bulk of the bones were found in contexts suggesting burials of the sloppiest and most irreverent nature. There is no destruction level covering the latest period of the city, no sign of extensive burning, no bodies of warriors clad in armour and surrounded by the weapons of war. The citadel, the only fortified part of the city, yielded no evidence of a final defence.FROM G.F. DALES, “The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjodaro”, Expediton, 1964.As you can see, a careful re-examination of the data can sometimes lead to a reversal of earlier interpretations.Q1. On what basis has it been called the dead man’s lane?Ans. Because of:- part of a skull. The bones of the thorax. Upper arm on adult.Q2. What reasons have been given by R.E.M. Wheeler for the destruction of the Harappan culture?Ans. The climatic changes or the social and economic deterioration might have weakened the Harappan civilisationQ3.Whom did he consider for the large destruction in Mohenjodaro and why?Ans According to Rigveda , Indra was puramdara, that is the fort destroyer

24 Cite examples to show that Harappan culture was an urban one.Ans. Houses made up of bricks. Contained more than one story. Well planned cities. Excellent drainage system. Wide roads and streets. Citadels. Cities had huge granaries. Dockyard was an important trading centre.

4marks

25 The weights and measures of the Harappan people:a) The weights were cubical and spherical in shape.b) They were made of charts, jasper and agate.c) The weights were in series, 1,2,4,8 and also in decimal multiples.d) They were of both heavy and small weights.

26 Early Harappan archeologists thought that certain objects which seems unusual and unfamiliar may have had a religious significance” Substantiate.

Religion of Harappai) . Terracotta Figurines of women, as mother goddesses.ii). the “priest-king”iii). Structures like Great Bath and fire altars found at Kalibangan and Lothal.iv). Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining sealsv). plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship.vi). Some animals –“unicorn” –seems to be mythical,vii). “proto-Shiva”,viii). Conical stone objects have been classified as lingas

4 marks 23

27Although Archaeological records provide no immediate answers as Harappa script

could not be yet deciphered but

i. A large building found at Mohenjodaro was labeled as a palace by archaeologists but no spectacular finds were associated with it.

ii. A stone statue was labeled and continues to be known as the “priest-king”

iii. Some archaeologists are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers, and that everybody enjoyed equal status.

iv. Others feel there was no single ruler but several, that Mohenjodaro had a separate ruler, Harappa another, and so forth.

v. Others argue that there was a single state, given the similarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned settlements, the standardised ratio of brick size, and the

establishment of settlements near sources of raw

28 2/4 marks

20

John Marshall was

i. An archaeologist ii. Director General of ASI.

His contribution

i. He announced the discovery of a new civilization i.e. Indus Valley Civilization/ Harappa culture

ii. He brought the experience of working in Greece and Crete

iii. He was keen to look for patterns of everyday life

iv. He excavated along horizontal lines

v. He left India 3000 years older

vi. He was the first professional archaeologist to work in India.

vii. He prepared a paper on Sanchi Stupa

viii. He helped in the preservation/conservation of Sanchi Stupa

29Changes observed after 1900 BCE in Harappan Civilization:

i. There is a decline in the material culture

ii. Disappearance of distinctive artefacts

iii. Writing disappeared

iv. Long distance trade disappeared

v. Craft specialization disappeared

vi. House construction techniques deteriorated

vii. Absence of large public structures

viii. We do not find standardized weights and measures

ix. Poor planning is reflected in the settlements

x. A rural way of life is seen

xi. There are fewer new sites with old mature sites being abandoned.

xii. There was perhaps a downfall of authority

xiii. Deadman Lane mentioned by John Marshall represents the decline

Reasons for these changes

i. Climatic change ii. Deforestation

iii. Excessive floods iv. Shifting/drying up of rivers

v. Overuse of the landscape vi. Decline and abandonment of cites

vii. Invasion viii. Harappan state or the unifying element came to an end

CHAPTER 2 ( KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS )Key concept in nut shellSeveral developments in different parts of the subcontinent (India) the long span of 1500 years following the end of Harappan Civilization:-- Rigveda was composed along the Indus and its tributaries.- Agricultural Settlements emerged in several parts of the subcontinent.- New mode of disposal of the dead like making Megaliths.- By C 600 BCE growth of new cities and kingdoms.- 600 BCE major turning point in early Indian history.- Growth of 16 Mahajanapadas. Many were ruled by kings.- Some known as ganas or sanghas were oligarchies- Between the 600 BCE and 400 BCE Magadha became the most powerful Mahajanapada.- Emergence of Mauryan Empire Chandragupta Maurya (C 321 BCE) founder of the empire extended control upto Afghanistan and Baluchistan.- His grandson Ashoka, the most famous ruler conquered Kalinga.- Variety of sources to reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire – archaeological finds especially sculpture, Ashoka’s Inscriptions, Literary sources like Indica account of megasthenes, Arthashastra of Kautilya and Buddhist, Jaina and puranic literature.- Five major political centres – Pataliputra, Taxila, Ujjayani, Tosali and Suvarnagiri to administer the empire.- Ashoka’s Dhamma to hold his empire together.New Notions of Kingship- By C 200 BCE emergence of new chiefdoms and kingdoms in several parts of the subcontinent.- Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam, known from Sangam text.- Most of these states including Satavahanas and Shakas had control over long distance trade networks.- Kushanas (C First century BCE to first century CE) ruled over a vast kingdom extending from central Asia to north

West India.Their history has been reconstructed from Inscriptions, Coins and sculptures which convey a sense of the notions of kingship.- History of the Guptas (4th century CE ) has been reconstructed from literatures, coins and inscriptions including Prashastis.- What did subjects think about their rulers? Historians have tried to know this by examining stories contained in the Jatakas and Panchatantra.- Strategies for increasing agricultural production – use of plough with iron plough share, introduction of transplantation and use of irrigation through wells, tanks, less commonly canals.- Land grants to religious institutions or Brahmanas, to extend agriculture to new areas or to win allies by making grants of land.- Emergence of urban centres such as Pataliputra, Ujjayani, Puhar, Mathura etc.- In the towns different types of people used to live such as washing folk, weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, religious teachers, merchants, kings.- Artisans and traders organized themselves in guild or shrenis.- Trade both in the subcontinent and with east and north Africa, West Asia, South East Asia , China.- India used to export spices, fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth, medicinal plants.- Exchanges were facilitated by the introduction of the coinage. Punch marked coins made of silver and copper were amongst the earliest to be minted and used. The first gold coins were issued in (first century CE) by the Kushanas.- James Prinsep an officer in the mint of the East India Company was able to decipher Ashokan Brahmi in 1838.- Limitations of Inscriptional evidence- letters are very faintly engraved, damaged or letter missing, not sure about the exact meaning of the words.

1 Who was James Princep? What his contribution in the development of Indian epigraphy?Ans. An officer of the East India Company. Decipher the ancient Brahmi and Kharosthi script.

2 marks 29

2 What do you mean by inscriptions? Why are they important?Ans. Writing engraved on hard surface like stone, metal and pottery Knowledge about the rulers and their achievements.Scripts and language of that time. Land grant and economic condition.Extent of the empire. Social and religious condition of kingdom.

2 marks 29

3 What languages and scripts were found in Ashokan inscriptions?Ans. In Prakrit language while those in North-West of subcontinent were in Aramaic and Greek

2 marks 32

4 Name the new kingdoms that emerged in the Deccan and further South?Ans. Chiefdoms of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam i.e. present day Tamil Nadu, Abdra Pradesh and Kerala

2 marks 35

5 Who was Harisena? What is he known for?Ans. Harisena was a court poet Samundragupta. He is known for composition of Prayag Prashashti (known as the Allahabad Piller inscription) in Sanskrit in the praise of Samundragupta.

2 marks 36,37

6 Who had written Harishcharita? What is it about?Ans. Banabhatta. Biography of Harshvardhna (the ruler of Kannauj)in Sanskrit

2 marks 40

7 Mention any two ways in which the inscriptions of land grants help us to understand rural society in ancient times.Ans. 1 To understand rural society as they provide some insight into the relationship between cultivator and state. 2 Land grants were a part of strategy adopted by the ruling lineages to extend agriculture to new areas.

2 marks 40,41

8 Mention any two features of administrative system MauryansAns. 1 Central administration- King had control over legislative, executive, judiciary, army and finance.Provincial administration- The Empire was divided in to many provinces.Local Government- There was a committee of 30 members to maintain rules and regulations in Pataliputra.King used to run the administration with the help of high officials.Five major political centres in the empireLaw and order system setup.Organised army- a committee with six subcommittee for coordinating military activity.To spread Dhamma , appointment of Dhamma Mahamattra.Officers were appointed to manage the land revenue, irrigation and roads 17Institution of spies was very strong and working effectively.

2/4/8marks

34

9 How did the Maghdha become the most powerful Mahajanpada between 6th – 4th BCE?Ans. 1) Magadha was a region where agriculture was especially productive. 2) Iron mines (in present-day Jharkhand) were accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons.3) Elephants, an important component of the army, were found in forests in the region. Also, The Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and convenient communication. 4) The policies of individuals: ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known, and their ministers, who helped implement their policies.

2/4 marks

31

10 What is Northern Black Polished Ware?Ans. A wide range of artefacts have been recovered from. These include fine pottery bowls anddishes, with a glossy finish, known as Northern Black Polished Ware, probably used by rich people, and ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels, figurines, made of a wide range of materials – gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta.

2 marks 42

11 How do historians reconstruct the lives of the ordinary people?Ans. Common masses or ordinary people left behind very few written information about lives.

i) Different types of food grains and animal bones have been foundii) Remains of houses and pots inform about daily lifeiii) Certain inscriptions good source of knowing about economic life of peopleiv) Changing agriculture tools and equipment throw some light on changing lifev) Merchants guildvi) Historians also use famous folktales.

2/4 marks

12 List out some problems faced by epigraphist.Ans. 1.Technical limitation.2. Problem of deciphering.3. Fundamental problem.

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13 Discuss the evidence of craft production in early historic cities.Ans. A wide range of artefacts has been recovered from them. These include fine pottery bowls and dishes, with a glossy finish, known as Northern Black Polished Ware, probably used by rich people, and ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels, figurines, made of a wide range of materials – gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta. We find short votive inscriptions in a number of cities. These mention the name of the donor, and sometimes specify his/ her occupation as well. They tell us about people who lived in towns: washing folk, weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, officials, religious teachers, merchants and kings. These guilds probably procured raw materials, regulated production, and marketed the finished product. It is likely that craftsperson used a range of iron

2 marks 42

tools to meet the growing demands of urban elites.

14 What are Megaliths?Ans. 1 Elaborate stone structures in central and south India in first millennium BCE.2 These were kept on the burials. Dead were buried with a wide range of iron tools and weapons.

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15 Why six century BCE often consider as a major turning points in Indian history?Ans. 1 An era associated with early states and cities, growing use of iron, the development of coin.2 Also witnessed the growth of diverse system of thoughts including Buddhism and Jainism.

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16 Define Dhamma Mahamatta?Ans. Special officers appointed by Ashoka. Appointed to spread the message of Dhamma.

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17 Write any two sources of Mauryan HistoryAns. Archeological finds,especially sculptureArthashastra of Kautilya.Indica of MegasathneseAshoka’s inscriptions,Mudrakshasha,Budha and Jain, Puranic literature,Ashoka Edicts on roacks and pillers.

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18 Who were Kushana?Ans. Kushanas were a clan of nomadic people living in China. ruled over a vast kingdom extending from Central Asia to North-West India. First to issue gold coins in India.

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19 In which language and script, Ashokan script were written?Ans. Language- Prakrit, Aramaic and Greek. Script- Prakrit in Brahmi, Greek , Aramaic and Kharosthi.

2 marks 32

20 Who was a Gahapati?Ans. Gahapati was the owner, master or head of a household. He was the owner of the resources- land, animals and other things that belonged to the household.

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21 Discuss factors responsible for the rise of Magadha.Ans. Powerful rulers- Bimbisara and Ajatasattu. Availability of iron. Fertile soil. Availability of elephants in forest. Strong capital – Rajgir and Pataliputra

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22 Describe five features of mahajanpadas.Ans. Maximum Mahajanapadas ruled by kings but some ruled by Ganas or Sanghas. Each had its own capital often fortified.Permanent army recruited from the peasantry regular bureaucracies.Dharmasutras laid down norms for kings and other people. Function of king to collect taxes and tributes from people.

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23 Explain main features of Ashoka’s Dhamma.Ans. Respect to elders, love for young and kindness to servants. Religious tolerance to other religions. Liberal policies towards Brahmanas, Shramanas.Appointment of Dhamma mahamattas.

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24 To what extant were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration.Ans. Demand for taxes increased in the post 600 BC. Forced the farmers to increased productivity. This resulted in the use of new tools and practices of agriculture. 1). Use of plough. 2). Use of spade. 3). Artificial irrigation.

4 marks 38

25 Describe the causes for the decline of Mauryan empire.Ans. 1 Ashoka’s successors were weak and incapable. 2. Internal rivalries. 3. Vastness of the empire was not within the control of his inefficient successor. 4. The distance from the central capital encouraged the

4 marks 40,41

provincial governors to behave independently. 5. Last ruler Brithadratha was killed by his army chief Pushyamittra Sunga.

26 Analyse the character of “Ashoka the great”.Ans. Service of humanity. Animals Safety. Public welfare. Ideal administration. Propaganda of Budhism. Lover of peace. Art works. Ashoka’s dhamma. Religious tolerance.

4 marks

26 Explain how Kharosthi was deciphered?Ans. The script used in inscriptions in the northwest, is different. Finds of coins of Indo-Greek kings who ruled over the area (c. second-first centuries BCE) have facilitated matters. These coins contain the names of kings written in Greek and Kharosthi scripts. European scholars who could read the former compared the letters. For instance, the symbol for “a” could be found in both scripts for writing names such as Apollodotus. With Prinsep identifying the language of the Kharosthi inscriptions as Prakrit, it became possible to read longer inscriptions as well.

4 marks 28,29

27 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:What The King’s Officials Did

Here is an excerpt from the account of Megasthenes: Of the great officers of state, some … superintend the rivers, measure the land, as is done in Egypt, and inspect the sluices by which water is let out from the main canals into their branches, so that every one may have an equal supply of it. The same persons have charge also of the huntsmen, and are entrusted with the power of rewarding or punishing them according to their deserts. They collect the taxes, andSuperintend the occupations connected with land; as those of the woodcutters, the carpenters, the blacksmiths, and the miners.Q1. Explain the duties of great officers.Ans i) Superintend the rivers, measure the land, as is done in Egypt, and inspect the sluices by which water is let out from the main canals into their branches,

vii) Charge also of the huntsmen, and are entrusted with the power of rewarding or punishing them according to their duities.

Q2. Which empire is Megasathenese referring to?Ans. The Maurayan empireQ3. How many committees and sub-committees have been referred to by Megasathenese for the conduct of military activities?Ans. Six committees out of which one looked after the Navy. Second managed transport and supply of material or the fifth and the sixth maintained respectively horses, chariots and the elephants.

7 marks 34

28 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:In Praise Of Samudragupta

This is an excerpt from the Prayaga Prashasti: He was without an antagonist on earth;he, by the overflowing of the multitude of (his) many good qualities adorned by hundreds of good actions, has wiped off the fame of other kings with the soles of (his) feet; (he is) Purusha (the Supreme Being), being the cause of the prosperity of the good and the destruction of the bad (he is) incomprehensible; (he is) one whose tender heart can be captured only by devotion and humility; (he is) possessed of compassion; (he is) the giver of many hundred-thousands of cows; (his) mind has received ceremonial initiation for the uplift of the miserable, the poor, the forlorn and the suffering; (he is) resplendent and embodied kindness to mankind; (he is) equal to (the gods) Kubera (the god of wealth), Varuna (the god of the ocean), Indra

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(the god of rains) and yama (the god of death)…Q1. Who wrote the above Prasathi? State the importanceAns. Harisena the court poet of Samudragupta. He was without an antagonist on earth;

he, by the overflowing of the multitude of (his) many good qualities adorned by hundreds of good actions

Q2. Mention any three qualities of the ruler according to PrasasthiAns. He is Purusha (the Supreme Being), the cause of the prosperity, incomprehensible; one whose tender heart can be captured only by devotion and humility; (he is) possessed of compassion; (he is) the giver of many hundredQ3. What is its original language?Ans. Sanskrit

29 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The Sudarshana (Beautiful) Lake In Gujarat

The Sudarshana lake was an artificial reservoir. We know about it from a rock inscription (c. second century CE) in Sanskrit, composed to record the achievements of the Shaka ruler Rudradaman. The inscription mentions that the lake, with embankments and water channels, was built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas. However, a terrible storm broke the embankments and water gushed out of the lake. Rudradaman, who was then ruling in the area, claimed to have got the lake repaired using his own resources, without imposing any tax on his subjects. Another inscription on the same rock (c. fifth century) mentions how one of the rulersof the Gupta dynasty got the lake repaired once again.Q1. Mention about the irrigation system of the Mauryan EmpireAns The lake, with embankments and water channels, was built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas.Q2. Explain about the achievements of Rudradaman during the 2nd century CEAns. The Shaka ruler Rudradaman built embankments and water lakeQ3. Mention the values demonstrated by Rudradaman that can be seen from the passage.Ans. Great love and sympathy his subjects for this he got repaired the lake which was broken by terrible storm

7 marks38

30 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows: The Orders Of The KingThus speaks king Devanampiya Piyadassi: In the past, there were no arrangements for disposing affairs, nor for receiving regular reports. But I have made the following (arrangement). Pativedakas should report to me about the affairs of the people at all times, anywhere, whether I am eating, in the inner apartment, in the bedroom, in the cow pen, being carried (possibly in a palanquin), or in the garden. And I will dispose of the affairs of the people everywhere.Q1. Name the ruler. What is meant by the term Pativedakas?

Ans. Ashoka. A reporterQ2. What does he wants the Pativedakas to do? What is the purpose?

Ans. They report to the king about the affairs of the people at all times and anywhere during the day and night

Q3. What does this inscription tell us about the nature of kingship of this period?

Ans. The nature of the kingship of this period was the welfare state which cares for the welfare of the people or the subjects.

7 marks47

31 4/8 47-49

What does Ashokan inscriptions tell us about the Mauryas?

i. The inscriptions on rocks and pillars are sources to know about Asoka and his dhamma

ii. Inscription describes Asoka as devanampiya,” and piyadassi, or “pleasant to behold

iii. James Princep ( who was able to decipher brahmi script ) matched the inscriptions in terms of content, style, language and palaeography

iv. Inscriptions explains about Asokan’s dhamma philosophy

v. Few inscriptions reflect the anguish of the ruler as well as marking a change in his attitude towards warfare.

Limitations Of The Inscriptional Evidences

i. Letters are very faintly engraved, and thus reconstructions are uncertain.

ii. Inscriptions may be damaged or letters missing.

iii. It is not always easy to be sure about the exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions

iv. Not all have been deciphered, published and translated

v. Politically or economically significant was necessarily not recorded in inscriptions.

vi. Routine agricultural practices and the joys and sorrows of daily existence find no mention in inscriptions

vii. Besides, the content of inscriptions almost invariably projects the perspective of the person(s) who commissioned them

ORFeatures of Mahajanpadas. How did Magdha become powerful? pg 29-31

i. Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti were amongst the most important mahajanapadas

ii. Each mahajanapada had a capital city, which was often fortified.

iii. Each mahajanapada had a well maintained standing army and regular bureaucracies for administration.

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iv. Dharmasutras, written by Brahmans laid down norms for rulers.

v. Rulers were ideally expected to be Kshatriyas.

vi. Rulers were advised to collect taxes

vii. Ruled by ganas and sanghas and were oligarchies.

viii. Power was shared by the rajas

ix. Fortified capital cities

x. Rulers collected taxes and tributes from the cultivators

32

The trade of sixth BCEi) From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes extended in various directions – overland into Central Asia and overseas

ii) Peddlers ,caravan merchants & seafarers traversed from one place to another for trade

iii) Successful merchants, masattuvan in Tamil and setthis and satthavahas became rich.

iv) A wide range of goods were carried from one place to another – salt, grain, cloth ,metal ores and finished products, stone, timber, medicinal plants,etc

v) Spices, especially pepper, were in high demand in the Roman Empire, as were textiles and medicinal plants, and these were all transported across the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean.

44

33Sources:

i. Punch marked coins ii. Archaeological finds like palace wall at Patliputra

iii. Account of Megasthenes. iv. Kautilya’s Arthashastra

v. Buddhist literature vi. Jaina Literature

vii. Puranic literature viii. Sanskrit literary works

ix. Writings of Justin x. Asokan inscriptions – pillar inscriptions and rock

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32-34

edicts

Administration:

i. There were five major political centres- the capital Pataliputra and provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri.

ii. Administrative control was strongest in areas around the capital and the provincial centres.

iii. Provincial centres were carefully chosen: Taxila and Ujjayini were situated on important long distance trade routes

iv. Suvarnagiri was important for tapping gold mines of Karnataka.

v. Communication along both land and riverine routes was essential for the existence of the empire

vi. Administration was not same in all regions

vii. A committee was set up with six sub committees for coordinating military activities.

viii. The first looked after navy, second managed transport and provisions, third for foot soldiers, fourth for horses, fifth for chariots and sixth for elephants.

ix. Special officers, known as the Dhamma Mahamattas were appointed to spread the message of Dhamma.

x. Asoka’s Dhamma spread respect towards elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and those who renounced worldly life, treating slaves and servants kindly, respect for religions and traditions other than one’s ownxi. Administration was decentralized-provinces were given power

34 44,45

System of Land Grants:

i. Information available from stone inscriptions and copper plates

ii. Grants made to religious institutions

iii. Grants called agrahara grants were made to Brahmanas

iv. Samantas were also given land

v. Prabhavati Gupta – example of agrahara grant made by a woman is an exception

vi. Land grants were a strategy to extend agriculture and Brahmanical practices in new regions

vii. It also indicates weakening central power and the ruler’s attempt to win allies

viii. Rulers wanted to present themselves as supermen by granting lands

System of trade:

i. Introduction of punch marked coins encouraged trade

ii. Inland and overland trade existed

iii. Various river routes in the sub continent were used for trade

iv. Overland and maritime trade existed with C. Asia, North Africa, West Asia etc

v. Inland trade connected various parts of the subcontinent

vi. Peddlers travelled on foot and merchants on bullock cart caravans

vii. Sea faring traders were highly successful

viii. Different rich merchant communities are mentioned in Pali and Tamil texts

ix. Items like salt, grain, cloth, timber, spices and medicinal plants traded

CHAPTER 3 (KINSHIP, CASTE AND CLASS)

Key concepts in nutshell

Many rules and different practices were followed by the people.Very often families were part of larger networks of people we define as relatives.Blood relations can be defined in many different ways.Mausmriti is considered the most o important Dharma Sutra and Dharmashastra. It was compiled between 200 BCE and 200 CE. This laid down rules governing social life.During Mahabharata age gotras were considered very important by higher verna of societies.Social differences prevailed and integration took place within the framework of caste system.According to the sutras only Kashtriyas could be a king.The original version of Mahabharata is in Sanskrit.It contains vivid descriptions of battles forest, palaces and settlements

1 What do you mean by the term epic?Ans. Epic means a larger poetic text which narrates the life and achievements of the heroesor the past of a nation.

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2 Give Two Importance of Manusmriti?Ans. (i) It gives vital information about law and social practices.(II) It influences the Hindu way of life even today.

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3 Why the war Mahabharata was fought? What was its result?Ans. The war of Mahabharata was fought to acquire land and authority. The war was won bythe Pandavas.

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60

4 What do you mean by term kula and Jati?Ans. Sanskrit texts use the term kula to designate families and jati for the larger network of kinfolk.

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55

5 What is endogamy?Ans. Endogamy refers to marriage within a unit. This could be a kin, group, caste or a groupliving in the same locality.

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57

6 What did B.B.Lal note about the houses in the second phase of Mahabharata period Explain?Ans. B.B.lal has given a description about the houses in the second phase. He noted that within the limited area excavated, no definite plans of houses were obtained, but walls of mud and mud bricks were duly encountered. The discovery of mud plaster with prominent reed marks suggested that some of the houses had reed walls plastered over with mud.

2marks

75

7 Explain why paterliny may have been particularly important among elite families?Ans. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of theMahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died. Most ruling dynasties (c. sixth century BCE onwards) claimed to follow this system, although there were variations in practice: sometimes there were no sons, It describes a feud over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who belonged to a single ruling family,

2Marks

55,56

that of the Kurus, a lineage dominating one of the janapadas (Chapter 2, Map 1). Ultimately, the conflict ended in a battle, in which the Pandavas emerged victorious. After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed.

8 Discuss whether kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas.Ans. According to the Shastras, only Kshatriyas could be kings. Their functions were to engage in warfare, protect people and administer justice. But the kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas. Several important ruling lineages probably had different origins as mentioned below. The social background of the Mauryas, who ruled over a large empire, has been hotly debated. While later Buddhist texts suggested they were Kshatriyas, Brahmanical texts described them as being of “low” origin. The Shungas and Kanvas, the immediate successors of the Mauryas, were Brahmanas. In fact, political power was effectively open to anyone who could muster support and resources, and rarely depended on birth as a Kshatriya. Other rulers, such as the Shakas who came from Central Asia, were regarded as mlechchhas, barbarians or outsiders by the Brahmanas. It is also interesting that the best-known ruler of the Satavahana dynasty, Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani, claimed to be both a unique Brahmana (eka bamhana) and a destroyer of the pride of Kshatriyas.

2marks

62

9 Why Exogamy was considered desirable for the continuity of patrilineage?Ans. While sons were important for the continuity of the patrilineage, daughters were viewed rather differently within this framework. They had no claims to the resources of the household. At the same time, marrying them into families outside the kin was considered desirable. This system, called exogamy (literally, marrying outside), meant that the lives of young girls and women belonging to families that claimed high status were often carefully regulated to ensure that they were married at the “right” time and to the “right” person. This gave rise to the belief that kanyadana or the gift of a daughter in marriage was an important religious duty of the father.

2+4 marks

57,58

10 Who were regarded as Mlechchhas? Name the best known Mlechchhas king ?Ans. He was the Shakas who came from Central Asia, were regarded as mlechchhas, barbarians or outsiders by the Brahmanas. Rudradaman, the best-known Shaka ruler (c. second century CE), rebuilt Sudarshana lake. They familiar with Sanskritic traditions.

2 marks 62,63

11 Mention the two duties laid down in manusamriti for Chandalas?Ans. Handling of corpses and dead animals. They had to live outside the village, use discarded utensils, and wear clothes of the dead and ornaments of iron. They could not walk about in villages and cities at night. They had to dispose of the bodies of those who had no relatives and serve as executioners.

2 marks 66

12 Name two ideal occupations of Brahmanas according to DharamashastrasAns. To study and teach Vedas and perform rituals. Give and receive gifts and give advice to the rulers and government.

2 marks 61

13 Mention one of the most challenging episodes of Mahabharta.Ans. The marriage of Draupadi with the Pandvas. It is example of polyandry.

2 marks 68

14 Mention two characteristics of the cities in the Indian sub-continent as described by Ibn Batuta.Ans. Densely populated and prosperous. Crowded streets and bright and colourful markets.

2 marks 66

15 Mention any two rules about classification of people in terms of gotra under Brahmnical practice around 1000BCE onwardsAns. Each gotra was named after a Vedic seer. Women were expected to give up their father’s Gotra and adopt that of their husband on marriage and members of

2 marks 58

the same gotra could not marry.

16 In what ways was the Buddhist theory of a social contract different from the Brahmanical view of society derived from the Purusha sukta?Ans. (I) The Purusha sukta says that four varnas emerged from the Purasha sukta .(II) These varnas where Brahamans, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudras.(III) The Bramahans enjoyed the supreme position in the society.(IV) The Kshatriyas where worriers, they ran the administration.(IV) The Vaishaya were engaged in trade and the Shudras to serve the three Varnas.(V) Only the birth was the basis of status and respect in the society. The Buddhism did not accept this concept they believe that the inequality was artificial and temporary also rejected birth as the basis of social prestige.

4/8Marks

VBQ

17 Explain the relationship between the Varna system and the occupation according to Brahmanical texts. How did the Brahmanas reinforce these?Ans. (I) Brahmanas- study and teach the vedas,perform sacrifices.(II) Kshtriyas–study the vedas , get sacrifice performed and engage in warfare ,protect people and administer justice. (III) Vaishyas-study the vedas, get sacrifices performed and engaged in agriculture and trade. (IV) Shudras-assigned only one occupation-that of serving the three higher varnas.The Bramanas enforced these by: (a) Divine origin. (b) Advising kings to enforce the order.(c) Caste based on birth.

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61

18 The rules of the Brahmanical texts were not universally followed in ancient time. Justify.Ans. Brahmanical texts were not universally followed in ancient times: (i) Women were expected to give up the gotra of the father after marriage. However the women married satvahana rulers continued to have names derived from others gotra. They did not adopt husband’s gotra. (ii) According to the shastras only Kshatriyas could become rulers. But there were many ruling families that claims to be Brahmanas or Vaishyas. (iii) There were population whose practices were not influenced by Brahmanical ideas such as Nishadas, nomadic pastoralists. (iv) There were instance of multiple occupations of the same caste such as silk weavers of Mandasor. (v) Instances of chandalas not accepting the life of degradation prescribed in the Shastras. (vi) Generally marriage took place within the caste. Sometimes marriage took place outside the caste such as Bhim and Hidimba. (vii) Women were not allowed to share the property of their father. Exceptions are there such as Prabhavati Gupta.

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58

19 “The Mahabharata is a good source to study the social value of ancient times.” Prove it.?Ans. Yes, (I) The Mahabharata gives a valuable description of the social values of the period as essential. It is story between two set of warnings cousins and thus centre around conflict. (II) Rules regarding Patriliny succession was followed (III) The Mahabharata reinforces the relations between the caste and the occupation prescription between the caste and the occupation prescribed in the Dharmashastras through stories. For example, the story of Eklavya. (IV) The Mahabharata gives a vivid description of the caste system and interrelation of the different caste group. This is evident from the story of Hidimba’s marriage with Bhima. (V) The Mahabharata also provides evidence to patriarchal society, for example Yudhishtira staking Draupadi, his wife in the game of dice. (VI) Kanyadan or gift of daughter in marriage was considered an important religious duty of the father. (VII) Different types of marriges were practiced in the society. (VIII) The Mahabharata also gives two contrasting social norms in the relationship between the mother and son for example (a) relationship between the Pandavas and their mother (b) the Kauravas and their mother. (IX) It provides information about varna and different professions. (X) Elders were dominating in the family.

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65

20 Discuss whether the Mahabharata could have been the work of single auther.Ans. Generally families were patriliny. But exception was also there. Some of the Satavahana rulers were polygynous (that is, had more than one wife). An examination of the names of women who married Satavahana rulers indicates that many of them had names derived from gotras such as Gotama and Vasistha, their father’s gotras. They evidently retained these names instead of adopting names derived from their husband’s gotra name as they were required to do according to the Brahmanical

4/8marks

60,67

rules. What is also apparent is that some of these women belonged to the same gotra. As is obvious, this ran counter to the ideal of exogamy recommended in the Brahmanical texts. In fact, it exemplified an alternative practice, that of endogamy or marriage within the kin group, which was (and is) prevalent amongst several communities in south India. Such marriages amongst kinfolk (such as cousins) ensured a close-knit community. we have seen that Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics (names derived from that of the mother). Although this may suggest that mothers were important, we need to be cautious before we arrive at any conclusion. In the case of the Satavahanas we know that succession to the throne was generally patrilineal. However, women were allowed to retain the gifts they received on the occasion of their marriage as stridhana (literally, a woman’s wealth). This could be inherited by their children, without the husband having any claim on it. At the same time, the Manusmriti warned women against hoarding family property, or even their own valuables, without the husband’s permission. Women such as the Vakataka queen Prabhavati Gupta was a rich woman. However, cumulative evidence – both epigraphic and textual – suggests that while upper-class women may have had access to resources, land, cattle and money were generally controlled by men. In other words, social differences between men and women were sharpened because of the differences in accessto resources.

21 “The Mahabharata is a story of changing relationship “ Discuss.Ans. The Mahabharata is a story of changing relationship .It describes a feud over land and powerbetween two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who belonged to Kuru clan the ruler of the Kurus region. Ultimately, the conflict resulted ended in a battle, in which the Pandavas emerged victorious and many innocent were killed. After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died. Most ruling dynasties (c. sixth century BCE onwards) claimed to follow this system, although there were variations in practice: sometimes there were no sons.

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55

22 Elaborate with example from the Mahabharata as to how it reflects the norms of family and kinship of the ancient times.Ans. Mahabharata reflects the norms of family and kinship of the ancient times by :-

i) Patrilineal social structure. ii) Exogomy was practiced. iii) Highlights the patriarchal control over property iv) polyandry may have been prevalent amongst ruling elites.

4 marks 77

23 Who composed the original oral story of Mahabharata? Describe the various stages through which it composed between 5BCE-400CE?Ans. It was composed by Bhatt-Sarthis Charioteer-bards popularly called as Sutas. Brahmans began to write its story from 5th century BCE. Chiefdoms as the Kurus and Panchalas, around whom the story of the epic revolves, were gradually becoming kingdoms. Between c. 200 BCE and 200 CE Vishnu was growing in importance.

4 marks 74,75

24 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows: A Tiger-Like HusbandThis is a summary of a story from the Adi Parvan of the Mahabharata: The Pandavas had fled into the forest. They were tired and fell asleep; only Bhima, the second Pandava, renowned for his prowess, was keeping watch. A man-eating rakshasa caught the scent of the Pandavas and sent his sister Hidimba to capture them. She fell in love with Bhima, transformed herself into a lovely maiden and

7 marks 65

proposed to him. He refused. Meanwhile, the rakshasa arrived and challenged Bhima to a wrestling match. Bhima accepted the challenge and killed him. The others woke up hearing the noise. Hidimba introduced herself, and declared her love for Bhima. She told Kunti: “I have forsaken my friends, my dharma and my kin; and good lady, chosen your tiger-like son for my man … whether you think me a fool, or your devoted servant, let me join you, great lady, with your son as my husband.” Ultimately, Yudhisthira agreed to the marriage oncondition that they would spend the day together but that Bhima would return every night. The couple roamed all over the world during the day. In due course Hidimba gave birth to a rakshasa boy named Ghatotkacha. Then the mother and son left the Pandavas. Ghatotkacha promised to return to the Pandavas whenever they needed him. Some historians suggest that the term rakshasa is used to describe people whose practices differed from those laid down in Brahmanical texts.

Q1.Who was Hidimba?Why was she sent to pandava and what did she do? Explain.Ans. Sister of man eating Rakshasha. He got the scent of the Pandavas and sent his sister Hidimba to capture them. She fell in love with Bhima and proposed.Q2.How did Hidimba plead with Kunti for her love?Ans. Hidimba introduced and declared her love for Bhima. She told Kunti: “I have forsaken my friends, my dharma and my kin; and good lady, chosen your tiger-like son for my man …Q3.Why were Pandavas sent to the forests?Ans. Duryodhana sent pandava to the forest. He conspired to kill them.

14.1 The story helped in shaping values and ethos of the society in the following ways:

i. Stories contained in the Ramayana and Mahabharata often reinforced the norms prescribed by the Brahmanas

ii. Those who heard or read these stories would follow the practices mentioned in it and it would spread Brahmanical beliefs

iii. The story shows integration of the communities beyond the varnas into the varna order

iv. Forest dwellers who did not follow Brahmanical norms were termed as rakshasa

v. It is an example of exogamy

vi. It shows an alternative practice

vii. It shows that Brahmanical norms were not followed universally, there were also exceptions

viii. The story also indicated acceptance and integration of people beyond the varna order

ix. Hidimba challenged patriliny by going against her brother

x. Hidimba held love to be above acceptable social norms

xi. By expressing her love she breaks the accepted role of women

xii. The story gives legitimacy to marriage between a kshatriya and a forest dweller

xiii. The ideal son Bhim seeks permission from family

14.2 The story is a unique example of exogamy :

i. Exogamy was the practice of marrying the girls out of the family so that they did not have a claim over the family resources

ii. Even though Hidimba’s community did not fall in the Brahmanical order, her marriage outside her family can be considered a unique example of exogamy

14.3 Hidimba and Yudhishthira interpreted Dharma thus,

i. Hidimba challenged patriliny by going against her brother

ii. Hidimba held love to be above acceptable social norms

iii. She sacrificed her brother to marry Bhim

iv. She remained a devoted daughter-in-law and wife

v. Hidimba’s idea of marriage was in accordance with the eight forms of marriage prescribed by the Manusmriti

vi. Ghatotkacha as a good son comes to the Pandavas when needed

vii. Yudhishthira was known as Dharmaraja, the upholder of Dharma

viii. Yudhishthira upheld the patriarchal norms of society

ix. He gave sanction to the unique marriage within the Brahmanical framework

x. He upheld dignity of Hidimba, marriage and love above the accepted social norms

25 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows Draupadi’s MarriageDrupada the king of Panchal orginsed a competition where the challenges was to string a bow and hit a target : the winner would be chosen to marry his daughter Draupadi. Arjuna was victorious and was garlanded by Draupadi. The Pandavas returned with her to their mother Kunti, who, even before she saw them asked them to share whatever they had got .she realized her mistake when she saw Draupadi, but her command could not be violated. After much deliberation, Yudhisthira decided that Drupadi would be their common wife. When Drupda was told about this, he rotested. However, the seer Vyasa arrived and told him that the Pandavas were in reality incarnations of Indra, whose wife had been reborn as Draupadi and they were thus destined for each other. Vyasa added that in another instance a young woman had prayed to shiva for a husband, and in her enthusiasm, had prayed five times instead of once. This woman was know reborned as Draupadi and Shiva had fulfilled her desire Convinced by these stories, Drupada consented to the marriage.Q1.What was the competition organized by the Panchala king Drupada for the marriageof his daughter?Ans. Drupada organized a competition where the challenge was to string a bow and hit a target.Q2.What two explanations were given by Vyasa to convince king Drupada for Draupadi being the common wife of the Pandvas?Ans. Vyasa told that Pandvas were in reality incarnations of Indra. He also told that a women was blessed by Lord Shiva to have five husband was now reborn as Draupadi.Q3.What form of the marriage was Draupadi’s marriage to the pandvas? Give two views of historians about the form of marriage.Ans. It was an example of polyandry. Some historians believes that such kind of marriage were perhaps prevalent in some section of societies. Some historians believe that such tradition was present in the Himalayan region

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26 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows: Eight Forms Of MarriageHere are the first, fourth, fifth and sixth forms of marriage from the Manusmriti: First: The gift of a daughter, after dressing her in costly clothes and honouring her with presents of jewels, toa man learned in the Veda whom the father himself invites. Fourth: The gift of a daughter by the father after he has addressed the couple with the text, “May both of you perform your duties together”, and has shown honour to the bridegroom. Fifth: When the bridegroom receives a maiden, after having given as much wealth as he can afford to the kinsmen and to the bride herself, according to his own will. Sixth: The voluntary union of a maiden and her lover … which springs from desire … For each of the forms, discuss whether the decision about the marriage was taken by (a) the bride,(b) the bridegroom,(c) the father of the bride,(d) the father of the bridegroom,(e) any other personQ1. When was manusamriti compiled?Ans. Between 200BCE-200CEQ2. What did the passage narrate about?Ans. Norms about Marriages made by BrahmanasQ3. How many of eight forms of marriages were considered good or condemned?Ans. The first four marriages were considered good while later four were condemned because these were practiced by those who did not have faith in Brahmnical norms.

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27 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows: How could men and women acquire wealth?For men, the Manusmriti declares, there are seven means of acquiring wealth: inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work, and acceptance of gifts from good people. For women, there are six means of acquiring wealth: what was given in front of the fire (marriage) or the bridal procession, or as a token of affection, and what she got from her brother, mother or father. She could also acquire wealth through any subsequent gift and whatever her “affectionate” husband might give her.Q1. How men could acquire wealth according to Manusamriti?Ans. Inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work, and acceptance of gifts from good people.Q2. How women could acquire wealth according to Manusamriti?Ans. Six means :- what was given in front of the fire (marriage) or the bridal procession, or as a token of affection, and what she got from her brother, mother or father. also acquire wealth through any subsequent gift and whatever her “affectionate” husband might give her.Q3. Explain the result of having different ways of acquiring wealth by men and womenAns. Social differences between them were sharpened.

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28 VALUE BASED QUESTIONCan we identify points when kinship relations changed? At one level, the Mahabharata is a storyabout this. It describes a feud over land and power between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who belonged to a single ruling family, that of the Kurus, a lineage dominating one of the janapadas (Chapter 2, Map 1). Ultimately, the conflict ended in a battle, in which the Pandavas emerged victorious. After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died.Q.1. In your opinion which values of life were violated in the Mahabharata?Ans. No respect to women like Draupadi. Used unfear means in dice game. Patriliny was not followed after Pandu. Seven warrior attacked Abhimanyu which is against rule.

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29 VALUE BASED QUESTIONWhile sons were important for the continuity of the patrilineage, daughters were viewed ratherdifferently within this framework. They had no claims to the resources of the household. At the same time, marrying them into families outside the kin was considered desirable. This system, called exogamy (literally, marrying outside), meant that the lives of young girls and women belonging to families that claimed high status were often carefully regulated to ensure that they were married at the “right” time and to the “right” person. This gave rise to the belief that kanyadana or the gift of a daughter in marriage was an important religious duty of the father.Q.1. Do you agree that denying the claim to the resources of the household to daughters was against the value of equality amongst sons and daughters?Ans. YES. Should be treated alike. Marrying them into families outside the kin was too against.

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30The Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on untouchables in India

i). Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Xian wrote that “untouchables” had to sound a clapper in the streets so that people could avoid seeing them.ii). Another Chinese pilgrim, Xuan Zang observed that executioners and scavengers were forced to live outside the city

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CHAPTER 4 (THINKERS, BELIEFSAND BUILDINGS)

Key concepts in nutshell

Buildings of sanchi Kannakkheda are the most wonderful ancient buildings in the state of Bhopal.Buddhist, Jaina and Brahamanical text, monument and inscription are the some of the important historical sources of the age of C 600 BCE-600CE.Many was provided by rulers of Bhopal, Shahjahan Begum and her successor Sultan Jahan Begum to preserved the ancient sites.The Rigveda is a collection of hymns, praise of many deities like Agni, Indra, Soma etc.The basic philosophy of Jainism already existed in north India even before the birth of vardhamana Mahaveera.Tha Bhuddha was the most influential teachers of his times.Two traditions were including in modern Hinduism – Vaishnavism and Shaivism

1 Mention four places associated with the life of the Buddha.Ans.i) Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha) ii) Kapilvastu ( the Buddha was brought up here)

ii) Bodh Gaya ( the Buddha attained enlightenment here) 4. Sarnath- (the Buddha delivered his first religious discourse here).

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2 What do you mean by Tri –ratna?Ans- According to Jainism, Moksha or salvation can be attained by observing Tri- Ratna or three jewels. These are- Right knowledge, Right faith, Right action.

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3 Into how many categories the religious sects that originated during the 6th century B.C.Can be divided?Ans- The religious sects of the 6th century. B.C. can be divided into two categories:

1. The faiths which were openly against Vedic religion. 2. The faiths which did not oppose Vedic religion openly but propagated new principles venerating one or the other old divinity.

2 marks 85

4 What do you mean by “Dharma Chakra Pravartana”? 2 marks 100

Ans- Dharma Chakra Pravartana means ‘sitting in motion the wheel of Dharma’.The first religious discourse or sermon delivered by Mahatma Buddha after attaining enlightenment at Mrig dav or Deer Park of Sarnath near Varanasi, is known as ‘ Maha chakra Pravartana’.

5 Mention the various incarnations of Vishnu according to Vaishnavism.Ans. According to Vaishnavism there are ten incarnations of Vishnu. These are: Matsya , Kurma, Varsha, Narsimha, Vamana, Parsurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki.

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6 Mention the teachings of Mahatma Buddha?Ans - According to Buddhist philosophy the world is transient ( anicca) and constantly changing it is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. 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. The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. According to Buddhist tradition, his last words to his followers were: “Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation”.

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7 What was the Budha Sangha? Discuss its characteristics.Ans. 1. Budha founded organization of monks called “Sangha”.2. These monks served as teachers of “Dhamma”. They believed a simple life.3. They possessed only the essential things which were required for their survival.4. Earlier only men were allowed to joined the ‘Sangha’, later on the women were allowedfor admission to the Sangha.5. All the members were regarded as equal in the Sangha.

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8 How Buddhist text were prepared and preserved?Ans. The Buddha used to give teachings through debate and discussion. Men, Women and children attended these discussions and discussed what they heard. None of his teachings were written down during his life time. After his death, his followers called a council of elders at Vaishali. This council compiled all of his teachings. These complications were known as Tripitaka which literally means the tree baskets to hold different types of text. Firstly they were transmitted orally and then written and classified according to their subject matter and length. When Bhuddism spread to new lands like Srilanka, other texts like Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa were written. Many Pilgrims like FaXian and Xuan Zang carried Buddhist texts with them to disseminate the teachings of Buddha.

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9 Discuss how and why Stupas were built?Ans. 1. Inscription found on the railings and pillars of stupas record donations made for building and decorating them.2. Some donations were made by kings such as the Satavahanas; others were made by guilds,3. Such as that of the ivory workers who financed part of one of the gateways at Sanchi.4. Hundreds of donations were made by women and men who mention their names.5. Sometimes adding the name of the place from where they came, as well as their occupations and names of their relatives.6. Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis also contributed towards building these monuments.Stupas were built for many reasons -1. There were other places too that were regarded as sacred. This was because relics of theBuddha such as his bodily remains or object used by him were buried there. These were mounds known as stupas.2. The tradition of erecting stupas may have been pre- Buddhist, but they came to be associated with Buddhism.3. Since they contained relics regarded as sacred, the entire stupa came to be venerated asan emblem of both the Buddha and Buddhism.4. By the second century, a number of stupas, including those at Bharhut , Sanchi and Sarnath had been built.

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10 How was Budha’s presence shown through symbols?Ans. The empty seat (Fig. 4.14) was meant to indicate the meditation of the Buddha. The stupa (Fig. 4.15) was meant to represent the mahaparinibbana. Another frequently used symbol was the wheel (Fig. 4.16). This stood for the first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath. As is obvious, such sculptures cannot be

2 marks 100

understood literally – for instance, the tree does not stand simply for a tree, but symbolises an event in the life of the Buddha.

11 What did Mahavira do to attain enlightenment?Ans. Left home at the age of 30 and spent 12 years in forests and led a hard life.

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12 Write two similarities between Buddhism and Jainism.Ans. Both religions were initiated by princes. Common aim i.e. to attain nirvana and salvation.

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13 Why is the mid-first millennium BCE often regarded as a turning point in the world history?Ans. Because it saw the emergence of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, and Mahavira and Gautama Buddha, among many others, in India. They tried to understand the mysteries of existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order. New kingdoms and cities were developing and social and economic life was changing in a variety of ways in the Ganga valley .

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14 Summarise the central teachings of Jainism.Ans.i)The entire world is animated: even stones, rocks and water have life. ii) Non-injury to living beings, especially to humans, animals, plants and insects, is central to Jaina philosophy. iii) The principle of ahimsa, emphasised within Jainism, has left its mark on Indian thinking as a whole. iv) the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma. v) Asceticism and penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma. vi) Monastic existence is a necessary condition of salvation. vii)Jaina monks and nuns took five vows: to abstain from killing, stealing and lying; to observe celibacy; and to abstain from possessing property.

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15 Discuss the role of the Begums of Bhopal in preserving the Stupas at Sanchi.Ans. The French sought Shahjahan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway for a museum in France. Englishmen also wanted to do the same. The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjahan Begum and her successor Sultan Jahan Begum, provided money for the preservation of the ancient site. She funded the museum that was built there as well as the guesthouse where John Marshal lived and wrote the volumes. She also funded the publication of the volumes.

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16 Why do you think women and men joined the sangha?Ans. only men were allowed into the sangha, but later women also came to be admitted. According to Buddhist texts, this was made possible through the mediation of Ananda, one of the Buddha’s dearest disciples, who persuaded him to allow women into the sangha. The Buddha’s foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni. Many women who entered the sangha became teachers of dhamma and went on to become theris, or respected women who had attained liberation. The Buddha’s followers came from many socialgroups. They included kings, wealthy men and gahapatis, and also humbler folk: workers, slavesand craftspeople. Once within the sangha, all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The internal functioning of the sangha was based on the traditions of ganas and sanghas, where consensus was arrived at through discussions. If that failed, decisions were taken by a vote on the subject.

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17 How Buddhist texts were prepared and preserved?Ans. i)The Buddha taught orally through discussion and debate. ii) Men and women

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(perhaps children as well) attended these discourses and discussed what they heard.iii) After his death (c. fifth-fourth century BCE) his teachings were compiled by his disciples at a council of “elders” or senior monks at Vesali (Pali for Vaishali in present-day Bihar). Iv) These compilations were known as Tipitaka. v)They were first transmitted orally and then written and classified according to length as well as subject matter. vi)The Vinaya Pitaka included rules and regulations for those who joined the sangha or monastic order; vii) the Buddha’s teachings were included in the Sutta Pitaka; and viii )the Abhidhamma Pitaka dealt with philosophical matters. Each pitaka comprised a number of individual texts. ix)Later, commentaries were written on these texts by Buddhist scholars. As Buddhism travelled to new regions such as Sri Lanka, other texts such as the Dipavamsa (literally, the chronicle of the island) and Mahavamsa (the great chronicle) were written, containing regional histories of Buddhism.

18 What are the main causes for the rapid growth of Buddhism?Ans. i) Dissatisfaction with existing religious practices.

iii) Give importance on conduct and valuesiv) The emphasis placed on metta (fellow feeling) and karuna

(compassion).v) People were confused by rapid social changesvi) The internal functioning of the sangha was based on the traditions of

ganas & sanghasWhere consensus was arrived at through discussions. If that failed, decisions were taken by a vote on the subject.Any other relevant point.

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19 Describe the main features of early temple. How the chief sculpture of Kailashnatha temple at Ellora did expressed his amazement after its completion?Ans. i) The early temple was a small square room, called the garbhagriha, with a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer worship to the image. ii) Gradually, a tall structure, known as the shikhara, was built over the central shrine. iii) Temple walls were often decorated with sculpture. iv) Later temples became far more elaborate – with assembly halls, huge walls and gateways, and arrangements for supplying water. v) One of the unique features of early temples was that some of these were hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves.vi) The tradition of building artificial caves was an old one. vii) Some of the earliest (Fig. 4.27) of these were constructed in the third century BCE on the orders of Asoka for renounces who belonged to the Ajivika sect. This tradition evolved through various stages and culminated much later – in the eighth century – in the carving out of an entire temple, that of Kailashnatha (a name of Shiva). A copperplate inscription records the amazement of the chief sculptor after he completed the temple at Ellora: “Oh how did I make it!”.

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20 Value Based QuestionHow teachings of Buddha have been reconstructed?Ans. From stories, found mainly in the Sutta Pitaka however never tried to convince people through displays of supernatural power but reason and persuasion.

4 marks

21 Value Based QuestionWhat were the main issues that were topics of debates and discussions?Ans. the issues of rebirth, sacrificial tradition and a single ultimate authority were debated and discussed

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by people and various teachers who have travelled from place to place.

22 Value Based QuestionWhat is the value of teachings of Buddha in modern times?Ans. very valuable. They are running after money and want to earn it by hook or by crook. Life has become full of worldly troubles. Violent incidents take place everywhere. No one suffers for others. Buddha’s teachings can get rid of sufferings by following a path of modernisation. That’s why Buddha told the followers to be humane and ethical.

4 marks

23 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Why were stupa’s built?“This is an excerpt from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, part of the Sutta Pitaka: As the Buddhalay dying, Ananda asked him: “What are we to do Lord, with remains of the Tathagata (anothername for the Buddha)?” The Buddha replied : “Hinder not yourselves Ananda by honouring the remains of the Tathagata. Be zealous, be intent on your own good.” But when pressed further, the Buddha said: “At the four crossroads they should erect a thupa (Pali for stupa) to the Tathagata. And whosever shall there place garlands or perfume …. Or make a salutation there, or become in its presence calm of heart, that shall long be to them for a profit and joy.”

Q1.What are the Stupas ? Who advised the Ananda to build the Stupa?Ans. The Stupas were the sacred places. They preserved the relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or the objects used by him. All these things were buried in the stupas.Q2.From which chapter has this excerpt been taken? It is a part of which book?Ans. From the “ Mahaparinibbhana Sutta.” It was a part of the “Sutta Pitaka.”

Q3.Who was the Tathagata? What had he told about the importance of the stupa?Ans. Tathagata was another name for the Buddha. He told Ananda that the honour to his worldly remains was not important. He laid stress on the importance of one’s good deeds. The stupas should be erected on the holy places. If anybody placed garlands or perfume or saluted them, he will not only get the peace of mind but also profit and joy.Q4.Name any three places where the Stupas have been built.Ans. The stpas were built at many places. The most important stupas existed at Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath.

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24 Define Hagiography, Chaitya, situ, Hinayana or Theraveda, 2 marks 89,95,99,103

25 4 marks 82,83,98

Europeans interested in the Stupas. Why?i. Few wanted to carry the sculpture and other things to their countryii. British official named Colin Mackenzie found several pieces of sculpture and made detailed drawings of them, these reports were never published to protect the Stupaiii. Nineteenth-century Europeans like the French and English sought Shahjehan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway, which was the best preserved, to be displayed in museums in France and England.iv. Cunningham look drawings of the place deciphered the inscription and bored shafts down these domes.v. This happened partly because those who saw them to be beautiful and valuable and wanted to keep them for themselves

26 How was the fate of Amaravati stupa different from the Sanchi Stupa?

Amravati and sanchii). Amaravati was discovered before scholars understood the value of the finds and realised how critical it was to preserve things instead of removing them from the site.ii). When Sanchi was “discovered” in 1818, three of its four gateways were still standing, the fourth was in good condition.iii). The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway but she refused.iv). Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum, provided money for the preservation of the ancient site. That is why John Marshall dedicated his important volumes on Sanchi to Sultan Jehan.v). She funded the museum that was built there as well as the guesthouse where John Marshall lived and wrote the volumes.vi). She also funded the publication of the volumes written by John Marshall.vi.) By the 1850s, some of the slabs from Amaravati had begun to be taken to different places: a) To the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcuttab) To the India Office in Madras and some even to London.

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26Buddhist Stupas said to be “stories in stone” why?

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i. Scene from the Vessantara Jataka.

ii. Presence through symbols

iii. The empty seat was meant to indicate the meditation of the Buddha

iv. The wheel,stood for the first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath..

v. The shalabhanjika motif suggests that many people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even non-Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas..

vi. Animals like elephants, horses, monkeys and cattle,Elephants were depicted to signify strength and wisdom..

vii. Maya, the mother of the Buddha, others identify her with a popular goddess, Gajalakshmi – literally, the goddess of good fortune

CHAPTER 5THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELLERS

Key concepts in nutshellAl-Biruni was born in Khwarizm in present day Uzbekistan.Sultan Mahmud attacked Khawrizm and took Al-Biruni to his capital Ghazni.Al-Biruni wrote “Kitab-ul-Hind” also known as “Tahkik-a-Hind”Ibn-Battuta’s Travelling account “Rihla” gives a very interesting information of socialand cultural life of India.Ibn-Battuta’s attacked by bands of robbers several times.Whatever Bernier saw in India, compared it with European condition.Al-Biruni discussed several “barriers”.Ibn-Battuta’s wrote that Indian agriculture was very productive.Ibn-Battuta’s was greatly amazed by looking at the postal system.Bernier compared India with contemporary Europe.Bernier critically wrote his account “Travels in the Mughal empire”.Around 15% population in 17th century lived in towns in India.Bernier called Mughal cities as “camp town”, which were dependent upon imperialprotection for their survival.Bernier’s description influenced western theorists like Montesquieu

1 Name any two travellers who came India during the medieval period (11th to 17th C)?Ans. 1. Al Biruni (11th Century) from Uzbekistan . 2. Ibn-Battuta (14th Century ) from North western Africa, Morocco. 3. Francois Bernier (17th Century) from France. passages from the vedas the Purana, the Bhagavad Gita the works of Patanjali the Manusmriti etc., to provide an understanding of Indian society.

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2 What was the Al-Biruni’s objective to came India?Ans. (1) To help those who want to discuss religious questions with them.(2) As a repertory of information to those who want to associate with them.

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3 Do you think Al-Biruni depended only on Sanskrit texts for his information and understanding of Indian society?Ans. Yes, Al-Biruni depended almost exclusively on the work of Brahmanas, often citing passages from the Vedas the Purana, the Bhagavad Gita the works of Patanjali the Manusmriti etc., to provide an understanding of Indian society.

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4 Name the Plants found in India which amazed Ibn-Battuta.Ans. Coconut – He wrote that the nuts of coconut resemble a man’s head. He wrote about Paan that the betel has no fruit and is grown only for the sake of his leaves...

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5 What was the more complex social reality which Bernier’s notice in the Mughal Empire?Ans. (i) He felt that artisans had not incentive to improve the quality of their manufacturers because profits were appropriated by the state. Thus production was on the verge of decline.(ii) At the same time, he conceded that vast quantities of the world’s precious metals (gold & silver) flowed into India in exporting manufactures.

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6 Write any two features described by Al-Bruni about caste system.Ans. Four social categories were recognised. Brahamanas occupied the highest rank in the society.

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7 What steps were taken by the state to encourage merchants?Ans. i) The efficiency of the postal system. ii) All trade routes were well supplied with inns and guest houses.

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8 What were the “barriers” discussed by Al-Biruni that obstructed him understanding India?Ans. 1. Problems of Language2. Difference of religion beliefs and practices3. Self-absorption and insularity of the local population

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9 According to Bernier, What were the evils-effects of the crown ownership of land?Ans. (1) Absence of ownership of land, landholders could not pass on their land to their children. .(2) It prevented the emergence of the “improving” landlords.(3) It led to the ruination of agriculture.(4) It brought a continuous decline in the living standard of all sections of society.(5) It led to the excessive oppression of the peasantry.

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10 What did Bernier write about the Sati system?Ans. (i) A cruel practice in which the widow was made to sit on the pyre of her husband alive.(ii) She was forced to be sati. (iii) The people had no sympathy even for the child widows.(iv) The cries of the women going to be a sati did not move anyone. (v) The Brahmans and the elderly women of the house participated in this practice.

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11 Who wrote ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’?Throw light in its main features?Ans. The book ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ was written by Al-Biruni. Its main features are –1). It is written in Arabic. 2). Its language is simple and lucid. 3). It is written on the subject such as regional, philosophy, astronomy, social life, laws etc. 4). It is divided into 80 chapters. 5). Each chapter begins with a question and then description have given based in sanskritic traditions.

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12 Analyze the evidence for slavery provided Ibn-Battuta.Ans. According to Ibn-Battuta –

1. Slaves like any other commodity, were openly sold in the markets.2. They were also regularly exchanged as gifts.

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3. When Ibn-Battuta reached Sindh, he purchased horses, camels and slaves. He wanted to offer them as gifts to sultan Muhammad Bin Tuglaq.

4. When he reached to Multan, he presented salves and horses with almonds and raisins to the Governor of Multan.

5. Ibn-batuta says that Muhammad bin Tughlaq was so happy with the sermon of a preacher named Nasiruddin that he gave him”ahundred thousand tankas and two hundred slaves.

6. The sultan employed female slaves in his service and also to keep a watch on his nobles.7. The slaves were also engaged for domestic work. But they were given low wages.8. Ibn-Battuta found their services particularly indispensable for carrying women and men on

palanquins or dola.9. It appears from Ibn-Battuta’s account that there were considerable differentiations among slaves.10. Some female slaves in the service of the sultan were experts in music and dance.

13 “Ibn Battuta was full of excitement to know about the unfamiliar” Give reasons.Ans. By the time Ibn Battuta arrived in Delhi in the fourteenth century, the subcontinent was part of a global network of communication that stretched from China in the east to north-west Africa and Europe in the west. As we have seen, Ibn Battuta himself travelled extensively through these lands, visiting sacred shrines, spending time with learned men and rulers, often officiating as qazi, and enjoying the cosmopolitan culture of urban centres where people who spoke Arabic, Persian, Turkish and other languages, shared ideas, information and anecdotes These included stories about men noted for their piety, kings who could be both cruel and generous, and about the lives of ordinary men and women; anything that was unfamiliar was particularly highlighted in order to ensure that the listener or the reader was suitably impressed by accounts of distant yet accessible worlds. The best examples of Ibn Battuta’s strategies of representation are evident in the ways in which he described the coconut and the paan, two kinds of plant produce that were completely unfamiliar to his audience.

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14 Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerge s from the Bernier’s accountAns. During the seventeenth century about 15 per cent of the population lived in towns. This was, on average, higher than the proportion of urban population in Western Europe in the same period. In spite of this Bernier described Mughal cities as “camp towns”, by which he meant towns that owed their existence, and depended for their survival, on the imperial camp. He believed that these came into existence when the imperial court moved in and rapidly declined when it moved out. He suggested that they did not have viable social and economic foundations but were dependent on imperial patronage. As in the case of the question of landownership, Bernier was drawing an oversimplified picture. There were all kinds of towns: manufacturing towns, trading towns, port-towns, sacred centres, pilgrimage towns, etc. Their existence is an index of the prosperity of merchant communities and professional classes. Merchants often had strong community or kin ties, and were organised into their own caste-cum-occupational bodies. In western India these groups were called mahajans, and their chief, the sheth. In urban centres such as Ahmedabad the mahajans were collectively represented by the chief of the merchant community who was called the nagarsheth. Other urban groups included professional classes such as physicians (hakim or vaid), teachers (pundit or mulla), lawyers (wakil ), painters, architects, musicians, calligraphers etc.

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15 Give information about the three European travellers who had come to India in the 16 th and 17th

century.Ans. See extra graph in Question 25…‘Comparative study of the three Travellers of the Medival Period’

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16 Name the book written by Ibn Batuta. What was the observation about female slaves in the sub continent?

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Ans. Rihla. Expert in music and dance. Some employed by sultan to keep watch on nobles.

17 According to Beriner, Crown ownership of land had disastrous consequences for the state and society’’ Justify the statement.Ans. 1. He was a firm believer in the virtues of private property, and saw crown ownership of land as being harmful for both the state and its people.

2. He thought that in the Mughal Empire the emperor owned all the land and distributed it among his nobles, and that this had disastrous consequences for the economy and society.

3. Landholders could not pass on their land to their children. So they were averse to any long-term investment in the sustenance and expansion of production.

4. The absence of private property in land had, therefore, prevented the emergence of the class of “improving” landlords (as in Western Europe) with a concern to maintain or improve the land.

5. It had led to the uniform ruination of agriculture, excessive oppression of the peasantry and a continuous decline in the living standards of all sections of society, except the ruling aristocracy.

6. Bernier saw the Mughal Empire – its king was the king of “beggars and barbarians”; its cities and towns were ruined and contaminated with “ill air”; and its fields, “overspread with bushes” and full of “pestilential marshes”.

7. And, all this was because of one reason: crown ownership of land.

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18 Explain the views of Beriner about a more complex social reality of the Mughal Empire.Ans. Artisans had no incentives to improve the quality of manufacturer so they declined. At the same time he conceded that vast quantity world precious metal flowed into India in exchange of gold and silver. Merchants organised their own caste-cum-occupational bodies.

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19 What, according to Bernier, were the problems faced by peasants in the subcontinent? Do you think his description would have served to strengthen his case?Ans. i) lands little more than sand.

ii) Barren mountainsiii) Badly cultivatediv) Thinly populatedv) shortage of labourersvi) bad treatment by governorsvii) more demand of the rapacious lords.No, because his description does not seen to be correct. He constantly compared Mughals India with contemporary Europe

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20 “The conception of social pollution intrinsic to the caste system was contrary to the law of nature” Examine Al-Biruni;s statement on Indian caste system.Ans. Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for parallels in other societies. He noted that in ancient Persia, four social categories were recognised: those of knights and princes; monks, fire-priests and lawyers; physicians, astronomers and other scientists; and finally, peasants and artisans. In other words, he attempted to suggest that social divisions were not unique to India. At the same time he pointed out that within Islam all men were considered equal, differing only in their observance of piety. In spite of his acceptance of the Brahmanical description of the caste system, Al-Biruni disapproved of the notion of pollution. He remarked that everything which falls into a state of impurity strives and succeeds in regaining its original condition of purity. The sun cleanses the air, and the salt in the sea prevents the water from becoming polluted. If it were not so, insisted Al-Biruni,

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life on earth would have been impossible. The conception of socialPollution, intrinsic to the caste system, was according to him, contrary to the laws of nature.

21 Value Based QuestionI ) Explain the unique system of communication in India which amazed Ibn Batuta with special reference to the postal system?Ans. It was of two kinds:- Uluq and DawaII) How far this postal system is relevant in contemporary India?Ans. Quite relevant. It is the symbol of all round and holistic progress.

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22 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The Poor Peasants

An excerpt from Bernier’s description of the peasantry in the countryside: Of the vast tracts of country constituting the empire of Hindustan, many are little more than sand, or barren mountains, badly cultivated, and thinly populated. Even a considerable portion of the good land remains untilled for want of labourers; many of whom perish in consequence of the bad treatment they experience from Governors. The poor people, when they become incapable of discharging the demands of their rapacious lords, are not only often deprived of the means of subsistence, but are also made to lose their children, who are carried away as slaves. Thus, it happens that the peasantry, driven to despair by so excessive a tyranny, abandon the country. In this instance, Bernier was participating in contemporary debates in Europe concerning the nature of state and society, and intended that his description of Mughal India would serve as a warning to those who did not recognise the “merits” of private property.Q1. What were the problems about cultivating land according to Beriner?Ans. i) lands little more than sand. ii) Barren mountains iii) Badly cultivated iv) Thinly populated v) shortage of labourers vi) bad treatment by governors vii) more demand of the rapacious lordsQ2. Why did the peasantry abandon the land?Ans. Due to excessive tyranny and bad treatment meted from the governors.Q3. Explain the reasons given by Beriner for the exploitation of the peasants?Ans. They were deprived of the means of subsistence and were also made to lose their children who were carried away as slaves.

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23 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The Child Sati

This is perhaps one of the most poignant descriptions by Bernier: At Lahore I saw a most beautifulyoung widow sacrificed, who could not, I think, have been more than twelve years of age. The poor little creature appeared more dead than alive when she approached the dreadful pit: the agony of her mind cannot be described; she trembled and wept bitterly; but three or four of the Brahmanas, assisted by an old woman who held her under the arm, forced the unwilling victim toward the fatal spot, seated her on the wood, tied her hands and feet, lest she should run away, and in that situation the innocent creature was burnt alive. I found it difficult to repress myfeelings and to prevent their bursting forth into clamorous and unavailing rage …Q1. Describe what Beriner saw at Lahore?Ans. young widow sacrificed not more than twelve years of age.Q2 How had the agony of the girl been described?Ans. the agony of her mind be described in a very touchy manner. She appeared dead more than alive when she approached the dreadful pit. She trembled and wept bitterly.

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Q3. How and why was the girl forced towards the fatal spot?Ans. Her husband was dead. It was customary at that time to burn alive a women whose husband had died. Three or four of the Brahmanas, assisted by an old woman who held her to forced the unwilling victim toward the fatal spot.

24 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The System Of Varnas

This is Al-Biruni’s account of the system of varnas : The highest caste are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us that they were created from the head of Brahman. And as the Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the body, the Brahmana are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore, the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind. The next castes are the Kshatriya who were created, as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. The Sudra who were created from his feet. Between the latter two classes there is no very great distance. Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and lodgings.Q1. Explain Al-Biruni’s account of the system of varnas.Ans. According to Al-Biruni, the higher caste are the Brahmana who were created from the head of brahaman. Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind. The second castes are the Kshatriya who were created from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. They are followed by the vaishya, who are created from the thigh of Brahman. Last caste was the Shudra who were created from his feet.Q2. Do you consider this type of division justified? Explain with reasons.Ans. No, such type of division is not justified because no one is high or low by birth. Men became high or low by his own karma.Q3. How the system was not quit rigid in the real life? Explain.Ans. It is right that this system was not quite rigid in the real life because these castes live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same house and lodgings.

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25 Comparative study of the three Travellers of the Medival Period

Names of the Travellers

Al-Biruni Ibn-Batuata Francois Beriner

Date of Travelling 11th Century 14th Century 17th CenturyCountry which they come

Uzbekistan NW Africa Morocco

France

Book Wrote Kitab-Ul-Hind Rihla Travels in the Mughal Empire

Book Language Arabic Arabic EnglishReign of king during visited

Sultan Muhammad of Ghazni

Sultan Muhammad bin Tuglaq

Sahjahan & Aurangzeb

Subject matter on which they wrote

Social & Religiouscondition Indian Philosophy, Astronomy,Metrology, Judiciary,Historical knowledge,Caste system.

The coconut & thePaan. Indian cities &agriculture.Trade & commerce,Communication &postal system, slavery.

Sati Pratha,ownership of land,kinds of town, theImperial KarkhanasMugal Artisans

Authenticity of work

Authentic Not Authentic Authentic

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26 State the inherent problems faced by Al-Bruni in the task of understanding Indian social and Brahmnical practices. Mention any two sources that provided him th supportProblems faced by Al-Biruni in understanding India:

i. He could not understand Sanskrit language.

ii. He found it difficult to translate Sanskrit into Arabic and Persian

iii. Could not understand the difference in religious beliefs and practices

iv. Self absorption of Brahmanas local population

v. Insularity of local population

vi. Al-Biruni found it difficult to understand the caste system

He depended on Brahmanical works like

i. Vedas ii. Puranas

iii. Bhagvadgita iv. Manusmriti/Dharmasastras

v. Writings of Patanjali vi. He also made his own observations

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CHAPTER- 6 ( BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS)Key concepts in nutshellFrom 8th to 18th century striking feature was a visibility of wide range of gods & goddesses in sculpture & text.

There was integration of cults – composition, compilation & presentation of puranic texts in simple Sanskrit verses.Tantric forms of worship – more prevalent among women.Bhakti traditions classified into saguna (with athesist) and nirguna (without from attracts worship of abstract form)The Alvars and Narayanars of Tamilnadu – The worshippers of Vishnu and Nayanars – devotees of Shiva – common features – traveled singing hymns in Tamil.Alvars & nayanars initiated movement against caste system & dominance of Brahamans Nalayiradivyaprabandanam – important composition of Alvars equal to four Vedas.Status of women – composition of Andal (a women Alvar) popular, songs of Karaikkal Ammaiyar – were widely sung.State patronage in south for Vedic gods rather than Jainism & Buddhisn, Cholas patronized brahamnical tradition, making land grant as to lord shiva at Gangaikonda Cholapuram bronze sculpture of shiva.Singing of hymns under royal patronage were encountered – Chola ruler Parantaka I consecrated metal image of Appan, Sambandan and sundarar in Shiva temples.Karnataka saw a new movement under basavanna a brahamana in court of Chalukyan ruler – his followers Virashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayatd (wearers of Linga) – important comminuty to this day – who worship shiva in form of a lingaLingayats challenged idea of caste and questiones the theory of rebirth. They encountered remarriage of widows.North India saw the emergence of Rajput states which patronized Brahmans – performed secular & ritual function. The Naths, Jogis, siddhas also.Through guided by ulema, rulers followed a flexible policy granting religious tax exemptions to non Muslims sometimes.Those who accepted Islam in India accepted in principal the five pillars of faith but these were overlooked with diviation in practice derived from local customs & affiliations. (summi, shia) some like in Malabar court adopted local languageSufism – Sufis were critical of dogmatic definitions & scholastic method of interpreting – Quran. They emphasized interpretation of Quran on basis of personal experiences.Chishtis – were a part of Sufis – hospices of khangah were small roome & hall for students to live & pray. Life in chaisti khangah was like the life of a monastery & catered to all travellers rich or poor. Shaikh Nizamuddin chishti had many followers.The practice of visits to dargas gained prominence by 14 th century – shrines became very popular. Also music & dance & mystical chants were performed to evoke divine ecstasy.The Bhakti movement saw the emergence of poet saint like kabir where poems written in form in which every meaning are inverted

1 What does Bhakti movement mean ?Ans. A series of Hindu saints & reformers started religious reform movements which adopted the method of devotion ( Bhakti ) to achieve the salvation their method of expression of devotion ranged from the routine worship of deities within temple & singing & chanting of devotional composition.

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2 Who were Alavars and Nayanars?Ans. In southern India the devotees of Vishnu were called Alvars and Shivas arte called Nayanars.

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3 Give the name of any four well known reformers of Bhakti movement ?Ans. Ramanand swami, Kabir, Guru nanak dev, Mira Bai.

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4 What do you mean by Sufism?Ans. The Sufis were Muslim saints Who left a great impact on the Indian society Sufism originated in Persia.

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5 What is the importance of Murshid in Sufi ideology?Ans. According to Sufism, an individual must have a religious guide (Murshid) through whom he can communicate with god. The pir is a ladder which enables a man to reach the goal of life Devotion to the Murshid is the worship of god.

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6 The Chola rulers supported Brahmnical and Bhakti traditions.Give examples in support of this.Ans. Chola rulers supported Brahmanical and bhakti traditions, making land grants and constructing temples for Vishnu and Shiva. In fact, some of the most magnificent Shiva temples, including those at Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram, were constructed under the patronage of Chola rulers. The Chola kings claimed divine support and proclaim their own power and status by building splendid temples that were adorned with stone and metal sculpture to recreate the visions of these popular saints who sang in the language of the people.

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7 Who were Virashaivas and Lingayats ? ORWho was Basavanna? ORWho led a new religious movement in Karnataka? What were his followers known as?Ans. a new movement in Karnataka, led by a Brahmana named Basavanna (1106-68) who was initially a Jaina and a minister in the court of a Chalukya king. His followers were known as Virashaivas (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayats (wearers of the linga). Lingayats continue to be an important community in the region to date.

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8 Explain the meaning of Silsila in Sufism.Ans.The word silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuous link between master and disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad. It was through this channel that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to devotees.

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9 What do you know about Nalayira Divyaprabandham?Ans. the compositions of the 12 Alvars were compiled in an anthology known as the NalayiraDivyaprabandham (“Four Thousand Sacred Compositions”). The poems of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar form the Tevaram, a collection that was compiled and classified in the tenth century on the basis of the music of the songs.

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10 In what context world Zimmi used?Ans. zimmi is the word used for populations that did not describe to Islam under the muslim ruler. It is in this context that the category of the zimmi, meaning protected (derived from the Arabic word zimma, protection) developed for peoples who followed revealed scriptures, such as the Jews and Christians, and lived under Muslim ruler ship. They paid a tax called jizya and gained the right to be protected by Muslims.

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11 Name those three poets or historians who visited Shaikh Nizamudin-ud-din Auliya which represent that he tried to assimilate love traditions?Ans. Amir Hasan Sijzi and Amir Khusrau and the court historian Ziyauddin Barani were poets or historian who adopted practice including bowing before the Shaikh, offering water to visitors, shaving the heads of initiates, and yogic exercises, represented attempts to assimilate local traditions.

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12 Describe the causes of the rise of Bhakti movement its Principals of Bhakti movement.Ans. Causes1.Influence of Vaishnavism. 2. Evil practices of the Hindus. 3. Fear of sprit of Islam

4 Influence of sufi sects 5. Emergence of great reformers.Principals 1 Faith in god 2.Good deeds 3. Universal Brotherhood. 4. Emotional worship

5.Condemned idol worship. 6.Opposed to the rigidity of caste system.7.Guru Bhakti

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13 Discuss the influences & importance of Bhakti movement?Ans. Religious Effects 1. Saked Hinduism. 2. Lowered the prestige of the Brahmins3. Checked the propagation of Islam. 4. Emergence of Sikhism5. Setback back to BuddhismSocial & Cultural Impact:

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(a) Improvement in the social relation between Hindus & Muslims(b) Uplift of lower class. (c) Promoted the spirit of social service(d) Development of art in the society (e) Enrichment of Literature.

14 What were the main Principles of Sufism?Ans. 1. Worship of God. 2. Renunciation of worldly pleasure. 3. Non violence & pacifism 4. Love of mankind 5. Importance of Murshid 6. Principle of Morality 7. Importance of singing & Dancing in worship of Allah

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15 What were Attitude of the Nayanars & Alavars sects towards the caste?Ans. Some historians are of the view that Alvars & Nayanaras started a movement of Protest against the caste system & the dominance of Brahmans are at least made effort to reform them. This view is supported by the fact, that these Bhakti reformers came from diverse social background some of the belonged to lower classes such as Cultivators, Artism & untouchable some of them Barman background. The Alvars & Nayanars claimed that their compositions were as important as the Vedas. The Tamil songs of the Alvars are marked by such depth of feeling that they are looked upon as vaishnava Vedas. The Nayanaras composed their devotional songs with the highest spiritual sentiments & set up shaivism on a strange tooting. These songs are still popular in south India.

Cholas For Nayanars and Alvarsi. They supported them by making land grants and constructing temples for Vishnu and Shivaii. Magnificent Shiva temples -Chidambaram, Thanjavur & Gangaikondacholapuram were constructed by themiii. They represented Shiva in bronze sculptureiv. The Chola ruler Parantaka-I had consecrated metal images of Appar,Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple.

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16 Bhakti and Sufi traditions came as a challenge to Brahmnical norms. Support the statement with two arguments.Ans. Attacked orthodoxy in religion. They choose to preach in masses and advocated the equality of humanity.

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17 Why do thousands of devotees visit dargahs to Muslim saints?Ans. After death of saints became the centre of devotion for his followers. People sought their blessing to attain material and spiritual benefits.

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18 Explain the teachings of Guru Nanak.Ans. Teachings in the form of his hymns and teachings. This advocated a form of nirguna bhakti. Repudiated the external practices of the religions. He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims. The Absolute or “rab” had no gender or form. Proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering and repeating the Divine Name, expressing his ideas through hymns called “shabad” in Punjabi. Organised his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational worship (sangat ) involving collective recitation.

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19 Explain the significance of Kabir’s poems and the traditions he drew to describe the ultimate reality?Ans. Survived in several languages and dialects; and some are composed in the special language of nirguna poets, the sant bhasha. Others, known as ulatbansi (upside-down sayings), are written in a form in which everyday meanings are inverted. Kabir drew on to describe the Ultimate Reality. These include Islam: he described the Ultimate Reality as Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir. He also used terms drawn from Vedantic traditions, alakh (the unseen), nirakar (formless), Brahman, Atman, etc. Other terms with mystical connotations such as shabda (sound) or

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shunya (emptiness) were drawn from yogic traditions.

20 Expalin how the biography of the saint poetess Mirabai has been primarily construct. How did she defy the norms of society?Ans. Biographies have been reconstructed primarily from the bhajans attributed to her, which were transmitted orally for centuries. According to these, she was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar who was married against her wishes to a prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan. She defied her husband and did not submit to the traditional role of wife and mother, instead recognising Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu, as her lover. Her in-laws tried to poison her, but she escaped from the palace to live as a wandering singer composing songs that are characterised by intense expressions of emotion. According to some traditions, her preceptor was Raidas, a leather worker.This would indicate her defiance of the norms of caste society. After rejecting the comforts of her husband’s palace, she is supposed to have donned the white robes of a widow or the saffron robe of the renouncer.

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21 Mention the two ideas of Brahmnical system challenged by the Lingayats.Ans. i)Lingayats believe that on death the devotee will be united with Shiva and will not return to this world. ii) Do not practise funerary rites such as cremation and ceremonially bury their dead. iii) Challenged the idea of caste and the “pollution” attributed to certain groups by Brahmanas. iv) Questioned the theory of rebirth.

Lingayats and Dharmashashtrai. They worship Shiva in his manifestation as a linga . They do not practice funerary rites such as cremation , prescribed in the Dharmashashtra. Instead , they bury their dead.ii. The Lingayats challenged the idea of caste and ‘pollution’ attributed to certain groups by Brahmanas.iii. They questioned the theory of rebirth.iv. They encouraged practices eg: post puberty marriage, widow remarriage which were not approved in the Dharmashashtra.

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22 Explain the meaning of Sufi Silsila.Ans. Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century. The word silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuous link between master and disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad.

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23 Explain the features of Islamic religion which contributed to its spread through the sub-continent.Ans. They adopt moderate flexible policy towards their subject . The development that followed the coming of Islam was not restricted to ruling aristocrats. All those people who adopted Islam accepted in principal of the five pillars of the faith that there is one god, Allah. These universal features were often overlaid with diversities in practice derived from sectarian affiliations (Sunni, Shi‘a), and the influence of local customary practices of converts from different social milieus.

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24 Explain Chisti devotionalism with special reference to Ziyarat?Ans. When the shaikh died, his the practice of pilgrimage to tomb is called ziyarat . This was because people believed that in death saints were united with God, and were thus closer to Him than when living. People sought their blessings to attain

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material and spiritual benefits. Thus evolved the cult of the sheikh revered as wali.

25 Be-sharia and Ba-sharia.Ans. there were some mystics in the Islam religion. They gave radical interpretation of the Sufi ideals. Many of them hated by the Khanqah. They took to mendicancy and observed celibacy. They ignored rituals and adopted asceticism in their lives. They were known by different names – Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris, etc. Because of their deliberate defiance of the shari‘athey were often referred to as be-shari‘a, in contrast to the ba-shari‘a sufis who complied with it.

Similarity between Be Sharia and Ba Sharia Sufis -

i. Both were Sufis ii. Both protested against materialism

iii. Both recognized the position of Prophet Muhammad and the Quran

iv. Both rejected dogmatic interpretations of Quran

Dissimilarity –

i. Be-sharia did not follow the sharia while Ba-sharia followed with it

ii. Be-sharia took to extreme asceticism and mendicancy unlike the ba-sharia

iii. Be-sharia observed celibacy iv. Be-sharia ignored rituals

v. Be-sharia were known as Madaris, Qalandars, Malangs, Haidaris

vi. Ba-sharia lived in khanqah while Be-sharia were wanderers

vii. Be-sharia made radical interpretation of Sufi ideals

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26 Discuss the similarities in Sufi and Bhakti traditions.Ans. I) Huminism. ii) Monotheism iii) Love for main kind iv) Praise for guru v)

VBQ

Tolerance

Chishtis -the most influentiali. This was because they adapted successfully to the local environmentii. They adopted several features of Indian devotional traditionsiii. Christies adopted local cultureiv. Christies composed verses in the local languagesv. They maintained distance from worldly power and believed in austerity

27 Do you think that Jijya was the against the value of equality among people belonging to different religions?Ans. YES. As non-muslims were forced to pay it under the Muslim ulers. In India majority of the people were non-muslims. By paying Jijya they were humiliated in their own country.

VBQ

28 The features of Islam that contributed to its spread through the subcontinent-a. Believers of Islam accepted in principle, the five "pillars" of the faith.b There is one God, Allah, and Prophet Muhammad is his messenger {shahada)c. They offered prayers five times a day (namaz/salat);d. Believed in giving alms (zakat);e. Fasting during the month of Ramzan (sawm);f. Performed the pilgrimage to Mecca {hajj).g. Kings played an important role in spreading Islam.h. Sufi saints also played an important role.i. The Arab traders who had settled in the Malabar Coast adopted local languages, malayalam and the local customs.j. The architectural features of mosques were influenced by regional (local) traditions.k. The Khojahs, a branch of the lsmailis-(a Shi'a sect), developed new modes of communication, spreading ideas from the Qur'an through indigenous literary genres.

Sufism as a well developed ovementThey organized communities around the hospice controlled by Sheikh, pir or murshid

They crystallized themselves through Sufi silsila. Sufis began to organize communities around the hospice and khanqah. Several special rituals of initiation were developed oath of allegiance , wore a patched garments and shaved their hair

Dargah became the centre of devotion and encourage the practice of ziyarat or pilgrimage to his grave .There evolved the cult of the shaikh revered as wali.They developed a body of literature or Quranic studies and sufi practicesThey established rule for spiritual conduct

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Guru Nanak Dev’s Divinity1. He advocated nirguna bhakti2. He rejected sacrifices , ritual baths , image worship , austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.3. For him the Absolute or ‘rab’ had no gender or form.4. He proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering and repeating

the Divine name.5. He expressed his ideas through hymns called ‘Shabad’.

Values learnt from the life of Meera Baii) Sacrifice and devotion to god

ii). Caste equalityiii). Principles of love & common brotherhoodiv). Women empowermentv). Self reliance.vi). Expression of emotionsvii). Became source of inspirationviii). Feeling of humanityix). Perseverance

29 Naths, Jogis and Siddhasi)They came from artisanal groups & weaversii)Their demand grew which helped in the spread of philosophy in Central Asia and West Asiaiii)They questioned the authority of the Vedas, and expressed themselves in languages spoken by ordinary peopleiv). They could not win the support of the ruling elites

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30 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows: The One LordHere is a composition attributed to Kabir:Tell me, brother, how can there beNo one lord of the world but two?Who led you so astray?God is called by many names:Names like Allah, Ram, Karim,Keshav, Hari, and Hazrat.Gold may be shaped intorings and bangles.Isn’t it gold all the same?Distinctions are only wordswe invent …Kabir says they are bothmistaken.Neither can find the onlyRam. One kills the goat, theother cows.They waste their lives indisputation.

Q1.What is Kabir’s argument against the distinction made between gods of

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different communities?Ans. God gas different names to express.Q2. Name any two scriptures in which verses, ascribed to Kabir, have been complied.Ans. The Kabir Bijak and The Kabir GranthawaliQ3. How did Kabir described the ultimate reality?Ans. He described the Ultimate Reality as Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir. He also used terms drawn from Vedantic traditions, alakh (the unseen), nirakar (formless), Brahman, Atman, etc.

29 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows: CharkhanamaA song set to the rhythm of the spinning wheel:As you take the cotton, you do zikr-i jaliAs you separate the cotton you should do zikr-i qalbiAnd as you spool the thread you should do zikr-i ainiZikr should be uttered from the stomach through the chest,And threaded through the throat.The threads of breath should be counted one by one, oh sister.Up to twenty four thousand.Do this day and night,And offer this to your pir as a gift.Q1.What are the ideas and modes of expression used in this song?Ans. To utter the divine name (zikr) while spinning cotton. As you spin cotton, you should do zikr-i jail, zikr-i qalbi,and zikr-i aini. You should take divine name upto twenty four thousand times during day and night and offer it your pir as a gift.Q2.What do you understand by charkhanama?Ans. A song that is set to the rhythm of the spinning wheel. Such songs were sung by women while spinning.Q3. In which regions such poems were composed?Ans. In Dakhni a variant of urdu in and around the towns of Bijapur, Karnatka?

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30 How did Karaikal Ammaiyar become the greatest figure of Nayanar?

i. A devotee of Shiva adopted the path of extreme asceticism in order to attain her goal.

ii. Her compositions were preserved within the Nayanar tradition

iii. Followed the path of Devotion

iv. protested orthodoxy and caste system

v. promoted social and religious reform movements

vi. These women renounced their social obligations but did not join an alternative order to become nuns.

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vii. Challenge to patriarchal norms

31 Mention ay two sources about the Bhakti and Sufi traditionsi. Textual sources attributed to poet saints , orally in regional languages such as short poems in Dakhani, a variant of urdu , of sufi poetry, bhajans of Mirabai.

ii. Complication by disciples or devotees , eg- Kabir Bijak ,Shri Adi Granth Sahib(Gurbani) composed in various languages.

iii. Hagiographies or biographies

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64,

31Similarity between lingayats and Nayanars –

i. Both opposed the caste system

ii. Both condemned the Brahmanical norms like rituals

untouchability etc

iii. Both worshipped lord Shiva iv. Both followed saguna bhakti

Dissimilarity –

i. Nayanars were not confined to any particular region while the lingayats were popular in Karnataka

ii. Nayanars worshipped Shiva in both an idol and linga form whereas Lingayats worshipped only the linga form

iii. Lingayats have emerged as a distinct community in Karnataka while Nayanars are found all over South India

iv. Lingayats wore a small linga on their shoulder while such a practice doesn’t exist among Nayanars

v. Nayanars believed in cremating the dead and Lingayats buried their dead

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vi. Lingayats believed that they would unite with Shiva after death

vii. Lingayatas communicated in Kannada and Nayanars in Tamil

CHAPTER 7 (An Imperial Capital: Vijaynagara)

Key concepts in nutshell

Discovery of Hampi – In 1799 the frst British antiquarian colin Mackenzie. Firstsurveyor general of India visited the ruins Hampi, collected some manuscripts hadsome water colours painted on monuments and made the first map of the site.The Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans – Harihara and Bukka asserted their independence of the Delhi sultanate and established the kingdom of vijaynagar on AD 1336.Kings and trading class – The warfare depended mainly upon powerful cavalry. The Portuguese settled on the west coast of India in attempted to establish their trading and military stations.The climax and decline of Vijay Nagar empire – Krishadeva Raya was un ableadministrator, He built dams for irrigation. He build magnificent places and temples. Its ruler Rama Raya was miserably defeated on the battlefield of (Rakshasi – Tangadi)Talikota in A.D.1565. The victorious armies plundered and destroyed the city of Vijaynagar.Vijaynagar Hampi Architecture - The Vijaynagar architecture (Hampi Architecture) of the period (1336-1365)was unique building style evolved by the imperial vijaynagar empire.Hampi Bazar – Portuguese travellers paes and nuntiz visited hampi in the mid 1500 century. They give an account of hampi Bazar thus “ in this street lived manymerchants and there you will find all sorts of rubies, diamonds pearls and cloths thatyou may wish to buy.Building and places - we know today about the vijaynagar palces and buildings is derived from the archeological excavations at Hampi as no royal palace structures have survived.Kings royal enclosure – Another important building at Hampi is the kings royalenclosure. Paes tells against the gate there were two circles in which there were thedancing women richly arrayed with many jewels of gold and diamonds and manypearls.Mahanavami dibba - The Mahanavami dibba is located on one of the highest points in the city. It is a very large platform rising from a base of about 11000 feet to height of a 40 feet. It seems that is supported a wooden structure.Forts of Vijay nagar – in the constant struggle for power, fort and fortified settlements were a potent symbol of authority. The rulers of Vijaynagar empire created the cities with the main object of protection against invasions. The city itself was a fortress and designed as such in every manner.

1 Hampi town is located in the bank of which river?Ans. On the bank of Tunghbhadra river.

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2 Which goddess is called Pampa ?Ans. Goddess Parvati.

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3 Who was Colin Mackenzie ? Mention his importance in Indian history ?Ans. Working in British East India Company. Born in 1754. A famous Engineer, Surveyor and Humanist. Became the first Surveyer General of British India in 1815. Died in the year 1821.Began to survey in the traditional culture and historical places of India in order to run administration of Colonial India more smoothly and effectively.

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4 Mention the silent features of the temple of Hampi.Ans. The temple of Hampi is well articulated with artistic pillars like structure.Magnificent structure with gallery surrounded with pillars around divinity and the place of god is one of the features of the temples.The main temple of Hampi is Vitthal and Hazareram.

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5 How did the water requirements problems solved in Vijayanagar empire?Ans. The natural reservoir are providing water for Vijayanagar is Tunghabhadra river. This river was situated in the north-east direction of the kingdom. Many rivers from nearby mountain range get merged into this river. Dams were built in almost all tributaries of rivers. Hauz were built in order to cope with the drastic climate in draught situation. This was stored in the beginning of the 15th century. This place was called Kamalapuram water reservoir.

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6 How many dynasties ruled over Vijaynagara Empire?Ans. Four: Sangama Dynasty (1336-1485 CE).Saluva Dynasty (1485-1503 CE).Taluva Dynasty (1503-1570 CE).Aravidu Dynasty (1570-1674 CE).

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7 Who were Amara Nayakas under the Rayas of Vijayanagara? What did they know?Ans. Military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya.They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders in the area.These contingents provided the Vijayanagara kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control.Some of the revenue was also used for the maintenance of temples and irrigation works.The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty.

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8 Write two features about the location of Vijayanagara location.Ans. It stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme South of the peninsula. It lived on in the memories of people living in the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab.

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9 Why was administration of Vijayanagara empire famous?Ans. Based on the will of the people. Capable and honest administrative officers.

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10 Describe the condition of women in Vijayanagara Empire.Ans. Women were respected.Took part in administration.

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11 State any two reasons for the decline of the Vijaynagara Empire.Ans. Weak central government.Nadu (provinces) were given immense powers.The Mandlesh were very powerful.Empire reached its zenith during Krishanadeva Raya.

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12 What do you know about Kamalapuram tank?Ans. Kamalapuram tank was built in Vijayanagara in 15th centuary.Water from this tank didnot only irrigated fields nearby but was also conducted through a channel to the “royal centre”.

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13 What methods have been used to study the ruins of Humpi over the last two centuries?Ans. The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by an engineer and antiquarian named Colonel Colin Mackenzie. An employee of the English East India Company, he prepared the first survey map of the site. Much of the initial information he received was based on the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and the shrine of Pampadevi. Subsequently, from 1856, photographers began to record the monuments which enabled scholars to study them. In an effort to reconstruct the history of the city and the empire, historians collated information from these sources with accounts of foreign travellers and other literature written in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Sanskrit.

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14 What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables tell us about the rulers who commissioned them?Ans. One of the most beautiful buildings in the royal centre is the Lotus Mahal, so named by British travellers in the nineteenth century. An elevation is a vertical view of any object or structure. Number of rooms. It gives you an idea of features that cannot be seen in a photograph. Notice the arches. These were probably inspired by Indo-Islamic techniques. and Navaratri or Mahanavami (in peninsular India). The Vijayanagara kings displayed their prestige, powerand suzerainty on this occasion. The ceremonies performed on the occasion included worship of the image, worship of the state horse, and the sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals. Dances,Wrestling matches, and processions of caparisoned horses, elephants and chariots and soldiers, as well as ritual presentations before the king and his guests by the chief nayakas and subordinate kings marked the occasion.

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15 What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?Ans. Abdur Razzaq noted that "between the first, second and third walls there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses.The detailed statements have been corroborated by present day archaeologists, who have also found evidence of an agricultural tract between the sacred centre and the urban core.We knew different sources that in Vijayanagara empire and other southern kingdom agricultural tracts were incorporated within the fortified areas. Often, the objective of Medieval sieges was to starve the defenders into submission. These sieges could last for several months and sometimes even years.Normally rulers tried to be prepared for adverse situations or natural calamities by building large granaries within fortified areas. The rulers of Vijayanagara adopted a more expensive and elaborate strategy of protecting the agricultural belt itself.Whenever, Kingdom was attacked by the enemies at the time of reaping harvest they could easily brunt the dry crops of the farmers. But these fields were safe in ordinary situation from wild animals.

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16 What do you think the significance of the ritual's associated with the Mahanavami dibba ?Ans. The importance of the rituals associated with the Mahanawami dibba.

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Located on one of the highest points in the city, the "Mahanawami dibba" is a massive platform rising from a base of about 11000 sq. ft. to a height of 40 feet.Rituals associated with the structure probably coincided with Mahanawami (Literally the great ninth day) of the ten-day Hindu festival during the autumn months of September and October, known variously as Dushehra (northern India), Durga Puja (in Bengal) and Navaratri or Mahanawami (in Peninsular India).The Vijayanagara kings displayed their prestige, power and suzerainty on this occasion. The ceremonies performed on the occasion included worship of the image, worship of the state horse, and the sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals.Dancer, wrestling matches, and processions of caparisoned horses, elephants and chariots and soldiers, as well as ritual presentations before the king and his guests by the chief nayakas and subordinate kings marked the occasion.These ceremonies were imbued with deep symbolic meanings on the last day of the festival the king inspected his army and the armies of the nayakas in a grand ceremony in an open field. On this occasion the nayakas brought rich gifts for the king as well as the stipulated tribute.

17 What impression of the lives of the ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you cull from the various descriptions in Vijayanagara empire.Ans. Ordinary people of this empire scope different languages and followed different religious tradition. Small traders and local merchant use to live in cities, trade centre, port town and villages.Peasants, workers, slaves etc. Were including in ordinary people. These were ordinary Brahmans, trader and women also.In the society there were a few low class people, who were non- influential. They were Dombar, Mana, Jogi, Paraiyan, Boi, Kallar etc. Some low caste people were coverted to christianity due to the influence of the Portuguese’s. The evils of caste system anduntouchability were practiced in the society.The ordinary people of the Vijayanagar empire lived in ordinary houses. This is how the sixteenth century Portuguese traveller Barbosa described the houses of ordinary people existed in the society. The men were sold and purchased. There were some special rules for the slaves.

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18 Evaluate the importance of Amar Nayaka System in emergence of Vijayanagara Empire.Ans. There is a important role of this system to emerging the Vijayanagara empire. That shows in the following points:The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the Iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya.The collected taxes and other dues from peasants.A share of revenue was spent for the maintenance of irrigation works and temples.The amar nayak retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants.These contingents provided the Vijayanagara Kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control.The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the King annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty.Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another.Many of these nayakas established independent kingdoms in the 17th century.

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19 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:How Tanks Were Built?About a tank constructed by Krishnadeva Raya, Paes wrote: The king made a tank … at the mouth of two hills so that all the water which comes from either one side or the other collects there; and, besides this, water comes to it from more than three leagues (approximately 15 kilometres) by pipes which run along the lower parts of the range outside. This water is brought from a lake which itself overflows into a little river. The tank has three large pillars handsomely carved with figures; these connect above with certain pipes by which they get water when they have to irrigate their gardens and rice-fields. In order to make this tank the said king broke

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down a hill … In the tank I saw so many people at work that there must have been fifteen or twenty thousand men, looking like ants …Q1. Where and why were tanks built by Krishandev Raya?Ans. at most arid zones of peninsula. To store rainwater.Q2. Explain how the tanks were constructed?Ans. By breaking down the hills.Q3. Describe the most prominent waterworks among the ruins and who built these water works?Ans. Hiriya canal. It drew water from a dam across Tungbhadra and irrigated the cultivated vally that separated sacred centre from the urban.

20 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Colin MackenzieBorn in 1754, Colin Mackenzie became famous as an engineer, surveyor and cartographer. In 1815 he was appointed the first Surveyor General of India, a post he held till his death in 1821. He embarked on collecting local histories and surveying historic sites in order to better understand India’s past and make governance of the colony easier. He says that “it struggled long under the miseries of bad management … before the South came under the benign influence of the BritishGovernment”. By studying Vijayanagara, Mackenzie believed that the East India Company could gain “much useful information on many of these institutions, laws and customs whose influence still prevails among the various Tribes of Natives forming the general mass of the population to this day”.Q1. Who was Colin Meckenzie ?Ans. Colin Mackenzie used to work in British East India Company. He took birth in 1754. He is a famous engineer, surveyor and humanist.Q2. Which ancient city was founded by Colin Meckenzie ?Ans. HampiQ3. Why did he start the surveys?Ans. He started the surveys in order to better understand India’s past and make governance of the colony easier.Q4. In which stages Colin Meckenzie completed his work? 3Ans. First of all he prepared the maps. He collected the information’s about the local traditions from the priest of Virupaksha and Pampadevi temple.

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21 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Kings And TradersKrishnadeva Raya (ruled 1509-29), the most famous ruler of Vijayanagara, composed a workon statecraft in Telugu known as the Amuktamalyada. About traders he wrote: A king should improve the harbours of his country and so encourage its commerce that horses, elephants, precious gems, sandalwood, pearls and other articles are freely imported … He should arrange that the foreign sailors who land in his country on account of storms, illness and exhaustion are looked after in a suitable manner … Make the merchants of distant foreign countries who import elephants and good horses be attached to yourself by providing them with daily audience, presents and allowing decent profits. Then those articles will never go to your enemies.Q1. Explain the responsibilities of a king mentioned by Krishandeva Raya?Ans. the king develops trade. Encourage trade facilities . Check on import and exportQ2. In what ways had Krishandeva Raya protected aarticles from going to hgis enemies?Ans. Make the merchants of distant foreign countries to be attached himself by providing them with daily audience, presents and allowing decent profits. They were also looked after in case of storms,illness,exaustion.Q3. Explain the measures taken by the king to improve the conditions of

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his country?Ans. Improve the harbours of his country and encourages its commerce and maintains trade relation.

22 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:A Sprawling CityThis is an excerpt from Domingo Paes’s description of Vijayanagara: The size of this city I do not write here, because it cannot all be seen from any one spot, but I climbed a hill whence I could see a great part of it; I could not see it all because it lies between several ranges of hills. What I saw from thence seemed to me as large as Rome, and very beautiful to the sight; there are many groves of trees within it, in the gardens of the houses, and many conduits of water which flow into the midst of it, and in places there are lakes; and the king has close to his palace a palm-grove and other rich fruit-bearing trees.Q1. From where is this excerpt taken?Ans. Domigo Paes’s description.Q2. Why did the author not write about the Vijayanagara?Ans. He couldnot see it from any completely from any one spot.Q3. Write any three features of author’s description of Vijayanagara?Ans. The city was situated between several ranges of hill. As large as Rome. Had many graves of trees and gardens.

Domingo Paes makes the following observations of architecture of the Mahanavami Dibba

i. He calls the Mahanavami Dibba and the audience hall, together the ‘House of Victory’.

ii. The building consists of two platforms.

iii. It is beautifully carved and sculpted.

iv. He says that the upper part has the king’s room made of cloth.

v. There is a shrine for the idol

vi. The throne stands on a dais (the crown and the royal anklet)

The students may also be credited for the following information:

i. The high platform has slots for wooden pillars at regular intervals and a staircase going to the second floor rested on these.

ii. It’s a massive platform, 11,000 sq. ft. base and 40 ft. height.

iii. It is possibly related to the Mahanavami festival of the Hindus

iv. The Vijayanagara rulers displayed their prestige, power and suzerainty on this occasion.

v. An elaborate ritual, religious procession and ceremonial performance may have been

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carried out here.

vi. Ritual presentation of nayakas and subordinate kings before the king

23

Water resources of Vijayanagarai). The natural basin formed by the Tungabhadra which flows in a north –easterly direction hills surrounds this and a number of streams flow down to the river from these hills.ii). Embankments were built along the streams to create reservoirs of varying sizes.iii). As Vijayanagara was in one of the most arid zones of the peninsula , elaborate water arrangements had to be made to store rain water and conduct it to the city.iv). Kamalapuram tank not only irrigated fields nearby but water was also conducted through a channel to the “royal centre”.v). One of the most prominent was the Hiriya canal . It drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and irrigated the cultivated valley which separated the sacred centre from the urban core.

24Krishnadeva Raya and the Vijaynagara Empirei. Expanded and consolidated large empire area between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers (in Raichur Doab)1512

ii. He subdued the rulers of Orissa (1514) and severe defeats were inflicted on the Sultan of Bijapur 1520.iii. Krishnadeva Raya is credited with building some fine temples and Gopurams.iv. He founded a suburban township Nagalapuram after his mother.v. Competed with contemporary rulers the Sultans of the Deccan and the Gajapati rulers of Orissa.vi. Witnessed the development of powerful states such as those of the Cholas in Tamil Nadu and the Hoysalas in Karnataka.vii. Noted for its markets dealing in spices, textiles and precious stones.viii. Expanded Trade

Fortification of Vijayanagarai). Encircled not only the city but also its agricultural hinterland and forestsii) The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the cityiii) The massive masonry construction was slightly tapered.iv) No mortar or cementing agent was employed anywhere in the Construction.v) The stone blocks were wedge shaped, which held them in place, and the inner

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portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble Square or rectangular bastions projected outward.

vi) Most significant as its enclosed agricultural tracts.vii). Between the first, second and the third walls there were cultivated fields, gardens and houses”.viii). Large granaries within fortified areasix) A second line of fortification went round the inner core of the urbancomplex , and a third line surrounded the royal centre, within which each set of major buildings was surrounded by wallsx) The fort was entered through well-guarded gates, which linked thecity to the major roadsxi) Gateways had distinctive architectural featuresxii) Reflection of Indo-Islamic art in the fortification was there

25Urban Core of the Vijayanagara Empire

i. Archaeologists have found fine Chinese porcelain in some houses

ii. These have been found in the north-eastern corner of the urban core suggesting that it may have been occupied by rich traders

iii. This was a Muslim residential quarter

iv. Tombs and mosques have been found here

v. Their architecture resembles mandapas

vi. Barbosa has described that the houses of ordinary people are thatched

vii. Houses are well built and strong

viii. Houses were arranged according to occupations in long streets with many open places

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ix. Entire area had many shrines and small temples

x. This indicates the prevalence of variety of cults

xi. Rainwater tanks and temple tanks served as sources of water for the people.

xii. There is evidence of roads, paths and bazaars

xiii. There is evidence of fortification of cities

xiv. There are many temples/shrines

xv. Existence of river embankments, water supply through canals

xvi. A good drainage system

26Virupaksha Temple

i. The Virupaksha temple a very old temple. While inscriptions suggest that the earliest shrine dated to the ninth-tenth centuries, it was substantially enlarged with the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire.

ii. The hall in front of the main shrine was built by Krishnadeva Raya to mark his accession.

iii. This was decorated with delicately carved pillars.

iv. Gopurams, royal gateways that often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines, and signalled the presence of the temple.

v. Mandapas or pavilions and long, pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple .

vi. Social importance----1)images of god were placed to witness special programmes of music, dance &dramas .

2) used to celebrate the marriages of deities

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CHAPTER 8

(PEASANTS, ZAMIDARS AND THE STATE)Key concepts in nutshell1. Peasants and agricultural production - Geographical Diversity Looking for sources – Historical Epic and Records, Important chronicles – Ain-i-Akbari, Records from Gujrat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.Peasants and their lands – cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership.Irrigation and Technology – Expansion of agriculture, monsoon remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, artificial system of irrigations had to be devised, agriculture often harnessed cattle energy.An abundance of crops – two major crops - the kharif and the rabi, new crops came from different parts of the world.2. The village community.Caste and the rural milieu – Rajputs are mentioned as peasants.Panchayats and headman – The panchayats was usually a heterogeneous body, theheadman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, functions of the panchayat.Village artisans – The existence of substantial members of artisans.A little republic – deep inequities based on caste and gender distinctions.3. Women in agrarian Society – women’s role in the production process, highmortality rates among women, women petitioned to the panchayat, hindu and muslim women inherited zamindaris.4. Forest and tribes –Beyond settled villages, livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture, jungles provided a good defence.Inroads into forests – the state required elephants for the army, hunting expeditions by the Mughals, the spread of commercial agriculture.

1 Mention various duties performed by state officials in the 16th century?Ans. They collect land revenue, measure the lands and keep records etc.

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2 Who was the author of Ain-I Akbari?Ans. Abul Fazl, a famous Persian author, gems of Akber’s court.

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3 Who were Raiyat? How many types of Raiyat?Ans. They were peasants. There are two types of Raiyat - Khud-khasta and Pahi-khasta. Khud-khasta – They were residents of the village in which they held their land. Pahi-khasta – They were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands were else were on a contractual basis.

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4 How many seasons of agriculture according to Ain?Ans. Two major seasonal cycles – The kharif and the rabi. Kharif – rice and jawar. Rabi – wheat and gram

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5 What was Jins-i-Kamil?Ans. Literally perfect crops. Example - cotton and sugarcane.

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6 Why women were considered an important resource in agrarian society?Ans. worked shoulder to shoulder with men in field. Spun yarn, made pottery and did embroidery.

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7 Mention the major crops of Western India during 17th century. How did it come to India?Ans. Via Africa and Spain. Tomato, potatoes and chillies

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8 Mention any two steps taken by the Mughals to create the revenue as an administration apparatus?Ans. Daftar of the dewan supervises fiscal system. Officials and record keeper became a decisive agent in shaping agrarian relations.

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9 Mention the factors that accounted for the constant expansion of agriculture during 16 th and 17th 2 marks 198

centuries.Ans. Excess of land. Availability of workers. Dynamism of farmers. Development of artificial means of irrigation

10 Name the two techniques based on animal power that expanded agriculture during the Mughal times.Ans. Firstly they use wooden plough. Secondly used drill by pair of oxen. Thirdly used narrow iron blade.

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11 What were jama and hasil?Ans. Jama was the amount assessed where as was the amount received or collected.

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12 Write any two limitation of Ain-i-Akbari.Ans. Error in totalling. No uniform collection.

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13 What was the Jati Panchayat?Ans. arbitrated civil disputes between members of different castes. decided whether marriages were performed according to the norms laid down by a particular caste group. In most cases, except in matters of criminal justice, the state respected the decisions of jati panchayats.

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14 Describe the functions of panchayat?Ans. 1. Community welfare – Construction of bund or digging the cannel which peasants usually could not afford to do on their own. 2. Arrangements against natural calamities, like floods,famine, Droughts etc. 3. Regulate rural societies, like marriage and caste. 4. To ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities .5. Punishment – Example - to levy fines and inflict from the community.

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15 Describe Ain-i-Akbari?Ans. 1. Vision of Akbar’s empire. 2. Strong ruling class. 3. The organization of the court, administration and the army.4. Included detailed revenue, records – with the help of Todarmal tried to reorganized the hole revenue system. 5. Useful description of agrarian society.

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16 What were the roles played by women in agrarian society?Ans. 1. Women worked shoulder to shoulder with men in fields. 2. Women sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest. 3. Craft production – such as spinning yarn, sifting and kneading clay for pottery and embroidery. 4. Some restriction during some days of month – women were not allowed to touch the plough or the potter’s wheel in western India. 5. Produce children and look after them.

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17 How land revenue was fixed?Ans. 1. It consisted of two stages - Jama and Hasil. Jama was the amount assessed and Hasil the amount collected. 2. Both cultivated and cultivable land measured in each province. 3. Prepared annual record of the number of cultivators in each village 4. Officials were appointed to measure land revenue. 5. The Diwan, who was responsible for supervising the fiscal system of the empire.

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18 Explain the salient features of zabti system?Ans. 1. Measurement of land was compulsory. 2. Classification of land:- Polaj, Parauti, Chachar, Banjar. 3. Calculation of the average products. 4. Fixation of state share. 5. Commutation into cash. 6. Collection of land revenue.

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19 Who were zamindars? What were their functions?Ans. Zamindars were the part of rural society, who lived on agricultural production had milkiyat belongs to upper caste. New Zamindars emerged from lower caste.Functions of Zamindars : 1. Collect revenue. 2. Mediate between king and peasant. 3. Maintain military. 4. Developed agricultural land. 5. Give money to farmers for agriculture. 6. Sell their own agricultural produce. 7. Make an arrangement for weekly or fortnightly market in the villages. 8. Making arrangement for repairing roads and water sources.

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20 “Ain-i-Akbari is an extraordinary document of its time.” Explain.Ans. The Ain was part of a larger project of history writing commissioned by Akbar. The Ain-i Akbari, was organised as a compendium of imperial regulations and a gazetteer of the empire. The Ain gives detailed accounts of the organisation of the court, administration and army, the sourcesof revenue and the physical layout of the provinces of Akbar’s empire and the literary, cultural and Religious traditions of the people. Along with a description of the various departments of

4/8 marks

217-18

Akbar’s government and elaborate descriptions of the various provinces (subas) of the empire, the Ain gives us intricate quantitative information of those provinces. Collecting and compiling this information systematically was an important imperial exercise. It informed the emperor about the varied and diverse customs and practices prevailing across his extensive territories. The Ain is therefore a mine of information for us about the Mughal Empire during Akbar’s reign. The Ain is made up of five books (daftars), of which the first three books describe the administration. The mulk-abadi gives a fascinating, detailed and highly complex view of agrarian society in northern India.

21 Zamidars were the central figure in medieval India.” Justify the statement.Ans. The zamindars were landed proprietors who also enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society. they performed certain services (khidmat) for the state. . Control over military resources was another source of power. Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) as well as armed contingent comprising units of cavalry, artillery and infantry. Mughal countryside as a pyramid, zamindars clearly constituted its very narrow apex. Abu’l Fazl’s account indicates that an “upper-caste”, Brahmana-Rajput combine had already established firm control over rural society. It also reflects a fairly large representation from the so-called intermediate castes, as we saw earlier, as well as a liberal sprinkling of Muslim zamindaris. Contemporary documents give an impression that conquest may have been the source of the origin of some zamindaris. The dispossession of weaker people by a powerful military chieftain was quite often a way of expanding a zamindari. It is, however, unlikely that the state would have allowed such a show of aggression by a zamindar unless he had been confirmed by an imperial order (sanad). More important were the slow processes of zamindari consolidation, which are also documented in sources. These involved colonisation of new lands, by transfer of rights, by order of the state and by purchase. A combination of factors also allowed the consolidation of clan- or lineage-based zamindaris. Peasant-pastoralists (like the Sadgops)carved out powerful zamindaris in areas of central and south western Bengal. Zam indars spearheaded the colonisation of agricultural land, and helped in settling cultivators by providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans. The buying and selling of zamindaris accelerated the process of monetisation in the countryside. In addition, zamindars sold the produce from their milkiyat lands. There is evidence to show that zamindars often established markets (haats) to which peasants also came to sell their produce.

8marks

211-12

22 What were the important functions of the panchayat in the Mughal Era?Ans. 1.collection of funds. 2. Regarding caste boundaries. 3. Authority to levy taxes.

4marks

201-203

23 Discuss the merits and demerits of Mansabdari system.Ans. Merits:- 1.Qualification as bases of ranks. 2. Forceful army. 3. Good on revolt. 4. Ban on corruptionDemerits:- 1.Luxurious life. 2. Misuse of Money. 3. Loyality of the soldiers.

8 marks 214

24 Examine the role of women in Mughal society.Ans. Work shoulder to shoulder in the fields, sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest. Nonetheless biases. Menstruating women were not allowed to touch the plough or the potter’s wheel in western India, or enter the groves where betel-leaves (paan) were grown in Bengal. Commercialised the product, the greater the demand on women’s labour to produce it. In fact, peasant and artisan women worked not only in the fields, but even went to the houses of theirEmployers or to the markets if necessary. They were child bearers in a society dependent on labour. Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family. Remarriage was considered legitimate both among divorced and widowed women. The importance attached to women as a reproductive force also meant that the fear of losing control over them

8 marks 206,207

was great. They could inflict dr aconian punishments if they suspected infidelity on the part of women. Documents from Western India – Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra – record petitions sent by women to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice. Wives protested against the infidelity of their husbands or the neglect of the wife and children by the male head of the household, the grihasthi. While male infidelity was not always punished, the state and “superior” caste groups did intervene when it came to ensuring that the family was adequately provided for. In most cases when women petitioned to the panchayat, their names were excluded from the record: Petitioner was referred to as the mother, sister or wife of the male head of the household. Amongst the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. Instances from the Punjab show that women, including widows, actively participated in the rural land market as sellers of property inherited by them. Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris which they were free to sell or mortgage. Women zamindars were known in eighteenth-century Bengal. In fact, one of the biggest and most famous of the eighteenth-century zamindaris, that of Rajshahi, had a woman at the helm.

25 Why Ain-i-Akbari remains important even today?Ans. Provides glimpses into structure and organisation of Mughal. The central purpose of the Ain was to present a vision of Akbar’s empire where social harmony was provided by a strong ruling class. The Ain- i Akbari was the culmination of a large historical, administrative project of classification undertaken by Abu’l Fazl at the order of Emperor Akbar. It was completed in 1598, the forty-second regnal year of the emperor, after having gone through five revisions. The Ain was part of a larger project of history writing commissioned by Akbar.The Ain gives detailed accounts of the organisation of the court, administration and army, the sources of revenue and the physical layout of the provinces of Akbar’s empire and the literary, cultural and religious traditions of the people. Along with a description of the various departments of Akbar’s government and elaborate descriptions of the. Gives information about the people,their profession and trades and on imperial establishment of the empire. Historians reconstruct social fabric of India at that time.

Importance of Ain –i-Akbari

i. The chronicle provides detailed information about Akbar’s Empire

ii. It is an invaluable source to reconstruct the social, political, economic and cultural history

iii. It is a detailed document and a part of Akbarnama written by Abul Fazl

iv. It is an extraordinary document.

v. It gives fascinating glimpses into the structure and organization of the Mughal Empire.

8 marks 217,218

vi. It gives quantitative information about its products and people.

vii. So far chronicles had been limited to political events, wars, dynastic turmoil etc.

viii. Ain completely departed from this tradition.

ix. It recorded information about the empire and the people.

x. It is an important source for studying India at the turn of the 17th c.

xi. Ain’s evidence is useful to study agrarian relations.

xii. It gives information on people, their professions and trades

xiii. It gives information on the imperial establishment and mansabdars of the empire

xiv. It has enabled historians to reconstruct the social fabric of India at that time.

xv. It was organized as a compendium of imperial regulations and a gazetteer of the empire.

xvi. It gives detailed accounts of the organization of the court

xvii. It tells about administration and army, sources of revenue and physical layout of the provinces

xviii. It tells us about cultural and religious traditions of the people.

xix. It gives intricate information of the provinces.

xx. It is made up of five books, of which the first three books describe the administration.

xxi. They are called as the manzil-abadi, sipah-abadi and mulk-abadi.

xxii. The third book deals with the fiscal aspect and provides information about the revenue rates.

xxiii. The fourth and the fifth books deal with religious, cultural and literary traditions of the people of India. It also contain a collection of Akbar’s “auspicious sayings”.

(any other information based on Ain may be given credit)(any four points – 4 marks)It also has certain problems.

i.Numerous errors in totaling have been detected.

ii.Skewed nature of the quantitative data.

iii.Data were not collected uniformly from all the provinces.

iv.Prices and wages of the richer areas have not been well documented.

v.Detailed list of prices and wages is mainly taken from areas in and around the Agravi.Some facts are missing

vii.It is a view from the top

viii.It needs to be read critically as it is a commissioned document

26 What was the economic value of the agriculture in the Mughal Empire?Ans. encouraged crops to earn more revenue. Fiscal system was supervised by Diwans. Land was classified and fixed. Peasants could pay land revenue in cash.

4Marks

VBQ200

27 Do you think the view of the panchayats had a great political value as it follows democratic rules?Ans. yes. Based on democracy. Had powers to levy taxes and expulsion from the community for serious crimes.

4Marks

VBQ202

28 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Cash Or KindThe 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, estimate. If any doubts arise, the crops should be cut and estimated in three lots, the good, the middling and the inferior and the hesitation 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 the case several intelligent inspectors are required; otherwise, the evil-minded and false are given toDeception. Thirdly, khet-batai when they divided the fields after they are sown. Fourthly, lang batai; after cutting the grain, they form it in heaps and divide it among themselves, and eachtakes his share home and turns it to profit.Q1. Explain the term Kankut?Ans. In the Hindi language Kan signifies grain and kut means estimate.Q2. Explain the system of batai or bhaoli system of land revenue collection?Ans. The crops are reaped and stacked and divided by agreement in the parties. But in this cash several intelligent inspectors are required, otherwise, the evil minded and false are given to deception.Q3. Explain the system of lang batai?Ans. After cutting the grain they from it in heaps and divide it among themselves, and each takes his share home and turns it to profit.Q4. Which system of revenue collection, do you think, is better and why?Ans. Long Batai, because they divided equal among themselves and get profit.

7 marks 215

29 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Irrigating trees and fieldsThis is an excerpt from the Babur Nama that describes the irrigation devices the emperor observed in northern India: The greater part of Hindustan country is situated on level land. Many though its towns and cultivated lands are, it nowhere has running waters … For … water is not at all a necessity in cultivating crops and orchards. Autumn crops grow by the downpour of the rains themselves; and strange it is that spring crops grow even when no rains fall. (However) to young trees water is made to flow by means of buckets or wheels … In Lahore, Dipalpur (both in present-day Pakistan) and those other parts, people water by means of a wheel. They make two circles of rope long enough to suit the depths of the well, fix strips of wood between them, and on these fasten pitchers. The ropes with the wood and attached pitchers are put over the wheel-well. At one end of the wheel-axle a second wheel is fixed, and close to it another on an upright axle. The last wheel the bullock turns; its teeth catch in the teeth of the second (wheel), and thus the wheel with the pitchers is turned. A trough is set where the water empties from the pitchers and from this the water is conveyed everywhere. In Agra, Chandwar, Bayana (all in present-day Uttar Pradesh) and those parts again, people water with a bucket … At the well-edge they set up a fork of wood, having a roller adjusted between the forks, tie a rope to a large bucket, put the rope over a roller, and tie its other end to the bullock. One person must drive the bullock, another empty the bucket.Q1.Compare the irrigation devises observed by Babur with what you have

7 marks 199

learnt about irrigation in VijaynagarAns. water flowed in buckets or wheels. In Lahore, Dipalpur (both in present-day Pakistan) and those other parts, people water by means of a wheel. On the other hand tanks and canal were used for irrigation.Q2. What kind of recourses would each of these systems required?Ans. Means of a wheel:- Rope,wood, pitcher, wheel-axle, wheels, Bullock.Means with a bucket:- Bucket, forks of wood, roller, rope, bullock, two persons.Q3. Which systems could ensure the participation of peasants in improving agricultural technology?Ans. Water by means of wheel”. Because peasants wanted to improve irrigation facilities to increase production.Q4. How much rain was required for the crops of rice, wheat and millets?Ans. 40 inches or more while millets required less.

30 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The jama This is an excerpt from Aurangzeb’s order to his revenue official, 1665: He should direct the amins of the parganas that they should discover the actual conditions of cultivation (maujudat),village by village, peasant-wise (asamiwar), and after minute scrutiny, assess the jama, keeping in view the financial interests (kifayat) of the government, and the welfare of the peasantry.Q1. Why do you think the emperor insisted on a detailed survey?Ans. because the Ain compiled the aggregates of lands during Akbar;s rule, efforts to measures lands continued under subsequent emperor.Q2. Were all areas measured successfully? If not, what was the reason?Ans. Yes. There was huge forest area in the sub-continent which could not be measured.Q3. What was the policy of the Mughals at the time of fixing revenue? Was this objective realised?Ans. The attempt of the state was to maximise its claims.

7marks

215

31

Role of Mughal agrarian women

i. They worked shoulder to shoulder in the fields.

ii. Men tilled and ploughed, while women sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest.

iii. Artisanal tasks such as spinning yarn, sifting and kneading clay for pottery, and embroidery were among the many aspects of production dependent on female labour.

iv. They even went to the houses of their employers or to the markets if necessary.

v. They were child bearers in a society dependent on labor.

vi. Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family.

8 marks 206,207

vii. Remarriage was considered legitimate.

viii. Women were kept under strict control by the family and the community.

ix. Record petitions sent by women to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice.

x. Wives protested against the infidelity.

xi. women had the right to inherit property

32Role of zamindars during the Mughal period

i. Landed proprietors enjoyed social and economic privileges

ii. Elevated status as they performed khidmat for the state.

iii. Held extensive personal lands as milkiyat. They could sell, mortgage that land.

iv. Collect revenue on behalf of the state.

v. They controlled military resources also

vi. Had fortresses and armed contingent.

vii. Upper caste brahamans and Rajputs had full control over village society.

viii. The dispossession of weaker people was a way of expanding zamindari.

ix. Few lower caste also entered into zamindari

x. Rajputs and jats adopted various strategies to consolidate power in north India.

xi. Zamindars spearheaded the colonization of agricultural lands and helped in settling cultivators.

xii. The buying and selling of zamindari accelerated the process of monetization in the countryside

xiii. In few cases zamindars came to be a exploitative class on peasantry section.

ORMughal and forest

i. An average of 40 per cent of Mughal Empire was covered by forests

ii. Their livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture.

iii. Collection of livelihood was largely season specific. Spring was reserved for collecting forest produce, summer for fishing, the monsoon months for cultivation, and autumn and winter for hunting.

iv. For the state, the forest was a place of rebels and troublemakers.

v. State required elephants for the army. Elephants were captured from forest and sold.

vi. Rulers went for regular hunting expeditions which enabled the emperor to travel across the extensive territories of his empire and personally attend to the grievances of its inhabitants.

vii. The spread of commercial agriculture was an important external factor that impinged on the lives of those who lived in the forests.

viii. Forest products –like honey, beeswax and gum lac – were in great demand. Some, such as gum lac, became major items of overseas export from India in the seventeenth century.

ix. Social factors too brought changes in the lives of forest dwellers. Like the head men of the villages, tribes also had their chieftains. Many tribal chiefs had become zamindars, some even became kings.

x. Tribal Kings recruited people from their lineage groups or demanded that their fraternity provide military service. Tribes in the Sind region had armies comprising 6,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry.

xi. New cultural influences also began to penetrate into forested zones. Some historians have indeed suggested that Sufi Saints (Pirs) played a major so

32

Mughals accommodated heterogeneous populace.

i. The Mughal Kings commissioned court historians and to write accounts of their achievements.ii. Their writers collected vast amounts of information from the regions of the sub continent information from the regions of the sub continent to help the rulers govern their domain.iii. The ideal of the sulh-i-Kul (absolute peace) was implemented hrough state policies. All religions and schools of thought had freedom of expression but on condition that they did not undermine the authority of the state or fight among themselves.

iv. Akbar abolished the tax on pilgrimage and jizya as the two were based on religious discrimination.v. The nobility was recruited from diverse ethnic and religious groups.vi. Officials were described as a bouquet of flowersvii. In Akbar’s imperial service, Turani and Iranian nobles were presentviii. Two ruling groups of Indian origin entered the imperial service from 1560 onwards: the Rajputs and the Indian Muslimsix. Mughal court had Todar Mal a hindu khatri. At important post people from many races Arabs, Iranians, Turks, Tajiks, Kurds,Tatars, Russians, Abyssianians etc were at Refuge.x. Rathore ,Sisodia, Hada ,Gaur ,Chauhan, Panwar, Solanki, Bundela, Baluchi and Tribes khokar Baluchi etc were the part of the empirexi. The high respect shown by Akbar towards the members of the Jesuit missionxii. Inter-faith debates in the Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri between muslims, Hindus, Jainas, Parsis and Christians

CHAPTER 9( KINGS AND CHRONOCLES )

Key concepts in nutshell:-

The Mughala and there empire – The name Mughal derives from Mongol period of Mughal empire 1526 -1707The production of chroniclesFrom Turkish to Persian – Mughal court chronicles were written in PersianThe making of manuscripts – all books in mughals were manuscripts i.e. they were handwritten.The Akbarnama and Badshanama – among the important illustrated mughal official histories the Akbarnama and Badshanama.A unifying force – sulh-i-kul – Abul Fazl describes the ideal sulh-i-kul (absolute peace)Capitals and courts - capital city – the heart of mughal empire is capital city. Where the court assemble.Titles and Gifts – The granting of titles to men of merit was an important aspect of mughal policy.

1 Clarify the word meaning of Kornish?Ans. Kornish was a form of ceremonial salutation in which the Courtier placed the palm of his right hand against his forehead and bent his head, It suggested that the subject placed his head the seat of the senses

2marks

237

and the mind into the hand of humility; presenting it to the royal assembly.

2 Name the dynasty which ruled India during 1526 to 1707. Name the founder of this dynasty?Ans. Mughal dynasty and founder of this dynasty was Babur.

2marks

225

3 What is meant by the term Kitabkhana?Ans. The literal translation of the term Kitabkhana is library. It was a scriptorium that is a place where the emperors’ collection of manuscripts was kept and manuscripts were produced.

2marks

227

4 Manuscripts involved a number of people performing a variety of tasks. Give some suchpeople engaged in the task.Ans. Manuscripts involved a number of people performing a variety of tasks. Among them were paper marker, calligrapher, gliders, painters, bookbinders.

4marks

228

5 Babur’s memories were return in which language?Ans. Babur’s memories Tuzuk-i-Babari were originally written in Turkish. They were translated in Persian as Babur Nama .

4marks

252

6 Why Akbar is considered the greatest of all the Mughal emperors?Ans. adopted policy of expansion and consolidation. Checked the expansionist design of the Uzbeks of Turan and Safavdis.

4marks

225

7 Who were Chaghtai turks?Ans. descendents of the eldest son of Ghenghis Kahan.

4marks

226-27

8 What is shab-i-barat?Ans. Shab-i barat is the full moon night on the 14 Shaban, the eighth month of the hijri calendar, and is celebrated with prayers and fireworks in the subcontinent. It is the night when the destinies of the Muslims for the coming year are said to be determined and sins forgiven.

4marks

238

9 Describe the role played by the women of the imperial household in the Mughal Empire.Ans. In the Mughal household a distinction was maintained between wives who came from royal families (Begams) and other wives(aghas) who were not of noble birth. Apart from wives numerous male and female slaves populated the Mughal household: The tasks they performed varied from the most mundane to those requiring skill tact and intelligence. After NurJahan Mughal queens and princesses began to control significant financial resources. Shahjahana’s daughter Jahanara and Roshanara enjoyed an annual income often equal to the high imperial mansabdars. Jahanara in addition received revenues. From the port city of Surat, which was a lucrative centre of overseas trade.

4marks

243-44

10 Write a short note on Badshah Nama.Ans. Badshah Nama Chronicle of a king based on the history of Shahjahan’s reign is an important chronicle among official histories. Abdul Hamid Lahori, a pupil of Abul Fazal is known as its author. It is modelled of 10 lunar years each. Lahori wrote the first and second daftars comprising of first two decades of Shahjahan’s reign (1627- 1647) But due to infirmities of age he was unable to write the 3rd volume. Volume of the 3rd decade of the emperor’s rule was chronicle by historian waris. In 1944 the first time painting of Badshah Nama were exhibited in New Delhi, London and Washington.

4marks

231

11 Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.Ans. Paper making. Skill writing. Guilders. Miniature painting. Than Book Binding.

4marks

227

12 In what ways the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?Ans. By representing the status of the court.2) In form of salutation of emperor.3)Jharokha darshan.4)Meetng heldby sulan in Diwan-i-iAam and Diwan-i-khaas.5) By hounoring the mansabdaars on

4marks

239-41

special occasion with special gifts and jagir.

13 What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent?Ans. Concern about Safavids and Qandahar. The Ottomans: pilgrimage and trade. Jesuitd at the Mughal Court

4/8marks

249-50

14 Describe the major features of the Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the province?Ans. Governor the head and reported directly to emperor. Each suba divided into sarkar. Three semi hereditary officers look after the local administration named as Qanungo (revenue record keeper), chaudhar (revenue collector) and the Qazi. Each department of administration maintaineda large support staff of clerks, accountants, auditors, messengers, and other functionaries who were technically qualified officials, functioning in accordance with standardised rules and procedures,and generating copious written orders and records.

4/8marks

247

15 What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor?Ans. The Akbar Nama bequeathed a vision of empire. The imperial organisation was dependent on several different institutions to be able to function effectively. Corps of officers also referredto by historians collectively as the nobility. The nobility was recruited from diverse ethnic andReligious groups. This ensured that no faction was large enough to challenge the authority of the state. The officer corps of the Mughals was described as a bouquet of flowers (guldasta) held together by loyalty to the emperor. In Akbar’s imperial service, Turani and Iranian nobles were present from the earliest phase of carving out a political dominion. All holders of government offices held ranks (mansabs) comprising two numerical designations: zat which was an indicator of position in the imperial hierarchy and the salary of the official (mansabdar), and sawar which indicated the number of horsemen he was required to maintain in service. Akbar also establishedspiritual relationships with a select band of his nobility by treating them as his disciples (murid).For members of the nobility, imperial service was a way of acquiring power, wealth and the highest possible reputation. A person wishing to join the service petitioned through a noble, who presented a tajwiz to the emperor. If the applicant was found suitable a mansab was granted to him. The mir bakhshi (paymaster general) stood in open court on the right of the emperor and presented all candidates for appointment or promotion, while his office prepared orders bearing his seal and signature as well as those of the emperor. There were two other important ministers at the centre: the diwan-i ala (finance minister) and sadr-us sudur (minister of grants or madad-i maash, and in charge of appointing local judges or qazis). The three ministers occasionally came together as an advisory body, but were independent of each other. Akbar shaped fiscal and monetary institutions of the empire. Nobles stationed at the court (tainat-i rakab) were a reserve force to be deputed to a province or military campaign. They were duty-bound to appear twice daily, morning and evening, to express submission to the emperor in the public audience hall. They shared the responsibility for guarding the emperor and his household round the clock.

8marks

244-46

16 Identify the elements went into the making of the Mughal ideal of kingship.Ans. Divine light was transmitted to the king which became the source of spiritual guidance for the subject. 2) A unifying force:- Mughal chronicles present the empire as comprising many different ethnic groups as Hindus ,Muslims etc.3) Idea of sulh-i-kul as the cornerstone of the enlighted rule. 4) Akbar

4marks

245-46

abolished the tax on pilgrimage in 1563 and jazia in 1564 as the two were based on the religious discrimination. 5) Gave grants to support the buildings and maintenance of places of worship.6) Sovereignty as a social contract:- protected the life, property, honour, faith .

17 What steps did Sher Shah Suri take to promote trade and commerce?Ans. Maintain peace law and order.2) Construction of big roads. 3) Protection on roads. Incentive to trade. 5) New land system.

4marks

225

18 Discuss the merits and demerits of the Mansabdari Sytem.Ans. Merits of the Mansabdari System:- 1. Control on revolts. 2. Qualification as basis of ranks.3. Ban on Corruption 4. Forceful army 5. Emotional unityDemerits of Mansabdari System :- 1. Misuse of money 2. Disloyalty of the soldiers towards the empire 3. Luxurious life of mansabdars 4. High salary of mansabdars created pressure on govt.5. Less number of horsemen than the prescribed number affected the effectiveness of military.6. Lack of direct link between emperor and soldiers.

4marks

246

19 Examine the importance and limitation of Ain-i-Akbari. ORExplain why Ain-i-Akbari remains as an extra ordinary document of its time even today?Ans. Importance:- It is a crystal clear mirror depicting historical and administrative project of classification undertaken by Abul Fazal. It consist of five daftars. Its officially sponsored document. The oral testimonials were cross checked. A comprehensive and logical historical document known as Akbarnama.Limitation:- Data collection was not appropriate. 2) Mny subas were given importance over other. 3) Highlighted the glaring errors particularly transcriptional errors in the Ain hence.

4marks

231,32

20 To what extent was the concern of the Mughal administration to keep their records?Ans. The mir bakhshi (paymaster general) stood in open court on the right of the emperor and presented all candidates for appointment or promotion. There were two other important ministers at the centre: the diwan-i ala (finance minister) and sadr-us sudur (minister of grants or madad-i maash, and in charge of appointing local judges or qazis). The three ministers occasionally came together as an advisory body. Akbar shaped the administrative fiscal and monetary institutions of the empire. Nobles stationed at the court (tainat-i rakab) were a reserve force to be deputed to a province or military campaign. They were duty-bound to appear twice daily, morning and evening, to express submission to the emperor in the public audience hall. They shared the responsibility for guarding the emperor and his household round the clock.

4marks

246

21 Describe the growth of architecture under the Mughal.Ans.

Rulers Architectural interest

Buildings Remarks

1. Babur Yes Mosque in Kabuli Garden (Panipat) and Sambhal in Ruhelkhand

Written Autobiopography ‘Baburnama’

2. Humayun Yes but did not get proper time

Mosque in Agra and at Fatehbaad in Hissar

3. Akbar Yes, man of peace order and wealth

Diwan-i-aam, khas, Jahangir Mehal, Akbari mehal, Buland Darwaza, jama maszid, tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti, Panch Mahal, Jodha

Made with red stone

4marks

Bai’s palace, Birbal Palace,

4. Jahangir Yes Akbar’s tomb known as Sikandra near Agra

Fond of planting garden

5. Shah Jahan Yes Diwan-i-aam, khas, Sawan Bhadon,Moti Maszid

Fine model of masonry,walls engraved with costly stones

6. Aurangzeb Interest not shown Shahi Maszid at Lahore

Deemed it as an extravagant

22 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Darbar-I-AkbariAbul fazl gives a vivid account of Akber’s darbar.Whever his majesty (Akber) holds court (darbar) a large drum is bitten, the sounds of which accompanied by divine praise. In this manner people of all classes received notice. His majesty’s sons and grand children the grandees of the court, and all other men who have admittance attend to make the kornish and remains standing in their proper place learned men of renowned and skillful machines pay their respect. And the officers of justice present their reports. His majesty with his usual insights gives orders and settlers everything in a satisfactory manner. During the whole time skillful gladiator’s and wrestlers from all countries hold themselves in readiness and singers male and female are in waiting. Claver jugglers and funny tumblers also are annexations to exhibit their dexterity and agility.Q1. Describe the main activities taking place in the court?Ans. Main activities taking place in the darbar are :1. Beating of the drum. To announced holding of dewan-i-am. 2. Divine praise to establish emperor as “insane-i- kamil” 3. The emperor sons, grand children and other grandees take their positions according to status, hierarchy and proximity to the king. 4. All attending court women standing to pay respect and offer salutation to the king. 5. Learned men, mechanics, officers of justice present report to the king for review and update. 6. Gladiators, wrestlers, singers, women in waiting to exhibit their skill and for royal patronage.Q2. What was the significant of the darbar procedures?Ans. The dauber procedures reflected the status and power of the emperors.Q3. Define the term “Kornish”.Ans. “Kornish” was a form of ceremonial salutation in which the courtier placed the palm ofhis right hand against his forehead and bent his head.Q4. Explain the term “Jharokha Darshan.”Ans. “Jharokha Darshan” showing of the emperor to the public from the palace balcony. It was introduced by Akbar with the objective of broadening the acceptance of the imperial authority.

7 marks 237

23 “The heart of the Mughal empire was its capital’. Explain with example.Ans. True. Here court assembled. Capital cities shifted during 16th and 17th century. Babur took over Agra. 2) Akbar decided to build a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri.In1585 capital was shifted to Lahore. Main purpose was to control north-west under. 3) Shah Jahan moved the court, army, household from Agra to Shahjahanabad in 1648. Shah Jahan pursued sound fiscal policies and accumulated enough money to indulge his passion for building. 4) Shah jahan was a new addition to the old residential city of Delhi

4marks

236

24 Describe how the Humayun Nama’ of Gulbadan Begam gives us the glimpses of the Mughal Imperial household.Ans. the Mughals is the Humayun Nama written by Gulbadan Begum. Gulbadan was the daughter of Babur, Humayun’s sister and Akbar’s aunt. Gulbadan wrote fluently in Turkish and Persian. When Akbar commissioned Abu’l Fazl to write a history of his reign, he requested his aunt to record her memoirs of earlier times under Babur and Humayun, for Abu’l Fazl to draw upon. What Gulbadan wrote was no eulogy of the Mughal emperors. Rather she described in great detail the conflicts and tensions among the princes and kings and the important mediating role elderly women of the family played in resolving some of these conflicts.

4marks

243

25 Describe the expansion and consolidation of Mughal empire under Akbar(1556-1605)Ans. consolidated his empire, making it the largest, strongest and richest kingdom of his time. Akbar succeeded in extending the frontiers of the empire to the Hindukush mountains, and checked the expansionist designs of the Uzbeks of Turan (Central Asia) and the Safavids of Iran.The three rulers maintained and consolidated the various instruments of governance.

4 marks 225

26 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:In Praise Of Taswir Abu’l Fazl held the art of painting in high esteem: Drawing the likeness of anything is called taswir. His Majesty from his earliest youth, has shown a great predilection for this art, and gives it every encouragement, as he looks upon it as a means both of study and amusement. A very largenumber of painters have been set to work. Each week, several supervisors and clerks of the imperial workshop submit before the emperor the work done by each artist, and His Majesty gives a reward and increases the monthly salaries of the artists according to the excellence displayed. … Most excellent painters are now to be found, and masterpieces, worthy of a Bihzad, may be placed at the side of the wonderful works of the European painters who have attained worldwide fame. The minuteness in detail, the general finish and the boldness of execution now observed in pictures are incomparable; even inanimate objects look as if they have life. More than a hundred painters have become famous masters of the art. This is especially true of the Hindu artists. Their pictures surpass our conception of things. Few, indeed, in the whole world are found equal to them.Q1. How did Mughal emperor Akbar encourage painting?Ans. By appointing many painters in the royal court. And giving awards and increased their salaries also.Q2. Why did he patronise painting?Ans. he considered it as medium of entertainmentQ3. Write any two features of the painting made by Hindu painter?Ans. Displayed minuteness, finish and boldness. Also made inanimate things.

7marks

229

27 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:Nobles At CourtThe Jesuit priest Father Antonio Monserrate, resident at the court of Akbar, noticed: In order to prevent the great nobles becoming insolent through the unchallenged enjoyment of power, theKing summons them to court and gives them imperious commands, as though they were his slaves.The obedience to these commands ill suits their exalted rank and dignity.Q1. What does father Monserrate’s observation suggest about the relationship between Mughal emperor and his officials?Ans. He suggests that the emperor was supreme and he controlled the nobles in such a way that they had to obey the order of the emperor in all conditions. No one can challenge his position.Q2. How did the emperor control his nobles?Ans. personally reviewed changes in their mansabdari. By changing their mansabs. By establishing spiritual relationship.Q3. Describe two functions of the noble?Ans. Participated in military campaign with their armies. Also served as officers of the state.

7marks

245

28 Read the following passage given carefully and answer the question that follows:The Accessible EmperorIn the account of his experiences, Monserrate, who was a member of the first Jesuit mission, says:It is hard to exaggerate how accessible he (Akbar) makes himself to all who wish audience of him. For he creates an opportunity almost every day for any of the common people or of the nobles to see him and to converse with him; and he endeavours to show himself pleasant-spoken and affable rather than severe towards all who come to speak with him. It is very remarkable how great an effect this courtesy and affability has in attaching him to the minds of his subjects.Q1. What do you know about Jesuit Moserrate?Ans. Religious preacher came from Europe in 16th century to visit the court of Akbar.Q2. What was the role of Jesuit Mission in 16th century?Ans. The part of a trade process and empire building.Q3. How did Akbar treat those who came to meet?Ans. He was soft spoken and available for all. His courtesy and affability had a deep impact on the minds of his subject.

7marks

250

29 Value Based QuestionHow the policies and achievement of Akbar proved valuable for the Mughal Empire?Ans. Idea of sulh-i-kul as the cornerstone of the enlightened rule. Akbar abolished the tax on pilgrimage in 1563 and jazia in 1564 as the two were based on the religious discrimination. Gave grants to support the buildings and maintenance of places of worship. Sovereignty as a social contract:- protected the life, property,honour,faith

4 marks 245,46

30 Value Based QuestionHow did Akbar prove the social link among the people?Ans. He was soft spoken and available for all. His courtesy and affability had a deep impact on the minds of his subject

4 marks 225

31

Akbar’s Darbar

i) The physical arrangement of the court, focused on the sovereign, mirrored his status as the heart of societyii) The throne gave physical form to the function of the sovereign as axis mundi.iii) The canopy was believed to separate the radiance of the sun from that of the sovereigniv) In court, status was determined by spatial proximity to the king.v) The place accorded to a courtier by the ruler was a sign of his importance in the eyes of the emperorvi) Once the emperor sat on the throne, no one was permitted to movevii) After spending an hour at the jharoka, the emperor walked to the public hall of audience (diwan-i-am) to conduct the primary business of his government.viii) State officials presented him reports and made requestsix) Diwan-i-khas to hold private audiences and discuss confidential matters. High ministers of state placed their petitions before himx) Occasionally , the emperor viewed the works of highly reputed artists or building plans or architectsxi) During Id, Shab-i-barat and Holi, the court was full of life.

xii) Perfumed candles set in rich holders and palace walls

3215.1

i. Jesuits were Christian missionaries

ii. They belonged to the Society of Jesus

iii. The aim of Jesuits was to spread Christianity

a. (any one point – 1 mark)

iv. They came with the Portuguese traders to the coastal cities of India (Goa)

v. Akbar invited them for religious debates

(any one point – 1 mark)15.2 Monserrate explains his experience about Akbar in the following ways

i. He is accessible to all who wish to meet him

ii. Describes Akbar as a well liked ruler

iii. He gives opportunity to common people and nobles to see him and talk to him

iv. He is pleasant and affable towards all

v. He is courteous

vi. He is held as affable in the minds of people

vii. He felt Akbar wanted to adopt Christianity

(any two points)15.3 Akbar’s courtesy brought affability in the following ways:

7 marks Passage

i. Akbar was respected by his subjects

ii. Akbar respected all religions

iii. He established peace and harmony

iv. He encouraged building of places of worship for all religions

v. He occupied himself in interfaith debates at ibadatkhana and was open to new religious ideas

vi. He gave freedom to various schools of thought

vii. He gave important positions to people of different

cultures and ethnicity

viii. He proposed Din-i-ilahi

ix. He advocated sulh-i-kul policy

x. He abolished jiziya and pilgrimage tax

xi. He was accessible to all who wished to meet him

xii. He gave opportunity to common people and nobles to see him and talk to him

xiii. He was pleasant and affable towards all

xiv. He was courteous

xv. He was held as affable in the minds of people

THEME - 10( COLONIALISM AND RURAL SOCIETY: EVIDENCE FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS )

Key concepts in nutshell

Bengal - Establishment of colonial rule - New land revenue, Auction system under Warren Hastings – 1793, Permanent Revenue settlement in Bengal by Lord Cornwallis.Crises in village economy, revenue demand of the state was fixed.The rise of the Jotedars, Their land was cultivated through share croppers.Resistance of Zamindars, their land was auctioned frequently.The fifth report –report submitted to British parliament 1813The Hoe and the Ploug – Shifting agriculture, expensive of village economy.Paharias -hunters food gathers connected with forests, invaded settled farmers 1770Santhals – Settled in bangal- practiced cultivation land demarcated to them known as Daman-i-koh.Conflicts with unsettled paharias -1850 – they resisted the British – Santhal revolt.Revolt in the Bombey and Deccan - 1875Burning of account book of money lenders and shop keepersNew revenue System – Ryotwari system in Bombey Deccan – Direct settlement , land assessed for 30 yrs subject to periodic revisionExperience of injustice by peasants.

Sr. No.

Important Questions and Answers Marks Page No

1 What was Permanent Settlement?Ans.This system of land revenue assessment and collection was introduced by Lord Cornwalis in 1793 It is known as Permanent Settlement because revenue once assessed was never revised. In this system the right to collect land revenue was given to landlords (Zamindars) permanently. The amount of revenue had been fixed in permanent settlement. If the Zamindar failed to pay the British Government then the land was auctioned to the highest bidder.

2marks

258

2 Explain the Ryotwari system of revenue.Ans.

Ryotwari was the land revenue system started by Munroe in the Bombay Deccan based on fixation of revenue terms directly with the ryots only Ryots turned violent

i. The revenue that was demanded was so high that in many places peasants deserted their villages and migrated to new regions.

ii. In areas of poor soil and fluctuating rainfall the problem was particularly acute.

iii. However, the collectors went about extracting payment with utmost severity.

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iv. When someone failed to pay, his crops were seized and a fine was imposed on the whole village.

v. By the 1830s the problem became more severe. Prices of agricultural products fell sharply after 1832

vi. This meant a further decline in peasants’ income.

vii. At the same time the countryside was devastated by a famine.

viii. Inevitably, they borrowed. Revenue could rarely be paid without a loan from a moneylender.

ix. But once a loan was taken, the ryot found it difficult to pay it back.

x. As debt mounted, and loans remained unpaid, peasants’ dependence on moneylenders increased.

xi. They now needed loans even to buy their everyday needs and meet their production expenditure.

xii. The average income from different types of soil was estimated, the revenue-paying capacity of the ryot was assessed and a proportion of it fixed as the share of the state

The revenue system that was introduced in the Bombay Deccan came to be known as Ryotwari. In this system, the revenue was directly settled with the ryot. The average incomes from different types of soil was estimated. The revenue-paying capacity of the ryot was assessed and a proportion of it was fixed as the share of the state.This assessment was for a period 30 years and was revised after that.

3 What was a “Deeds of Hire”? Ans. When debts mounted the peasants were unable to pay back the loan to the moneylender. They had no option but to give over all land under their possession, carts and animals to the money lenders. But without animals they could not continue to cultivate. So they took land on rent and animals on hire. Now they had to pay for them which had originally belonged to them. He had to sign a document called “Deed of Hire” stating very clearly that these animals and carts did not belong to the peasants.

2marks

283

4 Who were Santhals? What are the two features of their lives? Ans. They were the tribes living in the foothills of Rajmahal hills. They cultivated their fields by plough they were migrants from neighbouring areas. Their settlement was encouraged by British government to counter the influence of Paharias and to expand agriculture in this area.Paharias wanted to create their own dreamland Damin – i - koh area in this area.

2marks

271

5 What do you understand by Deccan riots commission? Ans. The commission which was set up to investigate the riots of Deccan’s farmer in 1875. It was set up by the government of Bombay due to immense pressure of Government of India. Its report was presented in 1878 before the British Parliament.It tried to establish thatpeasant unrest was due to the exploitation by the local money lender and zamindars and not the wrong policies of British government in India.

2marks

275

6 Describe the life style of Pahariyas 4 275

Ans. Location :Late 18th century revenue records tell us much about the life of Paharias.They lived in and around foot hills of Rajmahal hills,subsisting on forest produce and practicing shifting agriculture. They scratched the ground lightly with hoes, cultivated the cleared land for few years, then left it fallow so that it could recover its fertility, and moved to a new area The Paharias cleared patches of forest by cutting bushes and burning the undergrowth. They grew a variety of pulses and millets for consumption on these patches of land which were rich in potash from ash. OccupationsTheir life was closely linked to the forests as they were hunters, food gatherers, shifting cultivators, charcoal producers, silkworm rears. From the forests they collected Mahua (a flower) for food, silk cocoons and resin for sale, and wood for charcoal production. Life style: Their hutswere located in the shade of the Tamarind groves and the rested in the shade of the Mango groves. Their chiefs maintained the unity of the groups, settled disputes and led his people in the battle against other tribes & the settled agriculturists Paharias raids: They fought with settled agriculturists especially in times of scarcity. Zamindars, settled agriculturists and traders had to pay regular protection money to the Paharia chiefs to prevent Paharia raids in their territories.

marks

7 What are the problems of using official sources in writing about the history of peasants? Ans. Following are the problems in using official sources in writing about the history of peasants : Only the Official Viewpoint : These are official sources and reflect only British official concerns and interpretation of all events from the outlook and angles of the English. For example, the Deccan riots commission was specifically asked to judge whether the level of Government revenue demand was the cause of the revolt.

Poor Image Of India: Most of the events, revolts and happening have been presented in a biased manner. The colonial Government and official had their own political, economic, religious, cultural and social interest. They had always tried to present a poor picture of Indian Society, people, tradition, culture and even the achievements.Manipulating Facts : The sources have been presented and recorded in such a clever manner & with false evidences that the administrative failure of the East India company is hidden. For example, the Deccan Riot Commission alters evidences to give authenticity to the report of the commission. The Commission tried to prove to the British Parliament and the British industrialists that The East India Company’s Government was not responsible for Deccanpeasants unrest.Indian Moneylenders & Zamindars: The Indian moneylenders and the zamindars were blamed for miserable condition of peasants by British colonial records. Their high rates of interest &undue collection were given as reasons for peasant unrest. Verification From Other Sources: Official reportsare invaluable sources for the reconstruction of history because of the large amount of statistical data given in these reports. But they have to be always cross checked fromother sources like newspapers, unofficial accounts, legal records and where possibleoral sources.

4 marks 285

8 Who were Jotedars? Why was the Jotendars a powerful figure in many areas of rural Bengal ? Ans. The Jotedars a power figure in many areas of rural Bengal because :-

1. Rich Peasants were called Jotedars . The group of rich farmers were known as Jotedars. While several Zamindars were facing a crisis at the end of the 18th century, Jotedars were consolidating their position in the villages. For example, in rural area of North Bengal we get reference about a rich class of peasant they were known as Jotedars.

2. Causes for Rise of the Jotendars as powerful figure in many areas of rural Bengal were: By the early nineteenth century, Jotedars had acquired vast areas of land-sometimes as much as several thousand acres.

3. They controlled local trade as well as moneylending, exercising immense power over the poorer cultivators of the region

4. Control Over Share Croppers A large part of their land was cultivated through share croppers (adhiyars or bargadars) who brought their own plough, laboured in the field, and handed over half the produce to the Jotedars after the harvest.

4 marks 261

9 Why Zamindars defaulted on payments?Ans. The reasons for failure to pay promised revenue to the British Govt. were:

4marks

260

1. The initial revenue demand was more than 50% were very high, because the company felt that if the demand was fixed for all time to come they would never be able to claim for high shares in the condition of increased income.

2. This high demand was imposed in the 1790s, at that time the prices of agricultural produce were depressed, making it difficult for the ryots to pay their dues to the zamindar. Zamindars could not collect the rent, so they could not pay the revenue to the East India Company

3. The revenue was fixed, regardless of the harvest, and had to be paid in cash and by the sunset of a fixed date. Sunset laws were made for this purpose.

4. The permanent settlement initially limited the power of the Zamindars to collect rent from the ryot and manage his zamindari.

10 Why did the Santhals revolted against the British rule?1. Ans. The Santhals revolted against the British rule due to following reasons: The land that

Santhals had brought under cultivation was slipping away from their hands.2. The state was levying heavy taxes on the land that the Santhals had cleared, money lenders

(dikus) were charging them high rates of interest.Moneylenders were taking over the land from Santhals when debts remained unpaid.

3. Zamindars were asserting control over the Damin – i - koh area. By the 1850s, the Santhals felt that the time had come to rebel against Zamindars, money lenders and the colonial state in order to create an ideal world for themselves where they would rule.

4. It was after the Santhal Revolt (1855-56) that the Santhal Pargana was created, carving out 5,500 sq. miles from the districts of Bhagalpur and Birbhum.

4marks

270

11 Why did the Fifth report become the cause of intense debate in England? Explain. Ans. It was a report of the administration and the activities of the East India Company to the British Parliament. Parliament raised objections on the activities of the EIC in India. The industrialists and some other groups in Britain wanted to end the monopoly of EIC in Chinese & Indian trade and Indian administration. They wanted to revoke the Royal Charter which gave the company the monopoly rights. Private traders wanted a share in the trade with India and china. Industrialists wanted cheaper raw materials, more investment areas and larger markets. So they tried to prove the inefficiency of EIC All incidents of misrule, greed and corruption by the company were highlighted and debated by these groups in the British Parliament and in the British press. A series of regulatory Acts passed by the British Parliament forced EIC to send regular reports. The Fifth report was the 5 th report in this series of reports.

4marks

263

12 Value Based QuestionQ. A: Why did the end of the American Civil war increase the hardship of the Indian Peasant in the Deccan?

1. Ans. As the Civil War ended, cotton production in America revived and Indian cotton exports to Britain steadily declined.

2. Export merchants and sahukars in Maharashtra were no longer gave long-term credit. They could see the loss in demand for Indian cotton and cotton prices fell. They demanded repayment of outstanding debts.

3. In the new revenue settlement, the demand was increased dramatically: from 50 to 100 per cent

Q. B: What values could have prevented the clash between the peasant and the moneylenders? Ans. Value points - Empathy-Consideration for peasants - Compassion - Fair play

4 marks

280

13 What steps taken by the British East India Company to control the Zamindars ?1. Ans. The British East India Company took the following steps mainly to maintain its control

over the Zamindars: 2. Reducing Zamindars Influence: Disbanded the Zamindar’s troops

a) Abolished Custom duties and Cutcheries: (Courts) were brought under the supervision of collector appointed by the East India Company.

8marks

260

b) Lost Control over Panchayats: The power to deliver local judgement was also taken away from zamindars. In fact zamindars control and leadership over peasants through local caste and other panchayats weakened because :-

3. They lost their power to organize local police. 4. With the passing of time the British Collectorate emerged as an alternative centre of

authority, severely restricting the zamindar’s powers. 5. In case a Raja (powerful zamindars) failed to pay the land revenue, a Company official was

quickly dispatched to his zamindari with instruction “to take charge of the District and to use the most effective methods to destroy all the influence and the authority of the zamindar and his officers”.

6. Some of the scholars believe that some trouble creaters were also used to reduce the influence of Rajahs. For example, when the zamindar despactched their amlah (collector of revenue or representative of zamindar). Some notorious people use to create problem for zamindars. Some ryots deliberately delayed payment of revenue to the zamindar.

7. e. Rich ryots , village headmen, Jotedars and Mandals-were only often happy to see the Zamindar in trouble. The zamindar could not easily exercise his power over these people.

8. 14 Source Based Questions.

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:From the Fifth Report

Referring to the condition of zamindars and the auction of lands, the Fifth Report stated.The revenue was not realized with punctuality, and lands to a considerable extent were periodically exposed to sale by auction. In the native year 1203, corresponding with 1796 - 1797, the land advertised for sale comprehended a jumma or assessment of sicca rupees 28, 70, 061, theextent of land actually sold bore a jumma or assessment of 14,18, 756 and the amount of purchase money sicca rupees 17,90, 416,. In 1204 corresponding with 1797-98 the land advertised was for sicca rupees 26, 66, 191 the quality sold was for sicca rupees 21, 47, 580. Among the defaulterswere some of the oldest families or the country. Such were the rajahs of Nuddea, Rajeshaye Bishenpore (all districts of Bengal), and others, the dismemberment of whose estates at the end of each succeeding year threatened them with poverty and ruin, and in some instances presented difficulties to the revenue officer, in their efforts to preserve undiminished the amount of publicassessment.Q1. Why did Zamindars defaulted on payments? 3

1. Ans. The revenue demand was very high. 2. The high demand was imposed the 1790’s, a time when the prizes of agriculture produce

were depressed making it difficult for the ryots to pay their dues to the zamindars. 3. The revenue was invariable regardless of the harvest and had to be paid regularly.

Q2. Name some of the oldest families who were defaulters in payment? 2 Ans.The Rajas of Nuddea, Rajeshaye, Bishenpore (all district of Bengal) were some of the defaulters could not pay revenue in time.Q3. What was fifth report? 3

1. Ans. Fifth report is one amongst a series of report of the administrative activities of the East India company sent to the British parliament.

2. It content 1002 pages of which over 800 pages were appendices that reproduced petitions of zamindars and ryots.

3. Reports of collectors, statistical reports on revenue returns and notes on the revenue and judicial administration of Bengal and Madras,written by officials.

7marks

265

15 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: 7Marks

283

Deeds of hireWhen debts mounted the peasant was unable to pay back the loan to the moneylender. He had no option but to give over all his possessions – land, carts, and animals – to the moneylender. But without animals he could not continue to cultivate. So he took land on rent and animals on hire. He now had to pay for the animals which had originally belonged to him. He had to sign a deed of hire stating very clearly that these animals and carts did not belong to him. In cases of conflict, these deeds could be enforced through the court. The following is the text of a deed that a peasant signed in November 1873, from the records of the Deccan Riots Commission: I have sold to you, on account of the debt due to you, my two carriages having iron axles, with their appurtenances and four bullocks … I have taken from you on hire under (this) deed the very same two carriages and four bullocks. I shall pay every month the hire thereof at Rupees four a month, and obtain a receipt in your own handwriting. In the absence of a receipt I shall not contend that the hire had been paid.Q1. How did peasants pay back the loan to the moneylender? 3

1. Ans. When debts mounted the peasant was unable to pay back the loan to the moneylender. 2. He had no option but to give over all his possessions – land, carts, and animals – to the

moneylender. 3. But without animals he could not continue to cultivate. So he took land on rent and animals

on hireQ2. What was the “Deed Of hire”? Explain. 3

1. Ans. “A deed of hire “ stated very clearly that the land, animals and carts did not belong to peasant.

2. In cases of conflict, these deeds could be enforced through the court. For example on account of the debt due to the moneylender, the peasant’s two carriages with iron axles, and their appurtenances and four bullocks were taken from on hire under the deed.

3. The peasantpaid every month the hire price at the rate of Rupees four a month, and obtained a receipt in the moneylenders own handwriting. In the absence of a receipt the hire will not be treated as paid.

Q3. What was the relationship between the peasant and the moneylender? 1Ans. The “Deed of hire” was always in favour of the moneylender and the peasent was always exploited because he wasn’t educated, could not go to the court, he had no money to repay the debt, so he finally lost everything to the moneylender.

16 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

A Ryot PetitionsThis is an example of a petition from a ryot of the village of Mirajgaon, Taluka Karjat, to the Collector, Ahmednagar, Deccan Riots Commission: The sowkars ( sahukars ) … have of late begun to oppress us. As we cannot earn enough to defray our household expenses, we are actually forced to beg of them to provide us with money, clothes and grain, which we obtain from them not without great difficulty, nor without their compelling us to enter into hard conditions in the bond. Moreover the necessary clothes and grain are not sold to us at cash rates. The prices asked from us are generally twenty-five or fifty per cent more than demanded from customers making ready money payments … The produce of our fields is also taken by the sowkars , who at the time of removing it assure us that it will be credited to our account, but they do not actually make any mention of it in the accounts. They also refuse to pass us any receipts for the produce so removed by them.Q1. What kind of injustice was experienced by the ryots? 2

1. Ans. Refusal of loan by the moneylender .Peasant had no option but to give over all his possessions – land, carts, and animalsto the moneylender.Moneylender violated the rules.

2. Deccan Riot Commission established that moneylender charged Rs. 2000 as interest on a loan of Rs.100

Q2. Why was the harvest taken away by the moneylender and why was it not credited to the peasants account? 3

1. Ans. Moneylender manipulated laws& forged documents.2. The farmer’s harvest was taken the moneylenders as payment of the loan given by him to the

7marks

282

farmer, but nothing about it was ever mentioned in the loan account of the peasant.3. The peasant paid every month the hire price but did not get a receipt in the moneylenders

own handwriting. In the absence of a receipt the hire was not be treated as paid.Q3. Give details of the commission that investigated the petitions of the peasants? 2

1. Ans. The Government of India ordered the government of Bombay to set up an enquiry commission to investigate into the causes of Deccan Riots.

2. This report of the commission was presented to the British parliament in 1878.17 How did the zamindars managed to retain control over their zamindaris?

Ans. Faced with very high revenue demand and possible auction of their estates, zamindarsfound ways of surviving the pressures. Theyfoundthe followingways.

1. Fictitious sale of zamindaris was one of the methods.Zamindars agents manipulated the auctions. The revenue demand of the Company was deliberately unpaid, and unpaid balances were allowed to increase.

2. Zamindars made benami purchases . Of the total sales at the auctions, over 15 per cent were fictitious. When a part of the estate was auctioned, the zamindar’s men bought the property, bidding more than other purchasers.

3. New false buyers refused to pay up the purchase money , so the estate had to be resold. Once again it was bought by the zamindar’s agents, once again the purchase money was not paid, and once again there was an auction. This process was repeated endlessly.Finally the estate was sold at a low price back to the zamindar. Zamindar never paid the full revenue demand and the Company could not recover the unpaid balances .

4. Zamindars transferred some of his zamindari to female relatives because the Company had decreed that the property of women would not be taken over.

5. Outsiders not allowed . When people from outside the zamindari bought an estate at an auction, they could not always take possession. At times their agents would be attacked by lathyals of the former zamindar

6. People supported zamindars. The sale of the zamindari disturbed peoples sense of identity, their pride. The zamindars therefore were not easily displaced

7. Rules of revenue payment were made flexible . After 1790s zamindars consolidated their power. As a result, the zamindar’s power over the villages was strengthened.

8. The Jotedars consolidated their power in the countryside during the Great Depression of the 1930s that zamindars finally collapsed.

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18 Who was Francis Buchanan? How did his account help in understanding the history of the countryside?

1. Ans. Francis Buchanan was a physician who came to India and served in the Bengal Medical Service (from 1794 to 1815). For a few years he was surgeon to the Governor-General of India, Lord Wellesley.

2. During his stay in Calcutta he organised a zoo that became the Calcutta Alipore Zoo; he was also in charge of the Botanical Gardens for a short period.

3. On the request of the Government of Bengal, he undertook detailed surveys of the areas under the jurisdiction of the British East India Company. His report focused on what crops could be cultivated, which trees cut down, and which ones grown. His assessment for expansion of agriculture, increasing taxation and the commercial concerns of the East India Company.

4. Buchanan’s account valuable source but he was an employee of the British East India Company. He marched everywhere with a large army of people – draughtsmen, surveyors, palanquin bearers, coolies. The costs of the travels given by the East India Company because it needed the information that Buchanan was expected to collect. Buchanan had specific instructions about what he had to look for and what he had to record.

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19Damin-i-Koh the land given to the santhals in the foot hills of rajmahal hills in 1832. Santhals resisted against Britishers during the eighteenth century- i). Santhals soon found that the land they brought under cultivation was slipping

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away was from their hands. ii). The state was levying heavy taxes on the land. iii). The money lenders (dikus) were charging them high rates of interest and talking over the land when debts remained unpaid. iv). The zamindars were asserting control over the Damin area.

20The battle between the hoe and the plough was a long one’ Substinate the statement with reference to thr Santhals and Paharias of Raj Mahal Hills during 18th C

The British wanted to bring more land under cultivation for increasing agricultural produce and revenue.

ii. They failed to convince the Paharias to practice settled agriculture.

iii. Hill folk in the Rajmahal hills were known as Paharias

iv. They depended on forest produce and shifting cultivation for their living

v. They grew a variety of pulses and millets for consumption

vi. They were subsistence farmers and practiced hoe agriculture

vii. Collected different products from the forests to sell

viii. Collected wood for charcoal production

ix. They lived in hutments within tamarind groves

x. They rested in the shade of mango trees

xi. Land was the basis of their identity as well as survival

xii. They raided the settled population on the plains

xiii. Zamindars paid a regular tribute to them to maintain peace

xiv. Traders also gave small amounts to travel through their land

xv. The British gave land to Santhals (Damin-i-koh) to settle in cultivate

xvi. The Santhals cleared land and converted it into cultivable land

xvii. Santhals were ideal settlers

xviii. Santhals cleared forests cutting down trees

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xix. Santhals displaced the Paharias.

xx. They practiced plough agriculture

xxi. They ploughed land to grow rice and cotton

xxii. They took over the lower Raj Mahal Hills

21Steps taken by the East India Company to subdue the authority of the Zamindars in the 18th century.

i. The British took steps to restrict the autonomy of the zamindars.

ii. The revenue was high and in perpetuity.

iii. The Zamindar’s troops were disbanded.

iv. Custom duties were abolished

v. The zamindar’s powers to organize local justice and police were taken away

vi. The ‘cutcheries’ were brought under the supervision of a was taken away collector appointed by the Company.

vii. The collector emerged as an alternative center of authority and severely restricted the position of the Zamindar.

viii. In case a Zamindar failed to pay the revenue, the Company official was instructed to take charge of the district and destroy the authority of the zamindar.

ix. The zamindari lands were seized if they did not pay revenue on time.

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22The ryots saw the moneylenders as devious and deceitful:

i. The ryot of Bombay Deccan was dependent on the moneylender

ii. Under the Ryorwasi System, the revenue was very high.

iii. At times the crop failed due to failed rains.

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iv. Recurrent famines worsened the situation. To live through such times the ryots depended on loans from the moneylender

v. Once a loan was taken from the moneylender the ryot found it difficult to pay it back.

vi. The interest kept mounting and the debt remained unpaid.

vii. Apart from the farming expenditure the ryot also needed loans for his day to day needs leading to debt trap.

viii. Moneylenders took advantage of the ryot’s illiteracy.

ix. High rates of interest charged by the moneylender

x. The British officials encouraged expansion of cultivation.

xi. The peasants needed to clear land and this required money for buying land, implements cattle and seeds. They turned to the moneylender.

xii. Collectors collected revenue with extreme severity even in times of low production.

xiii. They seized the crops and imposed fines

xiv. Unable to pay revenue the peasants borrowed money from the moneylender to pay revenue

xv. Ryots were unable to pay back the loan

xvi. Debts mounted and loans remained unpaid

xvii. Dependence of ryots on moneylenders increased (debt trap)

xviii. Loans were taken to meet the everyday needs

xix. During 1860s, there was easy flow of credit to meet the growing need of cotton in the International Market. With the decline in cotton exports credit dried up. No further loans were given

xx. Revenue demand increased and so did the dependence on moneylenders

xxi. Moneylender’s refusal to give loans enraged the ryots

xxii. Moneylenders were insensitive to their plight

xxiii. Moneylenders violated the customary norms of the countryside

xxiv. That interest charged could not be more than the principal

xxv. Moneylenders manipulated and forged accounts

xxvi. Moneylenders defied the Limitation Law

xxvii. Moneylenders forced the peasants to sell their cattle, oxen and ploughs and rent the same at a price

xxviii. Moneylenders did not give receipts when loans were repaid

xxix. They entered fictitious figures in bonds

xxx. They acquired the peasants harvest at low prices

xxxi. They took over their property and land on non payment of taxes

2116.1 Why did the jotedars of Dinajpur in North Bengal resist?

i. Acquired vast areas of land and controlled trade as well as moneylending.

ii. Commanding figures against zamindars.

iii. Zamindars troubled them.

16.2 Mention the issues of conflict between jotedars and zamindars i). Landlords do not like this class of men, but it is evident that they are absolutely necessary, unless the landlords themselves would advance money to their necessitous tenantry . ii). The jotedars who cultivate large portions of lands are very refractory, and know that the zamindars have no power over them. iii). Jotedars fiercely resisted efforts by zamindars to increase the jama of the village , prevented zamindari officials from executing their duties , mobilized ryots who were dependent on them , and deliberately delayed payments of revenue to the zamindars

16.3 State the ways through which the jotedars resisted the authority of the zamindars. i). They pay only a few rupees on account of their revenue and then fall in balance almost every kist (instalment), they hold more lands than they are entitled to by their pottahs (deeds of contract). ii). Should the zamindar’s officers, in consequence, summon them to the cutcherry, and detain them for one or two hours with a view to reprimand them, they

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immediately go and complain at the Fouzdarry Thanna (police station) for imprisonment and at the munsiff ’s (a judicial officer at the lower court) cutcherry for being dishonoured and whilst the causes continue unsettled. iii). They instigated the petty ryots not to pay their revenue

23The ryots saw the moneylenders as devious and deceitful:

i. The ryot of Bombay Deccan was dependent on the moneylender

ii. Under the Ryorwasi System, the revenue was very high.

iii. At times the crop failed due to failed rains.

iv. Recurrent famines worsened the situation. To live through such times the ryots depended on loans from the moneylender

v. Once a loan was taken from the moneylender the ryot found it difficult to pay it back.

vi. The interest kept mounting and the debt remained unpaid.

vii. Apart from the farming expenditure the ryot also needed loans for his day to day needs leading to debt trap.

viii. Moneylenders took advantage of the ryot’s illiteracy.

ix. High rates of interest charged by the moneylender

x. The British officials encouraged expansion of cultivation.

xi. The peasants needed to clear land and this required money for buying land, implements cattle and seeds. They turned to the moneylender.

xii. Collectors collected revenue with extreme severity even in times of low production.

xiii. They seized the crops and imposed fines

xiv. Unable to pay revenue the peasants borrowed money from the moneylender to pay revenue

xv. Ryots were unable to pay back the loan

xvi. Debts mounted and loans remained unpaid

xvii. Dependence of ryots on moneylenders increased (debt trap)

xviii. Loans were taken to meet the everyday needs

xix. During 1860s, there was easy flow of credit to meet the growing need of cotton in the International Market. With the decline in cotton exports credit dried up. No further loans were given

xx. Revenue demand increased and so did the dependence on moneylenders

xxi. Moneylender’s refusal to give loans enraged the ryots

xxii. Moneylenders were insensitive to their plight

xxiii. Moneylenders violated the customary norms of the countryside

xxiv. That interest charged could not be more than the principal

xxv. Moneylenders manipulated and forged accounts

xxvi. Moneylenders defied the Limitation Law

xxvii. Moneylenders forced the peasants to sell their cattle, oxen and ploughs and rent the same at a price

xxviii. Moneylenders did not give receipts when loans were repaid

xxix. They entered fictitious figures in bonds

xxx. They acquired the peasants harvest at low prices

xxxi. They took over their property and land on non payment of taxes

THEME - 11( REPRESENTATION OF 1857 )

Key concepts in nutshell:-

Rebels and the Raj – The revolt of 1857 and its representation Pattern of Rebellion -People from different walks of life plunged into the revolt – due to their hatred againstthe oppressive policies of the British Centres of the Revolt – Lucknow, Kanpur,Barrelly,

Meerut, Arrah in Bihar.Leaders – Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, nana Saheb, Kunwar Singh, Bakt Khan, Begum Hazret Mehals, Tatya tope.Awadh revolt – direct annexation policy of Dalhousie – 1856. Hatred provoked –dispossessed taluqdars of Awadh , Injustice done to Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadhembittered the people.Revolt of the sepoys :1) Policy of social superiority of British 2) Interference in religious matters – greased cartridges issues.The vision of unity : 1) Hindu Muslim unity 2) Search for alternative powers 3) Rebels established parallel administration, in Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur after capturing centres of British power. Later they failed.British policy of repression.Repression – 1857 – North India was brought under strict law to prolonged attacked of British – one from Calcutta to North India, another from Punjab to recover Delhi,27000 Muslims hanged.Image of the Revolt – Pictorial images produced by British and Indians – posters and cartoons.The performance of terror : 1) Execution of rebelsNationalist imageries: 1) Inspiration to nationalistsCelebration as first war of Independence – leaders depicted as heroic figures.

1 “Rumours and prophecies played a part in moving people to action.” Justify the statement in the context of the revolt of 1857.

1. Ans. Rumours about bullets of new Enfield rifles being coated with the fat of cows and pigs and that biting those bullets would corrupt the Indian soldier’s caste and religion was the immediate cause of the revolt of 1857.

2. One rumour which originated in third week of January 1857 when a “low-caste” khalasi working in the magazine in Dum Dum had asked a Brahmin sepoy for a drink of water from his lota. The sepoy refused saying that the “lower caste’s” touch would pollute the lota. The khalasi said in anger, “You will soon lose your caste, as you will have to bite cartridges covered with the fat of cows and pigs.”

3. The rumours said that the British had mixed the bone dust of cows and pigs into the flour that was sold in the market. In towns and cantonments, sepoys and the common people refused to touch the atta.

4. There was fear and suspicion that the British wanted to convert Indians to Christianity. Panic spread fast.

5. The prophecy that British rule would come to an end on the centenary of the Battle of Plassey, on 23 June 1857.

6. In north India chapattis were being distributed from village to village. A person would come at night and Distribute chapatti to the watchman of the village and asking him to make five more and distribute to the next village,

7. We cannot understand the power of rumours and prophecies in history we do not know whether they are factually correct or not. But they reflect about the minds of people who believed them – their fears and apprehensions, their faiths and convictions.

8. Rumours circulate only when they resonate with the deeper fears and suspicions of people.The rumours in 1857 begin to make sense when seen in the context of the policies the British followed from the late 1820s. British adopted policies aimed at “reforming” Indian society by introducing Western education, Western ideas and Western institutions and even promoted conversion to Christianity.

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2 The Revolt of 1857 broke out in a mutiny. Justify your answer briefly.1. Revolt began in afternoon of 10 May 1857 The sepoys in the cantonment of Meerut broke

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out in mutiny. It began in the lines of the native infantry it spread very fast to the cavalry and then to the city. The ordinary people of the town and surrounding villages joined the sepoys. One group of sepoys arrived at the gates of the Red Fort early in the morning on 11 May. Another group of sepoys entered Delhi, and the ordinary people of the city joined them. Europeans were killed in large numbers. The rich of Delhi were attacked and looted. Sepoys declared Bahadur Shah Zafar as their leader.

2. Ans. Similarity in patternThe sepoys began their action with a signal.In many places it was the firing of the evening gun or the sounding of the bugle. They first seized the bell of arms and plundered the treasury. They then attacked government buildings – the jail, treasury, telegraph office, record room, bungalows and burnt all records.Proclamations in Hindi, Urdu and Persian were put up in the cities calling upon the population, both Hindus and Muslims, to unite, rise and exterminate the firangis.Bell of arms is a storeroom in which weapons are kept.

3. Everything and everybody connected with the white man became a target. . When ordinary people began joining the revolt, the targets of attack widened. In major towns like Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly, ordinary people joined the sepoys in attacking the British ,moneylenders and the rich. Peasants saw them as oppressors and allies of the British. In most places their houses were looted and destroyed. The mutiny in the sepoy ranks quickly became a rebellion. There was a general opposition of all kinds of authority and hierarchy.

4. Planning and coordination resulted in similar action . In the months of May and June, the British had no answer to the actions of the rebels. Individual Britons tried to save their own lives and the lives of their families. British rule “collapsed like a house made of cards’’.

3 Why was the revolt particularly widespread in Awadh? What promoted the peasants, taluqdars and zamindars to join the revolt?

1. Ans. The conquest of Awadh happened in stages. The Subsidiary Alliance had been imposed on Awadh in 1801. The Nawab had to disband his army & allow the British to post their troops in Awadh .Nawab had to follow the advice of the British Resident attached to the court. The Nawab dependent on the British to maintain law and order He lost control over the rebellious chiefs and taluqdars.

2. British decided to take Awadh because :a) The soil in Awadh was good for producing indigo and cotton.b) The region was centrally located and could be developed into the largest market of Upper

India.c) By the 1850sall the major areas of India like the Maratha lands, the Doab, the Carnatic, the

Punjab and Bengalhad been conquered. The takeover of Awadh in 1856 wouldcomplete the process of British conquest of India

3. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and exiled to Calcutta on false charge of bad governance but people loved the nawab and followed him to Kanpur singing sad songs.

4. Loss of livelihood The removal of the Nawab led to the ending of the court and its culture. The musicians, dancers, poets, artisans, cooks, retainers, administrative officials etc. lost their livelihood.

5. The taluqdars of the region lost their powe r, armies, forts, and freedom. The British were unwilling to tolerate the power of the taluqdars. Many of these taluqdars were loyal to the Nawab of Awadh. They joined Begum Hazrat Mahal in Lucknow to fight the British.

6. Awadh were actually heavily overassessed The increase of revenue demand in some places was from 30 to 70 per cent. So taluqdars & peasants were angry with annexation.Under the British, the peasant had to pay more revenue and methods of collection were more harsh.

7. The problems of the peasants were shared by the sepoys as majority of the sepoys were recruited from the villages of Awadh and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Many of them were Brahmins or from the “upper” castes. Awadh was, in fact, called the “nursery of the Bengal Army’’ The sepoys complained of low pay and the difficulty of getting leave and humiliating treatment by European officers. They were sent on overseas assignments.The issue of greased cartridges became the immediate cause of the revolt.

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8. Zamindars lost their control over their lands and resources. They had to pay assessed revenue to the British Govt. and their zamindari was auctioned if they failed to pay the revenue.

4 What were the Rebel proclamations in 1857? What did rebels want? To what extent did the vision of different social groups differ?

Ans. Rebels made the following proclamations in 1857:a) Regarding Zamindars . The British Government has imposed high revenue demand. They

have disgraced and ruined several zamindars, by public auction zamindars are summoned into court, arrested, put in goal and disgraced. Besides the resources of the zemindars are annually taxed with the subscription for schools, hospitals, roads, etc. After the end of British rule the zamindars powers will be restored.

b) Regarding Merchants . British Government has monopolised the trade of all the fine and valuable goods, such as indigo, cloth, and other articles of shipping, leaving only the trade of small items to the people.The profits of the traders are taxed, with postages, tolls and subscriptions for schools, etcThe merchants were imprisonedon the complaint of ordinary men. The rebels promised that if the merchants support them then the trade of every article, both by land and water will be opened to the Indian merchants.

c) Regarding Public Servants . Under the British Government, Indians employed in the civil and military services had little respect, low pay, and no influence. All the high paying and responsible posts of dignity in both the departments were reserved for Englishmen They shouldleave their loyalty to the British government and support the rebels for their better future.

d) Regarding Artisans . English manufactures imported into India hadresulted in loss of livelihood for the weavers, the cotton dressers, the carpenters, the blacksmiths, and the shoemakers, etc. If they support the rebels thenthey will be employed in the service of the kings, the rajahs, and the rich.

e) Regarding Pundits, Fakirs and Other Learned Persons. They were guardians of the Hindus and Muslims. Europeans are the enemies of both the religions. Rebels wanted the unity of all the communities in this holy war.

1. The rebels wanted to restore that old world .The proclamations completely rejected everything associated with British rule or firangi raj as they called it. They criticised the British for the annexations& broken treaties.

2. The fear that the British wanted to destroy the caste and religions of Hindus and Muslims and wanted to convert them to Christianity led people to believe many of the rumours that circulated at the time.

3. In many places the rebellion against the British resulted in an attack on all those who were seen as supporters of the British.The rebels humiliated the rich of a city. In the villages they burnt account books and set on fire the moneylenders’ houses

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5 Discuss the extent to which religious beliefs shaped the events of 1857.1. Ans. Conservative Indians were angered by the various social reforms initiated by the

British. The abolition of sati, legalizing of widow remarriages were regarded as unwanted interference in Indian Social.

2. Indian sentiments were also hurt by the Christian Missionaries.3. In 1850, the government passed the Hindu property law under which even after converting

to Christianity one could inherit one's ancestral property. 4. The people's resentment was further fuelled by the Maulvis and Brahmins whose cry that

their respective religions were in danger cloaked their selfish interests as these classes now lost their former importance.

5. The issue of greased cartridges added fuel to fire and became immediate cause of the revolt6. Solders forced to go on overseas assignment were excommunicated from their castes. They

had to perform purification ceremony.7. Many sadhus and fakirs also propagated the ideas of revolution.8. Distribution of chapatis and lotus were also efforts in trying to restore the old order.

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6 Why did the mutinous sepoys in many places turned to erstwhile rulers to provide leadership to the revolt?Ans.

1. To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required . So the rebels sometimes turned to Indian rajas & zamindars. For example the sepoys of Meerut rushed to Delhi and appealed to the old Mughal emperor to accept the leadership of the revolt. Bahadur Shah’s first reaction was one of horror and rejection .But under pressure from sepoys agreed to be the nominal leader of the rebellion.

2. In Kanpur, the sepoys and the people of the town forcedNana Sahib, the successor to Peshwa Baji Rao II, to join the revolt as their leader.

3. In Jhansi, rani Lakshmi Bai was forced by the popular pressure to accept the leadership of the uprising.

4. Kunwar Singh , a local zamindar in Arrah in Bihar was proclaimed as the leader of the people

5. In Awadh,people were disappointed with the removal of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the annexation of the state by the British. People at Lucknow celebrated the fall of British rule by and appointed Birjis Qadr, the young son of the Nawab, as their leader.

6. Not everywhere were the leaders people of the court – ranis, rajas, nawabs and taluqdars. Most of the times the message of rebellion was carried by ordinary men and women and in some places by religious men too. For example reports from Meerutshowed the involvement a fakir riding on an elephant and instructing the sepoys.

7. After the annexation of Awadh, there were many religious leaders and so called prophets preaching the destruction of British rule.

8. Local leaders spoke to the peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt. For example Shah Mal mobilised the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh andGonoo, a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.

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7 What measures were undertaken to ensure unity among the rebels?Ans.

1. The rebel proclamations in 1857 repeatedly appealed to all sections of the population, irrespective of their caste and creed.

2. Many of the proclamations were issued by Muslim princes or in their names but these also respected the sentiments of Hindus. The rebellion was seen as a war in which both Hindus and Muslims had to fight together.

3. The proclamation issued under the name of Bahadur Shah appealed to the people to join the fight under the banner of both Muhammad and Mahavir .The ishtahars talked about the pre-British Hindu-Muslim past and glorified the coexistence of different communities under the Mughal Empire..

4. Unity between Hindus and Muslim could not be broken by British. In Bareilly in December 1857, the British spent Rs 50,000 to incite the Hindu population against the Muslims, but the attempt failed.

5. The administrative structures established by the rebels were aimed at meeting the demands of war. In Awadh, the resistance to the British lasted longest, plans of counter-attack were made by the Lucknow court and hierarchies of command lasted till early 1858.

6. A panchayat composed of native officers drawn from each regiment were a nightly occurrence in the Kanpur sepoy lines. This suggests is that some of the decisions were taken collectively.

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8 Discuss the evidence that indicates planning and coordination among the rebels.Ans.

1. The similarity in the pattern of the revolt in different places was due to planning and coordination. There was communication between the sepoy lines of various cantonments. The 7th Awadh Irregular Cavalry refused to accept the new cartridges in early May, then they wrote to the 48th Native Infantry and awaited the 48th Native Infantry’s order.

2. Sepoys or their messengers moved from one station to another planning and talking about

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the rebellion & spreading the ideas of revolution. The pattern of the mutinies and the evidence suggests some sort of planning and coordination but we do not know how were the plans made? Who were the planners?

3. Captain Hearsey of the Awadh Military Police reported one incident that the panchayat of native officers from each regiment decided important matters on the basis of collective decisions. Charles Ball,also wrote that panchayats were a nightly occurrence in the Kanpur sepoy lines.

4. The sepoys lived in lines and shared a common lifestyle and many of them came from the same caste sotogether they decided their own future. The sepoys designed of their own rebellion.

9 What steps did the British take to quell the revolt?Ans.

1. The British passed a series of laws to help them quell the insurgency (before sending out troops forreconquering North India) by a number of Acts, passed in May and June 1857.

2. The whole of North India was put under martial law. 3. The normal processes of law and trial were suspended rebellion had only death

punishment. All British military officers and ordinary Britons were given the power to try and punish Indians suspected of rebellion.

4. Armed with these newly made special laws and the reinforcements brought in from Britain, the British began the task of suppressing the revolt. Theyrecognised the symbolic value of Delhi. So the British started a two way attack. One force moved from Calcutta into North India and the other from the Punjab (which was largely peaceful )for reconquering Delhi.

5. British attempts to recover Delhi began by September 1857 end the city was finally captured. The losses on both sides were heavy. That rebels from all over North India came to Delhi to defend the capital.

6. In the Ganegtic plain the uprising that had huge popular support . Britishhad to reconquer the area village by village. As the village people were hostile.

7. In Awadh, three-fourths of the adult male population was involved in rebellion . This area was brought under control byalmost after one year in March 1858.

8. The British used military power on a large scale . In large parts of Uttar Pradesh, big landholders and peasants foughtas united so the British tried to break up the unity by promising to give back to the big landholders their estates. Rebel landholders were dispossessed and the loyal rewarded. Many landholders died fighting the British or they escaped into Nepal where they died of illness or starvation.

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10 What do visual representation of the revolt of 1857tell us? How do historians analyse these representations?Ans.

1. There are very few records on the rebels’ point of view . There are some rebel proclamations, notifications and letters written by rebel leaders. Most rebels were common people who have not left any records.

2. Most accounts only project British point of view . Official accounts by colonial administrators and military men, information in their letters .diaries, autobiographies and official histories. We can see the official mind-set and the changing British attitudes through the memos and notes, assessments of situations, and reports that were produced.

3. British views have now been collected in a set of volumes on mutiny records . These tell us about the fears and anxieties of officials and their views of the rebels.

4. British newspapers and magazines narrated in detail the violence of the mutineers and these stories forced the British public demand punishmentand revenge.

5. The pictorial images produced by the British and Indians : paintings, pencil drawings, etchings, posters, cartoons, bazaar prints. British pictures offer a variety of images that were meant to arouse anger and a range of different emotions and reactions. Some of them celebrate the British heroes who saved the English and punished the rebels.

6. “Relief of Lucknow”, waspainted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1859. It shows the rebel

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forces in besieged Lucknow.Henry Lawrence, the Commissioner of Lucknow, collected the Christian population and took refuge in the heavily fortified Residency. Lawrence was killed but the Residency continued to be defended under the command of Colonel Inglis. On 25 September James Outram and Henry Havelock arrived, to defend British garrisons. On Twenty days later Colin Campbell, who was appointed as the new Commander of British forces in India, rescued the British garrison in Lucknow. Barker’s painting celebrates the moment of Campbell’s entry.In British accounts the siege of Lucknow became a story of survival, heroic resistance and the ultimate victory of British power. . At the centre of the canvas are the British heroes – Campbell, Outram and Havelock. The gestures of the hands of those around lead the spectator’s eyes towards the centre. The heroes stand on a ground that is well lit, with shadows in the foreground and the damaged Residency in the background. The dead and injured in the foreground are testimony to the suffering during the siege, while the triumphant figures of horses in the middle ground emphasise the fact that British power and control had been re-established. To the British public such paintings were reassuring. They created a sense that the time of trouble was past and the rebellion was over; the British were the victors Britain Newspaper reports publishedthe tales of violence against English women and their honour it shaped public imagination, feelings and attitudes to the revolt.

7. Paintings and cartoons tell about the viewsof those who appreciated or criticised the images, and bought copies and reproductions to put up in their homes. These images reflected the emotions and feelings of the times in which they were produced.

8. They shaped sensibilities of the people . Fed by the images that circulated in Britain, the public sanctioned the most brutal forms of repression of the rebels. On the other hand, nationalist imageries of the revolt helped shape the nationalist imagination

12 Examine any two sources, one visual and one text, from the chapter. What do they tell us about the victor and the vanquished?Ans.

1. “In Memoriam” was painted by Joseph Noel Paton two years after the mutiny . The British government was asked to protect the honour of innocent women and ensure the safety of helpless children. Artists painted visual representations of trauma and suffering. English women and children are huddled in a circle, looking helpless and innocent, waiting for– dishonour, violence and death. “In Memoriam” only suggests violence It arouses anger and against the rebels. It represents the rebels as violent and brutish, but the rebels are invisible in the picture. In the background the British rescue forces arrive as saviours.

2. Miss Wheeler stands firmly at the centre, defending her honour, single-handedly killing the attacking rebels. In all such British paintings the rebels are like demons. Here, four strong males with swords and guns are shown attacking a woman. The woman’s struggle to save her honour and her life, has a deeper religious meaning also: it is a battle to save the honour of Christianity. The book lying on the floor is the Bible.

3. In Britain, demands for punishment & revenge grew louder . Visual representations and news about the revolt created a class which demanded violent repression and revenge as both necessary and just Threatened by the rebellion, the British felt that they had to demonstrate their invincibility.

4. The image of allegorical female figure of justice with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other with aggressive posture, anger and the desire for revenge shows the British attitude. She is trampling sepoys under her feet and a lot of Indian women with children bent with fear. There were many other pictures and cartoons in the British press that demanded brutal repression of the rebels. This was expressed in the cruel way in which the rebels were executed. They were blown from guns, or hanged from the gallows. Images of these executions were widely circulated through popular journals.

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5. No time for clemency cartoon. At a time when the call was for vengeance, pleas for moderation were mocked. When Governor General Canning declared that a gesture of leniency and a show of mercy would help in winning back the loyalty of the sepoys, he was mocked in the British press. In one of the cartoons published in the pages of Punch, a British journal of comic satire, Canning is shown as a looming father figure, with his protective hand over the head of a sepoy who still holds an unsheathed sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, both dripping with blood

6. The leaders of the revolt were presented as heroic figures leading the country into battle, against oppressive imperial rule. Heroic poems were written about Rani Laxmibai who, with a sword in one hand and the reins of her horse in the other, fought for the freedom of her motherland. Rani of Jhansi was represented as a masculine figure chasing the enemy, slaying British soldiers and bravely fighting till her last. Children in many parts of India grow up reading the lines of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan: “Khoob lari mardani woh to Jhansi wali rani thi” (Like a man she fought, she was the Rani of Jhansi). In popular prints Rani Lakshmi Bai is usually portrayed in battle armour, with a sword in hand and riding a horse – a symbol of the determination to resist injustice and alien rule.

7. The images show how the painters who saw those events felt, and what they wanted to convey.

8. Nationalist Imageries The national movement in the twentieth century drew its inspiration from the events of 1857. A whole world of nationalist imagination was woven around the revolt. It was celebrated as the First War of Independence in which all sections of the people of India came together to fight against imperial rule. Art and literature, & the writing of history, has kept alive the memory of 1857.

9.13 What were the policies and administrative causes of the Revolt of 1857?

Ans. (a) Imperialist policy of the British administrators. (b) Doctrine of Lapse (c) Abolition of pensions and Titles. (d) Disrespect to the Mughal Emperor. (e) Annexation of Awadh (f)Misuse of Subsidiary alliance.

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14 What were the causes of the failure of the 1857 Revolt?Ans. (a) Breaking out before of the fixed date.

(b) Co-operation of the native states to the British. (c) Lack of co-operation from the Elite. (d) Limited resources of the Rebels. (e)Absence of a common ideal. (f) Diplomacy of the British.

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15 Discuss the nature of revolt of 1857Ans. (A) Only a Sepoy mutiny –

(i) The main ground for the uprising had been prepared by the soldiers. (ii) Important and immediate causes of the revolt was the use of greased cartridges. (iii) The revolt did not spread throughout the country. (iv) The revolt did not enjoy the cooperation and support of the common people. (B) First war of Independence –

(i) Lakhs of artisans, farmers and soldiers struggled united against the British rule. (ii) Hindu and Muslim took actively part in the movement. (iii)The masses took active part in the struggle against the British at almost all centres of uprisings. (i)It had country wide presence.

(C) First war of Independence – (i) Modern historians believe that it was neither. It was a sepoy mutiny in most parts of South India (ii) In North and North western India it was a mass civil disobedience movement with some evidence of planning and coordination.

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(iv) In North Eastern parts of the country its impact could only be seen in some pockets.

16. What were the military causes of 1857 revolt?Ans. Political & Administrative Causes :-

(a) Imperialist policy of the British administrators. (b) Doctrine of Lapse (c) Abolition of pensions and Titles. (d) Disrespect to the Mughal Emperor. (e) Annexation of Awadh (f) Misuse of Subsidiary alliance.

Economic Causes :- (a) Drain of wealth

(b) Destruction of Indian industries, trade & commerce. (c) Exorbitant rate of land revenue. (d) Resumption of Inami or rent-free lands. (e) Unemployment and poverty among the masses. Social Causes :- (a) Maltreatment of the Indians. (b) Interference in the social life of Indians. (c) Spread of Western Education. (d) Propagation of Christianity. Military Causes :-

(a) Unrest among the Indian soldiers. (b) Increase ratio of Indian soldiers. (c) faulty distribution of troops. (d) General Service Enlistment Act. (e) Greased cartridges.

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17 Source based Questions :- Read the following passage and answer the following questions given below:We get significant information from Azamgarh proclmattion. 25 Aug, 8157 as to what the rebels wanted. Section III. Regarding Public servants It is not a secret things, that under the British Government, native employed in the civil and military service have little respect, low pay and no manner of influence; and all he post of dignity and emolument in both the departments are exclusively bestowed on Englishmen ….Therefore, all the native in the British service ought to be alive to their religion and interest, and adjuring their loyalty to the English side with the Badshahi Government and obtain salaries of 200 and 300 rupees for the present, and be entitled to high post in the future…… Section IV – Regarding Artisans. It is entitled that the Europeans, by the introduction of English articles into India, have thrown the weavers, the cotton dressers, the carpenters, the blacksmiths, and the shoemakers, etc., out of employ, and have engrossed their occupations, so that every description of native artisan has been reduced to beggary. But under the Badshahi Government the native artisans will exclusively be employed in the service of the kings, the rajas, and the rich; and this will no doubt ensure their prosperity therefore, these artisans ought to renounce the English ServiceQ1. How did the introduction of English affect the artisans?2Ans. The Artisans were affected in the following manner:-

They were deprived of their employment as the old rulers and nobility declined. The cheap machine-made goods of Britain captured the Indian markets. Consequently, they

lost their overseas and Indian markets too.The native artisan was reduced to beggary. Q2. How would the condition of the artisan improve under the Badshahi Government? 1

Ans. Under the Badshahi Government, the native artisans will exclusively be employed in theservice of the kings, the rajas and the rich.

Q3. Why were the public servants dissatisfied with the British Government? 2

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Ans. Under the British government, natives employed in the civil and military service They had no respect. Their salaries were low. They had no decision making power or influence.

Q4. What did the rebel proclamation repeatedly appeal for? 2 Ans. The rebel proclamation repeatedly appealed that the Indians should take care of their religion and interests and they should side with the Badshahi government.

18The nature of leadership that emerged against the British in the revolt of 1857 -

i. Sepoys of Meerut ii. Bahadur Shah zafar from Delhi

iii. Nanasaheb from Kanpur iv. Rani Lakshmibai from Jhansi

v. Kunwar Singh from Arrah, Bihar vi. Birjis Qadr in Lucknow

vii. fakirs from Meerut viii. religious leaders & prophets from Awadh

ix. Shahmal from UP

x. Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of Singhbhum in Chattisgarh

xi. Maulvi Ahmedullah from Hyderabad

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19Lord Dalhousie’s policy of annexation created diddatisfection amongst the people of Awadh? How?

i. Imposition of Subsidiary Alliance reduced the powers of the Nawab

ii. Soon after the Nawab was dethroned by the British and exiled on the basis of misgovernment

iii. Many people followed the Nawab when he left Lucknow

iv. People sang songs of lament

v. There was widespread sense of grief and loss

vi. People were agonized by the moving out of their ruler as the Nawab was very popular

vii. There were huge material losses

viii. Dissolution of the court and its culture

ix. Many people lost their livelihood

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x. Dispossession of taluqdars who were father figures

xi. The power of taluqdars was taken away by the British

xii. The sepoys of the British army who came from Awadh carried over their grievances to the sepoy lines

xiii. The new land revenue system introduced by the British imposed high taxes and was unpopular

xiv. The dissatisfaction resulted in a popular revolt

Chapter- 12COLONIAL CITIES

URBANISATION, PLANNING AND ARCHITICTURE

Key concepts in nutshell:-

Sources :- ( I ) Records of the East India company. ( ii ) Census reports ( iii ) Municipal reports.The urban population increased from about 10 % to 13 % during the period 1900-1940.During the end of the 18th century Madras, Bombay and Calcutta had developed into important ports.The ruling elite built racially exclusive clubs, race courses and theatres.The development of new modes of transportation such as horse drawn carriages, trams, buses etc. facilitated peoples to live at distant place from the places of their work.The rulers everywhere try to express their power through buildings. Many Indianadopted European styles of architecture as symbols of modernity and civilization.The settlement of the local peoples were named “Black Town”. A fortification wasbuilt around the “ White Town” to separate it from the “ Black Town”. Difficulties in collecting datas :- (i) Peoples were unwilling to give correct information. (ii) Figure of mortality and diseases were difficult to collect.Ports :- Madras, Bombay and CalcuttaForts :- St. George in Madras and Fort William in Calcutta

1 What purpose did mapping serve to the colonial government?Ans.

1. Mapping helped to understand the landscape and know the topography and thus helped them to exert better control over a region. Town maps in particular provided information regarding the location of hills, rivers and vegetation. It was necessary for planning structures for defence purpose.

2. Maps showed the location of ghats, alignment of roads and density of houses which were used to see commercial possibilities and to plan for taxation policy.

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2 Explain how conversion of census data into convenient statistical data by the British in India 2 321

was riddled with ambiguities in the late nineteenth century?Ans.

1. The census commissioners made categories for classifying different sections of population.2. However this classification was usually arbitrary and failed to hold the fluid and overlapping

identities of people.

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3 Why were hill stations set up? Name three hill stations set up by the British?Ans. Hill stations:

Some students will write that Hill stations were not exclusive racial enclaves and mention how, which must be given credit

i. Europeans recreated settlements reminiscent of their homes.

ii. Buildings were built in European style.

iii. Churches and educational institutions were set up by the British

iv. They were the summer capital for British Government like Simla, Nainital, Ooty etc

v. Recreation activities were shaped by British cultural traditions eg: theatre, golf course, picnics, tea parties

vi. Civil Lines and cantonment areas developed

vii. Tea and coffee plantations brought labour from different parts of India

viii. British troops were kept here.

ix. Maharajas/merchants built their homes there

x. Sanatoriums were set up in hill stations

1. Hill stations were set up as secure places for military cantonments, to guard the frontiers and to launch campaign against enemy rulers. They had climates which reminded the rulers about their home towns.

2. Shimla, Mount Abu and Darjeelingwere the three of the many hill stations established by British

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4 How did the prominent Indian merchants establish themselves in the colonial cities?Ans.

1. Indian merchants established themselves by investing in new ventures such as cotton mills in Bombay.

2. They patronised building activity in the city. For example, the university hall in Bombay was made with money donated by a rich Parsee merchant Sir Cawasjee Jehangir Readymoney.

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5 Name the region where the Lottery Committee initiated town planning during 18th century. Mention any one feature of it.

1. During the 18th century the Lottery Committee initiated town planning in Calcutta.2. The Lottery committee commissioned a new map of the city to get a broader picture of

Calcutta.

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6 What were Civil Lines during the colonial rule? Ans.

i. British attitudes in India were shaped by a constant fear of rebellion after the Revolt of 1857. They felt that towns needed to be better defended, and white people had to live in more secure and segregated enclaves, away from the threat of the “natives”.

ii. White people began to live in the Civil Lines . Pasturelands and agricultural fields around the older towns were cleared, and new urban spaces called “Civil Lines” were set up.

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7 Why were the records of the colonial cities preserved? Ans. 1. To know the change in population and to have data on different demographic trends.

2. For reconstructing the history of growth of the colonial cities and for the purpose of town planning.

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8 Write the common characteristics of the three colonial cities Bombay, Calcutta and Madras? 1. The English East India Company established their administrative and trade centres in these

cities. Ports developed near these cities.2. They were restructured as White and Black settlement areas, with most facilities in the White

settlement areas.

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9 What role did lottery committee play in development of Calcutta? 1. It raised funds for improvement of the city through public lotteries. It got a new map of

Calcutta.2. Building of roads in Indian part of city and clearing the river bank of encroachments.

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10 What is the difference between cities and villages? 1. Main activities of villages were agriculture, domesticating animals and foraging in the

forest for food.2. Main occupations of towns were artisanal activities, traders, paid labour, white collar

jobs etc. towns dominated the villages. They prospered on surplus and the taxes acquired from agriculture. The towns & cities were fortified showing their separation from villages.

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11 (Value Based Question)Read the following passage carefully. Answer all the questions given after it.

Amar Katha (My Story)Binodini Dasi (1863-1941) was a pioneering figure in Bengali theatre in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and worked closely with the dramatist and director Girish Chandra Ghosh (1844-1912). She was one of the prime movers behind the setting up of the Star Theatre (1883) in Calcutta which became a centre for famous productions. Between 1910 and 1913 she serialised her autobiography, Amar Katha (My Story). A remarkable personality, she exemplified the problem women faced in recasting their roles in society. She was a professional in the city, working in multiple spheres – as an actress, institution builder and author – but the patriarchal society of the time scorned her assertive public presence. Q1. What were the achievements of Binodini Das? Why was she regarded with suspicion? 2 Ans. The achievements of Binodini Das were that she was well read and the main inspiration in the setting up of the Star Theatre (1883) in Calcutta which became a centre for famous productions. Between 1910 and 1913 she serialised her autobiography, Amar Katha . She was regarded with suspension because conservative people thought that an educated women would threaten the traditional social order.Q2. What values do you infer from this passage? 2Ans. The values inferred from this passage are individualism, humanism and rationalism. The belief that every individual had the right to progress. Women are also individuals and they should not be confined to the four walls of the house.

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12 Which new types of cities emerged? What function did they serve? 4 324

Ans.1. By the 18th century , madras, Calcutta and Bombay had become important ports and cities.

The settlement that came up here were convenient points for collecting goods. The English East India Company built its factories (i.e. mercantile offices) there and because of competition among European companies fortified there settlement for protection. In Madras, Fort St. George, in Calcutta Fort William and in Bombay the Fort marked out the areas of British settlement which were known as ‘White town’. The Indian Merchants, artisan and other women who had economic dealings with Europeans merchants lived outside their fort. These forts in settlement of train own known as ‘Black Towns’.

2. After 1850s cottons mills were setup by Indian merchants and businessmen in Bombay and European – owned jute mills were established in Rishra (1855) on the outskirts of Calcutta.

3. Kanpur , Specializing in leather ,wood crafts and cotton textile and Jamshedpur , specializing in steel were prominent cities.

4. In 1864 Viceroy John Lawrence officially moved his councils to Shimla and made it his winter capital.

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13 Why did prominent Indian merchants try to establish themselves in the colonial city?Ans. Prominent Indian merchant establish themselves in colonial city in different phases. They establish themselves in all the three colonial cities i.e., Madras (Channai), Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata).

i. All these Indian merchants tried to establish their relation with the agents of the company. As all these colonial cities were trade and administrative centres. The Indian merchants wanted to easily establish their relation with the Europeans. There cities had various comforts such as modern hotels, restaurant, lodging, boarding, transport facilities, roadways and shipping.

ii. Prominent Indian merchant played active role in collecting opium from different places of Rajasthan and Malwa, when Bombay become a major centre of opium trade with China They brought opium on horses, ponies, camels by road transport etc. They earned money as middle man between farmers , companies agents and officials. Not only East India Company but some of the government official and later or other European also participated in illegal trade of opium. The Indian prominent merchants become very rich. They constructed big building in all big cities of colonial period.

iii. When the industrial revolution in England expanded, these colonial cities became the entry point for British manufacture goods and exported Indian raw materials (which was to be used in large scale in industries of England). Prominent Indian merchant also had a share in these trade activities.

iv. With the introduction of railways in 1853 there was a change in the fortunes of towns. Economic activity gradually shifted away from traditional towns which were located along old routes and rivers. Every railway station became a collection depot for raw materials and a distribution point for imported goods. For example Mirzapur located on the Ganges, which specialized in collecting cotton goods from the Deccan, declined when a railway link was made to Bombay. With the expansion of the railway network, railway workshops and railways colonies were established Railways towns like Jamalpur, Waltair and Bareilly developed.

v. The Indian merchants comprised of the people of different communities and castes such as Parsi, Marwari, Konkani, Arbs, Gujarati. Baniyas, Boras and Jews. Some of the members of this community invested money in big modern industry, shipping and Airlines also. They donated money for construction of inns, wells, tanks, temples, Mosque, Churches and other places of religion and worships.

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14 Why was the hill stations developed in India by British? Ans. British developed hill stations because of the following reasons:- 1. Defence need of British army. It provided better view of surrounding areas. 2. Strategic places of Army. It kept them safe from their enemies. 3. Cool climate was nearer to their home climate. 4. Hill stations were free from epidemics and had a healthy climate. They were not over

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crowded like the plains. 5. Home away home for British where they developed British type townships.

15 Assess the impact of health and defence needs on town planning in Colonial Calcutta.Ans. In 1756, Sirajudula the Nawab of Bengal sacked the small fort which the British traders had built to house their goods. Consequently when Sirajudaula was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, the British built a new fort. Fort William could not be easily attacked.

i. Defence need . Around Fort William, a vast open space was left which came to be known as the Maidan or garer-math. This was done so there would be no obstructions to a straight time of fire from the Fort against an advancing enemy army.

ii. English Settlement in Calcutta . Soon the British began to move out of the Fort and build residences along the periphery of the Maidan. This was how the English Settlement in Calcutta started taking shape. The vast open space around the Fort became Calcutta’s first significant town planning measure.

iii. Lord Wellesley was concerned about the conditions that existed in the Indian part of the city the fith, overcrowding and the poor drainage. He wrote a minute (an administrative order) in 1803 on the need for town planning and set up various committees for this purpose. It was believed that creating open places in the city would make the city healthier. Consequently many bazaars, ghats, burial ground and tanneries were cleared or removed.

iv. The Lottery Committee . After Wellesley’s departure, the Lottery Committee carried on with the work of Town Planning. In its drive to make the Indian areas cleaner, the committee cleared the river bank of encroachment and pushed the poor to the outskirts of Calcutta. The outbreak of cholera and plague epidemics in the 19th century gave a further impetus to town planning. The government believed that there was a direct link between living conditions and the spread of disease. Densely built up areas were regarded as insanitary as it obstructed sunlight and circulation of air.

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16 What was the condition of the cities during the colonial rule in India? Ans.

i. New class of laborious poor and workers were emerging . Rural labourers were migrating to the cities for employment. Many were migrating due to the attractive city life. A large number of labours were coming to the hill stations where plantation of tea and coffee were done.

ii. Colonial rulers conducted surveys. They collected the statistical data and published the governmental reports from time to time.

iii. Architecture of the buildings was changed . Maps of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta were quite different from the old ones

iv. Caste barriers and regional differences in cities were diluted because of education, public transport, public parks, cinemas and other sources of entertainment. A free and cosmopolitan culture emerged in the cities.

v. There were a number of opportunities for women in the cities. Some social reformers supported women educations which was opposed by the orthodox opposed it. Gradually the participation of women in public places increased. They entered into the new occupations of the cities as maid, factory labourers, teachers, actress etc.

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17 Describe the growth of cantonments in IndiaAns.

i. For the defence of their Empire, the British Government established cantonments at strategic places. They also built cantonment on the borders of the many important native states to check the disturbance in these states and to control the activities of the rulers.

ii. In 1765, Lord Robert Clive initiated the policy of building cantonments for British troops to keep them “cantoned ” in one place, to enforce discipline and military way of life and also to keep them in a sanitized environment. During that time there were 62

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cantonments in India. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the most important cantonments in India were at Lahore, Peshawar, Ferozpur, Agra, Bareily, Jallandhar, Jhansi, Nagpur, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi. The newly established cantonment at Bhatinda is the largest of the 62 cantonments in the country.

iii. It is entrusted with the task of administration of cantonments and management of defence lands both inside and outside the cantonments. The cantonments are administered by the Cantonment Boards. The Cantonment Boards are autonomous bodies functioning under the overall control of the Central Government in the Ministry of Defence under the provisions of Cantonments Act, 1924.

iv. Cantonment Boards provided mandatory civic duties like provisions of Public health, sanitation, primary education, street lighting, etc.

18 What are the different colonial architectural styles which can be seen in Bombay city? Ans. The different colonial architectural styles which can be seen in Bombay city are:- (A) The new classical / The neo-classical Its characteristics included construction of geometrical structure fronted with lofty pillars It was derived from a style that was originally typical of buildings in ancient Rome, and was subsequently revived, re-adapted and made popular during the European Renaissance. Examples of this style are the:- 1 The Town Hall in Bombay , 2 Elphinstone Circle / Horniman Circle (B) The neo-Gothic It is characterised by high-pitched roofs, pointed arches and detailed decoration. The Gothic style had its roots in buildings, especially churches, built in northern Europe during the medieval period. Examples of this style are;- 1 The Secretariat , 2 University of Bombay , 3 High Court of Bombay , 4 Victoria Terminus (C)The Indo-Saracen A new hybrid architectural style which combined the Indian with the European styles. “Indo” was shorthand for Hindu and “Saracen” was a term Europeans used to designate Muslim. Examples of this style are:- 1 The Gateway of India , 2 The Taj Mahal Hotel

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19 To what extent are census data useful in reconstruction patterns of urbanization in the colonial context ? Or“A careful study of census reveals some fascinating trends in urbanization in 19 th century”. Support the statement with facts.Ans. Census data are very useful in reconstructing pattern of urbanization in the colonial context. Due to the following reasons:-

i. The colonial government believed in colour and racial discrimination. There census data provide us the exact number of population as well as the total population of while and blacks.

ii. This data made it easy for planning towns, designing their layout, make provisions for future expansion, keeping in view living standards, needs and style of the whites as well as of the blacks.

iii. This data also tell us the total number of people that had been adversely affected by deadly diseases.

iv. Census data provide us complete information about total number of different communities, their language, their works and means of livelihood as well as about their caste and religion .

v. The growth of cities was mentioned through regular head counts. By the mid nineteenth century several local censuses had been carried out in different regions.

vi. The first all-India census was attempted in 1872. Thereafter, from 1881, decimal (conducted every ten years) census become a regular feature. This collection of data is a valuable source for studying urbanization in India.

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vii. When we look at these reports it appears that we have solid data to measure historical change. The endless pages of tables on disease and death, or the enumeration of people according their age, sex, caste and occupation, provide a vast mass of figures that creates an illusion of concreteness.

viii. But historians have, found that these figures can be misleading. Before we use these figures we need to understand who collected the data, and why and how they were gathered. We also need to know what was measured and what was not.

Or

Ans.i. From 19th century to the first two decades of 20th century the ratio of urban population

was very low and had remained stagnant. ii. From 1900 to 1940the urban population increased from 10% to 13%

iii. There were important variations in the pattern of urban development in different parts.iv. The smaller towns had limited opportunity to grow economically. On the other hand

Calcutta, Madras and Bombay as new commercial and administrative centres were growing at the expense of other existing urban centres. These cities became the hub of colonial economy.

20 Assess the impact of health and defence needs on town planning in Colonial CalcuttaAns.

i. Defence Requirement In 1756, Sirajudula the Nawab of Bengal sacked the small fort which the British traders had built to house their goods. So when Sirajudaula was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, British built a new fort. Fort William could not be easily attacked. Around Fort William, a vast open space was left which came to be known as the Maidan or garer-math. This was done so there would be no obstructions to a straight time of fire from the Fort against an advancing enemy army. Soon the British began to move out of the Fort and build residences along the periphery of the Maidan. This was how the English Settlement in Calcutta started taking shape. The vast open space around the Fort became Calcutta’s first significant town planning measure.

ii. Lord Wellesley’s concern about the conditions that existed in the Indian part of the city the filth, overcrowding and the poor drainage etc. He wrote a minute (an administrative order) in 1803 on the need for town planning and set up various committees for this purpose.

iii. Need for open spaces . It was believed that creating open places in the city would make the city healthier. As a result many bazaars, ghats, burial ground and tanneries were cleared or removed. After Wellesley’s departure, the Lottery Committee carried on with the work of Town Planning. In its drive to make the Indian areas cleaner, the committee cleared the river bank of encroachment and pushed the poor to the outskirts of Calcutta.

iv. The outbreak of cholera and plague epidemics in the 19th century speeded up the process of town planning. The government believed that there was a direct link between living conditions and the spread of disease. Densely built up areas were regarded as insanitary as it obstructed sunlight and circulation of air.

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21 Read the following passage carefully and answer all the questions given after it. E Escaping To The Country Side. This is how the famous poet Mirza Ghalib described what the people of Delhi did when the British forces occupied the city in 1857. Limiting the enemy and driving him before them, the vectors (i.e. the British) overran the city in all direction. All whom they found in street they cut down. For two to three days every road in the city from the Kashmiri gate to Chandni Chowk, was a battle field. Three gates, the Ajmeri, the Turcoman and the Delhi were still held by the rebels at the naked spectacle of this vengeful wrath and malevolent hatred the colour fled from men’s faces and a vast concourse of

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men and women…. took to precipitate flight through these three gates. Seeking the little villages and shrewdness outside the city, they drew breath to wait until such time as might favour their return. Q1 Who was Mirza Ghalib? What has he written about the people of Delhi when the British forces occupied the city in 1857? 2 Ans. Mirza Ghalib was a famous Urdu Poet of Delhi in 19th Century. The People of Delhi were driven by the British. Some rebels faced the British forces for two or three days. They kept under their control the gates of Delhi- the Ajmeri gate, the Turocaman gate and the Delhi gateMass scale killing of people made people’s faces colourless with terror. . A vast number of men and women of Delhi ran through different gates of the city to save their lives.Q.2 Describe the Role of the ‘British forces, just after occupying the city? 3 Ans. Seeking the little villages and shrines outside the city, the people of Delhi hid there to wait until they could return to their homes. Smiting the Mughal forces, other rebellious troops and the people of Delhi the British troops occupied most parts of the city in last days of the meeting of 1857, the forces engaged themselves in overrunning the city in all direction. All whom they found in the street they cut down. For two or three days every road in the city from the Kashmiri Gate to Chandni Chowk was a battlefield, after three days most of the rebels were forced to find way to seek shelters in little villages and shrines.Q.3 Write the names of all historical gates mention in the above passage? 2 Ans. The three gates of Delhi were - the Ajmeri gate, the Turocaman gate and the Delhi gate. They were defended by the rebels for some time.

Chapter- 13MAHATMA GANDHI THROUGH CONTEMPORARY EYES

Key points in nutshell:-

- Mahatma Gandhi is the most influential and revered of all the leaders who participated in the freedom struggle of India.- In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India after spending two decades in South Africa.- It was in South Africa he first focused the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as Satyagraha and Promoted harmony between religions.- On Gokhale’s advice he spent one year traveling around British India to know the land and its peoples.- His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University in February 1916.- Here in his speech Gandhiji Charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor .- He successfully organized Satyagraha at Champaran (Bihar in 1917); Ahmedabad and Kheda in 1918.- In 1919 Gandhiji called for a century wide campaign against the “Rowlatt Act”. It was the Rowlatt Satyagraha that made Gandhiji a truly national leader.- In 1920 After Jalianwala Bagh Massacre he called for a campaign of non cooperation with British Rule and joined hands with the Khilafat movement.- The British Raj was shaken to its foundations for the first time since the Revolt of 1857.- Non-cooperation movement was suspended in 1922 after Chauri-Chaura incident.- Causes of Gandhiji’s popularity among Indians-he dressed like them lived like them and speak their language.- Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison in February 1924 devoted himself in constructive work like promotion of home-spun cloth khadi, abolition of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity etc.- In 1928 Gandhiji began to think of reentering politics. After the failure of Simon Commission in its annual session at Lahore Congress demanded Purna Swaraj and decided to observe 26th January 1930 as Independence Day.- 12th March 1930-Dandi Satyagraha, Salt March.- On 6th April 1930 broke the salt law.

- Across large parks of India peasants breached forest laws, factory workers went on the strike, lawyers boycotted courts and students refused to attend government run educational institutions.1930- First Round Table conference- Gandhiji did not attend.1931- Gandhi-Irwin pact, 2nd Round Table Conference- Gandhi attended but it failed.1935- Government of India Act1937- Provincial Election, Congress formed ministries in 8 out of 11 provinces.1939- World War II broke out, Individual Satyagraha.1940- Two Nation Theory put forward by Jinnah.1942- Failure of Cripps Mission.9th August 1942- Quit India Movements by Gandhiji. Gandhiji along with all prominent leaders sent to jail.1946- Cabinet Mission- Failed to get the Congress and the League to agree on the federal system.16th August 1946- Direct Action Day and Communal riots in Bengal, Bihar, U.P and Punjab.1947- Mountbatten was appointed as viceroy.15th August 1947- Formal transfer of power, announcement of partition and India got her independence.The last heroic days of Gandhiji:-- On 15th August 1947 Gandhiji was not at Delhi to witness the festivities. He was at Calcatta and undertook a 24 hour fast.- Due to initiative of Gandhiji and Nehru Congress passed a resolution on the rights of the minorities.After working to bring peace to Bengal Gandhiji shifted to Delhi from where he hoped to move on to the riot-torn districts of Punjab. On 30th January 1948 Gandhiji was shot dead by Nathuram Godse.Sources to know more about Gandhiji:- 1. Public voice and private scripts. 2. Series of Personal letters published by Gandhiji in his journal Harijan. 3. A bunch of old letters edited by Nehru. 4. Fortnightly Reports of the Home Department. 5. From newspapers.

1 ‘Non Cooperation was a form of Protest’. Evaluate this statementAns.

1. Gandhiji was one of the greatest personality of the world. His main principles were – Truth and Non Violence. Gandhiji decided to start non- cooperation as a unique form of protest against the British rule. He hoped that by coupling non-cooperation with khilafat, Hindu and Muslims could collectively bring an end to colonial rule. During NCM (Non Coorperation Movement) Students stopped going to school and colleges run by the British Government. Lawyers refused to attend the court. The working class went on strike in many towns and cities.

2. Hill tribe in Northern Andhra violated the forest laws.Farmers in Awadh did not pay taxes. These protest movements were sometime carried out in defence of the local nationalist leadership By the Analysis of the above mentioned facts it can be said that this was the first freedom struggle, in which most of Indian classes,castes and communities participated to protest against the British rule.

i. Protest against Rowlatt act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre and against the Govt. of India Act 1919.

ii. Gandhiji coupled non-cooperation with khilafat.

iii. Knitted a popular movement through Hindu Muslim participation together

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against the colonial power.

iv. Swadeshi and boycott movement became popular.

v. People defied laws.

vi. Tribal people violated forest laws.

vii. Traders, farmers, workers joined in the movement.

viii. Non-cooperation with the colonial power.

ix. He became people’s leader by entailed renunciation and self discipline.

x. Gandhiji emerged as undisputed leader.

xi. Shook the foundation of British power.

xii. It was a training for self-rule.

2 How did Mahatma Gandhi transform the nature of the National movement? OrExamine the role of Gandhiji as a political leader and as a social reformer.Ans.

1. Gandhiji transformed the nature of the National movement by the following thoughts, methods ideology, working styles, movements etc.

i. The main principles of his philosophy were Satyagraha, Non- violence,Peace, True sympathy for the poorest.

ii. Social reform in the form of empowerment of the women and marginalised groups like Harijans. He opposed untouchablility.

iii. Communal Harmony and Hindu Muslim unity.iv. Development of Indian Rural areas and promoting the interest of the rural people .

He motivated the rich people to think, and to act in favour of downtrodden.v. He stressed on both equally and purity of aim and means.vi. He launchedsocial reconstruction programme and stressed the importance of cottage

Industry, Charkha , Spinning wheels, Khadi etc 2. He opposed colour, caste and racial discrimination . Gandhiji utilized southAfrica as

practical lab for his ideological andphilosophical development. He raised his voice against wrong policies and injustice done by the government of South Africa. He used Satyagraha in South Africa and in several places in India too.

3. Gandhiji returned to India in 1915 . Till that time Indian National congress was only effective in urban areas .Only people of educated middle classes supported it. He knew very well that without the support of the rural people ( labour, ordinary men and women and young boys and girls ) freedom struggle against the British power would be very difficult to succeed. British rule had resulted in poverty, hunger, low quality of life ,illiteracy, superstitions , social disunity and disharmony.

4. Gandhiji successfully led the Champaran , Ahmedabad and Kheda movements which established him as the leader of the masses.

5. Gandhiji was a true economist and social reformer. He advocated theuse of charkha and khadi. He stressed the importance of cottage and very smallscale industries.

6. He changed National movement into a mass movement.Non –cooperation, Civil

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disobedience and Quit India movementswere supported by all sections of Indian society.7. His simplicity and ascetic life style made him a Mahatma .His stress on morality and truth

earned him many followers and many of his enemies too appreciated his strength of character.

8. Gandhi was a cleaver politician too. He made very effective use of symbols like Charkha and khadi.

(a) To involve the rural people(b) To reduce the gap between manual labour and white collar jobs.

3 What were the causes of Rowlett Satyagraha? OrWhat was the Jallianwala incident?Ans.

1. In 1919, During the Great War of 1914-18, the British had imposed censorship of the press and permitted detention without trial. On the recommendation of a committee headed by Sir Sidney Rowlatt the “Rowlatt Act” imposed many restrictions on Indians

2. The Government of India Act 1919 was passed by the British government under much protest from the Indians. It expected public agitation on the issue. Therefore Rowlett Act was invoked. It (a) banned public meetings and speeches (b) carrying of fire arms (c) detention without trial

3. Gandhiji started an all India campaign against the “Rowlatt Act”. As a result in the towns of North and West India, life came to a standstill. Shops shut down and schools closed in response to the bandh call. The protests were particularly intense in the Punjab, where many men had served on the British side in the War they were expecting to be rewarded for their service but were disappointed. The Rowlatt Act made people angery. Gandhiji was detained while going to the Punjab, many prominent local Congressmen were arrested.

4. To protest against this act all over India the Indians started the Rowlett Satyagraha. One such peaceful gathering in Amritsar was addressed by Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kichlu.They were arrested by police. Next day at Jallianwalla Bagh on 13 April, a peaceful gathering of the people was fired upon by Brigadier General Dyer Of British police. More than four hundred people were killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The Rowlatt satyagraha made Gandhiji a truly a national leader. This incident roused the anger of all Indians.

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4 Which three movements were led by Gandhiji before launching of the Non- cooperation movement?Ans. Three movements lead by Gandhiji before Non Cooperation movement were:-

1. Champaran satyagraha At the annual Congress in Lucknow in December 1916, Gandhiji was approached by a peasant from Champaran in Bihar, who told him about the harsh treatment of peasants by British Indigo planters. Mahatma Gandhi spent much of 1917 in Champaran, trying to obtain for the peasants

a) Security of tenure b) The freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice. 2. In 1918, Gandhiji was involved in two campaigns in his home state of Gujarat.a) First, he intervened in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad between mill workers and

owners,He supported the textile mill workers demanding better wages and better working conditions.

b) Then he joined peasants in Khedawho were asking the state for the remission of taxes because of the failure of their harvest.

3. The success of the movements in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda established Gandhiji as a nationalist leader with a deep sympathy for the poor. But these were all localised struggles.

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5 What were the causes of the non- cooperation movement?Ans.Gandhiji called for a campaign of “non-cooperation” with British rule because of the following

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reasons:-1) To protest against the Jallianwala Massacre2) To support the Khilafat movement of the Ali brothers3) To demand for Swaraj which the British government had promised during the First World

War but refused to grant when the war ended.4) To increase the mass base of the national movement by addressing the problems of all

sections of Indian society. 6 Why did Gandhi Support Khilafat movement In 1919?

OrDescribe the circumstances under which the Ali Brothers started the Khilafat Movement in 1920. Why was this movement withdrawn?

1. To make the struggle more mass based he joined hands with the Khilafat Movement started by Ali brothers .Ali brothers were trying to restore the Caliphate, as it was a symbol of Pan-Islamism. The khalafat movement ended in 1921 when there was military rebellion (in which Turkey was made a Republic) the Caliphate was abolished by the Turkish ruler Mustafa Kemal Attaturk.

2. Gandhiji hoped that by joining non-cooperation with Khilafat, India’s two major religious communities, Hindus and Muslims, would unite to end the colonial rule.

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7 What were the methods of Non- cooperation Movement?Ans.Methods of Non- cooperation Movement were promoting Swadeshi & Boycotting British Goods, institutions and government.Boycott

1. People were asked to stop attending schools, colleges and law courts, and they did not pay taxes. They were told to give up all voluntary association with the (British) Government”. Gandhiji said if non-cooperation was effectively carried out, India could win swaraj within a year.

a) Students stopped going to schools and colleges run by the government. b) Lawyers refused to attend court. c) The working class went on strike in many towns and cities: according to official figures,

there were 396 strikes in 1921, involving 600,000 workers and a loss of seven million workdays.

d) The villagers too protested. Hill tribes in northern Andhra violated the forest laws. Farmers in Awadh did not pay taxes. Peasants in Kumaon refused to carry loads for colonial officials.

e) These protest movements were sometimes carried out in against the wishes of local leadership. Peasants, workers, and others interpreted and acted upon “non-cooperate” in their own ways.

f) Picketing of shops selling foreign goods and lighting bonfire of foreign goods by ordinary men, women and children.

g) “Non-cooperation,” wrote Mahatma Gandhi’s American biographer Louis Fischer, “became the name of an period in the life of India and of Gandhiji. Non-cooperation was negative enough to be peaceful but positive enough to be effective. It had denial, renunciation, and self-discipline. It was training for “self-rule.”

h) Swadeshi was promoted in every way like goods, industry, culture & language, institutions, ideas etc.

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8 Why was non- cooperation movement called off?Ans.

1) In February 1922, a group of peasants attacked and burnt a police station in the village of Chauri Chaura, in the United Provinces (now, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal). 23

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policemen were burnt alive by a violent mob. 2) This incident made Gandhiji call off the non- cooperation movement altogether. He said “No

provocation, “can possibly justify brutal murder of men who were defenceless and who had been killed by the mob.”

9 What were the Effects or Consequence of the Non-Cooperation Movement?Ans.

1) The British Government was shaken for the first time since the Revolt of 1857 . During the Non-Cooperation Movement thousands of Indians were put in jail. Gandhiji himself was arrested in March 1922, and charged with sedition. Gandhiji was imprisoned for six years.

2) Gandhiji had changed Indian nationalism as a mass movement. It was no longer a movement of professionals and intellectuals; now, hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, women, students, artisans, middle class professionals, old zamindars and businessmen joined the national movement.Swadeshi and Boycott were two simple methods of protest hereafter they were used in every mass movement.

3) Gandhiji became the leader of masses . Gandhi dressed like them, lived like them, and spoke their language and even identified with them. Gandhiji became the leader of the masses , he wore a simple dhoti or loincloth. worked on the charkha (spinning wheel) and promoted Khadi and cottage industry. The act of spinning helped Gandhiji in breaking the boundaries of the traditional caste system that existed between mental labour and manual labour.

4) First time some Indian industrieswas set up with Indian capital in response to Gandhi’s call of Swadeshi.An Indian school system like Shantiniketan by Rabindranath Tagore were set up. Labour unions started.

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10 Why had Simon Commission come to India? Why did Indians oppose it?1) John Simon commission was appointed in1927 to look into the functioning of the

Government of India Act of 1919.And to enquire into conditions in the colony It came to India in 1928

2) In 1928, there was an all-India campaign in opposition to Simon Commission , opposed it because:-

a) All its members were British Parliamentarians, there were no Indian members.This was considered to be a direct insult to the Indians.

b) It did not talk about granting of swarajc) Hostile demonstrations were held in all the major cities and towns. There were also clashes

between the demonstrators and the police in several places.In one such incident Lala Lajpat Rai was severely injured ( and later died )when a lathi was blown by the police to break up the gathering at Lahore.

d) Gandhiji did not himself participate in this movement, but he gave it his blessings.

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11 What did Gandhi do between 1922 to1928? OrWhat was Gandhi’s Social reconstruction programme?Ans.

1) Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison in February 1924, and till 1929 he devoted his attention to his social reform work, social constructive program and promotion of home-spun cloth ,khadi. & The abolition of untouchability.

2) Gandhiji was a social reformer and a politician. He believed Indians had to get rid of social evils such as child marriage and untouchability. Indians must have tolerance for Indians of other communities.

3) He promoted Hindu-Muslim unity. Indians needed to become self-reliant .4) The core elements of the constructive programme that Gandhi believed would be necessary

for the transformation & liberation of India involved programmes to grant equality, liberate education,and promote Swaraj.Gandhis constructive programme gave emphasis to :

a) Sustainable developmentb) Development of Cottage Industry

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c) Antidote to environment problemsd) Formation of Local Self Govt.e) Universalization of Primary Educationf) Empowering womeng) Breaking the bridge between tauchable & untouchable

12 What is the importance of the Lahore session of Indian National Congress? Ans. In December 1929, Congress annual session was held in the city of Lahore. following important things took place there:

1) The election of Jawaharlal Nehru as President of INC, signifying the passing of responsibilities of leadership to the younger generation.

2) The commitment to “Purna Swaraj”, or complete independence. 3) Announcement that First “Independence Day” would be celebrated On 26 January 1930, with

the national flag being hoisted in different parts of the country, and patriotic songs would be sung.

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13 When & How was the First Independence day celebrated?Ans.

1) First “Independence Day” was celebrated On 26 January 1930, with the national flag was hoisted in different parts of the country, and patriotic songs were sung.

2) Gandhiji issued instructions that all the meetings should be held at the same time in all the places.” Gandhiji suggested that the time of the meeting be advertised in the traditional way, by the beating of drums.

3) The rest of the day would be spent “in doing some constructive work, like spinning, or service of ‘untouchables’, or reunion of Hindus and Muslims, or prohibition work, or all these

4) Participants took a pledge about the inalienable right of the Indian people to freedom, “If any government takes away these then the people have a further right to change the government it”.

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14 What were the methods of Civil disobedience movement?Ans.

1) On 12 March 1930 Gandhi with 78 followers marched from Sabarmati Ashram to the Dandi coast. He reached Dandi in three weeks. He made a fistful of salt was arrested. At the same time parallel salt marches were being conducted in other parts of the country. Salt a common commodity of use by rich and poor alike was chosen as a symbol of British exploitation. It connected all Indians to the national movement.

2) He wanted to break the most widely disliked Salt law. It gave the state a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. His picking on the salt monopoly was another example of Gandhiji’s wisdom. Salt was used by all Indian household but

3) People were stopped from making salt even for domestic use. People were forced to buy it from shops at a high price. The state monopoly over salt was deeply unpopular; by making it his target, Gandhiji hoped to get the support of a large group against British rule.

4) Most Indians understood the significance of Gandhiji’s challenge, the British Raj did not. Gandhiji had given advance notice of his “Salt March” to the Viceroy Lord Irwin, but he ignored it.

5) Methods of civil Disobedience Movement were:- a) Like Non-cooperation, there was a officially sanctioned nationalist campaign, and many

other streams of protest. Peasants broke the hated colonial forest laws that kept them and their cattle out of the woods in which they had once roamed freely.

b) In some towns, factory workers went on strike.c) Lawyer’s boycotted British courts d) Students refused to attend government-run educational institutions. Gandhiji’s call had

encouraged Indians of all classes to show their own anger with colonial rule.e) The British responded by arresting 60,000 Indians including Gandhiji.On 5 April 1930,

Mahatma Gandhi spoke at Dandi: British did not have the courage to arrest the army of peace

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15 What was the result of the Round Table Conferences? Each 360

Ans.1) The British government called three “Round Table Conferences” in London. The first

“Round Table Conference” was held in November 1930, but without the pre-eminent political leader in India, was a wasted exercise.

2) Gandhiji was released from jail in January 1931 and he had several long meetings with the Viceroy Irwin. These resulted in signing of “Gandhi-Irwin Pact’, according to the terms of this pact ,civil disobedience movement was called off, all prisoners were released, and salt manufacture was allowed along the coast. This pact was criticised by radical nationalists, as Gandhiji was unable to get from the Viceroy Lord Irwin, a promise of political independence or Dominion status for Indians. He only got an assurance of talks towards that end.

3) Gandhi agreed to attend the Second Round Table Conference was held in London in the latter part of 1931. Here, Gandhiji represented the Congress. His claims that his party represented all of India was challengedby three parties;-the Muslim League, which claimed to stand for the interests of the Muslim minority; from the Princes, who claimed that the Congress had no stake in their territories and from the brilliant lawyer and thinker B.R. Ambedkar, he argued that Gandhiji and the Congress did not really represent the lowest castes. The Conference in London failed.British refused to grant Dominion status to India. Gandhiji returned to India and resumed civil disobedience.

4) The new Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, was deeply unsympathetic to Gandhi.He concluded the Third Round Table Conference with the representatives of Indian Princely states and the representatives of communal parties. Result was the announcement of Government Of India Act 1935.

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16 What were the results of 1939 Elections?1) The Government of India Act 1935 promised some form of representative government. 1939

elections, held on the basis of a restricted franchise, the Congress won a comprehensive victory.

2) Now eight out of 11 provinces had a Congress “Prime Minister”, working under the supervision of a British Governor. The offer was refused. In protest, the Congress ministries resigned in October 1939.

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17 What was Individual Satyagraha?Ans.

1) Through 1940 and 1941, the Congress organised a series of individual satyagrahas to pressurise the British to promise freedom once the II World War had ended.

2) They feared that government will arrest the all the leaders as soon as Satyagraha started so they individually lead the movement so that it could for longer duration.

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18 What is the importance of the Lahore session of Muslim League held in 1940?Ans.

1) At the Lahore session of Muslim League held in 1940 Muslim League propounded its Two Nation Theory according to this theory Hindus and Muslims were two nations trapped in one and they could not coexist therefore creation of the state of Pakistan for Muslims was necessary.

2) In March 1940, the Muslim League passed a resolution demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent. The political landscape was now becoming complicated: it was no longer Indians versus the British; it had become a three way struggle between the Congress, the Muslim League, and the British.

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19 ‘The Quit India Movement was truly a mass movement’. Justify this statement with suitable arguments.Ans.

1) Due to the failure of the Cripps mission, Gandhiji decided to launch his third major movement against British rule. This was called Quit India Movement. This was to be a mass struggle on non- violent lines under leadership of Gandhiji. But on the Next day of the approval of Quit India resolution. (8August,1942) Gandhi and other main congress leaders were arrested.

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2) The younger activist organized demonstrations and strike in factories, schools and colleges in all parts of the country.

3) Socialist members of the congress such as Jaya Prakash Narain and Ram Manohar Lohia, Aruna Asif Ali were particularly active in the underground resistance. In some areas such as Satara and Midnapur “Independent governments were proclaimed.

4) The movement took the form of a violent outbreak. The government succeeded in crushing the movement yet it took more than 12 months to suppress this rebellion,Quit India Movement was truly a mass movement. It inspired hundreds of thousands of ordinary people.

20 Where ever Gandhiji went, rumours spread of his miraculous power.” Explain with examples.Ans.Following rumours were spreading about Gandhiji’s miraculous powers:-

1) Some people said that he had been sent by the King to solve the problems of the farmers, and that he had the power to overrule all local officials. Others said that Gandhiji’s power was superior to that of the English king, and now with his coming the British rulers would run from the district.

2) There were stories reporting bad consequences for those who opposed him. Some examples of these rumours are:-

a) The villagers who criticised Gandhiji and found their houses falling apart or their crops failing.

b) There were rumours that those who opposed Mahatma Gandhi met with some tragedy. Example a gentleman from Gorakhpur city questioned the need to ply the charkha . His house caught fire.

c) In April 1921 some people were gambling in a village of Uttar Pradesh. Someone told them to stop. One member of the group refused and abused Gandhiji. The next day his goat was bitten by four of his own dogs.

d) In a village in Gorakhpur, the peasants resolved to give up drinking liquor. One person did not keep his promise. When he started for the liquor shop brickbats started to rain in his path. Then he spoke the name of Gandhiji and the brickbats stopped flying.

3) He was called “Gandhi baba”, “Gandhi Maharaj”, or simply as “Mahatma”, Gandhiji appeared as a saviour to Indian peasant. Gandhiji could rescue them from high taxes and oppressive British officials and restored dignity and freedom of their lives.

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21 Explain the sources from which we can reconstruct the political career of Mahatma Gandhi and the history of National Movement of India.Ans.

1) The progress of Gandhiji’s march to the Dandi shore was recorded by the secret reports filed by the police officialsappointed to monitor his movements. The speeches he gave at the villages on the way, in which he spoke to the local officials to resign from government employment and join the freedom struggle.

2) The police spies reports They said that Gandhiji’s meetings were very well attended, by villagers of all castes, and by women as well as men. They observed that thousands of volunteers were helping in the nationalist cause. Many officials joined him after they had resigned from their posts with the colonial government.

3) Third source thatreported the progress of the Salt March was the American newsmagazine, Time.In the beginning it made fun of Gandhiji’s looks, writing about his “spindly frame” and his “spidery loins”. In its first report on the march, Time was doubtfulof the Salt March reaching Dandi. It reported that Gandhiji “sank to the ground” at the end of the second day’s walking.

4) The magazine within a week it had changed its mind. The large popular following that the march had got Time, made the British rulers “desperately anxious”. Gandhiji was now saluted as a “Saint” and “Statesman”, who was using “Christian acts as a weapon against men with Christian beliefs

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22 Evaluate the importance of Civil Disobedience Movement in the freedom struggle of India.Ans. The Salt March was notable for three reasons.

1) Civil Disobedience Movement started with the Dandi March on 12 March,1930. Gandhi with 78 of his followers marched from Sabarmati Ashram to the Dandi coastto challenge the monopoly of British government on manufacturing and sale of Salt.

2) First, it was this event that first brought Mahatma Gandhi to world attention. The march was widely covered by the European and American press.

3) Second, it was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. The socialist activist Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay had persuaded Gandhiji not to restrict the protests to men alone. Kamaladevi was herself one of many women who were arrested for breaking the salt or liquor laws.

4) Third, and perhaps most significant, it was the Salt March which forced upon the British the realisation that their Raj would not last forever, and that they would have to give some power to the Indians.

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23 How did Mahatma Gandhi seek to identify with the common people?Ans.Gandhiji’s connect with common people

1) He was called “Gandhi baba”, “Gandhi Maharaj”, or simply as “Mahatma”, Gandhiji appeared as a saviour to Indian peasant. Gandhiji could rescue them from high taxes and oppressive British officials and restored dignity and freedom of their lives.

2) Gandhiji’s popularity among the poor, and peasants was also due to his simple lifestyle. 3) His cleaver use of symbols like the dhoti and the charkha . Mahatma Gandhi was by caste

a merchant, and by profession a lawyer; but his simple lifestyle and love of working with his hands allowed him to identify with labouring poor and they loved him.

4) Gandhiji spread nationalist message in Hindi5) Gandhiji looked like them, understood them and related to their lives. Mahatma Gandhi’s

mass appeal was genuine but much of his success in broadening the mass basis of nationalism was a result of his careful planning and organization.

6) New branches of the Congress were set up in various parts of India. A series of “Praja Mandals” were established to promote the nationalist ideas in the princely states. Thus the provincial committees of the Congress were based on linguistic regions & not on the artificial boundaries of British India.

7) Nationalism was accepted all over India and was supported by all social groups.8) Congress had prosperous businessmen and industrialists as its supporters . Indian

entrepreneurs realised that, in a free India they will have better opportunities. Some entrepreneurs, such as G.D. Birla, supported the national movement openly; others did so indirectly. Gandhiji’s admirers were both poor peasants and rich industrialists.

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24 Why did the Cripps Mission fail?Ans. In the spring of 1942, Churchill sent one of his ministers, Sir Stafford Cripps, to India to try and sign an agreement with Gandhiji and the Congress. Talks broke down because

1) Congress wanted that before it helped the British defend India from the Axis powersthe Viceroy must first appoint an Indian as the Defence Memberin his Executive Council. Congress wanted immediate self-rule The Congress stopped talks with Cripps and, guided by Gandhi, the national leadership demanded immediate self-government in return for war support. Gandhi said that Cripps' offer of Dominion Status after the war was a "post-dated cheque", .Congress didn't want India’s disintegration but according to Cripps proposals, provinces could opt out of the Indian Union, which was definitely not acceptable to Congress Nationalists.

2) The Muslim League : Did not like the machinery for the creation of a constituent assembly and the procedure to decide on the accession of provinces to the Union. In short they felt that

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the proposals denied to the Muslims the right to self-determination and the creation of Pakistan.

3) In short the proposals drafted by Cripps turned out to be too radical for Churchill and the Viceroy, and too conservative for the IndiansMahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had both been strongly critical of Hitler and the Nazis.

4) So Congress promised support to the war effort if the British, in return, promised to grant India independence once hostilities ended.

25 What were the basic principles of Gandhian Nationalism?Ans.

1) Mahatma Gandhi’s role in national movement was important. The growth of “Gandhian nationalism” also depended on support of his followers. Between 1917 and 1922, a group of highly talented Indians attached themselves to Gandhiji. They included Mahadev Desai, Vallabh Bhai Patel, J.B. Kripalani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Govind Ballabh Pant and C. Rajagopalachari.

2) These close associates of Gandhiji came from different regions as well as different religious traditions.These supporters inspired countless other Indians to join the Congress and work for it.

3) Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison in February 1924, and till 1929 he devoted his attention to social reform work ,social constructive program and promotion of ,khadi., the abolition of untouchability. Gandhiji was a social reformer and a politician. He believed Indians had to get rid of social evils such as child marriage and untouchability.

4) Indians must have tolerance for Indians of other communities. He promoted Hindu-Muslim unity. Indians also needed to become self-reliant .

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26 Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:Charkha

Mahatma Gandhi was profoundly critical of the modern age in which machine enslaved humans and displaced labour. He saw the charkha as a symbol of a human society that would not glorify machines and technology. The spinning wheel, moreover, could provide the poor with supplementary income and make them self-reliant.What I object to, is the craze for machinery as such. The craze is for what they call labour saving machinery. Men go on “saving labour”, till thousands are without work and thrown on the open streets to die of starvation. I want to save time and labour, not for a fraction of mankind, but for all; I want the concentration of wealth, not in the hands of few, but in the hands of all.YOUNG INDIA, I3 NOVEMBER 1924Khaddar does not seek to destroy all machinery but it does regulate its use and check its weedy growth. It uses machinery for the service of the poorest in their own cottages. The wheel is itself an exquisite piece of machinery.YOUNG INDIA, 17 MARCH 1927

Q1. Why was Mahatma Gandhi a critic of machines? 3Ans. He objected to, the craze for machinery and “saving labour”, because thousands of people lose their work due to machines and they are thrown on the open streets to die of starvation. He wanted to save time and labour for all mankind. He wanted the concentration of wealth in the hands of all.

Q2. For Gandhiji, what was the importance of charkha? 2Ans. He saw the charkha as a symbol of a human society that would not glorify machines and technology. The spinning wheel could provide the poor with supplementary income and make them self-reliant.The wheel is itself an exquisite piece of machinery.

Q3. What arguments were given by Mahatma Gandhi in favour of Khaddar? 2Ans.Khaddar does not seek to destroy all machinery it regulates its use and checks its weedy growth. It uses machinery for the service of the poorest in their own cottages. Khaddar is long lasting and a mark of self- reliance.

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27 Source Based QuestionRead the passage and answer the questions that follow:

The Miraculous And The UnbelievableLocal newspapers in the United Provinces recorded many of the rumours that circulated at that time. There were rumours that every person who wanted to test the power of the Mahatma had been surprised:1 Sikandar Sahu from a village in Basti said on 15 February that he would believe in the Mahatmaji when the karah (boiling pan) full of sugar cane juice in his karkhana (where gur was produced) split into two. Immediately the karah actually split into two from the middle.2 A cultivator in Azamgarh said that he would believe in the Mahatmaji’s authenticity if sesamum sprouted on his field planted with wheat. Next day all the wheat in that field became sesamum. There were rumours that those who opposed Mahatma Gandhi invariably met with some tragedy.1 A gentleman from Gorakhpur city questioned the need to ply the charkha. His house caught fire.2In April 1921 some people were gambling in a village of Uttar Pradesh. Someone told them to stop. Only one from amongst the group refused to stop and abused Gandhiji. The next day his goat was bitten by four of his own dogs.3In a village in Gorakhpur, the peasants resolved to give up drinking liquor. One person did not keep his promise. As soon as he started for the liquor shop brickbats started to rain in his path. When he spoke the name of Gandhiji the brickbats stopped flying.FROM SHAHID AMIN, “GANDHI AS MAHATMA”, SUBALTERN STUDIES III,OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, DELHI.Q1. Who was Shahid Amin? Which famous book had he written? 2

Ans. Shahid Amin is a historian. He wrote “GANDHI AS MAHATMA”, SUBALTERN STUDIES III,

Q2. Why and when were the above mentioned rumours compiled? 2 Ans. Local newspapers in the United Provinces recorded many of the rumours that circulated at that time. There were rumours that every person who wanted to test the power of the Mahatma had been surprised.Historian Shahid Amin has traced the image of Mahatma Gandhi among the peasants of eastern Uttar Pradesh to analyse why people accepted these rumours.Q3. Mention any three rumours regarding the miraculous power of Gandhiji.Which tragedies had victimized those who opposed Mahatma Gandhi? 3 Ans. Agentleman from Gorakhpur city questioned the need to ply the charkha. His house caught fire. In April 1921 some people were gambling in a village of Uttar Pradesh. Someone told them to stop. One from the group refused to stop and abused Gandhiji. The next day his goat was bitten by four of his own dogs. In a village in Gorakhpur, the peasants agreed to give up drinking liquor. One person did not keep his promise. As soon as he started going to the liquor shop brickbats started to fall in his path. When he spoke the name of Gandhiji the brickbats stopped flying.

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28 Read the following passage and answer the questions that followWhy the Salt Satyagraha?

Why was salt the symbol of protest? This is what Mahatma Gandhi wrote:The volume of information being gained daily shows how wickedly the salt tax has been designed. In order to prevent the use of salt that has not paid the tax which is at times even fourteen times its value, the Government destroys the salt it cannot sell profitably. Thus it taxes the nation’s vital necessity; it prevents the public from manufacturing it and destroys what nature manufactures without effort. No adjective is strong enough for characterizing this wicked dog-in-the-manger policy. From various sources I hear tales of such wanton destruction of the nation’s property in all parts of India. Maunds if not tons of salt are said to be destroyed on the Konkan coast. The same tale comes from Dandi. Wherever there is likelihood of natural salt being taken away by the people living in the neighbor hood of such areas for their personal use, salt officers are posted for the sole purpose of carrying on destruction. Thus valuable national property is destroyed at national expense and salt taken out of the

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mouths of the people. The salt monopoly is thus a fourfold curse. It deprives the people of a valuable easy village industry, involves wanton destruction of property that nature produces in abundance, the destruction itself means more national expenditure, and fourthly, to crown this folly, an unheard-of tax of more than 1,000 per cent is exacted from a starving people. This tax has remained so long because of the apathy of the general public. Now that it is sufficiently roused, the tax has to go. How soon it will be abolished depends upon the strength the people.THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI (CWMG), VOL. 49Q1. Why was salt the symbol of protest? 2 Ans. The salt tax was at times even fourteen times its value. The Government destroyed the salt it could not sell profitably. It taxes the nation’s vital necessity; it prevents the public from manufacturing salt and destroys what nature manufactures without effortPoor people are further impoverished by this tax. It also aims at humiliating the Indians. Salt is a common commodity used both by the rich and the poor so it unitedt all Indians against the BritishQ2. Why was salt destroyed by the Colonial Government? 2 Ans. The British Government destroys the salt it cannot sell profitably. It prevents the public from manufacturing salt and destroys what nature manufactures without effort. Maunds if not tons of salt are destroyed on the Konkan coast. The same tale comes from Dandi.Wherever there is likelihood of natural salt being taken away by the people living in the neighbor hood of such areas for their personal use, salt officers are posted for the sole purpose of carrying on destruction. Thus valuable national property is destroyed at national expense and salt.Q3. Why did Mahatma Gandhi consider the salt tax more oppressive than other taxes? 3 Ans.. The salt monopoly is a fourfold curse. It deprives the people of a valuable easy village industry, involves wanton destruction of property that nature produces in abundance, the destruction itself means more national expenditure, and fourthly a tax of more than 1,000 per cent is exacted from a starving people. This tax has remained so long because of the apathy of the general public. Now that it is sufficiently roused, the tax has to go.

How soon it will be abolished depends upon the strength the people. It is also a cause of national humiliation.

16.1 Salt monopoly was considered a curse because:

i. Salt monopoly was a four fold curse

ii. The British had introduced a wickedly designed salt tax

iii. The salt tax at times 14 times its value

iv. Government destroyed the salt which it could not sell profitably

v. The public was not allowed to manufacture salt which was a British monopoly

vi. If Indians possessed naturally available salt for which they had not paid tax it would be confiscated and destroyed by the British

vii. Thus, British were destroying the nation’s valuable property

viii. It deprived the people of an easy village industry

ix. The tax was more than 1000%

ix. He related the protest to increasing taxes and economic distress existing at that time

16.2 Gandhiji illustrated is tactical wisdom by :

i. Choosing salt as a medium of protest

ii. Salt affected the rich and the poor alike

iii. It was an indispensable item of the Indian household

iv. The salt monopoly deprived the people of a valuable village industry

v. A commodity produced free of cost by nature and available in abundance was taxed.

vi. Mobilized all sections towards mass movement

vii. Created solidarity against British Rule

viii. Destruction of national property highlighted by Gandhi Ji.

16.3 Significance of Gandhiji’s challenge of salt protest:

i. It was an indispensable item of the Indian household

ii. It deprived the people of a valuable village industry

iii. A commodity produced free of cost by nature and available in abundance was taxed.

iv. It brought him to world attention

v. The event was covered by international press

vi. Women participated in large numbers

vii. People all over the country broke the salt law

viii. British realized they could not stay for long in India

ix. Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay courted arrest.

x. He broke the salt-law and the British made him a criminal

xi. It outraged the people.

29 Read the following passage and answer the questions that followAmbedkar On Separate Electorates

In response to Mahatma Gandhi’s opposition to the demand for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes, Ambedkar wrote:Here is a class which is undoubtedly not in a position to sustain itself in the struggle for existence. The religion, to which they are tied, instead of providing them an honourable place, brands them as lepers, not fit for ordinary intercourse. Economically, it is a class entirely dependent upon the high-caste Hindus for earning its daily bread with no independent way of living open to it. Nor are all ways closed by reason of the social prejudices of the Hindus but there is a definite attempt all through our Hindu Society to bolt every possible door so as not to allow the Depressed Classes any opportunity to rise in the scale of life. In these circumstances, it would be granted by all fair-minded persons that as the only path for a community so handicapped to succeed in the struggle for life against organised tyranny, some share of political power in order that it may protect itself is a paramount necessity …Q1. Who was Dr. Ambedkar? 2

a) Ans. He was an exponent of Indian Constitution, a lawyer and a supporter of the rights of the Dalits and marginalized groups.

b) He was the chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution.Q2. In response to the arguments given by Mahatma Gandhi, what arguments were given by Ambedkar in favor of separate electorates to the Depressed Classes? 3 Ans. Following arguments were given by Ambedkar in favour of separate electorates:-

a) Dalit is a class which is not in a position to sustain itself in the struggle for existence. The Hindu religion instead of giving them an honourable place, finds them unfit for ordinary interactions

b) Economically, this class is entirely dependent upon the high-caste Hindus for earning its daily bread. They have no independent way of earning their living.

c) They were the victims of social prejudices of the Hindus. Hindu Society does not to allow the Depressed Classes any opportunity to rise in the scale of life. They must be given separate electorates.

Q3. Suggest some other ways to provide an honourable position to Depressed Classes. 3Ans

a) Giving the Dalits a share in political power.b) By providing them opportunities to earn their living in an independent manner.c) Generating awareness and by giving them equal status as well as equal opportunities

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30 Read the following passage and answer the questions that followThe Problem With Separate Electorates

At the Round Table Conference Mahatma Gandhi stated his arguments against separate electorates for the Depressed Classes:Separate electorates to the “Untouchables” will ensure them bondage in perpetuity… Do you want the “Untouchables” to remain “Untouchables” forever? Well, the separate electorates would perpetuate the stigma. What is needed is destruction of “Untouchability”, and when you have done it, the bar sinister, which has been imposed by an insolent “superior” class upon an “inferior” class, will be destroyed. When you have destroyed the bar sinister to whom will you give the separate electorates?

Q1. When and in which Round Table Conference Mahatma Gandhi had opposed the separate electorates for the Depressed Classes? 2

a) Ans. In the Second Round Table Conference Mahatma Gandhi Opposed the separate

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electorate for the depressed classesb) He opposed it because he felt that such a step would keep them away from other classes and

they will forever be treated as untouchable.Q2. What arguments were given by Mahatma Gandhi against separate electorates to the Depressed Classes? 2

a) Ans. The destruction of “Untouchability” is needed and when it is done there is no need to treat them as separate.

b) If separate electorate is made for the depressed classes then the “superior” class will always treat them as an inferior” class, theneven the separate electorates cannot solve their problem

Q3. Which parties and on what grounds had opposed the statement of Mahatma Gandh in the Round Table Conference that the Congress represented the whole of India? 3

a) Ans. Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, members of the Muslim League and the representatives of the Princely states countered Gandhi’s claim that the Congress party represented all Indians.

b) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar treated Congress as the party of upper class and Zamindars class. Therefore it could not be the representative of depressed classes. In spite being numerical majority depressed classes needed Separate electorate to ensure their political representation.

c) The Muslim league also called congress a Hindu majority party. Hence they too demanded separate electorate for Muslims.

31Passage based Question 16.1 (i) Against the salt –law (ii) The state monopoly was deeply unpopular. (iii)Gandhi ji hoped to mobilise a wider discontent against British rule for ‘Purna Swaraj’ as decided in the Lahore session in December 1929. (iv) Discontentment due to Simon commission.

16.2 (i) The march was widely covered by the European and American press. (ii)It was the first nationalist activity in which women practicipated in large numbers. (iii) Kamladevi was herself on of numerous women who courted arrest by breaking the salt or liquor laws. (iv) Salt March forced upon the British the realization that their Raj would not last forever. (v) They would have to devolve some power to the Indians. 16.3 ‘The power of peace and non-violence are universally felt’. Why Gandhiji did say so?

i. Gandhiji initiated big mass movement with peace and non violence

ii. This movement aroused the feeling of nationalism

iii. based on the faith that when a whole nation is roused and on the march no leader is necessary

iv. British decided not to arrest anyone

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Chapter- 14PARTITION THROUGH ORAL SOURCES

Key concepts in nutshellSources – Incidents narrated by people.Partition or holocaust (i) Communal riots (ii) refugee problemThe power of stereotypes – The stereotypes of the extra territorial and Pan Islamicloyalty confused with other objectionable ideas.Why partition took place - (i) Mr Jinnah’s two nation Theory (ii) Hindu Muslim conflict (iii) British policy of divide and rule (iv) Communal electoratesPost war development –Muslim league emerged as sole representative of IndianMuslims in the provincial elections.Cabinet mission proposal in 1946.Direct action day by Muslim league in 1946Gendering partition – women were raped, abducted and sold. Families were uprooted.Preserving honor – where the men feared that their would be molested by the enemies, they killed their own women.Sources : Oral testimonies – narrations, memories, diaries, family history and handwritten accounts

1 How far these values are relevant in contemporary India to resolve communalism?Ans.

1) Communalism is still a serious problem in India. It is a mind set in which the secular problems are also projected as the religious problems. Intolerance towards other religions is also a root cause of this problem.

2) State must deal with communal cases very strictly. Communal harmony must be maintained at all cost.

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2 What is meant by the term Holocaust? Ans.

1) Holocaust is a term used for mass scale destruction and slaughter by the German Nazis in the occupied territories.

2) As Holocaust means destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. Many scholars have used this term for loot, Arson, killings during the partition. This comparison is not accurate because the German Holocaust was state sponsored but in India it was a sudden expression of anger, hurt and revenge.

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3 What was Lucknow pact? Ans.

1) The Lucknow pact of December 1916 was an understanding between the Congress and the Muslim league.

2) They decided to fight the British together. The congress accepted the Muslim League’s demand for separate electorates.

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4 What is Pakistan resolution? Ans.

1) In 1940 the Muslim League moved a resolution demanding a measure of autonomy for the Muslim majority areas.

2) Congress was opposed to it because it divided the people

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5 What was the attitude of the Indian National Congress towards second world war? Ans.

1) The Indian National Congress was ready to help Britain if they make a clear declaration to free India after the second world war. Leaders of congress disliked Nazi activities.

2) But the British government refused to do so. They only made vague promises for after the end of the war.

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6 What was the impact of separate electorates for Muslims on the communal politics? Ans. i)The Muslims could elect their own representatives in reserved constituency. ii) They can favour the people belonging to their own religious groups.

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7 Why was the Cabinet missions sent to India? What were the main proposals of its plan? Ans. British Cabinet Mission of 1946 to India aimed to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Government to Indian leadership, providing India with independence. formed at the initiative of Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The mission consisted of Lord Pethick-Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade, and A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, did not participate. Cabinet mission was sent to India to suggest a solution for the Indian problem.

1) -A united Dominion of India would be given independence.2) Muslim-majority provinces would be grouped - Sind, Punjab,Baluchistan and North-West

Frontier Province would form one group, and Bengal and Assam would form another.3) Hindu-majority provinces in central and southern India would form another group.4) The Central government, stationed in Delhi, would be empowered to handle nationwide

affairs, such as defense, currency, and diplomacy, while the rest of powers and responsibility would belong to the provinces, coordinated by groups.

Failure of Cabinet missions1) Congress and League rejected the cabinet mission’s proposal. 2) Muslim league walked out of the Interim government & gave a call for Direct Action.

Congress protested against the League’s attempt at creating a deadlock. 3) British did not try seriously to resolve the differences.

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8 What was the impact of partition on Indian women.Ans. Impact of partition of India on Indian Women :

1) Harrowing experience of women – Abduction, sold, forced to settle down to a new life etc. a. They were brutally tortured and beaten b. They found the governments of both India and Pakistan insensitive to their

problems. 2) Government’s insensitivity to the feelings of women especially at the time of recovery.3) According to one estimate, 30,000 women were “recovered” overall, 22,000 Muslim women

in India and 8000 Hindu and Sikh women in Pakistan, in an operation that ended as late as 1954

4) Women were not able to voice their opinion due to social pressures. Many wanted to come back to their families but due to social pressures could not come back.

5) Killing of women by the family members in the name of saving honour of women and their families .

6) Forcing women to commit suicide to save themselves from falling into the hands of enemies. Their suicide was treated as martyrdom. when the men feared that “their” women – wives, daughters, sisters – would be violated by the “enemy”, they killed the women themselves.

7) Dishonouring women of a community seen as dishonouring the community itself and the family were the common modes of taking revenge.

8) They were not allowed to re-settle their life according to their own wish.

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9 What are the strengths and limitations of oral history? How has it helped in understanding Partition of India better?Ans. Strengths of oral history:-

1) It helps us grasp experience and memories in detail and reveals the dark secrets.

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2) It enables historians to write richly textured, vivid accounts of events like partition. 3) Oral history also allows historian to broaden the boundaries of their discipline. It talks about

the areas outside the formal records.4) Many historians argue the uniqueness of personnel experience makes generalization difficult.

Historical richness increases due to personal details and memories. Limitations

1) Many historians feel that oral history is more of fiction.2) They think Oral accounts are concerned with indirect issues and small personal experiences,

it has no impact on the larger process of history.3) It is abstract. If there is no evidence to prove it then it’s not concrete.4) Most often it’s not chronological account of events.

It has helped in understanding Partition of India better because:-1) Women related issues of Partition , their abduction and their recovery both are painful

issues. Formal records do not give us much information about what these women or their families went through.

2) How Hindus and Muslims helped their friends and strangers belonging to other communities even at the cost of their own life.

3) How some people stayed back because uncertainty was better than unknown4) It gives us the point of view of common men and women. It is very different from impersonal

official records.

10 Describe the events leading to the partition of India.Ans.

1) Communal politics of Communal parties like Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha2) Hindu-Muslim conflict throughout medieval and modern times also had a long history of

sharing, and of mutual cultural exchange. But the changed circumstances of 1940 to 1946 shaped people’s thinking.

3) In 1940 Lahore resolution of Muslim League demanded creation of Pakistan based on Two Nation Theory.

4) After the 1939 resignation of the congress ministriesJinnah and his colleagues in the Muslim League worked patiently at expanding their influence. It was in these years that the League began to make a mark in the Punjab and Sind, provinces where it had previously had scarcely any presence. In June 1944, with the end of the war in sight, Gandhiji was released from prison. Later that year he held a series of meetings with Jinnah, seeking to bridge the gap between the Congress and the League but most of these talks failed.

5) In 1945, a Labour government came to power in Britain and committed itself to granting independence to India.

6) Viceroy, Lord Wavell, brought the Congress and the League together for a series of talks.

7) Early in 1946 fresh elections were held to the provincial legislatures. The Congress swept the “General” category, but in the seats specifically reserved for Muslims the League won an overwhelming majority. The political polarisation was complete.

8) A Cabinet Mission sent in the summer of 1946 failed to get the Congress and the League to agree on a federal system that would keep India together while allowing the provinces a degree of autonomy.

9) After the talks broke down, Jinnah called for a “Direct Action Day” to press the League’s demand for Pakistan.

10) On the designated day, 16 August 1946, bloody riots broke out in Calcutta. The violence spread to rural Bengal, then to Bihar, and then across the country to the United Provinces and the Punjab. In some places, Muslims were the main sufferers, in other places, Hindus.

11) In February 1947, Wavell was replaced as Viceroy by Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten

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called one last round of talks, but when these too proved inconclusive he announced that British India would be freed, but also divided. The formal transfer of power was fixed for 15 August

11 What is communalism?Ans. Communalism is a particular kind of politicisation of religious identity, an ideology that seeks to promote conflict between religious communities. In the context of a multi-religious country, the phrase “religious nationalism” can come to acquire a similar meaning. In such a country, any attempt to see a religious community as a nation would mean sowing the seeds of antagonism against some other religion/s.

1) Most of us have a religion, and caste may play an important role in our lives. In other words, our identities have numerous features, they are complex.

2) There are times, when people attach greater significance to religion. This in itself is not being communal.

3) Communalism refers to a politics that seeks to unify one community around a religious identity and is hostile to another community. It seeks to define this community identity as fundamental and fixed. It attempts to consolidate this identity and present it as natural – as if people were born into the identity, as if the identities do not evolve through history over time. In order to unify the community, communalism suppresses distinctions within the community and emphasises the essential unity of the community against other communities.

4) One could say communalism nurtures a politics of hatred for an identified “other”– “Hindus” in the case of Muslim communalism, and “Muslims” in the case of Hindu communalism. This hatred feeds a politics of violence. Communalism, then, is a particular kind of politicisation of religious identity, an ideology that seeks to promote conflict between religious communities. In the context of a multi-religious country, the phrase “religious nationalism” can acquire a similar meaning. In such a country, any attempt to see a religious community as a nation would mean sowing the seeds of antagonism against some other religion/s.

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12 Examine the factors responsible for the growth of communalism in India.Ans. At the outset it must be admitted that in spite of strenuous efforts made by the congress leaders and rationalists, communalism could not be checked. Ultimately communalism won when India was divided and Pakistan was created on the communalism two nations theory. It may be stated that communalism grew on account of the following ‘Divide and Rule’ policy of the British. Jinnah was not the sole originator of this theory of two nations. The policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ encouraged Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to fight for the right of the Muslims. Lord Curzon in 1905 encouraged the Muslims when he divided Bengal and created a Muslim majority province. Iqbal in 1930 also favoured separate treatment for the Muslims. The Hindu Mahasabha established in 1916 also worked on communal lines following factors led to communalist tendencies. (1) Divide and Rule Policy of the British. (2) Fear of the Muslim minority of its Suppression the Hindu majority. (3) Overemphasis on the glory of ancient India. (4) Emergency of political parties on communal lines. (5) Separate electorate for Muslims. (6) Lack of education among the Muslim community. (7) Frustration of the Muslim league on its inability to win election in1937.(8) Demand for partition of India at the Lahore session of the Muslim league in 1940. (9) Direct Action by the Muslim league in 1946 and Communal riots.

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13 Pointing upon the destruction or slaughter on Mass scale at the time of partition compare Indian holocaust with Germany? Ans.

1) Because several hundred thousand people were killed and innumerable women raped and abducted. Millions were uprooted, transformed into refugees in alien lands. Estimate of casualties were 2,00,000 to 50,00,000. In all probability, some 15 million had to move across hastily constructed frontiers separating India and Pakistan.

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2) Stripped of their local or regional cultures. They were forced to begin picking of their life from scratch. There fire partition is considered as holocaust. The Survivers themselves have often spoken of 1947 through other words like maashal (Martial law), mara-mari, raula or hullar.

3) Though the people do not see any difference between the events of India and Germany Afterall this much difference we find that in 1947-48,

4) The sub contitnent did not witness the state driven extermination as was the case with Nazi Germany where various model of killing were used. The ethnic cleansing That characterized the partition of India was carried out by self- styled representative of religious communities rather than by state agencies.

14 ‘The Partition of India was indispensable’. Explain? 1. Ans. By the strength of Indian National Congress and power of mass movement ultimately

British Government agreed to free India in 1947. But freedom could come with the partition of India in two separate countries India and Pakistan. The causes for acceptance of the Independence with partition were as under:

2. The British had been following a policy of creating feelings of bitterness among the different communities in India. This policy of Divide and Rule aimed to check the growth of Nationalism .When they failed in their objectives, they decided to divide the country and leave it. The attitude of Mr. Jinnah, the most prominent leader of the Muslim League, led to the partition of the country. He preached that the Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations. Hence they could notpull well together.

3. The British government followed the policy of appeasement towards the Muslims. They asked the Muslim League leaders to ask for more and more concession. They encouraged the Muslim to stress their demand for PakistanThe recommendation of the various mission sent by the British Government to solve the Indian Problem indirectly accepted the Muslim demand of Pakistan.The failure of Interim Government also made the partition of the country inevitable.

4. In the absence of cooperation between the two major parties of the country, the Muslim League and the Congress, the Government could not be run effectively. Lastly we can say that unwillingnessof leaders for working together for freedom, Hindu Muslim Riots, etc. made the partition of India inevitable.

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16 Explain the British policy of Divide and Rule.Ans. British policy of divide and rule:

1) Muslims were generally looked upon with suspicion initially, especially after the Wahabi and 1857 revolts, and were subjected to repression and discrimination by the Government. The introduction of English education had undermined Arabic and Persian learning which added further to the economic backwardness and exclusion of the Muslims from service.

2) After the 1870s, with signs of the emergence of Indian nationalism and growing politicisation of the educated middle classes/ the Government reversed its policy of repression of Muslims and gave concessions, favours and reservations to the Muslims and used them against nationalist forces.

3) The Government used persons like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the growing influence of the Congress. In the beginning Sir Syed Khan had a broadminded and reformist outlook but later he started supporting the colonial British government, telling the Muslim masses to stay away from the Congress. He also started talking of separate interests of Hindus and Muslims.

4) Later British government promoted The Muslim League (1906-7) and granted Communal Electorate (1909) to the Muslims to weaken the power of congress and other nationalists.

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17 Why did some people think of partition as a very sudden development?Ans.

1) The suddenness of Partition Muslim League itself was vague about its demand in 1940. There was a very short time – just seven years – between the first formal demand for a measure of autonomy for the Muslim-majority areas of the subcontinent and Partition. No one knew what the creation of Pakistan meant.

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2) Many who migrated from their homelands in 1947 thought they would return as soon as peace prevailed again. In the beginning Muslim leaders did not seriously raise the demand for Pakistan as a sovereign state. In the beginning Jinnah may have seen the Pakistan idea as a bargaining point, useful for blocking possible British concessions to the Congress and gaining additional favours for the Muslims.

3) The pressure of the Second World War on the British delayed talks for independence for some time.

4) The Quit India Movement which started in 1942, and continued despite repression. It created pressure on British Raj to tell its officials to start talks with Indian parties about the transfer of power.

5) In l945, the British agreed to create an entirely all Indian member central Executive Council, except for the Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, as a step towards granting full independence.

6) Discussions about the transfer of power failed due to Jinnah’s demand that the League had an absolute right to choose all the Muslim members of the Executive Council and that there should communal veto in the Council, with decisions opposed by Muslims needing a twothirds majority.

7) A large section of the nationalist Muslims supported the Congress (its delegation for these discussions was headed by Maulana Azad), and in West Punjab members of the Unionist Party were largely Muslims. The British had no intention of annoying the Unionists who still controlled the Punjab government and had been consistently loyal to the British.

8) Results of the Provincial elections of 1946 . The Congress swept the general constituencies, capturing 91.3 per cent of the non-Muslim vote. The League’s won all 30 reserved constituencies in the Centre with 86.6 per cent of the Muslim vote and 442 out of 509 seats in the provinces. The League established itself as the dominant party among Muslim votersto prove its claim as the “sole spokesman” of India’s Muslims. Though the voters were only 10 to 12 per cent of the population in the provincial elections and only one per cent in the elections for the Central Assembly.

18 How did ordinary people view partition?Ans.

1) The experiences of ordinary people during the Partition were written by many writers. Women were raped, abducted, sold, often many times over, forced to settle down to a new life with strangers in unknown circumstances. Dishonouring women of a community was seen as dishonouring the community

2) Deeply traumatised by all that they had undergone, some began to develop new family bonds in their changed circumstances. But the governments of both the countries tried to restore to their families.

3) At times, therefore, when the men feared that “their” women – wives, daughters, sisters – would be violated by the “enemy”, they killed the women themselves or forced them to commit suicide. Then they called them martyrs.

4) In Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Central India and the Deccan the Partition was most bloody and destructive. In the Punjab large scale displacement of Hindus and Sikhs eastwards into India from West Punjab and of almost all Punjabi-speaking Muslims to Pakistan happened in a short period of two years between 1946 and 1948.

5) Many Muslim families of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh continued to migrate to Pakistan in 1950s and 1960s.

6) Most of these Urdu-speaking people, called Muhajirs (migrants) in Pakistan moved to the Karachi Hyderabad region in Sind

7) In Bengal the migration meant moving across a porous border. Unlike the Punjab, the exchange of population in Bengal was not total. Many Bengali Hindus remained in East Pakistan while many Bengali Muslims continued to live in West Bengal.

8) Later Bengali Muslims (East Pakistanis) rejected Jinnah’s two-nation theory by creating Bangladesh

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19 Examine the views of Gandhi against the Partition of India.Ans.

1) Mahatma Gandhi knew that his voice was a lone voice. He was opposed to the idea of Partition. He wished that Hindus and Muslims should have mutual talks. He appealed to the Muslim League to regard all Indians as equal. When 1946 communal riots happened he went to different parts of India to end the violence.

2) Hindus and Muslims are born of the same soil. They have the same blood, eat the same food, drink the same water and speak the same language. They have everything in common.

3) He was convinced that the Pakistan demand by the Muslim League was un-Islamic and he called it sinful.

4) Islam stands for the unity and brotherhood of mankind, not for destroying the oneness of the human family. Those who divided India into warring religious groups are enemies of Islam and India. Gandhi considered partition wrong.

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20 Why is partition viewed as an extremely significant marker in South Asian history?1) Ans. It changed the socio political history of South Asia2) Three new states were created by the name of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.For South

Asian history, it meant independence for India and Pakistan. Unfortunately, it also inaugurated Indo-Pakistani tension. Conflict between Hindus and Muslims had existed on the subcontinent, to a greater or lesser degree, for many centuries, but the partition brought that conflict to the international level and the results is three wars, in 1948, 1965, and 1971, as well as the Kargil conflict of 1999.

3) Many existing native princely kingdoms were integrated in India and Pakistan.4) British colonialism ended from India and Sri Lanka too became independent in 19485) It marked the beginning of a global trend towards decolonization.

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21 ‘The Partition of India was indispensable’.Explain?

1) Ans. By the strength of Indian National Congress and power of mass movement ultimately British Government agreed to free India in 1947.But freedom could only be given with the partition of India in two separate countries India and Pakistan.

2) The causes for acceptance of the Independence with partition were as under: The British had been following a policy of creating feelings of bitterness among the different communities in India. This policy of Divide and Rule aimed to check the growth of Nationalism .When they failed in their objectives, they decided to divide the country and leave it.

3) The attitude of Mr. Jinnah, the most prominent leader of the Muslim League, led to the partition of the country. He preached that the Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations. Hence they could not pull well together.

4) The British government followed the policy of appeasement towards the Muslims. They asked the Muslim League leaders to ask for more and more concession.

5) They encouraged the Muslim to stress their demand or Pakistan.The recommendation of the various mission sent by the British Government to solve the Indian Problem indirectly accepted the Muslim demand of Pakistan.

6) The failure of Interim Government also made the partition of the country inevitable. 7) In the absence of cooperation between the two major parties of the country, the Muslim

League and the Congress, the Government could be run effectively.8) Lastly we can say that unwilling of leaders for in dealing with, Hindu Muslim Riots , was an

essential cause of partition of India.

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22 Read the passage and answer the questions that follow“A voice in the wilderness”

Mahatma Gandhi knew that his was “a voice in the wilderness” but he nevertheless continued to oppose the idea of Partition:But what a tragic change we see today. I wish the day may come again when Hindus and Muslims will do nothing without mutual consultation. I am day and night tormented by the question what I can do to hasten the coming of that day. I appeal to the League not to regard any Indian as its enemy … Hindus and Muslims are born of the same soil. They have the same blood, eat the same food, drink the same water and speak the same language.

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SPEECH AT PRAYER MEETING, 7 SEPTEMBER 1946,CWMG, VOL. 92, P.139But I am firmly convinced that the Pakistan demand as put forward by the Muslim League is un-Islamic and I have not hesitated to call it sinful. Islam stands for the unity and brotherhood of mankind, not for disrupting the oneness of the human family. Therefore, those who want to divide India into possible warring groups are enemies alike of Islam and India. They may cut me to pieces but they cannot make me subscribe to something which I consider to be wrong.HARIJAN, 26 SEPTEMBER 1946, CWMG, VOL. 92, P.229Q1.Why did Mahatma Gandhi oppose partition?What did Mahatma Gandhi appeal to Muslim League? 2 Ans. Hindus and Muslims are born of the same soil. They have the same blood, eat the same food, drink the same water and speak the same language.

He appealed to Muslim League not to regard any Indian as its enemy … Hindus and Muslims are born of the same soil

Q2. Which action of Muslim League was termed as sinful by Mahatma Gandhi? Which arguments had he put forward for it? 1+1=2

1) Gandhi said that he is convinced that the Pakistan demand forwarded by the Muslim League is un-Islamic and. Gandhi had no hesitation to call it sinful

2) He argued that Islam stands for the unity and brotherhood of mankind, not for disrupting the oneness of the human family. Therefore, those who want to divide India into possible warring groups are enemies of Islam and India.

Q3. Why did Congress accept partition? 2 Ans.Congress accepted Partition because it was helpless in the circumstances. It could not convince the Muslim League.

The Direct action Plan of Muhammad Ali Jinnah resulted in All India communal riots. None could stop it. British were packing their bags. Muslim league was busy in the preparations of Pakistan.

23 Read the passage and answer the questions that follow What “recovering” women meant

Here is the experience of a couple, recounted by Prakash Tandon in his Punjabi Century, an autobiographical social history of colonial Punjab:In one instance, a Sikh youth who had run amuck during the Partition persuaded a massacring crowd to let him take away a young, beautiful Muslim girl. They got married, and slowly fell in love with each other. Gradually memories of her parents, who had been killed, and her former life faded. They were happy together, and a little boy was born. Soon, however, social workers and the police, laboring assiduously to recover abducted women, began to track down the couple. They made inquiries in the Sikh’s home-district of Jalandhar; he got scent of it and the family ran away to Calcutta. The social workers reached Calcutta. Meanwhile, the couple’s friends tried to obtain a stay-order from the court but the law was taking its ponderous course. From Calcutta the couple escaped to some obscure Punjab village, hoping that the police would fail to shadow them. But the police caught up with them and began to question them. His wife was expecting again and now nearing her time. The Sikh sent the little boy to his mother and took his wife to a sugar-cane field. He made her as comfortable as he could in a pit while he lay with a gun, waiting for the police, determined not to lose her while he was alive. In the pit he delivered her with his own hands. The next day she ran high fever, and in three days she was dead. He had not dared to take her to the hospital. He was so afraid the social workers and the police would take her away.

Q1. From which book had this excerpt been taken? Who was its author? 1 Ans. This excerpt has been taken from‘Autobiographical social history of colonial Punjab’ by Prakash TandonQ2. How were Sikh youth and Muslim girl married? 2 Ans. A Sikh youth during the Partition persuaded a massacring crowd not to kill a Muslim girl and to let him get married to that young, beautiful Muslim girl.

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They got married, and slowly fell in love with each other. Gradually memories of her parents, who had been killed, and her former life faded

Q3. Why were the police and administration after the couple? 2 Ans. social workers and the police were trying to recover abducted women, so they began to track down the couple. They made inquiries in district of Jalandhar and were told that the family had ran away to Calcutta.

The social workers reached Calcutta. The couple’s friends tried to obtain a stay-order from the court. From Calcutta the couple escaped to some remote Punjab village, but the police caught up with them and began to question them.

Q4. On which dark aspect of the recovery of the women does this passage throw the light? 2 Ans. Many women went missing during Partition. Some of them were forced to get married to the people of different religion. They settled down in their new lives. Some had children and families with whom they were living comfortably.

When the governments of India and Pakistan tried to recover these women many did not want to return because they could not face their families and felt humiliated. Some had adjusted in their new lives and did not wish to return but the law was forcing them to return these women experienced much pain. Dark aspect of the recovery was that both the time they had to act against their own wishes.

24 Read the passage and answer the questions that followA Small Basket Of Grapes

This is what Khushdeva Singh writes about his experience during one of his visits to Karachi in 1949:My friends took me to a room at the airport where we all sat down and talked… (and) had lunch together. I had to travel from Karachi to London … at 2.30 a.m. … At 5.00 p.m. … I told my friends that they had given me so generously of their time, I thought it would be too much for them to wait the whole night and suggested they must spare themselves the trouble. But nobody left until it was dinner time … Then they said they were leaving and that I must have a little rest before emplaning. … I got up at about 1.45 a.m. and, when I opened the door, I saw that all of them were still there …They all accompanied me to the plane, and, before parting, presented me with a small basket of grapes. I had no words to express my gratitude for the overwhelming affection with which I was treated and the happiness this stopover had given me.

Q1. Who was Khushdeva Singh? How did his friends show their affection to him during his visit to Karachi? 2

1) Ans. Khushdeva Singh, a Sikh doctor specialising in the treatment of tuberculosis, posted at Dharampur in presentday Himachal Pradesh. Immersing himself in his work day and night, the doctor provided that rare healing touch, food, shelter, love and security to numerous migrants, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu alike.

2) His friends treated him with love and affection .They stayed with him most of the evening and then when he was resting and waiting for his delayed flight, they waited outside his room and in the early morning flight saw him off with a basket of grapes.

Q2. How was Khushdeva Singh seen as symbol of humanity and harmony? 21) Ans. He worked on humanitarian grounds and the religious identity of a person had no

impact on him. He helped all those were in need.2) Even when he went to Pakistan he was only looking for his friends and not the people of a

hostile country. Q3. This source is an example of oral history. How does oral history help historians reconstruct events of the recent past? Give two points? 1+1=2

1) Ans. Women related issues of Partition their abduction and their recovery both are painful issues. Formal records do not give us much information about what these women or their families went through.

2) How Hindus and Muslims helped their friends and strangers belonging to other

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communities even at the cost of their own life.25 Read the following passage given carefully. Answer the questions that follow.

Without A Short Being Fired

This is what moon wrote : For over twenty-four hours riotous mobs were allowed to rage through this great commercial city unchallenged and unchecked. The finest bazaars were burnt to the ground without a shoot being fired to disperse the incendiaries (i.e. those who stirred up conflict). The . . . District Magistrate marched his (large polices) force into the city and marched it out again without making any effective use of it at all. . . . . Q1.To which event does the source refer to? Describe what the mobs were doing? 1

Ans. It refers to an event at the time of Partition. The mob were looting the market and trade centres.

Q2. Why did Amritsar became the scene of bloodshed later in 1947 ? 2Ans. The British officials did not act to stop these unlawful and violent activities. The district administration had no control over the city.

Q3. What was the attitude of the soldiers and policeman towards the mob? 2Ans. The Indian soldiers had started behaving as Hindu, Muslims or Sikhs. They were helping the people of their community.

Q4. Give one example to show how Gandhi tried to bring about communal harmony? 2 Ans. He advised the people of Hindu and Muslim communities at Delhi to maintain trust on each other.

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26Values

i). Vedic science and modern science seen as complementary methods of gaining knowledge ii). Could Help In accelerating socio-economic development iii). Rich Indian literature unfolds the dynamics of Modern Science. iv). Students may answer with reference to values pertaining to Indian Literature and culture.

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27 Limitation Law- In 1859 the British passed a Limitation Law that stated that the loan bonds signed between moneylenders and ryots would have validity for only three years. This law was meant to check the accumulation of interest over time.

i. forcing the ryot to sign a new bond every three years ii. Accumulated interest – was entered as the principal on which a new set of interest charges was calculated iii. Moneylenders refused to give receipts when loans were repaid, entered fictitious figures in bonds, acquired the peasants’ harvest at low prices, and ultimately took over Peasants’ property. iv. Deeds and bonds appeared as symbols of the new oppressive system. v. They were made to sign and put thumb expressions on documents. vi. They had no idea of the clauses that moneylenders enlisted in the bonds. vii. Peasants came to associate the misery of their lives with the new regime of bonds and deeds.

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Events that led to the Partition: Certain policies of the British encouraged communal divisions

i. Separate electorates for Muslims given by the British in 1909.

ii. Encouragement to formation of Muslim League.

iii. Govt. of India Act 1919 expanded communal electorates

iv. Communal Developments from the 1920s

v. Tabligh and Shuddhi movements caused conflicts

vi. Cow protection movement, music before mosque.

vii. In 1940, in the Lahore session, the Muslim League placed their demand for autonomous province with Muslim majority.

viii. 1937 elections/ results of the subsequent refusal of Congress to form a coalition government with Muslim League

ix. Jinnah’s two nation theory.

x. Indian National Congress began the Quit India Movement but the Muslim League did not support it

xi. Jinnah and Muslim League emerged as representatives of the Muslim community.

xii. The proposal of the cabinet Mission was first accepted by the Muslim League and the Congress but soon the Muslim League rejected it and refused to take part in

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the Interim Govt.

xiii. Muslim population of Muslim majority regions of North West and Eastern India supported partition.

xiv. The Muslim League organized the ‘Direct Action Day’.

xv. Communal violence in 1946.

xvi. Mountbatten plan endorsed a separate nation for Muslims and partitioned India.

xvii. Hindu Muslim riots continued partition of India

Chapter - 15 The Making Of The Constitutionthe Beginning Of A New Era

Key concepts in nutshell:-

The Indian constitution was framed between Dec.1946 & Dec.1949.The Indian constitution came into effect on 26th Jan.1950.The members of the constituent Assembly were elected on the basis of the provincial elections of 1946.The total member of the constituent Assembly were 300.Dr.B.R.Ambedkar was the chairman of the Drafting Committee, and played important role in the constituent Assembly.on the 13 Dec 1946 Nehru moved the “Objective Resolution” in the constituent Assembly.An interim Government was made under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru.There was a vigorous debate in the constituent Assembly on the topic of the central Government and the state.The language issue was debated for many months within the constituent assembly.Mahatma Gandhi believed that every one should talk a language which even common man could be able to understand.

1 Who moved the crucial ‘Objectives Resolution’? Ans. The Crucial Resolution was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru.

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2 Why was the new constitution of Independent India introduced on 26 January1950 ? Ans. Because it was the 20th anniversary of the historical day on which the Congress had declared Complete Independence as its final goal.

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3 Which were the two main dissents of the Indian Constitution? Ans. i) Its being written primarily in English.

viii) Requirement of no educational qualification for any of the post enshrined in it. ix)

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4 When was the Drafting Committee formed? Who was its chairman? Ans. The Drafting Committee was formed on 29 August 1947. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was its chairman.

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5 When and under which scheme the Constituent Assembly was formed? 2 430

Ans. The Constituent Assembly was formed in October 1946 as per the Cabinet Mission Scheme. Marks

6 When and under whose Presidentship the first session of all India States People’s Conference was held ?Ans. The first session of all India States People’s Conference was held in 1927 under the Presidentship of Diwan Bahadur, M. Ramchan Rai the renowned leader of Ellore

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7 Why did Mahatma Gandhi think Hindustani should be the National language? 1) Ans. By the 1950s, the Congress had accepted that Hindustani ought to be the national

language. Mahatma Gandhi felt that everyone should speak in a language that common people could easily understand.

2) Hindustani a blend of Hindi and Urdu was a popular language of a large section of the people of India, and it was a composite language enriched by the interaction of diverse cultures.

3) Over the years it had incorporated words and terms from very many different sources, and was therefore understood by people from various regions.

4) This multi – cultural language, Mahatma Gandhi thought would be the ideal language of communication between diverse communities: it could unify Hindus and Muslims, and people of the north and south.

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8 Why is the Indian constitution acceptable to the Indian people even today? Ans: a) The Indian Constitution is acceptable to all because it was based on a broad consensusand did not reflect the views of the drafting committee alone. b) Even though there was no universal adult Franchise at that time. The constituent assembly consisted of people of all regions and communities making it a miniature India. c) Eminent people like Maulana Azad and women like Sarojini Naidu played an importantpart in the constituent assembly as did people of all casts and creeds. d) Furthermore, the constituent assembly worked in a systematic and open manner. e) The basic principles were agreed upon, then a draft constitution was prepared for discussion. f) The draft constitution was discussed thoroughly clause by clause for nearly 3 years before being finalized. g) Every individual is free to follow. Preach, or profess his/ her own religion. There is nostate religion.

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9 How was the term minority defined by different groups? Ans. The term minority was defined by different groups in the following ways: i). Ambedkar demanded separate group for the minority races. ii). Hindus and Sikhs, live in so-called Pakistan were not considered asminority race. iii). Members demanded the representation on behalf of the minority in the Constitution. iv). Nagappa demanded minority status for the Harijans. v). Ambedkar demanded separate Constitution for the minorities.

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10 What was the ‘language controversy, before the Constitution Assembly and how did it seek to resolve the controversy? Ans. 1. Language Controversy:

• Hindustani (Hindi+Urdu) started getting separate due to communal parties.• Language became politicized for communal identity.

2) R.V. Dhulkar supported Hindi to be made language of the Constitution.3) It created a furor (debate) in the Constituent Assembly which was mediated by Pt.Jawahar lal

Nehru.4) Solutions:

• Proceeded slow to make Hindi as the National Language.• Some supported official work to be continued for 15 years in English.

5) After implementation of the Constitution and Provinces to choose regional languagefor daily work.

• Constituent Assembly :• i. Hindi – Not National Language.ii. But not Rajbhasha

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11 What was was the Objectives Resolution?What were the ideals expressed in the Objectives 8 411

Resolution? Ans. It was Jawaharlal Nehru who presented Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly on 13th December, 1946. He proposed that the National Flag of India be a ‘horizontal tricolour of saffron , white and dark green in equal proportion’,with a wheel in navy blue at the centre. It outlined and defined the ideals and objectives of the Constituitiion which are as follows: 1. India was declared as independent sovereign Republic. 2. It assured justice , equality, liberty and fraternity to all its citizens. 3. It provided adequate safeguards to minorities. 4. It referred to the wellbeing of the backward and depressed classes. 5. India would combine the liberal ideas of democracy with socialist idea of economic Justice. 6. India would adopt that form of government which would be acceptable to its people. No imposition from the British would be accepted by the Indian people. 7. India would be a federation. 8. India would work for world peace and human welfare.

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12 Read the given passage carefully and answer the Questions that follow –“There cannot be any divided loyalty”

“Govind Ballabh Pant argued that in order to become a loyal citizen. People had focusing only on the community and the self. For the success of Democracy one must train himself in the art of self–discipline. In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There can not be any divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be centred round the State. If in a democracy, you create rival loyalties, or you create a system in which any individual or group, instead of suppressing his extravagance, cares nought for larger or other interests, then democracy is doomed.’’Q1. Give three attributes of a loyal citizen in a democracy according to G. B. Pant. 1 Ans. i) He must train himself in the art of self discipline. ii) He should care less for himself and more for others.Q2. What do you understand by ‘Separate Electorate’? 2 Ans. Under provisions of the government of India Act, 1909. Separate electorateswere made for the Muslims. Only Muslims could be elected from these constituencies. According to the British Administrators it was done in order to safe guard the interests of the Muslims minority.Q3. Why was the demand for Separate Electorate made during the drafting of theConstitution? 2 Ans. Some members of the Constituent Assembly felt that a meaningful participationof the minorities in the governance could be ascertained only by the system of separate electorates. They made a strong plea to continue this system.Q4.Why was G. B. Pant against this demand? Give two reasons. 2 Ans. Govind Ballabh Pant felt that – i) If, by the system of the Separate Electorate, the minorities are isolated for ever, they can never be able to convert themselves into a majority. ii) The minorities, if they are returned by Separate Electorates, can never have any effective voice in the governance.

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13 Read the given passage carefully and answer the Questions that follow –

“That is very good, Sir – bold words, noble words”

Somnath Lahiri said:Well, Sir, I must congratulate Pandit Nehru for the fine expression he gave to the spirit of the Indian people when he said that no imposition from the British will be accepted by the Indian people. Imposition would be resented and objected to, he said, and he added that if need be we will walk the valley of struggle. That is very good, Sir – bold words, noble words. But the point is to see when and how are you going to apply that challenge. Well, Sir, the point is that the imposition is here right now. Not only has the British Plan made any future Constitution … dependent on a treaty satisfactory to the British but it suggests that for every little difference you will have to run to the Federal Court or dance attendance there in England; or to call on the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee or someone else.

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Not only is it a fact that this Constituent Assembly, whatever plans we may be hatching, we are under the shadow of British guns, British Army, their economic and financial stranglehold – which means that the final power is still in the British hands and the question of power has not yet been finally decided, which means the future is not yet completely in our hands. Not only that, but the statements made by Attlee and others recently have made it clear that if need be, they will even threaten you with division entirely. This means, Sir, there is no freedom in this country. As Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel put it some days ago, we have freedom only to fight among ourselves. That is the only freedom we have got … Therefore, our humble suggestion is that it is not a question of getting something by working out this Plan but to declare independence here and now and call upon the Interim Government, call upon the people of India, to stop fratricidal warfare and look out against its enemy, which still has the whip hand, the British Imperialism – and go together to fight it and then resolve our claims afterwards when we will be free.

Q1. Who was Somnath Lahiri? 1Ans, He as an Indian statesman and a leader of Communist Party of India. He was a member of Constituent Assembly of India from Bengal and later served as a Member West Bengal legislative assembly.

Q2. For which thing had Somnath Lahiri congratulated Pt. Nehru? 2Ans. He congratulates Pundit Nehru for the fine speech he gave about the spirit of the Indian people Nehru said that no imposition from the British will be accepted by the Indian people. Imposition would be resented and objected to by the members of assembly. Lahri calls them bold words, noble words. But expresses doubt on application of that challenge. He feels that already the British Plan has made any future Constitution … dependent on a treaty satisfactory to the British and in future too all disputes will be referred to the Federal Court in England.

Q3. Why did Somnath Lahiri feel that the Constituent Assembly was working under the shadow of the British? 2

Ans.He felt this because the constituent assembly was constructes in 1946 when India was still under British rule. Constituent Assembly, may make plans but it is under the shadow of British guns, British Army, their economic and financial stranglehold. The final power is still in the British hands and the question of power transfer has not yet been finally decided, which means the future is not yet completely in Indians hands. He felt that, there was no freedom in this country.

Q4. How did Somnath Lahiri call upon the people of India to fight against the British plans? 2Ans.He said to declare independence first and called upon the Interim Government, caledl upon the people of India, to stop fratricidal warfare and look out against their enemy the British, who still has the whip hand, the British Imperialism must go. Together Indians must fight it and then resolve their claims afterwards when they will be free.

14 Read the given passage carefully and answer the Questions that follow – “The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind” Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel said:It is no use saying that we ask for separate electorates, because it is good for us. We have heard it long enough. We have heard it for years, and as a result of this agitation we are now a separate nation … Can you show me one free country where there are separate electorates? If so, I shall be prepared to accept it. But in this unfortunate country if this separate electorate is going to be persisted in, even after the division of the country, woe be tide the country; it is not worth living in. Therefore, I say, it is not for my good alone, it is for your own good that I say it, forget the past. One day, we may be united … The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind. We do not want to perpetuate that mischief. (Hear, hear). When the British introduced this element they had not expected that they will have to go so soon. They wanted it for their easy administration. That is all right. But they have left the legacy behind. Are we to get out of it or not?

Q1. Who was Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel? 1 Ans. He was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India. India’s first Home minister and Deputy prime Minister.

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Q2. Why had Sardar Patel said, “The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind?” 2 Ans. He said that “The British element is gone, but they have left the mischief behind” because in India if separate electorate is going to be in practice, even after the division of the country, then this country is not worth living in. we would be continuing wrong policies.Q3. What was the most serious result of separate electorates? 2 Ans. The partition Of India into two countries and the massing killing of people in the event is the most serious result of separate electorates. People’s hearts were divided.Q4.What arguments were given by Sardar Patel against the demand for separate electorates? Ans. He was against it. He said it is not for anyones good so we must forget the past. One day, we may be united .The British have gone, but they have left the mischief of separate electorates behind. It would continue to divide people.

15 Read the given passage carefully and answer the Questions that follow – There Cannot Be Any Divided LoyaltyGovind Ballabh Pant argued that in order to become loyal citizens people had to stop focusing only on the community and the self:For the success of democracy one must train himself in the art of self-discipline. In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There cannot be any divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be centred round the State. If in a democracy, you create rival loyalties, or you create a system in which any individual or group, instead of suppressing his extravagance, cares nought for larger or other interests, then democracy is doomed.Q1. What do you understand by ‘Separate Electorates’? 2

Ans.Reserved constituencies or seats for a particular group in the election. British had introduced separate electorates for Muslims first and for Dalits later.

Q2. Why was the demand for separate electorates made during the drafting of the Constitution? 2

Ans. So that it could be made part of the new constitution. Most members of Constituent assembly opposed it.

Q3. Give three attributes of a loyal citizen in a democracy according to G.B. Pant. 3Ans. For the success of democracy one must train himself in the art of self-discipline. In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There cannot be any divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be cantered round the State. If in a democracy, you create rival loyalties, or you create a system in which any individual or group, instead of suppressing his extravagance, cares not for larger or other interests, then democracy is doomed.

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16The constituent assembly protected the powers of the central govt. verses the state. HOW?

i. Pt. Nehru pleads for the strong centre as required for independent India.

ii. It would be injurious to the interest of the country to provide for a weak central authority which would be incapable of ensuring peace and speaking effectively for the whole country in the international affairs.

iii. The Draft Constitution provided for three lists of subjects: Union, State, and Concurrent. The subjects in the first list were to be the preserve of the Central Government, while those in the second list were vested with the states and third the share responsibility

iv. The Union also had control of minerals and key industries.

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v. Article 356 gave the Centre the powers to take over a state administration on the recommendation of the Governor

vi. Centre remained with all the fiscal powers

vii. The rights of the states were most eloquently defended by K. Santhanam from Madras, The fiscal provisions would impoverish the provinces

viii. The argument for greater power to the provinces provoked a strong reaction in the Assembly

ix. Ambedkar wanted “a strong and united Centre (hear, hear) much strongerthan the Centre we had created under the Government of India Act of 1935”.

x. The Centre was strengthened to stop the communal frenzy.

xi. Balakrishna Sharma, reasoned at length that only a strong centre could plan for the well-being of the country, mobilize the available economic resources, establish a proper administration, and defend the country against foreign aggression

xii. The violence of the times gave a further push to centralization

xiii. The Constitution thus showed a distinct bias towards the right of the Union of India over those of its constituent states.

17Within the constituent assembly the language issue created intense debate’’. Examin the views put forward by the members of the assembly on this issue.

i). Gandhiji and congress asked for the Hindustani a blend of Hindi and Urdu was a popular and common language ii) Hindustani, Composite language enriched by the Indian culture iii). Ideal language for India as it unifies Hindus and Muslims and incorporated words and terms from various sources and regions. iv). According to Gandhiji ,Hindustani was the ideal language of communication v). Acc to others ,Hindustani as a language had been gradually changing. As communal conflicts deepened, Hindi and Urdu also started growing apart. On the one hand, there was a move to Sanskritise Hindi, purging it of all words of Persian and Arabic vi). R V Dhulekar made a strong plea for Hindi vii). Hindi, Known to all viii). Hindi in the Dravidian script would like to be the language of the nation ix). the Language Committee of the Constituent Assembly had produced its report and had thought of a compromise formula to resolve the deadlock between those who advocated Hindi as the national language and those who opposed it. x). Each province was to allowed to choose one of the regional languages for the official

8 marks 425-428

purpose xi). He wanted to hindi to be national language xii). Durgabai informed the house that opposition in south is very strong

xiii). The opponents feel perhaps justly that this propaganda for Hindi cuts at the very root of Provincial languages. xiv). G. Durgabai from Madras carried on Hindi propaganda in the south xv). Many members appealed for a spirit of accommodation. xvi). T. Ramalingam from madras asked for the mutual adjustment and no question of forcing things on people

18The Constituent Assembly was expected to express the aspirations of those who had participated in the movement for independence. Democracy, equality and justice were ideals that had become intimately associated with social struggles in India since thenineteenth century. How could the social struggle have the successful ends with their interwined values of democracy, equality along with social justice? Throw light on the value mentioned in the relevance to the context. Values

i. Cooperation.

ii. Inclusiveness.

iii. Accommodative and assimilative society .

iv. Shared decision-making, and a sense of community.

v. Responsibility, respect for differences.

vi. Minorities protection.

vii. Secularism.

viii. Spreading message of brotherhood and fraternity.

x. Commitment to liberal principles of toleration, equality and rights

x. Human equality and dignity and feasible mechanism for pursuing social justice

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