Class XII – History Sample Paper – 3

Ans. (D) All of these

Explanation: The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, a technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment. They are also noted for their baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large, non residential buildings.

Ans. (A) Emergence of states, cities, and towns; Use of iron

Explanation: More than sixty towns and cities such as Pataliputra, Rajagriha, Sravasti, Varanasi, Vaishali, Champa, Kaushambi and Ujjaini developed between 600 and 300 BC. These cities became centre of craft production and trade, and were inhabited by a large number of artisans and merchants. Iron weapons such as arrowheads and spearheads and tools like knives, axes, and plowshares have been discovered from various sites.

Ans. (A) endogamy

Explanation: Endogamy, also called in-marriage, custom enjoining one to marry within one’s own group. The penalties for transgressing endogamous restrictions have varied greatly among cultures and have ranged from death to mild disapproval. When marriage to an outside group is mandated, it is referred to as exogamy. Polygamy is the practice in which a man has more than one wife. Polyandry is the practice or custom of a woman being married to more than one man at the same time.

Ans. (C) Ashoka pillar

Explanation: The most celebrated of the Ashokan pillars is the one erected at Sarnath, the site of Buddha’s First Sermon where he shared the Four Noble Truths (the dharma or the law).

Ans. (D) Mahayana

Explanation: In Mahāyāna, a Buddha is seen as a being that has achieved the highest kind of awakening due to his superior compassion and wish to help all beings. An important feature of Mahāyāna is the way that it understands the nature of a Buddha, which differs from non-Mahāyāna understandings.

Ans. (B) 1,2,3

Explanation: Jainism, Indian religion teaching a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence (ahimsa, literally “non- injury”) to all living creatures.

Ans. (C) A is true, but R is false

Explanation: There were sixteen of such Mahajanapadas: Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha,

Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Machcha, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboja

Ans. (B) Al-Biruni

Explanation: He has been called variously the “founder of Indology”, “Father of Comparative Religion”, “Father of modern geodesy”, and the first anthropologist. Al-Biruni was well versed in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian, chronologist, and linguist.

Ans. (D) Mlechchha

Explanation: It also spelled mleccha, people of foreign extraction in ancient India. A Sanskrit term mlechchha was used by the Vedic peoples much as the ancient Greeks used barbaros, originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behaviour

Ans. (D) Verses attributed to Kabir mention the name of his teacher, Ramanand.

Explanation: Kabir Das was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings influenced Hinduism’s Bhakti movement and his verses are found in Sikhisms scripture Guru Granth Sahib. His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu bhakti leader Ramananda

Ans. (A) Delhi

Explanation: Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah (mausoleum) of the Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (1238-1325 CE). Situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi, the dargah is visited by thousands its evening qawwali devotional music sessions. The of pilgrims every week. The site is also known for descendants of Nizamuddin Auliya look after the whole management of dargah Sharif.

Ans. (B) Hampi

Explanation: Hampi is famous for its ruins which belong to the Vijayanagar Empire. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is also renowned for its group of monuments. Surrounded by 500 ancient monuments, temples, buildings, and captivating ruins, Hampi is a historical delight for history buffs.

Ans. (A) 1-(ii), 2-(i), 3-(iii)

Explanation: The author of Kitab – ul – Hind was Alberuni and it contains comments on Hindu religious beliefs, Indian sciences, customs and social organization. Al Beruni was a polymath and an Iranian scholar from Khwarezm which is modern day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Ibn Batuta is considered one of the greatest travelers of all time, and is well known for the account of his travels and excursions. He completed writing Rihla in 1355. It is a form of travel literature based upon his experiences through the travels.

Travels In The Mogul Empire: A.D. 1656-1668 by Francois Bernier. The book Travels in the Mogul Empire A. D. 1656-68 by Francois Bernier continues to remain as important and popular as it was in 1671, when its English edition was published.

Ans. (C) Tobacco

Explanation: The major cash crops in 16th-17th centuries were sugarcane, cotton, indigo and opium. All these crops were known in India from historical times. However, in the 17th century their demand increased due to enhanced manufacturing and commercial activities

Ans. (D) Ryotwari

Explanation: In ryotwari system, the peasants or cultivators were regarded as the owners of the land. They had ownership rights, could sell, mortgage or gift the land. The taxes were directly collected by the government from the peasants.

Ans. (B) Meerut

Explanation: Following the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny at Meerut in May 1857, uprisings occurred across northern and central India. The main centres of revolt were Delhi, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Jhansi and Gwalior.

Ans. (A) Doctrine of Lapse

Explanation: The doctrine stipulated that if an Indian ruler died without a male heir, his kingdom would “lapse” and automatically become part of the East India Company’s territories. The doctrine was also applied in cases where the ruler was judged to be “unfit” to rule.

Ans. (A) Chauri Chaura Incident

Explanation: The Chauri Chaura incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province, (modern Uttar Pradesh) in British India on 4 February 1922, when a large group of protesters, participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police, who opened fire.

Ans. (D) German kaiser

Explanation: The charkha, or spinning wheel. It symbolises self-sufficiency and freedom. The charkha became the symbol of the swadeshi movement during the Indian freedom struggle.

Ans. (D) Jawaharlal Nehru

Explanation: The Objective Resolution was introduced by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on December 13, 1946. It established the fundamental philosophy and guided the drafting of the Indian Constitution and later transformed into the Preamble. The Constituent Assembly approved this Resolution on January 22, 1947.

Ans. (B) Government of India act 1935

Explanation: The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924), was a pan-Islamic, political protest campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British Government and to protect the Ottoman empire during the aftermath of First World War.

Ans. The excavation findings especially the sculpture are reged as an important source by archeologist

• Contemporary works like writings of Megasthenes, Arthashastra by Chanakya are important sources to reconstruct Mauryan period.

• The Mauryan empire is also mentioned in later Buddhist, Jain, Puranic and Sanskrit literature. • The inscriptions of Asoka on rocks and pillars are regarded as the most valuable sources of information of Maurya age.

Ans. The Harappan script is found to be enigmatic by archaeologists and historians found due to the following reasons:-

•Harappan seals usually had a line of writing, containing the name and title of the owner and the script contained pictures and patterns which could be understood by the ones who could not read and write.

•The script had many signs was mostly non- alphabetical. It was written from right to left direction.

• Mostly the inscriptions were short and precise. The longest contained about 26 signs, each sign stood for a vowel or consonant. Sometimes it contained wider space, sometimes shorter, had no consistency. Till today, the script remains undeciphered.

Ans. The Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras carry the set of rules and regulations to be followed socially regarding the ideal occupations of four varnas. The four varnas of vedic society are:-

1. Brahmanas: Brahmans were supposed to study and teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices. They particularly received gifts such as land grants, gold and animals from Kshtriyas.

2. Kshatriyas: Kshatriyas were mostly engaged in warfare and protection of people. They administered justice, study the Vedas, and get sacrifices performed in exchange of gifts.

3. Vaishyas: Vaishyas were expected to engage in economic activities like agriculture, pastoralism and trade. They also studied the Vedas, get sacrifices performed and exchange gifts as the Kshatriyas.

4. Shudras: Shudras were expected only to serve the three ‘higher’ varnas. They were discriminated and considered low caste.

Ans. Portuguese traveller Barbosa brings out and highlights his personal outlook on the urban core of the Vijayanagara empire as follows.

•He described the houses of ordinary people, though these have not survived and have turned into ruins now.

•The houses of common men were thatched, well built and arranged according to the occupation. These were arranged in long streets with many open places.

• Field survey indicated that the entire area had numerous shrines and small temples that tells about of a variety of cults, supported by different communities.

• Wells, rainwater tanks and temple tanks served as sources of water to the common men of the town.

Ans. The agriculture in medieval India was mostly commercial not only for subsistence. The sources mention Jahangir and jins-i-kamil or perfect crops. The subsistence and commercial production were intertwined in an average peasant’s holding in the following ways:

•The peasants were encouraged to grow commercial crops like cotton and sugar for revenue. These two crops were jins-i-kamil par excellence.

•Cotton was grown over a large territory, spreading over central India and the Deccan plateau. Bengal was famous for its sugar production.

•Some other cash crops like oilseeds (mustard) and lentils were also grown.

•Some new crops like maize, tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, pineapple and papaya reached India from the different parts of the world. It depicts that subsistence and commercial production were closely intertwined.

Ans. • Gandhiji perceived that any struggle can be successful when masses support it. For participating in any movement masses must know the aim of movement. In India through local languages or mother tongue, communication with public could be done easily. So, Gandhiji advised nationalist to use mother tongue.

•Gandhiji believed masses will be more connected to movement when there will be communication in mother tongue. Gandhiji believed that mother tongue will play an adhesive role in the society to bring mass on a single platform. Englishmen considered that English is superior to other language. Usage of Indian languages for communication will change this perception and will surely restore the pride in Indian languages. Therefore, considering all above factors Gandhiji stressed on use of mother tongue.

•After the successful launch of Non-Cooperation Movement Gandhiji called for denial of all voluntary associations with the British and as responded very optimistically to it. Students refused going to the schools and colleges run by the government, lawyers refused to attend courts. There were strikes in factories, mills and workshops, peasants stopped paying taxes, tribes violated forest laws, forests were burnt and liquor shops were picketed.

•Non-Cooperation Movement was a big success as masses participated without any difference of caste, creed, religion, economic and education, status and language. Non-Cooperation Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi played seminal role in uniting different regions of India as country and promoted a sense of nationhood among the fellow Indians.

Ans. Ryots saw the moneylenders as devious and deceitful as the moneylenders were much insensitive to the plight of the peasants. Ryots fell a prey into a deeper debt trap so became completely dependent up on the moneylenders for their survival.

The following points support the statement:

•The British government passed a Limitation Law in 1859 which was meant to check the accumulation of interest over time and give 3 years validity of loan bonds signed between moneylenders and ryots.

•Moneylenders again manipulated the law and forced ryots to sign a new bond every three years. When a new bond was signed, the unpaid balance of the original loan and accumulated interest was entered as principle on which a new set of interest charges was calculated.

•They refused to give receipts when loans were repaid, entered false and manipulated figures in bonds and forced peasants to sign and put thumb impression on documents. Moneylenders did not allow peasants to know details of the documents.

Ans. The Subsidiary Alliance was devised by Lord Wellesley in 1798. Under this policy anyone who accepted the alliance had to accept the following terms and conditions:

•The British would be responsible for protecting their ally from external and internal threats to their power.

• In the territory of the ally, a British armed contingent would be stationed.

•The ally will provide the resources for maintaining this contingent.

•The ally could enter into agreements with other rulers or engage in warfare only with the consent of the British only.

Ans. The evidences depict that by 1800 BCE, most of the mature Harappan sites in regions like Cholistan had been abandoned. Simultaneously, there was a growth of settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. Scholars give the following reasons for the decline of mature harrapan civilization like

• Climatic change

• Deforestation

• Excessive floods at regular intervals in Indus and its tributaries

• Shifting and drying up of rivers

• Overuse of the landscape

• Overuse of wood for burning bricks that destroyed the forests, which necessitated in their migration.

• The spread of infectious diseases

Some of these reasons may be holding true for certain settlements, but they do not account for the collapse of the entire civilisation.

No particular reason was responsible for the decline of this civilisation. The civilisation might have been destroyed by invaders which was proved by the bulk of bones found. It indicated a slaughter.

But the skeletons found did not belong to the same period according to George Dales. Thus, it was not concluded in favour of a dramatic collapse, rather it was believed that the end of Harappan culture was a gradual process.

Ans. The valuable teachings of Gautam Buddha are as follows:

• Buddha stated that the results of our good and bad deeds affect us in this life and the next life.

• Budha encouraged people to think on their own, instead of accepting whatever he preached.

• The Buddha also encouraged people to be kind to all living beings, and to be respectful of others.

• He gave four noble truths. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.

• The world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing. It is also soulless as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it.

• Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.

• By following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence, human beings can use above these worldly pleasures.

• He advised kings and gahapatis to be humane and ethical. Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. He emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana (literally means the extinguishing of ego and desire). This ends the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world.

• The words to his followers were “Be lamps into yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation.”

Ans. Ibn Battuta came to Delhi in the 14th century. His describes Indian cities that were very informative and helpful to understand the lifestyle of Indians.

Ibn Batuta described Indian cities in the following ways:

• Indian cities were prosperous and densely.

• The streets of the cities wre crowded and had a colourful markets with a wide variety of commodities.

• Delhi became the largest and most importand city in India due to population.

• The rampart or barrier was built round the city. Inside the rampart, there were houses for the night sentry, gate keepers and store houses.

• The lower part of the rampart was built of stone while the upper part was of made with bricks.

• There were twenty eight gates in Delhi, which were called as ‘Darwazas’. Of these gates, Budaun darwaza, Mandi darwaza, Gul darwaza were very famous.

• The markets and bazaars of Indian cities were the hub of economic, social and cultural activities.

• Most of the bazaars had a mosque and a temple. Some also had places fixed spaces for cultural events by dancers, musicians and singers.

• Ibn Batuta found that many towns earned their wealth and prosperity through the appropriation of surplus from village.

Ans. The historians reconstruct Kabir’s life on the basis of compositions attributed to him and later hagiographies.

• Verses ascribed to Kabir have been compiled in three distinct traditions, namrely Kabir Bijak, Kabir Granthavali and Adi Granth Sahib. All the three compilations were made after the death of Kabir.

• Kabir rejected all the superstitions and rigid outward caste practices.

• Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages and dialects.

• Source of Inspiration:

Kabir’s poems have been a source of inspiration to the common man who questioned rigid social institutions, ideas and practices in search of God.

• The significance of Kabir’s poem also lies in the fact that his teachings were inspired by both Hinduism and Islam which sometimes expressed diverse and conflicting ideas.

• For instance, some poems imbibed Islamic ideas and used monotheism and attacked Hindu polytheism and idol worship while others used the Sufi concept of zikr and ishq to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran i.e., remembrance of God’s n Kabir’s ideas crystallised through dialogue and debate and his legacy was claimed by several groups,

• The traditions, he drew to describe ultimate reality through his poems are:

Islamic Traditions:

He described the ultimate reality as Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir.

Vedantic Tradition:

He used the terms Alakh (Unseen), Nirakar (Formless), Brahman, Atman, etc. to describe the ultimate reality.

Yogic Tradition:

Other terms with mystical connotations such as shabda (sound) or Shunya (emptiness) were drawn from yogic tradition.ame

Ans. Revolt of 1857 can be studied from visuals like paintings, pencil drawings, posters and cartoons which were produced by the British and Indian artists and painters. These potrayed different emotions of Indians and british like

• British pictures offer a variety of images that were meant to provoke a range of different emotions and reactions. Some of them depict the British heroes who saved the English and repressed the rebels. For e.g. ‘Relief of Lucknow’, painted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1859 depicts the efforts of James Outrom, Henry Havelock and Colin Campbell in rescuing the besieged British garrison in Lucknow

• Newspaper reports have a power over public imagination. This reported about the incidence of violence against women and children and raised a public demand in Britain for revenge and retribution. Artists expressed as well as shaped these sentiments through their visual representations of trauma and suffering.

• “In Memoriam” painted by Joseph Noel Paton depicts English women and children huddled in a circle, looking helpless and innocent seemingly waiting for the inevitable dishonor, violence and death coming from the rebels. This represents the rebels as violent and brutish.

• Other sketches and paintings women are seen in a different light. They appear heroic; defending themselves against the attack of rebels, for e.g. a painting depicts Miss Wheeler who stands firmly at the centre, defending her honour, single-handedly killing the attacking rebels. This picture is represonted as having a deeper religious connotation. It is a battle to save the honour of Christianity and the book lying on the floor is the Bible.

• As waves of anger and shock spread in Britain, demands for retribution grew louder. Threatened by the rebellion, the British felt that they had to demonstrate their invincibility. For e.g. in an image an allegorical female figure of justice with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other is seen. Her posture is aggressive, her face expresses rage and the desire for revenge. She is trampling sepoys under her feet while a mass of Indian women with children cower with fear.

• When Governor General Canning declared that a gesture of Leniency, he w’as mocked in the British press. In 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 sword and dagger in hands, both dripping with blood.

• On the other hand leaders of the revolt were presented as heroic figures leading the country into battle, rousing the people to righteous undignation against oppressive imperial rule. For e.g. Rani of Jhansi was represented as in popular prints a masculine figure chasing the enemy slaying British soldiers and valiantly fighing till her last. She 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.

Ans. The period of 1919-1947 occupies a significant place in the Indian history with regard to freedom struggle. It was the third and the final phase of the Indian freedom struggle. It was during the period that a great personality entered the Indian political scene with several weapons like Satyagraha, Non- Cooperation and Civil Disobedience, based on truth and non-violence and soon became the pioneer of the National Movement. This period is generally known as the ‘Gandhian Era’, Gandhiji transformed the nature of the National Movement and it became a mass movement.

Gandhiji transformed the National Movement of the masses by following his new technique of struggle based on the principle of Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience. Indian nationalism witnessed a transformation in its nature with the active participation of Gandhiji in Indian National Movement. The mass appeal of Gandhiji was undoubtedly genuine. His qualities of efficient leadership made a remarkable contribution in making the base of Indian nationalism wider. It is worth mentioning that the provincial committees of the Congress were formed on linguistic regions and not on the artificial boundaries of the British India. These different ways contributed greatly to take nationalism to the distant corners of the country.

Consequently, the social groups previously untouched by nationalism, now became an important part of it. Thousands of peasants labourers and artisans started participating in the National Movement. Similarly, the common masses participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement significantly. In Delhi, some 1600 women picketed the liquor shop. In the same way, Quit India Movement became genuinely a Mass Movement, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians participated in it.

Besides the common Indian, some very prosperous businessmen and industrialists too became supporters of the Indian National Congress. They came to realise it well that the favours enjoyed by their British competitors would come to them in free India.

Consequently, some renowned industrialists such as GD Birla started supporting the national movement openly whereas some others began to do so tactly.

Thus, the followers and admirers of Gandhiji included both the peasants and the rich industrialists. Thus, under Gandhiji the National Movement was transformed into a Mass Movement.

Ans. The problem which has occurred in the Harappan Civilisation is that the frontiers of this civilisation have little or no connection with present day national boundaries due to partition of Indian sub-continent and Pakistan. However, with the partition of the sub-continent and the creation of Pakistan, the major sites of Harappan Civilisation are now in Pakistan territory.

Ans. The partition between the two nations i.e. India and Pakistan, created a problem of demarcation of Harappan sites. This has spurred Indian archaeologists to try and locate these sites in India.

Ans. After extensive survey of Kutch, Punjab and Haryana, a number of new sites have been discovered, e.g. Kalibangan, Lothal, Rakhi Garhi and most recently Dholavira.

Ans. Sufism is a mystic tradition of Islam and includes a range of practices and beliefs dedicated to Allah, divine love and cultivation of heart. The Sufis in the medieval period practiced love and compassion towards all other beings.

Ans. Sufism is a mystic tradition of Islam and includes a range of practices and beliefs dedicated to Allah, divine love and cultivation of heart. The Sufis in the medieval period practiced love and compassion towards all other beings.

Ans. Sources are as follows:

A. Textual sources were available to know about Bhakti and Sufi traditions from 8th century to 18th century. These textual sources included composition attributed to poet saints. Most of them expressed themselves orally in regional languages used by common man.

B. Historians also got information from the biographies of saints written by their followers

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply critical of the modern age in which machines enslaved human beings and displaced workers. He saw the charka as a symbol of a human society that would not glorify machines and technology. In addition, the spinning wheel could provide the poor with additional income and make them self-reliant.

Ans. Mahatma Gandhi ingenously deployed the charkha or spinning wheel as an important tool for political emancipation, by using it as a metaphor of ‘ancient work ethics’ and as a symbol of economic and social reaction to the British Rule.

Ans. Khadi is under priced’

He feels, “In today’s context, khadi can never be the poor man’s fabric. Handmade fabrics are going to become more and more expensive because their production capability is low.

Ans.