OCIAL STUDIES h ion and An. 1. What is the importance of eco system? A. The importance of an ecosystem is that it provides space to plants and animals to interact with each other as well as with their physical environment. Through such interaction they are interdependent on each other for their survival. 2. Why did the Chipko movement take place? A. The Chipko movement took place as a protest against the indiscriminate cutting down of trees in the Alaknanda river valley of Uttarakhand. 3. What are the reasons for environmental pollution? A.a) Unplanned and unwise use of technology. b)Over population, urbanization and industrialization. 4. How can natural environment be managed properly? A. a) To manage the natural environment properly, a perfect balance should be maintained between the natural and human environment. b) We must understand and learn to live and use the environment in a harmonious way.1. Explain the relationship between geography and environment. A. a) The study of geography includes the study of various natural and human made components of the environment. b) It also studies the relationship between human beings and their environment. c) Therefore, the relationship between geography and environment is very close. 2. Describe the main features of natural and human - made environment. A. The main features of natural and human made environment are:- NATURAL ENVIRONMENT:- 1. It includes both biotic and abiotic components. 2. The biotic components comprise plants and animals. 3. The abiotic components comprise air, water and soil. HUMAN MADEENVIRONMENT:- 1. Human beings are part of the environment in which they live by modifying the nature according to their needs.3. How have human needs undergone changes with the passage of time and technological development? A. a) Early humans adjusted themselves with their environment and fulfilled most of their needs from the available environmental resources. b) The invention of wheel, surplus food production and exchange of the surplus goods with other's helped them to progress. c) The industrial revolution in Europe enabled large scale production of goods. 4. What are the problems faced by the world today? How can we solve these problems? A. a) The problems faced by the world today are unplanned and unwise use of technology, over population, urbanization and industrialization. All these factors result in environmental pollution by disturbing the balance between the natural and human environment. b) We can solve these problems by maintaining a perfect balance between the natural and human environment.DEMOCRACY 1. What do you understand by absolute monarchy? Name one country which follows this form of government? A. An absolute monarchy means rule by a king or a queen who exercises absolute power. Saudi Arabia follows this form of government. 2. What is direct democracy? Is it practical to follow it in India? A. -> In direct democracy, the government is elected and run directly by the people. -> No, itis not practical to follow direct democracy in India. 3. Why is India called a democratic republic? A. India is called a democratic republic because both the president and the government are elected by the people. 4. What are the two principles on which democracy is based? A. Liberty and equality are the two principles on which democracy is based. 1. What is a village panchayat? How did it help Susheela?A. Democratic institutions at local level are called village panchayats. They provide a platform to the people to discuss and decide on matters concerning their life in the village. It helped Susheela to end her marriage formally by returning her mangal sutra to her husband in the presence of the panchayat. 2. How do citizens in a democratic country participate in the government? A. The citizens in a democratic government participate in the government through elections. 2. All adult men and women vote to elect their representatives. The elected representatives govern the country on behalf of the people. 3. If people are not satisfied with the government they can remove it in the next elections. 3. Explain why democracy is much more than just a form of government? A. Democracy is much more than just a form of government. It is also a form of society and a form of economy. 2. Justice, freedom and human dignity are values of democracy. 3. In other words the values of democracy should be deeply embedded not only in the political system but also in the social and economic life of the people.1. Write a note on elections? A. People exercise their political power through elections. 2. All adult men and women vote to elect their representatives and in this way they participate in the governance of the country. 3. The elected representatives take part in the government on behalf of the people. 4. If people are not satisfied with their government, they can remove it in the next elections. 2. What do you understand by rule of law? A. Rule of law means all are equal before the law. It makes no distinction between the poor and the rich, or the educated and the uneducated. 2. There is no one above the law. 3. It also provides protection to individuals against social evils like sati and child marriage. 3. What is a democratic society? A. A democratic society is one in which there is no discrimination. 2. It is a society in which evils like untouchability and caste system are not practiced. 3. Everyone is treated equally and is provided with equal opportunities for growth and development.4. What is economic democracy? A. Economic democracy means absence of all exploitation. 2. Equal wages should be given for equal work. 3. No distinction should be made between man and women. 4. There can be no democracy if there is no fair distribution of wealth in the society. The Medieval World 1. Which century marked the beginning of the medieval period? Why? A. The eighth century marked the beginning of the medieval period because society, economy, polity, religion and culture underwent many changes during this century. 2. What do you understand by the Indian culture that emerged in medieval period? A. i) The coming of the muslims led to the growth of mixed culture. ii) There was interaction between North and South India and between the Hindus and the Muslims. iii) The cultural exchanges led to the growth of a culture that was above regional and caste differences. Thus it was an Indian culture that emerged in the medieval period.3. Why are coins and inscriptions important for the study of the medieval period? A. i) Coins are very important for the study of medieval period. They give us dates of important political events. ii) Inscriptions record proclamations by kings and gifts to learned men and temples. 4. Who wrote Prithviraj-raso? What does it tell us about? A. i) Prithviraj-raso was written by Chand Bardai. ii) It describes the life and adventures of Prithviraj Chauhan, the Chauhan ruler. 1. What did Hindusthan stand for in medieval times? A. i) Bharatavarsha and Jambudwipa are two of the earliest names by which our country was known in ancient times. ii) According to some medieval scholars Hindustan stood for the territories that were a part of the Delhi Sultanate. iii) Babur the founder of the Mughal empire used the term Hindustan to describe the geography and natural vegetation of the subcontinent. 2. What were the major historical developments during the medieval period?A. i) The coming of the muslims and the birth of Indian culture. ii) Increase in trade and rapid growth of towns and cities. iii) A greater interaction between India and the rest of the world. iv) The spread of Islam. v) The growing popularity of the Bhakti and Sufi movements. 3. How do the archaeological sources help us in our study of medieval India? A. i) Temples are a rich source of religious and cultural history. ii) Paintings tell us about customs, food habits, dress and jewellery of the medieval period. iii) Coins give us dates of important political events. iv)Inscriptions record proclamations by kings and gifts to learned men and temples. 4. List some important chronicles available for the study of the medieval period. A.i) Rajatarangini by Kalhana is a history of kings of Kashmir. ii) Tarikh - i - Firoz Shahi by Zia - ud - din Barani, which describes the history of the Sultans of Delhi. iii) Tarikh - i - Ferishta by Ferishta, is a record of the history of Delhi sultans.iv) Khazainul - futuh and Tughluqnama by Amir Khusran tell us about the reign of Khaljis and the Tughluqs. 5. How are traveloques an important literary source? A. i) Travelogues are an important literary source because they give us a lot of information about the places the foreign travellers visited and the people they met. ii) For example Abdur Razzaq has written in detail on court life in the Vijayanagara empire. The travelogue of Ibn Batuta also gives detail information about the geography of India. The Regional Kingdom - I 1. How did the Rajputs explain their origin? A. i) Rajputs claimed to be descendants of the Kshatriyas. ii) They also claimed that they belonged to the sun family, moon family and the fire family. 2. How did Muhammad Ghori benefit from Mahmud of Ghazni's death? A. i) After Ghazni's death Ghori became independent. ii) He also annexed Ghazni's territories. iii) He was not subordinate to any ruler.3. Which ruling dynasties engaged in a tripartite struggle to control Kanauj? Give reason. A. i) The Palas, Gujara - Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas were engaged in a tripartite struggle to control Kanauj. ii) Kanauj could control the resources like minerals, agriculture and trade of the entire Ganga valley. iii) It was an important city in India. 4. How do you know that the Rashtrakutas were patrons of art, architecture and literature? A. i)The rulers encouraged the growth of regional languages especially Kannada. ii) Kailasa temple at Ellora and the rock - cut caves at Elephanta were carved by them. 5. What do you know about Chola sculpture? A. i) Cholas made images of Gods and Goddesses. ii) These images were made of stone or bronze. iii) The bronze image of Lord Shiva is most popular. 1. How was the clash betwen Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori in 1192 different from the clash in 1191? A. i) In 1191 Prithiviraj Chauhan won the battle and Muhammed Ghori was defeated. ii) But he did not chase him out of Punjab. iii) This gave Muhammad Ghori a chance to regroup his forces.iv) So in 1192 Mohammed Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and occupied his territories as Ghori did not get any help from the most powerful Rajput ruler Raja Jai Chandra. 2. Describe the military achievements of Raja Raja Chola and Rajendra Chola. A. Raja Raja Chola i) He defeated the Pandyas and the Chehras. ii) He built a strong navy to control trade along the coastal areas. iii) He captured parts of Ceylon and the Maldives Islands. Rai i) He defeated the Cheras, the Chalukyas and the Palas. ii) He sent his army and defeated Sri Vijaya king. iii) He made his Indian ships to pass through the ‘Straits of Molucca’ 3. What do you know about’ Chola administration? A.i) The kingdom was divided into mandalams. ii) Mandalams were looked after by the governors. iii) Each mandalam was again divided into valanadus. iv) Each valanadu consisted of a number of villages.4. What were the two developments in the Cholas period that led to an increase in the area under cultivation? A. i)Barren and forest land was made fit for cultivation. ii) Irrigation facilities were extended to new areas. 5. Write a short note on the regional kingdoms of the Deccan. A.i) The Rashtrakutas were the patrons of art and literature. ii) Yadavas ruled between Narmada and Godavari rivers. iii) Chalukyas built many temples. iv) Kakatiyas improved Sanskrit and Telugu.