HISTORY For more exercises see the Practice App.

1. The Medieval World interaction between North and South India,

and between the Hindus and the Muslims.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES Such cultural exchanges paved the way for a
A GAME culture which was above regional and caste
Ask the learners to solve the following riddles. differences. This was the ‘Indian’ culture that
(Note: These riddles are based on the observations emerged in medieval India.
of travellers such as Marco Polo, Al-Beruni and 3. Coins are important for the study of the
Nicolo Conti) medieval period because they give us dates
1. ‘It is as tall as a huge building, with no branches of important political events. Inscriptions,
and leaves at the top. Its fruits are as big as a on the other hand, record proclamations by
human head.’ Which tree is being referred to in kings and gifts to learned men and temples.
the above sentences? 4. Chandbardai wrote Prithviraj-Raso.
A. Coconut tree; The description was given by Prithviraj-Raso describes the life and

Marco Polo when he saw the coconut tree for adventures of Prithiviraj Chauhan, the famous
the first time on his visit to India. Chauhan ruler.
2. ‘When the sun marches in Libra it is called D. 1. The way we understand Hindustan today is
Dibali. Then people bathe, dress festively, they very different from how it was understood
ride to the temples to give alms and play merrily in the medieval period. According to some
with each other till noon. In the night they light medieval scholars, Hindustan stood for
a great number of lamps in every place so that the territories that were a part of the Delhi
the air is perfectly clear.’ Which festival is being Sultanate. Babur, the founder of the Mughal
described in the above sentences? Empire, used the term ‘Hindustan’ to describe
A. Diwali; Al-Beruni describes the festival of the geography and flora and fauna of the
Diwali as was celebrated in medieval India. subcontinent.
3. ‘There is here also an animal which has a head 2. The major historical developments during the
resembling that of a pig, a tail like that of an medieval period in India were as follows.
u The advent of the Muslims and the birth of
ox, and on his forehead is a horn similar to that
of the unicorn, but shorter . . . it resembles the an ‘Indian’ culture.
elephant in size and colour. Which animal is u Many centuries of political stability that led

being described in the above sentences? to increased trade and the development of
A. Rhinoceros; Nicolo Conti’s description of the towns and cities.
Indian Rhinoceros, when he saw the animal for u A greater interaction between India and

the first time in India. the rest of the world.

u The spread of Islam.
Creative Writing
u The growing popularity of the Bhakti and
Ask the learners to imagine themselves as travellers
who have visited Japan for the first time. Ask them Sufi movements.
to write their observations about the food found in 3. Some important chronicles of the medieval
that country. They can look up the following sites period are as follows.
for help. u Rajatarangini by Kalhana. It tells us about

Integrated Social Science Companion 7

u http://rsgr.in/sstc7-thb1
the history of the kings of Kashmir.
u http://rsgr.in/sstc7-thb2 u Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi by Zia-ud-din Barani.

It informs us about the history of the

Answers to Textbook Exercises Delhi Sultans till the reign of Firoz Shah
A. 1. b 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. d Tughluq.
B. 1. e 2. d 3. a 4. b 5. c u Tarikh-i Ferishta by Ferishta. It tells us

C. 1. The eighth century marked the beginning of about the history of the Delhi Sultans, from
the medieval period. the time of the Turks till the seventeenth
It is because the eighth century saw the century.
beginning of major changes in the social, u Khazain-ul Futuh and Tughluqnama by

economic, political, religious and cultural Amir Khusrau. They inform us about the
spheres. reign of the Khaljis and the Tughluqs.
2. The arrival of Muslims led to the growth of 4. Travelogues are an important literary source.
a mixed culture. There was an increased They were written by foreign travellers who
 visited India. The travelogues give us a lot 3. The Palas, Gurjara-Pratiharas and the
of information about the places the travellers Rashtrakutas were engaged in a tripartite
visited and the people they met. This has struggle to capture Kanauj.
helped historians to reconstruct the life of The tripartite struggle to capture Kanauj was
the people of those times. For example, because it was the most important city in
Abdur Razzaq has written in detail on court the then North India. Further, Kanauj was
life in the Vijayanagar Empire. Similarly, the strategically located. Control over Kanauj
travelogue of Ibn Batuta gives very vivid meant controlling the rich resources, such as
details about the geography of the then India. minerals, agriculture and trade, of the entire
5. Our information about the medieval period is Ganga valley.
much more than the ancient period because 4. The famous Kailasa Temple at Ellora and
the sources are more abundant for the the rock-cut caves at Elephanta were carved
medieval period. There is no dearth of books during the reign of the Rashtrakutas. The
and monuments for the medieval period. rulers also encouraged the growth of regional
languages, especially Kannada. Thus, we
2. The Regional kingdoms—1 know that the Rashtrakutras were patrons of
arts, architecture and literature.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY 5. The Cholas excelled at sculpting images of
CLASS QUIZ gods and goddesses. These images were
Conduct a quiz in class. Read out the keywords either of stone or bronze. The bronze image
and let the learners name the dynasties. of Lord Shiva as Nataraja—Lord of Dance—
1. Chahamanas, Prithviraj Chauhan, Rajasthan is one of the finest specimens of Chola art.
A. Chauhan D. 1. In 1191, Prithviraj Chauhan defeated
Muhammad Ghori. However, he did not
2. Dantidurga, Malkhed, Kailasa Temple
chase him out of Punjab. This gave
A. Rashtrakuta Muhammad Ghori an opportunity to regroup
3. Kalyani, Vikramanka, Badami his forces. In 1192, the armies of Muhammad
A. Chalukya Ghori and Prithviraj Chauhan met again.
4. Marco Polo, Madurai Muhammad’s army was better prepared.
A. Pandya Prithviraj sought help from the neighbouring
kings. Some Rajput rulers came to his help,
5. Parantaka I, Tanjore, Brihadesvara Temple
but Raja Jaichandra of Kanauj, the most
A. Chola powerful Rajput ruler, did not come to his
help. Prithviraj was defeated and captured.
ANSWERS TO TExTBOOk ExERCISES
His territories were occupied. This victory
A. 1. d 2. c 3. a 4. c 5. d provided Muhammad Ghori the platform to
B. 1. Chandella 3. Gopala 5. ur carve an empire in India.
2. Tarain 4. Pallava 2. Rajaraja Chola defeated the Pandyas and
C. 1. The Rajputs explained their origin by claiming the Cheras. His naval fleet captured parts of
to be descendants of the kshatriyas of Ceylon and the Maldive Islands. Rajendra
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

Vedic times. Some Rajput clans claimed to Chola made the empire even more powerful.
be surya-vanshis or belonging to the sun He defeated the Cheras, the Chalukyas and
family; while some claimed to be chandra- the Palas. He clashed with the king of
vanshis or belonging to the moon family. Still Sri Vijaya in South-east Asia when the Sri
others believed that they were born out of a Vijaya king did not allow Indian ships and
sacrificial fire and thus, belonged to the agni- Indian merchants to sail through the Straits of
kula or the fire family. Molucca. Rajendra Chola sent his fleet and
2. Mahmud of Ghazni had captured Ghor, a small defeated the Sri Vijaya king.
kingdom in present-day Afghanistan. The ruler 3. The Chola kingdom was divided into
of Ghor had become the vassal of Mahmud provinces called mandalams, which were
of Ghazni. However, the Ghaznavid Empire looked after by governors. Each mandalam
became very weak after Mahmud of Ghazni’s was further divided into many valanadus.
death. Muhammad Ghori took advantage of this Each valanadu comprised several villages.
and made Ghor independent. He also annexed The village was called nadu or kurram. It
all Ghaznavid territories. was the lowest unit of administration. Towns
 or nagarams like Tanjore, Puhar and Kanchi Khalji managed to control competition in market and
were also popular. Local self-government provided goods at cheaper rates. Divide the class
was a characteristic feature of Chola into groups of four and ask each group to imagine
administration. Villages looked after their own itself as shopkeepers of Sarai Adl and write a joint
affairs. Each village had two assemblies— petition to Ala-ud-din Khalji, expressing (i) frustration
the ur, which was a general assembly of at not being able to make any profit (ii) on being
the village, and the sabha, which was a constantly monitored by imperial officers and (iii) the
gathering of all adult males of the village. subsequent harassment they are subjected to.
There were also many sub-committees which
DEBATE
looked after the different affairs of the village.
Organize a debate in the class on ‘This House
4. The Rashtrakutas were the most powerful
believes that Muhammad-bin Tughluq’s decision to
ruling dynasty in early medieval India.
shift the capital was not a prudent move.’ Divide the
Malkhed in Maharashtra was their capital.
class into two groups—one group would speak for
They fought against the Palas, Gurjara-
the motion and the other group would speak against
Pratiharas, Pallavas, Pandyas and the
the motion.
Cholas. They were patrons of arts, architecture
and literature.
ANSWERS TO TExTBOOk ExERCISES
The Yadavas ruled the region between the
A. 1. b 2. d 3. a 4. a 5. b
Narmada and Godavari rivers. The kingdom
was annexed by the Khalji rulers. B. Invasion of Timur—4
The Chalukyas were also known as Later Conquest of the forts of Chittor and
Chalukyas. They built many temples at Ranthambore—2
Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal. Deposition of Raziya—1
The Kakatiya kingdom lay between the Shift of capital to Daulatabad—3
Godavari and Krishna rivers. The Kakatiyas First Battle of Panipat—6
were tolerant rulers. They patronized Sanskrit Accession of Mubarak Shah Sayyid—5
and Telugu. C. 1. Balban 3. Timur 5. Ibrahim, Babur.
The Hoysalas ruled the region covered by 2. kharaj. 4. qazi
present-day Karnataka. The kingdom was
D. 1. Raziya Sultan was nominated by her father,
annexed by the Delhi Sultans.
Iltutmish to become the sultan of Delhi. She
5. Yes, I agree with the statement. Muhammad ruled Delhi from 1236 to 1240.
Ghori decided to invade India not just for its
The nobles were opposed to Raziya as they
fabled wealth but also to build an empire.
did not want to take orders from a woman.
Thus, his conquest of Punjab and his victory
They also resented the fact that she did not
(a) in the Second Battle of Tarain against
consult them before taking decisions.
Prithviraj Chauhan, and (b) against Raja
Jaichandra in the Battle of Chandwar in 2. Sijdah and paibos or zaminbos were the two
1194, provided Ghori the much-needed base Persian customs introduced by Balban.
to carve an empire in India. Further, before People opposed the customs introduced
Muhammad Ghori returned to his homeland, by Balban because they believed that such

Integrated Social Science Companion 7

he made his trusted generals in charge of customs should be done only before god.
the lands he had conquered. This laid the 3. Dagh was the practice of branding horses to
foundation of Delhi Sultanate in India. prevent the substitution of good horses by
6. The statement reflects the importance given inferior ones. Chehra was a full description of
to irrigation facilities in the Chola kingdom. each soldier.
Increased and improved irrigation facilities ‘Dagh’ and ‘chehra’ were introduced by
helped the kings to bring new areas under Ala-ud-din Khalji.
cultivation. 4. Muhammad-bin Tughluq shifted his capital to
Daulatabad because
3. The Sultanate Period u he felt that he would be able to control his

empire better from Daulatabad which was

ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
centrally located.
CRITICAL THINKING AND CREATIVE WRITING u Daulatabad being the centre of the

Through the new market control policy, Ala-ud-din empire, would be safe from attacks by the
 Mongols. (Accept any one of these.) prevent the illegal minting of brass and
5. The court of the Delhi Sultans was very copper coins. A large number of forged coins
ceremonial. It was because of the following came into circulation. The treasury became
reasons. empty as forged coins were exchanged for
u Sijdah and paibos were performed before silver coins. Thus this well-conceived scheme
the sultan. failed due to poor execution.
u The sultan sat on a throne built on a 5. a. Ala-ud-din Khalji is being referred to in the
raised platform. Princes, ministers, heads above paragraph.
of different departments, ambassadors b. Ala-ud-din Khalji introduced stringent
from foreign countries and other officials measures to prevent the nobles from
were assigned fixed places to stand. conspiring and revolting against the sultan.
u Scribes recorded the orders of the sultan. c. Accept any relevant response.
(Accept any two of these.) 6. By issuing coins in the name of the Caliph,
E. 1. The literary sources for the Sultanate period Muhammad-bin Tughluq sought to legitimize
include accounts of travellers and court his rule. He tried to suggest that he ruled
chroniclers. Both Ibn Batuta and Marco Polo according to the wishes of the Caliph. It also
were foreign travellers who wrote about helped him to highlight the ‘Islamic’ character
the conditions in India during the period of his rule.
of their stay. Chroniclers like Zia-ud-din
TIME TO DO
Barani, Shams-i Siraj Afif and Minhaj-us Siraj
have given a detailed account of the court F. 1. Muhammad-bin Tughluq succeeded his father
proceedings and the lives of the sultans. in 1325.
Archaeological sources such as coins, 2. Muhammad-bin Tughluq conducted five
inscriptions and monuments also tell us a lot experiments which failed.
about this period. 3. He increased the taxes in the doab region.
2. Iltutmish succeeded Qutb-ud-din Aibak. It was an ill-timed move as the doab was
Iltutmish is called the real founder of the facing a famine at that time. While many
Sultanate. This is because of the following peasants abandoned their land, some also
reasons. revolted. The sultan had to withdraw his
u He quelled many internal rebellions.
orders.
u He secured the north-west frontiers of
4. He shifted the capital from Delhi to Devagiri
in 1327. He ordered the entire population
the Sultanate against possible Mongol
of Delhi to move to Daulatabad. But the
invasions.
sultan realized that it was not feasible to
u He expanded the empire up to Bengal in
keep a watch on the northern frontiers from
the east. Daulatabad. So he ordered a re-shift of the
3. Ala-ud-din Khalji introduced the market capital.
control policy, under which he lowered the 5. He introduced the token currency in 1327
prices of all essential commodities, so that to meet the worldwide shortage of silver
he could pay low salaries to his soldiers and during that period. The sultan minted coins
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

maintain a large army on limited resources. of copper and brass for everyday use. These
Ala-ud-din Khalji enforced this policy by coins had the same value as pure silver
u appointing special officers who kept a
coins. However, Muhammad-bin Tughluq
check on the shopkeepers, and failed to prevent the illegal minting of coins.
u by awarding severe punishments to those Soon the kingdom was flooded with forged
shopkeepers who cheated the people. coins. The treasury became empty as forged
4. Muhammad-bin Tughluq minted coins of coins were exchanged for silver coins.
brass and copper for day-to-day use. 6. He launched the Qarachil expedition to
These coins were equal in value as the secure the northern frontiers of the Sultanate.
pure silver coins, and could be exchanged After annexing the region, the army
for silver coins from the royal treasury. proceeded towards Tibet, where it suffered
This was a well-conceived scheme to meet heavy casualties.
the worldwide shortage of silver. However, 7. To capture Khurasan, Muhammad-bin
Muhammad-bin Tughluq took no steps to Tughluq raised a huge army and spent a
 lot of money on weapons and other war during the reign of Firoz Shah Tughluq.
supplies. The soldiers were also paid a When Timur invaded India in 1398, Malik
year’s salary in advance. However, the Sarwar took advantage of the politically
expedition was withdrawn and the soldiers chaotic situation, declared his independence,
were disbanded. and started the Sharqi Dynasty.
9. Thus it can be concluded that though the 4. Harihara and Bukka were the feudatories of
sultan had grand plans and ideas, all of the Kakatiyas of Warangal. They rebelled
them failed due to poor execution. against Muhammad-bin Tughluq and declared
their independence. They built Vijayanagar or
MORE ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES the City of Victory and ruled it for nearly 41
for Lessons 1 – 3 years. A large part of South India was under
u Mount Abu u Kanchi their control.
u Mathura, Kanauj u Tanjore 5. The Bahmani Kingdom was split into five
u Elephanta u Agra independent sultanates.
This was because the later Bahmani rulers
were too weak to control their kingdom. The
4. The Regional kingdoms—2
governors in the provinces took advantage of
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY this and declared their independence.
A GAME
C. 1. Zain-ul-Abidin, also known as Budshah, was
popularly called the ‘Akbar of Kashmir’.
Divide the class into two or three teams. The
teacher can ask the following riddles. Zain-ul-Abidin was popularly called so
because, like Akbar, he practised religious
1. I founded the Blue City of India. I built the
tolerance and patronized education and
Mehrangarh Fort. I am
learning. He also encouraged agriculture. He
A. Maharaja Jodha. promoted the development of new arts and
2. We were the feudatories of the Kakatiyas of crafts.
Warangal. We established the kingdom of 2. Vijayanagar, under Krishnadeva Raya, was
Vijayanagar. We are one of the most powerful regional kingdoms.
A. Harihara and Bukka Rai. Krishnadeva Raya extended his control over
3. I was the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagar the whole of South India. He defeated the
Empire. I established trading links with the Bahmani sultan and the king of Odisha, and
Portuguese, the English and the Dutch. I am annexed the Raichur Doab. Krishnadeva
A. Krishnadeva Raya. Raya encouraged trade and commerce, and
4. I was a powerful ruler of the Bahmani Kingdom. agriculture. During his reign, Vijayanagar
I am a learned man and a good poet. I am traded with the Portuguese, the English and
the Dutch. He constructed many tanks, dams
A. Firoz Shah Bahmani.
and canals for irrigation.
5. I was a Persian by birth. I managed the affairs
3. Both Firoz Shah Bahmani and Mahmud
of the Bahmani Kingdom for 18 years. I am
Gawan were patrons of learning. They
A. Mahmud Gawan. encouraged learned men and scholars of
ANSWERS TO TExTBOOk ExERCISES
different languages to migrate to the Bahmani Integrated Social Science Companion 7
court. Mahmud, in particular, encouraged the
A. 1. a 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. d growth of Urdu. He built a madrasah at Bidar.
B. 1. The latter half of the reign of the Delhi Many students from different parts of India
Sultans witnessed the rise of regional and abroad came to this madrasah to study.
kingdoms. These regional kingdoms were 4. Rajput kingdoms of the period—Marwar
once the provinces of the Sultanate. When and Mewar were the main Rajput kingdoms
the sultans became weak, these provinces of this period. The former was ruled by the
became independent. Rathor Rajputs and the latter by the Sisodia
2. Rana Sanga was the greatest ruler of Mewar. Rajputs. Maharaja Jodha and Maharaja
Rana Sanga made Mewar stronger by Maldeva were the powerful rulers of Marwar.
defeating the ruler of Malwa and annexing Rana Kumbha and Rana Sanga were the
parts of his territories. powerful rulers of Mewar.
3. Malik Sarwar was the governor of Jaunpur Administrative divisions in the Vijayanagar
 Empire—The Vijayanagar Empire was B. 1. Ibrahim Lodi 4. kotwal
divided into numerous administrative 2. Shahjahanabad 5. Akbar
divisions. The kingdom was divided into 3. Aurangzeb
‘mandalams’ or provinces. Each mandalam
C. Across Down
had a governor as its chief administrative
officer. The mandalams were further 1. SIKHS 2. KHURRAM
divided into districts called ‘nadus’, that had 3. HUMAYUN 4. JAZIYA
numerous sub-districts called ‘sthalas’. Each 5. PANIPAT 6. RUPIA
sthala consisted of many ‘gramas’ or villages. 8. HALDIGHATI 7. ZAT
5. a. ‘The land has plenty of rice and Indian- D. 1. In Tuzuk-i Baburi, Babur has described the
corn, grains, beans and other kind of physical features, climate, animals, birds,
crops. Of the grains there is a great flowers, fruits, the life of the people and the
quantity, because, besides being used places that he visited. He has also written
as food for men, it is also used for about his life in detail.
horses . . . and this country has also 2. After ascending the throne, Humayun faced
much wheat . . .’ the following difficulties.
b. The peasants irrigated their fields by u There was no proper system of
constructing artificial lakes.
administration.
6. Sadar-i-Jahan does not exist in our u His brothers were not happy with their
present-day government.
share of territories and protested against
In our present-day government this.
u Mr Narendra Modi is wazir,
u There was a threat of invasion from the

u Mr Arun Jaitley is amir-i-jumla, and

Rajputs, from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat,
u Mrs Sushma Swaraj is wazir-i-ashraf. and from Sher Shah, the ruler of the
Afghans. (Accept any two of these.)
5. The Great Mughals 3. Sher Shah encouraged trade by adopting the
following measures.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
u He introduced a new currency, a silver

A GAME coin called the ‘rupia’.

You can play a game called ‘Magnet’ in class. In u He reduced custom duties on goods.

this game, you will say the name of any Mughal u He built a network of roads connecting all
Emperor, for example Babur, and then each child
parts of his empire.
will add something to it.
For example, 4. Akbar undertook certain steps to gain the
loyalty of the Rajputs.
Babur—Farghana—Ibrahim Lodi—First Battle
u He respected the sentiments of the
of Panipat—cavalry and efficient artillery—
Rana Sanga—Battle of Khanua—clash with Rajputs and treated even those Rajput
the Afghans at Ghaghara—Babur became the chiefs, whom he had defeated, with
master of northern India—a brilliant general—an respect. Akbar allowed most Rajput
rulers to continue their rule. He did not
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

accomplished poet—wrote Tuzuk-i Baburi—

succeeded by Humayun. interfere in the internal affairs of the Rajput
kingdoms.
Once the mapping is over, the next child will
u He married into Rajput families and
start with any Mughal Emperor, for instance
Humayun in the above case. gave his Rajput wives complete religious
freedom.
RESEARCH u He gave high posts to deserving Rajput
Ask the learners to go to the library and find out
chiefs. (Accept any two of these.)
more about the valour of Rana Pratap of Mewar,
who refused to accept Akbar’s suzerainty and thus, 5. Jahangir, like Akbar, maintained friendly
waged a long war against the Mughals. relations with Rajputs, married into Rajput
families and awarded high posts to deserving
ANSWERS TO TExTBOOk ExERCISES Rajput chiefs. Thus, Jahangir continued with
A. 1. b 3. c 5. d 7. b Akbar’s policy of tolerance.
2. a 4. a 6. c 8. a E. 1. Babur was the first Mughal Emperor. He
 defeated Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of a mansabdar. The sawar rank determined
Panipat in 1526 and captured Delhi and the number of horses the mansabdar had
Agra. He also defeated Rana Sanga of to maintain. The zat and sawar ranks of a
Mewar in the Battle of Khanua in 1527. mansabdar determined his salary.
In 1529 Babur defeated the Afghan chiefs 6. At the time of Humayun’s death, the Mughal
at Ghaghara. These three battles secured Empire was at a nascent stage. Had the
Babur’s position in northern India. news of Humayun’s death been leaked out
2. Shah Jahan’s reign witnessed many revolts, before Akbar could reach Delhi, it would
chief among which was the revolt of the have given local rulers an opportunity to raise
Bundela Rajputs. Shah Jahan crushed the banner of revolt and cause unrest. This
the revolt easily. There was a revolt in the would have weakened the authority of the
Deccan too. Shah Jahan invaded the Deccan Mughals considerably. Accept this or any
and annexed Ahmadnagar in 1633. Golconda other relevant response.
and Bijapur signed a peace treaty with 7. a. Emperor Akbar is being referred to in the
Shah Jahan. He also sent his army to Balkh above paragraph.
and Badakshan in Central Asia. However, b. Emperor Akbar built the Ibadat Khana at
this campaign failed. He could not recover Fatehpur Sikri to further his interest in
Kandahar from the ruler of Persia. learning about different religions.
3. At the centre, the king was the head of both c. Din-i-Ilahi, also called Tauhid-i-Ilahi, was the
civil and military administration. He was religious path suggested by Emperor Akbar.
assisted by many officers such as wazir, It was a code of moral conduct reflecting
diwan, mir bakshi, khan-i-saman, sadar-i- Akbar’s secular ideas and his desire to
sadur and the qazi. The Mughal Empire was achieve peace, tolerance and unity in the
divided into provinces or subas, each headed empire.
by a subadar. Each suba was divided into
districts or sarkars, and the sarkars were
6. Monumental Architecture
divided into many parganas. A pargana
comprised many villages. The kotwal looked ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY
after town administration.
Role-Play
4. Earlier land was measured with a rope. Ask the learners to enact a five-minute skit. They
However, the rope shrunk when it was dry, can base their skit on the following points. They can
and would stretch when it was wet. This also come up with their variation of the skit.
changed the measurements. So, Raja Todar u A tired labourer has been working continuously
Mal had to introduce a new measuring device
for the past 20 years on the Taj Mahal.
for land measurement.
u He has not seen his family during this period.
The new measuring device introduced by
u He is denied an audience with Ustad Isa Khan
Raja Todar Mal was a rod made of bamboo
joined together by iron rings. It helped in Effendi and Ustad Ahmad Lahori.
u He then revolts. Soon other labourers also join
accurate measurement of land.
5. Din-i-Ilahi—Din-i-Ilahi, also called Tauhid- the revolt. They want to know when would they

Integrated Social Science Companion 7

i-Ilahi, was a religious path suggested by be able to go home and meet their families.
u The guards take the rebellious labourer and his
Akbar. It was a code of moral conduct
reflecting Akbar’s secular ideas and his followers to the Emperor. The Emperor realizes
desire to achieve peace, tolerance and unity his mistake and apologizes to the labourers.
in his empire. Some features of Din-i-Ilahi The Emperor requests them to stay back
were for two more years and promises them rich
u belief in one god, rewards at the end of the project.
u worship of the sun, fire and other sources
Answers to Textbook Exercises
of light,
A. 1. a 3. c 5. b 7. a
u non-killing of animals, and
2. b 4. d 6. d 8. c
u pursuing the policy of peace with all.
B. 1. 5 3. 2 5. 9 7. 8 9. 6
Zat and sawar—Zat and sawar were ranks

2. 3 4. 7 6. 10 8. 1 10. 4
in the mansabdari system. The zat rank
determined the number of soldiers under C. 1. secular 4. Agra.
 2. garbhagriha. 5. Taj Mahal Accept any relevant response for the third
3. Ibrahim Shah Sharqi. part of the question.
D. 1. False 3. True 5. False 7. Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula built the Bara Imambara.
2. True 4. True Bara Imambara was built to provide work to
E. 1. Both religious and secular monuments were the famine-stricken people of Lucknow.
built during the medieval period. F. 1. The kings in medieval India built monuments
Religious monuments included temples and for the following reasons.
u They wanted to impress others with their
mosques, while secular monuments included
forts, palaces, tombs, tanks and wells. power, position and wealth.
u They wanted to celebrate their victories in
2. The different parts of a South Indian temple
are gopuram, garbhagriha, mandapa and wars.
shikhara. u They wanted to demonstrate their devotion

u A ‘gopuram’ is the gateway of the temple. to god.

u ‘Garbhagriha’ is the main shrine where u They wanted to make themselves famous

images of gods and goddesses are kept. for posterity.

u The ‘mandapa’ is an audience hall where u They wanted to earn the goodwill of the

people gather for prayers. people.

u On top of the main shrine is a tall structure 2. The Chola temples were built in the
or tower called ‘shikhara’. dravidian style of architecture. They have
(Accept any two of these.) huge decorated gateways called ‘gopurams’.
3. The Qutb Minar is considered to be a The ‘garbhagriha’ is the main shrine where
masterpiece of Indo-Islamic architecture. images of deities are kept. ‘Mandapa’ is the
prayer hall and it is generally in front of the
Qutb Minar is 72.5 metres high and has 378
garbhagriha. Directly above the garbhagriha
stairs. It is largely built of red sandstone.
is a tall tower called ‘shikhara’. It is visible
Calligraphic inscriptions and carvings
from afar. In addition to the above-mentioned
decorate the monument. It is a UNESCO
features, temples also played an important
World Heritage Site.
role in the Chola economy. They participated
4. Mughal monuments are grander and more in inland and overseas trade.
magnificent than those of the earlier period
3. The Turks and the Afghans introduced new
because political stability enabled the Mughal
architectural styles. When these styles and
emperors to pay attention to architecture.
techniques were fused with the existing
Second, the Mughals had more funds at their
Indian styles, they gave birth to the
disposal to spend on monuments.
Indo-Islamic style of architecture.
5. Some distinguishing features of Mughal
The Indo-Islamic style of architecture was
architecture are as follows.
characterized by the use of the arch and the
u Arch and dome, specially full domes
dome. Minarets were also a characteristic
became common. feature of some monuments. For decoration,
u The chahar bagh pattern was introduced.
floral and geometric designs, verses from
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

u Some tombs and mosques have minarets.

the holy Quran, and motifs such as swastika,
u Red sandstone and white marble were lotus and bell were used.
used. 4. The regional kingdoms made a lasting
u Most structures were decorated with contribution to architecture. The monuments
geometrical designs. constructed by the regional kingdoms include
u Quranic verses were also engraved on the following.
u GUJARAT—Jami Masjid, Sidi Sayyid
some.
u Jalis or trellis work was also used. (Accept Mosque
u MALWA—Jama Masjid, Hindola Mahal,
any two of these.)
6. Pietra-dura is a technique of decoration in Asharfi Mahal, Jahaz Mahal, Hushang
which precious and semi-precious stones are Shah’s Tomb
u BENGAL—Adina Masjid, Dakhil Darwaza
embedded in marble.
u JAUNPUR—Atala Masjid
Shah Jahan introduced this technique.
 u RAJPUT KINGDOMS—Mehrangarh Fort, HALF-YEARLY TEST PAPER
Chittor Fort, Victory Tower A. 1. a 3. c 5. d 7. b
u VIJAYANAGAR—Vittalaswami Temple,
2. c 4. a 6. d 8. a
Virupaksha Temple, Hazara Rama Temple B. 1. Zia-ud-din Barani’s Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi helps
u BAHMANI—Jama Masjid, Jami Masjid,
us to know about the history of Delhi Sultans.
Mahmud Gawan’s Madrasah, Mahmud 2. Vishnuvardhan was the most powerful ruler
Gawan’s Tomb of the Hoysala dynasty.
u QUTB SHAHIS—Golconda Fort, Mecca
3. Raziya Sultan ruled Delhi between 1236 and
Masjid, Char Minar 1240.
u ADIL SHAHIS—Ibrahim Rauza, Gol Gumbaz
4. The local self-government was not a hallmark
5. Mughal architecture reached perfection under of the Vijayanagar Empire.
Shah Jahan. The monuments he constructed 5. Rana Sanga of Mewar was defeated by
were more uniform and symmetrical than Babur in Khanua.
those of his predecessors. Other differences
include the following. 6. Iltutmish added three storeys to Qutb Minar.
u Under Shah Jahan, white marble came to C. 1. A chronicle is a record of the rule of the
be used on a much larger scale. Under kings and the life at the court. Most kings
Akbar and Jahangir, red sandstone was had chroniclers who wrote in detail about the
the popular building material. rule of those rulers. Thus, chronicles tell us
u The use of domes and minarets became
about the kings and events that happened
during their reign in the medieval period.
more common under Shah Jahan, than in
the earlier period. 2. The Chandellas ruled the land between the
u The interior of monuments had arches,
Yamuna and Narmada rivers.
curved roofs and multiple columns. The Chandellas built many temples in
u Calligraphic verses from the holy Quran,
Khajuraho.
floral motifs, and precious and 3. Malik Kafur was the trusted general of
semi-precious stones decorated the walls Ala-ud-din Khalji.
of most monuments. By defeating the Yadavas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas
6. It was necessary for kings to earn the goodwill and the Pandyas, Malik Kafur contributed to
of the people because they wanted to be the expansion of the Khalji Empire.
accepted by the people. An unpopular king 4. Sher Shah was a secular ruler. He followed
made it easier for local governors to rally the a policy of religious tolerance. He respected
support of the people and overthrow that ruler. all religions and looked after the welfare of
Thus, goodwill measures helped the king to his subjects. He is often regarded as the
maintain peace and harmony in his empire. forerunner of Akbar.
(Accept this or any other relevant response.) 5. Here are the names of some monuments
7. The opulent monuments constructed by constructed by the Qutb Shahis and the Adil
Shah Jahan point to a thriving economy, Shahis.
whereby Shah Jahan had sufficient funds u Qutb Shahis—Golconda Fort, Mecca Masjid,

Integrated Social Science Companion 7

at his disposal to spend on monuments. Char Minar
During Aurangzeb’s rule, the economy u Adil Shahis—Ibrahim Rauza, Gol Gumbaz

started declining on account of continuous

D. 1. Rajendra Chola’s most daring campaign
wars. Thus, Aurangzeb could not divert funds
was in South-east Asia. Indian merchants
towards building opulent monuments.
traded with various parts of South-east Asia
and southern China. Their ships had to pass
TIME TO DO through the Straits of Molucca, which was
H. a. The Taj Mahal earned the maximum revenue controlled by the kingdom of Sri Vijaya. The
in 2009. merchants of Sri Vijaya did not allow Indian
b. No, the Taj Mahal did not see a steady merchants to sail through this region. Some
increase in revenue in the last three years. of these Indian merchants were from the
c. Increased revenue signifies that the Chola Kingdom. They appealed to Rajendra
monument is popular and by virtue of being Chola for help. He sent his fleet and defeated
popular, it gets more footfall. the Sri Vijaya king.
 2. The sultan was all powerful. He had to 1. Kalamkari textiles
keep the nobility and the ulema in check. A. Masulipatnam
Muhammad-bin Tughluq tried to curb the 2. Cotton and spices
power of the ulemas, while Firoz Shah
A. Hampi
Tughluq was lenient with them. The Tughluq
sultans also tried to legitimize their rule by 3. English trading post, 1612
seeking approval from the Caliph. Thus when A. Surat
the ulemas termed Muhammad-bin Tughluq’s 4. Chintz
rule un-Islamic, he issued coins in the name A. Masulipatnam
of the Caliph to suggest that Muhammad-bin 5. Vijayanagar Empire
Tughluq ruled according to the wishes of the
A. Hampi
Caliph.
6. Cotton textiles
3. Mahmud Gawan was well-versed in
mathematics and literature. He also A. Surat
encouraged the growth of Urdu and built Answers to Textbook Exercises
a magnificent madrasah in Bidar. The
A. 1. b 2. c 3. d 4. d 5. c
madrasah had a library which housed over
three thousand manuscripts. Students B. 1. Abdur Razzaq 4. Hyderabad
from across the world came to study in the 2. Akbar 5. Portuguese
madrasah. Thus we can say that Mahmud 3. Delhi.
Gawan was a patron of learning. C. 1. Towns were classified on the basis of the
4. Akbar adopted numerous measures to show different functions that they performed.
his secular spirit. He abolished the pilgrim tax Places where kings held their courts often
and jaziya. Akbar also stopped the practice developed into capital towns. These towns
of forcibly converting prisoners of war to then became centres of administration.
Islam. He gave grants for building temples 2. Specialized crafts were concentrated in
and got holy books of the Hindus translated different places. Kings and nobles required
into Persian. He also participated in the luxury goods. In this way, craft towns came
Hindu festivals such as Holi, Diwali and into existence.
Raksha Bandhan.
3. Commercial and trading towns developed
5. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in either as a result of the products found in
memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. that region or because of their nearness to
Designed by Ustad Isa Khan Effendi and ports or major trade routes.
Ustad Ahmad Lahori, it was built over 22
Commercial and trading towns were of two
years by over 20,000 labourers. Constructed
types—inland trading towns and port towns.
entirely of white marble, it has a huge dome
and four minarets. The walls are decorated 4. The banjaras were a trading group. They
with precious and semi-precious stones. travelled from one place to another buying
Marble screens, well-proportioned chhattris and selling goods. They also played an
and pietra-dura inlay work add to the beauty important role in transporting goods.
of the monument. D. 1. Many towns, such as Tanjore, Tirupati,
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

E. 1. Kanauj 5. Khandesh Somnath, Kanchipuram, Madurai and

Mathura, flourished because of their temples.
2. Madurai 6. Gulbarga and Bidar
The temples in these towns performed a wide
3. Devagiri 7. Ajmer range of functions. They attracted a large
4. Jaunpur 8. Agra number of people such as priests, garland
makers, weavers, sculptors, shopkeepers,
7. Towns, Traders and Craftsmen traders, musicians and dancers. Soon
population increased and towns with temples
enrichment activitY flourished.
brainstorming 2. Hampi was one of the most important towns
Given below are keywords associated with the of medieval period. Due to its strategic
commercial towns that flourished in medieval India. location, it was the capital of the Vijayanagar
Ask the learners to name the commercial towns that Empire. Its rich markets provided cotton and
the keywords are associated with. spice to European merchants. Trade links
 between Hampi and other countries such as exchanged milk, honey, ghee and other
Persia, Arabia, Burma and China increased products with settled agriculturists for grains
its importance further. Hampi also had many and various other things.
beautiful temples. 3. With time, the tribal societies shunned
3. Masulipatnam was also known as Machilipatnam. their isolation and began to lead a settled
Masulipatnam is famous for its kalamkari life. They also adopted better methods of
work. The word ‘kalam’ means pen and ‘kari’ agriculture. Many tribal customs, gods and
means work. It refers to a method of painting ceremonies became part of the existing
natural and vegetable dyes on cotton or silk culture.
fabric with a bamboo pen. The craftsmen of 4. The Ahoms were a tribal community. They
Masulipatnam produced beautiful kalamkari established their kingdom in the region of
prints and exported them to as far as the present-day Assam.
Safavid Empire in Persia. The original homeland of Ahoms may have
4. Pilgrimage towns—Benaras (present-day been China.
Varanasi), Allahabad, Mathura and Vrindavan D. 1. We know very little about the tribal societies
were some pilgrimage towns. The dargahs of of the medieval period because the tribal
famous Sufi saints such as Khwaja Hazrat people
Nizam-ud-din Auliya in Delhi and Khwaja u kept no written records,

Muin-ud-din Chishti in Ajmer attracted a large u did not allow outsiders into their territories,
number of devotees. Many of these devotees u were cut-off from the outside world as they
settled at these places, and the places then
lived in remote and isolated areas. As a
slowly developed into towns.
result, outsiders hardly had any contact
Surat—Surat was a port and an important
with them.
commercial town during the medieval period.
2. Some tribal groups prominent in the medieval
It was famous for its fine cotton textiles with
period include the Baluchis in the North-west,
‘zari’ borders, which it regularly exported to
Khokhars and Ghakkars in Punjab, Bhils
markets in West Asia and Europe. In the
and Kolis in western India, Gonds in Central
seventeenth century, many European powers
India, Cheros, Mundas, Santhals, Khasis,
set up trading posts in Surat to control its
Nagas and Ahoms in eastern India, and the
trade. The importance of Surat also lay in the
Todas, Koragas, Maravars, Badagas and
fact that ships carrying Haj pilgrims set sail
Vetars in southern India.
from there.
The tribals were engaged in agriculture,
5. Yes, political stability led to economic
herding, hunting-gathering and trading. There
prosperity in medieval India. This is because
were some who travelled from one place to
trade and commerce flourish only when there
another, selling goods or entertaining people
is political stability. (Accept this or any other
with tribal songs and folk tales.
relevant response.)
6. Hampi was a well-fortified town because 3. Rani Durgavati—Rani Durgavati ruled over
of its strategic location. Further, being an Garh Katanga, which was one of the most
important centre of cotton and spice trade, powerful Gond kingdoms. She refused to

Integrated Social Science Companion 7

the rulers found it all the more important to become a Mughal vassal and died fighting
protect it. (Accept this or any other relevant the army of Emperor Akbar.
response.) Banjaras—Banjaras were nomadic travellers.

They travelled in big groups with their
8. Tribal Communities families. They transported grains from
towns to villages. They also reared and sold
A. 1. c 2. d 3. a 4. b 5. c
animals such as horses and cattle to people
B. 1. c 2. a 3. d 4. e 5. b in the towns.
C. 1. A caste-based society was different from Life in an Ahom village —The village

a tribal society because a tribal society did community was very powerful among the
not follow the caste rules laid down by the Ahoms. It gave land to cultivators according
Brahmans. Thus, in a tribal society, people to their needs. People cultivated rice as the
were not divided into high and low castes. main food crop. The houses in the village
2. The nomadic tribal groups moved from one were built of bamboo. People worshipped
place to another in search of food. They tribal gods.
 4. Garh Katanga was rich in elephants. Thus u selfless love and devotion,
Akbar wanted to make Rani Durgavati his u equality of all human beings,
vassal as it would have given him access to u helpfulness and sharing the pain of others

elephants. Further, Garh Katanga was one of u the importance of guru and devotional
the most powerful kingdoms in Central India.
music.
Its independent existence would have been a
The Sufi saints taught
threat to the Mughal Empire.
u love and devotion,
5. It is an open-ended question. Accept any
u importance of leading a simple life,
relevant response.
u importance of pir and devotional music.

The teachings of the bhakti and Sufi saints

9. Religious Beliefs
were similar in many ways. Both stressed on
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY love and devotion, helping others, following
the teachings of a guru and on expressing
RESEARCH and PRESENTATION one’s love for god through devotional music.
Divide the class into groups of four and ask them to
2. Sant Kabir’s philosophy was based on
research on Mirabai. They can include the following
the ideal of unity of god. He said that
points to make their research interesting.
though people call god by different names,
u Early life
god essentially is one. Kabir was against
u Her devotion to Krishna
worshipping idols, performing rituals, bathing
u Famous bhajans composed by Mirabai in holy waters, going on pilgrimages,
Each group will make a three-minute presentation to following superstitious beliefs and killing
the class. animals. For him, purity of character and
leading a simple life devoted to bhakti was
Answers to Textbook Exercises the path to reach god. He believed that a
A. 1. a 3. d 5. c guru showed the correct path. Kabir also
2. c 4. b 6. d spoke against caste differences and strove
B. 1. e 3. b 5. d for Hindu-Muslim unity.
2. f 4. c 6. a 3. Guru Nanak emphasized the worship of one
god and preached true devotion to god as
C. 1. The alvars and nayanars were saint-poets
the way to salvation. He said that a guru can
who popularized the Bhakti Movement in
show people the path of bhakti. He stressed
South India in the eighth century. They
on honesty, helpfulness and equality. He
preached the path of surrendering oneself
spoke against caste and class differences.
to god. They travelled from one place to
He asked his followers to follow three
another singing hymns in praise of different
principles. They were as follows.
gods.
u ‘Naam Japo’ or meditate.
2. Ramanuja considered bhakti to be more
u ‘Kirt Karo’ or work hard and earn your
important than knowledge. Shankaracharya,
on the other hand, believed that knowledge bread by honest means.
u ‘Vand Chhako’ or share your earnings with
alone could lead to salvation.
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

3. Guru Nanak stressed on three principles that people who are less fortunate than you.
formed the essence of life. They were 4. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—Chaitanya
u ‘Naam Japo’ or meditate.
Mahaprabhu popularized Krishna-bhakti in
u ‘Kirt Karo’ or work hard and earn your
Bengal. He composed many hymns in praise
of Lord Krishna. For him, music was the most
bread by honest means.
important means of expressing bhakti.
u ‘Vand Chhako’ or share your earnings with
Chishti silsilah—Chishti silsilah was very

people who are less fortunate than you.
popular in the thirteenth and fourteenth
4. The Sufi saints formed many orders. Such centuries. Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti was
orders were called silsilahs such as the one of the first great saints of this silsilah.
Chishti and Suhrawardi silsilahs. The sufi Other famous Chishti saints were Khwaja
saints lived in a khanqah. Music and dance Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki, Baba Farid and
sessions called sama were held in khanqahs. Khwaja Hazrat Nizam-ud-din Auliya. Khwaja
D. 1. The bhakti saints taught Hazrat Nizam-ud-din Auliya was referred to
 as ‘Mehboob-i-Ilahi’ or Beloved of God. 2. Urdu was known as the camp language.
5. The bhakti and Sufi saints emphasized on This was because Urdu emerged in the
Hindu-Muslim unity. This is best visible during camps of soldiers. Soldiers came from all
Akbar’s reign because he adopted numerous parts of the country and spoke different
measures to promote this unity. Some of the languages. Urdu emerged as a link language
measures were as follows. which was spoken and understood by all.
u Akbar treated religion as an individual’s
3. Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Bikaner, Kota and
private affair. Thus, he gave his subjects Kishangarh were the main centres of the
the freedom to worship as they liked. Rajasthani style of painting.
u He abolished jaziya and pilgrim tax.
The Rajasthani style of painting flourished
u He celebrated Hindu festivals such as Holi, between late fourteenth and late eighteenth
Diwali and Raksha Bandhan. centuries.
6. a. Sant Kabir has emphasized that true 4. The word ‘Kathak’ is derived from the word
love and devotion can lead a person to ‘katha’ which means story.
salvation. Selfless love and devotion were Kathakars were a caste of storytellers
an important part of the Bhakti Movement. attached to temples. They used gestures and
b. Yes, I agree with what Sant Kabir says. The songs to tell stories in praise of God.
second part of the question is open-ended. 5. Some distinctive feature of the temples
Accept any relevant response. of Bengal are as follows.
u Brick and terracotta are used on

TIME TO DO a large-scale.
F. 1. The Bhakti Movement became popular in u Temples are four-roofed structures

South India from the eighth century onwards. with four triangular roofs moving up to
2. It was popularized by the alvar and nayanar converge at a point.
saints. They came from different castes and u The terracotta tiles at the outer walls

followed different professions. depict scenes from the epics. (Accept any
3. They preached the path of surrendering two of these.)
oneself to god. E. 1. Hindi was widely spoken in the medieval
4. In course of time, Bhakti Movement spread to period. Braj and Awadhi were the two
other parts of India. popular dialects. Chandbardai’s Prithviraj-
5. The saints preached their message in Raso is considered one of the earliest works
regional languages. in Hindi literature. Tulsidas and Surdas
6. Important Bhakti saints of Maharashtra were wrote Ramcharitamanas and Sur Sagar
Namdev, Tukaram, Jnaneshwar and Eknath. respectively. Raskhan’s Prem Vatika and
Bihari’s Satsai are notable works in Hindi.
10. The Flowering of Regional Cultures Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s Padmavat is an
important literary work in Awadhi.
A. 1. a 2. b 3. d 4. b 5. c 6. d
B. Across Down 2. The Turks introduced Persian in India.
Soon it became the court language and
4. NAVRATNAS 1. KOTA
Integrated Social Science Companion 7
administrative records were maintained in
6. GHALIB 2. KAMBAN Persian. Amir Khusrau wrote in Persian.
9. KIRTANA 3. QAWWALI The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the
10. KALHANA 5. JAHANGIR Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads came
7. BAHZAD to be translated in Persian. Books in Arabic
8. KATHAK and Turkish were translated into Persian.
Akbarnama (Akbar’s biography), Tuzuk-i-
C. 1. Cheras 4. Firoz Shah Tughluq
Jahangiri (Jahangir’s memoirs) and Abdul
2. Somadeva 5. Mughal Hamid Lahori’s Padshahnamah are some
3. Kangra or Pahari notable works in Persian. Many Persian
D. 1. Modern Indo-Aryan languages started dictionaries were also compiled in this period.
emerging in the ninth and tenth centuries. 3. Mughal paintings were generally miniature
Odia, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi and related paintings. The miniatures were done on
languages are some examples of modern paper or cloth. The painting style was a
Indo-Aryan languages. fusion of Indian and Persian traditions. The
 painters used bright colours. The themes maintaining court musicians was, perhaps,
of the paintings included scenes from royal not economically viable. Thus, there were
court, battles, royal hunts, nature, daily life strong economic reasons that prompted
of the royal household, mythology, portraits Aurangzeb to ban singing in court. (Accept
and episodes from Hindu epics and Persian any one of these.)
classics.
4. The rulers of Jaunpur and Gwalior were
11. Political Formations in the
patrons of music. Ghunyal-ul-Munyas
Eighteenth Century
and Sangeet Siromani were two musical
works compiled in Jaunpur. Sultan Husain A. 1. b 2. a 3. b 4. c 5. b
Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur composed many B. 1. Muhammad Shah 3. Purandhar, Shivaji.
new ragas. Raja Man Singh Tomar of 2. misls. 4. Ashtapradhan
Gwalior wrote an important musical work, C. 1. Abdullah Khan Baraha and Husain Ali Khan
Man Kautuhal (curiosities of Raja Man). A Baraha were the king-makers.
distinctive style of music also developed Abdullah Khan Baraha and Husain Ali Khan
in Kashmir. Music also prospered in the Baraha were called so because they chose
regional kingdoms of Gujarat and Malwa. who was to be made the ruler.
5. Music during the Mughal period—Music 2. Kangha is a symbol of cleanliness. When
flourished in the Mughal period. Abul Fazl we comb our hair we take out the broken
says that there were 36 musicians in the strands of hair, similarly we should comb out
court of Akbar, some of whom were women. evil thoughts from our mind. Kara reminds a
Mian Tansen was the most famous musician person to stop when he raises his hand to do
in Akbar’s court. He composed many new anything wrong.
ragas. Jahangir and Shah Jahan also 3. Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan modernized
had musicians in their court. It was during the army. They introduced new and better
Aurangzeb’s reign that singing was banned in weapons and set up a modern arsenal.
the Mughal court. However, several books on Tipu even tried to build a modern navy.
classical music were written in Persian during
4. According to the Treaty of Purandhar, Shivaji
his reign.
agreed to
Literature and painting in medieval
u accept the overlordship of Aurangzeb and
Bengal—Many Sanskrit classics were
pay him an annual tribute,
translated into Bengali. Sultan Alauddin
u surrender 23 forts and
Husain got the Ramayana and the
u meet Aurangzeb in the Mughal court at
Mahabharata translated into Bengali. The
famous poet, Maladhar Basu translated the Agra. (Accept any two of these.)
Bhagavat Purana into Bengali. He also 5. Under Balaji Baji Rao, the Maratha power
compiled Sri-Krishna-Vijaya. Folk music, was at its greatest.
especially baul singing, prospered in It is because during Balaji Baji Rao’s reign
Bengal. Chaitanya popularized kirtanas that the Maratha armies reached Punjab and
were sung in chorus and accompanied by Rajasthan in the north, and Bengal and
Integrated Social Science Companion 7

instrumental music. Odisha in the east. The kingdoms of Mysore

6. There can be two answers to this question. (now Mysuru) and Hyderabad were forced to
Historians differ in their opinion about cede territories and pay tribute.
the decline of music during the reign of D. 1. Shivaji established and strengthened the
Aurangzeb. Some feel that Aurangzeb Maratha Empire. To begin with, he put
banned singing in court as he considered it together a small army and with its help
un-Islamic. captured many forts. Later, Shivaji defeated
However, there are others who feel that by Bijapur. All along, he fought against the
the time Aurangzeb succeeded the throne, Mughals and succeeded in conquering
the state exchequer was in a dismal state. territories and capturing forts. To administer
This was due to the lavish architectural his kingdom, he had the ‘ashtapradhan’ to
activities of his predecessors. Further, the advise him. He also collected many taxes,
protracted campaign in Deccan had taken with which he put together a large army.
its toll on the Mughal treasury. Therefore, Shivaji even built a navy.
2. The term ‘Peshwa’ means Chief Minister. TIME TO DO
After Shivaji’s death, the Peshwas became E. 1. Awadh 4. Agra
powerful and controlled the Maratha Empire 2. Bengal 5. Poona (now Pune).
from 1713 to 1761.
3. Jaipur
Balaji Vishwanath captured territories from
the Mughals. He also got the right to collect ANNUAL TEST PAPER
taxes from six provinces in the Deccan. Baji A. 1. c 3. c 5. b 7. a
Rao I conquered Malwa, southern Gujarat 2. b 4. d 6. c 8. b
and parts of Bundelkhand. He defeated
B. 1. The Tomars of Delhi, the Chauhans of
the Nizam of Hyderabad. He also captured
Rajasthan, the Solankis of Gujarat, the
Salsette and Bassein from the Portuguese.
Paramaras of Malwa, the Gahadavalas of
Balaji Baji Rao forced the kingdoms of
Kanauj and the Chandellas of Bundelkhand.
Mysore (now Mysuru) and Hyderabad to
(Accept any two of these.)
cede territories and pay tribute.
2. The main port of the kingdom of Golconda
3. Sawai Raja Jai Singh—Sawai Raja Jai
was Masulipatnam.
Singh was the king of Amber. He was a
patron of learning and encouraged the 3. Tribal societies are more equal in nature.
learning of science. He was particularly 4. Kabir’s followers were called Kabirpanthis.
interested in astronomy and set up many 5. Lahjat-i-Sikandar Shahi was written during
astronomical observatories. He also founded the reign of Sikandar Lodi.
the city of Jaipur. 6. Nadir Shah invaded India in 1739.
Sikh misls—The misls were political groups
C. 1. After ascending the throne, Humayun faced
among the Sikhs. There were 12 misls in the following difficulties.
all. Each controlled a specific area and had u There was no proper system of
a leader. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who later
administration.
established a powerful kingdom in Punjab,
u His brothers were not happy with their
was the leader of the Sukerchakia misl.
share of territories and protested against
The ashtapradhan—The ashtapradhan was

this.
a council of eight ministers under Shivaji. The
u There was a threat of invasion from the
eight ministers were as follows.
u Peshwa—head of the council and incharge
Rajputs, from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat,
and from Sher Shah, the ruler of the
of general administration
u Senapati—commander-in-chief of the army
Afghans. (Accept any two of these.)
u Nyayadhish—incharge of justice
2. Accounts of foreign travellers such as Duarte
Barbosa and Ralph Fitch help us to know
u Amatya or Majumdar—incharge of finance
about the towns that flourished in medieval
u Pant Sachiv—general secretary
India. Mughal official documents on land
u Sumanta—incharge of foreign affairs
grants and land revenue assessment also tell
u Mantri—head of intelligence us about old and new towns.
u Dandadhyaksha—incharge of religious 3. The teachings of the bhakti and sufi saints

Integrated Social Science Companion 7

matters were similar in many ways. Both stressed on
4. When Akbar did not humiliate the Rajput love and devotion, helping others, following
kings and made them equal partners, it the teachings of a guru and on expressing
helped him build a strong and vast empire one’s love for god through devotional music.
as he had managed to gain the confidence (Accept any three of these.)
of his subjects. He ruled with a policy of 4. Ghunyal-ul-Munyas and Sangeet Siromani
tolerance and mutual co-existence. When were two musical works compiled in Jaunpur.
Aurangzeb humiliated Shivaji, it resulted Sultan Husain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur
in wars as Shivaji renewed hostilities with composed many new ragas.
the Mughals, raided and recaptured their 5. Guru Gobind Singh organized the Sikhs into
territories. a military group called Khalsa or ‘the pure’.
Akbar’s Rajput policy strengthened the empire, He inspired his soldiers to fight against the
whereas Aurangzeb’s act weakened it. Mughals through the slogan ‘Waheguru ji ka
(Accept this or any other relevant response.) Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh’.
 D. 1. Ala-ud-din Khalji introduced many reforms in 4. Painting reached perfection under the
the army. Some of them were as follows. Mughals. Mughal paintings were generally
u He paid his soldiers in cash. miniature paintings. The miniatures were
u He branded (dagh) horses to prevent the done on paper or cloth. The painting style
substitution of good horses by inferior was a fusion of Indian and Persian traditions.
ones. The painters used bright colours. The
u A full description (chehra) for each soldier
paintings had themes such as scenes from
the royal court, battles, royal hunts, nature,
was kept.
daily life of the royal household, mythology,
u Spies were posted in different parts of the
portraits and episodes from Hindu epics and
empire to keep the sultan informed of all Persian classics.
developments.
5. Shivaji had a council of eight ministers called
2. After the death of her husband, Rani the ‘ashtapradhan’ to advise him. These eight
Durgavati began to rule Garh Katanga as ministers included the following.
the regent of her minor son. Akbar offered u Peshwa—head of the council and incharge
her the choice to become the vassal of the
of general administration,
Mughals. But Rani Durgavati refused to u Senapati—commander-in-chief of the army
acknowledge Akbar’s overlordship. So in
u Nyayadhish—incharge of justice
1565, the Mughals attacked Garh Katanga.
u Amatya or Majumdar—incharge of finance
Further, one of the reasons why the Mughals
u Pant Sachiv—general secretary
attacked Garh Katanga was that the kingdom
was very rich. u Sumanta—incharge of foreign affairs

u Mantri—head of intelligence
3. Guru Nanak emphasized the worship of one
god and preached true devotion to god as u Dandadhyaksha—incharge of religious

the way to salvation. He said that a guru matters

can lead people on to the path of bhakti. Shivaji collected two-fifths of the produce
He stressed on honesty, helpfulness and as land tax. He also collected chauth and
equality. He spoke against caste and class sardeshmukhi from territories that were
differences. He asked his followers to follow not directly under his control. In addition to
three principles which were infantry and the cavalry, Shivaji also had a
u ‘Naam Japo’ or meditate. navy to guard the coast.
u ‘Kirt Karo’ or work hard and earn your E. 1. Agra 5. Kashi (now Varanasi)
bread by honest means. 2. Delhi 6. Golconda
u ‘Vand Chhako’ or share your earnings with 3. Hampi 7. Lucknow
people who are less fortunate than you. 4. Surat 8. Panipat
u u u u u
Integrated Social Science Companion 7