Tracing Changes Through A Thousand Years - Class 7 History - Extra Questions

What do you mean by archives?

Archives were the places where manuscripts were collected and stored.


Who is a 'cartographer'?

Cartographer is one who draws a map.


Name a few Indian spices which became an important part of European cooking.

Pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and dried ginger,


Try and list as many uses of paper as you can.

 Paper can be used in many ways:
(1) It is used for writing, printing books, newspapers, etc.
(2) It is used for wrapping goods and small articles.
(3) In case there is an emergency and war-like situation, people are advised to cover the window panes with paper.
(4) Corrugated sheets made of paper can be made into boxes for carrying goods.


Who was considered a 'foreigner' in the past?

The term 'foreigner' is used in the sense of a person who is not an Indian. In the medieval period it was applied to any stranger who appeared, say in a given village, someone who was not a part of that society or culture. In this sense a forest-dweller was a foreigner for a city-dweller. But two peasants living in the same village were not foreigners to each other, even though they may have had different religious or caste backgrounds.


What were some of the major religious developments during the period between 700 and 1750 CE?

Some of the major significant religious developments occurred in Hinduism. The worship of new deities, the construction of temples by royalty and the growing importance of Brahmanas, the priests, as dominant groups in society were the new changes. Brahmanas' importance grew due to their knowledge of the Sanskrit language. They were patronized by the Emperors. The idea of bhakti emerged among people. The merchants and migrants brought with them the teachings of Quran, the holy book of Muslims.


What does the term "pan-regional" empire means ?

The term 'pan-regional' was used in the sense of the areas of empires spanning diverse regions. The dynasties like Cholas, Khaljis, Tughluqs, and Mughals extended had pan-regional empires. Most of the regions across the subcontinent were left with the legacies of the big and small states that had ruled over them. The emergence of many distinct and shared traditions in governance the economy elite cultures and languages were some of the prominent factors that took place as a result of pan-regional rules.


How were the affairs of jatis regulated?

Jatis were the sub-castes which were grouped on the basis of economic and social status. They were ranked as per their backgrounds and their occupations. Ranks were not fixed permanently. They varied as per the power, influence, and resources controlled by members of the jatis. Hence the status of the same jati could vary from area to area Jatis had their own system of ruling. They framed their own rules and regulations for managing the conduct of their members. An assembly of elders was responsible for enforcing these regulations. This assembly of elders was called jati panchayat. But jatis were also required to abide by the rules of their villages.


In what ways has the meaning of the term 'Hindustan' changed over the centuries?

It has been observed that language and its interpretation change with the change of time. The term 'Hindustan' was used for the first time by Minhaj-i Siraj, a thirteenth-century Persian chronicler. He, with this term, meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. It was used in a political sense for lands constituting a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultan. Though the term shifted with the extent of the Sultanate but it never included south India. Later in the sixteenth century, Babur, while using this term, meant the geography, the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent. A fourteenth-century poet Amir Khusrau also used the term 'Hind' almost in the same sense. The remarkable point is that while the idea of a geographical and cultural entity like 'India' did exist, the term 'Hindustan' did not carry the political and national meanings that we associate with it today.


List some of the technological changes associated with the period between 700 and 1750 CE.

Some notable technological changes associated with this period were:
(i) The use of Persian wheel in irrigation;
(ii) The use of spinning wheel in weaving;
(iii) The use of firearms in combat.


________ was a fourteenth-century chronicler.

Ziauddin Barani. Ziauddin Barani was a Muslim political thinker of the Delhi Sultanate located in present-day North India during Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Firoz Shah's reign.


Archives are places where ________ are kept.

An archive is a place where manuscripts are stored. These manuscripts and documents provide a lot of detailed information to historians but they are also difficult to use.  Today all national and state governments have archives where they keep all their old official records and transactions. 


What are the difficulties historians face in using manuscripts?

Manuscripts in early days were handwritten. Writers used palm leaves as paper for writing manuscripts. The historians used to copy down those manuscripts. Different historians presented their version in their own way as many of the words or sentences were beyond their understanding. So they copied what they understood. Later it was difficult to recognize which one was the original manuscript. Historians interpreted the facts as per the manuscripts which they got. Hence we find a number of facts with different illustrations in history.


Who was Al-Idrisi?

Al-Idrisi was an Arab cartographer. He created the Map 1.


What were the new groups of people to be prominent in this age?

Rajputs, Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas were the groups which came to be prominent in this age. They availed most of the opportunities of the society.


How did the scribes copied down the manuscripts?

Scribes copied down the manuscripts by hands.


Find out where records are kept in your village or city. Who writes these records? Is there an archive? Who manages it? What kinds of documents are stored there? Who are the people who use it?

In our village, records are kept in the Panchayat office. Gram Sevak who is a government employee writes these records. There is no archive in our village. Sarpanch manages it. The documents stored there include the record of the land of the village, data of births and deaths, the number of public properties, data of health centers, etc. Villagers use these records. The certificates are issued to the villagers on the basis of these records.


Who used the term Hindustan for the first time and when?

Minhaj-i Siraj used the term 'Hindustan' for the first time in the thirteenth century.


Who were the patrons?

Patrons were a group of the rulers and rich class of people who provided protection and livelihood to the Brahmanas, artists and poets.


What difference do you notice in the map drawn by al-Idrisi?

In the map drawn by al-Idrisi, we find a completely different view. Here south India is shown in the present north India and Sri Lanka is the island at the top.


Compare either Map 1 or Map 2 with the present-day map of the subcontinent listing as many similarities and differences as you can find.

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Map 1 and Map 2 represent two different times. Map 1 was made in 1154 CE by al-Idrisi, an Arab geographer. This section is a detail of the Indian subcontinent from his larger map of the world. Map 2 was made by a French cartographer in 1720. Both maps are quite different from each other, even though they represent the same area. In Map 1 we find south India at the place where we would expect to find north India and Sri Lanka is the island at the top. The place names are in Arabic. Some familiar places like Kanauj in Uttar Pradesh have been spelled as Qanauj. In comparison to this Map 2 was made nearly 600 later after Map 1. By that time information about the subcontinent had changed a lot. This map appears to be more familiar to us. The coastal areas, particularly, are more detailed.


What do you mean by Jati Panchayat?

Jati Panchayat was the assembly of elders which controlled the conduct of the members of their jati. They had their own rules and regulations.


Trace out the major changes in the society during 700 and 1750? What was its main reason?

A number of changes took place in society during 700 and 1750. This period traced the technological appearance of the Persian wheel in irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving and firearms in combat. Potatoes, corn, chilies, tea, and coffee were some of the new foods and beverages. These developments came with the arrival of the people who migrated to this land. As a result, this period saw various changes in the economic, political, social and cultural life.


What was the process of copying manuscript? What were its drawbacks?

As there was no printing press during the period between 700 and 1750, Scribes used to copy down the manuscripts which were hand-written. Sometimes it was difficult to recognize the original script. So the Scribes used their own way of interpreting the facts. Consequently, there were differences found in the copies written by different Scribes. As all the copies were handwritten, it was difficult to recognize which was the original one. It was the drawback of such copying.


What difference do you trace out in the region of Hindustan of the thirteenth century and the modern India?

The term 'Hindustan' in the thirteenth century implied the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. Minhaj-i Siraj used the term in a political sense for lands consisting of a part of the dominions of the Delhi Sultanate. The areas included in this term shifted with the extent of the Sultanate. However, it never included south India.


How history was divided by historians during the middle of the nineteenth century?

 The British historians divided the history of India into three periods:-
  • Hindu,
  • Muslim and
  • British.


Class 7 History Extra Questions