CHAPTER 1 : Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years (Date : 25-06-2018)

Question 1:

For whom was the term "foreigner" used in the medieval period?

  1. Any person coming to the village, who was a stranger.
  2. People of different religions used this term for each other in the same village.

  1. 1 only

  2. 2 Only

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : A

Explanation

In the medieval period, any unknown person who came to a village and was not a part of that society or culture, was called a 'foreigner'. Such a person is called a ‘Videshi’ in Hindi and ‘Ajnabi’ in Persian, but two farmers living in the same village were not foreigners for each other, even if they belonged to different religions or castes.

Question 2:

Consider the following statements-

1. When Minhaj-i-Siraj  used the word 'Hindustan' for the first time, he meant it for the areas located in undivided India.

2. Babur used the term ‘Hindustan’ to describe the geography, the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.

Which of the above statements is/are true?

  1. 1 only

  2. 2 only

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

When the term was used in the thirteenth century by Minhaj-i-Siraj, a chronicler who wrote in Persian, he meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between the Ganga and Yamuna. He used the term in a political sense for lands that were a part of the dominion of Delhi Sultanate. The areas included in the term ‘Hindustan’ shifted with the extent of the Sultanate,but the term never included south India. By contrast, in the early sixteenth century Babur used ‘Hindustan’ to describe the geography, the fauna and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.

Question 3:

In the medieval period a new class emerged in the society called 'Rajputs'. Which of the following groups was/were included in this class?

  1. Chieftains
  2. Commanders
  3. Soldiers

  1. 1 only

  2. 1 and 2 only

  3. 2 and 3 only

  4. 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer : D

Explanation

In the medieval period, the 'Rajputs' were among the main communities whose importance increased; it is derived from the word 'Rajputra' i.e., the son of a ruler. Between the 8th and the 14th century this name was commonly used for the group of warriors who claimed to be from ‘Kshatriya’ class.  The term included not just rulers and chieftains, but also soldiers and commanders ,who served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent.

Question 4:

In the medieval period, what purpose did the “Persian Wheel” serve?

  1. Irrigation

  2. Spinning yarn

  3. Making ammunition weapons

  4. Making earthen items

Correct Answer : A

Explanation

In the medieval period the "Persian wheel" was used for the purpose of  irrigation.