Madhya Pradesh Board Class 12 History — NCERT Solutions

Given/Context: Archaeological evidence from Harappan sites provides information about food items through finds of grain, animal bones, and other remains.

Food Items Available:

The following food items were available to people in Harappan cities:

1. Cereals/Grains: Wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, and sesame were found at various Harappan sites. Millets were found from sites in Gujarat. Rice finds are relatively rare.
2. Meat: Cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo, and pig were domesticated animals whose bones have been found. Bones of wild species such as boar, deer, and gharial are also found, suggesting meat from hunting.
3. Fish and Fowl: Bones of fish and fowl have also been recovered.

Groups Who Provided These:

• Farmers/Agriculturalists: They would have cultivated wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas, sesame, and millets. Evidence of ploughed fields (Kalibangan), terracotta models of ploughs (Banawali, Cholistan), and irrigation canals (Shortughai) supports this.
• Pastoralists/Herders: They would have reared and supplied domesticated animals like cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo, and pig.
• Hunters: Wild animals like boar, deer, and gharial may have been hunted either by the Harappans themselves or by specialised hunting communities who traded meat with city dwellers.
• Fishermen: Fish and fowl were likely provided by fishing communities living near rivers and coasts.

Given/Context: Archaeologists use material remains — burials, artefacts, settlement patterns — to reconstruct social and economic differences in Harappan society.

Methods Used by Archaeologists:

1. Study of Burials: Cemeteries at sites like Harappa show that while the dead were generally buried with pottery, some burials contain ornaments and other objects, suggesting differences in status or wealth. However, the differences are not very sharp.
2. Distribution of Artefacts: Rare and valuable objects (made of gold, faience, carnelian, lapis lazuli) are concentrated in large settlements like Mohenjodaro and Harappa, and are rarely found in smaller settlements. This indicates economic inequality between large urban centres and smaller villages.
3. Study of Settlements: The division of cities into a 'Citadel' (higher, smaller, with public/elite structures) and a 'Lower Town' (larger, residential) suggests a social hierarchy.
4. Hoards: Gold jewellery found in hoards indicates that precious metals were owned by a select few.

Differences Noticed:

• Between settlements: Large cities like Mohenjodaro had miniature faience pots, gold jewellery, and elaborate public structures, while smaller settlements like Kalibangan had none of these.
• Within settlements: The Citadel area (with the Great Bath, warehouse) was distinct from the residential Lower Town, suggesting that certain groups had access to special structures.
• In burials: Some graves contain more objects than others, though the differences are not extreme, suggesting a relatively moderate level of social differentiation compared to other ancient civilisations.

Al-Biruni knew Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit. So in the twenty-first century, he could be easily understood in regions where these languages are still used or widely understood: West Asia/Middle East and South Asia (especially places using Arabic, Persian, or Sanskrit-derived scholarly traditions), as well as among scholars familiar with Hebrew and Syriac. The chapter does not list modern countries, so the safest answer is that he would be understood in the broad regions where these languages are current or studied.

From Bernier’s list, I would take the tent, carpet, portable bed, pillow, mattress, water flask, small bags/utensils, and food items like rice, biscuits, limes, sugar, and perhaps the curd bag if I needed it. These are useful for comfort, shelter, and food during a journey.

Given/Context: The jotedar was a rich peasant who emerged as a powerful rural figure in Bengal under colonial rule.

Answer:

The jotedar was a powerful figure in rural Bengal for several reasons:

1. Control over land: Jotedars possessed large areas of land — sometimes several thousand acres — which they cultivated through sharecroppers (bargadars/adhiars). This gave them direct economic power over a large number of poor peasants.

2. Control over credit: Unlike zamindars who lived in towns, jotedars lived in the villages. They provided loans to poor peasants and thus controlled them through debt.

3. Control over local trade: They controlled local markets and trade, making poor peasants dependent on them for buying and selling.

4. Resistance to zamindars: As Francis Buchanan noted, jotedars were 'refractory' — they refused to pay revenue on time, held more land than their deeds allowed, and instigated poor ryots not to pay revenue to zamindars. They knew the zamindars had little real power over them.

5. Proximity to peasants: Because they lived in villages, they could mobilise local support quickly and effectively resist both zamindars and colonial officials.

Thus, through economic control, local presence, and ability to resist authority, jotedars became the most powerful figures in many areas of rural Bengal.

Given/Context: Under the Permanent Settlement of 1793, zamindars who failed to pay revenue on time had their estates auctioned. Despite this, many zamindars devised strategies to retain control.

Answer:

Zamindars used several ingenious strategies to retain control over their zamindaris even when estates were auctioned:

1. Fictitious sales: Zamindars transferred their property to women relatives (mothers, wives) since the Company had decreed that women's property would not be seized for revenue arrears. This protected the estate from auction.

2. Manipulating auctions: When an estate was put up for auction, the zamindar's agents would bid for it, outbidding others. They would then refuse to pay the purchase money, forcing a re-auction. This process was repeated until other bidders were exhausted, and finally the estate was sold back to the zamindar at a very low price.

3. Deliberate default: Zamindars deliberately withheld revenue payments and allowed arrears to accumulate. This was a calculated strategy to trigger auctions that they could then manipulate.

4. Social and local influence: Zamindars retained strong social ties with local communities. Even when new purchasers bought estates at auction, they found it difficult to actually collect rents because the old zamindar's men and loyal ryots resisted them.

Through these methods, zamindars ensured that despite the pressures of the Permanent Settlement, their control over rural Bengal was not easily dislodged.

Given/Context: The question asks us to compare craft production evidence from Early Historic cities (c. 600 BCE–600 CE) with that from Harappan cities (c. 3rd millennium BCE).

Evidence of Craft Production in Early Historic Cities:

1. Votive inscriptions (from c. 2nd century BCE) found in several cities mention the names and occupations of donors — weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, washers, merchants, etc. This gives us direct textual evidence of craft specialisation.
2. Guilds (shrenis) of craft producers and merchants are mentioned. These guilds procured raw materials, regulated production, and marketed finished goods.
3. Iron tools were widely used by craftspersons to meet the demands of urban elites.
4. Archaeological evidence of bead-making industries using precious and semi-precious stones has been found at sites like Kodumanal (Tamil Nadu).
5. Punch-marked coins indicate monetised exchange involving craft goods.

Differences from Harappan Evidence:

Conclusion: While Harappan evidence is entirely material/archaeological, Early Historic evidence combines archaeology with written records, giving us a richer and more direct picture of craft production and the social identity of craftspersons.

Given/Context: The term 'integration of cults' refers to the process by which local or regional religious traditions were absorbed into, or merged with, larger, more dominant religious frameworks.

Explanation with Examples:

Historians use the term 'integration of cults' to describe the process by which local deities, folk traditions, and regional religious practices were gradually absorbed into the broader framework of Brahmanical Hinduism, Buddhism, or other major religious systems.

Examples:

1. Goddess/Devi worship: Many local mother goddesses worshipped in villages were gradually integrated into the Brahmanical tradition as forms of Devi or Shakti (e.g., Durga, Kali). Their shrines were incorporated into the temple network.

2. Alvars and Nayanars: The poet-saints of Tamil Nadu identified local shrines as abodes of Vishnu or Shiva. Large temples were later built at these sacred places, effectively integrating local sacred sites into the pan-Indian Vaishnava and Shaiva traditions.

3. Bhagavata Purana: Ideas of the Tamil Vaishnava bhaktas (Alvars) were incorporated within the Sanskritic tradition, culminating in the composition of the Bhagavata Purana — a classic example of a regional devotional tradition being integrated into mainstream Sanskrit literature.

4. Tribal deities: Many tribal or forest deities were reinterpreted as avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu, thereby bringing tribal communities within the fold of Brahmanical religion.

Conclusion: Integration of cults was thus a two-way process — it allowed dominant traditions to expand their reach while also giving local traditions a degree of legitimacy and continuity.

Given/Context: The sepoys who mutinied in 1857 needed symbolic and political leadership to give legitimacy and direction to their uprising.

Answer:

The mutinous sepoys turned to erstwhile rulers for several important reasons:

1. Legitimacy and Symbol of Authority: The sepoys needed a recognised figurehead who could give their rebellion political legitimacy. Former rulers like Bahadur Shah Zafar, Begum Hazrat Mahal, and Nana Sahib represented the pre-British order and were respected by the people.

2. Lack of Political Vision: The sepoys were skilled fighters but lacked political experience and administrative ability. The erstwhile rulers could provide the organisational framework and political direction the revolt needed.

3. Emotional and Cultural Connect: The deposed rulers symbolised everything the rebels were fighting to restore — the Mughal world, regional kingdoms, and the culture of the courts. Bahadur Shah Zafar, for instance, was a unifying symbol for both Hindus and Muslims.

4. Shared Grievances: The rulers had their own grievances against the British — annexation of territories, loss of pensions, and disrespect. This made them natural allies.

Thus, the sepoys saw the erstwhile rulers as the most appropriate leaders to restore the pre-British world they cherished.

Given: The mantra reads – 'I free her from here, but not from there. I have bound her firmly there, so that through the grace of Indra she will have fine sons and be fortunate in her husband's love.' 'Here' refers to the father's house and 'there' to the husband's house.

Implications for the Bride:

1. Marriage meant a complete transfer of the woman from her father's household to her husband's household. She was 'freed' from one place only to be 'bound' in another.
2. Her primary purpose, as stated in the mantra, was to produce 'fine sons' – i.e., male heirs – indicating that her reproductive role was central to the institution of marriage.
3. She had no independent identity; her worth was measured by her ability to bear sons and by her husband's love.
4. The mantra suggests she had no agency or choice in the matter – the priest, acting on behalf of the father, 'bound' her to the husband's house.

Implications for the Groom:

1. The mantra does not place any obligations or restrictions on the groom. He is not 'bound' anywhere.
2. He receives a wife whose purpose is to serve him and bear his children.
3. His identity, property, and freedom remain unchanged.

Conclusion: The implications are NOT identical. Marriage was a deeply asymmetrical institution. For the bride, it meant a loss of her natal home, loss of freedom, and a new set of obligations (bearing sons, being devoted to the husband). For the groom, it meant gaining a wife and heirs, with no corresponding loss of freedom or identity. This reflects the patrilineal and patriarchal nature of early Indian society where women were transferred from one male authority (father) to another (husband).

Methods used to study the ruins of Hampi:

Given: The ruins of Vijayanagara (Hampi) have been studied since the early nineteenth century.

Methods employed:

1. Survey and Mapping: Colin Mackenzie conducted the first survey of the site in 1800. He collected local histories, surveyed historic sites, and made detailed maps. Later, the Vijayanagara Metropolitan Survey (led by John M. Fritz, George Michell and M.S. Nagaraja Rao) divided the entire area into 25 lettered squares, each further subdivided, to document thousands of structures systematically.

2. Archaeological Excavation: Archaeologists excavated the site and found evidence of roads, pavements, pillar bases, platforms, Chinese porcelain shards, agricultural tracts, and canal systems.

3. Study of Inscriptions (Epigraphy): A large number of inscriptions recording donations to temples and important events were recovered and studied.

4. Analysis of Travellers' Accounts: Accounts of foreign visitors such as Nicolo de Conti, Abdur Razzaq, Afanasii Nikitin, Duarte Barbosa, Domingo Paes, and Fernao Nuniz provided vivid descriptions of the city's layout, buildings, and life.

Complementing the priests' information:
The priests of the Virupaksha temple preserved oral traditions, rituals, and local histories associated with the temple and the city. While the priests provided continuity of religious memory and knowledge of the sacred significance of structures, the archaeological and textual methods provided physical evidence, chronology, and broader historical context. Together, they offered a more complete picture — the priests filling in the living traditions and the scholars providing material and documentary evidence.

Given/Context: Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915 and sought to connect with the masses of India.

Answer:

Mahatma Gandhi identified with the common people in several significant ways:

1. Appearance and dress: He gave up Western clothes and adopted the dhoti and shawl — the dress of the ordinary Indian peasant. This made him visually indistinguishable from the poor.

2. Language: He encouraged communication of the nationalist message in the mother tongue rather than in English, making politics accessible to ordinary people.

3. Travel: He travelled across India in third-class railway compartments, experiencing the hardships faced by common people.

4. Championing their causes: He took up the struggles of peasants (Champaran, Kheda), mill workers (Ahmedabad), and the poor, showing genuine sympathy for their problems.

5. Promotion of khadi: By spinning the charkha and wearing khadi, he symbolically aligned himself with the self-reliant village economy.

Thus, unlike other politicians who talked down to the masses, Gandhi appeared to understand and relate to their lives, making him a truly people's leader.

Given: Two verses from the Rigveda invoking Agni, the god of fire, into which offerings were made to reach other deities.

Objectives of the sacrifice as listed in the verses:

1. To carry offerings to the gods – Agni is requested to bring the sacrifice of the worshippers to the gods.
2. To obtain abundant food – The priest (Agni) is asked to bestow abundant nourishment on the worshippers.
3. To acquire mighty wealth – Agni is asked to procure great wealth through the act of sacrificing.
4. To obtain nourishment / the wonderful cow – A symbol of prosperity and sustenance.
5. To beget a son / offspring – The worshippers pray for a son who will continue their family line.

Conclusion: The objectives of the Vedic sacrifice were largely material and worldly in nature – prosperity, food, wealth, cattle, and progeny. These reflect the concerns of an agrarian, pastoral society where continuity of the family line and material well-being were of primary importance.

Given: An excerpt from the Babur Nama describing Babur's observations of agrarian life in northern India.

Answer:

Babur was struck by the following aspects of agricultural life in northern India:

1. Mobility of peasants: Babur was amazed at how quickly entire villages could be abandoned. If the people of a large, long-inhabited town decided to flee, they could do so within a day and a half, leaving no trace behind.

2. Ease of re-settlement: Equally remarkable to Babur was how rapidly a new settlement could be established. Since crops were rain-grown (dependent on monsoons), there was no need to dig elaborate water channels. The abundant population of Hindustan meant that settlers 'swarmed in' quickly.

3. Rain-fed agriculture: Babur noted that autumn crops grew entirely due to rainfall, and even spring crops grew without rain in many areas. This meant agriculture was largely dependent on the monsoon rather than on artificial irrigation.

4. Abundance of natural resources: Khas-grass and wood were plentiful, making it easy to construct huts rapidly. A tank or well could be dug without great effort, and a village or town could spring up almost overnight.

5. Large and unlimited population: Babur was struck by the sheer density of population in Hindustan, which facilitated rapid colonisation of new areas.

In short, the combination of a mobile peasantry, rain-fed agriculture, abundant natural resources, and a large population made the agrarian landscape of northern India distinctly different from what Babur had seen in Central Asia.

Given: The Constituent Assembly met from December 1946 onwards, at a time of immense political turmoil — the British were still in India, Partition was imminent, communal violence was spreading, and the Muslim League had initially refused to participate.

How the political situation shaped the debates:

1. Partition and communal violence: The violence accompanying Partition made members acutely conscious of the need to protect minorities while simultaneously building a unified nation. This shaped debates on separate electorates, minority rights, and the abolition of untouchability.

2. Presence of the British: Somnath Lahiri argued that the Assembly was working under British influence. This pushed members like Nehru to emphasise that the Assembly derived its strength from the will of the people, not from British sanction.

3. Demand for a strong Centre: The chaos of Partition and the fear of fragmentation led most nationalists to favour a strong central government, reversing earlier Congress positions that had favoured provincial autonomy.

4. Urgency of nation-building: The need to integrate a diverse country — with different languages, religions, castes, and regions — made the debates on language, rights, and federalism particularly intense.

5. Legacy of colonial constitutional experiments: The Acts of 1909, 1919, and 1935 had given Indians limited experience of representative government, which informed debates about the scope of adult franchise and responsible government.

Conclusion: The political situation of 1946–49 — marked by Partition, communal tension, and the transition from colonial to independent rule — gave the debates their urgency, their caution, and their emphasis on unity, justice, and democratic rights.