Asked | Gurucool - Coolfluencing the world

Q11
Examine why the religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims hardly noticeable during the uprising of 1857.

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Q12
Why did B. Pocker Bahadur from Madras makes a powerful plea for a continuing separate electorate in the Constituent Assembly ? Explain.

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Q13
Describe the ‘Ideal of Patriliny’ and ‘Gendered access to Property prevailing during sixth century B.C.E. to sixth century C.E.

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Solution

(i) The Ideal of Patriliny : The Mahabharata stands exemplary when it comes to the idea of Patriliny. The feud between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, ultimately ended in a battle, in which the Pandavas emerged victorious. After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, son could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their father’s when the latter died.
Most ruling dynasties (c. sixth century BCE onwards) claimed to follow this system, although there were variations in practice: Sometimes there were no sons in some situations and brothers succeeded one another, sometimes other kinsmen claimed the throne, and, in very exceptional circumstances, women such as Prabhavati Gupta exercised power. It is evident in ritual texts such as the Rigveda.
(ii) Gendered access to Property : The paternal estate was to be divided equally amongst sons after the death of the parents, with a special share for the eldest. Women could not claim a share of these resources. However, women were allowed to retain the gifts they received on the occasion of their marriage as ‘stridhana’ (literally, a woman’s wealth). This could be inherited by their children, without the husband having any claim on it. Prabhavati Gupta was an exception when a woman claimed the resources of her father.
At the same time, the Manusmriti warned women against hoarding family property, or even their own valuables, without the husband’s permission. However, cumulative evidence — both epigraphic and textual – suggests tbit while upper- class women may have had access to resources; the land, cattle and money were generally controlled by men. Women acquired wealth during the ritual of marriage, bridal processions as a token of affection from her brother, mother or father or as a gift from her husband. In other words, social differences between men and women were sharpened because of the differences in access to resources.

Q14
Describe the elements considered by historians to analyze Mahabharata. State the efforts of V.S. Sukthankar and his team for the preparation of the critical edition of Mahabharata.

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Solution

Historians considered several elements to analyze the Mahabharata :
(i) Language and content : The Mahabharata is written in Sanskrit. However, the Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is far simpler than that of the Vedas, or of the prashastis. Therefore, it was probably widely understood.
Historians usually classify the contents of the present text under two broad heads — sections that contain stories, designated as the narrative, and sections that contain prescriptions about social norms, designated as didactic. This division is by no means watertight – the didactic sections include stories, and the narrative often contains a social message. The historians give considerations to the kind of texts-whether meant for chanting rituals or telling stories. They find out the author and the ideas that shaped the text. They study the intended audience for the text. They find out the possible date of the text. They find out the place where the text was composed. They study the content of the text and understand their historical significance. The historians agree that the Mahabharata was meant to be dramatic.

(ii) Author(s) and dates : The original story was probably composed by charioteer-bards known as sutas who generally accompanied Kshatriya warriors to the battlefield and composed poems celebrating their victories and other achievements. Then from the fifth century BCE, the Brahmanas took over the story and began to commit it to writing.
During the period of c. 200 and 400 CE, large didactic sections resembling the Manusmriti were added. With these additions, a text which initially perhaps had less than 10,000 verses grew to comprise about 100,000 verses. This enormous composition is traditionally attributed to a sage named Vyasa. One of the most ambitious projects of scholarship began in 1919, under the leadership of a noted Indian Sanskritist, V.S. Sukthankar. A team comprising dozens of scholars initiated the task of preparing a critical edition of the Mahabharata.
1. Initially, it meant collecting Sanskrit manuscripts of the text, written in a variety of scripts, from different parts of the country. The team worked out a method of comparing verses from each manuscript.
2. They selected the verses that appeared common to most versions and published these in several volumes, running into over 13,000 pages. The project took 47 years to complete.
3. The manuscripts were found from Kashmir and -Nepal and Tamil Nadu. Also evident were enormous regional variations in the ways in which the text had been transmitted over the centuries. These variations were documented in footnotes and appendices to the main text. Taken together, more than half the 13,000 pages are devoted to these variations.
4. In a sense, these variations are reflective of the complex processes that shaped early (and later) social histories — through dialogues between dominant traditions and resilient local ideas and practices. These dialogues are characterized by moments of conflict as well as consensus. When issues of social history were explored, the belief that everything that was laid down in these texts was actually practiced was not always true and that they were also questioned and occasionally even rejected.

Q15
Explain how the chronicle ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ is the major source to understand agrarian history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also, explain the method of irrigation and technology used during that period. 3

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Q16
Explain the role played by Zamindars during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in India.

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Q17
“The Non-Cooperation Movement was training for self rule.” Analyze the statement of American biographer Louis Fisher in the context of Indian Nationalism.

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Solution

Gandhiji hoped that by coupling Non-cooperation with Khilafat, the Hindus and Muslims collectively will bring an end to the British rule. These movements were a surge of popular action that was unprecedented in colonial rule. The people were asked to stop attending schools, colleges and law courts, and not pay taxes. In sum, they were asked to adhere to a “renunciation of (all) voluntary association with the (British) Government ''. If non-cooperation was effectively carried out, said Gandhiji, India would win swaraj within a year.
Consequently, students stopped going to schools and colleges run by the government. Lawyers refused to attend court. The working class went on strike in many towns and cities. According to official figures, there were 396 strikes in 1921, involving 600,000 workers and a loss of seven million workdays. The countryside was filled with discontent too. Hill tribes in Northern Andhra violated the forest laws. Farmers in Awadh did not pay taxes and peasants in Kumaun refused to carry loads for colonial officials.
These protest movements were sometimes carried out in defiance of the local nationalist leadership. Peasants, workers, and others interpreted and acted upon the call to “non-cooperate” with colonial rule in ways that best suited their interests. The main ideas behind the movement were Satya, Satyagraha, Ahimsa, Self discipline. The British Raj was shaken to its foundation. The non cooperation movement brought people from different parts of the country to fight against the British. People of all castes and creeds participated in the movement. People from all classes of society participated in the movement. Khadi, promotion of village industries, Hindu-Muslim unity, abolition of untouchability, boycott of British goods and social reforms were an imporant part of the movement. The Chauri Chaura incident forced Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement.
In the words of Mahatma Gandhi’s American biographer Louis Fischer, “Non-cooperation became the name of an epoch in the life of India and of Gandhiji. Non-cooperation was negative enough to be peaceful but positive enough to be effective. It entailed denial, renunciation, and self-discipline. It was training for self-rule.”

Q18
“The Salt Satyagraha was one of the most successful campaigns in Gandhi's non-violent struggle against Britishers.” Analyze the statement.

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Solution

In the wake of the Salt Law March, nearly 60,000′ Indians were arrested, among them, of course, Gandhiji himself. The progress of Gandhi's march to the seashore can be traced from the secret reports filed by the police officials deputed to monitor his movements.
Gandhiji persuaded the citizens to stand united. The police spies reported that Gandhiji’s meetings were very well attended, by villagers of all castes. They observed thousands of volunteers flocking to the ‘ nationalist cause. Among them were many officials, who had resigned from their posts with the colonial government.
The progress of the Salt March can also be traced from another source: the American Hews magazine, ‘Time’. Earlier it despised Gandhiji’s looks, writing disdainfully, of his “spindly frame” and his “spidery loins”. Thus in its first report, Time was deeply skeptical of the Salt March reaching its destination. It claimed that Gandhiji “sank to the ground” at the end of the second day’s walking; the magazine did not believe that “the emaciated saint would be physically able to go much further”.
But within a week it had changed its mind, observing the massive popular following that the march had garnered. They then saluted Gandhiji as a “Saint” and “Statesman”, who was using “Christian acts as a weapon against men with Christian beliefs”.
The Salt March gained the world’s attention. The march was widely covered by the European and American press. It was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. The socialist activist Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay had persuaded Gandhiji not to restrict the protests to men alone. Kamaladevi was herself one of numerous women who courted arrest by breaking the salt or liquor laws. The march made the British realize that their dominance would not last forever and that they would have to devolve some power to the Indians.

Q19
Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow :
A Prayer to Agni
Here are two verses from the Rigveda invoking Agni, the god of fire :
Bring, O strong one, this sacrifice of ours to the gods. O wise one, as a liberal giver. Bestow on us, O priest, abundant food. Agni, obtain, by sacrificing, mighty wealth for us. Procure, O Agni, forever to him who prays to you (the gift of) nourishment, the wonderful cow. May a son be our offspring that continues out line.
Versus such as these were composed in a special kind of Sanskrit, known as Vedic Sanskrit. They were taught orally to men belonging to priestly families.
1. Wh

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Q20
Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow :
The One Lord
Here is a composition attributed to Kabir :
Tell me, brother, how can there be No one lord of the world but two ?
Who led you so astray ?
God is called by many names :
Names like Allah, Ram, Karim, Keshav, Hari and Hazrat.
Gold may be shaped into rings and bangles.
Isn't it gold all the same ?
Distinctions are only words we invent
Kabir ways that are both mistaken.
Neither can find the only Ram. One kills the goat,
the other cows.
They waste their lives in dis

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2019

Q11
Examine why the religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims hardly noticeable during the uprising of 1857.

Solution

Q12
Why did B. Pocker Bahadur from Madras makes a powerful plea for a continuing separate electorate in the Constituent Assembly ? Explain.

Solution

Q13
Describe the ‘Ideal of Patriliny’ and ‘Gendered access to Property prevailing during sixth century B.C.E. to sixth century C.E.

Solution

Q14
Describe the elements considered by historians to analyze Mahabharata. State the efforts of V.S. Sukthankar and his team for the preparation of the critical edition of Mahabharata.

Solution

Q15
Explain how the chronicle ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ is the major source to understand agrarian history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also, explain the method of irrigation and technology used during that period. 3

Solution

Q16
Explain the role played by Zamindars during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in India.

Solution

Q17
“The Non-Cooperation Movement was training for self rule.” Analyze the statement of American biographer Louis Fisher in the context of Indian Nationalism.

Solution

Q18
“The Salt Satyagraha was one of the most successful campaigns in Gandhi's non-violent struggle against Britishers.” Analyze the statement.

Solution

Solution

Solution

Subjects

2019

Q11 Examine why the religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims hardly noticeable during the uprising of 1857.

Solution

Q12 Why did B. Pocker Bahadur from Madras makes a powerful plea for a continuing separate electorate in the Constituent Assembly ? Explain.

Solution

Q13 Describe the ‘Ideal of Patriliny’ and ‘Gendered access to Property prevailing during sixth century B.C.E. to sixth century C.E.

Solution

Q14 Describe the elements considered by historians to analyze Mahabharata. State the efforts of V.S. Sukthankar and his team for the preparation of the critical edition of Mahabharata.

Solution

Q15 Explain how the chronicle ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ is the major source to understand agrarian history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also, explain the method of irrigation and technology used during that period. 3

Solution

Q16 Explain the role played by Zamindars during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in India.

Solution

Q17 “The Non-Cooperation Movement was training for self rule.” Analyze the statement of American biographer Louis Fisher in the context of Indian Nationalism.

Solution

Q18 “The Salt Satyagraha was one of the most successful campaigns in Gandhi's non-violent struggle against Britishers.” Analyze the statement.

Solution

Solution

Solution

Subjects

Q11
Examine why the religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims hardly noticeable during the uprising of 1857.

Q12
Why did B. Pocker Bahadur from Madras makes a powerful plea for a continuing separate electorate in the Constituent Assembly ? Explain.

Q13
Describe the ‘Ideal of Patriliny’ and ‘Gendered access to Property prevailing during sixth century B.C.E. to sixth century C.E.

Q14
Describe the elements considered by historians to analyze Mahabharata. State the efforts of V.S. Sukthankar and his team for the preparation of the critical edition of Mahabharata.

Q15
Explain how the chronicle ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ is the major source to understand agrarian history of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also, explain the method of irrigation and technology used during that period. 3

Q16
Explain the role played by Zamindars during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in India.

Q17
“The Non-Cooperation Movement was training for self rule.” Analyze the statement of American biographer Louis Fisher in the context of Indian Nationalism.

Q18
“The Salt Satyagraha was one of the most successful campaigns in Gandhi's non-violent struggle against Britishers.” Analyze the statement.