Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Extra Questions Chapter 1 Class 7 Geography
Chapter 1 Tracing Changes through a thousand years Class 7 History Extra Questions is very helpful in solving all the difficult questions that could come in the examinations. These Extra Questions for Class 7 will useful in scoring high marks and understand the chapter in well manner.
Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs):
1. In which century the teachings of the holy Quran first came to India?
Answer
7th century
2. Name the two sects of Islam.
Answer
Shia and sunni.
3. Minhaj-i-Siraj used the term 'Hindustan' to refer the areas of Punjab, Haryana and ______.
Answer
Doab of Ganga-Yamuna.
4. Dvarsamudri was the language spoken in ______.
Answer
Karnataka.
5. Name the language that was considered as the elite class language.
Answer
Sanskrit.
6. What does the term 'foreigner' meant in the past?
Answer
The one who was not a part of a specific social unit like village or city etc.
7. Who is Cartographer?
Answer
Cartographer is the one who makes maps and analyses them and thus helps us in understanding the spread of trade and empire.
8. Amir Khusrau described Mabari as the language of ______.
Answer
Tamil Nadu.
9. In early medieval period, manuscripts were copied by ______.
Answer
Hands.
10. Who divided the history of India into Hindu period, Muslim period and British period in 19th century?
Answer
British historians.
11. Early medieval period saw worship of new ______.
Answer
Deities.
12. The 'Persian wheel' was used in ______.
Answer
Irrigation.
13. Ajnabi is a ______ word.
Answer
Persian.
14. Who were the Ulemas?
Answer
Theologians and Jurists.
15. The learned theologians and jurists in Islam are known as ______.
Answer
Ulama.
16. Name the Sultan of Delhi, who was praised in the prashasti written in Sanskrit.
Answer
Balban.
17. What was the meaning of the term Shikaste?
Answer
A writing style.
18. Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, a major work on medieval India was written by ______.
Answer
Ziauddin Barani.
19. Who made Maps in 1154 AD?
Answer
The Arab geographer Al-Idrisi made maps in 1154 AD.
20. Name the book written by Shihabuddin Umari.
Answer
Masalik al- Absar fi Mamalik al- Amsar.
21. Define the term 'habitat'?
Answer
The term ‘habitat’ refers to the environment of a region and the social and economic lifestyle of its residents.
22. Which period is known as the medieval period?
Answer
The period from roughly 700 to 1750 is known as the medieval period.
Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Short Answer Questions (SAQs):
1. In the Medieval period, for whom was the term foreigner used?
Answer
In the medieval period, a "foreigner" was any stranger who was not a part of a particular society or culture. Therefore, a forest-dweller might have been regarded as a "foreigner", by 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.
2. Why did Brahmanas become important in Hindu society in the early 8th century?
Answer
Brahmanas became important during this period due to the following reasons:
• They had knowledge of Sanskrit texts, which made them respectable in the society.
• They had support of their patrons, who were new rulers and searching for prestige.
3. What were 'jatis'? How were the affairs of jatis regulated?
Answer
As society became more differentiated, people were grouped into jatis or sub-castes. They were ranked on the basis of their backgrounds and occupations. The status of same jati could vary from area to area. Jatis framed their own rules and regulations to administer the behaviour of their members. An assembly of elders, described in some areas as the jati panchayat, enforced these regulations. Besides they had to follow rules of their village. Several villages were governed by a chieftain.
4. What were the major developments in the religious traditions between 700 and 1750?
Answer
Period between 700 and 1750 witnessed major developments in religious traditions.
• During this period, some important changes occurred in Hinduism. Worship of new deities and construction of temples by Kings began. The importance of Brahmana and priests increased. They became dominant groups in the society.
• Another major development was emergence of the idea of Bhakti in which devotees did not require the aid of priests or elaborate rituals to reach their personal deity.
• During this period, new religions also appeared in the subcontinent. Teachings of the Holy Quran were brought to India in the 7th century by merchants and migrants.
5. Describe the major developments in religion and the religious traditions?
Answer
During this period many changes were witnessed in religion. Peoples belief in the divine was sometimes personal and at other times collective. Other changes occurred in what we call 'Hinduism' today, as Brahmans earned a lot of respect in society. There was an emergence of the idea of "Bhakti" of a loving, personal deity that devotees could reach without the aid of priests or elaborate rituals.
6. Who coined the term "Hindustan" in the thirteenth century and which areas were covered under it?
Answer
The term ‘Hindustan’ was used in the thirteenth century by Minhaj-i-Siraj, a chronicler who wrote in Persian. The areas that he used this term for were Punjab, Haryana, and the lands between Ganga and Yamuna. He used the term in political terms for the land that came under the Delhi Sultan.
7. Describe the difficulties faced by historians in using manuscripts?
Answer
There was no printing press in those days so the writers copied manuscripts by hands. As a result of coping there occurred small but significant differences in the manuscripts. Small changes were introduced a word here, a sentence there. Slowly and steadily as copying over centuries grew so the original writing was lost somewhere. Reading these manuscripts over the centuries proved to be difficult and the historians had to face difficulties.
8. Why was there a dramatic increase in the variety of textual records between 700 to 1750 CE?
Answer
During this period, paper became cheaper and widely available. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the variety of textual records between 700 to 1750 CE. People started using paper to write holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters and teachings of saints, petitions and judicial records and for registers of accounts and taxes.
9. Why the British Historians periodization of Indian history is not correct one?
Answer
The British Historians periodized Indian history as Hindu India, Muslim India and British India. This periodization focused only on the religions of the ruler and rejected the rich diversity of the Indian subcontinent. It did not serve the very purpose of the periodization. That is to say, to capture the characteristics of each periods in the history. Apart from this, to study history from religious perspective is not a rational and scientific way. That is why Indian historians have shifted the periodization to non-religious periodization- Ancient, Medieval and Modern periods.
10. What are historical sources? How are sources helpful to historians?
Answer
Historical sources are important to trace the ancient records. Historians use these sources to learn about the past depending upon the period of their study and the nature of their investigation. The different sources of Historical studies are:
• Archeological - Includes Monuments, temples, coins, tombs, ornaments and paintings.
• Literary - Includes Chronicles, autobiographies, farmans, religious books, inscriptions.
11. The period between 700 and 1750 CE witnessed great technological changes. Explain.
Answer
At different moments in this period new technologies made their appearance such as the Persian wheel in irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving and firearms in combat. New foods and beverages like potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee arrived in the subcontinent. It is worth-mentioning that all these innovations (technologies and crops) came along with people.
12. Mention different groups of people that emerged between 700 and 1750. Which group of people became most important and Why?
Answer
The period between 700 and 1750 was the period of great mobility. Groups of people such as the Rajputs, Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas travelled long distances in search of opportunity because the subcontinent held immense wealth. The Rajputs among them became important. They were warriors who claimed Kshatriya caste status. They came to be known for their extreme valour and a great sense of loyalty.
13. Describe the different languages used in this period?
Answer
In this period, various languages were used, in every region. Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri, Dvarsamudri, Telangani, Gujari, Awadhi and Hindawi.
14. Mention the vegetables, beverages and technologies that came to Indian subcontinent from other continents?
Answer
Vegetables such as corn, chilies, potatoes, and beverages such as tea and coffee and new technologies like Persian wheel for irrigation and spinning wheel in textile industry and firearms to be used in battle came to the subcontinent from other continents.
Chapter 1 Tracing Changes Through a Thousand Years Long Answer Questions (LAQs):
1. Why was the information from the manuscripts difficult to use during the thousand years?
Answer
During this period, there was no printing press so the manuscripts were copied by the scribes by hand. The copying of the manuscripts relied upon the accuracy of the scribes. While copying the manuscripts, the scribes made unintentional errors. At times, scribes would also correct the spelling, grammar and alter what they believed to be mistakes inherent in the text. They amended apparent historical and geographical errors. These small differences grew over centuries of copying until manuscripts of the same text became substantially different from one another. As a result, historians find it difficult to use the information from the manuscript and have to read different manuscript versions of the same text to guess what the author had originally written.
2. What do you understand by the Discontinuity in historical Sources?
Answer
Historians use coins, inscriptions, and manuscripts for reconstructing the history of ancient period. Very few original manuscripts are available and manuscripts which are available are the reproduction of scribes and some times information provided in these sources are not reliable. As scribe fails to understand the information given in the Historical text which led to the misinterpretation of facts. And moreover there is a lack of continuity as text do not follow time line. In Medieval period use of paper to issue Royal orders began instead of inscriptions. As paper has less durability than inscription caused the discontinuity in the availability of historical sources.
3. Who were the Rajputs?
Answer
• The name Rajput is derived from "Rajaputra", the son of a ruler.
• Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, a body of warriors who were Kshatriya by caste was termed as Rajputs.
• The Rajputs were not just rulers and chieftains, but also soldiers and commanders who served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent. This group of people became important in this period.
• Poets and bards of these Rajput rulers ascribed some great qualities, such as great valour and immense sense of loyalty, to these rulers.