History: 2016: CBSE: [Delhi]: Set – III

Cunninghamwas an archaeologist and the first Director General of ASI. Cunningham collected,documented and translated inscriptions found duringhis surveys.

Similarity

Similarity between Be Sharia and Ba Sharia Sufis - Both were Sufis. Both protested against materialism. Both recognized the position of Prophet Muhammad and

the Quran. Both rejected dogmatic interpretations of Quran.

Dissimilarity

Be-sharia did not follow the sharia while Ba-sharia followed it. Be-sharia took to extreme asceticism and mendicancy unlike the ba-sharia. Be-sharia observed celibacy and ignored rituals.

The temperate and cool climate of the Indian hills was seen as an advantage, particularly since the British associated hot weather with epidemics like Cholera and malaria.

First the British government wrongly assumed that Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved.

The removal of the Nawab led to the dissolution of the court and its culture. Thus a whole range of people including musicians, dancers, poets, artisans, cooks, retainers, and administrative officials etc. lost their livelihood.

The prince, taluqdar and sepoys were expelled. They all identified firangi raj with the end of their world, created dissatisfaction.

Increase of revenue demand in from 30 to 70 % also created dissatisfaction among peasants, had no reasons to be happy with the annexation.

A citizen should treat any member of a minority community by recognising his/her cultural entities while assuring their cultural rights.

He should not hurt the religious sentiments of any minority community.

It is the duty of every citizen to not hurt the self respect of any person irrespective of his/her religion.

A citizen should train himself in the art of self-discipline where he/she should take care for minority community and would not let them felt as an alienated community.

Harappan seals usually have a line of writing,probably containing the name and title of the owner.

Scholars have also suggested that the motif(generally an animal) conveyed a meaning to thosewho could not read.

Most inscriptions are short, the longest containingabout 26 signs.Although the script remainsundeciphered to date, it was evidently notalphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel ora consonant) as it has just too many signs –somewhere between 375 and 400.

After the end of the Harappan civilization, this was also the period during which the Rigveda was composed.

 Agricultural settlements emerged in many parts of the subcontinent, including north India, the Deccan Plateau, and parts of Karnataka.

A new mode of disposal of the dead, including the making of elaborate stone structures known as megaliths, emerged in central and south India from the first millennium BCE.

The most visible turning point was the emergence of early states, empires and kingdoms also new towns appeared during this period.

Abdur Razzaq was an ambassador sent by the ruler of Persia to Calicut in the fifteenth century. He mentioned the following aspects of fortifications in the Vijayanagara Empire:

i. There were seven lines of forts. These encircled not only the city but also its agricultural hinterland and forests.

ii. The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the city.

iii. The massive masonry construction was slightly tapered. No mortar or cementing agent was employed anywhere in the construction.

The stone blocks were wedge shaped, which held them in place, and the inner portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble. Square or rectangular bastions projected outwards.

Al-Biruni was aware of the inherent problems in understanding Indian social and Brahamanical practices like the barrier of language. According to him, Sanskrit was so different from Arabic and Persian that ideas and concepts could not be easily translated from one language into another.

The second barrier he identified was the difference in religious beliefs and practices.

The third barrier was the self-absorption and consequent insularity of the local population.

Al-Biruni exclusively used the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavad Gita, the works of Patanjali, the Manusmriti, etc., to provide an understanding of Indian society.

The ryots saw the moneylenders as devious and deceitful. The ryot of Bombay Deccan was dependent on the moneylender. Under the Ryotwari System, the revenue was high.At times, the crop failed due to failed rains.Recurrent famines worsened the situation. To live through such times, the ryots depended on loans from the moneylender. Once a loan was taken from the moneylender, the ryot found it difficult to pay it back. The interest kept mounting and the debt remained unpaid.Apart from the farming expenditure, the ryot also needed loans for his day to day needs leading to debt.