Reshaping India’s Political Map
Short Questions
1. When was the Delhi Sultanate established?
Answer: In 1206.
2. Who defeated Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192?
Answer: Muhammad of Ghor (leading to the Delhi Sultanate).
3. What is the name of the empire established in 1336 in southern India?
Answer: Vijayanagara Empire.
4. Who was the ruler known as the ‘second Alexander’?
Answer: Ala-ud-din Khilji.
5. What tax was imposed on non-Muslims by some sultans?
Answer: Jizya.
6. Who built the Konark Sun Temple?
Answer: Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga kingdom.
7.What battle in 1565 led to the destruction of Vijayanagara city?
Answer: Battle of Talikota.
8.Who founded the Mughal Empire in India?
Answer: Babur.
9.What was Akbar’s policy of tolerance called?
Answer: Sulh-i-kul.
10.Who was the last Guru of the Sikhs?
Answer: Guru Gobind Singh.
11.What system did the Ahoms use for military and labor service?
Answer: Paik system.
12.Who built the Taj Mahal?
Answer: Shah Jahan.
13.What was the main source of wealth for rulers in this period?
Answer: Land revenue from agriculture.
14.Who resisted the Mughals at the Battle of Haldighati?
Answer: Maharana Pratap.
15.What was the iqta system used for in the Delhi Sultanate?
Answer: To assign land to nobles for collecting taxes.
Long Questions
1. How did invasions reshape India’s political map during the medieval period?
Answer: Foreign invasions by Turkic, Afghan, and Mongol rulers led to the fall of old kingdoms and the rise of new ones like the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. This caused constant wars, new boundaries, and the growth of regional powers like Vijayanagara and Ahoms that resisted control.
2. What were the main features of the Delhi Sultanate’s rule?
Answer: The Delhi Sultanate had five dynasties, focused on military expansion, temple destruction, and heavy taxes, but faced instability with short reigns and rebellions. It introduced systems like iqta for administration and brought changes in cities, trade, and culture in northern India.
3.Describe Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s ambitious but failed plans.
Answer: He shifted the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, causing hardship and deaths, and later moved it back. He also introduced token currency, but it led to confusion, fake coins, and economic problems.
4. How did the Vijayanagara Empire become powerful under Krishnadevaraya?
Answer: Krishnadevaraya expanded the empire through wars, supported arts, literature, and temples, and wrote a Telugu poem on good governance. The empire grew rich from trade and agriculture, but fell after defeat at Talikota in 1565.
5.What changes did Akbar bring to the Mughal Empire?
Answer: Akbar expanded the empire through wars and alliances, abolished jizya, promoted religious tolerance with sulh-i-kul, and appointed Hindus to high posts. He also started translations of Indian texts and improved administration with the mansabdari system.
6.Why did Aurangzeb’s rule lead to the decline of the Mughal Empire?
Answer: Aurangzeb expanded the empire but faced endless rebellions, high costs from wars in the Deccan, and religious intolerance by reimposing jizya and destroying temples. This weakened the treasury, army, and unity, causing quick decline after his death.
7. How did the Rajputs resist foreign invasions?
Answer: Rajput rulers like Rana Kumbha, Rana Sanga, and Maharana Pratap fought battles like Haldighati using forts, guerrilla tactics, and alliances with tribes like Bhils. They rebuilt kingdoms, preserved independence in Rajasthan, and showed bravery through acts like jauhar.
8. What was the role of the Ahoms in resisting the Mughals?
Answer: The Ahoms used their paik system for a strong army, knowledge of rivers and forests for guerrilla fights, and won battles like Saraighat in 1671. They kept independence in Assam by blending local culture, promoting agriculture, and defeating larger Mughal forces.
9. How did the Sikh community respond to persecution?
Answer: Sikh Gurus like Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur faced torture and death for refusing conversion, leading to martial training and the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. This built a community focused on equality, justice, and defense, unifying into an empire under Ranjit Singh.
10. What was the economic life like for people in medieval India?
Answer: Agriculture was the main activity with high taxes on peasants, while trade in textiles, spices, and crafts grew through ports and hundi system. Temples acted as economic centers for markets and credit, but wars and famines made life hard for common people.
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