Class - VII

Notes
Complete
History
Crafted with love #Together we can, we will
By Digraj Singh Rajput
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CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Introduction:
❖ Understand the heading? What types of changes?
Let us understand with the example.

A section of the world map drawn by the The subcontinent, from the early-eighteenth century Atlas
geographer Al-Idrisi in the twelfth century showing Nouveau of Guillaume de l’Isle.
the Indian subcontinent from land to sea. Map was made in 1720’s by a french cartographer
Made in 1154 CE
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Introduction:
❖ What do you understand in context of this chapter?
➢ When historians read documents, text and maps from the past they have to be
sensitive to the different historical backgrounds the context in which information
about the past was produced.
❖ What we are going to study in this chapter?
➢ New and old terminologies.
➢ Historian and their sources.
➢ New social and political groups
■ Rajputs and Jatis.
➢ Religion and Empire.
➢ Old and new religion.
➢ Thinking about time and historical period.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
New and Old Terminologies:
❖ If the information change with time then language and meaning can also change.

E.g. Medieval Persian and modern Persian are different

[vocabulary, grammar, etc]

➔ Today the term “Hindustan” stands for the modern

nation state India.
But, In thirteenth century Minaj - I - Siraj used the
term form areas of punjab, Haryana and the lands
between Ganga and Yamuna. [Delhi sultanate area]
➔ Babur used the term Hindustan to describe the
geography. [Fauna, Culture of subcontinent]
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
New and Old Terminologies:
❖ Historian have to be very careful about the term they use. Why?

Because they meant different things in the past.

For example - A simple term like “Foreigner”

अब क्या मतलब होता

है ?

पहले क्या मतलब

होता था?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Historians and their Sources:
❖ This year, roughly, we are going to study the thousand years from 700 to 1750.

What are the sources to study history.

Historians still rely on coins, inscriptions, architecture and textual records.

Textual records increased in the period.

Old Historical Coins Inscriptions Architecture

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Historians and their Sources:
❖ Textual records [Increased]

Through this period paper become cheaper and was available more widely.

● People wrote holy texts.

● Chronicles of rulers were written.
● Letters and teaching of saints, petitions and judicial records.
❖ This all become the sources of history for historians.

But how it was circulated

Because there were no printing press at that time.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Manuscripts and Scribes:
❖ What are Manuscripts??? ❖ Who are Scribes?

Handwritten books usually collected

by wealthy people, rulers monasteries Excellent copy writers who copied manuscripts by
and temples. They were kept in hand.
libraries and archives.

Manuscripts were written by scribes.

❖ As scribes copied manuscripts they also introduced small changes. How?

● This small changes grew subsequently on further copying.

● Some text became substantially different from one another.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Manuscripts and Scribes:
❖ Authors revised their chronicles at different times These were handwritten

Often created confusion.

Example : The fourteenth - century chronicler Ziyauddin Barani.

Wrote his first chronicle in 1356.

Another version was written 2 years later.

❖ Both were different from each other but historians did

not know about the existence of the first version until
Ziyauddin Barani the 1960’s. Why?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
New Social and Political Groups:
❖ History of the years between 700 and 1750 had observed variety of Social and Political
development.
Example:- Persian wheel in irrigation, spinning wheel in weaving & firearms in combat.

Persian wheel for irrigation Spinning wheel in weaving Firearms in combat

❖ Arrival of new foods and beverages. कैसे आए??

Potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee

❖ Along with all this new ideas also came in subcontinent.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
New Social and Political Groups:
❖ This was a period of great mobility.

Movement of people In search of opportunity

❖ One group of people who became important in this period were Rajputs.
Rajaputra Rajput
[Son of Ruler]
➔ The term included ‘rulers’, soldiers [Kshatriya] and commanders who served in the armies.
➔ A chivalric code of conduct-

Qualities such as extreme valour and a great sense of loyalty were attributed to Rajputs by
the poets and boards.
❖ Similarly, other social groups such as Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms and Kayasthas also
emerged as a politically important groups during this period.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Emergence of Jatis:
❖ Clearing of forest Change in the habitat of forest - Dwellers

Started tilling the land and became Peasants.

Slowly they started influencing the society and became

part of large complex societies.

Economic and social differences

With more differentiated society, people were grouped into

Jatis or sub-caste.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Emergence of Jatis:
❖ Jatis were grouped on the basis of their backgrounds and their occupations.

Ranks were not fixed permanently.

The status of the same jatis could vary from area to area.

❖ Jatis formed their own rules and regulations To manage the conduct of their members.

Were enforced by an assembly of elders

Jati Panchayat

❖ Jatis were also required to follow the rules of villages Governed by chieftain
❖ Together they form one small unit of state.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Region and Empire:
❖ Large states like Cholas, Tughlaqs or Mughals encompassed many regions.
E.g - A sanskrit Prashasti praising the Delhi sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban.

Explaining that the ruler had a vast empire

from Bengal to Afghanistan.
Historical Prashasti
❖ Historians regard these as
exaggerated claims of conquests.

❖ Why did the rulers kept claiming to

have control over different parts of
the subcontinent.

Ghiyasuddin Balban
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Region and Empire:
❖ By 700 AD there were many kingdoms having distinct geographical dimensions, their own
language and cultural characteristics.

❖ Occasionally dynasties like the Cholas, Khaljis, Tughlaq's and Mughals were able to build an
empire that was Pan-regional. [Including diverse regions]

With the decline of Mughal Empire, there was re-emergence of regional states.

But the years of Imperial, pan-regional rule had altered the character of regional
empire. How?

Adoption of style of governance, the management of the economy.

Elite cultures and the language was infused in regional kingdom.
∴ We can say that character of different regions did not grew in isolation.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Language and Region
❖ Amir Khusrau observed a different language in every
region of this land: Sindhi, Lahori, Kashmiri,
Dwarasamudra (in southern Karnataka), Telangani (in
Andhra Pradesh), Gujari (in Gujarat), Ma‘bari (in Tamil
Nadu), Gauri, (in Bengal) … Awadhi (in eastern Uttar
Pradesh) and Hindawi (in the area around Delhi).
❖ Amir Khusrau went on to explain that in contrast to
these languages there was Sanskrit which did not
belong to any region. It was an old language and
Amir Khusrau “common people do not know it, only the Brahmanas
do”.
❖ Did you notice that the names by which languages are
known have changed over time?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Old and New Religions:
❖ Religion People’s belief in the divine = Personal

Beliefs connected with the social But it was practised in a collective way.
and economical organisation.

Changes in social and economic ideas = Changes in religious beliefs.

E.g: Changes in hinduism [ Worship of new deities, growing importance of brahmans etc.]
: Dominance of Bhramans why? [Knowledge of sanskrit, support of patrons]
: Emergence of the idea of bhakti

Devotion of the devotees towards a loving, personal deity and where the aid of
priests or elaborate rituals were not required to praise deity.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Old and New Religions:
❖ Other major religious changes that occured during periods were
➢ New religious appeared [Islam and Quran]

● Many rulers were patrons of Islam and Ulama.

● Like Hinduism, Islam was also interpreted in a variety of ways.

Shia muslims Sunni Muslims

Believed in the Ali as the Believed and accepted the

legitimate leader of authority of the khalifas
Muslim Community. and succeeding khalifas.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Thinking About Time and Historical Periods:
❖ Time reflects changes in social and economic organisation, transformation of ideas and
beliefs.
Depending on this, time can be divided into periods

[posses shared characteristics]

British historians divided the history of India into three periods

Hindu Muslim British

❖ Such division ignored the rich diversity of the subcontinent. कैसे ?

∴ Only a few historians follow this periodisation.

❖ History is not only about the ruler and religion, it include a wide range of early
societies-hunter-gatherers, early farmers, people living in towns and villages.
∴ This is all included in Medieval history.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
Thinking About Time and Historical Periods:
❖ Medieval history explains the changes which occurred between eleventh to eighteenth
century.

Ancient Medieval Morden

Differences
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
1. Who was considered a ‘Foreigner’ in the past?
Answer: The term ‘Foreigner’ is used to refer to any stranger who appeared in any village.
The words ‘Pardesi’ and ‘Ajnabi’ were synonymous of the word Foreigner. These words were
used by citizens of that place or village to refer to any person who arrived for some work for a
short time and who was not a part of that society or culture.
2. State true or false:
(a) We do not find inscriptions for the period after 700. False
(b) The Marathas asserted their political importance during this period. True
(c) Forest-dwellers were sometimes pushed out of their lands with the spread of agricultural
settlements. True
(d) Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban controlled Assam, Manipur and Kashmir. False
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
3. Fill in the blanks:
(a)Archives are places where ______________are kept.
(b) ___________ was a fourteenth-century chronicler.
(c) ___, _____, _____, ________ and _______ were some of the new crops introduced into the
subcontinent during this period.
Answers: (a) manuscripts
(b) Ziyauddin Barani
(c) Potatoes, corn, chillies, tea, coffee
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
4. List some of the technological changes associated with this period.
Answer: The technological changes are
● Use of Persian wheel in irrigation.
● Use of spinning wheel in weaving.
● Use of firearms in battlefield.
5. What were some of the major religious developments during this period?
Answer: Some of the major religious developments during this period were as follows:
● People started worship of new deities.
● Rulers helped in the construction of temples.
● Importance of Brahmans, the priests class grew.
● Sanskrit became the language of learned Brahmans and were patronised by emperors.
● Merchants and migrants brought holy quran with them.
● Idea of bhakti emerged among all the people.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
6. In what ways has the meaning of the term “Hindustan” changed over the centuries?
Answer: The term ‘Hindustan’ has changed over the centuries in the following ways:
● For the first time, in the 13th century, Minhaj-i-Siraj used the term ‘Hindustan’. By
‘Hindustan’ he meant the areas of Punjab. Haryana and the land between Ganga and
Yamuna rivers.
● The poet Amir Khusrau used this term in his poems in 14th century.
● in the 16th century, Babur used the term to describe the geography, the fauna and the
culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinent.
● Important point is that the term ‘Hindustan’ did not carry the political and national
meaning as we use it today.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
7. How were the affairs of jatis regulated?
Answer: The affairs of Jati were regulated in the following ways:
● Jatis were grouped or divided as per their family backgrounds and occupations that their
family carried on. People had to accept these rules.
● Jatis were the sub-castes as per the power, influence and resources controlled by members
of the Jati.
● An assembly or group of elders was responsible for enforcing these regulations and were
called as Jati Panchayat.
● However, the Jati or caste of one area vary that of other areas in many aspects.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
8. What does the term ‘Pan-regional Empire’ mean?
Answer: By 700 AD, many regions of indian sub-continent already possessed distinct geographical
dimensions and their own language and cultural characteristics. An empire comprises of the areas of
many smaller regions or smaller kingdoms. Pan-regional empire was developed in different dynasties.
E.g the empires of Chola, Tughlaq and Mughals without losing their distinctiveness.
9. What are the difficulties historians face in using manuscripts?
Answers: In early days manuscripts were handwritten. They used palm leaves which was difficult to
maintain. Later, paper became cheaper and more widely available. People used it to write holy texts,
chronicles of rulers, letters and teaching of saints etc. there was no printing press in those days, so
scribes copied manuscripts by hand.
As scribes copied manuscripts, sometimes they introduced changes according to their own. So, the
different manuscripts of the same text became substantially different from one another over the
centuries. Historians have to read the different versions and guess what the author had originally
written.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRACING CHANGES THROUGH A THOUSAND YEARS
NCERT Solutions:
10. How do historians divide the past into periods? Do they face any problems in doing so?
Answer: For any historians, time is not just passing of hours, days or years. Instead, it is the
reflection of social, economic, cultural and religious changes that occur through the ages.
Division of past events, happening into large segments that is periods, make it easy to study
time for any historians. British historians divided the history of India into three periods: Hindu,
Muslim and British.
This division was based on the idea that the religion of rulers was the only important historical
change.
But these division ignored the rich diversity of the Indians subcontinent. Mot historians take
social and economic factors into account in order to characterise the major elements of different
moments of the past. Historians thus faced difficulties to described the entire period as one
historical unit.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Introduction:
❖ New kings and kingdoms Many dynasties emerged after seventh century
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Introduction:
❖ Why we are studying them? Was anything different in them?

❖ What we are going to studying this chapter?

➢ The emergence of new dynasties.
➢ How administration was carried out in kingdoms.
➢ Prashastis and land Grants.
➢ Warfare for wealth [Tripartite struggle, Mahmud of Ghazni, Muhammad Ghori]
➢ Study of cholas:
■ Kingdoms, temples, agriculture and irrigation.
■ The Administration of Empire.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
The Emergence of New Dynasties:

Kings

Landlords or warrior chiefs

❖ They were acknowledged as the subordinates to kings known as Samantas.

➢ Samants gave gifts to their kings or overload.
➢ They provide military support to the king.
❖ But situations changed after the samantas gained power and wealth.

They declared themselves to be Maha-Samanta, Maha-Mandlaleshvara.

Sometimes they asserted their independence from their overloads

E.g Rashtrakuta chief Dantidurga क्या कया था?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
The Emergence of New Dynasties:

❖ Initially, Rashtrakutas were the chalukyas of Karnataka.

In the mid-eighth century, Dantidurga overthrew his chalukyan

overboard and performed a ritual called
Hiranya-garbha [The golden womb]

It was a ritual performed by non-kashatriyas to become

kashatriyas or rulers.

❖ Was it important to be kshatriya in order to become a ruler.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
The Emergence of New Dynasties:
❖ Men from enterprising family [vaishya] also became rulers, established their kingdom.

E.g Kadamba Mayurasharman and the

Gurjara-pratihara Harichandra were Brahamans

But gave up their traditional

KINGDOM OF KADAMBA professions and took to arms
MAYURASHARMAN

Established kingdoms in Karnataka and

Rajasthan respectively.

Kingdom of Gujara-pratihara
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Administration in the Kingdoms:
❖ कहानी ऊंची दुकान फीके पकवान की

Many kings adopted high sounding titles like, Inspite this, they shared power
Maharaja-adhiraja, Tribhuvana-chakravartin with their samantas peasants
traders and brahamans. Why

[Great king, [lord of the

overload of kings] three worlds] For effective administration

How??
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Administration in the Kingdoms:
❖ Resources were obtained from the producers Peasants, cattle-keepers, artisans

They were compelled to surrender a

part of what they produced as tax.
Sometimes claimed as “rent”.
● These resources were used to finance the king’s establishment, construction of temples and
forts.
● They were also used to fight wars.

❖ Function of revenue collection was generally done by functionaries from influential families,
positions were often heredity.
❖ Same was true for army also कैसे?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Four Hundred Taxes:
❖ Collection of taxes was very essential to run the empire.

The inscriptions of the cholas who ruled in Tamil Naidu

provides an evidence of this

Used more than 400 terms for different kinds of taxes.

➔ Vetti Tax in the form f forced labour
➔ Kadamai Land revenue

❖ Taxes were imposed on thatching house, using ladder to climb palm trees
a cess on succession to family property etc.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Prashastis and Land Grants:
❖ What are Prashastis?

➔ Prashastis are the metal plates which contains details

about the ruler, these prashastis were written by the
Brahmans in sanskrit and regional languages.

➔ The detail given in the prashastis may not be literally true. But they tell us how rulers
wanted to depict themselves-as valiant, victorious warriors.
◆ E.g The “achievements” of Nagabhata

The kings of Andhra, Saindhava (Sind), Vidarbha (part of Maharashtra) and Kalinga
(part of Orissa) fell before him even as he was a prince … He won a victory over
Chakrayudha (the ruler of Kanauj) … He defeated the king of Vanga (part of
Bengal), Anarta (part of Gujarat), Malava (part of Madhya Pradesh), Kirata (forest
peoples), Turushka (Turks), Vatsa, Matsya (both kingdoms in north India) …
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Prashastis and Land Grants:
❖ As learned, Brahmans composed prashastis.

Kings often rewarded Brahmans by grants of land.

These grants were recorded on copper plates, which were given

to these who received the land.

Land grants

❖ What was given with the land?

➢ Resources of that land, Right to collect tax, Permission for construction of
wells, canals and houses.
Important fact
➔ History of kings who ruled over kashmir was composed by an author named kalhana.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Warfare for Wealth:
❖ Ruling dynasties have their specific region to rule.

But at the same time they tried to control other areas. Why?

● To increase their power.

● To acquire more wealth.
● To capture the resources etc.
❖ We have three such examples of warfare for wealth.

● Tripartite struggle for Kannauj.

● Attack of Mahmud Ghazni.
● Prithviraja III v/s Muhammad Ghori.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Warfare for Wealth:
❖ Kanauj was very important, prosperous city in ganga valley.

● Rulers belonging to Gurjara-Pratihara,

Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties fought
to have control over kanauj.

● Historians often describe it as the

“Tripartite struggle”.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Attacks of Ghazni and Ghori:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Attacks of Ghazni and Ghori:
❖ Rulers demonstrate their power and resources by building large temples.

∴ They were often attacked [Extremely rich]

E.g Attacks of Sultan Mahmud Ghazni, Afghanistan.

● He ruled from 997 to 1030.

● He controlled parts of central Asia, Iran and
north-western part of the subcontinent.
● He raided subcontinent almost every year, his
main targets were wealthy temples.
E.g: Somnath temple, Gujarat
● Much of the wealth he plundered was used to
create his splendid capital city at Ghazni.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Attacks of Ghazni and Ghori:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Attacks of Ghazni and Ghori:
❖ Sultan Mahmud entrusted a scholar named Al-Biruni why?

To write about his activities, information of subcontinent

and people he conquered.

Wrote ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ in arabic

❖ This book became a important source for historians.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Attacks of Ghazni and Ghori:
❖ Other such rulers who were engaged in the warfare to acquire wealth were
chahamanas [chauhans]

● They ruled around the regions of Delhi and Ajmer.

● They attempted to expand their control to the west and east. Expansion for Wealth

∴ Opposed by the chalukyas of Gujarat and Gahadavalas of

western Uttar Pradesh.

❖ The best-known chahamanas ruler was Prithviraja III

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Attacks of Ghazni and Ghori:
Prithviraja III [1168 - 1192] Muhammad Ghori

v/s

❖ Muhammad Ghori attacked over delhi in 1191, this time he was defeated by Prithviraja III

❖ But he attacked again in very next year [1192], this time Prithviraja III was defeated.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
A Closer Look: The Cholas;

Story of Chola Empire

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
A Closer Look: The Cholas;
❖ From Uraiyur to Thanjavur
➢ How did cholas rise to power?

Pallavas
v/s Vijayalaya
Mutharaiyar
Samant to pallavas hold
power in kaveri delta Chiefly family of [Uraiyur],
(Thanjavur) defeated Mutharaiyar and
captured Thanjavur.

Victorious

● He built the town of Thanjavur and a temple

for Goddess Nishumbhasudini there.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
A Closer Look: The Cholas;
❖ The successors of vijayalaya conquered neighbouring regions and kingdom

Pandyan and Pallava territories were made part of Chola kingdom

Pandya Empire
Pallava Kingdom

❖ Further expansion took place under Rajaraja I. He is considered as the most powerful Chola
ruler.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
A Closer Look: The Cholas:

Rajaraja - I

● Became king in 985.

● He expanded control over most of the area.
● Reorganised the administration of the empire.

Rajendra - I

● Son of Rajaraja-I.
● He also continued the policy of expansion and even raided
the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka and countries of Southeast
Asia.
● He is credited for developing a navy for these expeditions. Rajaraja I with his Guru
● He is also tilted as “Gangaikonda”. why? Karuvuruvar
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
A Closer Look: The Cholas:

World map showing Chola Empire

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Splendid Temples and Bronze Sculpture:
❖ The big temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram, built by Rajaraja and Rajendra-I
are architectural and sculptural marvels.

Temple of Thanjavur Built by Rajaraja I Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Splendid Temples and Bronze Sculpture:
❖ Chola temples often became the nuclei of settlements. मतलब

➢ There were centers of craft production around temples.

➢ Temples were also given land by ruler and other.

Agriculture produce used for maintaining all the specialist who

worked and lived near temple.

Priests, garland maker, cooks, sweeper,

musician, dancers etc.
∴ We can say that temples were not only the place of worship.

They were the hub of economic, social cultural life as well.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Splendid Temples and Bronze Sculpture:
❖ Temples There were many crafts associated with it.

The making of Bronze images was the most distinctive.

❖ Bronze image of chola period were considered as

the finest in the world.

While most image were of deities sometimes

images were made of devotees as well.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Agriculture and Irrigation:
❖ Cholas focused on the development of agriculture. Why?

Look at the area of Chola Empire.

River Kaveri and fertile soil are the reason for the
agricultural development.
❖ Under Chola Period -
➢ Large scale cultivation was started, forest was cleared, land was levelled. Embankments
were made to prevent flooding and canal were constructed to carry water to the fields.
In many areas two crops were grown in a year.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Agriculture and Irrigation:
❖ To provide water to the crops, artificial arrangements were made.

A variety of methods were used for irrigation.

● Wells were dug.

● Tanks were constructed to collect rainwater.
● Canal were used to supply water.

❖ These whole work requires planning, organising and maintaining variety of issues.

Rulers and people living in village took an active interest in these activities.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
The Administration of the Empire:
❖ Again the question of Kingdom and administration.

How was the administration organised?

ur
❖ Settlement of peasant = ur = Nadu
ur ur
[Group of village]
ur

The village council and the nadu performed

several administrative functions.

E.g. Providing justice and collecting taxes.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
The Administration of the Empire:
❖ Peasant of vellala caste had a major control over the affairs of the nadu.
❖ Some rich landowners were given titles from chola kings.

Muvendavelan
[A peasant serving three kings]

Araiya
[Chief]

With these title they were entrusted with important offices.

❖ Brahmanas received land grants in the form of Brahmadeya.
∴ Large no. of Brahmins settled in the Kaveri valley.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
The Administration of the Empire:
Sabha

[Assembly of Prominent Brahmana landholders]

They looked after the Brahmadeya.

कैसे बनती थी?

❖ The working of sabha was recorded in detail in inscriptions. काम क्या होता था?
❖ Another important group was Nagarams

● Associations of traders.
● Occasionally performed administrative functions
in towns.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Inscriptions and Texts:
❖ Inscriptions provide us the details about the sabha.

❖ Sabha has separate committees to look after

various works.

Committees for irrigation works, gardens, temples

etc.

❖ Who were the members?

Inscription from Uttaramerur in ❖ How did they become members?

Chingleput district of Tamil Nadu.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Inscriptions and Texts:
Who could be a member of a Sabha? Election process of member?
All those who wish to become members of
the sabha should be owners of land from ● Name of the eligible member were
which land revenue is collected. written on the small tickets of palm leaf.
They should have their own homes.
They should be between 35 and 70 years of These tickets were put into an
age. earthenware pot.
They should have knowledge of the Vedas.
They should be well-versed in administrative A young boy was asked to take out the
matters and honest.
ticket for each committee.
If anyone has been a member of any
committee in the last three years, he cannot
become a member of another committee.
Anyone who has not submitted his accounts,
and those of his relatives, cannot contest the
elections.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
Types of Land:
❖ Under chola empire there was several types of land.

Chola inscriptions provides as the record of following.

Vellanvagai
land of non-Brahmana peasant proprietors.

Brahmadeya
land gifted to Brahmanas.

Shalabhoga
land for the maintenance of a school.

Devadana, Tirunamattukkani
land gifted to temples.

Pallichchhandam
land donated to Jaina institutions.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
NCERT Solutions:
1. Match the columns:
(a) Gurjara-Pratiharas Western Deccan
(b) Rashtrakutas Bengal
(c) Palas Gujarat and Rajasthan
(d) Cholas Tamil Nadu
2. Who were the parties involved in the “Tripartite Struggle”?
Answer: The parties involved in the “Tripartite Struggle” were Gurjara-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta
and Pala dynasties.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
NCERT Solutions:
3. What were the qualifications necessary to become a member of a committee of the sabha in
the Chola empire?
Answer: The prescribed qualification necessary to become a member of a committee of the
sabha in the chola empire were
● Should have their own homes.
● Should be between 35 to 70 years of age.
● Should have knowledge of the Vedas.
● Should be well acquainted in administrative matters and honest. Anyone who has been a
member in last three years cannot become a member.
● Should have submitted his accounts and those of his relatives.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
NCERT Solutions:
4. What were the two major cities under the control of the Chahamanas?
Answer: The two major cities under the control of the Chahamanas were Delhi and Ajmer.
5. How did the Rashtrakutas become powerful?
Answer: Rashtrakutas become powerful in the following ways:
● In the beginning Rashtrakutas were subordinates to the Chalukyas of Karnataka.
● In the mid-8th century Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief, overthrew this Chalukya overload.
● He performed a ritual called Hiranya-Garbha with the help of Brahmans.
● This ritual was then, considered to lead the rebirth of the sacrifice as Kshatriya, even if he
was not a Kshatriya born.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
NCERT Solutions:
6. What did the new dynasties do to gain acceptance?
Answer: The new dynasties undertook the following things to gain acceptance
● The new dynasties were based in some specific region.
● They tried to control other areas.
● The most prized area was the city of Kanauj in the Ganga valley.
● Rulers belonging to Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas and the Palas fought against each
other to get control of Kanauj for centuries.
● New temples were built to demonstrate ruler’s power and wealth. They attacked other’s
kingdom and used to plunder the temples of the capital so as to gain wealth.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
NCERT Solutions:
7. What kind of irrigation works were developed in the Tamil region?
Answer: During 5th or 6th century, the area of Tamil Nadu was opened up for large scale
cultivation. A variety of new methods were discovered for irrigation. In many areas wells were
dug.
Huge tanks were constructed for rainwater storage. Water was carried to the far off fields
through canals to the fields.
Forests were cleared, land was levelled and in delta region, embankments were made to prevent
flooding.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - NEW KINGS AND KINGDOMS
NCERT Solutions:
8. What were the activities associated with Chola temples?
Answer: Multiple activities were associated with Chola temples
● Settlements emerged around the temples.
● Land grants were given to temple by kings and others. The produce of such land went for
the livelihood of priests, garland makers, cooks, sweepers, musicians, dancers, etc.
● Temples were not only places of worship but also the hub of economic, social and cultural
life as well.
● Crafts making was carried on by craftsman making bronze image of deities and devotees.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Introduction:
❖ Let’s move from South to North.

Kingdom of Delhi

How did Delhi became and

important center?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?

➔ Background: The ruler of Delhi

➔ Sources of information about Delhi Sultans:
● The concept of circle of justice
● Minhaj-i-Siraj idea about Razia Sultan
● From Garrison Town to Empire: Expansion of Delhi Sultanate
○ The Masjid

➔ Comparative study:
● Administratration and consolidation under Khaljis and Tunghlugs.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Background: The Rulers of Delhi
❖ Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs. [Ananga Pala]

Tomaras were defeated by Chauhans of Ajmer.

[Chahamanas, recall chapter 2]

❖ Under them Delhi became an important Commercial centre.

Jaina merchants lived there, constructed temples, coins were minted

known as Dehliwal.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Background: The Rulers of Delhi
❖ Delhi was transformed under Delhi Sultans.

Established after the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192.

There were major five dynasties that together made the Delhi
Sultanate.
● Early Turkish rulers/Mamluk dynasty/Slave dynasty
● Khalji dynasty
● Tughlaq dynasty
● Sayyid dynasty
● Lodi dynasty
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Background: The Rulers of Delhi
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Finding Out About the Delhi Sultans:
❖ There were many sources of history like-

Inscriptions Coins Architecture

❖ One of the important source history was Tarikh [singular]/Tawarikh [plural]

क्या? कहां? कौन? कब?

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Finding Out About the Delhi Sultans:
❖ What are Tawarikh?
➢ Tawarikh are the historiography containing history written by the learned men.
[Secretaries, administrators, poets and courtiers]. These tawarikh were similar to
manuscripts.
Four stages in the making of a manuscript:

A. Preparing the paper.

B. Writing the text.

C. Melting gold to highlight important words

and passages.

D. Preparing the binding

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Finding Out About the Delhi Sultans:
❖ The following details should be kept in mind with regard to tawarikh and their authors.
1. The authors of tawarikh lived in cities (mainly Delhi) and hardly ever in villages.
2. They often wrote their histories for Sultans in the hope of rich rewards.
3. These authors advised rulers on the need to preserve an “ideal” social order based on
birthright and gender distinctions.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Circle of Justice:
❖ Fakhr-I-Mudabbir wrote in the thirteenth century.

❖ A king cannot survive without soldiers.

And soldiers cannot live without salaries.

Salaries come from the revenue collected from peasants.

But peasants can pay revenue only when they are prosperous and happy.

This happens when the king promotes justice and honest governance.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
What Minhaj - I - Siraj thought about Raziya?

Raziya कौन? Minhaj - I - Siraj कौन?

She was the daughter of Sultan Iltutmish Principal historian of mamluk dynasty and a
became Sultan in 1236. chronicler.

❖ Minhaj - I - Siraj recognised that she was more able and qualified then all her brothers. But
he was not comfortable at having a queen as ruler. क्यो??
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
What Minhaj - I - Siraj thought about Raziya?
❖ Minhaj - I - Siraj thought that.

➢ Queens ruler went against the ideal social order created by god.

Male dominated society.

❖ He writes “In the register of god’s creation, since her account did not fall under the column
of men, how did she gain from all of her excellent qualities?

❖ Story of Rudramadevi [1262 - 1289]

❖ Story of Didda [980 - 1003]

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
From Garrison Town to Empire:
❖ What is Garrison town?

A area which was highly fortified and

soldiers used to live there.

❖ Initially the control of Delhi Sultans was mainly restricted to garrisons, no major control the
hinterland.

The land adjacent to the city or part that supply it with goods and services.
∴ Delhi Sultan was dependent upon trade, tribute or plunder for supplies.

But there was a problem in that

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
From Garrison Town to Empire:
❖ Controlling garrison towns in distant Bengal and Sindh from Delhi was extremely difficult.

➢ Rebellion by locals and governors.

➢ War.
➢ Bad weather condition could disturb the communication.
➢ Mongol invasion from Afghanistan.

∴ Consolidation of Sultanate was very essential.

➔ Consolidation occurred during the region of Ghiyasuddin Balban, Alauddin Khilji and
Muhammad Tughlaq.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
From Garrison Town to Empire:

Ghiyasuddin Balban Alauddin Khaji Muhammad Tughluq

❖ The expansion occurred on two fronts “Internal frontier” and “External frontier”

कैसे
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Expansion of Delhi Sultanate: Internal and External Frontier:

Internal Frontier
❖ Under this,sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterlands of the garrison towns.

● Forests were cleared in Ganga-Yamuna

doab.
● Hunter-gatherers and pastoralists
expelled from their habitat.

These land were given to peasants and

agriculture was encouraged. क्यो??
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Expansion of Delhi Sultanate: Internal and External Frontier:

External Frontier
❖ What is external Frontier?
➢ Land apart from the sultanate, which was not under the control of Delhi
Sultans.
➔ Military expeditions into southern India started under Alauddin Khalji

Further extended by Muhammad Tughlaq

● Sultanate armies captured elephants,

horses and slaves and carried away
precious metals.

Alauddin Khalji's campaign

❖ Expansion story of Delhi Sultanate over
into south India. 150 years.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Masjid:
❖ Mosque = Masjid [Arabic] A place where muslims prostrates in reverence to Allah.

In a “Congregational mosque”
❖ Muslims read their prayers (Namaz)
together.
Main mosque in the city, where friday
❖ Imam most respected and learned
communal prayer is offered. Also known as
men is chosen for the rituals of
Masjid-i-jami or Jama Masjid.
prayer.

❖ He also delivers the sermon [Khutba]

during the friday prayer.
❖ During prayer, Muslim stand facing west. क्यो??

This is called qibla

Due to the direction of Mecca
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Masjid:
 CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Masjid:
❖ The Delhi sultans had built several mosques in cities all over the subcontinent. क्यो??

● Demonstrate themselves as the protectors of Islam and Muslims.

● Religions affection.
● To create a sense of community among thebelivers of Islam.

Quwwat al-Islam Begumpuri mosque Moth ki Masjid Mosque of Jamali

This was the Mosque of Jamali Kamali, built
Begumpuri mosque, built in Moth ki Masjid, built in
congregational in the late 1520s.
the reign of Muhammad the reign of Sikandar Lodi
mosque of the first city Tughluq, was the main by his minister.
built by the Delhi mosque of Jahanpanah, the
Sultans, “Sanctuary of the World”
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
A Closer Look: Administration and Consolidation under the khalijis and Tughluqs

Muhammad Tughlaq
Original photo of Alauddin Khilji

Ranveer singh as Alauddin Khilji

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
A Closer Look: Administration and Consolidation under the khalijis and Tughluqs
❖ Again the question of Kingdom and Administration

● Role of slaves in Administration.

● Iqta and Iqtadars, types of taxes.
● Chieftains and their Fortification.
● Respond to the Mongols attack under Genghis Khan.

Alauddin Khalji Genghis Khan Muhammad Tughluq

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
A Closer Look: Administration and Consolidation under the khalijis and Tughluqs
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Role of Slaves in Administration:
❖ For the Consolidation of Delhi Sultanate

Reliable governors and administrators were required

∴ Rather than appointing aristocrats and landed chieftains as

governors
Delhi sultans, especially Iltutmish favoured slaves
[Bandagan in persian] to be appointed on important
political offices. Why?

● Specially purchased for military services.

● Since they were totally depended upon their master the sultan
could trust and rely upon them.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Role of Slaves in Administration:
❖ Khaljis and Tughlaqs continued to use bandagan for high political Positions
Appointed as Generals and Governors

However, this also introduced an element of political instability. How?

Slaves and clients were loyal to their masters and patrons, but not to their heirs.

New sultans had their own servants.

∴ On accession there was often conflicts observed
between old and new nobility.

❖ This system was not liked by many elites and authors of persian tawarikh. Why??
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Role of Slaves in Administration:
❖ Elites and the authors of Persian tawarikh criticised the Delhi Sultans

For appointing the “low and base-born” to high offices.

Example:

Officials of Sultan Muhammad Tughluq

Sultan Muhammad Tughluq appointed Aziz Khummar, a wine distiller, Firuz Hajjam, a
barber, Manka Tabbakh, a cook, and two gardeners, Ladha and Pira, to high
administrative posts. Ziyauddin Barani, a mid fourteenth-century chronicler, reported
their appointments as a sign of the Sultan’s loss of political judgement and his
incapacity to rule.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Iqta System and Taxes:
❖ G
kingdom These lands were called iqta
G
G
Landholder were called as
Iqtadar or Muqti
Military Commanders were appointed as
governors of territories of varying sizes.

❖ Duty of Muqtis or Iqtadar:

➢ Lead military campaigns and maintain law and order in their iqtas.
➢ They were given right to collect revenu.
क्यो?? As salary against
providing military
They paid salary to the soldiers out of this revenue. services.

❖ Control over muqtis/iqtadar was very much required. Why??

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Iqta System and Taxes:
❖ Iqtadar were controlled by the following means

● Their office was not inheritable.

● They were assigned iqtas for a short period of time.
● Transfer of iqtadar.

❖ During the reign of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq this control went more strict?

● Accountants were appointed to check the amount of Revenue collected by the

muqtis/Iqtadar.
● It was strictly observed that muqtis/Iqtadars collect the taxes prescribed by the
state and kept the required no of soldier only.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Iqta System and Taxes:
❖ Delhi sultans controlled the hinterland Samantas and rich landlords were
forced to accept their authority
E.g Alauddin Khalji

Took the rights to collect land revenue under his control,

whereby the right of local chieftains were cancelled.

They were also forced to pay taxes

Sometimes the old chieftains and landlords served the sultanate as revenue collectors and
assessors.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Iqta System and Taxes:
❖ There were three types of taxes:
➢ On Cultivation

Know as Kharaj Amount to 50 percent of the peasants produce.

➢ On Cattle

➢ On Houses
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Chieftains and Their Fortifications:
❖ Large parts of Subcontinent remained outside the Delhi Sultans

● Difficult to control
● Distant provinces like Bengal asserted independence
● Even in gangetic plains Sultans could not penetrate

● Local chieftains used forested areas

❖ Example
➔ Ibn Battuta explains how local chieftains protected themselves.

● Fortifying themselves in mountains, rocky and uneven rugged places.

● Living inside the forest covered from bamboo groves.
● In this sense they cannot be subdued except powerful armies.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Chieftains and their fortifications:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Respond to the Mongols Attack:
❖ The Mongols under Genghis khan

Invalid transoxiana in north-east Iran in 1219

They attacked on the Delhi sultanate under the

region of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq

Let us see how the two sultans dealt with this

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Respond to the Mongols Attack:
Alauddin Khalji Muhammad Tughluq

● Delhi was attack twice, in ● Delhi was attacked under him also,
1299/1300 and 1302-1303. To Mongol army was defeated. He also
tackle this, he raised large raised a large standing army.
standing army.

● Constructed new garrison town ● No garrison towns was constructed,

named Siri rather older garrison were emptied
and residents were moved to the new
capital of Daulatabad in South.

● Tax in form of produce from ● Produce from the same area was
Ganga-Yamuna doab was collected collected as tax to feed army and
to feed soldiers. Tax was fixed at additional tax was imposed this led to
50 percent of peasant’s yield. a famine.
 CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
Respond to the Mongols Attack:
Alauddin Khalji Muhammad Tughluq
● Salaries to soldier were paid in cash rather ● He also paid salaries in cash, but used token
than iqtas. The prices of the goods were currency [like today’s], this was made of cheap
controlled in Delhi, merchant who sell metals, people didn’t trust that. It was
against the prescribed rates were punished. counterfeited a lot and people used that only to
pay the taxes.

● Alauddin’s administrative measures were ● Tughluq’s administrative measures were a

quite successful and chroniclers praised failure.
him. Campaign into Kashmir was a disaster, shifting
He successfully with stood the threat of of people to Daulatabad was resented. Raising
mongol invasion. of taxes and using token currency.

❖ No doubt there were many defects in the policy of Muhammad Tughluq.

But he planned a campaign to capture mongol territory. Unlike Alauddin’s defensive measures.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The Sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries:
❖ Sultanate dynasties ruled Delhi and Agra until 1526.

By then Jaunpur, Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the entire south India
had independent ruler.

Many new ruling groups like the Afghans and Rajputs emerged during this
period.

Emergence of some small but powerful and extremely well administered state. E.g:
Sher Shah Sur [1540-1546]

His mode of administration was borrowed from Alauddin Khaji and later Shah’s
model was followed by Akbar under Mughal Empire.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
The sultanate in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
NCERT Solutions:
1. Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi?
Answer: Tomara Rajputs were the first rulers who established their capital at Delhi.

2. What was the language of administration under the Delhi Sultans?

Answer: Persian was the language of administration under the delhi sultans.

3. In whose reign did the sultanate reach its farthest extent?

Answer: The Delhi Sultanate reached its farthest extent during the reign of Muhammad Tughluq.

4. From which country did Ibn Battuta travel to India?

Answer: Ibn Battuta belonged to Morocco, Africa.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
NCERT Solutions:
5. According to the “circle of justice”, why was it important for military commanders to keep the
interests of the peasantry in mind?
Answer: During that period, agriculture was the only source of income. Peasantry was the only
backbone of any kingdom. The soldiers got the salaries which came out of this revenue. Hence,
it was necessary to keep the peasants prosperous and happy.

6. What is meant by the “internal” and “external” frontiers of the Sultanate?

Answer: Internal frontier of the sultanate - The sultanate aimed at consolidating the hinterland
of the garrison town.

External frontier of the sultanate - It aims at the military expeditions of the sultanate in
Southern India which started during the reign of Alauddin Khalji and culminated with
Muhammad Tughluq.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
NCERT Solutions:
7. What were the steps taken to ensure that muqtis performed their duties? Why do you think
they may have wanted to defy the orders of the Sultans?
Answer: The following steps were taken to ensure that muqtis performed their duties:
● Accountants were appointed by the state to check the amount of revenue collected by the
muqits.
● Care was taken that the Muqti collected only the taxes prescribed the State and that he
kept the required number of soldiers.
● Besides this, their office was not inheritable and sometimes they were assigned iqtas for a
short time span and shifted regularly.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
NCERT Solutions:
8. What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate?
Answer: Mongol invasion posed a big administrative challenge for the Delhi Sultanate.
Accordingly, the Delhi Sultanate mobilised a large standing army in Delhi. Further Alauddin Khalji
constructed a new garrison town at Siri for his soldiers. He imposed taxes on land to feed the
army at the rate of 50 percent of peasant’s yield. He began to pay the soldiers in cash.
Muhammad Tughluq shifted people of Delhi to Daulatabad in South. He also raised a large
standing army.

9. Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary
men and women?
Answer: No, I don’t think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of
ordinary men and women because their writing was for praising the Sultans and get reward.
They had nothing to do with common folks. Also they were the part of administration and lived
in towns and were mostly unaware of the life of common people.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
NCERT Solutions:
10. Raziyya Sultan was unique in the history of the Delhi Sultanate. Do you think women leaders
are accepted more readily today?
Answer: Raziyya Sultan was unique in the history of the Delhi Sultanate because she is the first
woman to became the ruler of the sultanate. She was more able and qualified than all her
brothers.
Yes, I think women leaders are accepted more readily today because of democracy. Now, the
world has became an open minded in the terms of gender equality and would never mind in
having woman as their leaders. Many women in his period proved that a woman too can be at
the top of leaders. Moreover, people widely supported the woman as their leader.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE DELHI SULTANS
NCERT Solutions:
11. Why were the Delhi Sultans interested in cutting down forests? Does deforestation occur for
the same reasons today?
Answer: The Delhi Sultans interested in cutting down forests to give land to the peasants and
carry out agricultural practices. Also, new fortresses and towns were established to protect
trade routes and to promote regional trade. They also cleared forests in order to safeguard their
frontiers and quick movement of their army.

In today’s world, deforestation occurs due to construction of roads, railways, houses and
industries. So, we can say that deforestation occur for the same reasons today only the
perspective of views has been changed.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Introduction:
Indian Subcontinent Diversity of people and cultures.

It was extremely difficult task for any ruler to accomplish his rule.

Mughals did it in early age How?

1526 1707 Control nearly all of the subcontinent

(Babur) (Aurangzeb)

Connect with the previous chapter.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Introduction:

Babur Aurangzeb

Significance of Mughal Rule

They imposed structures of administration and ideas of governance that outlasted their
rule, leaving a political legacy that succeeding rulers of the subcontinent could not ignore.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?
➔ Who were the Mughals?
➔ Mughals military campaigns
➔ Mughal Emperors
➔ Mughal tradition of succession
➔ Mughal relation with other rulers
➔ Mansabdars and Jagirdars
➔ Zabt and Zamindars
➔ Akbar Nama and Ain-I-Akbari
➔ Nur Jahan’s influence in Jahangir's court.
➔ A closer look Akbar’s policies
➔ Sulh-I-Kul
➔ The Mughal empire in the seventeenth century and after
➔ NCERT Solution
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Who were the Mughals?
The Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers.

Mother Father

● Descendent of Genghis Khan ● Successor of Timur

● Mongol ruler ● Ruler of Iraq, Iran and
Modern day Turkey.

➔ However, the Mughals did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol. Why?

This was because Genghis Khan’s memory was associated with the massacre of
innumerable people.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Who were the Mughals?
➔ The Mughals Proud of their Timurid ancestry. Why?

Because of their great ancestor had captured Delhi in 1398.

➔ They celebrate their genealogy pictorially Group Photograph

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Military Campaigns:
➔ Babur The first Mughal emperor [1526 - 1530] Timur

● Succeeded to the throne of Ferghana in 1494 when he was only 12 years old.
● He was forced to leave his ancestral throne due to the invasion of another
Mongol group, the Uzbegs.

कहानी ख़त्म

➔ In 1504 he seized kabul.

➔ In 1526 he defeated the sultan of Delhi. Ibrahim Lodhi

Battle of Panipat

The ear of Mughal empire

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Military Campaigns:

Relate with the concept

Mughals Rule

1526 1857

Effective rule?

➔ Mughal empire and their relations with various rulers of the time.

● Ahoms
● Sikhs
● Rajput
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Military Campaigns:

Mughal army on campaign. Cannons were an important addition in

sixteenth-century warfare. Babur used them
effectively in the first battle of Panipat.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Tradition of Succession:
Types of Succession

Primogeniture Coparcenary

The types of succession where the The type of succession the where
eldest son inherited his father’s estate. division of the inheritance takes
place among all the sons.

What was the Mughal Tradition of Succession?

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Tradition of Succession:
➔ The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture.

They followed the mughal and Timurid custom of

Coparcenary Inheritance

Problems

Due to this tradition of succession many times Mughal

Princes had a rebellion against their rule father and
Dara Shikoh
potentially successor brothers.
Ex. Acts of Aurangzeb.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Relations with Other Rulers:
Mughal Rulers

Campaigned constantly against rulers who refused to accept their authority.

Other than military campaigns, mughals also

Explain
had some diplomatic strategies for expansion.

● As the Mughals became powerful many other rulers also joined them voluntarily.
Ex. Mughal and Rajput ties.

● Many of them married their daughters into Mughal families and received high positions.

But many resisted as well

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Relations with Other Rulers:

Mughal marriages with the Rajputs.

The mother of Jahangir was a Kachhwaha princess, daughter of the Rajput
ruler of Amber (modern day Jaipur). The mother of Shah Jahan was a Rathor
princess, daughter of the Rajput ruler of Marwar (Jodhpur).
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Relations with Other Rulers:

Maharana Pratap Singh

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Relations with Other Rulers:
➔ The Sisodiya Rajputs of Mewar refused to accept Mughal authority for a long time.

Maharana Pratap

Still mughals were successful in creating an empire?

The art of balancing

The careful balance between defeating but not humiliating their opponents enabled
the Mughals to extend their influence over many kings and chieftains.

Example
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Relations with Other Rulers:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Relations with Other Rulers:
Balance between defeating but not humiliating

Helped the mughal emperors.

But it was difficult to keep this balance all the time. How?
Shivaji
Example

Policies of Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb insulted Shivaji when he came to accept mughal authority.

Aurangzeb
Consequence
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mansabdars and Jagirdars:

Mansabdars Jagirdars

Understand the background

Empire expanded More people would be required to govern the empire.

∴ From a small nucleus of Turkish nobles (Turanis) they expanded to include Iranians,
Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups.

Recruitment in Mughal services

Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as mansabdars.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mansabdars and Jagirdars:
Mansabdar In individual who holds a position or rank.

Mansabdari was a grading system used by Mughal to fix.

1. Rank
2. Salary
3. Military responsibilities

The concept of Zat ranking

A numerical value depending on which the

Zat
salary and rank of a mansabdar was decided.

The higher the zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s
position in court and the larger his salary.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mansabdars and Jagirdars:
Mansabdars military responsibility

Required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. Why?

How were they maintained?

Sawar A mansabdar on march with his sawars.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mansabdars and Jagirdars:
Jagirdari System

Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs which

were somewhat like iqtas.

But different from iqtadari system How?

Unlike muqtis or iqtadars, most Mansabdars did not

actually reside in or administer their Jagirs.

They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected
for them by their servants.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mansabdars and Jagirdars:
Was the Jagirdari System profitable?

Akbar's reign Afterwards

In Akbar’s reign these jagirs were By Aurangzeb’s reign this was no longer
carefully assessed so that their the case and the actual revenue collected
revenues were roughly equal to the was often less than the granted sum.
salary of the mansabdar. +
Increase in the number of Mansabdars.

Problem
➔ Shortage of Jagirs Jagirdars tried to extract as much revenue as possible.

Peasantry therefore suffered tremendously.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Zabt and Zamindars:
Zabt Revenue System

Zamindars All the intermediaries who were included in the revenue system.

Revenue was required. कहा से आता था?

Empire

The main source of income available to Mughal

ruler was tax on the produce of Peasantry.

∴ A tax system was introduced.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Zabt and Zamindars:
● Akbar’s revenue minister Todar Mal

Introduced a revenue system

Carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and areas cultivated
for a 10-year period. क्यों?

On the basis of this data, tax was fixed on each crop in cash.

Zabt System
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Zabt and Zamindars:
Each province was divided into revenue circles.

Having a specific schedule of revenue rates for individual crops.

Zabt System

➔ Carried out in areas under the administration of Mughal

This was not possible in provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal. Why?

Analyse

➔ Zamindars and their role this revenue system.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Zabt and Zamindars:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Zabt and Zamindars:
Zamindars exercised a great deal of power.

The exploitation by Mughal administrators could drive

them to rebellion.

Why?

Peasant and Zamindars of some caste group allied in

Details from a miniature from
rebelling against Mughal authority. Shah Jahan’s reign depicting
corruption in his father’s
administration:
Challenged the stability of Mughal Empire. 1. A corrupt officer receiving
a bribe.
2. A tax-collector punishing
poor peasants.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Akbar Nama and Ain-I-Akbari:
Akbar Ordered Abul fazl to write a history of reign.

Wrote Akbar Nama

A three volume of chronicle of reign of Akbar. All these volume

deal with the different subject matter of that time period.

I. First volume of Akbar Nama : Dealt with Akbar’s ancestors and childhood.

II. Second volume of Akbar Nama : Recorded the events of Akbar’s reign.
E.g. Battle of Panipat.

III. Third volume of Akbar Nama : Ain-I-Akbari

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Akbar Nama and Ain-I-Akbari:
Ain-I-Akbari

● It deals with Akbar’s administration,

household, army, the revenues and the
geography of his empire.
● It also provides rich details about the
traditions and culture of the people living
in India.
● It also provide statistical details about
things as diverse as crops, yields, prices,
wages and revenues.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Nur Jahan’s Influence in Jahangir’s Court:
Who was Nur Jahan? Story

● Mehrunnisa married the Emperor Jahangir in 1611. Received the title Nur Jahan

∴ As a mark of honour Jahangir struck silver

Extremely loyal and supportive. coins bearing his own title on one side and on
the other the inscription “Struck in the name of
the queen Begum Nur Jahan”

Nur Jahan
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Nur Jahan’s Influence in Jahangir’s Court:

The adjoining document is an order (farman) of Nur

Jahan. The square seal states, “Command of her most
Sublime and Elevated Majesty Nur Jahan Padshah
Begum”. The round seal states, “by the sun of Shah
Jahangir she became as brilliant as the moon; may Nur
Jahan Padshah be the lady of the age”.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Babur (1526 - 1530) 1526 Defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and his Afghan supporters at panipat.

1527 Defeated Rana Sanga, Rajput rulers and allies at Khanua.

1528 Defeated the Rajput at Chanderi.

➔ Established control over Agra and Delhi before his death.

Babur and the beginning of the Mughal era

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events

Rana Sanga
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Humayun (1530 - 1540) (1555 - 1556)

Humayun divided his inheritance according to the will of his father. His
brothers were each given a province.

The ambitious of his brother Mirza Kamran weakened

Explain
Humayun’s cause against afghan competitors.
Humayun
Fought two battles with Sher Khan.

Chausa
Kanauj

Defeated Forced to flee to Iran.

Sher Shah Suri
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
End of Mughal Empire

NO

Humayun received help from the Safavid Shah He recaptured Delhi in 1555.

Sikandar Shah Suri

➔ In 1556 Humayun died in an accident in his library.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Akbar (1556 - 1605)
➔ He was 13 year old when he became emperor. His reign can be divided into three periods.

1556 - 1570 1570 - 1605 1579 - 1580

- Became independent of the - Military campaigns in Gujarat - Expansion in North - West.
regent Bairam Khan. were followed by campaigns in
the east in Bihar, Bengal and ● Qandahar
- Launched military campaigns. Orissa. ● Kashmir
● Kabul
Complications created by Mirza
● Suris
● Afghans Hakim during 1579 - 1580. - Campaigns in Deccan.
● Malwa - Rebellion of Salim
● Gondwana [Emperor Jahangir]
● Mirza Hakim How?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events

Akbar Bairam Khan

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Jahangir (1605 - 1627) [Jahan + Gir] ‘Conqueror of the world’

Birth Rule Stories

● Military campaigns started by Akbar continued.

● The Sisodia ruler of Mewar, Amar Singh, accepted Mughal service.

● Less successful campaigns against the Sikhs, the Ahoms and

Jahangir
Ahmadnagar followed.
Changes in Rule

Prince Kurram Rebelled in the last years.

(Shah Jahan)
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Shah Jahan (1627 - 1658) Shah + Jahan = ‘King of the world’

For what do you know Shah Jahan?

Taj Mahal
Have a look on his military campaigns.

● Mughal campaigns continued in the deccan under him.

● Afghan noble Khan Jahan Lodi rebelled and was defeated
and Orchha seized.
● Blakhs was seized from the Uzbegs and and Qandahar was
lost to the Safavids.
Shah jahan
● In 1632 Ahmednagar was finally annexed and the Bijapur
forces sued for peace.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Turbulent period in his life

1657 - 1658

War of succession among his sons.

Aurangzeb was victorious and his three brothers, including

Dara Shikoh, were killed.
Dara Shikoh

Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
Aurangzeb (1658 - 1707)

Unpopular Mughal ruler.

Military Campaigns
❖ Ahoms were defeated in 1663 but rebelled again in 1680s.

❖ Campaigns against Yusufzai and Sikhs were temporarily successful.

❖ Mughal intervention in the succession and internal politics of the

Aurangzeb
Rathore Rajput of Marwar led to their rebellion.

❖ Campaigns against Maratha Shivaji Rebellion

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
➔ Campaigns under Aurangzeb Not very successful.

Reasons

Aurangzeb faced various rebellion

➔ Prince Akbar rebelled against Aurangzeb [received support from Marathas and
Deccan Sultanate].
➔ Aurangzeb annexed Bijapur in 1685 and Golconda in 1687. From 1689
Aurangzeb personally managed campaigns in Deccan against the Marathas.
➔ Aurangzeb also had to face the rebellion in north India of the Sikhs, Jats and
Satnamis, in the north-east of the Ahoms and in the Deccan of the Marathas.
➔ His death was followed by a succession conflict amongst his sons.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
Mughal Emperor : Major Campaigns and Events
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies
Let us have a look on Akbar’s policies during his reign. How?
आपको कैसे पता?

As written by Abul Fazl in his book Akbar Nama [Ain-I-Akbari]

Empire

Subas

Subadar Diwan
Carried out both political Financial officer
and military functions.
Responsibility of administration
➔ Difference between Subadars and mansabdars.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies
➔ For the maintenance of peace and order in his province, the subadar was supported
by other officers.

Bakshi : Military paymaster

Sadr : Minister incharge of religious and charitable patronage.
Faujdars : Military Commanders
Kotwal : Town police commander
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies
Administration

➔ Noble commanded large armies and had access to large amount of revenue.

Loyal to the Emperor and Empire functioned efficiently.

By the end of the seventeenth century many nobles

had built independent networks of their own.

Explain

Their loyalties to the empire were weakened by their own self-interest.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies

Murshid Quli Khan Nizam - ul - Mulk Asaf Jah

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies
Akbar and the idea of Ibadat Khana

At Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar started discussion on

religion with the Ulama, Brahmanas, Jesuit In Ibadat khana
priest and Zoroastrians.

Why?
Akbar’s interaction with people of
different faiths made him realise that
He wanted to know about different
religious scholars who emphasised
religion and social customs. ritual and dogma were often bigots.

क्या सीखा?
Conclusion
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies

Akbar holding discussions with learned individuals of

different faiths in the ibadat khana.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
A Closer Look: Akbar’s Policies
∴ Dissatisfied with religious conflicts and bigots.

Akbar gave the idea of Sulh-I-Kul. Explain

The idea of religious tolerance where people should not be discriminated

on the basis religious or his realm. Focused on a system of ethics - honesty,
justice, peace - that was universally applicable.

● Role of Abul Fazl in framing this idea.

● This principle of governance was followed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After:
Administrative and military efficiency Prosperity

Reality

● International travellers described it as the fabled land of wealth.

● But these same visitors were also appalled at the state of poverty that existed side by
side with the greatest opulence. Inequalities were glaring.
Explain
Evidence from the document of Shah Jahan’s reign.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After:
Expenses of Mughal Emperor and Mansabdars

Had dual impact on the society.

Artisans and Peasants who But the scale of revenue

supplied goods and produce collection left very little for
to Emperor and Mansabdar investment in the hands of
were benefited. the peasant and the artisan.

The poorest amongst them lived in hardship. The wealthier peasantry and
artisanal groups, the merchants and bankers profited in this economic world.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After:
Mughal elite became an extremely powerful group.

As the authority of the Mughal emperor slowly declined, his Explain

servants emerged as powerful centres of power in the regions.

● They constituted new dynasties and held command of provinces like Hyderabad and Awadh.

● Although they continued to recognise the Mughal emperor in Delhi as their master, by the
eighteenth century the provinces of the empire had consolidated their independent political
identities.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
The Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century and After:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. Match the following:
1. Mansab Marwar
2. Mongol Governor
3. Sisodiya Rajput Uzbeg
4. Rathore Rajput Mewar
5. Nur Jahan Rank
6. subadar Jahangir
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. Fill in the blanks:
a. The capital of Mirza Hakim, Akbar’s half-brother, was ____________.

b. The five Deccan Sultanates were Berar, Khandesh, Ahmadnagar,

____________ and _________________.

c. If zat determined a mansabdar rank and salary, sawar indicated his

____________.

d. Abul Fazl, Akbar’s friend and counsellor, helped him frame the idea of
____________ so that he could govern a society composed of many
religions, cultures and castes.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals?

Ans. The central provinces under the control of the Mughals were Delhi, Kabul,
Mewar, Sindh, Marwar, Gujarat, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Chittor and Deccan.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. What was the relationship between the mansabdar and the jagir?

Ans. Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs

which were somewhat like iqtas.
The Mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs rather they
only had the rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for
them by their servants while the mansabdars themselves served in some other
part of the country.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. What was the role of the zamindar in Mughal administration?

Ans. Zamindar was a term used by the Mughals to describe all intermediaries, whether
the local headmen of a village or any powerful chieftain.
The role of the zamindar in Mughal administration was to collect the revenues and taxes
from the peasants that were a source of income for the Mughals.
They acted as an intermediate between the Mughals and the peasants and in some areas
the zamindars exercised a great deal of power.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. How were the debates with religious scholars important in the formation of
Akbar’s ideas on governance?

Ans. During the 1570s, Akbar had a discussion on religion with the ulama, Brahmanas,
Jesuit priests who were Roman Catholics and Zoroastrians.
These discussions took place during his stay at Fatehpur Sikri in the ibadat khana. Akbar
was interested in the religion and social customs of different people and his interaction
with people of different faiths made him realise that their teachings created divisions and
disharmony amongst his subjects.
Thus Akbar came to an idea sulh-i kul which focused on a system of ethics - honesty,
justice, peace. Akbar’s ideas on governance were tolerant to all religions.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. Why did the Mughals emphasise their Timurid and not their Mongol descent?

Ans. From their mother's side, the Mughals were descendants of Genghis Khan (died
1227), the Mongol ruler who ruled over parts of China and Central Asia.
From their father's side, they were the successors of Timur (died1404), the ruler of
Iran, Iraq and modem-day Turkey.
However, the Mughals did not like to be called Mughal or Mongol. This was because
Genghis Khan's memory was associated with the massacre of innumerable people but
the Mughals were proud of their Timurid ancestry.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. How important was the income from land revenue to the stability of the Mughal
Empire?

Ans. The income from land revenue played an important role in establishing stability in
the Mughal Empire. It strengthened the economic system of the Empire.
Money collected was invested in building forts, was and for the welfare of subjects. Its
importance can be easily assessed that Todar Mal, Akbar's revenue minister, took
10-year period to carry out the proper calculation of land revenue.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 9. Why was it important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse
backgrounds and not just Turanis and Iranis?

Ans. It was important for the Mughals to recruit mansabdars from diverse backgrounds
and not just Turanis and Iranis because:
a. The empire had expanded to encompass different regions and provinces thus it
was needed to provide stability to the empire.
b. The problems of common folks would be understood better by the people living
with them only.
c. Mughal didn't want people to rebel against them on the issue of privileges to
Turanis and Iranis.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 10. Like the Mughal Empire, India today is also made up of many social and
cultural units. Does this pose a challenge to national integration?

Ans. No, not at all, this does not pose any challenge to national integration. Unity in
diversity is a special feature of India. Indians may belong to different regions, culture,
caste and creed. But this does not signify that they all are different people.
They are all one and are proud of being Indians. Our Constitution does not discriminate
us on the basis of caste, religion and sex.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MUGHAL EMPIRE
NCERT Solution:
Que 11. Peasants were vital for the economy of the Mughal Empire. Do you think that
they are as important today? Has the gap in the income between the rich and the poor
in India changed a great deal from the period of the Mughals?

Ans. Agriculture plays a vital role in Indian economy. Peasants are important today as
they were during the Mughal Empire. They pay land revenue to the government which
is used in various policies, grants, subsidies, projects.
During the Mughal rule, all were virtually agriculturists. No other source of income was
different from that of agriculture.
So, income gap between rich and poor was not so much as is today. Now, people find
more income based jobs other than agriculture.
Still peasants are important today as more than 50 per cent of the population of our
country is agriculturists. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries
accounted for 13.7 per cent of the GDP.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Introduction:
Understand the theme of the chapter

Rulers Building

History and its significance.

Architectural development

➔ Relate with the previous chapters.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Introduction:

Qutbuddin Aibak
Analyse
The Qutb Minar is five storeys high. The band of inscriptions
you see are under its first balcony. The first floor was
constructed by Qutbuddin Aibak and the rest by Iltutmish
around 1229. Over the years it was damaged by lightning and
earthquakes and repaired by Alauddin Khilji, Muhammad
Tughluq, Firuz Shah Tughluq and Ibrahim Lodi
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Introduction:
➔ Between the eighth and the eighteenth centuries kings and their officers built two
kinds of structures:
Private buildings Buildings for public activity

Forts, palaces, garden residences and Temples, mosques, tanks, wells,

tombs - safe, protected and grandiose caravanserais and bazaars.
places of rest in this world.

Why?
➔ Construction activity was also carried out by others, including merchants.

Build temples, mosque and wells.

➔ Domestic architecture - large mansions (havelis) of merchants - has survived only from
the eighteenth century.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?
➔ Engineering skills and construction

➔ Building temples, mosque and tanks

➔ Temple construction in early eleventh century

➔ Why were temples targeted?

➔ Gardens, tombs and forts

➔ Region and empire

➔ Churches that touched the skies

➔ NCERT Solution
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Engineering Skills and Construction:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Engineering Skills and Construction:
Monuments Provide an insight into the technologies used for construction.

How?

Engineering skills used during the construction work [Especially in Arches]

Trabeate or Corbelled Arcuate

● Roofs, doors and windows were made by ● Under this style of construction two
placing a horizontal beam across two technologies and stylistic developments
vertical columns. are noticeable from the twelfth century.
● Trabeate style was used between eighth
and thirteenth centuries.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Engineering Skills and Construction:
Arcuate

● The weight of the superstructure above the doors

and windows was sometimes carried by arches. How?

● Limestone cement was increasingly used in construction.

Why?

This was very high-quality cement, which, when mixed A painting from the Akbar Nama (dated
with stone chips hardened into concrete. This made 1590-1595), showing the construction of
the watergate at the Agra Fort.
construction of large structures easier and faster.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Engineering Skills and Construction:

Screen in the Quwwat

al-Islam mosque, Delhi Corbelled technique used in the
(late twelfth century). construction of the screen.

A “true” arch. The “keystone” at

True arch; detail from the Alai the centre of the arch transferred
Darwaza (early fourteenth century). the weight of the superstructure
Quwwat ul Islam mosque, Delhi. to the base of the arch.

Analyse
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Temple Construction in the Early Eleventh Century:
Temple construction and its significance

The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple

Garbhagriha

Mahamandapa

This temple was constructed in

999 by the king Dhangadeva Gateway
Chandela dynasty
Analyse
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Temple Construction in the Early Eleventh Century:
The Khajuraho complex contained royal temples
where commoners were not allowed entry.
The temples were decorated with elaborately
carved sculptures.

Khajuraho Temple
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Temple Construction in the Early Eleventh Century:
➔ Rajarajeswara temple at Thanjavur also known as
Brihadishwara temple.

Built by Raja Raja Chola - I

➔ Have a look on its architectural designs

● Rajarajeswara temple at Thanjavur had the tallest shikhara

amongst temple of its time.

कैसे बनाया?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Temple Construction in the Early Eleventh Century:
Shikhara

Look into the practical aspect of construction.

Rajarajeswara Temple
The architects built an inclined path to the top of the temple,
Why?
placed the boulder on rollers and rolled it all the way to the top.

The path started more than 4 km away so that it would not be too steep. Doubt

Charupallam = “Village of the incline”

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Temple Construction in the Early Eleventh Century:

Analyse

➔ What differences do you notice between the shikharas of the two temples?
➔ Can you make out that the shikhara of the Rajarajeshvara temple is twice as
high as that of the Kandariya Mahadeva?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks:
Temples and Mosques Places of worship
+
They were also meant to demonstrate the
power, wealth and devotion of the patron.

Explain
Example : Rajarajeshwara temple

Built by King Rajarajadeva for the worship of his god, Rajarajeswaram.

Understand the name game.

➔ The temple was a miniature model of the world ruled by the king and his allies. How?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks:

The largest temples were all constructed by kings. The

other, lesser deities in the temple were gods and
goddesses of the allies and subordinates of the ruler.

Raja Raja I
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks:
Position of Muslim Sultans and Padshahs

Did not claim to be incarnations of god but Persian court

आपको कैसे पता?
chronicles described the Sultan as the “Shadow of God”.

Inscription in Quwwat al - Islam

Explained that God chose Alauddin as a king because he

had the qualities of Moses and Solomon.

Alauddin Khilji
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks:
New Dynasty Kings want to emphasise their moral right to be ruler.

How?

By constructing temples

Constructing places of worship provided rulers with the chance to proclaim their
close relationship with god.

➔ Rulers also offered patronage to the learned and pious, and tried to transform
their capitals and cities into great cultural centres that brought fame to their
rule and their realm.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks:
Rule of a just king Would be an age of plenty.

∴ Rulers constructed various water sources

➔ Sultan Iltutmish won universal respect for

constructing a large reservoir just outside
Delhi-i-Kuhna. It was called the Hauz-i-Sultani.

Hauz - I - Sultani
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks:
➔ Rulers often constructed tanks and reservoirs.

● Big and Small.

● Part of temple and mosque or a gurdwara.

Water Tank in Jami Masjid Water Gurudwara at Amritsar

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Why were Temples Targeted?
Temples Demonstrate their devotion to God and their power and wealth.

∴ It was sure that when kingdom were attacked, temples were also attacked on.

Example : In nineteenth century, Pandya king shrimara shrivallabha invaded Sri Lanka and
defeated the king Sena - I.

Records of chroniclers Dhammakitti.

Gold statue of Buddha

Invasion on Madhuri by Sena II, Sinhalese ruler.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Why were Temples Targeted?
➔ King Rajendra I, built a Shiva temple in his capital in early eleventh century.

He filled it with prized statues seized from defeated rulers. An incomplete list
included:
➔ A Sun-pedestal from the Chalukyas.
➔ A Ganesha statue and several statues of Durga, a Nandi statue from the eastern
Chalukyas.
➔ An image of Bhairava (a form of Shiva) and Bhairavi from the Kalingas of Orissa.
➔ A Kali statue from the Palas of Bengal.

Explain
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Why were Temples Targeted?

Kali Statue

Nandi Statue
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Why were Temples Targeted?
➔ Attacks of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.

Defeated kings and looted the wealth and idols

of the temples.

Somnath

By destroying temples - especially the one at

Somnath - he tried to win credit as a great hero
of Islam.
Conclusion In the political culture of the Middle Ages most rulers displayed their political might
and military success by attacking and looting the places of worship of defeated rulers.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
Medieval History

Under Mughal architecture became more complex.

They were personally interested in literature, art and architecture.

Babur Described his interest in planning and laying out formal gardens, placed within
rectangular walled enclosures and divided into four quarters by artificial channels.

Chahar Bagh

A 1590 painting of Babur supervising workers laying out a

chahar bagh in Kabul. Note how the intersecting channels
on the path create the characteristic chahar bagh design.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
❖ Beginning with Akbar, some of the most beautiful chahar bagh were constructed by Jahangir
and Shah Jahan in Kashmir, Agra and Delhi.

The chahar bagh in Terraced chahar bagh at The chahar bagh adapted as a
Humayun’s tomb, Delhi, Shalimar gardens, river-front garden at Lal
1562-1571. Kashmir, 1620 and 1634. Mahal Bari, 1637.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
➔ Architectural innovation during Akbar’s reign.

Inspiration was taken from the central Asian ancestors, Timur’s Tomb.

Tomb of Timur Tomb of Humayun

Relate
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
Tombs

● The central towering dome and the tall gateway (pishtaq) became important
aspects of Mughal architecture.

● The tomb was placed in the centre of a huge formal chahar bagh and built in
the tradition known as “eight paradises” or hasht bihisht – a central hall
surrounded by eight rooms.

● The building was constructed with red sandstone, edged with white marble.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
Shah jahan’s Reign
How?
Elements of Mughal architecture were fused
together in a grand harmonious synthesis.

The ceremonial halls of public and private audience

(diwan-i khas and aam) were carefully planned.

Described as chihil sutun or forty pillared halls.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
➔ Shah Jahan’s audience halls

Constructed to resemble a mosque.

The pedestal on which his throne was placed

was frequently described as the qibla. Why?

The idea of the king as a representative of God on

earth was suggested by these architectural features.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
❖ Red Fort at Delhi Shows the connection between royal Justice and the imperial court.

Behind the emperor’s throne were a series of pietra dura inlays that
depicted the legendary Greek god Orpheus playing the lute.

Relate
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
The construction of Shah Jahan’s audience hall.

Message

Hall aimed to communicate that the king’s justice would

treat the high and the low as equals creating a world
where all could live together in harmony.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
❖ Early years of Shah Jahan’s reign Capital city - Agra

Nobility had constructed their homes on the banks of the river Yamuna.

Chahar Bagh format

➔ Chahar Bagh format garden also had variants. River front garden

In this the dwelling was not located in the middle of the

chahar bagh but at its edge, close to the bank of the river.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
❖ Shah Jahan adapted the river-front garden in the layout of the Taj Mahal.

The white marble mausoleum was placed on a terrace by the

edge of the river and the garden was to its south.

This was same in the new city of Shahjahanabad.

Why?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
In Shahjahanabad Shah Jahan used architectural form as a means to control the
access that nobles had to the rivers.

Why? and How?

In Shahjahanabad

● The imperial palace commanded the riverfront. Only specially favoured nobles - like his
eldest son Dara Shikoh - were given access to the river.

● All others had to construct their homes in the city away from the River Yamuna.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:

A reconstruction from a map of the riverfront garden city of Agra. Note how the garden
palaces of the nobles are placed on both banks of the Yamuna. The Taj Mahal is on the left.
Compare the layout of Agra with Shahjahanabad in Delhi.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:

1850 map of Shahjahanabad. Where is the

emperor’s residence? The city appears to
be very crowded, but did you notice the
many large gardens as well? Can you find
the main street and the jami masjid?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Region and Empire:
❖ Construction activity Sharing of ideas across regions.

The traditions of one region were adopted by another.

Example

➔ In Vijayanagara, the elephant stables of the rulers were

strongly influenced by the style of architecture found in the
adjoining Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda.

➔ In Vrindavan, near Mathura, temples were constructed in

architectural styles that were very similar to the Mughal
palaces in Fatehpur Sikri.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Region and Empire:
Creation of large empires

Cross fertilisation of artistic forms and architecture styles.

➔ Mughal rulers were particularly skilled in adapting regional architectural styles in the
construction of their own buildings.

Example: Mughals liked the “Bangla dome” so much that they used it in their architecture.

A double-roofed A four-roofed temple

thatched hut. with a tower.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Region and Empire:
❖ In Akbar’s capital at Fatehpur Sikri many of the buildings show the influence of the architectural
styles of Gujarat and Malwa.

Continuation of architectural styles

Mughal architectural styles developed under their

patronage were constantly used and adapted by
other rulers whenever they tried to establish their
own kingdoms.

Decorated pillars and struts holding the extension of

the roof in Jodh Bai palace in Fatehpur Sikri. These
follow architectural traditions of the Gujarat region.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Churches that Touches the Sky:
Why this topic?

➔ From the twelfth century onwards, attempts began in France to build churches.

What was new?

These buildings were taller and lighter than earlier buildings.

Architectural style

Gothic style
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Churches that Touches the Sky:
Gothic style

● Distinguished by high pointed arches, the use of

stained glass.

● Often painted with scenes drawn from the Bible, and

flying buttresses.

● Tall spires and bell towers which were visible from a

distance were added to the church.

Notre Dame
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
Churches that Touches the Sky:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. How is the “trabeate” principle of architecture different from the “arcuate”?

Ans. The "trabeate" principle of architecture is different from the "arcuate" because in
the trabeate principle of architecture roofs, doors and windows were made by placing a
horizontal beam across two vertical columns.
But, in the arcuate principle of architecture, the weight of the superstructure above the
doors and windows was carried by arches
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. What is a shikhara?

Ans. A shikhara is the top most pointed portion of a Hindu temple. The Rajarajeshvara
temple at Thanjavur had the tallest shikhara amongst temples of its time.
Constructing it was not easy because there were no cranes in those days and the 90
tonne stone for the top of the shikhara was too heavy to lift manually.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. What is pietra-dura?

Ans. Pietra dura is the coloured. hard stones placed in depressions

carved into marble or sandstone creating beautiful, ornate patterns.

Behind the emperor, Shah Jahan's throne were a series of pietra dura
inlays that depicted the legendary Greek god Orpheus playing the lute.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. What are the elements of a Mughal chahar bagh garden?

Ans. Char bagh gardens were garden placed within rectangular walled
enclosures and divided into four quarters by artificial channels.
These gardens were called chahar bagh i.e. four gardens because of their
symmetrical division into quarters.
The chahar bagh garden also had a variation that historians describe as
the "riverfront garden".
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. How did a temple communicate the importance of a king?

Ans. Temples were constructed as places of worship and meant to demonstrate the
power, wealth and devotion of the patron.
The temples were miniature models of the world ruled by the king and his allies. For
example, the Rajarajeshvara temple was built by King Rajarajadeva for the worship of
his god, Rajarajeswaram.
Generally the names of the ruler and the god were very similar. The king took the god's
name because it was auspicious and he wanted to appear like a God and through the
rituals of worship in the temple one god (Rajarajadeva) honoured another
(Rajarajeswaram).
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. An inscription in Shah Jahan’s diwan-i khas in Delhi stated: “If there is Paradise on
Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” How was this image created?

Ans. During Shah Jahan's reign, the different elements of Mughal architecture were fused
together in a grand harmonious synthesis. His reign witnessed a huge amount of construction
activity especially in Agra and Delhi.
The ceremonial halls of public and private audience (diwan-i khas e aam) were carefully
planned. These courts were placed within a large courtyard and were described as chihil sutun
or forty-pillared halls.
The audience halls were specially constructed to resemble a mosque. and the pedestal on
which Shah Jahan's throne was placed was frequently described as the qibla, i.e., the direction
faced by Muslims at prayer.
The idea of the king as a representative of God on earth was suggested by these architectural
features.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. How did the Mughal court suggest that everyone – the rich and the poor, the
powerful and the weak – received justice equally from the emperor?

Ans. The Mughal court suggest that everyone - the rich and the poor, the powerful and the
weak - received justice equally from the emperor in the following ways:
a. The connection between royal justice and the imperial court was emphasised by Shah
Jahan in his newly constructed court in the Red Fort in Delhi.
b. Behind the emperor, Shah Jahan's throne were a series of pietra dura inlays that
depicted the legendary Greek god Orpheus playing the lute. It was believed that
Orpheus's music could calm ferocious beasts until they coexisted together peaceably.
c. The construction of Shah Jahan's audience hall aimed to communicate that the king's
justice would treat the high and the low as equals creating a world where all could
live together in harmony.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. What role did the Yamuna play in the layout of the new Mughal city at Shahjahanabad?

Ans. The river Yamuna played a major role in the layout of the new Mughal city at
Shahjahanabad. Shah Jahan adapted the river-front garden in the layout of the Taj Mahal, the
grandest architectural accomplishment of his reign.

But the same architectural design was not followed in the construction of Shahjahanabad.
Shah Jahan developed this architectural form as a means to control the access that nobles had
to the river.

Only the exceptionally favored nobles - like his eldest son Dara Shikoh - were given access to
the river. All others had to construct their homes in the city away from the River Yamuna.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 9. The rich and powerful construct large houses today. In what ways were the
constructions of kings and their courtiers different in the past?

Ans. The rich and powerful construct large houses today. But these houses are not the
same as those of the kings and their courtiers in the past.

The houses of the kings and their courtiers were big structures with big courtyard, thick
walls, domed roofs, huge pillars, big gardens and well decorated halls.

Houses of today's have no courtyards, nor garden, nor thick walls nor domed roofs.
Each house is different from that of others.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - RULERS AND BUILDINGS
NCERT Solution:
Que 10. Look at figure 4. How could that building be constructed
faster today?

Ans. By the use of modern machines such as tower crane etc.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Introduction:
Towns, Traders and Caftpesons

Understanding the heading

➔ Medieval Town Trader/Traveller Observation

It will depend on the type of the town.

● Temple town
Some towns combined
● An administrative center
all these functions.
● Commercial town or a part town
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?
➔ Administrative centers
➔ Temple, Towns and Pilgrimage centers
➔ Bronze, bell metal and the lost wax technique
➔ A network of small towns
➔ Traders big and small
➔ Kabul
➔ Crafts in towns
➔ A closer look: Hampi, Masulipatnam and Surat
➔ New towns and traders
➔ NCERT Solution
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Administrative Centers:
Chola Dynasty Thanjavur Let’s go

● Perennial river Kaveri flows near this town.

● Rajarajeswara temple built by King Rajaraja Chola.
● Kunjara Mallan Rajaraja Perunthachan carved his name on
temple wall.
● There are place with Mandapas or Pavilions.

King hold courts in these mandapas.

● There are also barracks for the army.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Administrative Centers:
Other than cultural site, town was having viable commercial activities.

● Markets selling grains, species cloth and jewellery.

● Weaving by saliya weavers of Thanjavur and Uraiyur

were busy in production.

● At Swamimalai, the sthapatis or sculptors are making

exquisite bronze idols and tall, ornamental bell metal
lamps.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centers:
Thanjavur Temple Town क्या होता था?

It represents a important pattern of urbanisation.

Temples were often central to the economy and society.

How?

● Demonstrate devotion to various deities.

● Grants of land and money [economic activity]

Why?

● Pilgrims who flocked to the temples also made donations.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centers:
Wealth in temples

करते क्या थे?

● Temple authorities used their wealth to finance trade and banking.

● Gradually a large number of priests, workers, artisans, traders, etc.
settled near the temple to cater to its needs and those of the pilgrims.

Temple towns

Example
● Bhillasvamin [Vidisha] M.P.
● Somnath, Gujarat
● Kanchipuram and Madurai, T.N.
● Tirupati, A.P.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centers:
Pilgrimage centers also slowly developed into township

Example
● Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh) and Tiruvannamalai (Tamil Nadu) are
examples of two such towns.
● Ajmer (Rajasthan) was the capital of the Chauhan kings in the twelfth
century and later became the suba headquarters under the Mughals.

● Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, the celebrated Sufi saint who settle

there in the twelfth century, attracted devotees from all creeds.
Pilgrimage Center
● Pushkar lake attracted pilgrimage from ancient times.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Temple Towns and Pilgrimage Centers:

Ajmer Dargah Pushkar Temple

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Bronze, Bell Metal and the “Lost Wax Technique”
Bronze = Copper + Tin

➔ Bells are made up of bronze.

Bell metal contains a greater proportion of tin than other kinds of bronze.

This produces a bell-like sound.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Bronze, Bell Metal and the “Lost Wax Technique”
➔ Chola bronze statues were made using the “lost wax” technique.

● An image was made of wax.

● This was covered with clay and allowed to dry.
● Next it was heated, and a tiny hole was made in the clay cover.
● The molten wax was drained out through this hole.
● Then molten metal was poured into the clay mould through the hole.
● Once the metal cooled and solidified, the clay cover was carefully
removed, and the image was cleaned and polished.

Advantage? A bronze statue of

Krishna subduing the
serpent demon Kaliya.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Bronze, Bell Metal and the “Lost Wax Technique”
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
A Network of Small Towns:
Large towns used to be small towns, small towns used to be
large villages and large villages used to be small villages.

Riddle
Development of market lead to the creation of small towns.

Large Village

● They usually had a mandapika (or mandi of later times) to which nearby villagers brought their
produce to sell.
● They also had market streets called hatta (haat of later times) lined with shops.
● There were streets for different kinds of artisans such as potters, oil pressers, sugar makers, toddy
makers, smiths, stonemasons, etc.
● Traders Many came from far and near to these towns to buy local articles and sell products of
distant places like horses, salt, camphor, saffron, betel nut and spices like pepper.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
A Network of Small Towns:

A city market
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
A Network of Small Towns:
Role of Samata/Zamindar in these towns

● Usually a samanta or, in later times, a zamindar

built a fortified palace in or near these towns.

● They levied taxes on traders, artisans and articles

of trade and sometimes “donated” the “right” to
collect these taxes to local temples, which had
been built by themselves or by rich merchants.

● These “rights” were recorded in inscriptions that

have survived to this day.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Traders Big and Small:
Different types of traders

Had their own style of trading.

Banjaras

Horse Traders Formed associations, with headmen who negotiated

on their behalf with warriors who bought horses.

➔ Challenges in trade

Trader Movement Threats

∴ They usually travelled in caravans and formed guilds to protect their interests.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Traders Big and Small:
➔ Such guilds in South India were formed from the eighth century onwards.

Manigraman
Guilds of trader that traded extensively within the
peninsula and with Southeast Asia and China.
Nanadesi

➔ There were also communities like the Chettiars and the Marwari Oswal who went on to become
the principal trading groups of the country.

➔ Gujarati trading communities

◆ Hindu Baniyas They sold textiles and spices through western ports and, in exchange,
brought gold and ivory from Africa; and spices, tin, Chinese blue
◆ Muslim Bohras
pottery and silver from Southeast Asia and China.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Traders Big and Small:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Traders Big and Small:

Trader

Spices grown in tropical climates (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried ginger, etc.) became
an important part of European cooking, and cotton cloth was very attractive.

∴ European traders came to India.

Impact
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Kabul:
What do you know about Kabul? Became politically and commercially important from
the sixteenth century onwards.

Why?

➔ Kabul and Kandahar were linked to the celebrate silk

route.
➔ Trade in horses was also carried on this route.
➔ Estimation of Jean Baptiste Tavernier.

● Camels carried dried fruits, dates, carpets, silks and

even fresh fruits from Kabul to the subcontinent and
elsewhere.
● Slaves were also brought here for sale.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Crafts in Town:
➔ Craftsperson of Bidar Famous for Bidri.

Explain

In Bidri the metals silver, gold or brass are overlaid or inlaid in the designs
to decorate objects made out of an alloy of zinc and copper.

➔ The Panchalas or Vishwakarma community, consisting of goldsmiths,

bronze smiths, blacksmiths, masons and carpenters, were essential to
the building of temples. Explain

They also played an important role in construction of palaces,

big buildings, tanks and reservoir.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Crafts in Town:
➔ Weavers such as the Saliyar or Kaikkolars emerged as prosperous communities,
making donations to temples.
Analyse

Some aspects of cloth making like cotton cleaning, spinning and

dyeing became specialised and independent crafts.

The changing fortune of towns

➔ Town Trade Traders Change in the position over the period of time.

Ahmedabad Thanjavur Murshidabad

Impact of machine made clothes

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Crafts in Town:

A shawl border
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:
Where is Hampi?

● Located in the Krishna-Tungabhadra basin.

● Formed the nucleus of the Vijayanagara Empire,

founded in 1336.

Significance of Vijayanagara Empire

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:

Harihara and Bukka

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:
Architecture of hampi

● A well fortified city.

● No mortar or cementing agent was used in the
construction of these walls and the technique
followed was to wedged them together by
interlocking.
● The buildings in the royal complex had splendid
arches, domes and pillared halls with niches for
holding sculptures.
● They also had well-planned orchards and pleasure A view of the watch-tower through a
gardens with sculptural motifs such as the lotus and broken wall of the enclosure of Hampi.

corbels.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:

Sculptural Motifs of Vijayanagar

Niches in Buildings
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:
Commercial activities in Hampi

I. Hampi bustled with commercial and cultural activities.

II. Muslim merchants, Chettis and agents of European traders
such as the Portuguese, thronged the markets of Hampi.

Domingo Paes
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:
Temple and religious activities at Hampi

● Temples were the hub of cultural activities and devadasis (temple

dancers) performed before the deity, royalty and masses in the
many-pillared halls in the Virupaksha (a form of Shiva) temple.
● The Mahanavami festival, known today as Navaratri in the south,
was one of the most important festivals celebrated at Hampi. Virupaksha Temple

आपको कैसे पता?

Archaeologist have found Mahanavami platform.

Mahanavami Platform
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Architectural Splendour of Hampi:
➔ Hampi fell into ruin following the defeat of Vijayanagara
in 1565 by the Deccani Sultans – the rulers of Golconda,
Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar and Bidar.

Aliya Rama Raya

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
Where is Surat?

● Surat in Gujarat was the emporium of western

trade during the Mughal period along with Cambay
(present-day Khambhat) and somewhat later,
Ahmedabad.

● Surat was the gateway for trade with West Asia via
the Gulf of Ormuz.

● Surat has also been called the gate to Mecca.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
➔ The city was cosmopolitan and people of all
castes and creeds lived there.

By Seventeenth century the Portuguese, Dutch and

English had their factories and warehouses at Surat.
Surat Port

According to the English chronicler Ovington who

wrote an account of the port in 1689, on average
a hundred ships of different countries could be
found anchored at the port at any given time.

Ovington
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
Surat Retail and wholesale shops selling cotton textiles.

Textile

Surat’s textile was known for Zari [Gold lace borders]

Had a market in West Asia and Europe.

Zari Textile
Facilities for traders

➔ The state built numerous rest-houses to take care of the needs of people from all over the world
who came to the city. There were magnificent buildings and innumerable pleasure parks.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
Trade Money was an essential ingredient.

∴ The Kathiawad Seth's or Mahajans [Money Changers] had a huge

banking houses at surat.

The Surat hundis were honoured in the far-off markets of Cairo in

Egypt, Basra in Iraq and Antwerp in Belgium.

Hundi is a note recording a deposit made

by a person. The amount deposited can
be claimed in another place by presenting
the record of the deposit.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
➔ Surat began to decline towards the end of the
seventeenth century.

Reasons
● Loss of markets and productivity because of the decline of
the Mughal Empire.

● Control of the sea routes by the Portuguese.

● Competition from Bombay (present-day Mumbai) where

the English East India Company shifted its headquarters in
1668.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
The Gateway to the West: Surat
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Fishing in Trouble Water: Masulipatnam
Where is Masulipatnam?
● A coastal town on the delta of the Krishna river.

● Masulipatnam or Machilipatnam = Fish port town

● Both the Dutch and English East India Companies attempted to

control Masulipatnam.

An important port on Andhra Coast.

● The fort at Masulipatnam was built by the Dutch.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Fishing in Trouble Water: Masulipatnam
➔ The Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda imposed royal monopolies on the sale of textiles, spices and other
items to prevent the trade passing completely into the hands of the various East India Companies.

Competition among various trading groups.

The Golconda nobles, Persian merchants, Telugu Komati Chettis,

and European traders - made the city populous and prosperous.

➔ Mughals Extended their support to Golconda.

Mir Jumla began to play off the Dutch and the English against each other.

In 1686-1687 Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb annexed Golconda.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
Fishing in Trouble Water: Masulipatnam
Power rivalry in Masulipatnam

∴ The European Companies began to look for alternatives centre.

Change in the policy of English East India Company.

The new Company trade centres, it was felt, should combine political, administrative and
commercial roles.

∴ Bombay, Calcutta and Madras grew.

➔ Masulipatnam lost both its merchants and prosperity and decline in the course of the eighteenth
century, being today nothing more than a dilapidated little town.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
New Towns and Traders:
Europeans Came to India. Why?

In search of spice and textile.

➔ The English, Dutch and French formed East India Companies in
order to expand their commercial activities in the east.

Initially great Indian traders like Mulla Abdul Ghafur and Virji But faded out in
Vora who owned a large number of ships competed with them. competition

Ultimately, the English emerged as the most successful

commercial and political power in the subcontinent.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
New Towns and Traders:
Demand for goods Led to a great expansion of the crafts of
spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing, etc.

Indian textile designs became increasingly refined.

However, this period also saw the decline of the independence of craftspersons. How?

The craftsperson were forced to work under the

system created by British and European agents.

Problem?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
New Towns and Traders:
Emergence of new towns

Bombay Calcutta Madras

Nodal cities today

➔ Crafts and commerce underwent major changes. How?

Black Towns White towns

● Merchants and artisans (such as weavers) ● Areas considered as superior residencies like
were moved into the Black Towns fort St. George in Madras or fort St. William
established by the European companies in Calcutta were occupied by white rulers.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
New Towns and Traders: :

A Bombay Street, early

nineteenth century.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. Fill in the blanks:

a. The Rajarajeshvara temple was built in _________.

b. Ajmer is associated with the Sufi saint _________.

c. Hampi was the capital of the _________ Empire.

d. The Dutch established a settlement at _________ in Andhra Pradesh.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. State whether true or false:

a. We know the name of the architect of the Rajarajeshvara temple from an inscription.

b. Merchants preferred to travel individually rather than in caravans.

c. Kabul was a major centre for trade in elephants.

d. Surat was an important trading port on the Bay of Bengal.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. How was water supplied to the city of Thanjavur?

Ans. Water supply to the city of Thanjavur came from wells and tanks.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. Who lived in the “Black Towns” in cities such as Madras?

Ans. During the eighteenth century. the cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras were
formed. During this period, the crafts and commerce underwent major changes as merchants
and artisans (such as weavers) were moved into the 'Black Towns' established by the
European companies within these new cities.
The 'blacks' or native traders and craftspersons were confined here while the 'white' rulers
occupied the superior residences of St. George Fort in Madras or St. William Fort in Calcutta.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. Why do you think towns grew around temples?

Ans. Towns grew around temples because the temple towns represented a very important pattern
of urbanisation.
Temples were considered central to the economy and society.
The rulers constructed these temples, they also endowed temples with grants of land and money to
carry out elaborate rituals, feed pilgrims and priests and celebrate festivals.
Therefore, a large number of priests, workers, artisans, traders, etc. settled near the temple to cater
to its needs and those of the pilgrims and led to the formation of the temple towns.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. How Important were craftspersons for the building and maintenance of temples?

Ans. The Panchalas or Vishwakarma community, consisting of goldsmiths, bronze smiths,

blacksmiths, masons and carpenters, played an essential role in the building of temples.
They had an important role in the construction of big buildings, palaces, tanks and
reservoirs.
Weavers such as the Saliyar or Kaikkolars emerged as prosperous communities, making
donations to temples.
They had a very important role in maintenance and development of temples.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. Why did people from distant lands visit Surat?

Ans. Surat was a cosmopolitan city and people of all castes and creeds lived there. People from distant
lands visited Surat for the following reasons:
a. Surat has been called the gate to Mecca and was the gateway for trade with West Asia via the
Gulf of Ormuz.
b. The Portuguese, Dutch and English had their factories and warehouses at Surat during the
seventeenth century.
c. The textiles of Surat were famous for their gold lace borders (zari) and had a market in West
Asia, Africa and Europe.
d. The Kathiawad seth's or Mahajan (moneychangers) had huge banking houses at Surat. Also, the
Surat hundis were honoured in the far-off markets of Cairo in Egypt, Basra in Iraq and Antwerp
in Belgium.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. In what ways was craft production in cities like Calcutta different from that in cities like
Thanjavur?

Ans. The craft production in cities like Calcutta was organized by European companies where the
craftspersons were not free to sell their own crafts and textiles.
The crafts and commerce underwent major changes in Calcutta as merchants and artisans (such
as weavers) were moved into the ‘Black Towns’ established by the European companies.
The ‘blacks’ or native traders and craftspersons were confined here while the ‘white’ rulers
occupied the superior residencies like St. William Fort in Calcutta.

Whereas in Thanjavur, the craftspersons were independent and were free to sell their own
products. They also lived nearby the temples.
The Saliya weavers of Thanjavur also produced cloth for flags to be used in the temple festivals,
fine cotton for the king and nobility and coarse cotton for the masses.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 9. Compare any one of the cities described in this chapter with a town or a village with
which you are familiar.
Do you notice any similarities or differences?

Ans. Comparison between Surat and Delhi:

Surat Delhi

A commercial town An administrative town

Was an emporium during Mughal period Also an emporium during the Mughal rule

Factories and warehouse present Factories and warehouse are present

No mandi and heat concept Regular Mandi and Haat are held

Not so developed are all the area All the areas are well dveloped
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TOWNS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSPERSON
NCERT Solution:
Que 10. What were the problems encountered by merchants? Do you think some of these problems
persist today?

Ans. The problems encountered by merchants were -

● Merchants had to pass many kingdoms and forests.
● They travelled in canvas.
● They had to carry goods on the black of camels, donkeys and horses.
● Their goods were frequently looted.
● They compete with European traders.
● Harsh climate and routes killed several merchants on the way or in the middle of their travel.
● Most of these problems do not exist today. Mode of transport had been improved along with law
and order in every nook and corner of the country.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Introduction:
Kingdoms History till now [Rose and Fell]

● Arts, crafts and production activities flourished in towns and villages.

● Over the centuries important political, social and economic developments

had taken place.

Were these changes same everywhere?

NO

Different kinds of societies evolved differently. Explain

Varna Division Differences

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?
➔ Beyond big cities: Tribal societies

➔ Who were Tribal people?

➔ How Nomads and Mobile people lived

➔ Changing society: New caste and hierarchies

➔ A closer look: The Gonds, The Ahoms

➔ Conclusion

➔ NCERT Solution
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Beyond Big Cities: Tribal Societies
Societies

Different kind of groups living in the society.

Many of them did not follow the social rules and rituals prescribed by the Brahmans.

Why?

Nor they were divided into numerous unequal classes.

Tribes
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Beyond Big Cities: Tribal Societies
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Beyond Big Cities: Tribal Societies
Tribal Society

● Tribe were united by kinship bonds.

Combined these activities to make
● Obtained their livelihood from agriculture. full use of natural resources.
● Others were hunter-gatherers or herders.

● Some tribes were Nomadic.

● A tribal group controlled land and pastures jointly, and

divided these amongst households according to its own rules.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Beyond Big Cities: Tribal Societies
Mainstream Society Tribal Society

● They usually lived in forests, hills, deserts and places difficult to reach.
● Sometimes they clashed with the more powerful caste-based societies.
● The tribes retained their freedom and preserved their separate culture.

But at the same time both [caste-based and tribal]

societies were also depend on each other.

For their diverse needs.

➔ This relationship, of conflict and dependence, gradually caused both societies to change.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Who were Tribal People?
What do you know about them?

How we got to know about them?

● A few exceptions apart, tribal people did not keep written records.

● But they preserved rich customs and oral traditions.

Present-day historians have started using such

oral traditions to write tribal histories.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Who were Tribal People?
Tribal people were found in almost every region of the subcontinent.

Example

● In Punjab, the Khokhar.

● Later, the Gakkhars became more important.

Their chief, Kamal Khan Gakkhar, was made a noble (mansabdar) by Emperor Akbar.

● In Multan and Sind, the Langahs and Arghuns dominated extensive regions before they
were subdued by the Mughals.
● The Balochis were another large and powerful tribe in the north-west.
● In the western Himalaya lived the shepherd tribe of Gaddis.
● The distant north-eastern part of the subcontinent too was entirely dominated by tribes
- the Nagas, Ahoms and many others.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Who were Tribal People?

Naga Tribes

Gaddi Tribes
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Who were Tribal People?
Example
➔ Present-day Bihar and Jharkhand, Chero chiefdoms had
emerged.

● Raja Man Singh, Akbar’s famous general, attacked and

defeated the Cheros in 1591.

● Under Aurangzeb, Mughal forces captured many Chero

fortresses and subjugated the tribe.

➔ The Mundas and Santhals were among the other

important tribes that lived in this region and also in
Orissa and Bengal.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Who were Tribal People?
➔ The Maharashtra highlands and Karnataka were home
to Kolis, Berads and numerous others.
➔ Kolis also lived in many areas of Gujarat.
➔ Further south there were large tribal populations of
Koragas, Vetars, Maravars and many others.
➔ The large tribe of Bhils was spread across western and
central India.
Bhil clans = Agriculturalist + hunter-gatherers
➔ The Gonds were found in great numbers across the
present-day states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Who were Tribal People?

Bhils hunting deer by night.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
How Nomads and Mobile People Lived?

Understand the heading

Nomadic Pastoralists

● Moved over long distances with their animals. They lived on milk and
other pastoral products. They also exchanged wool, ghee, etc., with
settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.

● They bought and sold these goods as they moved from one place to
another, transporting them on their animals.

Example - Banjaras
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
How Nomads and Mobile People Lived?

A chain of mobile traders connected India

to the outside world. Here you see nuts
being gathered and loaded on the backs of
camels. Central Asian traders brought such
goods to India and the Banjaras and other
traders carried these to local markets.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
How Nomads and Mobile People Lived?
Banjaras

● The Banjaras were the most important trader-nomads.

● Their caravan was called tanda.
● Sultan Alauddin Khilji used the Banjaras to transport grain to the
city markets.
● Emperor Jahangir wrote in his memoirs that the Banjaras carried
grain on their bullocks from different areas and sold it in towns.
● They transported food grain for the Mughal army during military
campaigns.
● Observation of Peter Mundy.

Banjaras
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
How Nomads and Mobile People Lived?
Pastoral Tribes Reared and sold animals To whom?

To prosperous people

Mobile people

➔ Different castes of petty pedlars also travelled from village to village.

They made and sold wares such as ropes, reeds, straw matting and coarse sacks.

➔ Sometimes mendicants acted as wandering merchants.

➔ There were castes of entertainers who performed in different towns and villages for their livelihood.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Changing Society: New Castes and Hierarchies:
Economy and needs of society grew.

Varna System emerged

Example
● New castes appeared amongst the Brahmanas.
● Many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and given the
status of jatis.
● Specialised artisans - smiths, carpenters and masons - were also recognised as
separate jatis by the Brahmanas.
Ex. Rathkaras (chariot makers)
● Jatis, rather than varna, became the basis for organising society.

Varna and Jatis

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Changing Society: New Castes and Hierarchies:
➔ Among Kshatriya [Varna]

● New Rajput clans became powerful by the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

These clans belong to different backgrounds [Hindu, Chandelas, Chalukyas and even tribes].

Came to be regarded as Rajputs Rulers

➔ The rise of Rajput clans to the position of rulers set an example for the tribal people to follow.

How?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Changing Society: New Castes and Hierarchies:
Integration of tribal society into caste based society

➔ With the support of Brahmans, many tribes became part of caste system.

But only the leading tribal families could join the ruling class.
Explain
A large majority joined the lower jatis of caste society.

➔ Many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind and the North-West Frontier had adopted Islam quite early.
Ex. Arain tribes.

Criticised the caste system

➔ Emergence of state Social change amongst tribal people.

Gonds Ahoms
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Gonds
Who are Gonds?

A tribal community lived in a vast forested region called

Gondwana “Country inhabited by Gonds”.

● Practiced shifting cultivation.

● The large Gond tribe was further divided into many
smaller clans.

Each clan had its own raja or rai.

● Decline in Delhi Sultans = Emergence of Gond kingdoms.

➔ Akbar nama The Gond kingdom Garha Katanga that had 70,000 villages.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Gonds

A Gond Woman
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Gonds
Garha Katanga

A centralised administrative system in which the kingdom was divided into garhs. Each garh was
controlled by a particular Gond clan. This garhs further divided into units of 84 villages called
chaurasi. The chaurasi was subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each.

➔ The emergence of large states changed the nature of Gond society. How?

Equality to Inequality

● Brahmanas received land grants from the Gond rajas and became more influential.
● The Gond chiefs now wished to be recognised as Rajputs. So, Aman Das, the Gond
raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of Sangram Shah.
● His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Gonds
Aman Das

Married
Dalpat Shah Rani Durgawati

Bir Narain

● Dapat Shah dies early and Rani Durgawati started ruling on

behalf of her five year old son Bir Narain.

Under her, the kingdom became even more extensive.

Challenges
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Gonds
In 1565

● The Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked Garha Katanga.

● A strong resistance was put up by Rani Durgawati.
● She was defeated and preferred to die rather than surrender. Her son, too, died fighting soon after.

Impact of the Mughal victory on Garha Katanga.

● Garha Katanga was a rich state.

● When the Mughals defeated the Gonds, they captured a huge booty of precious coins and elephants.
● They annexed part of the kingdom and granted the rest to Chandra Shah, an uncle of Bir Narain.
● Despite the fall of Garha Katanga, the Gond kingdoms survived for some time.
● However, they became much weaker and later struggled unsuccessfully against the stronger
Bundelas and Marathas.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Ahoms

The Ahoms

The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from

present-day Myanmar in the thirteenth century.

Created new state by suppressing the older political

system of Bhuiyans.

Expansion of Ahom Kingdom

➔ Ahoms annexed the kingdom of the chhutiyas [1523].
➔ They also annexed Koch-Hajo [1581].
➔ They built a large state, and for this they used firearms as early as the 1530s.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Ahoms
➔ However, the Ahoms faced many invasions from the south-west.

In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom But the Mughal control
kingdom. Despite their brave defence, the Ahoms were defeated. could not last long.

Structure of Ahom state

➔ The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Paiks system

● A census of the population was taken. Each village had

to send a number of paiks by rotation.
● Movement of people from dense populated area to less
populated area.
Sukaphaa ● Centralised administration.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Ahoms
● Almost all adult males served in the army during war.
● At other times, they were engaged in building dams, irrigation systems and other public works.

Rice Cultivation

➔ Ahom society was divided into clans or khels.

● A khel often controlled several villages.

● The peasant was given land by his village community.
● Even the king could not take it away without the community’s consent.
● Shortage of artisans in Ahom kingdom.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
A Closer Look: The Ahoms
Culture and Religion

➔ Ahoms worshipped their own tribal gods.

However by seventeenth century, influence of Brahmanas increased.

● Temples and Brahmanas were granted land by the king.

● In the reign of Sib Singh (1714-1744), Hinduism became the predominant religion.
● But the Ahom kings did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism.

● Poets and scholars were given land grants.

Ahom society ● Theatre was encouraged.
● Important works of Sanskrit were translated into the local language.
● Buranjis, were also written - first in the Ahom language and then in
Assamese.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
Conclusion:
Society

Interaction among Varna based society and tribal people.

Social changes took place

➔ This interaction caused both kinds of societies to adapt and change. How?

Tribes took up different livelihoods.

● Many of them merged with caste based society.
● Some rejected caste system and orthodox hinduism.
● Some tribes took up the administration Politically powerful.

At time, this brought them into conflict with larger and more complex kingdoms and empires.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. Match the following:

a. Garh Khel

b. Tanda Chaurasi

c. Labourer Caravan

d. Clan Garha Katanga

e. Sib Singh Ahom state

f. Durgawati Paik
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. Fill in the blanks:

a. The new castes emerging within varnas were called ____________.

b. _____________ were historical works written by the Ahoms.

c. The ____________ mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.

d. As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants to _________ and ________.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. State whether true or false:

a. Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.

b. There were no tribal communities in the northwestern part of the subcontinent.

c. The chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities.

d. The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of the subcontinent.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic pastoralists and settled
agriculturists?

Ans. The nomadic pastoralists exchanged milk, wool, ghee, etc with settled
agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. How was the administration of the Ahom state organised?

Ans. The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Those forced to work for the state
were known as Paiks. A census of the population was taken.
Each of the villages had to send a number of paiks by rotation. People of densely
populated areas were shifted to thinly populated areas.
Ahom clans were thus broken up. By the first half of the 17th century, the
administration became quite centralised.
Almost all adult males served in the army during the war. At other time they are
involved in building dams, irrigation system and other public works.
Ahom society was divided into class or Khels, A Khel controlled several villages. The
peasant was given land by his village community, which even the king could not take it
easily. Ahom society was very sophisticated. poets and scholars wcrc encouraged and
given land grants.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. What changes took place in Varna based society?

Ans. The changes in Varna based society took place on the basis of the following steps:
● In almost the entire subcontinent, society was already divided on the basis of Varna.
● Rules prescribed by the Brahmanas, were accepted by the rulers of large kingdoms.
● The difference between the high and low and between the rich and the poor, increased.
● This further divided hierarchy between social classes.
● With the growth of economy and the needs of society. people with new skills were required.
● Smaller castes or jatis emerged within varnas.
● Specialised artisans like-smiths,carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis
by the Brahmanas.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?

Ans. Changes in the society from tribal into the organised state were remarkable in the
following ways -
● The emergence of large states changed the nature of tribal society. Equal society
gradually got divided into various unequal social classes.
● Brahmanas received land grants from the Gond rajas. They became more
influential.
● The Gond chiefs now wished to be recognised as Rajputs.
● Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga assumed the title of Sangram Shah.
His son Dalpat, married princess Durgawati daughter of a Rajput King.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. Why were the Banjaras important for the economy?

Ans. The Banjaras were very important for the economy. They were trader-nomads
and controlled trade and commerce. They played an important role in transportation
of grains to the city markets.
They usually bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places
where it was not available. They even transported foodgrain for the Mughal towns
and during military campaigns.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - TRIBES, NOMADS AND SETTLED COMMUNITIES
NCERT Solution:
Que 9. In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms?
Were there any similarities?

Ans. History of the Gonds was different from the Ahom in the following way -

Gonds Ahoms

● They lived in Gondwana. ● They lived in Brahmaputra valley.

● Practised shifting cultivation. ● Did not practice shifting cultivation.
● Kingdoms were comparatively larger. ● They were smaller kingdoms.
● Kingdoms were divided into garhs. ● Ahoms built centralised state.
● Did not use firearms. ● Used firearms for the first time.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Introduction:

A chapter not just to read but to feel

You may have seen people perform rituals of worship, or

singing bhajans, kirtans or qawwalis, or even repeating
Spiritual
the name of God in silence, and noticed that some of
them are moved to tears.

Such intention devotion or love of god is the legacy

of various kinds of bhakti and sufi movement.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?
➔ The idea of supreme god
➔ A new kind of bhakti in South India - Nayanars and Alvars
➔ Philosophy and Bhakti
➔ Basavanna’s Virashaivism
➔ The saint of Maharashtra
➔ Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis
➔ Islam and Sufism
➔ New religion development in North India
➔ A closer look: Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak
➔ NCERT Solution
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
The Idea of a Supreme God:
Growth of town,
New ideas began to develop. Explain
trade and empires

The idea that all human beings are not equal even at birth
gained around during this period.

➔ Many people were uneasy with such ideas and turned to the teachings of the Buddha or the
Jainas. Why?

Because according to the teaching of Buddha and Jaina it was possible to

overcome social difference and break the cycle of rebirth through personal effort.

Some took the path of Bhakti to end inequality.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
The Idea of a Supreme God:
Bhakti

Approaching the supreme god with devotion by which humans

Explain
can become free from the bondage.

This idea advocated in the Bhagavad Gita grew in popularity.

● Shiv, Vishnu and Durga came to be worshipped as supreme god.

● Gods and goddesses worshipped in different areas came to be identified with Shiva, Vishnu or
Durga.
● Local myths and legends became a part of the Puranic stories.
● Eventually the Puranas also laid down that it was possible for devotees to receive the grace of
God regardless of their caste status.

Bhakti cult become popular.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New kind of Bhakti in South India - Nayanars and Alvars:

Nayanars Alvars

Saints devoted to Shiva Saints devoted to Vishnu

● They were sharply critical of the Buddhists and Jains and preached ardent love of Shiva or Vishnu
as the path to salvation.

● They drew upon the ideals love and heroism as found in Sangam literature and blended them
with the values of Bhakti.

● The Nayanars and Alvars went from place to place composing exquisite poems in praise of the
deities.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New kind of Bhakti in South India - Nayanars and Alvars:

Temples were built by Chola and Pandya

These shrines were visited by the saint-poets,

strengthening the links between the bhakti Explain
tradition and temple worship.

● Poem of Bhakti saints were compiled.

● Hagiographies or religious biographies of the Alvars and Nayanars were also composed.

Ex. The composition of Manikkavasagar.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New kind of Bhakti in South India - Nayanars and Alvars:

A bronze image of
Manikkavasagar
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New kind of Bhakti in South India - Nayanars and Alvars:
➔ Nayanars and Alvars came from different caste and background.

● There were 63 Nayanars, who belonged to different caste backgrounds such as potters,
“untouchable” workers, peasants, hunters, soldiers, Brahmanas and chiefs.

The best known among them were Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar.

There are two sets of compilations of their songs - Tevaram and Tiruvacakam.

● There were 12 Alvars, who came from equally divergent backgrounds, the best known being
Periyalwar, his daughter Andal, Thondaradippodi Alvar and Nammalvar. Their songs were
compiled in the Divya Prabandham.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Philosophy and Bhakti:
Shankara One of the most influential philosophers of India,
was born in Kerala in the eighth century.

Advocate of Advaita

The doctrine of the oneness of the individual soul and the

Supreme God which is the Ultimate Reality.

His philosophy

Brahman, the only or Ultimate Reality, was formless and without any attributes. He considered the
world around us to be an illusion or maya, and preached renunciation of the world and adoption of
the path of knowledge to understand the true nature of Brahman and attain salvation.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Philosophy and Bhakti:
Ramanuja

➔ Born in Tamil Nadu in the eleventh century, was deeply influenced by the Alvars.

➔ According to him the best means of attaining salvation was through intense devotion to Vishnu.

Vishishtadvaita The philosophy of qualified oneness in

that the soul even when united with the
Supreme God remained distinct.

Influence in North India.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Basavanna Virashaivism:
Who was Basavanna?

Was a 12th century statesman, philosopher, poet, Ligayat saint known for
starting Virashaiva movement.

Basavanna initiated Virashaiva movement along with his companions like

Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi.

● The Virashaivas argued strongly for the equality of all human beings and
against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.

● They were also against all forms of ritual and idol worship.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Basavanna Virashaivism:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
The Saints of Maharashtra:
The Saints of Maharashtra Relate with the bhakti cult.

Saint - Poets whose song in simple Marathi continue to inspire people.

How?

➔ Some of the important saints are Jnaneswar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram as well as women
like Sakhubai and a family of Chokhamela.

➔ Rise of Varkari sect.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
The Saints of Maharashtra:

Jnaneswar Namdev Eknath Tukaram

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
The Saints of Maharashtra:
➔ This regional tradition of bhakti focused on the Vitthala (a form of Vishnu) temple in
Pandharpur, as well as on the notion of a personal god residing in the hearts of all people.

● These saint-poets rejected all forms of ritualism, outward display of piety

and social differences based on birth.
● They even rejected the idea of renunciation and preferred to live with
their families.
● Believe in serving fellow human beings in need.
● They insisted that bhakti lay in sharing other’s pain.

➔ As the famous Gujarati saint Narsi Mehta said, “They are Vaishnavas who understand the
pain of others.”
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis:
Emergence of religious group

They criticised the ritual and other aspects of conventional religion and the social order, using simple,
logical arguments.

They advocated renunciation of the world. Path to salvation

Meditation on the formless Ultimate Reality and the realisation of oneness with it.

How?

To achieve this they advocated intense training of the mind and body
through practices like yoga asanas, breathing exercises and meditation.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis:
➔ These groups become particularly popular among “low castes”.

Analyse

Their criticism of conventional religion created the ground for

devotional religion to become a popular force in northern India.

Yogi
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:
Saints and Sufis

➔ The saints had much in common with the Sufis.

Sufis They had a different

notion with the complex
religion of Islam.
● Sufis were muslim mystics.
● They rejected outward religiosity and emphasised love and devotion
to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings. Explain
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:
● Islam propagated strict monotheism or submission to one God.
● In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries religious scholars developed different aspects of Holy
Law (shariat) and theology of Islam.

Sufism was different from this?

● Sufis provided with an additional dimension that favoured a more personal devotion
to god.
● The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by
muslim religion scholars.
● They sought union with god much as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard for the
world.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:
Similarity with Saints

● Composed poems and literature was written.

● Prose, anecdotes and fables, developed around them.

➔ Among the great Sufis of Central Asia were Ghazzali, Rumi

and Sadi.
Rumi
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:
● The Sufis too believed that the heart can be trained to look at the world in a different way.

How?

Zikr Sama Raqs

➔ Along with this, discussion of parables, breath control under the guidance of a
master or pir was performed to train a heart.

Had their own silsilas? Spiritual genealogy of sufi teachers.

Each following a slightly different method (tariqa) of instruction and ritual practice.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:
Sufis From central Asia settled in Hindustan.

This process was strengthened with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate. How?

● Establishment of Sufi centers.

● The Chishti silsila was among the most influential orders.
● It had a long line of teachers like Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer,
Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin
Auliya of Delhi and Banda Nawaz Gesudaraz of Gulbarga.

Sufi Masters held their assemblies in their khanqahs or hospices.

Discussion on spiritual matters, blessings of saints or

music and dance sessions were held here.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:

Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of

of Ajmer Delhi Delhi

Were attributed with miraculous powers that could relieve others of

their illnesses and troubles.
Sufi Masters
The tomb or dargah of a Sufi saint became a place of pilgrimage to
which thousands of people of all faiths thronged.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Islam and Sufism:

Devotees of all backgrounds

visit Sufi shrines.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:
➔ The period after the thirteenth century saw a new wave of the bhakti movement in north India.

Why?

New religious ideas influenced by - Islam, Brahmanical Hinduism, Sufism, various strands of bhakti, and
the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis.

People, especially craftspersons, peasants, traders and labourers,

thronged to listen to these new saints and spread their ideas.

Example
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:
● Some of them like Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak rejected all orthodox religions.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:
● Tulsidas and Surdas accepted existing beliefs and practices but wanted to make these accessible
to all.

Analyse

● Conceived god in the form of Rama. ● Surdas was an ardent devotee of Krishna.
● Composed Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi. ● His compositions, compiled in the
Sursagar, Sur Saravali and Sahitya Lahiri,
express his devotion.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:
● Sankaradeva of Assam who emphasised devotion to Vishnu, and
composed poems and plays in Assamese. He began the practice of setting
up namghars or houses of recitation and prayer.

● This tradition also included saints like Dadu Dayal, Ravidas and Mirabai.

Sankaradeva

Dadu Dayal Ravidas Mirabai

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:
Mirabai became a disciple of Ravidas

Try to understand the society?

Caste System

A unique feature of most of the saints is

that their works were composed in
regional languages and could be sung.

Passed down orally.

Popular among lower section of society.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
New Religious Developments in North India:

A significant impact that these saints had

on music was the use of Bhajan, Kirtan
and Abhang.

These songs which emphasised on

emotional experience had a tremendous
appeal to the common people.

Chaitanyadev, a sixteenth-century bhakti An important contribution of Bhakti saints was

saint from Bengal, preached selfless towards the development of music, Jayadeva of
devotion to Krishna-Radha. In the picture
you see a group of his followers engaged Bengal composed the Gita Govinda in Sanskrit,
in ecstatic dancing and singing each song composed in a particular raga and tala.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Kabir
Kabir One of the most influential saint.
He was brought up in a family of Muslim julahas or weavers settled in or near the
city of Benares (Varanasi).
We have little reliable information about his life.

How do we get to know about him.

Sakis and Pads

[Vast collection of verses]

He composed such Sakis and Pads and were sung, by wandering Bhajan singers.

● Some of these were later collected and preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib, Panchvani and Bijak.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Kabir
● Kabir’s teachings Rejected the major religious traditions. Why?

● His teachings openly ridiculed all forms of external worship of both Brahmanical
Hinduism and Islam.
● The pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system.

● The language of his poetry was a form of spoken Hindi widely understood by ordinary people.

Used cryptic language.

● Kabir believed in a formless Supreme God. Nirguna Saint

● Kabir drew his followers from among both Hindus and Muslims.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) ● Born at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib in Pakistan).

● Established a centre at Kartarpur (Dera Baba Nanak on

the river Ravi).

● Irrespective of their former creed, caste or gender, his

followers ate together in the common kitchen (langar).

● The sacred space thus created by Guru Nanak was

known as dharamsala. It is now known as Gurdwara.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
● Before his death in 1539, Baba Guru Nanak appointed Lehna his successor.

Signifying that he was a part of Guru Nanak himself.

Guru Angad

● He compiled the compositions of Guru Nanak, to which he added his

own in a new script known as Gurmukhi.
● The three successors of Guru Angad also wrote under the name of
“Nanak” and all of their compositions were compiled by Guru Arjan
in 1604.

● Writing of Shaik Farid, Sant kabir, Bhagat Namdev and Guru Tegh
Bahadur were added to this compilation.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
➔ In 1706 this compilation was authenticated by his son and successor, Guru Gobind Singh.
It is now known as Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.
Followers

They belonged to a number of castes but traders, agriculturists, artisans and craftsmen
predominated. Why?

Baba Guru Nanak’s insistence that his followers must be householders and should adopt
productive and useful occupations.

➔ By the beginning of the seventeenth century the town of Ramdaspur (Amritsar) had
developed around the central Gurdwara called Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple).

“State within the state” Example

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak
➔ The Mughal emperor Jahangir looked upon them as a potential threat and he ordered the
execution of Guru Arjan in 1606.

The Sikh movement began to get politicised.

Culminated in the institution of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Khalsa Panth
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
A Closer Look: Baba Guru Nanak

Development of Bhakti movement

● The ideas of Guru Nanak had a huge impact on this development from the very beginning.
● Worship of one God.
● He insisted that caste, creed or gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation.
● His idea of liberation was not that of a state of inert bliss but rather the pursuit of active life with
a strong sense of social commitment.

Essence of his teaching Nam Dan Isnan

● Which actually meant right worship, welfare of others and purity of conduct.
● His teachings are now remembered as nam-japna, kirt-karna and vand-chhakna.

➔ Baba Guru Nanak’s idea idea of equality had social and political implication.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Martin Luther and Reform:
Bhakti and Sufi movement Reformation

A similar reformation in christianity also took place.

● One of the most important leaders of the changes that took place
within Christianity was Martin Luther (1483-1546).
● Luther felt that several practices in the Roman Catholic Church went
against the teachings of the Bible. He encouraged the use of the
language of ordinary people rather than Latin.

Explain
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
Martin Luther and Reform:
Reformation by Luther

● Translated the Bible into German.

● Luther was strongly opposed to the practice of “indulgences” or
making donations to the Church so as to gain forgiveness from sins.

■ Role of printing press in popularising his idea.

■ Protestant christian sects and teaching of Luther.

Title page of the German Bible

translated by Martin Luther
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. Match the following:

a. The Buddha Namghar

b. Sankaradeva Worship of Vishnu

c. Nizamuddin Auliya Questioned social differences

d. Nayanars Sufi saint

e. Alvars Worship of Shiva

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. Fill in the blanks:

a. Shankara was an advocate of ————-.

b. Ramanuja was influenced by the —————.

c. ————, ———— and ———— were advocates of Virashaivism.

d. ———————— was an important centre of the Bhakti tradition in Maharashtra.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. Describe the beliefs and practices of the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis.

Ans. The Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis believed in the renunciation of the world. For them,
the path of salvation lay in meditating on the formless ultimate reality.
They stressed on intense training of the mind and body through yoga asanas, breathing
exercises and meditation.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. What were the major ideas expressed by Kabir? How did he express these?

Ans. Ideas of Kabir were based on a complete, indeed vehement and rejections of the major religious
traditions. His teachings openly ridiculed all forms of external worship of both Brahmanical Hinduism
and Islam.
The teachings opposed the pre-eminence of the priestly classes and the caste system. He believed in a
formless Supreme God.
Kabir expressed his ideas through poetry and bhajans. The language of his poetry was a form of spoken
Hindi widely understood bv ordinary people.
Kabir's ideas were known from a vast collection of verses called Sakhis and Pads Said to have been
composed by him and sung in form of bhajans.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. What were the major beliefs and practices of the Sufis?

Ans. The following were the major beliefs and practices of Sufis -
● The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim
religious scholars.
● They sought union with God much as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard for the world.
● Like the saint poets, the Sufis too composed poems expressing their feelings and a rich literature
in prose, including anecdotes and fables, developed around them.
● They believed that heart can be trained to look at the world in a different way. They developed
methods like zikr, contemplation, Sama, ragas, discussion of parables, breath control, under the
guidance of a master or pir. Thus, emerged a Silsilas, a genealogy of Sufi teachers.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. Why do you think many teachers rejected prevalent religious beliefs and practices?

Ans. Many teachers rejected prevalent religious beliefs and practices because these were
based on social differences, excess ritualism and outward display of piety.
There were inequality, discrimination and dogmas in religion.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. What were the major teachings of Baba Guru Nanak?

Ans. The major teachings of Guru Nanak were -

● Guru Nanak emphasised the importance of the worship of one God. He insisted that
caste, creed or gender was irrelevant for attaining liberation.
● He also used the term nam, dan and isnan for the essence of his teachings, which
actually meant right worship, welfare of others and purity of conduct.
● He gave importance to right belief and worship, honest living and helping others.
● He promoted the idea of equality.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. For either the Virashaivas or the saints of Maharashtra, discuss their attitude towards caste.

Ans. The attitude of Virashaivas or the saints of Maharashtra towards caste was that
● They followed a humanistic attitude.
● They believed in the equality of all human beings.
● They were against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.

Moreover, they believed that Bhakti means sharing other pains. They wished a society where people
could live in harmony without any feelings of high and low, rich and poor.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - DEVOTIONAL PATHS TO THE DIVINE
NCERT Solution:
Que 9. Why do you think ordinary people preserved the memory of Mirabai?

Ans. Ordinary people preserved the memory of Mirabai because -

● Though she was a Rajput princess married into the royal family of Mewar. But she had
no interest of worldly affairs. Mirabai was devoted to Krishna and composed
innumerable bhajans expressing her intense devotion.

● Her devotion to her deity was supreme. She lived a simple life with ordinary people.

● Her songs also openly challenged the norms of the upper caste and became popular
with the masses in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Introduction:
Region and Regional Relate with the culture.

● Language as an identification of any region.

● Food, clothes, poetry, dance, music and painting.

Sometimes we take these identities for granted and

assume that they have existed from time immemorial.

Reality
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?

➢ The Cheras and the development of Malayalam.

➢ Rulers and Religion Traditions: The Jagannatha cult
➢ The Rajputs and Tradition of Heroism
➢ Beyond regional frontiers: The story of Kathak
➢ Classical dances
➢ Painting for patrons: The tradition of miniatures
➢ A closer look: Bengal
➢ Pirs and Temples
➢ Fish and Food
➢ NCERT Solut
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
The Cheras and the Development of Malayalam:
Chera Kingdom

● Kingdom of Mahodayapuram
● Established in the ninth century in South-Western part of peninsula.

Region and language

It is likely that Malayalam was spoken in this area. Inscription

● The rulers introduced the Malayalam

language and script in their inscriptions.
● Use of regional language in official
records.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
The Cheras and the Development of Malayalam:
➢ At the same time, the Cheras also drew upon Sanskritic traditions. Explain

● Temple theatre of Kerala borrowed stories from Sanskrit epics.

● Literary works in Malayalam are directly indebted to Sanskrit.

Lilatilakam

● A fourteenth - century text, dealing with grammar and poetics was composed in Manipravalam.

“Diamonds and Corals” Referring to the two languages sanskrit and the regional languages.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Rulers and Religious Tradition: The Jagannatha Cult
Regional Culture Grow around religions tradition. How?

The cult of Jagannath at Puri Orissa

To date, the local tribal people make the wooden image of the deity, which suggests that the deity was
originally a local god, who was later identified with Vishnu.

➔ In the twelfth century

● Anantavarman decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannath at Puri.

● In 1230, king Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to deity and proclaimed himself as the
deputy of the god.

Why?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Rulers and Religious Tradition: The Jagannatha Cult

Anangabhima III

Purushottama Jagannath at Puri

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Rulers and Religious Tradition: The Jagannatha Cult
➔ Establishment of temple and religious cult.

The temple gained importance as a centre of pilgrimage.

● Authority of social and political matters also increased.

Impact

● All those who conquered Orissa, such as the Mughals, the Marathas and the English
East India Company, attempted to gain control over the temple.
● They felt that this would make their rule acceptable to the local people.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
The Rajputs and Tradition of Heroism:
Present day Rajasthan Was called Rajputana by British. Why?

● There were (and are) several groups who identify themselves as

Rajputs and live in many areas of northern and central India.
● There are several peoples other than Rajputs who live in Rajasthan.

Rajputs are recognised Contributing distinctive culture to Rajasthan.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
The Rajputs and Tradition of Heroism:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
The Rajputs and Tradition of Heroism:
❖ These cultural traditions were closely linked with the ideals and aspirations of rulers. How?

These rulers cherished the ideal of the hero who fought

valiantly, often choosing death on the battlefield rather
than face and defeat.
Stories about Rajput heroes were recorded in poems and
songs, which were recited by specially trained minstrels.

Why?
Ordinary people often attracted by these stories.

Often depicted dramatic situation and a range of strong emotions.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
The Rajputs and Tradition of Heroism:
Did women find a place within these stories?

● They figure as the “cause” for conflicts, as men fought with

one another to either “win” or “protect” women.
● Women are also depicted as following their heroic husbands
in both life and death.

How?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Beyond Regional Frontiers: The Story of Kathak
The history of one dance form Kathak.

➢ The term kathak is derived from katha, a word used in Sanskrit and other languages for story.
➢ The kathaks were originally a caste of storytellers in temples of north India.
➢ Key feature of Kathak -
○ Performance with gestures and songs.

Spread of Kathak and Bhakti movement.

The legends of Radha-Krishna were enacted in folk

plays called rasa lila.

Combined folk dance with the basic gestures of the

kathak story-tellers.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Beyond Regional Frontiers: The Story of Kathak
Under Mughal Emperors Kathak was performed in the court.

Developed into a form of dance with a distinctive style.

Subsequently, it developed in two traditions or gharanas:

● One in the courts of Rajasthan (Jaipur)
● The other in Lucknow

❖ Under the patronage of Wajid Ali Shah,

the last Nawab of Awadh, it grew into a major art form.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Beyond Regional Frontiers: The Story of Kathak
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Beyond Regional Frontiers: The Story of Kathak
By the third quarter of the nineteenth century

● Kathak spread in adjoining areas of present-day Punjab, Haryana, Jammu

and Kashmir, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
● Emphasis was laid on intricate and rapid footwork, elaborate costumes,
as well as on the enactment of stories.

Perspective of British administrators

➔ Kathak, like several other cultural practices, was viewed with disfavour.
➔ However, it survived and continued to be performed by courtesans, and
was recognised as one of six “classical” forms of dance in the country
after independence.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
“Classical” Dances:
Meaning of classical and its interpretation

➔ The question of defining any art form as “classical” is often

quite complicated.

Questions

➔ It is worth remembering that many dance forms that are

classified as “folk” also share several of the characteristics
considered typical of “classical” forms.

While the use of the term “classical” may suggest that these
forms are superior, this need not always be literally true.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
“Classical” Dances:
➔ Other dance forms that are recognised as classical at
present are:
● Bharatanatyam (Tamil Nadu)
● Kathakali (Kerala)
● Odissi (Odisha)
● Kuchipudi (Andhra Pradesh)
● Manipuri (Manipur)

● Sattriya (Assam)
● Mohiniyattam( Kerala)

Bharatanatyam
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
“Classical” Dances:

Kathakali Odissi Kuchipudi Manipuri

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Paintings for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures
➢ Development of Miniature paintings.

Small size paintings which are generally done in

water colour on clothes or paper.

Content

● Manuscript found in western India to illustrate jaina text. The Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahangir
and Shah Jahan patronised highly skilled painters who primarily illustrated manuscripts
containing historical accounts and poetry.

Miniature Were often exchanged as gifts and were viewed only by an

exclusive few - the emperor and his close associates.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Paintings for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures

Akbar resting during

a hunt, Mughal
miniature.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Paintings for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures
● Decline in Mughal Empire Painters moved to courts of emerging regional states.

Mughal artistic tastes influenced the regional courts of the Deccan and the Rajput courts of Rajasthan.

+
Retained and developed their distinctive characteristics.

Like what?

● Portraits of rulers and court scenes came to be painted.

● Themes from mythology and poetry were depicted at
centres such as Mewar, Jodhpur, Bundi, Kota and Kishangarh.
Maharana Ram Singh II playing
holi. Rajput miniature, Kota
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Paintings for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures
Miniature paintings at Himalayan Foothills

● This region had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli.

● The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari.

➔ Nadir Shah’s Invasion Conquest of Delhi in 1739

Mughal artists migrated to hills to escape the

uncertainties of the plains.

Found ready patrons which led to the

founding of the Kangra school of painting.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Paintings for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Paintings for Patrons: The Tradition of Miniatures
➔ Kangra school of painting

By the mid eighteenth century the Kangra

artists developed a style which breathed a
new spirit into miniature painting.

Krishna, Radha and her Vaishnavite Tradition

companion, Pahari
miniature, Kangra.

➔ Soft colours including cool blues and greens, and a lyrical treatment of themes distinguished
Kangra painting.
➔ Ordinary women and men painted as well - on pots, walls, floors, cloth.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
A Closer Look Bengal:
The Growth of a Regional Language

Bengal Regional Language? Bengali Sanskritic origin?

● From the fourth-third centuries BCE, commercial ties began to develop between Bengal and
Magadha (south Bihar), which may have led to the growing influence of Sanskrit.

Brahmanas
During fourth century, Gupta rulers established political control over Bengal.
Settlement

Linguistic and cultural influence from the mid-Ganga valley became stronger in Bengal.

● Observation of Chinese traveller Xuan Zang.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
A Closer Look Bengal:

Gupta Empire

Xuan Zang
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
A Closer Look Bengal:
● Eighth century Bengal became the centre of a regional kingdom under the Palas.

● Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries Bengal was ruled by Sultans who were
independent of the rulers in Delhi.

● In 1586, when Akbar conquered Bengal

➢ It formed the nucleus of the Bengal suba.

➢ While Persian was the language of administration,
Bengali developed as a regional language.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
A Closer Look Bengal:
Bengali Language

● Common literary language in western part of that region.

● Derived from Sanskrit, it passed through several stages of evolution.
● Derived from a variety of sources including tribal languages, Persian,
and European languages, have become part of modern Bengali.

Bengali Literature

Indebted to Sanskrit Independent of Sanskrit

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
A Closer Look Bengal:
❖ The first includes translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Mangal
Kavyas (literally auspicious poems, dealing with local deities) and
bhakti literature such as the biographies of Chaitanya Deva, the
leader of the Vaishnava bhakti movement.

❖ The second includes Nath literature such as the songs of Maynamati

and Gopichandra, stories concerning the worship of Dharma
Thakur, and fairy tales, folk tales and ballads.

Analyse
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
A Closer Look Bengal:
● The texts belonging to the first category

➔ Easier to date, as several manuscripts have been found indicating that they were composed
between the late fifteenth and mid-eighteenth centuries.

● Text belonging to the second category

➔ Circulated orally and cannot be precisely dated.

➔ They were particularly popular in eastern Bengal, where the influence of Brahmanas was
relatively weak.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:
➢ From sixteenth century

People began to migrate from western Bengal to the South eastern Bengal.

Why?

Migration/Movement Local communities of fisherfolk and shifting cultivators, often

tribals, merged with the new communities of peasants.
+
Establishment of Mughal control over Bengal.

● Mosques were set up.

● They served as a centers for religious transformation.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:
➔ The early settlers sought some order and assurance in the unstable conditions. Explain

● Teachers
Provided with community leaders.
● Adjudicators
● Ascribed with supernatural power

People referred to them with affection and respect as pirs.

● This term included saints or Sufis and other religious personalities.

● Daring colonisers and deified soldiers.

Cult of Pirs
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:
➔ Bengal also witnessed a temple-building spree from
the late fifteenth century, which culminated in the
nineteenth century. Relate with the previous chapter

Temple and religious structures

Often built by individuals or groups who were

becoming powerful.

To demonstrate their power and proclaim their piety.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:
➔ Many of the modest brick and terracotta temples in Bengal were
built with the support of several “low” social groups, such as the
Focus on undercurrents
Kolu (oil pressers) and the Kansari (bell metal workers).

Relate

European Trading Companies Created new economic opportunities. How?

Many families belonging to these social groups availed

these opportunities.

Their social and economic position improved.

Impact on the regional culture of Bengal.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:

Bangla Dome (Bengali style in Architecture)

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:
Socially and Economically powerful Started constructing temples. Why?

Impact

● Local deities, once worshipped in thatched huts in villages, gained the

recognition of the Brahmanas.
● Their images began to be housed in temples.

➔ The temples began to copy the double roofed [dochala] or four-roofed [chochala] structure of
thatched huts.

Evolution of the typical Bengali style in temple architecture.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:

Double Roofed [Dochala]

Four Roofed [Chochala]

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Pirs and Temples:
Four-roofed structure

● Four triangular roofs placed on the four walls move up to

converge on a curved line or a point.
● Temples were usually built on a square platform.
● The interior was relatively plain, but the outer walls of many
temples were decorated with paintings, ornamental tiles or
terracotta tablets.
Example : Vishnupur in Bankura district of West Bengal.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Fish as Food:
Traditional food habits Generally based on locally available items of food.

Bengal

● A riverine plain which produces plenty of rice and fish.

● Fishing has always been an important occupation and

Bengali literature contains several references to fish.

● Terracotta plaques on the walls of temples and viharas

(Buddhist monasteries) depict scenes of fish being
dressed and taken to the market in baskets.

Fish being dressed for domestic

Try to relate with regional culture consumption, terracotta plaque from
the Vishalakshi temple, Arambagh.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Fish as Food:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
Fish as Food:
➔ Brahmanas were not allowed to eat non vegetarian food.

But fish was most popular in the local deity of region

∴ The Brahmanical authorities relax this prohibition for the

Bengal Brahmanas.

● The Brihad Dharma Purana, a thirteenth-century Sanskrit text

from Bengal, permitted the local Brahmanas to eat certain
varieties of fish.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. Match the following:
a. Anantavarman Kerala
b. Jagannatha Bengal
c. Mahodayapuram Orissa
d. Lilatilakam Kangra
e. Mangal Kavya Puri
f. Miniature Kerala
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. What is Manipravalam? Name a book written in that language.

Ans. Manipravalam was a language consisting of Sanskrit and the regional language
(Malayalam). Lilatilakam is a text of Manipravalam.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. Who were the major patrons of Kathak?

Ans. Major patrons of Kathak were the Mughal Emperors and the Nawabs of
Lucknow, especially Wajid Ali Shah.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. What are the important architectural features of the temples of Bengal ?

Ans. Important architectural features of temples of Bengal are -

● Temples started to copy the double roofed or four roofed structure of the
thatched huts.
● In the comparatively more complex four roofed structure; four triangular roofs
placed on the four walls move up to converge on a curved line or a point.
● Temples were usually built on a square platform.
● Interior of the temple was relatively plain but the outer walls of many temples
were decorated with paintings, ornamental tiles or terracotta tablets.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. Why did minstrels proclaim the achievements of heroes?

Ans. Minstrels used to recite poems and songs which depicted the stories of the
Rajputs heroic deeds.
By reciting such songs minstrels inspired others to follow the examples of Rajputs.
Ordinary people were also attracted by these stories.
These stories have great emotions, loyalties, friendship, love, valour, anger etc.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. Why do we know much more about the cultural practices of rulers than
about those of ordinary people?

Ans. A subject follows the cultural traits of a ruler or king. The cultural practices of
rulers are more circulated due to its recognition by the people at large.
People have faith in their rulers. They could not adapt to other cultural practices
which their ruler did not patronise.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. Why did conquerors try to control the temple of Jagannatha at Puri?

Ans. The conquerors tried to control the temple of Jagannatha at Puri to make the
local people accept their rule.
The temple had huge wealth, collected from offerings.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - THE MAKING OF REGIONAL CULTURES
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. Why were temples built in Bengal?

Ans. Temples were built in Bengal because of the following reasons:

● Increase in religious faith.
● Powerful people wanted to demonstrate their power and proclaim their piety.
● Low social groups also participated in the temple building.
● New economic opportunities to people also helped in setting up of temple.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Introduction:
Try to understand the heading

State formations in the eighteenth century British territories in the mid-eighteenth century

Analyse
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Introduction:
➔ Political condition in eighteenth century India changed quite dramatically and within relatively
short span of time.

Emergence of new political group.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Introduction:
What we are going to study in this chapter?

➢ The crisis of the Empire and later Mughals

➢ Nadir Shah attacked Delhi
➢ Emergence of new states
➢ The old Mughal provinces
○ Hyderabad
○ Awadh
○ Bengal
➢ The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs
➢ Seizing Independence
○ The Sikhs
○ The Marathas
○ The Jats
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:
Mughal Empire

Rise and fall [Relate with chapter 4]

Reasons

I. Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and financial resources

of his empire by fighting a long war in the Deccan.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:

II. In efficient Successors The efficiency of Imperial administration broke down.

● It became difficult to keep a check on powerful Mansabdars.

● Governors [Subedars] Hold extraordinary political, economic and military

powers over vast regions of Mughal Empire.
Impact

Governors consolidate their control Periodic remission to the capital decline.

Explain
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:
III. Peasant and Zamindari rebellions in many parts.

Why?

● Pressures of Mounting taxes.

● Attempts by powerful cheifitians to consolidate their own position.

Rebellion not a new phenomenon But this time rebellious groups

had economic resources.

The Mughal emperors after Aurangzeb were unable to arrest the gradual shifting of political and
economic authority into the hands of provincial governors, local chieftains and other groups.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:
IV. Attacks of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali.

● Mughal Empire was into economic and political crisis.

● The ruler Iran Nadir Shah, sacked and plundered the city of Delhi in
1739.
● The attack was followed by the Afghan ruler Ahmed Shah Abdali.
Nadir Shah
He invaded North India five times [1748 - 1761]

Ahmed Shah Abdali

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:
V. Competition amongst different groups of Nobles. Explain

Nobles

Iranis Turanis

Role of nobles in influencing Mughal Empire.

Farrukh Siyar receiving

➔ The later Mughal emperors were puppets in the hands of either one or a noble in court.
the other of these two powerful groups.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Crisis of the Empire and Later Mughals:
➔ The worst possible humiliation came when two Mughal emperors,
Farrukh Siyar (1713-1719) and Alamgir II (1754-1759) were
assassinated by their nobles.
➔ Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) and Shah Alam II (1759-1816) were
blinded by their nobles.

Alamgir II Ahmad Shah Shah Alam II

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Nadir Shah Attacked Delhi:
Who was Nadir Shah?

● He attacked Delhi in 1739. Why?

● The Invasion was described by contemporary observers.

Sixty lakhs of rupees and some thousand gold coins,

nearly one crore worth of gold-ware, nearly fifty crores
worth of jewels, most of them unrivalled in the world,
and the above included the Peacock throne. Nadir Shah
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Nadir Shah Attacked Delhi:
Another account described the invasion’s impact upon Delhi:

(Those) … who had been masters were now in dire straits; and those who had
been revered couldn’t even (get water to) quench their thirst. The recluses
were pulled out of their corners. The wealthy were turned into beggars. Those
who once set the style in clothes now went naked; and those who owned
property were now homeless … The New City (Shahjahanabad) was turned
into rubble. (Nadir Shah) then attacked the Old quarters of the city and
destroyed a whole world that existed there …
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Emergence of New States:
Decline in the authority of the Mughal The governors of large provinces subedars and
the great Zamindars consolidate their authority.

➔ The Mughal Empire gradually fragmented into a number of independent regional states.

These emerging states can be divided into three overlapping groups.

1. States that were old Mughal provinces like Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad. Although extremely
powerful and quite independent, the rulers of these states did not break their formal ties with
the Mughal emperor.
2. States that had enjoyed considerable independence under the Mughals as watan jagirs. These
included several Rajput principalities.
3. The last group included states under the control of Marathas, Sikhs and others like the Jats. These
were of differing sizes and had seized their independence from the Mughals after a long-drawn
armed struggle.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Emergence of New States:

State formations in the eighteenth century

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces:

Mughal Empire

Out of the Mughal Empire, three prominent states were carved out.

● Awadh
These states were founded by
● Bengal
members of high Mughal nobility.
● Hyderabad
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces:

Sa‘adat Khan Murshid Quli Khan Asaf Jah

Governor of Awadh Governor of Bengal Governor of Hyderabad

★ All three had occupied high mansabdari positions and enjoyed the trust and confidence of the emperors.
★ Both Asaf Jah and Murshid Quli Khan held a zat rank of 7,000 each, while Sa‘adat Khan’s zat was 6,000.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Hyderabad
Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf jah

Founder of Hyderabad state (1724-1748)

He was entrusted first with the governorship of Awadh,

and later given charge of the Deccan.

As a Mughal governor [1720-22] He gained control over its political and financial administration.

Taking subsequent advantage of the turmoil.

He gathered power in his hands and became the actual ruler of that region.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Hyderabad
Asaf jah and his rule

Brought skilled soldiers and administrators.

He appointed mansabdars and granted jagirs.

Although he was still a servant of the Mughal emperor, he

ruled quite independently without seeking any direction from
Delhi or facing any interference.

Why?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Hyderabad
Hyderabad Was constantly engaged in a struggle.

● Marathas
● Telugu warriors chiefs (Nayakas)

➢ The ambitions of the Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah to control the

rich textile-producing areas of the Coromandel coast in the
east were checked by the British who were becoming
increasingly powerful in that region.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Awadh
Burhan-ul-Mulk Sa’adat Khan

Appointed as Subedar of Awadh in 1722.

Founded Awadh state [Important break up in the Mughal Empire]

Significance of Awadh

Awadh was a prosperous region, controlling the rich alluvial Ganga plain and the main trade route
between north India and Bengal.
Sa’adat Khan Held the combined offices of subadari, diwani and faujdari.

Responsible for managing the political, financial and military affairs of the province of Awadh.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Awadh
Sa’adat Khan Tried to decrease Mughal influence in Awadh region.

How?

● By reducing the number of office holders (jagirdars) appointed by the Mughals.

● Reduced the size of jagirs, and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions.

● The accounts of jagirdars were checked to prevent cheating and the revenues of all
districts were reassessed by officials appointed by the Nawab’s court.

➢ He seized a number of Rajput zamindars and the agriculturally fertile lands of the
Afghans of Rohilkhand.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Awadh
State Depended on local bankers and Mahajans for loans.

● It sold the right to collect tax to the highest bidders.

● These “revenue farmers” (ijaradars) agreed to pay the state a fixed sum of money.

What do they get in return?

In turn, the revenue-farmers were given considerable

freedom in the assessment and collection of taxes.

Impact
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Bengal
Murshid Quli Khan

Appointed as the naib (deputy to the governor of province)

Murshid Quli Khan very quickly seized

all the power that went with that office.

➢ Effort to reduce Mughal influence in Bengal

● He transferred all Mughal jagirdars to Orissa and ordered a major reassessment of the revenues
of Bengal.
● Revenue was collected in cash with great strictness from all zamindars.

● Many zamindars had to borrow money from bankers and moneylenders. Impact
● Those unable to pay were forced to sell their lands to larger zamindars.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Bengal
Regional States The close connection between the state and bankers.

● Evident in Bengal under the rule of Alivardi Khan (1740-1756). During his
reign the banking house of Jagat Seth became extremely prosperous.

Analyse

If we take a bird’s eye view, we can detect three

common features amongst these states.

Explain
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Bengal
● First, though many of the larger states were established by erstwhile Mughal nobles they were
highly suspicious of some of the administrative systems that they had inherited.

Jagirdari System

● Second, their method of tax collection differed.

➔ Rather than relying upon the officers of the state, all three regimes contracted with
revenue-farmers for the collection of revenue.
➔ The practice of ijaradari, thoroughly disapproved of by the Mughals, spread all over India in the
eighteenth century.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Old Mughal Provinces: Bengal
● The third common feature Emerging relationship with rich bankers and merchants.

These people lent money to revenue farmers

Received land as security and collected taxes from these lands through their own agents.

Throughout India the richest merchants and bankers were gaining a

stake in the new political order.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs:
Understand the heading

Rajput kings of Amber and Jodhpur Had served under Mughals with distinction.

In exchange, they were permitted to enjoy

considerable autonomy in their watan jagirs.

In the eighteenth century, these rulers now attempted to

extend their control over adjacent regions.

Ajit Singh, the ruler of Jodhpur, was also involved in the

factional politics at the Mughal court.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs:

Many Rajput rulers had accepted the suzerainty of the

Mughals but Mewar was the only Rajput state which
defied Mughal authority.
Rana Pratap ascended the throne at Mewar in 1572,
with Udaipur and large part of Mewar under his
control.
A series of envoys were sent to the Rana to persuade
him to accept Mughal suzerainty, but he stood his
ground.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs:
Influential Rajput families Claimed the subedari of the rich
provinces of Gujarat and Malwa.

Example:
➔ Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur held the governorship of Gujarat.
➔ Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber was governor of Malwa.

● They also tried to extend their territories by seizing portions of imperial territories
neighbouring their watans.

Ex : Nagaur was conquered and annexed to the house of Jodhpur.

: Amber seized large portions of Bundi.

➔ Sawai Raja Jai Singh founded his new capital at Jaipur and was given the subadari of Agra in 1722.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs:

Raja Ajit Singh Sawai Raja Jai Singh

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
The Watan Jagirs of the Rajputs:

Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan

Jantar Mantar in Jaipur

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Sikhs
Sikhs Organised themselves into political community in seventeenth century.

Regional state building in the Punjab.

Explain

● Several battles were fought by Guru Gobind Singh against

the Rajput and Mughal rulers, both before and after the
institution of the Khalsa in 1699.
● Death of Guru Gobind Singh (1708).

Afterwards?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Sikhs
❖ Khalsa rose in revolt against the Mughal authority under Banda
Bahadur’s leadership.

● Declared their sovereign rule.

● By striking coins in the name of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind
Singh. khalsa

➔ Established their own administration between the Sutlej and the

Jamuna.
➔ Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716.

Banda Bahadur
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Sikhs

Execution of Banda Bahadur

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Sikhs
Eighteenth century Sikh organised themselves into a number of bands called Jathas/Misls.

Their combined forces were known as the Grand army (Dal khalsa).

➔ The entire body used to meet at Amritsar at the time of Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective
decisions known as “resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas)”.

➔ A system called rakhi was introduced, offering protection to cultivators on the payment of a tax of
20 per cent of the produce.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Sikhs
Guru Gobind Singh

● Inspired the Khalsa with the belief that their destiny was to rule (Raj karega khalsa).
● Their well-knit organization enabled them to put up a successful resistance to the Mughal governors
first and then to Ahmad Shah Abdali who had seized the rich province of the Punjab and the Sarkar
of Sirhind from the Mughals.

Khalsa Again declared their sovereign rule by striking their own coin in 1765.

➔ Sikh territories in late eighteenth century.

● Extended from the Indus to the Jamuna but they were divided under different rulers.
● Maharaja Ranjit Singh, reunited these groups and established his capital at Lahore in 1799.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Sikhs

Guru Gobind Singh Maharaja Ranjeet Singh

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Marathas
Chattrapati Shivaji (1627 - 1680)

● Carved out a stable kingdom with the support of

powerful warrior families (deshmukhs).
● Groups of highly mobile, peasant pastoralists (kunbis)
provided the backbone of the Maratha army.

Shivaji used these forces to challenge

the Mughals in the peninsula.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Marathas

The Maratha state

Shivaji was born to Shahji and Jija Bai at Shivneri in 1630. Under
the guidance of his mother and his guardian Dada Konddev, Shivaji
embarked on a career of conquest at a young age. The occupation
of Javli made him the undisputed leader of the Mavala highlands
which paved the way for further expansion. His exploits against
the forces of Bijapur and the Mughals made him a legendary
figure. He often resorted to guerrilla warfare against his
opponents. By introducing an efficient administrative system
supported by a revenue collection method based on chauth and
sardeshmukhi he laid the foundations of a strong Maratha state.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Marathas
❖ After Shivaji’s death

Effective power in the Maratha state was wielded by a

family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivaji’s
successors as Peshwa (or principal minister).

Peshwa

Marathas developed a very successful organisation.

● Bypassing the fortified areas of the Mughals.

● Raiding cities.
● Mughal supply lines and reinforcements could be easily disturbed.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Marathas
Maratha Empire [1720 - 61]

It gradually chipped away at the authority of the Mughal Empire.

● Malwa and Gujarat were seized from the Mughals by the 1720s.
● By the 1730s, the Maratha king was recognised as the overlord of
the entire Deccan peninsula.

After raiding Delhi in 1737 the frontiers of Maratha domination expanded rapidly:

● Into Rajasthan and the Punjab in the north.

● Into Bengal and Orissa in the east. Impact
● Into Karnataka and the Tamil and Telugu countries in the south
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Marathas
● Maratha Expansion Brought enormous resources, but it came at a price.

These military campaigns also made other rulers hostile towards the Marathas.
Impact The third battle of Panipat in 1761.

Relate with previous topics.

Taxes Chauth Sardeshmukhi

25 per cent of the land revenue claimed 9-10 per cent of the land revenue
by zamindars. In the Deccan this was paid to the head revenue
collected by the Marathas collector in the Deccan.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Marathas
Administrative system of Marathas

● Revenue demands were gradually introduced taking

local conditions into account. Impact
● Agriculture was encouraged and trade revived.

This allowed Maratha chiefs (sardars) like Sindhia of

Gwalior, Gaekwad of Baroda and Bhonsle of Nagpur
the resources to raise powerful armies.

● New trade routes emerged within the areas controlled by the Marathas.

The silk produced in the Chanderi region now found a new outlet in Poona.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Jats
❖ The Jats consolidated their power during the late seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries.

Churaman Under his leadership they acquired control over territories situated to
the west of the city of Delhi.
● By the 1680s they had begun dominating the region between the two
imperial cities of Delhi and Agra.
● For a while they became the virtual custodians of the city of Agra.

➔ The Jats were prosperous agriculturists.

Towns like Panipat and Ballabgarh became important trading centres in the areas dominated by them.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Jats

The power of the Jats reached its zenith under Suraj Mal who
consolidated the Jat state at Bharatpur (in present day Rajasthan)
during 1756-1763. The areas under the political control of Suraj Mal
broadly included parts of modern eastern Rajasthan, southern
Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Suraj Mal built a number of
forts and palaces and the famous Lohagarh fort in Bharatpur is
regarded as one of the strongest forts built in this region.

Suraj Mal
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Jats
❖ Under Suraj Mal the kingdom of Bharatpur emerged as a strong state.
❖ When Nadir Shah sacked Delhi in 1739, many of the city’s notables took
refuge there.
❖ His son Jawahir Shah had 30,000 troops of his own and hired another
20,000 Maratha and 15,000 Sikh troops to fight the Mughals.

Architecture

● Bharatpur fort was built in a fairly traditional style, at Dig the Jats
built an elaborate garden palace combining styles seen at Amber
and Agra.
● Its buildings were modelled on architectural forms first associated
with royalty under Shah Jahan. How?
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
Seizing Independence: The Jats

Eighteenth-century palace complex at Dig. Note The throne balcony in the diwan-i am in Delhi,
the “Bangla dome” on the assembly hall on the completed in 1648.
roof of the building.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 1. Match the following:
1. Subadar A revenue farmer
2. Faujdar A high noble
3. Ijaradar Provincial governor
4. Misl Maratha peasant warriors
5. Chauth A Mughal military commander
6. Kunbis A band of Sikh warriors
7. Umara Tax levied by the Marathas
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 2. Fill in the blanks:

a. Aurangzeb fought a protracted war in the ____________________.

b. Umara and jagirdars constituted powerful sections of the Mughal __________________.

c. Asaf Jah founded the Hyderabad state in _____________________.

d. The founder of the Awadh state was ______________________.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 3. State whether true or false:

a. Nadir Shah invaded Bengal.

b. Sawai Raja Jai Singh was the ruler of Indore.

c. Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.

d. Poona became the capital of the Marathas in the eighteenth century.

CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 4. What were the offices held by Sa‘adat Khan?

Ans. The offices held by Sa’adat Khan includes subadari, diwani and faujdari.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 5. Why did the Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal try to do away with the jagirdari system?

Ans. The nawabs of Awadh and Bengal tried to do away with the jagirdari system because
they wanted to reduce the Mughal influence in their kingdoms.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 6. How were the Sikhs organised in the eighteenth century?

Ans. During the 17th century, the Sikhs got organized into a political community. This led to the
regional state-building in Punjab.
Guru Gobind Singh fought many battles against the Rajputs as well as Mughal rulers, both before and
after the institution of the Khalsa in 1699.
After the death of Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, the Khalsa revolted against the Mughal authority under
the leadership of Banda Bahadur and declared their sovereign rule.
Banda Bahadur was captured in 1715 and executed in 1716. In the 18th century, the Sikhs organized
themselves into a number of bands called Jathas and later on misls.
The Sikh under the Khalsa declared their sovereign rule and their territories in the late 17th century
extended from the Indus to the Jamuna. Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunited the divided groups of Sikhs
and established his capital at Lahore in 1799.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 7. Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the Deccan?

Ans. Marathas wanted to expand beyond the Deccan because of the following reasons -
● They wanted to reduce the authority of the Mughal Empire.

● Maratha king wanted to be recognised as the overlord of the entire Deccan Plateau.

● To possess the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi in the entire region.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 8. What were the policies adopted by Asaf Jah to strengthen his position?

Ans. After becoming the governor of Deccan, Asaf Jah took some important steps to
strengthen his positions

● He brought skilled soldiers and administrators from northern India.

● He appointed mansabdars and granted jagirs.

● He ruled quite independently without seeking any direction from Delhi or facing any
interference.
CLASS 7th - HISTORY - CHAPTER - EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS
NCERT Solution:
Que 9. Do you think merchants and bankers today have the kind of influence they had in
the eighteenth century?

Ans. During the 18th century, merchants were more influential than the bankers.
They used to provide more loan opportunities at higher interest rates.
But now, with the spread of education people prefer banks which provide loans and other
financial assistance at cheaper rates.
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