Practice Paper (2024-25)

Class - XII
Subject: History 
Duration: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions :
 Question paper comprises Five Sections – A, B, C, D and E. There are 34 questions in the question paper. All
questions are compulsory.
 Section A - Question 1 to 21 are MCQs of 1 mark each.
 Section B - Question no. 22 to 27 are Short Answer Type Questions, carrying 3 marks each. Answer to each
question should not exceed 60 - 80 words.
 Section C - Question no. 28 to 30 are Long Answer Type Questions, carrying 8 marks each. Answer to each
question should not exceed 300 - 350 words.
 Section D - Question no. 31 to 33 are Source Based Questions with three sub questions and are of 4 marks
each.
 Section E - Question no. 34 is Map based, carrying 5 marks that includes the identification and location of
significant test items. Attach the map with your answer.
 There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice has been provided in few
questions. Only one of the choices in such questions have to be attempted.

SECTION (A)
(Multiple Choice Questions)
21*1
1. King Ashoka is mentioned as ‘Piyadassi’ in the inscriptions. The meaning of Piyadassi is -

(A) Beloved of Gods (B) Pleasant to Behold

(C) Beautiful Eyes (D) Beloved of Nature

2. Mandasor Stone inscription records the history of a guild -

(A) The Goldsmith (B) Rathakaras

(C) Potters (D) Silk Weavers

3. Which of these was a luxury object for the Harappans ?

(A) Sickle (B) Queen stones
(C) Pots of Faience (D) All of these

4. Megasthenes mentioned a committee with 6 subcommittees of military, of which the fifth looked
after :

(A) Chariots (B) Foot soldiers

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 (C) Horses (D) Transport

5. Which foreign traveler wrote in his account that the ‘Untouchables’ had to sound a clapper in the
streets so that people would avoid seeing them ?

(A) Fa Hien (B) François Bernier

(C) Ibn Battuta (C) Megasthenese

6. What do you understand by Kutagarshala ?

(A) A place where philosophical debate took place

(B) A hut with a pointed roof
(C) Both are correct
(D) Both are incorrect

7. Assertion (A) : Guru Nanak firmly repudiated the external practices of religions he saw around him
Reason (R) : He advocates Saguna Bhakti

(A) Both A and R are true and R is correct explanation to A

(B) Both A and R are true but R is not correct explanation to A
(C) A is true but R is false
(D) A is false but R is true

8. Which culture is associated with Harappan culture?

(A) Megalithic (B) Paleolithic

(C) Neolithic (D) Chalcolithic

9. There are ……… daftars in Ain-e-Akbari.

(A) 3 (B) 4
(C) 5 (D) 6

10. Consider the following events –

I – Introduction of Permanent settlement
II – American Civil War
III – Fifth Report in British Parliament
IV – Santhal arrived in hilly area of Rajmahal

The correct chronological order of these events is –

(A) I,II,III,IV (B) I,IV,III,II
(C) I,III,II,IV (D) II,I,IV,III

11. The famous painting ‘Relief of Lucknow’ was Painted by ..............

(A) Henry Lawrence (B) Thomas Jones Barker

(C) Joseph Patron (D) Frederic Sorrieu

12. Who was the British Governor-General during the Revolt of 1857 ?
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(A) Lord Canning (B) Lord Lytton
(C) Lord Willington (D) Lord Hastings

13. Which is correctly matched ?

(A) Nursery of Bengal Army : Calcutta

(B) Docrine of Lapse : Lord Wellesley
(C) Subsidiary Alliance : Dalhousie
(D) Beghum Hazarat Mahal : Awadh

14. Assertion (A).The Fifth Report was one such report produced by a Select Committee
Reason (R). It was detail report submitted to the British Parliament in 1816

(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
(C) A is true and R is false
(D) A is false and R is true

15. Who did urge to interpret minorities in the economic terms in the Constituent Assembly ?

(A) B.R. Ambedkar (B) N.G. Ranga

(C) G.B. Pant (D) R.V. Dhulekar

16. For how many years Constituent Assembly decided English would continue to be used for all official
purposes ?

(A) 15 years (B) 25 years

(C) 50 years (D) Forever

17. Buddha was regarded as a human being who attained enlightenment but gradually which idea
emerged about him ?

(A) Idea of God

(B) Idea of Savior
(C) Idea of Saint
(D) Idea of Tirthankar

18. Who were Vellalar ?

(A) Traders (B) Slave

(C) Large landowners (D) Small peasants

19. Identify the picture and find out what is this ?

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 (A) Fortification of Rajgir (B) Ruins of Vijayanagar
(C) Fortification of Patliputra (D) Rajmahal hills

20. Which of the following structure was regarded as “House of Victory” by D. Paes ?

I) Audience hall
II) Mahanavami Dibba
III) Lotus Mahal

(A) i and ii (B) i and iii

(C) ii and iii (D) All the above

21. Who was the first Surveyor General of India ?

(A) Sir John Marshall (B) Colin McKenzie

(C) D. Barbosa (D) Alexander Cunningham

SECTION (B)
(Short Answer type Questions)
6*3

22. What was the Fifth Report? Why was it introduced in the British Parliament ?

(OR)

Critically examine the Deccan Riots Commission’s report.

23. Describe the role of ‘Jotedars’ in the end of 18th Century.

24. ‘’The Mahabharata is a good source to study the kinfolk’s values of ancient times’’. Justify this
statement with suitable examples.
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25. “Bernier’s description of imperial land-ownership influenced Western theorists like French
philosopher Montesquieu and German Karl Marx .” Justify.

26. Explain the provisions of the Subsidiary Alliance imposed on Awadh in 1801 by the British.

27. Describe briefly the drainage system of the Indus Valley cities.

(OR)

Explain the strategies used by the archaeologists to understand the socio-economic differences among
the Harappans.

SECTION (C)
(Long Answer type Questions)
3*8

28. Discuss how and why were Stupas built ?

(OR)

Summarize the teachings of Buddhism and Jainism.

29. Explain the striking features about the location of Vijayanagar, its water resources and its
fortifications.

(OR)

Explain the importance of Mahanavami Dibba and the rituals associated with it ?

30. Describe the views of the members of the Constituent Assembly on ‘minorities’.

(OR)

How were the rights of Depressed castes debated in the constituent assembly and finally what
recommendations were suggested ?

SECTION (D)
(Source Based Questions)
3*4

31. Read the following source carefully and the answer the question that follows :

This is how Ibn Battuta describes the postal system: In India the postal system is of two kinds. The horse
post, called uluq, is run by royal horses stationed at a distance of every four miles. The foot-post has
three stations per mile; it is called dawa, that is one-third of a mile... Now, at every third of a mile there
is a well-populated village, outside which are three pavilions in which sit men with girded loins ready to

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 start. Each of them carries a rod, two cubits in length, with copper bells at the top. When the courier
starts from the city he holds the letter in one hand and the rod with its bells on the other; and he runs
as fast as he can. When the men in the pavilion hear the ringing of the bell, they get ready. As soon as
the courier reaches them, one of them takes the letter from his hand and runs at top speed shaking the
rod all the while until he reaches the next dawa. And the same process continues till the letter reaches
its destination. This foot-post is quicker than the horse-post and often it is used to transport the fruits
of Khurasan which are much desired in India.

Questions:
(i) Name the two kinds of postal system ?
(ii) Explain how foot post worked ?
(iii) Do you think that two post system could have operated throughout the sub-continent ? Why
was this system called unique system of transportation and communication ?

32. Read the following source carefully and the answer the question that follows :

“Govind Ballabh Pant argued that in order to become a loyal citizen. People had to stop focusing only on
the community and the self: For the success of Democracy one must train himself in the art of self-
discipline. In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There cannot be any
divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be centered round the State. If in a democracy, you create
rival loyalties, or you create a system in which any individual or group, instead of suppressing his
extravagance, cares not for larger or other interests, then democracy is doomed.’’

Questions :
i) What should a man do in democracy ?
ii) What do you mean by ‘Divided loyalty’ ?
iii) Why was the demand for Separate Electorate made during the drafting of the Constitution ?

33. Read the following source carefully and the answer the question that follows :

Some historians suggest that the Alvars and Nayanars initiated a movement of protest against the caste
system and the dominance of Brahmanas or atleast attempted to reform the system. To some extent this
is corroborated by the fact that Bhaktas hailed from diverse social backgrounds ranging from Brahmanas
to artisans and cultivators and even from castes considered “untouchable”.

The importance of the traditions of the Alvars and Nayanars was sometimes indicated by the claim that
their compositions were as important as the Vedas. For instance, one of the major anthologies of
compositions by the Alvars, the Nalayira Divyaprabandham, was frequently described as the Tamil Veda,
thus claiming that the text was as significant as the four Vedas in Sanskrit that were cherished by the
Brahmanas.

Questions :

i) What was the attitude of Alvars and Nayanars towards caste system ?
ii) Who was Andal ?
iii) Give an example which indicates that the composition of Alvars was as significant as Vedas of
Brahmanas ?

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 SECTION (E)
(Map Based Questions)
5*1

34. 34.1 On the political outline map of India, locate and label the following with appropriate signs :

(i) Sanchi
(ii) Topra
(iii) Nageshwar

(OR)

Lothal

34.2 On the given map two important centres of Indian National Movement have
been marked as A and B. Identify them and write their names on the lines drawn near
them

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