What were the similarities and differenc | Class 12 History - Themes in Indian History - II Chapter Bhakti-Sufi Traditions, Bhakti-Sufi Traditions NCERT Solutions

Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.

How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s account enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society.

On an outline map of the world mark the countries visited by Ibn Battuta. What are the seas that he may have crossed?

Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.

Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system.

Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.

On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, and trace out possible routes of communication.

Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.

What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba?

What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?

Do you think Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer.

What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?

Read this excerpt from Bernier:

Numerous are the instances of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have received instruction from a master. Sometimes they imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture that the difference between the original and copy can hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling- pieces, and such beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of  their paintings.

List the crafts mentioned in the passage. Compare
these with the descriptions of artisanal activity in
the chapter.

In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?

Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.

Discuss the ways in which the Alvars, Nayanars and Virashaivas expressed critiques of the caste system.

To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?

Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.

Choose any two of the religious teachers/thinkers/saints mentioned in this chapter, and find out more about their lives and teachings. Prepare a report about the area and the times in which they lived, their major ideas, how we know about them, and why you think they are important.