Social Science SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS(3 Mark)

The difficulties historians face in using manuscripts:

1. There was no printing press in those days so scribes copied manuscripts by hand which was sometime difficult to read and understand.
2. As scribes copied manuscripts, they also introduced small changes – a word here, a sentence there. These small differences grew over centuries of copying.
3. Original manuscript of the author is rarely found today. So, they have to depend upon the copies made by later scribes. As a result historians have to read different manuscript versions of the same text to guess what the author had originally written.

Historians look to economic and social factors to characterise the major elements of different moments of the past.Problem faced by historians in dividing the past into periods:

1. These thousand years of Indian history witnessed considerable change. After all, the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries were quite different from the eighth or the eleventh. Therefore, describing the entire period as one historical unit is not without its problems.
2. Moreover, the “medieval” period is often contrasted with the “modern” period. “Modernity” carries with it a sense of material progress and intellectual advancement. This seems to suggest that the medieval period was lacking in any change whatsoever. But of course we know this was not the case.
3. During these thousand years the societies of the subcontinent were transformed often and economies in several regions reached a level of prosperity that attracted the interest of European trading companies.

The number and variety of textual records increased dramatically during this period. They slowly displaced other types of available information. Through this period paper gradually became cheaper and more widely available. People used it to write holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters and teachings of saints, petitions and judicial records, and for registers of accounts and taxes. Manuscripts were collected by wealthy people, rulers, monasteries and temples. They were placed in libraries and archives.

During this period, there was no printing press so the manuscripts were copied by the scribes by hand. The copying of the manuscripts relied upon the accuracy of the scribes. While copying the manuscripts, the scribes made unintentional errors. At times, scribes would also correct the spelling, grammar and alter what they believed to be mistakes inherent in the text. They amended apparent historical and geographical errors. These small differences grew over centuries of copying until manuscripts of the same text became substantially different from one another. As a result, historians find it difficult to use the information from the manuscript and have to read different manuscript versions of the same text to guess what the author had originally written.

In 1720, a French cartographer gave an improved version of the Indian subcontinent. It depicts the Indian subcontinent as it is shown now. It gives us information about the coastal areas. European traders came to India by using this map. This map seems more familiar to us.

Period between 700 and 1750 witnessed major developments in religious traditions:

• During this period, some important changes occurred in Hinduism. Worship of new deities and construction of temples by Kings began. The importance of Brahmanas and priests increased. They became dominant groups in the society.
• Another major development was emergence of the idea of Bhakti in which devotees did not require the aid of priests or elaborate rituals to reach their personal deity.
• During this period, new religions also appeared in the subcontinent. Teachings of the Holy Quran were brought to India in the 7th century by merchants and migrants.

One group of people who became important in this period were the Rajputs, a name derived from “Rajaputra”, the son of a ruler. Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries the term was applied more generally to a group of warriors who claimed Kshatriya caste status. The term included not just rulers and chieftains but also soldiers and commanders who served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent.

The British Historians perodized Indian history as Hindu India, Muslim India and British India. This periodization focused only on the religions of the ruler and rejected the rich diversity of the Indian subcontinent. It did not serve the very purpose of the periodization. That is to say, to capture the characteristics of each periods in the history. Apart from this, to study history from religious perspective is not a rational and scientific way. That is why Indian historians have shifted the periodization to non-religious periodization- Ancient, Medieval and Modern periods

A chronicle is a record of the rule of the kings and life at the court. Most kings had court chroniclers who wrote in detail about what happened during their reign.Some important chronicles of the medieval period are:

1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, which is a history of the king of Kashmir.
2. Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi by Zia-ud-din Barani, which describes the history of the Sultans of Delhi till the reign of Firoz Shah Tughluq.
3. Tarikh-e-Ferishta by Ferishta, which is a record of the history of the Delhi Sultans, from the time of Turks till the seventeenth century.

The period between 700 and 1750 witnessed major changes in religion. It was seen prominently in Hinduism. The worship of new deities, the construction of temples by royalty and the growing importance of Brahmanas, the priests, as dominant groups in society were some of the major developments. The idea of bhakti emerged. Merchants and migrants brought the new teachings of 'Quran', the holy book of the Muslims. A class of patrons emerged. They were the rulers who provided shelter and protection to the ulemas- the learned theologians and jurists. Muslims were divided into two groups- Shia and Sunni. Shia Muslims believed in Prophet Muhammad's authority while the Sunnis accepted the authority of the early leaders- Khalifas.

In modern times, the term foreigner is used for someone who is not an Indian. But in the medieval period, a "foreigner" was any stranger who was not a part of a particular society or culture. Therefore, a forest-dweller might have been regarded as a "foreigner", by a city-dweller. But two peasants living in the same village were not foreigners to each other, even though they may have had different religious or caste backgrounds.

Technology revolutionised the lives of people within a span of thousand years. People started travelling long distances in search of opportunities. New food crops arrived in the Indian sub-continent due to new technological inventions in agriculture. There were Persian wheels used in irrigation and spinning wheel in weaving. Gradually forests were cleared and agriculture extended through modern mechanical tools. Many forest dwellers began to migrate and started tilling land, acquiring the title of 'peasants'. These peasants were influenced by the regional market dynamics and priests. As a result, society became more differentiated and people were grouped into caste and sub-castes depending upon their occupation and background.

Historians use coins, inscriptions, and manuscripts for reconstructing the history of ancient period. Very few original manuscripts are available and manuscripts which are available are the reproduction of scribes and some times information provided in these sources are not reliable. As scribe fails to understand the information given in the Historical text which led to the misinterpretation of facts. And moreover there is a lack of continuity as text do not follow time line. In Medieval period use of paper to issue Royal orders began instead of inscriptions. As paper has less durability than inscription caused the discontinuity in the availability of historical source.

Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266-1287) claimed himself to be the ruler of vast empire. It stretched from Bengal (Gauda) in the east to Ghazni (Gajjana) in Afghanistan in the west. It included all of south India.
People from different regions- Gauda, Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat fled before his armies came. Historians regard this as exaggerated claims. It is a question of debate why rulers kept claiming about their conquests.

Early history included study of different societies- hunter gatherers, early farmers, people in towns and villages, early empires and kingdoms.
The medieval history is more about peasant societies, rise of regional or imperial states, the growth of Hinduism and Islam as religions. It also includes the arrival of European trading companies.

Historians reading the maps, documents or texts from the past should be sensitive about the contends. They should keep in mind the different historical background. Equally important is the fact that the science of cartography differ from period to period.

Thousand years of history is full of change. 16th and 17th centuries were different from 8th or 11th centuries. Therefore entire period cannot be described as one unit.
Modem period is associated with material and intellectual progress. But, this does not mean the medieval period had no development at all. All this creates confusion, hence periodisation was required.
During these thousand years the societies of subcontinent were developed and economies too prospered. This attracted interest of European trading companies.

Medieval period (due to its contribution) is considered very important in the Indian history.We can mention its contribution in following points:

1. Many modem languages, which we speak nowadays in India, developed at this time.
2. Some of the food items we eat and the clothes we wear became popular during this age.
3. The history of many of our current religious faiths (such as Islam, Sikhism, etc). can be traced back to this period.

In the modern sense the term Hindustan is used to refer to the whole independent India with its different states. That is to identify with the whole nation and its states. But during the 13th century Minhaj-I-Siraj, Persian Chronicler, used it indicate the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the lands between Ganga and Yamuna. He used it in political sense to locate the areas, which were under the control of the Delhi Sultan. But during the 16th century Babur used it to mean the whole subcontinent.

A Sanskrit prashasti praised the Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266-1287) by saying that he was the ruler of a vast empire that stretched from Bengal (Gauda) in the east to Ghazni (Gajjana) in Afghanistan in the west and included all of South India (Dravida). People of different regions- Gauda, Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat apparently fled before his armies.

The social changes that took place in the ten years led to the society becoming more complex. New technology like the persian wheel in irrigation, the spinning wheel in weaving and the firearms in combat were developed.New foods and beverages like potatoes, corn, chillies, tea and coffee were introduced.These innovations were brought by travellers who came and settled in new lands. People were grouped into jatis, or sub-caste on the basis of their backgrounds and their occupations.The Rajputs became most powerful and a chivalric code of conduct was developed.Marathas, Sikhs, Jats , Ahoms and Kayasthas also became important.

Indian society continued to be divided into many castes and sub castes (Jatis and Upjatis). Most jatis had their own rules of marriages. In villages, Panchayats collected most of the taxes. Sati, polygamy and purdah systems were prevalent rapidly.

Since paper was available, a lot of written accounts in the form of chronicles, autobiographies, farmaans and accounts of foreign travellers are available from this period in Persian and Arabic. These provide a detailed account of rulers, their achievements and lifestyle which existed during this period.

Historians use variety of sources to study the past. It depends upon the period of their study and nature of study. They use those resources that provide some continuity. Historians still rely on coins, inscriptions, architecture and textual records.
There appeared some discontinuity as well. The variety of textual records increased from 700 to 1750. They slowly replaced other types of available sources. During this period paper gradually became cheaper and easily available.

During the thousand years there were many developments in religious traditions. People’s belief in divine was personal and collective. Collective belief was in supernatural agency- religion. It was connected to social and economic aspects of local communities. With the changes in social aspects the religious beliefs also changed.

The name Rajput is derived from "Rajaputra", the son of a ruler. Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, a body of warriors who were Kshatriya by caste was termed as Rajputs. The Rajputs were not just rulers and chieftains, but also soldiers and commanders who served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent. This group of people became important in this period. Poets and bards of these Rajput rulers ascribed some great qualities, such as great valour and immense sense of loyalty, to these rulers.

As society became more uneven people were grouped into jatis or sub-castes and ranked on the basis of their backgrounds and their occupations.Ranks were not fixed permanently:

• They varied according to the power, influence and resources controlled by members of the jati.
• The status of the same jati could vary from area to area.

The number and variety of textual records increased dramatically during this period. They slowly displaced other types of available information. Through this period paper gradually became cheaper and more widely available. People used it to write holy texts, chronicles of rulers, letters and teachings of saints, petitions and judicial records, and for registers of accounts and taxes. Manuscripts were collected by wealthy people, rulers, monasteries and temples. They were placed in libraries and archives.

Archaeological sources of the medieval period are:

1. Inscriptions: Writings or drawings found on stones, pillars, clay or copper tablets and walls of caves, temples and monuments.
2. Archaeological remains and Monuments: Ancient ruins, remains and monuments recovered as a result of excavation and exploration.
3. Coins: Ancient coins were mostly made of gold, silver, copper or lead. Some of the coins contain religious and legendary symbols which throw light on the culture of that time. Coins also contain the figures of kings and gods.

Some of the technological changes associated with this period are:

• Persian wheel in irrigation.
• Spinning wheel.
• Fire-arms in combat.

During this period many things were happening like:

• New foods and beverages like potatoes, com, chillies, tea and coffee arrived in the subcontinent.
• Groups of people travelled long distances in search of new opportunities.
• The subcontinent held immense wealth and many possibilities for people to get a fortune.