CBSE Class 12 History Bricks Beads and Bones The Harappan Civilisation

VALUE BASED QUESTIONS

HISTORY

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY-I (25 MARKS)

1. BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES- THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

Contextual: Why did the Harappan civilization decline? 

Value Based: What values can we learn from the Harappans? 

Value points: - Socially just interactions.

- Interdependence

- Town planning

- Health and hygiene

2. FARMERS AND TOWNS-EARLY STATES AND ECONOMIES (600BCE600CE)

The anguish of the king When the king Devanampiya Piyadassi had been ruling for eight years, the (country of the) Kalingas (present-day coastal Orissa) was conquered by (him). One hundred and fifty thousand men were deported, a hundred thousand were killed, and many more died. After that, now that (the country of) the Kalingas has been taken, Devanampiya (is devoted) to an intense study of Dhamma, to the love of Dhamma, and to instructing (the people) in Dhamma. This is the repentance of Devanampiya on account of his conquest of the (country of the) Kalingas. For this is considered very painful and deplorable by Devanampiya that, while one is conquering an unconquered (country) slaughter, death and deportation of people (take place) there …

Contextual: What impact did the Kalinga war have on Asoka? 

Value Based What values form the core of Dhamma?

Value points: - Respect for elders

- Kindness

- Compassion

- Sympathy

- Sympathy

3. KINGSHIP, CLASS AND CASTE- EARLY SOCIETIES (600BCE-600CE)

A divine order?

To justify their claims, Brahmanas often cited a verse from a hymn in the Rigveda known as the Purusha sukta, describing the sacrifice of Purusha, the primeval man. All the elements of the universe, including the four social categories, were supposed to have emanated from his body: The Brahmana was his mouth, of his arms was made the Kshatriya. His thighs became the Vaishya, of his feet the Shudra was born.

Contextual:

How did the Brahmanas try to legitimize the caste system?

Value Based:

What values were overlooked by the system?

Value points:

- Respect for others

- Fair play

- Equality of opportunity

- Social responsibility

- Any other

4. THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS- CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS (600BCE-600CE)

Contextual:

Outline the main beliefs of Buddhism. 

Value Based

Briefly outline any four values of Buddhism are relevant today? 

Value points:

- Equality

- Brotherhood

- Compassion

- Respect for others.

- Sympathy.

- Social responsibility 

- Peace

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY II (30 MARKS)

5. THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELERS- PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIETY( 10TH- 17TH C)

The system of varnas

This is Al-Biruni’s account of the system of varnas: The highest caste are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us that they were created from the head of Brahman. And as the  rahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the … body, the Brahmana are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind.

The next caste are the Kshatriya, who were created, as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. The Shudra, who were created from his feet . . . Between the latter two classes there is no very great distance. Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and lodgings.

Contextual

How did Al Biruni explain the caste system? 

Value Based

Highlight the positive values of the caste system as understood by Al Biruni in the above source. 

Value points

- Compassion

- Co- existence

- Interdependence among the castes

6. BHAKTI , SUFI TRADITIONS-CHANGES IN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND DEVOTIONAL TEXTS (8TH- 18TH C)Page 163

Contextual

Outline the message of Baba Guru Nanak as understood by hymns and teachings. 3

Value Based

List the values which are reflected in the beliefs and practices of Sikhism. 2

Value points

- Social Sensitivity

- Communal Harmony

- Compassion 

- Celebrating Diversity

7. AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYNAGARA (14^TH- 17^TH C)

How tanks were built About a tank constructed by Krishnadeva Raya, Paes wrote:

The king made a tank … at the mouth of two hills so that all the water which comes from either one side or the other collects there; and, besides this, water comes to it from more than three leagues (approximately 15 kilometres) by pipes which run along the lower parts of the range outside. This water is brought from a lake which itself overflows into a little river. The tank has three large pillars handsomely carved with figures; these connect above with certain pipes by which they get water when they have to irrigate their gardens and rice-fields.

In order to make this tank the said king broke down a hill … In the tank I saw so many people at work that there must have been fifteen or twenty thousand men, looking like ants …

Contextual

How were the water requirements of Vijayanagar met? 

Value Based

What values are reflected in the Kings action of undertaking the construction of tanks? 

Value Points

- Public Welfare

- Care and Concern

- Responsibility

- Sustainability

8. PEASANTS , ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE- AGRARIAN SOCIETY AND THE MUGHAL EMPIRE(16TH-17TH C)

Contextual

Describe the role played by women in agricultural production in the Mughal

countryside. 

Value Based

What values would have helped women enjoy a better social status in medieval societies. Briefly explain any three.

Value Points

- Empathy

- Sympathy

- Compassion

- Equality 

- justice

9. KINGS AND CHRONICLES- THE MUGHAL COURTS (16TH-17TH C)

In praise of taswir

Abu’l Fazl held the art of painting in high esteem: Drawing the likeness of anything is called taswir. His Majesty from his earliest youth, has shown a great predilection for this art, and gives it every encouragement, as he looks upon it as a means both of study and amusement. A very large number of painters have been set to work. Each week, several supervisors and clerks of the imperial workshop submit before the emperor the work done by each artist, and His Majesty gives a reward and increases the monthly salaries of the artists according to the excellence displayed. … Most excellent painters are now to be found, and masterpieces, worthy of a Bihzad, may be placed at the side of the wonderful works of the European painters who have attained worldwide fame. The minuteness in detail, the general finish and the boldness of execution now observed in pictures are incomparable; even inanimate objects look as if they have life. More than a hundred painters have become famous masters of the art. This is especially true of the Hindu artists. Their pictures surpass our conception of things. Few, indeed, in the whole world are found equal to them.

Contextual

Why did Abul Fazl consider painting a ‘Magical Art’? 

Value Based

What values of the Mughal Monarchy are reflected by the symbols used in the Mughal paintings? Explain. 

Value Based

- Equality

- Justice

- Coexistence

- Harmony

Contextual

What were the main features of Sul I Kul and how was it practiced in the Mughal Empire?

Value Based

What values implemented by the Mughal Emperors are relevant in the present day society?

- Respect for order and discipline.

- Respect for unity in diversity 

- Compassion.

10. COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE-EXPLORING OFFICIAL ARCHIVES

Contextual

Why did the end of the American Civil war increase the hardship of the Indian Peasant in the Deccan? 

Value Based

What values could have prevented the clash between the peasant and the moneylenders? 

Value points

- Empathy-Consideration for peasants

- Compassion

- Fair play

11. REBELS AND THE RAJ-1857 REVOLT AND ITS REPRESENTATIONS

Contextual

What common pattern can be seen in the Revolt of 1857? 

Value Based

What values were responsible for the initial success of the sepoys in the upsurge? Explain any three. 

Value Points

- Patriotism

- Discipline

- Motivation

- Concern for others

- Compassion

- Unity

12. COLONIAL CITIES – URBANISATION, PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

Contextual

Briefly describe the various architectural styles seen in the buildings of Bombay in the British era 

Value based

Outline any two values that are reflected in the adoption of these styles. 

Value points

- Planning and Aesthetic sense

- Acceptance and adaptation of other styles 

- Respect for local and colonial traditions.

13. MAHATMAGANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT- CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND BEYOND

Discuss the values that are reflected by the life of Mahatma Gandhi?

Value Based

1. Self discipline

2. Self sacrifice

3. Honesty

4. Compassion

5. Empathy

6. Simplicity

7. Non- Violence

8. Respect for all

14. UNDERSTANDING PARTITION-POLITICS, MEMORIES, EXPERIENCES

“I am simply returning my father’s karz, his debt”

This is what the researcher recorded:

During my visits to the History Department Library of Punjab University, Lahore, in the winter of 1992, the librarian, Abdul Latif, a pious middle-aged man, would help me a lot. He would go out of his way, well beyond the call of duty, to provide me with relevant material, meticulously keeping photocopies requested by me ready before my arrival the following morning. I found his attitude to my work so extraordinary that one day I could not help asking him, “Latif Sahib, why do you go out of your way to help me so much?” Latif Sahib glanced at his watch, grabbed his namazi topi and said,

“I must go for namaz right now but I will answer your question on my return.”

Stepping into his office half an hour later, he continued:

“Yes, your question. I … I mean, my father belonged to Jammu, to a small village in Jammu district. This was a Hindu-dominated village and Hindu ruffians of the area massacred the hamlet’s Muslim population in August 1947. One late afternoon, when the Hindu mob had been at its furious worst, my father discovered he was perhaps the only Muslim youth of the village left alive. He had already lost his entire family in the butchery and was looking for ways of escaping. Remembering a kind, elderly Hindu lady, a neighbour, he implored her to save him by offering him shelter at her place.

The lady agreed to help father but said, ‘Son, if you hide here, they will get both of us. This is of no use. You follow me to the spot where they have piled up the dead. You lie down there as if dead and I will dump a few dead-bodies on you. Lie there among the dead, son, as if dead through the night and run for your life towards Sialkot at the break of dawn tomorrow.’

“My father agreed to the proposal. Off they went to that spot, father lay on the ground and the old lady dumped a number of bodies on him. An hour or so later a group of armed Hindu hoodlums appeared. One of them yelled, ‘Any life left in anybody?’ and the others started, with their crude staffs and guns, to feel for any trace of life in that heap. Somebody shouted, ‘There is a wrist watch on that body!’ and hit my father’s fingers with the butt of his rifle. Father used to tell us how difficult it was for him to keep his outstretched palm, beneath the watch he was wearing, so utterly still.

Somehow he succeeded for a few seconds until one of them said ‘Oh, it’s only a watch. Come let us leave, it is getting dark.’ Fortunately, for Abbaji, they left and my father lay there in that wretchedness the whole night, literally running for his life at the first hint of light. He did not stop until he reached Sialkot.

“I help you because that Hindu mai helped my father. I am simply returning my father’s karz, his debt.”

“But I am not a Hindu,” I said. “Mine is a Sikh family, at best a mixed Hindu-Sikh one.”

“I do not know what your religion is with any surety. You do not wear uncut hair and you are not a Muslim. So, for me you are a Hindu and I do my little bit for you because a Hindu mai saved my father.”

Contextual

What are the various stereotypes embedded in the minds of the people of India and Pakistan? (2)

Value Based

Which values displayed by Abdul Latif helped negate these? (3)

Value Points

- Compassion

- Respect for others

- Helpfulness

15. FRAMING THE CONSTITUTION- THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA?

Value Based

What were the values kept in mind by the Architects of our Constitution while framing it? Explain.

Value points:

1. Respect for individuals.

2. Respect for diversity- religion, culture, language

3. Patriotism, loyalty

4. Recognition of rights

5. Fair Play

6. Empathy towards the deprived

7. Any other

“The real minorities are the masses of this country”

Welcoming the Objectives Resolution introduced by Jawaharlal Nehru, N.G. Ranga said:

Sir, there is a lot of talk about minorities. Who are the real minorities? Not the Hindus in the so-called Pakistan provinces, not the Sikhs, not even the Muslims. No, the real minorities are the masses of this country. These people are so depressed and oppressed and suppressed till now that they are not able to take advantage of the ordinary civil rights.

What is the position? You go to the tribal areas. According to law, their own traditional law, their tribal law, their lands cannot be alienated. Yet our merchants go there, and in the so-called free market they are able to snatch their lands. Thus, even though the law goes against this snatching away of their lands, still the merchants are able to turn the tribal people into veritable slaves by various kinds of bonds, and make them hereditary bond-slaves. Let us go to the ordinary villagers. There goes the money-lender with his money and he is able to get the villagers in his pocket. There is the landlord himself, the zamindar, and the malguzar and there are the various other people who are able to exploit these poor villagers. There is no elementary education even among these people. These are the real minorities that need protection and assurances of protection. In order to give them the necessary protection, we will need much more than this Resolution ...

CAD, VOL.II

Contextual

How is the notion of minority defined by Ranga?

Value based

What values are evident in the understanding?

Value points

• Concern for fellow-countrymen

•  Social justice

• Respect for their dignity and rights

Write short note on Citadel?
1. It is on the Citadel that we find evidence of structures that were probably used for special public purposes.
2. These include the warehouse– a massive structure of which the lower brick portions remain, while the upper Portions, probably of wood, decayed long ago – and the Great Bath.
3. The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides.
What do you know about the seals and sealings?
1. Seals and sealings were used to facilitate long-distance communication. Imagine a bag of goods being sent from one place to another.
2. Its mouth was tied with rope and on the knot was affixed some wet clay on which one or more seals were pressed, leaving an impression.
3. If the bag reached with its sealing intact, it meant that it had not been tampered with.
4. The sealing also conveyed the identity of the sender.

Write about the script used by the Harappans
1. Harappan seals usually have a line of writing, probably containing the name and title of the owner.
2. Scholars have also suggested that the motif conveyed a meaning to those who could not read.
3. Most inscriptions are short, the longest containing about 26 signs.
4. Although the script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently not alphabetical stands for a vowel as it has just too many signs –somewhere between 375 and 400.
5. The script was written from right to left.
6. Some seals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left, as if the engraver began working from the right and then ran out of space
7. Variety of objects on which writing has been found: seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta tablets, jewelry, bone rods, even an ancient signboard

Write about the weight system used by the Harappans
1. Exchanges were regulated by a precise system of weights, usually made of a stone called chert and generally cubical with no markings.
2. Lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. up to 12,800), while the Higher denominations followed the decimal system.
3. The smaller weights were probably used for weighing jewellery and beads. Metal scale-pans have also been found.

Mention the causes of the end of the civilization
1. Climatic change, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting and/or drying up of rivers, to overuse of the landscape.
2. Some of these “causes” may hold for certain settlements, but they do not explain the collapse of the entire civilization.
3. It appears that a strong unifying element, perhaps the Harappan state, came to an end.
4. This is evidenced by the disappearance of seals, the script, distinctive beads and pottery

Mention the domestic architecture of HarappAnswer :
1. The Lower Town at Mohenjo-Daro provides examples of residential buildings. Many were centered on a courtyard, with rooms on all sides.
2. The courtyard was probably the center of activities such as cooking and weaving, particularly during hot and dry weather view of the interior or the courtyard.
4. Every house had its own bathroom paved with bricks, with drains connected through the wall to the street drains.
5. Some houses have remains of staircases to reach a second storey or the roof. Many houses had wells, often in a room that could be reached from the outside and perhaps used by passers-by.

Short Answer type Questions

Question. What were the confusions in the mind of Cunningham while studying Harappan civilization?
Answer : He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE. He thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley. In fact, Cunningham’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic (c. sixth century BCE-fourth century CE) and later periods.

Question. “Burials is a better source to trace social differences prevalent in the Harappan civilization”. Discuss.
Answer : 1. Studying burials is a strategy to find out social differences.
2. At burials in Harappan sites the dead were generally laid in pits. Sometimes, there were differences in the way the burial pit was made - in some instances; the hollowed-out spaces were lined with bricks.
3. Some graves contain pottery and ornaments, perhaps indicating a belief that these could be used in the afterlife. Jewelry has been found in burials of both men and women.

Question. Discuss how archaeologist reconstruct the past.(Piecing together)
Answer : 1. Material evidences, allows archaeologists to better reconstruct Harappan life. This material could be pottery, tools, ornaments, household objects, etc. 2. Recovering artefacts is just the beginning of the archaeological enterprise. Archaeologists then classify their finds.
3. The second, and more complicated, is in terms of function: archaeologists have to decide whether, for instance, an artefact is a tool or an ornament, or both, or something meant for ritual use.
4. An understanding of the function of an artefact is often shaped by its
resemblance with present-day things - beads, querns, stone blades and pots are obvious examples.
5. Archaeologists also try to identify the function of an artefact by investigating the context in which it was found
6. The problems of archaeological interpretation are perhaps most evident in
attempts to reconstruct religious practices.
7. Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship.
8. Many reconstructions of Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, that is, from the present to the past.
9. Remains of crops, saddle querns or pit are studied to identify food.
10. Archaeologists observe the different layers of site and try to find out different things which give picture of socio-economic conditions, religions and cultural life of the past people.

Question. Write a note on the Drainage system of the HarappAnswer :
Answer : One of the striking features of this town was a well planned drainage system. The drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum. They were covered with big bricks and stones which could be lifted easily to clean the drains. Smaller drains from houses on both the sides of the streets came and joined a brick laid main channel. Bigger drains which cleared the rain water were 2 and half feet to 5 feet in circumference. For sewage from the houses, pits were provided at either side of the street. All this shows that the Indus valley people took great care to keep their cities clean.

Question. What were the differences in the techniques adopted by John Marshall and Wheeler in studying Harappan civilization ?
Answer : Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the mound, ignoring the stratigraphy of the site. This meant that all the artefacts recovered from the same unit were grouped together, even if they were found at different stratigraphic layers. As a result, valuable information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost.
R.E.M. Wheeler, rectified this problem. Wheeler recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines

Question. List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan civilization and discuss how these might have been obtained.
Answer : The variety of materials used to make beads is remarkable: stones like carnelian (of a beautiful red colour), jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite; metals like copper, bronze and gold; and shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay.
Two methods of procuring materials for craft production:-
1. They established settlements such as Nageshwar, Shortughai and Balakot.
2. They might have sent expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region of Rajasthan (for Copper) and south India (for gold).

Question. “Our knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilization is poorer than that of the other Civilizations”. Explain it by your arguments?
Answer : Yes, our knowledge about the Indus Valley Civilization is poorer than that of the other because of the following reasons: -
1.The script of that age has hitherto not been deciphered.
2. The easy method behind seeking knowledge about other Civilizations such as that of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China etc. was the deciphering of their scripts. Scripts is that sole basis through which we can gather through knowledge about the art, literature, customs, dresses, function and religion etc. of any Civilizations

Question. How can you say that the Harappan culture was an urban one.
Answer : We can say that the Harappan culture was an urban one, due to the following reasons:
• The cities were well planned and thickly populated.
• The roads were straight and wide.
• The houses were made of burnt bricks and contained more than one storey.
• Every house had a well and a bathroom.
• The drainage system was excellent with house drains emptying into street drains.
• The citadel of Harappa had public buildings
• Lothal was a dockyard and important trading centre.
• After the decline of the Harappan culture, town planning was forgotten and there was absence of city life for about thousands of years.

Question. Write a note on the agricultural technology of HarappAnswer :
Answer : Agriculture was the chief occupation of the HarappAnswer : The prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds of grains. But it is more difficult to reconstruct actual agricultural practices. Archaeologists have found evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan. Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known, and archaeologist extrapolate from this that
oxen were used for ploughing. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali. The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting that two different crops were grown together. Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid lands, where irrigation was probably required for agriculture. Traces of canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan. It is also likely that water drawn from wells was used for irrigation. Besides, water reservoirs found in Dholavira may have been used to store water for agriculture.

Question. Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society.
Answer : Some archaeologists are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers and that everybody enjoyed equal status. Others feel there was no single ruler but several. There are indications of extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery seals weights and bricks. Notably bricks though obviously not produced in any single centre, were of a uniform ratio throughout the region, from Jammu to Gujarat. Under the guidance and supervision of the rulers plans and layouts of the city were prepared. Big buildings palaces forts, tanks wells, canals, granaries were constructed.
Roads, lanes and drains were also constructed and cleanliness was maintained under the over all supervision of the ruler. The ruler might have taken interest in economy of the state or city states. He used to inspire the farmer to increase agricultural production. He used to motivate the craftsmen to promote different handicrafts. Internal as well as external trade was promoted by the ruler. He used to issue common acceptable coins or seals, weights and measurements. During the natural calamity such as flood earthquake, epidemic etc. the ruler used to provide grains and other eatables to the affected people. He used to play active role to defend cities or state from foreign attack.

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