HISTORY SAMPLE PAPER (80M)

SECTION-A
Q1. The didactic (informative) sections of Mahabharata were added in 200-400 CE. Which
text do they largely resemble?

a. Sutta Pitaka
b. Manusmriti
c. Upanishads
d. Rigveda

Q2. Choose the correct option from the following statements with reference to the Magadha
empire.

a. Initially Pataliputra was the capital of Magadha

b. Chandra Gupta was one of the early rulers of Magadha who ruled in 6 BCE.
c. Magadha became the most powerful Mahajanapada between 6 th and 4 th BCE.
d. Ashoka was the founder of Mauryan dynasty.

Q3.

a. 2,1,4,3
b. 3,1,2,4
c. 3,4,1,2
d. 2,3,4,1

Q4. Which is the biggest Harappan Civilization site?

a. Mohenjodaro
b. Harappa
c. Lothal
d. Rakhigarhi
Q5. The battle of Talikota was fought between an organisation of the Deccan Sultans and

a. Krishnadeva Raya
b. Rama Raya
c. Sadashiva Raya
d. Rueca Raya

Q6. Which of the following skills can be identified from Al-Biruni's writings?

a. Proficiency in diplomacy and political negotiation

b. Fluency in multiple languages and a broad intellectual curiosity.
c. Expertise in military strategy and warfare tactics.
d. Exceptional talent for storytelling and vivid descriptions.

Q7. Assertion (A): Archaeologists suggest that in the north-eastern corner of the urban core
rich traders lived. Reason
(R): Numerous tombs, mosques, and fine Chinese porcelain have been found here

Q8. Which dynasty among the following was the first to use gold coins to claim their higher
status?

a. Gupta dynasty
b. Maurya dynasty
c. Kushana dynasty
d. Chera dynasty

Q9. Read the following statements and select the correct option :
(i) The Prayaga Prashasti is a source to know about Gupta rulers.
(ii) It was composed in praise of Samudragupta.
(iii) It was composed in Sanskrit.
(iv) It was composed by Banabhatta.

a. (i), (ii) and (iv)

b. (i), (iii) and (iv)
c. (ii), (iii) and (iv)
d. (i), (ii) and (iii)

Q10. Which of the following is correctly matched ?

(a) Hazara Rama Temple at Tamil Nadu
(b) Chidambaram Temple at Belur
(c) Brihadishvara Temple at Thanjavur
(d) Chennakeshava Temple at Vijayanagar

Q11. Which of the following statements is not correct about Santhal Rebellion?

a. ‘Damin-i-koh’ lands were given by British to Santhals.

b. Santhals rebelled against Zamindars and Britishers.
c. Sidhu Manjhi was the leader of the Santhals.
 d. Santhals defeated Paharias and British in the Revolt.

Q12.

a. Dargah of Nizamuddin Aulia in Delhi

b. Dargah of Shaikh Salim Chishti in Fatehpur Sikri
c. Dargah Haji Ali in Bombay (Mumbai)
d. Dargah Hazratbal in Srinagar

Q13.

Q14. Which one of the following statements about travellers, travelling in the Indian
subcontinent is not correct?

a. Razzaq Samarqandi visited South India in 1440s.

b. Ibn Juzayy wrote the stories of Ibn Battuta
c. Francois Bernier described crown ownership of land.
 d. Al-Biruni has described the Coconut and Paan.

Q15. Which of the following is not one of the speculated interpretations of the word ‘sufi’?

a. ‘Suf’, meaning wool referring to the coarse woollen clothes worn by Sufis.
b. ‘Sarf’, meaning transformation, as brought about in the dogmatic interpretations of
the Quran.
c. ‘Safa’, meaning purity
d. ‘Suffa’, meaning the platform outside the Prophet’s mosque, where a group of
followers assembled to learn.

Q16. Identify the dynasty that minted this coin.

a. Mauryas
b. Guptas
c. Yaudheyas
d. Kushanas

Q17. Arrange the following events in chronological order:

(1) The auction at Burdwan
(2) Formation of the Manchester Cotton Company
(3) Introduction of the Pacification Policy
(4) Buchanan crosses the Ganjuria Pahar

a. 1,3,2,4
b. 2,3,4,1
c. 3,1,4,2
d. 4,1,3,2

Q18. (A)- The South Indian rulers tried to gain support of various Bhakti saints.
(R)- The Chola kings, often attempted to claim divine support and proclaim their own power
and status by building splendid temples.

Q19. In what year did the famous Portuguese traveller Duarte Barbosa visit India?

a. 1517
b. 1514
c. 1518
d. 1524
 Q20. Identify the dynasty using the following clues:

(1) They issued the largest hoards of gold coins in the 1st century CE.
(2) They ruled over a vast kingdom from Central Asia to northwest India.
a. Guptas
b. Mauryas
c. Kushanas
d. Satavahanas

Q21. What was another name for Buddha?

a. Tathagata
b. Vardhamana
c. Both A and B
d. None of the above

SECTION-B
Q22. Examine the features and significance of the Fifth Report. Do you think it can be
considered a reliable source of information?

Q23. How does the Mahabharata show the multicultural nature of ancient Indian society?
Explain with examples.

Q24. Examine the sources of information used to derive the teachings of the Buddha.

Q25. Do you think the caste norms laid down in the Dharmashastras and Dharmasutras were
universally pervasive and frequently followed? Give examples to support your answer.

Q26. The problems of archaeological interpretation are most evident in attempts to

reconstruct religious practices. Justify.

Q27. When and how were the ruins at Hampi discovered? What have been the other sources
of information used by historians to supplement their knowledge?

SECTION-C
Q28. Examine the significance, key features and components of the Ain-i-Akbari.

Q29. The British believed the Santhals to be ‘ideal settlers’. Do you agree with this opinion?
Why or why not?

OR
Q29. Examine the different systems of revenue settlement introduced by the British in the
19th century. Highlight the key similarities and differences.

Q30. Identify the relationship between the Sufis and the state from the eighth to the
eighteenth century.

SECTION-D
Charkhanama
A song set to the rhythm of the spinning wheel:
As you take the cotton, you do zikr-i jali
A you separate the cotton you should do zikr-i qalbi
And as you spool the thread you should do zikr-i aini
Zikr should be uttered from the stomach through the chest,
And threaded through the throat.
The threads of breath should be counted one by one, oh sister.
Up to twenty four thousand.
Do this day and night,
And offer this to your pir as a gift.

(31.1) Describe the genre this poem has been taken from.
(31.2) Name two other kinds of compositions from this tradition.
(31.3) How did the Chistis seek to communicate their beliefs?

A Warning for Europe:

Bernier warned that if European kings followed the Mughal model, their kingdoms would be
very far from being well-cultivated and peopled, so well built, so rich, so polite and
flourishing as we see them. Our kings are otherwise rich and powerful and we must avow that
they are much better and more royally served.
They would soon be kings of deserts and solitudes, of beggars and barbarians, such as those
whom I have been representing (the Mughals)…. We should find the great cities and the great
Burroughs (boroughs) rendered uninhabitable because of ill air and to fall to mine (ruin)
without any bodies (anybody) taking care of repairing them; the hillocks abandoned and the
fields overspread with bushes or filled with pestilential marishes (marshes), as hath been
already intimated.

(32.1) In what ways did Bernier condemn Mughal rulers?

(32.2) What contrasts do the account of Bernier and Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari?
(32.3) “Pride has its fall if power and negligence of duty rules anyone”. Explain the statement
in relevance to the Bernier’s warning.
A prayer to Agni Here are two verses from the Rigveda invoking Agni , the God of Fire:
Bring, O strong one, this sacrifice of ours to the Gods, O wise one, as a liberal giver. Bestow
on us, O priest, abundant food. Agni, obtain, by sacrificing, mighty wealth for us. Pro-cure, O
Agni, for ever to him who pays to you (the gift of) nourishment the wonderful cow. May a
son be ours, offspring that continues our line ... Verses such as these were composed in a
special kind of Sanskrit, known as Vedic Sanskrit. They were taught orally to men belonging
to priestly families.

(33.1) Vedic Sanskrit is considered to be important because

(33/2) Why were sacrifices performed during the Vedic Period?

(33.3) Examine the role of the Sanskrit texts in laying down social norms.

SECTION-E
(33.1) On the given political outline map of locate and label the following with appropriate
symbols
(i) Dholavira- A Harappan site
(ii) Magadh- Mahajanapada
(iii) Chandragiri- capital of the Aravidus

Identify the places marked A and B with relation to the distribution of Ashokan inscriptions.
 A