Series HIS/SP/1A Code No. SP/1-A€¦ · Sample Paper (CBSE) Series HIS/SP/1A Code No. SP/1-A...

Sample Paper (CBSE)

Series HIS/SP/1A Code No. SP/1-A

SP/1-A ©Educomp Solutions Ltd. 2014-15

HISTORY

Time Allowed: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:

(i) Answer all the Questions. Some questions have choice. Marks are indicated

against each question.

(ii) Answers to Questions 1 to 3, carrying 2 marks should not exceed 30 words each.

(iii) Answer to Questions 4 to 9, carrying 4 marks, should not exceed 100 words

each. Students should attempt any 5 questions in this section.

(iv) Question 10 (for 4 marks) is a value based question and compulsory.

(v) Answer to questions 11 to 14, carrying 8 marks each should not exceed 350

words each. Students should attempt any 3 questions in this section.

(vi) Questions 15, 16 and 17 are based on sources and have no internal choice.

(vii) Map Question 18 includes ‘identification’ and ‘significance’ test items. Students

should attach the map within the answer scripts.

PART A

1. Mention any two principles of Ashoka's Dhamma.

2. What were the contributions of Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar?

3. What role did the Lottery committee play in the development of

Calcutta?

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PART B

SECTION I

Answer any five of the following questions:

4. How do we know about the agricultural practices of the Harappan

Civilisation?

5. How have historians tried to explain the prevalence of polyandry in

the Mahabharata?

6. Describe the two main platforms found in the palace of Vijaynagara

kings.

7. How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and

seventeenth centuries?

8. How did the revenue and legal system of the British benefit the money

lenders?

9. Why did the mutinous sepoys in many places turn to erstwhile rulers

to provide leadership to the revolt?

SECTION II

Value Based Question. (Compulsory)

On 28th November 1947, Gandhiji went to address a meeting of

Sikhs at Gurdwara Sisganj. He noticed that there was no Muslim on

the Chandni Chowk road, the heart of Old Delhi. "What could be more

shameful for us", he asked during a speech that evening "than the fact

that not a single Muslim could be found in Chandni Chowk?" When he

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began a fast to bring about a change of heart, amazingly many Hindu

and Sikh migrants fasted with him.

10. Do you think Gandhiji was justified in fasting on this issue? What

values was Gandhi seeking to inculcate in his countrymen?

PART C

Answer any three of the following questions.

11. What are the various sources which have been used to reconstruct

Mauryan history?

12. Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How

did the centre control the provinces?

13. Describe the constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi during the

Freedom struggle of India.

14. State the main features of partition as it occurred in different regions

of India.

PART D

(Source Based Questions)

15. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions

that follow:

The anguish of the King:

When the king Devanampiya Piyadassi had been ruling for eight

years, the (country of the) Kalinga (present day coastal Orissa) was

conquered by (him). One hundred and fifty thousand men were

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deported, a hundred thousand were killed, and many more died. After

that, now that (the country of) the Kalinga 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) Kalinga. 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 ...

a. For what act was the king repentant?

b. What changes then occurred in the king's life?

c. Mention any three principles of the Dhamma followed by this ruler.


that follow:

How tanks were built:

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 kilometers) 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 ...

a. What was the water from the tank used for?

b. What were the other means of irrigation used in the Vijayanagara

kingdom?

c. What was the importance of the Hiriya canal?

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that follow:

"We want removal of our social disabilities"

What we want is not all kinds of safeguards. It is the moral safeguard

which gives protection to the underdogs of this country ... I refuse to

believe that seventy million Harijans are to be considered as a

minority ... what we want is the ... immediate removal of our social

disabilities.

a. What were the social disabilities which the untouchables suffered

from?

b. What measures did the constitution take to uplift them?

c. Why did the untouchable want separate electorates?

PART E

18. Map Question:

18.1 On the Political outline map of India, locate and label the

following:

a. Kalibangan

b. Bodh Gaya

18.2 On the same outline map of India, three places related to Indian

National Movement have been marked as 1,2 and 3. Identify

them and write their correct.

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Part – A

1. a. Ashoka's Dhamma comprised of principles of morality like

truthfulness, charity and mercy.

b. His Dhamma propagates respect to elders, parents, teachers and

religious men.

2. a. Andal was a woman Alvar whose compositions have been widely sung.

b. Karaikkal Ammaiyar was a devotee of Shiva and adopted the path of

extreme asceticism.

3. a. The Lottery committee helped to raise funds for town improvement

through public lotteries.

b. Its major activities included building roads in the city and clearing the

river bank of encroachments.

Part – B

Section – I

Answer any five of the following questions.

4. a. The fields were ploughed by oxen. Evidence of a ploughed field has been

found at Kalibangan.

b. The field had two sets of furrows suggesting that two different crops

were grown together.

c. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Banawali.

Representations on seals and terracotta sculptures indicate that the

bull was known to the Harappan.

ANSWERS


d. As most Harappan sites were located in semi-arid lands, irrigation was

needed for agriculture. This was provided by canals and wells. Traces

of canals have been found at Shortughai in Afghanistan. Water drawn

from wells was used for irrigation. Water reservoirs found in Dholavira

were also used to store water for agriculture.

5. a. Draupadi's marriage with Pandavas is central to the story of the

Mahabharata and the most vivid example of polyandry.

b. Present day historians feel that the fact that ancient authors have

described a polyandrous union in the Mahabharata indicates that it

may have been prevalent among the ruling elites.

c. Some historians feel while considered undesirable by the Brahmans it

was and is still prevalent in the Himalayan regions. Other historians

have attributed it to a crisis situation suggesting that shortage of

women due to constant warfare led to the adoption of this practice.

6. a. The two main platforms were the "audience hall" and the "Mahanavmi

dibba".

b. The audience hall is a high platform with slots for wooden pillars.

c. The pillars have been found at close and regular intervals. Thus there

was very little free space between the pillars and it is not clear what

the hall was used for.

d. The Mahanavmi dibba was located on one of the highest points in the

city. Evidence shows that it supported a wooden structure. Many

rituals associated with the Mahanavmi festival were carried on here.

7. a. Forest dwellers were termed ‘jangli’, the term used to describe those

whose occupations included hunting, gathering of forest produce, and

shifting cultivation.


b. Forest products like honey, gum and lac were in great demand. Gum

and lac became major items exports in the seventeenth.

c. Elephants were also captured and sold.

d. Social factors also transformed the lives of the forest dwellers.

8. a. In the pre-British period, the moneylender could only impose a fixed

rate of interest. Moreover he could not seize the land of the defaulter

but only moveable articles like utensils, jewellery etc.

b. But by making land a commodity which could be bought and sold, the

money lender could now take possession of the peasant's land if he

failed to repay his debt.

c. The British legal system placed enormous power in the hands of the

money lender.

d. He could use his money to turn the expensive process of litigation in his

favour and bribe the police to serve his purpose.

9. a. To fight the British, an organisation was required. For this reason

rebels turned to the erstwhile rulers.

b. The sepoys in Delhi persuaded the Mughal emperor to become their

leader. .

c. When he reluctantly complied, the revolt acquired a kind of legitimacy

because it could now be carried on in the name of the Mughal Emperor.

d. In Kanpur, the people and sepoys gave Nana Sahib no choice but to join

the revolt.

e. In Jhansi, Rani Laxhmibai gave into the popular pressure.

f. In Lucknow, people celebrated the outbreak of the revolt by hailing

Birjis, the son of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, as their leader.


Section – II

Value Based Question. (Compulsory)

10. Mahatma Gandhi had 'devoted all his life to communal harmony and tried

his best to keep India united. But, in turn was forced to witness bloodshed

and wholesale massacre of Muslims in Old Delhi. In order to bring about

calm and sanity he began to fast and he was certainly justified in doing so.

Gandhiji sought to inculcate the values of humanity, compassion and

tolerance in his countrymen.

Part – C

Answer any three of the following questions.

11. a. The main literary sources for the Mauryan period were Chanakya's

Arthashastra and Megasthenes’ 'Indica'.

b. The 'Indica' is an important source of knowledge about the political,

social and economic condition of Chandragupta's court.

c. Chanakya's Arthashastra explains how a strong and efficient

government should be organised and what the duties of a king consist

of.

d. Details about the Mauryas can also be obtained from later Buddhist,

Jaina, Puranic literature and also Sanskrit literary works like the

Mudrarakshasa.

e. More invaluable were the archaeological sources especially Ashoka's

edicts and inscriptions.

f. Ashoka was the first ruler who inscribed his messages to his subjects

on stone surfaces, rocks and polished pillars.

g. Mostly inscriptions were written in Prakrit which was the language of

the people. They throw light on the extent of Ashoka's empire, his

administration and his propagation of Buddhism and Dhamma.


h. Sculptures, like the lion capital at Sarnath, have testified to the high

standards of the Mauryan craftsmen in architecture and engineering.

12. a. The Mughal Empire, for the purposes of administration and revenue

collection, was divided into provinces (subas), which were again

subdivided into sarkars, which in turn comprised of a number of

paraganas. Each paragana was a union of several villages. The head of

the provincial administration was the governor (subedar) who reported

directly to the Emperor.

b. The governor was assisted by officers like the Diwan, Bakshi, Faujdar,

Qazi and Sadr. The Diwan was in charge of revenues and finance. The

Bakshi, the paymaster general, was responsible for payment of salaries

and also performed a variety of other tasks.

c. The Qazis tried civil as well as criminal cases. The Sadr supervised the

lands granted in the provinces by the Emperor or Princes to pious men,

scholars and monks and tried cases relating to these.

d. The system was based on checks and balances with each department

being asked to keep a strict watch over the other so that no one

becomes all powerful.

e. At the level of the paragana, administration was usually in the hands

of three semi-hereditary officers-the Qanungo, Chaudary and Qazi.

f. Each department had a large support staff of managers, auditors,

accountants and clerks.

g. Persian was the language of administration while local languages were

used in maintaining village accounts.

13. a. In his constructive programme, Mahatma Gandhi had stressed on three

major issues-abolition of untouchability, Hindu-Muslim unity and the

emancipation of women.


b. He endeavoured to uplift the untouchables and gave them the name

'Harijan' meaning children of God.

c. He regarded untouchability as a hydra-headed monster and chalked

out two plans to uproot this social evil-one reformative and the other

agitational.

d. Activities such as observing fasts, country wide tours, setting up of

'Harijan Sewak Sanghs', spreading of awareness among the people

through writings in newspapers and magazines and passing legislation

were carried out by Gandhiji.

e. He was convinced that Hindu-Muslim unity was indispensable for the

freedom of the country.

f. Upliftment of women had a significant place in the constructive

programme of Mahatma Gandhi. He opposed such evil practices as

child marriage and polygamy. He encouraged women to discard purdah

and actively participate in the freedom movement.

g. Due to his efforts, women came forward to renounce foreign goods,

organise bonfires of foreign cloth and picket liquor shops.

h. Mahatma Gandhi laid emphasis on education for women, widow-

remarriage and also inter-caste marriage. He believed that women

should be self-reliant and struggle to emancipate themselves.

14. a. Communal riots on an unprecedented scale started from Calcutta on 6th

August 1946 and soon engulfed the whole country. In Calcutta, 16

August was declared Direct Action Day by the Muslim League. Large

scale attacks began after a massive rally where the chief minister

Suhrawardy promised the Muslims immunity.

b. The riots were state sponsored with the Muslim rioters being promised

immunity from police and army interference. In Noakhali and Tippera,

attacks on property and incidents of rapes figured more prominently


than murder. In the Bihar riots, a mass upsurge of Hindu peasants

against Muslims took place leaving 7000 dead.

c. Partition was most bloody and destructive in Punjab. From January

1947, riots erupted in Lahore, Amritsar, Multan and Attock. The main

targets were Sikh and Hindu traders and money lenders.

d. Approximately 1,80,000 people were killed, 60,000 from the west and

1,20,000 from the east. By March 1948, six million Muslims and four

and half million Hindus and Sikhs had become refugees.

e. In Bawalpur in South-West Punjab, the Muslim peasants were more

interested in acquiring property and abducting Hindu girls.

f. Many Muslim families of U.P., Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad

continued to migrate to Pakistan in the 1950's and early 1960's, known

as Muhajirs (migrants). These people settled in the Karachi-Hyderabad

region in Sind.

g. In Bengal the migration was even more protracted with people moving

across a porous border. But unlike the Punjab, the exchange of

population in Bengal was not near total. Many Bengalis of either

community continued to live in their respective areas.

h. A major similarity between the Punjab and Bengal was that in both

these states, women and girls became prime targets of persecution.

Part – D

15. a. Ashoka attacked Kalinga in 261 B.C. The tremendous loss of human

lives and suffering that occurred in the war changed Ashoka

completely,

b. He was also against cruelty to animals and was against their slaughter.

To set an example, Ashoka led a simple life, gave up royal hunting,

forbade animal sacrifice and became a vegetarian.


c. Ashoka's Dhamma comprised well known principles of morality like

truthfulness, charity and mercy.

16. a. Water was taken from the tank to irrigate gardens and rice-fields.

b. The other means of irrigation were canals and wells.

c. The Hiriya canal was built by the kings of the Sangama dynasty. This

canal helped to irrigate the cultivated valley that separated the 'sacred

centre' from the urban core.

17. a. Society used their services and labour but kept them at a social

distance. They were not allowed to dine or inter marry with the other

castes. Entry into temples was also banned for them.

b. Untouchability was abolished and Hindus temples were thrown open to

all castes. Seats were reserved for them in the legislatures and jobs in

the government services.

c. They wanted separate electorates as it would protect them from the

exploitation of the upper castes and give them the much needed social

status.


Part – E

18. Map Question

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