NCERT Solutions For Class 12th History Chapter- 5 Through the Eyes of Travellers – All the students who are studying in 12th class, dream of passing 12th with good marks, so that they do not face any problem in applying for further admission or any job form.
Through the Eyes of Travellers Important Question Answer
Question 1. For what purpose did people travel? Write any four purposes.
Answer- (1) In search of work.
(2) To protect from natural disasters.
(3) As traders, soldiers, priests and pilgrims.
(4) Inspired by the spirit of adventure.
Question 2. Name any four travellers who came to the subcontinent between the 10th and 17th centuries. Where did they come from?
Answer: (1) Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi from Herat.
(2) Al-Biruni from Uzbekistan.
(3) Ibn Battuta from Morocco.
(4) Francois Bernier from France.
Question 3. Where was Al-Biruni a resident of? How did he reach Ghazni?
Answer- Al-Biruni was a resident of Khwarizm located in Uzbekistan. In 1017 AD, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Khwarizm and took many poets and scholars with him to Ghazni. Al-Biruni was also one of them.
Question 4. Give two characteristics of Al-Biruni’s writings.
Answer- (1) Al-Biruni used Arabic language in his writings.
(2) His attitude towards the material he used in his writings was critical.
Question 5. Why was Ibn Battuta fond of travelling? Give any two reasons.
Answer-(1) Ibn Battuta wanted to know about new countries and people.
(2) He considered knowledge acquired through travelling more important than knowledge from books.
Question 6. In what way was Bernier’s work different from Arabic and Persian accounts?
Answer- Arabic and Persian accounts were circulated in the form of manuscripts. They were not published before 1800 AD. On the contrary, Bernier’s work was published in France in 1670-71 itself. Not only this, his account was reprinted several times in French and English.
Question 7. Al-Biruni was able to translate various texts into other languages. Give examples.
Answer- Al-Biruni was able to translate various texts as he knew many languages. He translated many Sanskrit texts including Patanjali’s grammar into Arabic. For his Brahmin friends, he translated the works of Greek mathematician Euclid into Sanskrit.
Question 8. Name the authors of ‘Rihla’ and ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’.
Answer–The author of ‘Rihla’ was Ibn Battuta and the author of ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’ was Bernier.
Question 9. According to Bernier, what were the ill-effects of state land ownership in India? Name any four.
Answer: (1) Failure to create a class of better landholders.
(2) Destruction of agriculture.
(3) Oppression of farmers.
(4) Decline in the standard of living of all sections of society.
Question 10. How does Bernier describe the complex social reality of craftsmen under Mughal rule? Explain any one reason.
Answer–Bernier says that craftsmen were not given any incentive to improve their products because their profits were appropriated by the state. Therefore, the level of production was constantly declining. On the other hand, he says that a large amount of precious metals came to India from all over the world because the products were exported in exchange for gold and silver.
Question 11. All types of cities existed in the 17th century. Giving examples, tell what they indicate?
Answer: All types of cities like production centers, trading cities, port cities, religious centers, pilgrimage sites etc. existed in the 17th century. These cities are indicators of the existence of prosperous business communities and business classes.
Question 12. In the 17th century women were not confined to their homes. Give any two arguments.
Answer- (1) In the 17th century they participated in agricultural work and other production.
(2) Women from business families took part in business activities. Sometimes they even took commercial disputes to court.
Question 13. Write the name of the work written by Al-Biruni and mention its language and subject matter.
Answer- The work written by Al-Biruni is Kitab-al-Hind whose language is Arabic. He probably wrote this work for the people living in the border areas of the subcontinent.
Question 14. Describe any two problems (obstacles) faced by Al-Biruni in writing the account of India.
Answer- (1) His first obstacle was language. According to him, Sanskrit language was so different from Arabic and Persian that it was not easy to translate ideas and principles from one language to another.
(2) Various religious beliefs and practices were prevalent in India. To understand these, he had to take the help of Vedas and Brahmin texts.
Question 15. Explain the reasons due to which Al-Biruni travelled to India.
Answer- Al-Biruni was a resident of Khwarizm situated in Uzbekistan. In 1017 AD, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Khwarizm and took many poets and scholars with him to Ghazni. Al-Biruni was also one of them. Al-Biruni travelled to India for the following reasons:
(i) He wanted to know about new countries and people.
(ii) He considered knowledge acquired through travel more important than books.
(iii) He had read translations of Sanskrit texts of India in Arabic language. These inspired him to travel to India.
Question 16. Mention two characteristics of the cities of the Indian subcontinent described by Ibn Battuta.
Answer– According to Ibn Battuta:
(1) Most of the cities of the subcontinent had crowded streets and dazzling colourful markets.
(2) The markets of the cities were not only centres of buying and selling, but were also centres of social and economic activities.
Therefore, today in this post we have given the solution ofNCERT Class 12 History Chapter 5 Through the Eyes of Travellers which is given in a simple language. Because many times the student does not understand the questions from the book. Therefore, NCERT Solutions History For Class 12th Chapter 5 Through the Eyes of Travellers is given here.