Solutions for Chapter 5, The Great Mughals , Ratna Sagar Integrated Social Science Class 7

A) Tick (✓)  the correct answers.

1) The first six Mughals are called the

a) Greater Mughals ✓
b) Great Mughals
c) Less Mughals
d) Grand Mughals

2) Sher Shah was the most famous ruler of this dynasty

a) Sur ✓
b) Sher
c) Mughal
d) Suri

3) Bairam Khan was appointed the regent of this Mughal Emperor.

a) Babur
b) Humayun
c) Akbar ✓
d) Shah Jahan

4) Raja Man Singh and ___ were two of the most trusted officials of Akbar.

a) Raja Birbal ✓
b) Shivaji
c) Rana Pratap
d) Hemu

5) This Mughal Emperor installed a chain of Justice outside his palace.

a) Akbar
b) Shah Jahan
c) Auranzeb
d) Jahangir ✓

6) Shah Jahan failed to recover ______ from the ruler of Persia.

a) Balkh
b) Badakshan
c) Kandahar ✓
d) Khurasan

7) The two new customs introduced in the court during Akbar’s reign were

a) Sijdah and paibos
b) Kurnish and taslim ✓
c) Sijdah and Kurnish
d) Khurasan

8) _______ and trade were the two main sources of revenue.

a) Land ✓
b) cattle-rearing
c) Mining
d) Shipping

B) Give one-word answers for the following questions.

1. Whom did Babur defeat in the First Battle of Panipat? – Ibrahim Lodi

2. Name the city built by Shah Jahan. – Shajahanabad

3. Which Mughal Emperor was called ‘zinda pir’ – Aurangazeb

4. Who looked after the town administration? – The Kotwal

5. Which Mughal Emperor carried out many reforms in the land revenue system? – Akbar

C. Solve the following crossword.

1. Across They revolted against Aurangzeb – Sikhs

2. Down Shah Jahan – Khurram

3. Across King without a kingdom – Humayun

4. Down A hated tax – Jaziya 

5. Across Babur—Ibrahim Lodi/Akbar – Hemu – Panipat

6. Down Silver coin of Sher Shah – Rupia

7. Down A mansabdari rank – Zat 

8. Across Akbar—Rana Pratap – Haldighati

D) Give short answers for the following questions. 

Que 1 What has Babur described in Tuzuk-i Baburi?

Ans Babur was a brilliant general. He was also an accomplished poet and writer. His autobiography is called Tuzuk-i Baburi or Baburnama.In it, Babur has described the physical features, climate, animals, birds, flowers, fruits and the life of the people and the places he visited. He has also written about his own life in detail.

Que 2 List two problems that Humayun faced when he ascended the throne.

Ans Two problems that Humayun faced when he ascended the throne were :

1) Humayun’s brothers were dissatisfied with the territories that they had been given.

2) The kingdom was under threat from all sides. The Rajputs, Bahadur Shah—the ruler of Gujarat, and the Afghans were preparing to fight Humayun.

Que 3 How did Sher Shah encourage trade?

Ans He introduced a new currency, a silver coin called the ‘rupia’. He also reduced custom duties and built an excellent network of roads, including the Grand Trunk Road. All these measures encouraged trade.

Que 4 Write two steps taken by Akbar to gain the loyalty of Rajputs.

Ans 1) Akbar defeated the Rajputs but did not humiliate them. He treated them very honourably. He allowed most Rajput kings to continue ruling over their territories. He did not interfere in their internal matters.

2) Akbar married into Rajput families. He himself married a Rajput princess called Jodha Bai. His sons also took Rajput princesses as their wives. The Rajput ladies were given complete religious freedom. 

Que 5 ‘Jahangir continued with Akbar’s policy of tolerance.’ Justify the statement.

Ans Jahangir provided stability to the Mughal Empire. He continued with the secular policies of Akbar. He maintained friendly relations with the Rajputs, married into Rajput families and awarded high posts to deserving Rajput chiefs.Like Akbar, Jahangir was a people’s ruler. He cared for his subjects and looked after their well-being.

E) Give long answers for the following questions.

Que 1 How did Babur secure his position in India?

Ans The first Mughal Emperor was Babur. He ruled Farghana, in Central Asia at a time when the Lodi kings were ruling over the Delhi Sultanate. The local rulers invited Babur to come to India and defeat the Lodis. Babur had heard a lot about the fabled wealth of Hindustan and thought that it was a good opportunity to expand his kingdom. In 1526, Babur met Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat. The Lodi army was many times bigger than that of Babur’s. Babur, however, had a battle-hardened cavalry and an efficient artillery. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi and conquered Delhi and Agra. The next year, he defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar at Khanua. Two years later he defeated the Afghan chiefs at Ghaghara. These three battles secured Babur’s  position in northern India.

Que 2 Discuss the military campaigns of Shah Jahan.

Ans Shah Jahan’s reign witnessed many revolts. The Bundela Rajputs of Bundelkhand revolted. Shah Jahan crushed this revolt easily. Next, there was a revolt in the Deccan. Shah Jahan invaded the Deccan and annexed Ahmadnagar in 1633. Bijapur and Golconda signed a peace treaty with Shah Jahan and agreed to pay an annual tribute. After consolidating his position in the Deccan, Shah Jahan sent an army to Balkh and Badakshan in Central Asia in order to add Timur’s capital of Samarkand to his empire. This campaign, however, failed. He also failed to recover Kandahar from the ruler of Persia.

Que 3 Discuss the central and provincial administration of the Mughals.

Ans Central administration

The king was the head of both civil and military administration. He was assisted by many officials.

a) The wazir was the prime minister.

b) The diwan was the head of the revenue department.

c) The mir bakshi looked after the military. 

d) The khan-i-saman attended to the needs of the royal household.

e) The sadr-i-sadur kept a record of grants and donations made by the king.

f) The qazi was the chief judge.

Provincial administration

a) The empire was divided into provinces called subas.

b) Each suba was headed by a governor, called ‘subadar’. He served as a link between his province and the ruler.

c) Each suba was divided into sarkars or districts and each sarkar into many parganas. A pargana consisted of many villages.

d) The ‘kotwal’ looked after town administration. He performed both police and civil duties. He caught criminals and maintained law and order. He had to maintain a list of people living in his area and keep a check on weights and measures. His office was called the ‘kotwali’, a term that is in use even today.

Que 4 Why did Raja Todar Mal introduce a new measuring device for land measurement ? What was that measuring device?

Ans Raja Todar Mal, Akbar’s revenue minister, introduced a land revenue system which came to be known as Todar Mal’s bandobast. Under the new system, land was properly measured. In the past, it used to be measured with a rope. However, the rope shrunk when it was dry and stretched when it was wet. Hence, the measurements used to change. Todar Mal introduced a new measuring device. It was a rod made of bamboo reeds joined together by iron rings. Now land could be measured very accurately.

Que 5 Write short notes on—Din-i-llahi, Zat and sawar.

Ans Din-i-llahi

Zat and sawar

The Mughals introduced the mansabdarj system. The term ‘mansab’ means rank or position. The mansabdar was the person who held a particular rank. His rank determined his salary and his military responsibilities.A mansabdar’s rank was divided into two—zat and sawar. The former determined the number of soldiers under him and the latter the number of horses he was expected to maintain. The zat ranks ranged from 10 to 10,000. Generally, those above 5000 were given only to princes.

The salary of a mansabdar was fixed in cash. However, it was paid by assigning him a jagir, the taxes from which would be equal to his salary. He was expected to collect the revenue from his jagir and with the money collected maintain his household and pay his troops. Mansabdars were promoted, demoted or transferred according to the wishes of the emperor. His rank was also not hereditary. When a mansabdar died, his jagir was taken away and given to someone else.

HOTS

Que 6 When Humayun died, Akbar was in Punjab. Humayun’s death was kept secret for 17 days, until Akbar could reach Delhi. During this time a courtier, dressed in royal robes, appeared at the window (jharokha) to show himself to the people. Why was it important to keep the news of Humayun’s death a secret till Akbar could reach Delhi?

Ans The news of  Humayun death was to be kept secret in order to not create panic with in the Kingdom and the primary purpose was to keep enemy away. As the European as well as the Portuguese trader can take advantage of the situation and can invade the the Delhi in order to conquer it . If that happens that would be a great loss for the Kingdom. Akbar was the powerful ruler and if he was in Delhi then it would be difficult for the enemies conquer.

Que 7  ‘My father always associated with the learned of every creed and religion, especially with Pandits and the learned of India, and although he was illiterate … from his conversations with the learned and wise, no one could take him to be illiterate.’

a. Which Mughal Emperor is being referred to in the above paragraph?

b. What did this Mughal Emperor build to further his interest in learning about different religions?

c. What was the religious path suggested by this Mughal Emperor?

Ans

a) The Mughal Emperor being referred in the above paragraph is Akbar.

b) Akbar built Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri .Here he held debates and discussion with the religious teachers of all religions.

c) Akbar suggested a religious path called Din-i- Ilahi and Divine Monotheism – religion of the God.