1. Match the following:
garh - khel
tanda - chaurasi
labourer - caravan
clan - Garha Katanga
Sib Singh - Ahom state
Durgawati - paik
Answer
garh - chaurasi
tanda - caravan
labourer - paik
clan - khel
Sib Singh - Ahom state
Durgawati - Garh Katanga
2. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The new castes emerging within varnas were called ____________.
(b) _____________ were historical works written by the Ahoms.
(c) The ____________ mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.
(d) As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants to
_________ and
________.
Answer
(a) The new castes emerging with in varnas were called jatis.
(b) Buranjis were historical works written by the Ahoms.
(c) The Akbar Nama mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.
(d) As tribal states became bigger and stronger, they gave land grants to poets
and scholars.
3. State whether true or false:
(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.
(b) There were no tribal communities in the north-western part of the
subcontinent.
(c) The chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities.
(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of the subcontinent.
Answer
(a) True
(b) False
(c) False
(d) False
4. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic pastoralists and
settled agriculturists?
Answer
Nomadic pastoralists exchanged wool and ghee with settled agriculturists in
return for grain,
cloth, utensils and other products.
5. How was the administration of the Ahom state organised?
Answer
Administration of the Ahom state:
(i) The administration was centralised during first half of the 17th century.
(ii) The Ahom state depended upon forced labour to work for the state and were
called paiks.
(iii) Almost all adult males served in the army during war and in other times,
they were engaged
in building dams, irrigation systems and other public works..
(iv) Ahom society was divided into clans or khels who often controlled several
villages.
(v) The peasant was given land by his village community and even king could not
take it away
withouth the permission of the community.
6. What changes took place in varna-based society?
Answer
Social changes took place in the varna-based society:
(i) Smaller castes or jatis emerged within varnas.
(ii) Many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and given
the status of
jatis.
(iii) Jatis became the basis for organising society instead of varna.
(iv) Specialised artisans, smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as
separate jatis by
the Brahmanas.
7. How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?
Answer
Changes in tribal societies after being organised into a state:
(i) With the support of the Brahmanas, many tribes became part of the caste
system.
(ii) Leading tribal families joined ruling classes and a large majority joined
the lower jatis of
caste society.
(iii) Many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sindh and the North-West Frontier had
adopted Islam.
(iv) Some became politically powerful and conflicted with larger and more
complex kingdoms
and empires.
8. Were the Banjaras important for the economy?
Answer
Banjaras were important for the economy as:
(i) They were the most important trader-nomads.
(ii) They were used to transport grain to the city markets.
(iii) They buy grain where it is cheaply available and carry it to places where
it is dearer.
(iv) Sometimes they were hired by big merchants and trade for them.
(v) They carried grain on their bullocks from different areas and sold it in
towns and also
transported food grain for the Mughal army during military campaigns.
9. In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the
Ahoms? Were there any
similarities?
Answer
Difference:
(i) Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana while the Ahoms
migrated to the
Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar.
(ii) Gonds practiced shifting cultivation while the Ahoms don't.
(iii) Gonds were completely annexed by Mughal empire while the Ahoms got
defeated by the
Mughals but direct control over the region could not last long.
Similarties:
(i) In both have administration was centralised.
(ii) Both were smaller tribe who grew annexed neighbouring small societies and
got power.
(iii) Both the societies were divided into clans or jatis.