Students can access the CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History with Solutions and marking scheme Term 2 Set 7 will help students in understanding the difficulty level of the exam.
CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Term 2 Set 7 with Solutions
Time allowed: 2 Hours
Maximum Marks: 40
General Instructions:
- This Question paper is divided into four sections-Section A, B, C and D.
- All questions are compulsory.
- Section-A: Question no. 1 to 4 are Short Answer type questions of 3 marks each. Answer to each question should not exceed 80 words.
- Section-B: Question no. 5 to 7 are Long Answer type questions, carrying 6 marks. Answer to this question should not exceed 150-200 words.
- Section-C: Question no. 8 and 9 are Case Based questions, carrying 4 marks each with subparts.
- Section-D: Question no. 10 is map based, carrying 2 marks.
- There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice has been
provided in a few questions. Only one of the choices in such questions have to be attempted. - In addition to this, separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary.
Section – A
Short Answer Questions
Question 1.
Explain the description of nobility in Chandrabhan Barahman’s book Char Chaman. (3)
Answer:
Chandrabhan Barahman’s has described the Mughal nobility in his book Char Chaman (Four Gardens) which was written during Shah Jahan’s reign. He mentioned that
(i) People from all races including Arabs, Tajiks, Turks, Tatars, Russians, Abyssinians from many countries and of different groups and classes of people from all societies have sought refuge in the Imperial court.
(ii) Different groups from India, men of knowledge and skills and warriers for example, Bukharis and Bhakkaris, Saiyyads of genuine lineage, Shaikhzadas with noble ancestories joined the Imperial court.
(iii) Afghan tribes such as Lodis, Rohillas, Yusufzai and castes of Sisodia, Kachhwaha, Hada, Gaur, Chauhan,Panwar, Bhaduriya, Solanki, Bundela, Shekhawat were also a part of nobility.
(iv) Some Indian tribes such as Ghakkar, Khokar, Baluchi and others also wielded the sword and mansabs from 100 to 7000 zat.
(v) Others like landowners from steppes and mountains, from regions such as Karnataka, Bengal, Assam, Udaipur, Srinagar, Kamaon, Tibet and Kishtwar were given employment and privileges in the imperial court.
Question 2.
Differentiate between Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama. (3)
Answer:
Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama were both chronicles. They present a continuous
chronological record of events. They are an indispensable source of historical facts. Despite being chronicles of the Mughal period they have their own distinct features which makes them unique in their own ways. The differences between two chronicles are:
| Akbar Nama | Badshah Nama |
| Akbar Nama was written during Akbar’s reign. | Badshah Nama was written during Shah jahan’s reign. |
| Akbar Nama was written by Abu’l Fazl. | Badshah Nama was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori. |
| Akbar Nama gives a glimpse of historical facts and events in Akbar’s reign, | Badshah Nama gives a glimpse of historical facts and events during Shah Jahan’s reign. |
| Akbar Nama is divided into three books of which first two are chronicles. The first volume contains the history of mankind from Adam to one celestial cycle of Akbar’s life (30) years.The second volume closes at forty sixth reignal year of Akbar. The third volume is Ain-i-Akbari. | Badshah Nama is a official history of three volumes(daftars) of ten luner years each. Lahori wrote the first two daftars comprising first two decades of the emperor’s rule. These volumes were later revised by Saduflah Khan. Infirmities of age prevented Lahori from proceeding with the third decade which was then chronicled by the historian Waris. |
| In the early twentieth century, the Akbar Nama was translated into English by Henry Beveridge. | Only excerpts of the Badshah Nama have been translated into English to date. |
Question 3.
What were the reasons due to which zamindars failed to pay revenue to the British East India Company? (3)
Or
Explain the merits and demerits of Permanent Settlement.
Answer:
The Company officials had fixed the revenue demand by the encorporation of the land revenue policy of Permanent Settlement however, the zamindars failed to pay the revenue demand and unpaid balances accumulated. The reasons for the failure were The initial demands were very high.
This was because it felt that if the demand was fixed for all time to come, the company would never be able to claim a share of increased income from land when prices rose and cultivation expanded. To minimise this anticipated loss the company pegged the revenue demand high arguing that the burden on zamindars would gradually decline as agriculture expanded and price rose.
High demand was imposed in the 1790’s, a time when the prices of agricultural produce were depressed, making it difficult for the ryots to pay their dues to the zamindar.
Or
Permanent Settlement of Bengal was an agreement between the East India Company and the Bengali landlords. It was brought into practice by Governor General Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
Merits of Permanent Settlement were
(i) It identified individuals who would improve agriculture and contract to pay a fixed revenue to the state.
(ii) Entrepreneurs could feel sure of earning profit from their investment since the state would not siphon it off by increasing its claim.
(iii) The process would lead to the emergence of yeoman farmers and rich landlords who would have the capital and the entrerprise to improve agriculture.
Demerits of Permanent Settlement were
(iv) It led to British alienation from the masses as they were only interacting with the zamindars in the villages and not with the ryot or the peasantry.
(v) Land revenue demands by the East India Company was very high which led to default in payments by the zamindars which led to auction of lands.
Question 4.
What was the relevance of Charkha in the Indian National Movement? (3)
Answer:
The relevance of Charkha in the Indian
National Movement was that it was chosen as a symbol of nationalism because
(i) Dignity of Labour Charkha symbolised manual labour. Mahatma Gandhi always believed in the dignity of labour. He liked to work with his own hands only and he encouraged manual work.
(ii) Machines Enslave Human Beings Gandhiji opposed machines, as they enslave human beings. He adopted Charkha, as he wanted to glorify the dignity of manual labour and not of the machines and technology.
(iii) A Medium of Self-reliance Gandhiji believed that Charkha could make a man self-reliant, as it adds to his income.
(iv) Break the Boundaries of Caste System The act of spinning at Charkha wheel enabled Gandhiji to break the boundaries of traditional caste system. Gandhiji wanted to make Charkha as a symbol of nationalism. So, Gandhiji encouraged other national leaders to spin Charkha for some time daily.
Section B
Long Answer Questions
Question 5.
Explain the Mughal policies towards the regions outside the subcontinent (6)
Answer:
The concerns that shaped the Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the sub continent can be understood through the accounts of diplomatic relationships and conflicts with neighbouring political powers. These showed some tension and political opposition arising from competing regional interests. These accounts were.
(i) Relations between Safavids and Mughals : The political and diplomatic relations between the Mughal kings and the neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan depended on the control of the boundary marked by the Hindukush mountains. The Safavids and the Mughals had a continuous disagreement over Qandahar.
The fortress had initially been under the control of Humayun, which was reconquered by Akbar in 1595, though the Safavid court maintained diplomatic relations with the Mughals, it continued to make claims to Qandahar.
Jahangir sent a diplomatic representative to the court of Shah Abbas in 1613, to plead the Mughal case for holding Qandahar under its control, but this mission failed. In the winter of 1622, a Persian army surrounded Qandahar and defeated Mughal troops present in the fortress town. They had to surrender the fortress and the city to the Safavids
(ii) Relations between Mughals and Ottomans : The relationship between the Mughals and the Ottomans was based on the concern to ensure free movement for merchants and pilgrims in the territories under Ottoman control. This was more true for the Hijaz, that part of Ottoman Arabia where the important pilgrim centres of Mecca and Medina were located.
The Mughal emperor usually combined religion and commerce by exporting valuable goods to Aden and Mokha, both Red Sea ports, and distributing the profits of the sales in charity to the keepers of shrines and religious men present there.
When Aurangzeb found out about corruption involved in funds sent to Arabia, he favoured their distribution in India itself because he thought, India was as much a house of God as Mecca.
Question 6.
How did the British acknowledge those who saved the Britishers during the revolt and
repressed the rebels? (6)
Answer:
The British celebrated those who they believed saved the English and repressed the rebels during the Revolt of 1857 by the various types of paintings which were meant to provide a range of different emotions and reactions also.
‘Relief of Lucknow’, which has been painted by Thomas Jones Barker in 1859 is particularly remarkable in this regard. Henry Lawrence, the Commissioner of Lucknow, gathered all the Christians and took refuge along-with them in heavily fortified residency after the rebel forces besieged Lucknow.
Lawrence was killed, but the residency continued to be defended under the command of Colonel Inglis. On 25th September, James Outram and Henry Havelock arrived out through the rebel forces and reinforced the British Garrisons.
Twenty days later, Collin Campbell who had been appointed as new commander of the British forces in India, reached with huge reinforcements and rescued the besieged British Garrison.
In British accounts, the siege of Lucknow became a story of survival heroic resistance and the ultimate triumph of British power. The arrival of Collin Campbell has been depicted as an event of celebration in Jones Barker’s painting.
Campbell,Havelock and Outram, the three British heroes have been painted in the middle of the canvas. The gestures of the hands of the persons standing around them forcefully attract visitors to the middle of the painting.
The victorious figures of the heroes in the middle symbolising the re-establishment of British power and control is the main objective of these paintings and was to reassure the English in the power of their government.
These paintings clearly conveyed the message that crisis was over and the revolt had been finished and the British had succeeded in re-establishment of their power and authority.
Or
The Revolt of 1857 was an unprecedented event in the history of British rule in India. Some historians believe it to be a sepoy mutiny while others consider it as the first war of Independence. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar termed the 1857 revolt as the First War of Independence.
Reasons of considering the revolt of 1857 as the first war of independence are
- It united though in a limited way many sections of Indian society for common cause.
- It led to the dissolution of the East India Company.
- It was not a sudden occurrence but a culmination of a century old long resistance to the British rule and a whole world of nationalist imagination was woven around the revolt.
The British historians like Sir Jhon Lawrence and Seeley considered the Revolt of 1857 as a sepoy mutiny. There are many reasons for this consideration which included
- The revolt was triggered because of the usage of greased cartridges by the sepoys
- Opportunities in the armed forces was limited as an Indian sepoy cold not rise above the rank of Subedar.
- A vast number of soldiers became jobless when Awadh was annexed by the British in 1856 which made them rebel against the British rule.
The Revolt of 1857 showed the following values
(i) The sepoys who were called rebels by the British, appealed to all sections of the society irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Thus, it shows unity among the people.
(ii) The rulers of Princely States appealed to their subjects and the people of those states came forward in large numbers. Moreover, at many places under the insistence of rebels and peasants rulers were compelled to provide leadership to the revolt. It shows faith, trust and loyality.
(iii) The ishtaharas put up by the sepoys shows the existence of different communities under the Mughal empire which shows harmony and peaceful co-existence.
(iv) Common people helped the sepoys, peasants gave food and everyone helped in whichever way they could. This reflects the general care and concern for every person.
Thus, the revolt show unity, concern and compassion among the people.
Section – B
Long Answer Questions
Question 7.
Explain the Mughal policies towards the regions outside the subcontinent (6)
How did the British acknowledge those who saved the Britishers during the revolt and repressed the rebels? (6)
Or
Explain the nature of Revolt of 1857, explaining the values reflected by Indians during the revolt.
1. Explain the views of (6)
(i) Dakshayani Velayuddan’s views on social disabilities
(ii) Hansa Mehta’s views on justice for women
(iii) Jaspal Singh’s views on protection of tribes
Or
Discuss the views of the following leaders regarding the notion of Separate Electorates,
(i) GB Pant
(ii) Sadar Patel
(iii) Dhulekar
Answer:
(i) Dakshayani Velayudhan from Madras wanted removal of social disabilities. She demanded not all kinds of safeguards. She refused to consider seventy million harijans as a minority.
(ii) Hansa Mehta of Bombay demanded justice for women, not reserved seats or separate electorates. She stated that we don’t ask for priviliges but social justice, economic justice and political justice. She believed equality could be alone the basis of mutual respect and understanding without which real cooperation is not possible between men and women.
(iii) Jaspal Singh who was a representative of the Constituent Assembly who represented the tribals, spoke eloquently on the need to protect the tribes and ensure conditions that could help them come up to the level of the general population. He did not consider tribes to be a numerical minority but they needed protection. They had been dispossessed of their lands, forests and pastures forcing them to look for new places to reside. Being primitive by nature the society was not welcoming of them. He did not ask for separate electorates for them but demanded reservation of seats in the legislature that would make tribal voices to be heard.
Or
(i) Reaction of GB Pant to the Question of Separate Electorates According to him, separate electorates was not only harmful to the nation but also for the minorities. He agreed with Bahadur that the success of a democracy was to be judged by the confidence it generated amongst different sections of people.
He also believed that every citizen in a freestate should be treated in a manner that satisfied not only his materialistic needs but also spiritual sense of self respect and that the major population was obligated to understand the problems of minorities and empathasise with their aspirations, yet he opposed the idea of separate electorates as it would permanently isolate the minorities make them vulnerable and deprive them of an effective say in the government.
(ii) Reaction of Sadar Patel to the Question of Separate Electorates According to him, the seprate electorates was poison that had entered the body politics of our country.It was a demand that had turned one community against another, divided the nation caused bloodshed, they had led to the tragic partition of the country urged Sardar Patel.
(iii) Reaction of RV Dhulekar to the Question of Separate Electorates He stated that the English played their game under the cover of safeguards. He also said that with the help of it they allured the minorities to a long lull. It should be given up now as there is no one to misguide you. Partition had made nationalists fervently opposed to the idea of seperate electorates. They were haunted by the fear of continued civil war, riots and violence.
Section – C
Source Based Questions
Question 8.
Read the source given below and answer the following questions.
The Jotedars of Dinajpur
Buchanan described the ways in which the jotedars of Dinajpur in North Bengal resisted being disciplined by the zamindar and undermined his power: Landlords do not like this class of men, but it is evident that they are absolutely necessary, unless the landlords themselves would advance money to their necessitous tenantry …
The jotedars who cultivate large portions of lands are very refractory, and know that the zamindars have no power over them. They pay only a few rupees on account of their revenue and then fall in balance almost everykist (instalment), they hold more lands than they are entitled to by their pottahs (deeds of contract).
Should the zamindar’s officers, in consequence, summon them to the cutcherry, and detain them for one or two hours with a view to reprimand them, they immediately go and complain at the Fouzdarry Thanna (police station) for imprisonment and at the munsiff’s (a judicial officer at the lower court) cutcherry for being dishonoured and whilst the causes continue unsettled, they instigate the petty ryots not to pay their revenue consequently
(i) Who were jotedars? (1)
(ii) Which Governor-General did Buchanan served? (1)
(iii) Why landlords did not like jotedars? (2)
Answer:
- Jotedars were rich peasants who were also referred as Gantidars and Haoladars.
- Buchanan served Lord Wellesley as Governor-General of India.
- Landlords did not like jotedars because they were located in the village and control peasants.
They resisted being disciplined by Zamindar and undermined his power. They pay only a few amount on account of their revenue and the remaining fall in balance in almost every installment.
Question 9.
Read the source given below and answer the following questions.
The Flight of the Written Word.
In Abu’l Fazl’s words: The written word may embody the wisdom of bygone ages and may become a means to intellectual progress. The spoken word goes to the heart of those who were present to hear it. The written word gives wisdom to those who were near and far.
If it was not for the written word, the spoken word would soon die, and no keepsake would be left us from those who were passed away. Superficial observers saw in the letter a dark figure, but the deep sighted saw in it a lamp of wisdom (chiragh-i shinasai).
The written word looks black, not with standing the thousand rays within it, or it was a light with a mole on it that wards off the evil eye. A letter (khat) was the portrait of wisdom; a rough sketch from the realm of ideas; a dark light ushering in day; a black cloud pregnant with knowledge; speaking though dumb; stationary yet travelling; stretched on the sheet, and yet soaring upwards.
(i) What will the written word embody? (1)
(ii) What is difference between spoken and written word? (1)
(iii) How did author describe the letter (khat)? (2)
Answer:
(i) The written word may give the physical form for the wisdom of earlier ages and may become a means to intellectual progress.
(ii) The spoken word goes to heart of those who were present to hear it, but the written word gives wisdom to those who were near and far.
(iii) According to Abu’l Fazl, a letter was the representation of wisdom, a rough sketch from the field of ideas, a dark light guiding in day, a black cloud full of knowledge, speaking though can’t speak, stationary yet travelling, stretched on the sheet and yet rising high upwards.
Section – D
Map Based Question
Question 10.
(i) Locate any one of the following places on a political Map of India. (1)
(a) Surat Or
(b) Orissa
(ii) Identify the area marked as A on the map given below which was mentioned in the statement made by Lord Dalhousie, as A cherry that will drop in our mouth one day’. (1)
