A New Combined History & Civics for Class 7 ICSE Solutions Chapter 6

A New Combined History & Civics for Class 7 ICSE Solutions Chapter 6 Political Unification Under The Mughals.

A New Combined Text Book of History & Civics for Class 7 ICSE Solutions (D.N Kundra, Goyal Brothers Prakashan)

These Solutions are part of A New Combined History & Civics for Class 7 ICSE Solutions. Here we have given. A New Combined History & Civics for Class 7 ICSE Solutions Chapter 6 Political Unification Under The Mughals.

I. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each :

Question 1.
Name the four battles won by Babur.
Answer:
Babur was a great conquerer. The four significant battles won by Babur were the following :

1. First Battle of Panipat (1526);
2. Battle of Kanwaha (1527)
3. Battle of Chanderi (1523)
4. The Battle of Ghagra (1529).

Question 2.
Name the different difficulties inherited by Humayun from his father Babur.
Answer:
When Humayun ascended the throne in 1530 A.D., he inherited many difficulties from his father Babur. They were :

1. He had to face political instability because the vast empire was not consolidated.
2.  Empty treasure. The treasury was empty because collection of land revenue was not done in a systematic maimer.
3. Troublesome relatives. Humayuns ambitious brothers rebelled against him.
4. Division of empire into jagirs was another difficulty he had to face.
5. The government was not well organised. So Humayun had a difficult task of strengthening his position when he ascended the throne.

Question 3.
What was the extent of Akbar’s empire ?
Answer:
Akbar’s empire extended from Bengal in the east to Afghanistan in the west and from the Himalayas in the north to the Godavari river in the south. His vast empire was divided into fifteen provinces.
They were :

1. Kabul
2. Labore
3. Multan
4. Delhi
5.  Agra
6. Allahabad
7.  Oudh
8. Gujarat
9. Ajmer
10.  Malwa
11. Bihar
12. Bengal
13. Khandesh
14. Berar and
15.  Ahmednagar.

Question 4.
Name the main defects in Jahangir’s character.
Answer:
Jahangir had many weaknesses in his character like being addicted to drinking, pleasure and comfort loving, being easily influenced by others. He was so much under the control of his wife Nurjahan that she practically ruled the kingdom herself. His wrong habits affected his health and he died in 1627 A.D.

Question 5.
Why did Aurangzeb fail ?
Answer:
There were many reasons responsible for the failure of Auranzeb. Aurangzeb’s policy of extension of his empire till South resulted in his disaster. His continuous Deccan compaigns for 25 years shattered his health, exhausted the treasury and demoralised the army. His continuous neglect of Northern India led to lawlessness.In a way Deccan ulcer ruined him completely. Moreover, his unwise religious policy provoked the Jats, sikhs and the Rajputs who became his bitter enemies. This also contributed to his ultimate downfall.

II. Answer the following questions in 80-100 words each :
Question 1.
What were the main drawbacks in Humayun’s character ?
Answer:
No doubt Humayun had to face a considerable number of difficulties when he ascended the throne but there were many drawbacks in his own character which were responsible for his failure.

Humayun lacked a resolute mind. He was incapable of making quick decision.He was also incapable of making sustained efforts and thus his army could not act properly.

His addiction to opium, his easy going and pleasure seeking temperament were other drawbacks of his character.
Humayun was neither a military genius like his father, nor was he a good administrator. He also lacked political insight and was easily be fooled by his clever opponents.

Humayun added to his difficulties because of these drawbacks. That is why Lanepoole, remarks, “Humayun’s worst enemy was he himself.”

Question 2.
How can you say that Babur was not the real founder of the Mughal empire in India ?
Answer:
It is not correct to say that Babur was the real founder of Mughal empire in India because though Babur was a successful general and a brave warrior, he was not a successful and competent administrator and an empire builder. He did not lay the foundation of any particular administration. He did nothing to reform the revenue system. He did not make any efforts of improving the condition of the peasants. He did not introduce any judicial reforms.Moreover, Babur did not show farsightedness even in economic matters. He distributed the treasury liberally without realising its consequences. As such he was only ‘a soldier of fortune’ and not an ‘architect of empire’.

Question 3.
Why is Akbar regarded as the real founder of Mughal empire in India ?
Answer:
Akbar has been rightly been regarded as the real founder of the Mughal empire in India. Though Babur was a brave warrior yet he cannot be called the real founder of the Mughal empire because he was notan efficient administrator and empire builder. Humayun also cannot be said to be the founder of the Mughal empire in India as according to Lanepoole’s words, “He stumbled through life and stumbled out of it.” The credit of laying the real foundation of the Mughal empire in India gees to Akbar alone because ofihe following reasons :

1. He annexed many parts of India to the Mughal empire and by his constant efforts he built up an empire and left behind him “the greatest, the wealthiest and the strongest empire in the world”.
2. Besides being a successful general he was a great adminstrator. He brought many reforms and established peace and order by appointing capable officers.
3. The peasants were happy due to the reforms in the revenue system.
4. He won the hearts of the Muslims as well as the Hindus with his policy of .religious toleration. He also founded a national religion, Din-i-Ilahi to unite the followers of various religions in the country.
5. A uniform law of judicial system was enforced throughout the country.
6. He encouraged trade and commerce and handled financial matters in such a way that the wealth of the country rose immensely.
7. He carried out many works of public welfare like opening up schools and crushing anti-social elements
8. He also put an end to many evil practices current in the society.
   It is by virtue of these achievements that Akbar can be regarded as the real founder of the Mughal empire.

Question 4.
Estimate Akbar as a nation-builder.
Answer:
Akbar was the first Muslim ruler who turned his attention towards the growth of National spirit by uniting diverse castes, religions and kingdoms into a common unity. Akbar was a nationalist and he promoted national outlook both in politics and culture. Throughout his empire, he set up the same administrative system and enforced the uniform judicial and revenue systems. He did wonderful work to establish cultural unity by blending Hindu and Muslim traditions and styles in the field of art, architecture, painting and music. He also promoted Hindi and Sanskrit literature.
To bring social unity, he encouraged inter-marriages and tried to end the age old differences between Hindus and Muslims. He brought economic unity by improving the conditions of the peasants and introducing reforms in land revenue system. He encouraged the rise of the idea of uniformity by giving religious freedom. His ‘Din-i-Lahi’ was a combination of virtues of all religions prevalent in the country.
Thus Akbar earned the litle of a ‘National king’ who helped the country to march on the road to progress.

III. Fill in the blanks :

1. Humayun’s worst enemy was himself.
2. The first battle of Panipat was fought in 1526.
3. In 1622 Kandhar was lost to the Mughal empire.
4. Aurangzeb annexed Bijapur and Golkunda.
5. Akbar was the real founder of the Mughal empire

IV. Match the contents of Column A with Column B :

Answer:

A. Additional Questions :

Question 1.
Name a few buildings built by Shah Jahan. How did he spend his last days ?
Answer:
Shah Jahan spent lavishly on his magnificent buildings like Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid the Peack throne etc. Shah Jahan had a peaceful reign but in his last days he suffered a lot due to the war of succession among his sons in 1657-58. He was imprisoned in the Agra Fort in his last days.

Question 2.
What was ‘Din-i-Ilahi’ ?
Answer:
Akbar founded a common religion, ‘Din-i-llahi’ in which he combined most of the virtues of all the religions prevalent in the country, so that his subjects lived in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere.

B. Answer the following questions.

Question 1.
Describe the political conditions in India on the eve of Babur’s invasion.
Answer:
On the eve of Babur’s invasion India was divided into many small kingdoms ruled by independent kings. The Delhi Sultanate was reduced in size and power. The political seen was disunity among each other.

Question 2.
Give a brief account of Babur’s early life.
Answer:
Babur lost his father, when he was eleven years old and at that tender age he became the ruler of a small principality in Central Asia called Farghana which he inherited from his father. He was also able to fulfill his dream of conquering Samarkand, when he was just 14 years old. But within a short time he lost both Farghana and Samarkand and became homeless but due to his courage and determination, after some time he became the ruler of Kabul.

Question 3.
What is the significance of the First Battle of Panipat?
Answer:
After the First Battle of Panipat Delhi came under the rule of Babur and he was declared the emperor of Hindustan.

Question 4.
How many battles did Babur have to fight after the Battle of Panipat ? Mention the significance of his victory in each of these battles.
Answer:
After the Battle of Panipat Babur fought three more battles. The significance of each battle are :

1. Battle of Khanua : This battle was fought between Babur and Rana Sangha of Mewar at Khanua. Babur won this battle and this victory gave him supreme control over central India and it also removed all the obstacles in the way of Mughal rule.
2. Battle of Chanderi: This battle was fought between Babur and Medini Rai of Malwa. Babur won the battle and captured Chanderi. After this battle, no other Rajput chief ever dared to challenge Babur’s authority.
3. Battle of Ghagra : The Afghans had control over Bihar and Bengal and they posed a threat to Babur’s authority. So Babur had a war with them and after crushing them he became the master of Punjab, Delhi and the Ganga plains near Bihar.

Question 5.
What information do we get from Babur’s memoirs about:
(1) Babur
(2) Babur’s countrymen
(3) Hindustan
Answer:

• Babur — This autobiography gives detail description of Babur. It shows him as a keen observer and provides a picture of his personality. It tells his achievements, adventures, habits and hobbies.
• Babur’s countrymen — In this book Babur had given full description of personality, habits, adventures, customs, appearances, manners and occupations of his countrymen.
• Hindustan — Babur had given description of boundaries, population, resources, revenues etc. of Hindustan in this book which is quite accurate account. He had also beautifully described about fruits, flowers, birds and animals found here.

Question 6.
With reference to the following points discuss the achievements of Babur :

1. Founder of the Mughal empire
2. Poet and scholar
3. Lover of nature

Answer:
Founder of the Mughal empire — Babur was a brilliant general and leader of men. With limited resources and a small army, he defeated large armies with his superior techniques and skill. He destroyed the power of the Lodis and the Rajput rulers and laid the foundation of the Mughal empire.
Poet and scholar — Babur was a great poet and writer. He was a great scholar and lover of literature. His artistic sensibilities and abilities as a learned are clearly seen in his autobiography.
Lover of nature — Babur was a great lover of nature, hills and valleys. He loved gardens and laid out many beautiful gardens iii the provinces that he conquered. He was buried in a garden in Kabul as according to his will.

Question 7.
Humayun was surrounded by dangerous enemies on all sides. Name any three.
Answer:
The three enemies by which Huinayun was surrounded are :

• Afghan Chiefs : Many Afghan chiefs were rebellious and the most dangerous in them was Slier Shah, who had an eye on the throne of Delhi.
• Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and Malwa : He was also a powerful ruler and he wanted to become the emperor of Delhi.
• Brother Kamran : Babur’s brother Kamran was openly hostile and he constantly plotted against him.

Question 8.
How many battles did Humayun have to fight to consolidate his position in the north ? Name the persons with whom he fought these battles.
Answer:
Humayun fought two battles to consolidate his position in the North and they were fought between Babur and Sher Khan to capture Gujarat and Babur and Bahadur Shah to capture Gujarat and Malwa.

Question 9.
When and how did Humayun lose his empire ? When did he return and recapture his lost kingdom ?
Answer:
Humayun lost his empire after a defeat in the Battle of Kanauj in AD 1540. He was so badly defeated in this war that he went into Exile. With the military help from the Shah of Persia in AD 1554. Humayun was able to capture his kingdom.

Question 10.
Humayun lost his empire because of inherent flaws in his character. Explain.
Answer:
Humayun was a pleasure loving ruler and he lacked political wisdom, military foresight and was not able to take quick and wise decisions. He could not understand the jealousy of his brothers and was not able to take a firm decision on them. He was a capable soldier but a poor general. These all characteristics led to the downfall of Mughal empire.

C. Match the following :

Answer:

D. State whether the following are true or false.

1. Babur was a descendant of Timur and Chenghiz Khan.
   True
   
2. Babur’s war-weary and homesick soldiers wanted to return to Kabul after the Battle of Panipat.
   True
   
3. Babur won the battle against the Rajput confederacy at Khanwa by treachery and cunning.
   False     
4. Humayun’s son, Akbar, was born during Humayun’s exile.
   True
   
5. Humayun’s biography, llumayunnama was written by his sister, Gulbadan.
   True

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