SECTION B [MEDIEVAL INDIA]

Q.5 Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:

Q.5 (a) Discuss how Vijayanagar empire became the cultural capital of the south? [10 Marks]

Q.5 (b) Examine the status of Sanskrit in Mughal India. [10 Marks]

Q.5 (c) Assess the rule of Zainul Abedin in Kashmir. [10 Marks]

Q.5 (d) The economic measures of Alauddin Khalji were aimed at greater political control. Discuss. [10 Marks]

Q.5 (e) Examine the European impact on Mughal paintings. [10 Marks]

Q.6 (a) Assess the statement that ‘the philosophy of Shankaracharya revolutionised religious thoughts in India’. [20 Marks]

Q.6 (b) Delineate the state of agriculture during Sultanate period. [15 Marks]

Q.6 (c) Sufi and Bhakti thoughts ennobled Indian psyche amidst the vagaries of time. Elucidate. [15 Marks]

Q.7 (a) The emergence of early capitalism in the Mughal period was primarily due to urbanisation and commercialisation. Comment. [20 Marks]

Q.7 (b) Internal strife and conflict beset with personal ambitions was enough of an invitation for the Ghurids to invade India. Discuss. [15 Marks]

Q.7 (c) The Mughals built like Titans and embellished like jewellers. Comment. [15 Marks]

Q.8 (a) Critically analyse whether the success of the Mughals is to be credited to their robust Jagirdari and Mansabdari system. [15 Marks]

Q.8 (b) It was as much the court intrigues as also the defiance of the provincial powers that hastened the decline of the Mughals in the 18th century. Comment. [20 Marks]

Q.8 (c) Shivaji was not merely a military conqueror but also was an enlightened ruler. Discuss. [15 Marks]