Day: May 1, 2020

History Optional Paper I (2016) SECTION A 1. Identify the following places marked on the map supplied to you and write a short note of about 30 words on each of them in your Question-cum-Answer Booklet. Locational hints for each of the places marked on the map are given below seriatim: 2.5×20=50 marks (i) A […]

Sangam Age – Economic Development The prosperity of people in the Sangam age was rooted in the fertility of agriculture and expansion of trade. The Maduraikkanji refers to the agriculture and trade as the main forces of economic development. selfstudyhistory.com Agriculture: Agriculture was the chief occupation and the main source of revenue for the state. […]

Guptas: Polity and Administration- Part II Gupta kings did not interfere in the administration of those regions where the kings had accepted their suzerainty. However, this does not mean that the Guptas were ruling only through their feudatories. They had an elaborate administrative system which was in operation in areas which were directly controlled by […]

Harappan Trade An urban economy is charactdrised by a vast network of relationships which transcend its physical space. Harappans were in active interaction with other cities and towns which were ocated at a distance of hundred of miles from Harappa. selfstudyhistory.com In urban centres an important part of population were engaged in non-food producing activities […]

Harappan Political System In the Harappan civilization we can perceive the presence of a decision-making authority for running the municipal system: These groups would have been responsible for the maintenance of the city facilities—walls, roads, drains, public buildings, etc. selfstudyhistory.com The construction and maintenance of ‘elaborate drainage system and streets would require a municipal authority […]

Harappan Religious and Funerary Beliefs One of the most complex issues concerning ancient history is to determine past ways of thought and beliefs, especially in the case of the Indus civilization where these must be inferred from material remains, since its writing has not been satisfactorily deciphered. selfstudyhistory.com The archaeological indicators here are mainly portable […]

Arab conquest of Sind The Arabs had been the carriers of Indian trade to Europe for centuries. After conversion to Islam, they cast their eyes on the fabulous wealth of India as well as they were eager to propagate their new religion in India. However, the opportunity to invade Sind came to the Arabians in […]

Foreign accounts: Part III: Megasthenes’ Account Magasthenes was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer. In around 302 BC he came India in Mauryan court of Chandragupta Maurya as an ambassador of Greek ruler Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid dynasty. selfstudyhistory.com He described India in his book Indica, which is now […]

Foreign accounts: Part II: Accounts of Fa Hien, Hieun Tsang and I Tsing Account of Fa Hien (Faxian, 337-422) Fa Hien (Faxian), a Chinese Buddhist, was one of the pilgrims who visited India in search of original Buddhist texts, during the reign of Gupta emperor Chandragupta II. selfstudyhistory.com He was one of the first Chinese […]

“Karl Marx applied his critical intelligence to Wealth of Nations … Where Smith had seen only the sunlight, Marx saw only the shadows thrown upon the human scene by the unimpeded exercise of individual liberty…” Elucidate. ©selfstudyhistory.com Ans: Adam Smith and Karl Marx both wrote about capitalism. However, they came to very different conclusions about […]