Kerala Plus Two History Question Paper March 2021 with Answers

Teachers recommend solving Kerala Syllabus Plus Two History Previous Year Question Papers and Answers Pdf March 2021 to improve time management during exams.

Kerala Plus Two History Previous Year Question Paper March 2021

Answer the following questions from 1 to 42 upto a maximum score of 80.

Question 1.
Match column ‘A’with appropriates from column ‘B’:

A	B
Zarathustra	Tirthankara
Kong zi	Iron
Plato	Lumbini
Buddha	China
Mahavira	Greece

Answer:

A	B
Zarathustra	Iron
Kong zi	China
Plato	Greece
Buddha	Lumbini
Mahavira	Tirthankara

Question 2.
Find the relation between the two parts of item (a) and fill in the blanks of item (b) accordingly. (5 × 1 = 5)
i) a) Traces of Canal : Shortughai
b) Remains of water reservior : ______
Answer:
Dholavira

ii) a) Banawali : Haryana
b) Kalibangan : ________
Answer:
Rajagriha

iii) a) Shortughai : Lapis Lazuli
b) Khetri : ________
Answer:
Copper

iv) a) Magan : Oman
b) Dilmum : _______
Answer:
Bahrain

v) a) Terracotta models of plough : Iran
b) KongZi : _______
Answer:
Mohenjodaro

Question 3.
Choose the correct answer from the alternatives given below: (5 × 1 = 5)
i) Te earliest capital of Magadha
a) Taxila
b) Rajagriha
c) Ujjayini
d) Tosali
Answer:
(b) Rajagriha

ii) Megasthaneswas an ambassador from :
a) Greece
b) China
c) Iran
d) France
Answer:
a) Greece

iii) The title ‘devaputra’ was adopted by:
a) TheMauryas
b) The Guptas
c) TheKushanas
d) TheShakas
Answer:
c) TheKushanas

iv) ‘Prayaga Prashasti’ was composed by
a) Kautilya
b) Megasthenes
c) Asoka
d) Harishena
Answer:
d) Harishena

v) The first coins bearing the names and images of rulers were issued by:
a) Yaudheyas
b) Indo-Greeks
c) Kushanas
d) Guptas
Answer:
b) Indo-Greeks

Question 4.
Arrange the following in chronological order: (5 × 1 = 5)
• Vaikom Satyagraha
• Kundara Proclamation
• Pazhassi Revolt
• Paliyam Satyagraha
• Kurichiya Revolt
Answer:

1. Pazhassi Revolt (1793 -1805)
2. Kundara Proclamation (1809)
3. Kurichiya Revolt (1812)
4. Vaikom Satyagraha (1924 – 25)
5. Paliyam Satyagraha (1947 – 48)

Question 5.
Mark the following places on the outline map of ancient India provided: (5 × 1 = 5)
a) Delhi
b) Meerut
c) Kanpur
d) Jhansi
e) Lucknow
Answer:
a) Delhi
b) Meerut
c) Kanpur
d) Jhansi
e) Lucknow

Questions from 6 to 19 carry 2 scores each. (14 × 2 = 28)

Question 6.
Write any two features of harappan Script.
Answer:

1. Short inscriptions
2. Signs
3. Signs in between 375 to 400
4. Signs in seals
5. Written from right to left
6. Contained the name and title of the owner.

Question 7.
How can we find out the social differences in Harappa
Answer:
Burial Utilitarian and Luxury goods.

Question 8.
Mention any two places associated with the life of Buddha
Answer:
Lumbini, Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Kusinagara

Question 9.
Write a short note on Mahayana Buddhism.
Answer:

1. Importance in achieving nibbana
2. Buddha was regarded as a human being.
3. Idea of a saviour
4. Concept of the Bodhisatha
5. Image worship

Question 10.
Define ‘Khud-Kashta’ and ‘Pahi – Kashta’.
Answer:

1. khud kashta – Resident cultivators of village
2. Pahi Kashta – Non resident cultivators who come from another village

Question 11.
What is the meaning of the term ‘Jins-i Kamil’? Give an example.
Answer:
Jinsikamil – Perfect crops eg: Sugarcane, Cotton

Question 12.
Name the authors of Akbar name and Badshah Nama.
Answer:
AkbarNama-Abul Fazl Badshah Nama – Abdul Hamid Lahori

Question 13.
Who were Jotedars? Elucidate.
Answer:

1. Rich peasants
2. Acquired thousands of acres of land
3. Controlled local trade as well as money lend¬ing.

Question 14.
Why did the zamindars of Bengal default on revenue payments?
Answer:

1. High demand of the British
2. Depressed prices of agricultural products.
3. Invariable revenue regardless of the harvest.
4. Permenant settlement limited the power of the Zamindar to collect rent.

Question 15.
Mane any two leaders of the Revolt of 1857.
Answer:
Bahamshah, Nana Sahib, Kunwar Singh, Birjis Qadr, Shahmal, Rani Lekshmi bhai, Gonoo

Question 16.
Prepare a short note on the two early campaigns of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat.
Answer:

1. Kheda Satyagraha
2. Ahmadabad mill strike

Question 17.
Mention the names of two epics of the post Sangham Period.
Answer:

1. Chilappadikaram
2.  Manimekhala

Question 18.
What do you mean by ‘Kaccam’? Give an example.
Answer:
Code of conduct followed by the temples and Urs and Gramas during Perumal period. The major kaccam was Muzhikkulam kaccam.

Question 19.
Name any two social reformers of Kerala.
Answer:
Vaikunda Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru, Chattampi Swamikal, Ayyankali, Vaikom Abdul Khader Maulavi, Vaghbhatananda, Mar Kuriakode Elias Chavara, VT.Bhattathirippad

Questions from 20 to 25 carry 3 scores each. (6 × 3 = 18)

Question 20.
How did the archaeologists identify the centres of craft production in Harappa?
Answer:

1. Raw materials
2. Unfinished objects
3. Waste

Question 21.
Write any three limitations of inscriptional evidences.
Answer:

1. Letters are very faintly engraved.
2. Inscriptions may be damaged or letters missing.
3. Not sure about the exact meaning of the words.
4. Not all inscriptions have been discovered.
5. Many more inscriptions have not survived the ravage of time.
6. Not everything that we may consider significant was necessarily recorded in inscripfions.
7. The content of inscriptions projects the perspec-tive of the person who commissioned them.

Question 22.
Briefly explain the structure of a stupa.
Answer:
Anda, Harmika, Yashti, Chatri, Mound, Railing

Question 23.
ExplainZiyaratand Qawwali.
Answer:

1. Ziyarat – Pilgrimage to tombs of sufi saints.
2. Qawwali – Mystical chants performed by spe¬cially trained musicians or Qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy.

Question 24.
Write a short note on the images related to the Revolt of 1857.
Answer:
Relief of LUcknow, In Memorium, Justice, The Clem- encyofCanning.

Question 25.
Prepare a short note on the Temple Entry Proclamation in Travancore.
Answer:
On 12 November 1936 Sree Chitra Tirunal Balarama Varma, the ruler of Travancore, issued the famous Temple Entry Prodammation opening all the temples of the state to all Hindus irrespective of state. Gandhiji hailed it as a miracle of modern times.

Questions from 26 to 33 carry 4 scores each. (8 × 4 = 32)

Question 26.
Point out any for causes of the decline of Harappan Civilization.
Answer:
Climatic change, Deforestation, Excessive flood, shifting/drying up of rivers, over use of landscape.

Question 27.
Examine the main ideas of Jainism.
Answer:

1. Entire world is animated
2. Ahimsa
3. Cycle of karma
4. Asceticism
5. Penance

Question 28.
Explain the views of Ibn Battuta on medieval Indian Cities.
Answer:

1. The cities in Indian subcontinent had full of opportunities for those who had the necessary drive,, resources and skills.
2. The cities were densely populated and prosper-ous cities had crowded streets and bright and colourful markets.
3. Delhi was a vast city.
4. Daulatabad was no less, and easily rivalled Delhi in size.

Question 29.
How did Francois Bernier compare the East and the West?
Answer:

1. Bernier travelled to several parts of the country.
2. He compared what he saw in India with the situ ationin Europe.
3. He dedicated his major writing to Louis XIV the King of France.
4. Bemier described what he saw in India as a bleak situation in companson to developments in Europe.
5. His assessment was not always accurate.

Question 30.
Briefly expalin aboutthe Mahanavami dibba.
Answer:

1. Mahanavami dibba is situated in the Royal oenire.
2. Massive platform.
3. Abase of about 11000 sq.ft.
4. Aheightof4oft.
5. The base of the platform is covered with relief carvings.
6. Rituals associated with the structure probably coincided with Mahanavami festival.
7. The Vijayanagar kings displayed their prestige, power and suzerainty on this occasion.

Question 31.
Examine the features of Mughal provincial administration.
Answer:

1. Provinces were known as Subas.
2. Provincial governors were known as Subadar.
3. Ministers had their corresponding subordinates diwan, bakshi and Sadr.
4. Suba was divided into Sarkars.
5. Sub districts were known as Pargana.
6. Qanungo was the keeper of revenue records.
7. Chaudhuri was in charge of revenue collection.
8. Each department maintained a large support staff.

Question 32.
Evaluate the background of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Answer:

1. In 1919 the British government passed the “RoWatt,4d’ that permitted detention wtthouttflal.
2. Gandhiji called for a countryside campaign against the ‘Rowlatt Act’.
3. In Punjab prominent local Congressmen wete arrested.
4. InAmritsar, in April 1919, a British brigadier or dered his troops to open fire on a nationalist meeting.
5. More than fuor hundred peop’e were killed in what is known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Question 33.
List out the main rcommendations of the Cabinet Mission.
Answer:

1. A kose three-tier confederation.
2. India was to remain united.
3. CentraI government should control foreign affairs, defence and communication.
4. Provincial assembles should be grouped into three sections.

Questions from 34 to 38 carry 5 scores each. (5 × 5 = 25)

Question 34.
What are the elements to be considered by the historians while analysing texts like Mahabharata? Explain.
Answer:

1. Language and Content – Mahabharata was written in Sanskrit. Content is classified into narrative and didactic.
2. Author and dates:- The original story was composed by Sutas. These compositions circulatedorally. It was written in between 200BCE and 200 CE. Later Manusmriti was added. It is corn prised of I 00000 verses.
3. The search for convergence.

Question 35.
List out the four Varnas mentioned in the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras. Explain their ‘ideal occupations’.
Answer:

1. Brahmanas – Studying vedas, sacrifices
2. Kshatriyas – war, administration
3. Vaishyas – Agriculture, Cattle rearing, Trade
4. Shudras – Serving higher vamas.

Question 36.
Briefly explain the Virashaiva tradition in Karnataka.
Answer:

1. Basavanna – Lingayats
2. Worshipped Shivalinga
3. They do not practise cremation.
4. They challenged the idea of caste and pollution.
5. They questioned the idea of caste and the pollution.
6. Oppsed Dharmashastras Vachanas

Question 37.
Analyse the features of the fortifications in Vijayanagara.
Answer:

1. Seven lines of forts.
2. These encircled not only the city but also its agricultural hinterland and forests.
3. Massive masonry construction.
4. No mortar or cementing agent.
5. The stone blocks were wedge shaped.
6. These were cultivated fields, gardens and houses among fort lines.

Question 38.
Examine the temple architecture of Vijayanagara with special mention to Virupaksha and vitthala temples.
Answer:
Virupaksha was the guardian deity of the Vijayanagar empire. It was built over centuries. The eariiest shrine was dated to the ninth-tenth centuries. The hall in front of the main shrine was built by Knshnadevaraya. This was decorated with delicately carved pillars. Vitthala was a form of Vishnu This temple too has several halls and a unique shrine designed as a chariot. Gopurams and Manciapas were the distinctive fea tures of the Vijayanagar temples. Hazara Rama Temple was an important temple in the Royal centre.

Questions from 39 to 42 carry 8 scores each. (4 × 8 = 32)

Question 39.
Explain the town planning system existed in Mohenjodaro.
Hints:
• Citadel
• Lower Town
• Drainage System
• Domestic architecture
Answer:
Mohenjodaro is divided into citadel and lower town. Citadel was higher then the lower town. Both were walled. Several buildings were built on platforms. The settlement was first planned and then implemented accordingly. Other signs of planning include bricks, which, whether sun-dried or baked, were of a stan dard ratio, where the length, breadth and height were the same.

One of the most distinchve features of Harappan cit ies was the carefully planned drainage system. Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate grid pattern, intersecting at right angles. The lower town at Mohenjodaro provides examples of residential buildings. Many were centered on a courtyard, with rooms on all sides. What is also In teresting is an apparent concern for privacy. Every house had its own bathroom. Some houses have remains of stair cases to reach a second storey or the roof. Many houses had wells. Scholars have estimated that the total number of wells in Mohenjodaro was about 700.

It is on the citadel that we find evidence of structures that were probably used for special public purposes. These indude a warehouse and the Great Bath. The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a court yard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides. There were rooms on three sides, in one of which was a large well. Water from the tank flowed Into a huge drain. Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with 8 bathrooms, four on each side of a corridor, with drains from each bathroom connecting to a drain that ran along the corridor. The uniqueness of the structure, as well as the context in which it was found has led scholars to suggest that it was meant for some kind of a special ritual bath. Mohenjodaro is the most well known Harappan site.

Question 40.
Analyse the main features of Mauryan administrative system. Areas to be considered:
• Sources
• Five major political centres
• Military administration
• Asoka’s Dhamma
Answer:
Chandragupta Mauya was the founder of the Maurya empire. Historians have used a variety of sources. They are the following.

1. Archaeological finds (Sculpture)
2. Arthashastra composed by Kautilya.
3. Account of Megastenes
4. Buddhist, Jaina, Purariic and Sanskrit Uterature.
5. Inscriptions of Asoka.

These were five major political centres in the Mauryan empire – the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjaini, Tosali and Suvamagirl, all mentioned in Asokan inscriptions. The regions in-cluded within the empire were just too diverse.

It is likely that administrative control was strongest in areas around the capital and the provincial centres. These centres were carefully chosen, both Taxila and Ujjayini being situated on important longdistance trade routes, while Suvarnagiri was possibly important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka.

Communication along both land and riverine routes was vital for the existence of the empire. Megasthenes mentions a committee with six sub¬committees for coordinating military activity. Of these, one looked after the navy, the second managed transport and provisions, the third was responsible for foot soldiers, the fourth for horses, the fifth for chariots and the sixth for elephants. The activities of the sec-ond sub committee were rather varied: arranging for bullock carts to carry equipments, procuring food for soldiers and fodder for animals, and recruiting ser-vants and artisans to look after soldiers.

Asoka also tried to hold his empire together by propa gating Dhamma. According to Asoka, Dhamma would ensure the well being of people in this world and the next. Special officers, known as Dhamma mahamatta; were appointed to spread the message of dhamma. It was the first ruler who inscribed his messages to his subjects and officials on stone surfaces. He used the inscriptions to proclaim what he understood to be Dhamma. This included respect towards elders, generosity towards Brahmanas, and those who renounced worldly life, treating slaves and servants kindly, and respect for religions and traditins other than one’s own.

Question 41.
Evaluate the accounts of Al-Biruni regarding medieval India.
Hints:
• Early life
• The Kitab-ul-Hind
• The barriers faced by Al-Biruni
• Description of the caste system
Answer:
Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present day Uzbekistan. Khwarizm was an important centre of learning. He was well versed in several languages. Syrian, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit. In 1017, when Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarizm, he took several schplars and poets back to his capital, Ghazni, Al-Biruni was one of them.

It was in Ghazni that Al-Biruni developed an interest in India. Sanskrit works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine had been translated into Arabic from the eighth century onwards. He spend years in the Maximum cpuWisfters company of Brahmana priests and scholars, learning Sanskrit, and studying religious and philosophical texts. He travelled widely in the Punjab and parts of northern India.

Al-Biruni is Kitab-ul-Hind, written in Arabic, is simple and lucid. It is a voluminous text, divided into 80 chapters on subjects such as religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners and cus¬toms, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology.

Generally, Al-Biruni adopted a distinctive structure in each chapter, beginning with a question, following its up with a description based on Sanskritic traditions, and concluding with a comparison with other cultures. This almost geometric structure, remarkable, for its precision and predictability, owed much to his mathematical orienfation.

Al-Biruni, who wrote in Arabic, probably intended his work for people living along the frontiers of the sub-continent, He was familiar with translations and ad-aptations of Sanskrit. Pali and Prakrit texts into Ara-bic- these ranged from fables to works on astronomy and medicine. However, he was also critical about the ways in which these texts were written, and dearly wanted to im prove on them.

He discussed several ‘barriers’ that he felt obstructed understanding. The first amongst these was lan-guage. The second barrier h(e identified was the dif-ference in religious beliefs and practices. Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for paralels in other societies. He noted that in ancient Persia, four social categories were recognised: those of knights and princes; monks, fire-priests and lawyers, physicians, astronomers and other scientists; and finally, peasants and artisans.

In other words, he attempted to suggest that social divisions were not unique to India. At the same time he pointed out that within Islam all men were considered equal, differing only in their observance of piety. Al-Biruni disapproved of the notion of pollution. His description of the caste system was deeply influ-enced by his study of normative Sanskrit texts. How-ever, in real life the system was not quite as rigid.

Question 42.
Analyse the major struggles of Mahatma Gandhi for India’s freedom.
Hints:
• Non-Cooperation Movement
• Salt Satyagraha
• Quit India
Answer:
Mahatrpa Gandhi made India’s national movement into a mass movement. The Non-cooperation move-ment was the first mass movement organised by Gandhiji in India under Indian National Congress. He hoped that by coupling non-cooperation with Khilafat, India’s two major religious communities, Hindus and Muslims, could collectively bring an end to colonial rule.

As part of the Non-cooperation movement students stopped going to schools and colleges run by the government. The working class went on strike in many towns and cities. The countryside was seething With discontent too. Hill tribes in northen Andhra violated forest laws. Farmers in Awadh did not pay taxes. Peasant in Kumaun refused to carry loads for colonial officials. Peasants, workers, and others interpreted and acted upon the call to ‘non cooperate’ with colonial rule in ways that best suited their interests, rather than conform to the dictates laid down from above.

It entailed denial, renunciation and self discipline. It was training for self rule. As a consequence of the Non-cooperation movement the British Raj was shaken to its foundations for the first time since the Revolt of 1857. Then in February 1922, a group of peasants attacked and torched a police station in the hamlet of Chaurichaura in the United provinces. Several constables perished in the conflagration. This act of non violence prompted Gandhiji to call off the altogether. During the non cooperation movement thousands of Indians were put in jail.

Another mass movement organised by Gandhiji under the leadership of the Congress was the Salt Satyagraha. Mahatma Gandhi announced that he would lead a march to break one of the most widely disliked laws in British India, which gave the sjpte a monopoly in the manufacture and sale of salt. His picking on the salt monopoly was another illustration Of Gandhiji’s tactical wisdom.

On 12 March 1930, Gandhiji began walking from his ashram at Sabarmati towards the ocean. He reached his destination three weeks later, making a fistful of salt as he did and thereby making himself criminal in the eyes of the law. Meanwhile, parallel salt marches were being conducted in other parts of the country. This event brought Mahatma Gandhi to world attention. It was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. It was the salt march which forced upon the British the realisation that their

Raj would not last forever, and that they would have to devolve some power to the Indians. By the Gandhi Irwin pact of 1931 Gandhiji called off the ovil disobe dience movement and agreed to participate In the second round table conference. As a result all pris oners were released and salt manufacture was allowed along the coast.

Quit India movement began in 1942. Activists organised strikes and acts of Sabotage all over them country. Socialist members of the Congress were active in the underground. lndependent governments were proclaimed in different places. It was a mass movement bringing into its ambit hundreds of thou sands of ordinary Indians.