NCERT Solutions for Class 7 History Chapter 10 Eighteenth Century Political Formations
NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 10 Eighteenth Century Political Formations contains the answers to the exercises given in the NCERT History book. These solutions are easy and accurate that help you to answer the questions asked in the examinations. NCERT Solutions for Class 7 History Chapter 10 are prepared by our subject experts in very easy language. Practice these solutions regularly to ensure excellent marks in the exams.
NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 10
Question 1: Match the following.
| subadar | a revenue farmer |
| faujdar | a high noble |
| ijaradar | provincial governor |
| misl | Maratha peasant warrior |
| chauth | a Mughal military commander |
| kunbis | a band of Sikh warriors |
| umara | tax levied by the Marathas |
Answer:
| subadar | provincial governor |
| faujdar | a Mughal military commander |
| ijaradar | a revenue farmer |
| misl | a band of Sikh warriors |
| chauth | tax levied by the Marathas |
| kunbis | Maratha peasant warrior |
| umara | a high noble |
Question 2: Fill in the blanks:
(a) Aurangzeb fought a protracted war in the___________
(b) Umara and jagirdars constituted powerful sections of the Mughal ___________
(c) Asaf Jah founded the Hyderabad state in ___________.
(d) The founder of the Awadh state was ___________.
Answer: (a) Aurangzeb fought a protracted war in the Deccan.
(b) Umara and jagirdars constituted powerful sections of the Mughal administration.
(c) Asaf Jah founded the Hyderabad state in 1724.
(d) The founder of the Awadh state was Burhan-ul-Mulk Sa’adat Khan.
Question 3: State whether true or false:
(a) Nadir Shah invaded Bengal.
(b) Sawai Raja Jai Singh was the ruler of Indore.
(c) Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
(d) Poona became the capital of the Marathas in the eighteenth century.
Answer:
(a) False
(b) False
(c) True
(d) True
Question 4: What were the offices held by Sa’adat Khan?
Answer: The offices held by Sa’adat Khan included subadari, diwani and faujdari.
Question 5: Why did the Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal try to do away with the jagirdari system?
Answer: The Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal tried to do away with the jagirdari system because they wanted to put a curb on cheating as well as the Mughal influence in their kingdoms. The jagirdars appointed by Mughals were corrupt, so the Nawabs reduced the size of jagirs and appointed loyal servants to complete the tasks.
They checked the jagirdar’s accounts and the districts’ revenues were reassessed by officials appointed by the Nawab’s court.
Question 6: How were the Sikhs organized in the eighteenth century?
Answer: In the eighteenth century, the Sikhs organized themselves into a number of bands called jathas, and later misls. Their combined forces were known as the grand army (dal khalsa). The entire body used to meet at Amritsar at the time of Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective decisions known as “resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas)”. A system called rakhi was introduced, offering protection to cultivators on the payment of a tax of 20 per cent of the produce.
Guru Gobind Singh created the khalsa that helped Sikhs defeat the Mughal governors first and then Ahmad Shah Abdali who had seized the rich province of the Punjab and the Sarkar of Sirhind from the Mughals.
Question 7: Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the Deccan?
Answer: The Marathas wanted to expand beyond the Deccan to receive tribute and control trade and agriculture. They had built a rich and effective administrative system, so they could think of expanding beyond the Deccan for more power and resources.
Question 8: What were the policies adopted by Asaf Jah to strengthen his position?
Answer: In order to strengthen his position, Asaf Jah brought skilled soldiers and administrators from northern India who welcomed the new opportunities in the south. He appointed mansabdars and granted jagirs. Although he was still a servant of the Mughal emperor, he ruled quite independently without seeking any direction from Delhi or facing any interference.the Deccan and the competition amongst the court nobility.
Question 9: Do you think merchants and bankers today have the kind of influence they had in the eighteenth century?
Answer: During the 18th century merchants were more influential than the bankers. They used to provide more loan opportunities at higher interest rates. But now, with the spread of education people prefer banks which provide loans and other financial assistance at cheaper rates. Bankers also provide subsidy on the interest rate. They have different scopes of loans for different purposes. So they are more influential today than the merchants.
Question 10: Did any of the Kingdoms mentioned in this chapter develop in your state? If so, in what ways do you think life in the state would have been different in the eighteenth century from what, it is in the twenty-first century?
Answer: I live in Delhi. None of the Kingdoms mentioned in the chapter developed in this region. If any of the students live in any of the regions where the kingdoms mentioned in the chapter developed they should consult their history teacher and prepare their answer.
Extra Questions
Very Short Answer Questions
1. Who were later Mughals?
Answer: The successors of Aurangzeb, who were weak and incompetent are referred to as later Mughals.
2. Who were the two invaders who invaded India?
Answer: Nadir Shah of Iran and Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan.
3. Which were the old Mughal provinces?
Answer: The old Mughal provinces were the principalities of Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad.
4. Name the three kingdoms which tried to be independent of the Mughal rule.
Answer: The Sikhs, Marathas and the Jats.
5. What were Jathas/Misls?
Answer: Under a number of able leaders in the 18th century, the Sikhs organised themselves into a number of bands called jathas and later on misls.
6. What was Chauth?
Answer: It was 25% of the land revenue claimed by zamindars under Marathas in Deccan.
7. What was Sardeshm
Answer: It was 9-10% of the land revenue paid to the head revenue collector in the Deccan.
Short Answer Questions
1. What were Watanjagirs?
Answer: Many Rajput kings, particularly belonging to Amber and Jodhpur, had served under the Mughals with distinction. In exchange, they were permitted to enjoy considerable autonomy in their Watan jagirs. These rulers attempted to extend their control over adjacent areas.
2. How was Raja Jai Singh described
Answer: A description of Raja Jai Singh in a Persian account of 1732 wrote: “Raja Jai Singh was at the height of his power. He was the governor of Agra for 12 years and of Malwa for 5 or 6 years. He possessed a large army, artillery and great wealth. His sway extended from Delhi to the banks of the Narmada.”
3. How was Aurangzeb’s religious policy responsible for the decline of Mughal empire?
Answer: The orthodox religious policy of Aurangzeb drove Sikhs, Marathas and Rajputs against the Mughals. Further, during last 25 years of his life, he was busy in crushing rebellion in Deccan which led to the decline of his empire.
4. What were the common features of the three Mughal provinces?
Answer: The common features of the three Mughal provinces were:
- They were suspicious of the administrative system of the Mughals particularly the Jagirdari system.
- Their system of revenue collection was different. All three states contracted the revenue farmers for the collection of revenue. The practice of Ijaradari spread all over India in the 18th century.
- They relied on rich bankers and merchants. These people lent money to peasants and collected revenue through their own agents.
5. How did Marathas rise to power?
Answer: (i) With the decline of the Mughal empire at the dawn of eighteenth century there was once again assertion of independence by old and new kingdoms against the Mughals.
(ii) The later Mughals were weak and were compelled by circumstances to grant independence to all new kingdoms.
(iii) Among the new kingdoms, the Marathas were the most prominent and powerful.
6. Who all led to rise of Maratha power?
Answer: (i) Marathas lived in the hilly regions of Konkan and the Western Ghats.
(ii) They were courageous and excellent soldiers.
(iii) In the earlier times, they had held high military and administrative positions under Sultans.
(iv) With their decline, some influential Maratha families had begun to assert their authority.
7. What was Ashta Pradhan?
Answer: This was the council of Eight Ministers appointed by Shivaji to advise him on the important matters connected with the administration of the kingdom. Each minister headed a particular department or ministry. The minister incharge of finances and general administration was known as Peshwa. The minister who held the charge of the army was known as Sar-i-naubati. Both these ministers were very powerful. Other ministries included finance and revenue, home minister, foreign affairs, charitable grants, justice and correspondence.
8. Examine the religious policy of Shivaji.
Answer: (i) Shivaji was a devout Hindu.
(ii) He had also great respect for the Quran and employed a large number of Muslims in his army. His religious policy was therefore, liberal.
(iii) He even gave grants to Muslims to build mosques.
(iv) This tolerant religious policy was one of the factors responsible for the rise of Marathas.
Long Answer Questions
1. Describe three causes of decline of Mughal empire.
Answer: The causes of decline of the Mughal empire were as follows:
Later Mughals: The death of Bahadur Shah in 1712 led to a bitter war of succession among the brothers. In this succession, Sayyid Brothers, Hussain Ali and Abdulla emerged as Kingmakers. The conspiracy of these brothers and the inability of later Mughal emperors to deal with it weakened the Mughal empire. The Mughal empire started shrinking in size.
Foreign Invasions: In 1739, the Persian invader Nadir Shah defeated the Mughal army at Karnal. His invasion exposed the weakness of the Mughals. It encouraged Ahmed Shah Abdali, an Afghan invader, to advance to Delhi in 1759. The Mughals were forced to take help of the Marathas against Abdali. Ahmed Shah defeated Marathas in the third Battle of Panipat in 1761. It led to the decline of Maratha and Mughal power in India.
Rise of New States and Coming of Europeans: The nobles gradually became powerful after Aurangzeb’s death and hatched conspiracy. It led to the rise of new states like Rajputs, Marathas and the Sikhs. Further, the coming of Europeans like British, French, Dutch and Portuguese with better artillery further weakened the Mughal empire.
2. Write a note on Nadir Shah.
Answer: (i) With the mighty Mughal empire torn into bits and pieces during the eighteenth century, the Afghan rulers conducted a series of raids from the northwest of Delhi, looting and plundering people and temples.
(ii) It was during one of these raids in 1739, when Nadir Shah, a powerful Persian general looted Delhi and took away the Kohinoor diamond and the fabulous Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan to Afghanistan. Nadir Shah died in 1747.
3. Examine the emergence of three types of states in the 18th century.
Answer: The decline of Mughal empire saw the rise of new states. Broadly speaking there were three kinds of states:
- The first group included old Mughal subas like, Awadh, Bengal, and Hyderabad. The rulers of these areas though independent and extremely powerful did not break their formal ties with the Mughal emperor.
- States which had enjoyed considerable autonomy under Mughals as Watan Jagirs. These included several Rajput states.
- The third group included states which were of different sizes and had become independent of the Mughals after a long struggle. These included Marathas, Sikhs and Jats.
4. Describe the rise of Awadh state after the decline of Mughals.
Answer: (i) During the Mughal period, it was an important province or suba.
(ii) It declared its independence from the Mughals in 1722 under Burhanul-Mulk Saadat Khan, a Persian Governor (Nazim) under Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor at this time.
(iii) Nadir Shah then turned to Delhi and looted and carried the great massacre.
(iv) Saadat Khan finally committed suicide and was succeeded by Safdarjung as the wazir of Mughal empire.
5. What do you know about various rulers of Bengal after the decline of Mughal empire?
Answer: (i) Nawab Murshid Quli Khan (1717-1727) declared independence from the Mughal rule.
(ii) He made Murshidabad, its capital.
(iii) He was followed by his son Shuja-ud-Daula (1727-1739).
(iv) Thereafter Alivardi Khan (1739-1756) defeated his son and captured Bengal. During his rule, Bengal became a prosperous kingdom.
(v) In spite of the joint efforts of the Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal, the Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II was forced by treacherous means to grant the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the East India Company, who were fast emerging as the new masters of India.
6. How did Watan Jagirs rise under Rajputs?
Answer: (i) Aurangzeb’s religious policy had distanced the Rajputs from Mughals.
(ii) The Rajput state of Mewar (now Udaipur), Marwar (now Jodhpur) and Amber (Jaipur) had become independent.
(iii) Jodhpur and Jaipur came to play a more crucial role in post-Mughal period.
(iv) The Maharajas of Jodhpur and Jaipur controlled large territories from Agra to Surat.
(v) There were scores of other smaller Rajput kingdoms which however, never attempted any confederation even after the decay of Mughal empire and remained loyal to the British as well.
(vi) Some of the powerful Rajput rulers were Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur and Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Malwa.
7. How did Sikhs rise as an independent kingdom?
Answer:
• During Babur’s reign, Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion.
• During Jahangir’s reign, Guru Arjun Dev provided protection to Khusrau, Jahangir’s rebellious son.
• In 1606, Guru Arjun Dev was put to death.
• In 1675, the ninth Guru, Guru Teg Bahadur was tortured to death by Aurangzeb for refusing to embrace Islam.
• The execution greatly angered the Sikhs.
• In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh became a deadly enemy of the Mughals.
• He founded the Khalsa (meaning pure), the Sikh military order.
• Its sole purpose was to defend the community from oppression.
• Later in the 18th century, Sikh kingdom extended from Indus to Yamuna.
• They united as a free power under Maharaja Ranjit Singh with capital at Lahore in 1799.
8. How did Shivaji enter into conflict with Mughals?
Answer:
• When Shivaji defeated Bijapur soldiers, Aurangzeb had ascended the throne.
• It was the first time that the Maratha leader had to face the might of Mughals.
• When he reached Pune, the Maratha leader Shivaji had quietly slipped into his camp.
• Shivaji killed several members of his household including his son and even wounded Shaista Khan.
• There was not much resistance from the Mughal forces and they soon abandoned Pune.
• This was because the Marathas were experts in guerrilla warfare.
9. How was Shivaji defeated? How did he rise?
Answer:
i. In 1664, Shivaji attacked Surat and plundered its wealth.
ii. This easy victory further alarmed Aurangzeb and a massive force under Raja Jai Singh was deployed there.
iii. Shivaji was defeated and forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Purandar in 1665.
iv. Shivaji agreed to surrender 23 forts to the Mughals and to accept the overlordship of Aurangzeb.
10. Describe the land revenue system of Marathas.
Answer: i. The task of collection of revenue including those under Zamindari system was supervised by the state.
ii. Only the subjugated territories had to pay two kinds of taxes: chauth and Sardeshmukhi.
iii. It was paid by the rulers.
iv. Chauth was fixed at one-fourth of revenue collected by rulers and Sardeshmukhi was fixed at one-fourth of the revenue paid by rulers.
v. Both of these taxes were levied in return for protection given by Marathas against attacks by other forces.
Hots (Higher Order Thinking Skills)
1. Who were Later Mughals?
Answer: (i) The successors of Aurangzeb were known as later Mughals, because their rule formed a distinct history in India and was not a continuation of great Mughal rule.
(ii) These later Mughals included Bahadur Shah who ascended the throne after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707.
(iii) His son Jahandar Shah was murdered soon after ascending the throne in 1712.
(iv) After this, two nobles known as Sayyid brothers conspired to put Farrukh Siyar (1713-1719), Bahadur’s nephew, on the throne.
(v) The Sayyid brothers known as ‘king makers’ later deposed Farrukh Siyar and put Muhammad Shah (1719-1749) on the throne.
2. Write a short note on Ahmad Shah Abdali.
Answer:(i) Ahmed Shah Abdali was the independent ruler of Afghanistan. He plundered Delhi and Mathura.
(ii) At this time Marathas too were emerging, powerful in North India.
(iii) They challenged the Afghan Viceroy in Lahore and drove him away.
(iv) Thus, the Marathas and not the Mughals, were locked in battles against foreign invaders, the Afghans.
(v) The second battle was fought at the famous battleground at Panipat in 1761. The Marathas were defeated and completely routed.
3. Write a note on Shivaji’s administration.
Answer: (i) Shivaji was a brave and a bold general.
(ii) His kingdom was divided into two parts: Swarajya and Mughlai. Swarajya means homeland, which was under direct Maratha control.
(iii) ‘Mughlai’ were the territories adjacent to Mughal territories.
(iv) They contributed revenue to the Marathas.
(v) Marathas conducted raids on the Mughlai territories and the inhabitants were forced to pay tax known as chauth equal to one-fourth of land revenue.
(vi) The remaining of his empire was divided into prants or provinces.
(vii) Each prant was divided into several parganas.
(viii) Each pargana consisted of several villages.
(ix) The headman of the village was known as patel.
4. Describe the rise of Jats as a power after the decline of Mughals.
Answer: (i) Jats rose to the power from a small dominant village community to control large parts of Agra and Mathura.
(ii) They consolidated their power in 17th and 18th centuries under their leader Churaman to the west of Delhi.
(iii) Surajmal, son of a Jat leader Badal Singh, extended his empire and brought the territories of whole of Agra, Mathura, Bharatpur, Etawah and Meerut under his control.
(iv) This was the first Jat kingdom in the history of India.
(v) Surajmal died in 1763.
Class 7 History Chapter 10 NCERT Questions and Answers
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