Articles

1. What are Varnas?

The priests divided into four groups called Varnas.

1. What was the original name of Lord Buddha?

Siddartha was the original name of Lord Buddha.

1. What do you mean by an empire?

Large kingdom where different types of people live in different parts of the kingdom is known as an empire.

1. What are Jatakas?

Jatakas were stories written and preserved by Buddhist monks in Sanghas.

1. What were the things for which South India was famous?

South India was famous for gold and spices, especially pepper and precious stones.

1. Name the capital of the Chalukyas.

Aihole was the capital of Chalukyas.

1. Name the God who that were worshipped in the earliest Hindus temples.

Deities such as Vishnu, Shiva and Durga were worshipped in the earliest Hindu temples.

1. List some of the technological changes associated with this period?

(a) The Persian wheel in irrigation (b) The spinning wheel in weaving (c) Firearms in combat

1. Who were the parties involved in the ‘tripartite struggle’?

Gujara - Prathihara, Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties.

1. Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi?

Tomara Rajputs were the first rulers to establish their capital at Delhi.

1. What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals?

Delhi, Agra, Awash, Allahabad, Bihar, Bengal, Gujarat, Ajmer, Lahore, Multan and Kabul.

1. What was a Shikhara?

Shikhara was the topmost portion of the building. The top of the building built during Chola rulers was called Shikhara.

1. Name three important centres of trade.

Three important centres of trade were - Surat, Hampi and Masulipatnam.

1. On what basis society was divided?

Society was divided according to the rules of Varna, prescribed by the Brahmanas.

1. How did intense devotion come in worship?

Intense devotion came into worship in 8th century and later on due to the legacy of different kinds of Bhakti and Sufi movements.

India is a diverse country with a rich cultural heritage and a multitude of regional cultures. Each region in India has its own distinct language, customs, traditions, art forms, music, dance, and cuisine.

The 18th century witnessed the decline of the Mughal Empire, which had been a dominant political power in India for several centuries. Weak successors, administrative corruption, and invasions by foreign powers weakened the Mughal rule.

1. How important are dates? 

Dates tell about the events, kings and their policies and battles which occurred at a particular time.

1. What attracted European trading companies to India?

The European trading companies were attracted to India because of fine quality of cotton and silk produced in India and Indian spices such as pepper, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.

1. Describe how company became the Diwan.

On 12 August 1765, Robert Clive was granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Mughal ruler.

1. Who was Birsa Munda?

Birsa belonged to a family of Mundas, a tribal group that lived in Chhotanagpur.

1. Who were affected by the policies of the East India Company?

Kings, queens, peasants, landlords, tribals and soldiers were all affected in different ways by the policies of the East India Company.

1. Who did the Indian National Congress wish to speak for?

The Indian National Congress wished to speak for the people of India belonging to different communities.

1. What was role of the planning commission?

The role of the Planning Commission was to design and execute suitable policies for economic development of India.

1. Name two essential features of a democratic government.

The two essential features of a democratic government are: (i) People have power to elect their leaders. (ii) Universal Adult franchise (UAF). All the adult citizens of the country have the fight to participate in elections.

1. Define Urbanisation

Urbanisation means the increase in the proportion of population of a country who live in the urban areas.

1. Where is Kalpattu village situated?

Kalpattu is a village close to the sea coast of Tamil Nadu.

1. The art of Zari work is centered in which state of India?

The art zari work is centred in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh which is known for its rich heritage of art and craft. This art has been predominant here for the last 300 years. Apart from Bhopal, it is practiced extensively in Gwalior and Indore.

1. Where are Samoan Islands?

The Samoan Islands are a part of a large group of small islands in the southern part of the Pacific ocean.

1. What are stereotypes?

When it is believed that people belonging to certain groups based on religion, wealth, language, sex etc. would behave in a particular manner, we create a stereotype. For example, people believe that girls or boys will behave in a certain manner.

1. What do you mean by mass media?

Media that reaches large number of people or the masses, across the country and the world is called mass media. For example Television, radio, newspaper etc.

1. What makes the consumer confused?

Sometimes there are two or more advertisements of a similar product of different brands. This makes the consumer confused, because it becomes difficult for him to differentiate between the same product of different brands.

1. What are the benefits of neighbourhood shops?

Shops in the neighbourhood are useful in many ways: (i) They are near our home and we can go there on any day of the week. (ii) These shops also provide goods on credit.

The sun is in the centre of the solar system. There are eight planets in our solar system. In order of their distance from the sun, they are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

All parallel circles from the equator up to the poles are called parallels of latitudes. The equator represents the zero degree latitude.

The earth has two types of motions, namely rotation and revolution. Rotation is the movement of the earth on its axis. The movement of the earth around the sun in a fixed path or orbit is called Revolution.

A map is a representation or a drawing of the earth’s surface or a part of it drawn on a flat surface according to a scale. There are three Components of Maps - distance, direction and symbol.

The surface of the earth is a complex zone in which three main components of the environment meet, overlap and interact. The solid portion of the earth on which we live is called the Lithosphere.

The surface of the earth is not the same everywhere. The earth has an infinite variety of landforms. Some parts of the lithosphere may be rugged and some flat.

India is a country of vast geographical expanse. In the north, it is bound by the lofty Himalayas. The Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south.

The weather is about day to day changes in the atmosphere. The climate is about the average weather condition, which have been measured over many years. The climate of India has broadly been described as Monsoon type.

1. What is environment?

The place, people, thing and nature that surround any living organism is called environment.

1. What is the crust?

The uppermost layer over the earth’s surface is called the crust. It is the thinnest of all the layers. It is about 35 km on the continental masses and only 5 km on the ocean floors.

1. What are lithosphere plates?

The earth's crust consists of several large and several small rigid, irregularly shaped plates which carry continents and the ocean floor. The lithosphere is broken into a number of plates called lithosphere plates.

1. Which gas creates greenhouse effect in the atmosphere?

Carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere creates a greenhouse effect by trapping the heat radiated from the earth. This is greenhouse gas. Without it the earth would have been too cold to live in.

1. What do you mean by terrarium?

Terrarium is an artificial enclosure for keeping small house plants.

1. Name the animals found in tropical grasslands.

Elephants, Zebra, Giraffes, Deer and Leopards are commonly found in tropical grasslands.

1. Define the term transhumance.

Transhumance is a seasonal movement of people who rear animals in search of new pastures according to changes in seasons.