Chapter 7. Tribes Nomads And Settled Communities-NCERT Exercise History Class 7 In English

Exercise - Question:

Que: Match the following:

garh                                        khel

tanda                                      chaurasi

labourer                                       caravan

clan                                        Garha Katanga

Sib Singh                               Ahom state

Durgawati                              paik

Ans:

Que: Fill in the blanks:

(a) The new castes emerging within varnas werecalled ____________.

(b) _____________ were historical works written by theAhoms.

(c) The ____________ mentions that Garha Katangahad 70,000 villages.

(d) As tribal states became bigger and stronger, theygave land grants to _________ and ________.

Ans:

(a) Jatis

(b) buranjis

(c) Akbar Nama

(d) poets, scholars.

Que: State whether true or false:

(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.

(b) There were no tribal communities in the northwesternpart of the subcontinent.

(c) The chaurasi in Gond states contained severalcities.

(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of thesubcontinent.

Ans:

(a) True

(b) False

(c) False

(d) False 

Que: What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadicpastoralists and settled agriculturists?

Ans:

(i) They exchange milk, other pastrol products such as wool, ghee, etc.            

(ii) Agriculture gave them grain, cloth, utensiland other products.  

Que: How was the administration of the Ahom stateorganised?

Ans:

(i) The Ahom state depend upon forced labour or paiks.                           

(ii) The census of the population was taken.                                     

(iii) Each vilage had to send a number of paiks by rotation. 

Que: What changes took place in varna-based society?

Ans:

(i) Smaller castes or jaitis emerged within varnas.                               

(ii) Many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and given the status of jaitis.                                                             

(iii) Jaitis rather than varna, became the basis for organising society.    

Que: How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?

Ans:

(i) They began to envolve a centralised administrative system.                   

(ii) Some social divisons within a tribal society also took place.                   

(iii) Tribal kings also began to grant land to Brahmputras, poets and scholar.   

Que: Were the Banjaras important for the economy?

Ans: The Banjaras were very important for the economy. They were trader-nomads and controlled trade and commerce. They played an important role in transporting grain to the city markets. They usually bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places where it was dearer. From there, they again reloaded their oxen with anything that could be profitably sold in other places.

Que: In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?

Ans: The history of the Gonds was different from that of the Ahoms in the following ways:

1. Gonds lived in Gondwana while Ahoms lived in Brahmaputra valley.
2. Gonds practiced shifting cultivation while Ahoms did not practice shifting cultivation.
3. Gond kingdoms were large, Ahom kingdom was small.
4. Gond kingdoms were divided into garhs, Ahoms built a large state.
5. Gonds did not use fire-arms, Ahoms used fire-arms for the first time in the history of the subcontinent.

The similarity is that both were tribes:

1. The Mughals tried to control the lands of both at different point of time.
2. There were changes in society of both due to the diversification of occupations.

Que: Plot the location of the tribes mentioned in this chapter on a map. For any two, discuss whether their mode of livelihood was suited to the geography and the environment of the area where they lived.

Ans: Several tribes live in different parts of India. See the map given below

These tribes settled temporarily at the places which suited them as per their need and livelihood. Whenever they found the environment or their mode of living unfavourable, they migrated to other suitable places.

Que: Find out about present-day government policies towards tribal populations and organise a discussion about these.

Ans:

Policies about Tribal population

• Overall upliftment.
• Land rights.
• Education.
• Cultural and social upliftment.
• Roads, water, industries.
• Mainstreaming.
• Enforcement of reservation in government jobs.

Que: Find out more about present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent.

Ans: What animals do they keep? Which are the areas frequented by these groups? Ans. Present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent are – Gaddi shepherds living in the western Himalayas, Gujjar Bakarwals, living in Jammu & Kashmir, Banjaras living in Rajasthan. These nomadic people keep sheep, goats, and camels. They frequently visit the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Rajasthan.