Class-7 (History) Social Science Chapter- 7 Tribes, Nomads And Settled Communities

 

Class-7 (History) Social Science

 Chapter- 7 Tribes, Nomads And Settled Communities

1. Match the following:
garh             –     khel
tanda           –    chaurasi
labourer      –   caravan
clan             –   Garha Katanga
Sib Singh    –  Ahom State
Durgawati   – paik

Answer: garh – chaurasi
tanda – caravan
labourer – paik
clan – khel
Sib Singh – Ahom state
Durgawati – Garha Katanga

2. Fill in the blanks: 

1.    The new castes emerging within vamas were called……………………

2.    ……… were historical works written by the Ahoms.

3.    The…….. mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.

4.    As tribal stales became bigger and stronger they gave land grants to………….. ..

Answer:

1.    jatis

2.    Buraryis

3.    Akbar Nama

4.    temples, Brahmanas.

3. State whether true or false:
(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.
(b) There were no tribal communities in the north-western part of the subcontinent.
(c) The Chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities.
(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of the sub-continent.
Answer:    (a)—T, (b)—F, (c)—F, (d)—F.

4. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturists?
Answer:

1.    Nomadic pastoralists gave wool, ghee etc.

2.    Settled agriculturalists gave the nomadic pastoralists grains, cloth, utensils and other products.

5. How was the administration of the Ahom state-organized?
Answer:
Administration of Ahoms

1.    The Ahom state depended upon forced labour.

·         The forced workers were called paiks.

2.    A census of the population was taken.

·         Each village had to send a number of paiks by rotation.

·         People from heavily populated areas were shifted to less populated places. — Ahom clans were thus broken up.

3.    By the first half of the seventeenth century, the administration became quite centralised.

6. What changes took place in vama-based society?
Answer: The following changes took place in uama-based society:

·         Smaller castes or jatis emerged within vamas.

·         On the other hand, many tribes and social groups were taken into caste-based society and given the status of jatis.

·         Specialised artisans such as smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas.

·         Jatis rather than vama became the basis for organising society.

·         Among the Kshatriyas, new Rajput clans became powerful.

·         Many tribes became part of the caste system. But only the leading tribal families could join the ruling class. A large majority joined the lower jatis of caste society.

·         Many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind and the North-West Frontier had adopted Islam. They continued to reject the caste-system.

7. How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?
Answer:
Changes in the Society

1.    The emergence of large states changed the nature of tribal society.

2.    Equal society gradually got divided into unequal social classes.

·         Brahmanas received land grants from the Gond rajas.

·         They became more influential.

3.    The Gond chiefs now wished to be recognised as Rajputs.

·         Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of Sangram Shah.

·         His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati.

4.    She was the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba.

8. Were the Banjaras important for the economy?
Answer: 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.

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

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.

10. 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.
Answer: 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.

11. Find out about present-day government policies towards tribal populations and organise a discussion about these.
Answer:
Policies about Tribal population

·         Overall upliftment.

·         Land rights.

·         Education.

·         Cultural and social upliftment.

·         Roads, water, industries.

·         Mainstreaming.

·         Enforcement of reservation in government jobs.

12. Find out more about present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the subcontinent.
Answer: 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.

 

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