Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDF and guide of Class 12 (second year) History textbook, chapter 5 Through the Eyes of Travellers which is part of the syllabus of students studying under AHSEC/ASSEB (Assam Board). These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
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Summary
People have always traveled to new places for work, trade, war, or adventure. When they arrived in a new land, they found different customs, languages, and traditions. Some adapted, while others documented what they saw. Most of the surviving travel accounts are by men. These records provide valuable details about societies, politics, and cultures of the past.
The chapter focuses on three travelers who visited India between the tenth and seventeenth centuries. Al-Biruni, from Uzbekistan, came in the eleventh century. Ibn Battuta, from Morocco, traveled in the fourteenth century. François Bernier, from France, visited in the seventeenth century. Their writings give us an outsider’s view of India.
Al-Biruni was brought to India by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017. He was a scholar who studied Sanskrit and Hindu scriptures. His book, Kitab-ul-Hind, described Indian religion, philosophy, social life, and customs. He tried to compare Indian society with others. He found the caste system unusual and argued that it went against nature. He admired Indian knowledge but also pointed out its limits.
Ibn Battuta, born in Morocco, traveled widely before reaching India in 1333. He served as a judge in Delhi under Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. His book, Rihla, describes Indian cities as large and full of markets and people. He noted that many items, such as textiles, were in high demand worldwide. He was also amazed by the postal system, which allowed messages to travel faster than people. He described Indian customs, such as chewing paan, which was new to him. He also mentioned the dangers of travel, including attacks by robbers.
François Bernier came to India in 1656. He was a doctor and historian who compared India with Europe. He believed that Mughal rule was flawed because the emperor controlled all the land. He argued that this system kept farmers poor and stopped economic progress. He described cities as dependent on the Mughal court, declining when the rulers moved. He also wrote about the practice of sati, where widows were forced to burn themselves alive.
The travelers’ accounts provide different views of Indian society. Some admired its wealth and culture, while others criticized its customs. Their descriptions were shaped by their own backgrounds and beliefs. Despite their differences, their writings help us understand India’s past.
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Answer in 100-150 words
1. Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
Answer: Al-Biruni’s 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 customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws, and metrology. Generally (though not always), Al-Biruni adopted a distinctive structure in each chapter, beginning with a question, following this up with a description based on Sanskritic traditions, and concluding with a comparison with other cultures. Some present-day scholars have argued that this almost geometric structure, remarkable for its precision and predictability, owed much to his mathematical orientation. Al-Biruni, who wrote in Arabic, probably intended his work for peoples living along the frontiers of the subcontinent. He was familiar with translations and adaptations of Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit texts into Arabic – 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 clearly wanted to improve on them.
2. Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.
Answer: Ibn Battuta’s book of travels, Rihla, written in Arabic, provides extremely rich and interesting details about the social and cultural life in the subcontinent in the fourteenth century. Unlike most other members of his class, Ibn Battuta considered experience gained through travels to be a more important source of knowledge than books. He meticulously recorded his observations about new cultures, peoples, beliefs, and values. He chose to describe everything that impressed and excited him because of its novelty.
François Bernier, on the other hand, belonged to a different intellectual tradition. He was far more preoccupied with comparing and contrasting what he saw in India with the situation in Europe, focusing on situations that he considered depressing. His idea seems to have been to influence policymakers and the intelligentsia to ensure that they made what he considered the “right” decisions. Bernier constantly compared Mughal India with contemporary Europe, generally emphasizing the superiority of the latter. His representation of India worked on the model of binary opposition, where India was presented as the inverse of Europe.
3. Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
Answer: Bernier described Mughal cities as “camp towns”, meaning they owed their existence and depended for their survival on the imperial camp. He believed that these came into existence when the imperial court moved in and rapidly declined when it moved out. He suggested that they did not have viable social and economic foundations but were dependent on imperial patronage. He described Indian society as consisting of undifferentiated masses of impoverished people, subjugated by a small minority of a very rich and powerful ruling class. He confidently asserted: “There is no middle state in India.” He felt that artisans had no incentive to improve the quality of their manufactures, since profits were appropriated by the state. He also noticed the existence of a prosperous merchant community, engaged in long-distance exchange. Bernier described Mughal cities as “ruined and contaminated with ill air.”
4. Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.
Answer: Ibn Battuta provides evidence of slavery through his observations of the widespread practice of buying, selling, and gifting slaves in the subcontinent. He notes that slaves were openly traded in markets like any other commodity and were frequently exchanged as gifts. Upon reaching Sind, he purchased “horses, camels, and slaves” as gifts for Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. In Multan, he presented the governor with “a slave and horse together with raisins and almonds.” The Sultan also gifted large numbers of slaves, including when he rewarded a preacher with “a hundred thousand tankas and two hundred slaves.” Female slaves had varied roles, some serving in the Sultan’s court as musicians and dancers, while others acted as spies, reporting on nobles. Slaves were also employed for domestic labor, particularly for carrying palanquins. Ibn Battuta notes that the price of slaves, especially female slaves for domestic work, was very low, making them accessible to many families.
5. What were the elements of the practice of sati that drew the attention of Bernier?
Answer: Bernier noted that while some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to die. At Lahore, he saw a most beautiful young widow sacrificed, who, he thought, could not have been more than twelve years of age. The poor little creature appeared more dead than alive when she approached the dreadful pit: the agony of her mind could not be described; she trembled and wept bitterly. But three or four of the Brahmanas, assisted by an old woman who held her under the arm, forced the unwilling victim toward the fatal spot, seated her on the wood, tied her hands and feet, lest she should run away, and in that situation, the innocent creature was burnt alive. Bernier found it difficult to repress his feelings and to prevent them from bursting forth into clamorous and unavailing rage.
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6. Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system.
Answer: Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for parallels in other societies. He noted that in ancient Persia, four social categories were recognized: 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.
In spite of his acceptance of the Brahmanical description of the caste system, Al-Biruni disapproved of the notion of pollution. He remarked that everything which falls into a state of impurity strives and succeeds in regaining its original condition of purity. The sun cleanses the air, and the salt in the sea prevents the water from becoming polluted. If it were not so, insisted Al-Biruni, life on earth would have been impossible. The conception of social pollution, intrinsic to the caste system, was, according to him, contrary to the laws of nature.
Al-Biruni described the system of varnas as follows: The highest caste is the Brahmana, created from the head of Brahman, considered the very best of mankind. The next caste is the Kshatriya, created from the shoulders and hands of Brahman, whose degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, created from the thigh of Brahman. The Shudra, created from his feet, come last. Between the Vaishya and Shudra, there is no very great distance. Although these classes differ, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and lodgings.
Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system was deeply influenced by his study of normative Sanskrit texts, which laid down the rules governing the system from the Brahmanical perspective. However, in real life, the system was not as rigid. The categories defined as antyaja (literally, born outside the system) were often expected to provide inexpensive labor to both peasants and zamindars. While they were often subjected to social oppression, they were included within economic networks.
7. Do you think Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in understanding life in contemporary urban centres. He described cities in the subcontinent as densely populated and prosperous, except for the occasional disruptions caused by wars and invasions. Most cities had crowded streets and bright and colourful markets that were stacked with a wide variety of goods. Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a vast city, with a great population, the largest in India. Daulatabad (in Maharashtra) was no less, and easily rivalled Delhi in size. The bazaars were not only places of economic transactions, but also the hub of social and cultural activities. Most bazaars had a mosque and a temple, and in some of them at least, spaces were marked for public performances by dancers, musicians and singers. Ibn Battuta also noted that the subcontinent was well integrated with inter-Asian networks of trade and commerce, with Indian manufactures being in great demand in both West Asia and Southeast Asia, fetching huge profits for artisans and merchants. Indian textiles, particularly cotton cloth, fine muslins, silks, brocade and satin, were in great demand. Ibn Battuta informs us that certain varieties of fine muslin were so expensive that they could be worn only by the nobles and the very rich. The state evidently took special measures to encourage merchants. Almost all trade routes were well supplied with inns and guest houses. Ibn Battuta was also amazed by the efficiency of the postal system which allowed merchants to not only send information and remit credit across long distances, but also to dispatch goods required at short notice. The postal system was so efficient that while it took fifty days to reach Delhi from Sind, the news reports of spies would reach the Sultan through the postal system in just five days. These observations provide valuable insights into the economic, social, and cultural dynamics of urban centres during his time.
8. Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s account enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society.
Answer: François Bernier’s account provides a detailed but often critical perspective on rural society in Mughal India. He argued that the lack of private property in land was a fundamental issue, as the emperor owned all land and distributed it among his nobles. This, according to Bernier, led to disastrous consequences for the economy and society. He believed that landholders, unable to pass on their land to their children, were averse to long-term investments in agriculture, resulting in the uniform ruination of agriculture, excessive oppression of the peasantry, and a continuous decline in living standards for all sections of society except the ruling aristocracy.
Bernier described the peasantry as suffering under the tyranny of rapacious lords, who often deprived them of their means of subsistence and even took their children as slaves. He painted a bleak picture of rural India, with vast tracts of land remaining uncultivated due to a lack of laborers, many of whom perished due to bad treatment. He also noted that the peasantry, driven to despair, often abandoned the country.
However, Bernier’s descriptions occasionally hint at a more complex social reality. He acknowledged that some parts of India, like Bengal, were extremely fertile and produced a variety of crops and commercial goods. He also noted the existence of a prosperous merchant community engaged in long-distance trade and the flow of precious metals into India. Despite his critical stance, Bernier’s account provides valuable insights into the economic and social conditions of rural society during the Mughal period, though his views were often shaped by his comparisons with Europe and his belief in the virtues of private property.
9. Read this excerpt from Bernier:
Numerous are the instances of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have received instruction from a master. Sometimes they imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture that the difference between the original and copy can hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling-pieces, and such beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of their paintings.
List the crafts mentioned in the passage. Compare these with the descriptions of artisanal activity in the chapter.
Answer: The crafts mentioned in the passage include the making of muskets, fowling-pieces, gold ornaments, and paintings. These crafts are described as being of excellent quality, with the artisans often imitating European articles so perfectly that the difference between the original and the copy is hardly discernible. The passage also highlights the beauty, softness, and delicacy of Indian paintings.
In the chapter, Bernier provides a detailed account of the working of the imperial karkhanas or workshops, where artisans were employed in various crafts. He mentions embroiderers, goldsmiths, painters, varnishers in lacquer-work, joiners, turners, tailors, shoe-makers, and manufacturers of silk, brocade, and fine muslins. Bernier notes that the artisans worked under the supervision of a master and were employed in a quiet, regular manner, with little aspiration for improvement in their condition of life. He also observes that vast quantities of the world’s precious metals flowed into India, as manufactures were exported in exchange for gold and silver, indicating a prosperous merchant community engaged in long-distance exchange.
The descriptions in the chapter align with the excerpt, emphasizing the high quality and variety of Indian craftsmanship, particularly in textiles, gold and silver work, and paintings. However, Bernier also suggests that the artisans had little incentive to improve their crafts due to the state’s appropriation of profits, leading to a decline in the quality of manufactures over time.
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Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.
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