NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 2 New Kings and Kingdoms

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New Kings and Kingdoms NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 2

Class 7 History Chapter 2 New Kings and Kingdoms InText Questions and Answers

Text Book Page No. 16

Question 1.
Locate the Gurjara – Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, Palas, Cholas and Chahamanas (Chauhans). Can you identify the present-day states over which they exercised control?
Answer:
The following table shows the present- day states over which they exercised control:

S.No	Dynasties	Present-day states
1.	Gurjara-Pratiharas	Western Uttar Pradesh, North Madhya Pradesh
2.	Rashtrakutas	Maharashtra, Central Madhya Pradesh, Northern Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
3.	Palas	Bengal and North East of India
4.	Cholas	Tamil Nadu
5.	Chahamanas (Chauhans)	Eastern Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab

Text Book Page No. 17

Question 1.
Do you think being born as a Kshatriya was important in order to become a ruler during this period?
Answer:
No, it was not important to be born as a Kshatriya in order to become a ruler during this period. This is because any lower caste person could over throw rulers and become king by performing rituals with the help of Brahmanas.

For example, Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief became king by killing Chalukya ruler and by performing ritual.

Text Book Page No. 18

Question 1.
Are any such taxes (as Vetti, Kadamai etc.) collected today?
Answer:
Only a few of such taxes are collected today. For example, land revenue.

Question 2.
In what ways was this form of administration different from the present- day system?
Answer:
In the present-day administrative system, there are no such kings who claim high sounding titles and share power with Samantas, peasants, traders and Brahmanas. Today, we live in a democratic, republic administrative system in which the ruler is elected by the general people who is the first servant of public.

Text Book Page No. 19

Question 1.
See if you can find some of the areas mentioned in the inscription on Map 1. Other rulers made similar claims as well. Why do you think they made these claims?
Answer:
The other rulers, who made such claims, also wanted to be presented as valiant, victorious warriors.

Text Book Page No. 20

Question 1.
List all the possible sources of irrigation mentioned in the inscription, and discuss how these might have been used.
Answer:
(1) The possible sources of irrigation mentioned in the inscription are—waterland, wells, canals, ditches, rivers, silt-laden land, tanks, fishponds, and deep lakes.

(2) These irrigation sources might have been used to water small and large tracts of land as per their suitability of providing amount of water to that track of land.

Text Book Page No. 21

Question 1.
Look at Map 1 and suggest reasons why these rulers wanted to control Kanauj and the Ganga valley.
Answer:

1. Kanauj lied on the banks of river Ganga. It was the most fertile land as the irrigation water was readily available from river Ganga.
2. It also enjoyed the most central position in the subcontinent.
3. Also, control of river waters resulted in the navigation which was most essential for inland and international trades.

Question 2.
Look at Map 1 again and discuss why the Chaha-manas may have wanted to expand their territories.
Answer:
(1) The dynasty of Chahamanas enjoyed the central position in the subcontinent. It, therefore may have wanted to expand its territories in all the directions

(2) It also must have enjoyed enormous resources needed for the expansion of territories, as their domain lied in the fertile land irrigated by the waters of Yamuna and Ganga rivers.

(3) Therefore, it must have been the wealthiest of all the neighbouring dynasties. And a wealthy king can only think of wedging a war against its neighbours.

Text Book Page No. 22

Question 1.
How did the Cholas rise to power?
Answer:

1. Vijayalaya, a Chola chief from Uraiyur, captured the Kaveri delta from a Samanta (subordinate) of Pallava king.
2. He gradually conquered neighbouring regions, and thus established Chola kingdom by defeating Pallava and Pandya kings.
3. The Chola kingdom was consolidated under Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I.

Text Book Page No. 25

Question 1.
How Was the administration organised?
Answer:
The Chola administration was organised in the village councils and Nadu, groups of peasant villages. Nadu worked under the supervision of Central Chola government, which was controlled by Chola kings.

Text Book Page No. 27

Question 1.
Do you think women participated in these assemblies? In your view are lotteries useful in choosing members of committees?
Answer:
No, I don’t think women participated in these assemblies. Lottery system is often’use in choosing members of committees. But in my view, elections are the best way to do so.

Question 2.
Were there any Brahmanas in this hamlet?
Answer:
No, there were no Brahmanas in this hamlet.

Question 3.
Describe all the activities that were taking place in the village.
Answer:
These activities were as under :

1. Little chickens were moving around.
2. Dark children, who wore black iron bracelets, were prancing about.
3. Babies of female labourers were sleeping in the shades of marudu (Arjuna) trees.-
4. Pulaiya women were singing as they were husking paddy.

Question 4.
Why do you think temple inscriptions ignore these activities?
Answer:
The temple inscriptions ignored these activities because :

• These activities were of low caste or outcaste people.
• Brahmanas, always wanted to praise their partons through temple inscription, and they always showed down the low caste people.

Text Book Page No. 28

Question 1.
In what ways was this system different from those prevalent in the Indian subcontinent?
Answer:
People were not recuited through examination in the administrative system of Indian subcontinent. The Samantas, associations of peasants, traders and artisans were generally given administrative responsibilities in the Indian subcontinent.

Imagine

Question 1.
You are present in an election for a sabha. Describe what you see and hear.
Answer:

1. In a sabha election, there are various voices which are put down when the nominations for the election are announced.
2. The paper is distributed for the names of candidates to be written on it.
3. A young boy is called upon and asked to take out one slip from the box, in which all slips, with the names of candidates, were put in.
4. The name of the selected candidate is announced and everyone congratulates him.

Class 7 History Chapter 2 New Kings and Kingdoms Exercise Questions and Answers

Let’s Recall

Question 1.
Match the following :
Answer:

Gurjara – Pratiharas	Gujarat and Rajastan
Rashtrakutas	Western Deccan
Palas	Bengal
Cholas	Tamil Nadu

Question 2.
Who were the parties involved in the “tripartite struggle”?
Answer:
The Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakuta, and Palas dynasties were involved in the “tripartite struggle” over the occupation of city of Kanauj in the Ganga valley.

Question 3.
What were the qualifications necessary to become a member of a committee of the sabha in the Chola Empire?
Answer:
The members of the sabha were the prominent landlords. However, there were separate committees to supervise different fields like gardens, temples, etc. Names of the eligible persons to be members of the different committees were written on small tickets of palm leaf. The tickets were put into an earthen pot and a young boy was asked to take out the tickets one by one for each committee. The person selected through this process was declared to be a member of that committee.

Question 4.
What were the two major cities under the control of the Chahamanas?
Answer:
The Chahamanas controlled – Indraprastha and Kanauj.

Let’s Understand

Question 5.
How did the Rashtrakuta become powerful?
Answer:

1. In the mid-8th century, Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief, killed his Chalukyan king.
2. He also performed hiranya-garbha ritual, after which he was thought to have taken “rebirth” as a Kshatriya.
3. Thus, he established the Rashtrakuta dynasty in Deccan.

Question 6.
What did the new dynasties do to gain acceptance? ‘
Answer:

1. All the ruling dynasties were based in a specific region.
2. At the same time, they tried to control other areas.
3. One particularly prized area was the city of Kanauj in the Ganga valley.
4. For centuries, rulers belonging to the Guijara-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta and Pala dynasties fought for control over Kanauj.
5. As there were three ‘parties’ in this long-drawn conflict, historians often describe it as the “tripartite struggle”.
6. Rulers also tried to demonstrate their power and resources by building large temples.
7. When they attacked one another’s kingdoms; they often chose to target temples, which were sometimes extremely rich.

Question 7.
What kind of irrigation works were developed in the Tamil region?
Answer:
The following kinds of irrigation works were developed in the Tamil region :

1. In the delta regions canals were constructed to carry water to the fields.
2. In some areas, wells were dug.
3. In other places, huge tanks were constructed to collect rainwater.

Question 8.
What were the activities associated with the Chola temples?
Answer:
The Chola temples were the nuclei of settlements growing around them which included centers of craft production. Temples were also endowed with land by rulers as well as by others. The produce of the land was used for the maintenance of the priests, garland makers, cooks, sweepers, musicians, dancers, etc who were associated with the temples and used to work for them. Hence temples were not simply the place of worship. They were also the hub of economic, social, and cultural life as well.

Let’s Discuss

Question 9.
Look at Map 1 once more and find out whether there were any kingdoms in the state in which you live.
Answer:
Students, do themselves.
[Hint: Almost all the subcontinent was ruled by one kingdom or another. Therefore, every present-day stale must have had a kingdom in the past.]

Question 10.
Contrast the “elections” in Uttaramerur with present-day panchayat elections.
Answer:
Elections in Uttaramerur were through lotteries of the eligible members with a restriction on re-election. On the other hand, present-day elections are through ballots, (or EVM—Electronic Voting Machines) and no restriction on re-election.

Let’s Do

Question 11.
Compare the temple shown in this chapter with any present-day temple in your neighbourhood, highlighting any similarities and differences that you notice.
Answer:
The present-day temples do not have such intricate outer structures, except a few as shown in this chapter. Only Akshdhar Dham temple could match such outer walls as that of the temple at Gangaikondacholapuram.

Question 12.
Find out more about taxes that are collected at present. Are these in cash, kind, or labour services?
Answer:
Today we pay a number of taxes like property tax, road tax, service tax, entertainment tax, water tax, etc. These taxes are in cash not in kind, nor in labour services.