To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?
With the arrival of Islam in the Medieval ages, the architecture of Islam also came to India. However, the Arab-cum-Islamic architecture got impacted by the local traditions and rites too. Hence, we see a fusion of the two. This can be further elaborated by the examples of architecture mainly the constructions of the mosques of those days. Some features of the architecture of mosques are universal. All mosques have orientation towards Mecca. This is manifested in the placement of Mehrab and Minar within a mosque. But at the same time we have influences that can be described only as local influences. A 13th Century mosque in Kerala has a shikhar like roof unlike a normal mosque where it is dome. The Shah Hamdan Mosque in Kashmir is made of Kashmiri woods and its facade is like that of a temple. The Atia Mosque in Bangladesh is made of bricks, though its roof is round. Thus, we can see that the architecture of Mosques is that of fusion.
Discuss the ways in which the Alvars, Nayanars and Virashaivas expressed critiques of the caste system.
Examine how and why rulers tried to establish connections with the traditions of the Nayanars and the sufis.
What were the similarities and differences between the be-shari‘a and ba-shari‘a sufi traditions?
Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults.
On an outline map of India, plot three major sufi shrines, and three places associated with temples (one each of a form of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess).
Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.
Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.
Discuss the major beliefs and practices that characterised Sufism.
Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.
Choose any two of the religious teachers/thinkers/saints mentioned in this chapter, and find out more about their lives and teachings. Prepare a report about the area and the times in which they lived, their major ideas, how we know about them, and why you think they are important.
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?
What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?
Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.
Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.
How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?
To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?
Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the provinces?
In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.
Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.
Discuss, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles.
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
Assess the role played by women of the imperial household in the Mughal Empire.
To what extent do you think the visual material presented in this chapter corresponds with Abu’l Fazl’s description of the taswir (Source 1)?
What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent?
Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s account enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society.