On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, and trace out possible routes of communication.
Iran, Afghanistan, China, the countries of Central and Western Asia, Italy, Portugal, France, Britain, Holland, etc. Possible Routes : Trade that linked to Mughal Empire in India.
(i)Sea route via Atlantic ocean to Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean.
(ii)Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal to China Sea.
(iii)Land Route from Central Asia to Afghanistan through modem Pakistan upto Kerala or Goa.
How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village headmen regulated rural society.
Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.
To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?
Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transactions during the period under consideration.
Describe the role played by women in agricultural production.
Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.
To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?
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?
Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults.
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 do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?
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, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles.
How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?
Fig. 7.33 is an illustration of another pillar from the Virupaksha temple. Do you notice any floral motifs? What are the animals shown? Why do you think they are depicted? Describe the human figures shown.
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba?
Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.
Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system.
What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent?
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.