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Social ScienceCLASS - 7

State Council of EducationalResearch & Training

Raipur (C.G.)

FOR THE SESSION 2005-2006

Development by the State Council of Education of Education Researchand Training, Raipur on the basis of the publication of National Councilof Education Research and Training, New Delhi

For Free Distribution.

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Originally Edition

ByNational Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi

AdaptedBy

State Council of Educational Research & Training, Raipur (C.G.)

By

C National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi& State Council of Educational Research & Training, Raipur (C.G.)

Published by : Chhattisgarh Text Book Corporation Shyam Nagar, Raipur

Printed by : Orient Press Ltd., Tarapur for Chhattisgarh Text BookCorporation, Shyam Nagar, Raipur

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PREFACE

According to National Education Policy 1986, special emphasis has

been given to determine and achieve the Minimum Learning at different levels

of school education. In the new syllabus, skill based activities have been

included in the books to make learning, interesting and enjoyable. Contents

have been selected by keeping in mind the mental levels and interests of the

children.

Books on languages serve the purpose of developing linguistic

competence as well as national values. Contents of science and social science

are included in order to make the concepts clear. Authors have tried to develop

the contents of the mathematics books in such an interesting way that the

children can master the mathematical competencies in an easy manner.All

these books carry special focus on linking knowledge with the sorroundings.

Chhattisgarh State Council of Educational Research and Training has

revised the contents of the prevailing books by arranging workshops in order

to make necessary correction according to the historical, geographical and

cultural characteristics of the state.

To make the book more appealing, the illustration have been coloured.

I hope that this book will be valuable to the students and teachers. The

Council is obliged to the writers and editors of different books.

Suggestions are invited for the continuous process of improvement

and reforms in education.

DirectorS.C.E.R.T.

Chhattisgarh, Raipur

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CONTENTS

Foreward :

HISTORY

Chapter 1 India and the World 1

Chapter 2 Kingdom of the South (A.D. 800-1200) 5

Chapter 3 Kingdom of the North (A.D. 800-1200) 15

Chapter 4 The Delhi Sultanate (A.D. 1206-1526) 27

Chapter 5 The Life of the People during the Sultanate 35

Chapter 6 The Coming of The Mughals

and the Europeans to India 43

Chapter 7 Akbar 54

Chapter 8 The Age of Splendor and Wealth 62

Chapter 9 The Fall of The Mughal Empire 73

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CIVICS

Chapter 1 Our Constitution 78

Chapter 2 Main Characteristics the Indian Constitution 83

Chapter 3 The Fundamental Rights and Duties 87

Chapter 4 Center-State Relationship 90

Chapter 5 The Indian Parliament 93

Chapter 6 The President and the Council of Ministers 97

Chapter 7 The State Legislature 100

Chapter 8 The Governor and the Council of Ministers 102

Chapter 9 Our Judicial System 106

Chapter 10 Our National System 111

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GEOGRAPHY

Chapter 1 Atmosphere 115

Chapter 2 Air and its Temperature 117

Chapter 3 Atmospheric Pressure 119

Chapter 4 Wind Direction and Velocity 121

Chapter 5 Atmospheric Humidity 127

Chapter 6 Weather and Climate 130

Chapter 7 Hydrosphere 133

Chapter 8 Tides 139

Chapter 9 New Terms : Europe 142

Chapter 10 Natural Resources and the People 150

Chapter 11 Three Major countries of Western and Central Europe 161

Chapter 12 The Commonwealth of Independent State 175

Chapter 13 Africa- land, climate, resorces and their utilization 182

Chapter 14 Land of Forests - Zaire 194

Chapter 15 Land of Palm and Palm oil Nigeria 198

Chapter 16 The gift of the Nile - The Arab Republic of Egypt 202

Chapter 17 South Africa Land of Gold and Diamonds 207

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HISTORY

CHAPTER - 1

INDIA AND THE WORLD

The history of the period falling between the eighth century to the eight-eenth century is known as the history of the middle ages. Around the eighthcentury many changes in the social, economic and political life in India began toappear. These changes influenced all the aspects of life. Thus, began a new agesin India which we recognize as the Medieval India. The period falling betweenthe eighth and the thirteenth century is known as the Early Medieval period andthe period between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries is called the latermedieval period.

The new ideas and the changes that crept into the society of medievalIndia were brought in from out-side India by the Turks, the Afghans and theMughal royal families. The Turks and the Mughals adopted India as their owncountry and became a part of the Indian society. the new ideas and the newculture brought into India by them, obviously, made the culture of India richer.

During the seventh century Hazrat Mohammad, the founder of Islam unitedthe Arab tribes. Islam very rapidly spread to many parts of the world. After thedeath of Hazrat Mohammad, the highest preceptor of Islam, began to be calledthe Caliph, i.e. the representative ruler.

The famous Caliph dynasties were the Umayyids and the Abbasis. Haroun-al-Rashid was a famous Abbasi Calipha. A good portion of Europe and Africahad come under his control. He also exercised control over the route connectingEurope with India and China.

The Arabs were skilled tradesmen. They encouraged the growth of tradeand commerce through the sea route and other routes. Very soon they becamewealthy by establishing business contacts with east and west Africa, China andIndia. They made use of their wealth in learning the different arts from China,Greece, Persia and India and in developing a new civilization. Before long theArab Civilization became one of the progressive civilizations. The Arabscontributed a lot to the advance of different branches of learning. The contribution

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of the Arabs to Geometry, Algebra, Geography and Astronomy cannot be forgotten.

During the eighth century many changes took place in Asia and Europe.The Roman Empire had flourished during the ancient period but by the fifthcentury downfall came to the empire.

After the fall of the Roman Empire a new system of a administration,known as the Feudal system, came into being. The feudal lords managed to securefrom the king the authority and control over large areas of land on the basis oftheir military strength. In return for this they declared, loyalty to the monarch andprovided him with military assistance during the time of emergency.

In medieval India, this very system was in vogue. The condition of thefarmers deteriorated on account of this system. They had to work hard and thelion’s share of their produce was taken away by the king and the feudal lords.

At the beginning of the middle ages the Europeans were quite backward asa result of the snapping of trade ties with other countries. Later on when theArabs grew rich because of their trade with other countries, the Europeans alsogot interested in trade, but they were worried over the spread of Islam. As aresult, most of the Kings and feudal lords of Europe fought long drawn out warswith the Arabs. Those wars are called the Crusades. Although the Europeanswere not victorious in the wars, they nevertheless came in close contact with theArabs and began to take interest in Arab learning. In the development of learningin Europe in the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries the knowledge of the Arabsplayed an important part. It is on account of this growing interest that the Europeanshave been able to make such a progress in the field of science today.

In the ninth century the power of the Abbasi Caliphs weakened. As a result,many a province including Ghazni and Ghor became independent. The rulers ofthese provinces were Seluk Turks, who became powerful in western Asia by theeleventh century. During the thirteenth century their power also declined whenthey came under the attack of the Mongols led by Chenghez Khan. The Mongolsestablished their control over the whole area from Western Asia and SouthernRussia upto China.

The different countries of the world came in contact with one anotherduring the middle ages. Trade ties were established among them. The Mongolsgave encouragement to this trade. At that time the powerful Chola Kings ruledover southern India. They had trade ties with South-East Asia and China. Thismade them very rich. They spent a lot of money on building beautiful temples.Art, craft and literature also progressed a lot. The thinkers and philosophers of

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this period influence Indian thought deeply. During the regime of the Chola Kingsin the South, Indian culture was greatly enriched. The Mughals established theirempire in India in the Sixteenth century and it was not in anyway less glorious inmagnificence and power than the Gupta empire in ancient India.

The main sources of the knowledge of the history of the ancient times areliterature and archaeology. The same is true about the history of the medievalIndia the literature of this period was written on palm-leaves and copper platesat the beginning. But later on, during the thirteenth century it began to be writtenon paper. foreign travellers continued to visit India from time to time. They havegiven an account of the Sultans in their books. Some of the Mughal emperorshave written their autobiographies. Some historians have written about thehappenings during the rule of their contemporary sultans. Historical books arethe chief source of our knowledge about the medieval history. Besides these,there are some religious and literary books which help us a good deal to gainknowledge of history of that time. The temples, the mosques, the forts, the minarets,the mausoleums and the majestic buildings built in the different parts of Indiaduring that period also give us an insight into the arts and culture of the time.

EXERCISES

I. Match the contents of column A with those of column B :A B

1. The medieval, period of Europe 1. The Pala, the Pratihara2. The famous kingdoms of the 2. The Delhi Sultanate and

early medieval period. the Mughal3. The famous ruler of the later 3. is called the Dark Ages.

medieval period.4. The Seluk Turks 4. The Abbasi Caliph of

Baghdad.5. Haroun-al-Rashid 5. The powerful ruler of East

Asia in the eleventhcentury.

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II. Fill in the banks with the appropriate word or words given inbrackets :-1. The founder of Islam, Muhammad, Sahib Organised and educated the

............... (Afghans, Turks, Arabs, Mongols)2. The feudal system began after the fall of the .........empire.

(Mughal, Turkish, Roman)3. The Arab civilization was the most advanced civilization of the

............age. (ancient, medieval, modern)4. The Crusades were fought between................

(The Turks & the Afghans, the Muslims and the Chiristians the Iranians and the Mongols).

III. Write ‘Yes’ against the right statement and ‘No’ against thewrong ones :-1. Haroun Rashid was the Abbasi Caliph of Baghdad.2. The Europeans achieved a great progress in trade and commerce during

the medieval period.3. The Chola Kings of the Deccan had trade relations with China.4. Chenghez Khan achieved control of West Asia and the areas of China in

the thirteenth century.

IV. Answer the following questions :-1. Who was Chenghez Khan ? How far was his kingdom spread ?2. What was the contribution of the Arabs in the sphere of knowledge and

science in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?3. What is meant by the feudal system ? What were the demerits of this

system ?4. What was the contribution of the Chola Kings of the South to the Indian

civilization ?5. What are the main sources of knowing medieval history ?

V. Interesting things to do :1. Find out from the map of India, where the Arabs and Mongols had their

Kingdoms.2. Show the kingdom of the Chola Kings in the map of India.

Kingdoms of the South

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CHAPTER - 2

KINGDOMS OF THE SOUTH

(A.D.800-1200)

The northern and southern parts of our country came into very close con-tact in the medieval period. It had many reasons. Firstly, the kingdoms of thenorthern Deccan tired to extend their control upto the Ganges valley. Secondly,the religious movements of the South soon became popular in the north also.Thirdly many brahmins from the north were invited to settle down in the south.Thus, the kingdoms of the north and the south came closer to one another.

In the eighth century the chief kingdoms in the South were the Pallava, theChalukya, the Pandya, the Cher and the Rashtrakuta.

1. The Pallavas : After the fall of the Andhra Satvahana’s empire the Pallavasestablished their control over the southern part of the Krishna river, Kanchipuramwas their capital. Their reign extended from the sixth century upto the ninthcentury. Wars continued to be fought over al long period between the PallavaKing Mahendra Varman and the Chalukyas to gain control over the south.Narasingha Varman, the successor to Mahendra Varman was the first powerfulking of the Pallava dynasty. He not only protected his kingdom from the Chalukyasbut also invaded Vatapi, their capital. Pulakesin, the Chalukya king was killedin the battle. Narasingha Varman got for himself the title of ‘Vatapi Kond’ on thisvictory. The succeeding Pallava kings continued to struggle against the Chalukyas,the Pandyas and the Rashtrakutas. In 899 A. D. Aprajita Varman, the last king ofthis dynasty was defeated by the Cholas. With this came to an end the Pallavarule.

The administration of the Pallavas was very systematic. During their rule,Art and Literature flourished a great deal. The city of Kanchi was the seat ofeducation and learning. It was during this period that Bharati, the Sanskrit Scholar,and the author of ‘Kiratarjuniam’ wrote ‘Mattavilas’ in Sanskrit. Literature inthe local Tamil language was also produced side by side with Sanskrit duringthis period.

The period will be specially remembered for its architecture and sculpture.Most of the Pallava Kings were shaivas. They had built many temples. The

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Dharamaraja and theKailashnath temples standeven to this day. ThePallavas exercised gooddeal of influence on theculture of India. Five Rathtemple cut out of rockswere built on the sea-shoreat Mahabalipuram. The ar-chitecture rised in thisgradually spread all overthe Deccan. As the Pallavascarried on trade across thesea, their style of architec-ture and art-patterns influ-

enced those of the south-east Asia. At that large settlements of South Indiantraders flourished in countries which today are known as Indonesia andKumpuchea.

The Rashtrakutas : Kirti Durg a feudal lord under the Chalukya king KirtiVarman laid the foundation of the Rashtrakuta dynasty after defeating his masterin 733 A.D. The Kingdom of the Rashtrakutas extended upto South Gujrat, Malwaand Baghelkhand in the north and Tanjore in the south. While at the peak of theirprogress, the Rashtrakutas led many attacks on north India. They had to faceopposition mainly from the rulers of Bengal and Bihar also from the GurjarPratiharas, whose capital was Kannauj.

The fertile land in between the Ganga and the Yamuna was the main theatreof conflict among the three kingdoms. The continuous wars against the Cholasand the ceaseless at temples at Maintaining supremacy over north India weakendthe Rashtrakutas. In 973 A.D. the Chalukya ruler, Tailap (Taila) II, defeated thelast Rashtrakuta ruler, Kavark-II and established his control over the RashtrakutaKingdom.

The Rashtrakuta rulers were patrons of art and education. Amogvarsha Iwas himself a writer of high calibre. Krishna I got built the famous Kailashtemple at Ellora. This is a rock cut temple and stands as a monument of theRashtrakuta reign.

The later Chalukyas :- We have already read that the Chalukya ruler, Tailapdefeated the Rashtrakuta ruler, Kavarka II and brought the kingdom under his

Fig. 2.1 Ratha Temple, Mahabalipuram

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control. As Tailap belonged to the Chalukya dynasty, historians regard his dy-nasty as later Chalukya dynasty. The capital of Tailap was at Kalyan (presentKalyani in Andhra Pradesh). For this reasons they are also known as the Chalukyasof Kalyani.

Later on, the rulers of the Yadava dynasty established their reign by de-feating the rulers of the later Chalukya dynasty and continued to rule from Devagiri(Present Daulatabad in Maharastra.)

On the decline of the Chalukyas at the beginning of the twelvth century, therule of the Kakatiya dynasty began in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Warangal(in present Andhra Pradesh) was their capital. At that time the authority of theHoisalas also began to emerge. The Hoisala dynasty founded its kingdom nearpresent Mysore.

The Chola empire :- The Cholas belonged to an ancient tribe of SouthIndia. A smallkingdom of the Cholashad existed forcenturies on theCoromandal coast. Inthe middle of the ninthcentury (846-871A.D.) VijayamalaChola extended theauthority andgrandeur of thedynasty. From histime upto the end ofthe thirteenth centurythe Cholas occupiedan important place inthe history of southIndia. He conqueredTanjore from thePandyas and made ithis capital. Aditya I(871-907 A.D.) thelast Pallava King,Aparajita Varman had

Fig. 2.2(Based upon Survey of India map with the Permission of the

Surveyor General of India and Goverment of India Copyright 2001.The territorial waters of India extend into the sea to a distance of

twelve nautial miles measured from the appropriate base line.)

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A LLAKSHYADEEP

(INDIA)

SOUTH INDIA IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY

R. Nanrmada

R. TapiR. Mahanadi

R. Godavari

R.Couvery

KanchipuramMahablipuram

Gangatikandacholapuram

R. Krishna

LATERCHALUKYASARABIAN

SEA

DevangiriYADAVS

WarangalKAKTIYAS

PANDYASMadurai

CH

OLA

SCH

ERA

S

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made the foundation of the Chola Kingdom solid. More eminent than him wasParantaka I (917-953 A.D.)who conquered the Pandya Kingdom and receivedthe title of ‘Madurai-Kinda’ which means ‘the conqueror of Madurai.’ ButParantaka had to accept defeat at the hand of Krishan II, a Rashtrakuta King.Parantaka was an able commander, administrator and patron of the learned. He

encouraged agriculture in his king-dom. Large tanks were dug in whichrainwater could be stored. Canalswere constructed to carry waterfrom the tanks to the fields for irri-gation.

Among the Chola kings therewas Rajaraja I (985-1016 A.D.)who was very powerful and ambi-tious. He invaded kingdoms locatedin different directions and extendedhis empire. He defeated the Ganga(Kalinga) and the Cher Kings

(Kerala) and took over the control of Madurai after taking the Pandya Kingprisoner. Rajaraja understood the importance of exercising control over the sea.He knew that if he could exercise control over the coast of south India, the Cholakingdom would become much more powerful. He, therefore, built up a powerfulnavy with a fleet of ships. He led an attack on Sri Lanka and brought under hiscontrol its northern region. A part of the Sri Lankan’s population is of Tamilorigin even today. He invaded the Laccadives and the Maldives. There wereother reasons also for these invasions. The main centre for conducting trade withthe Maldive group of islands was the Chera kingdom and the centre for tradingwith West Asia was Sri Lanka. Cloth, spices costly jewels and other articlesused to be exported from India to West Asia. Arab traders used to come to Indiafrom West Asia to deal in these goods. Many of them settled down in the townssituated on the Western coast of India. So, with the gaining of victories overthese areas, the profits from the trade started coming to the Chola Kingdom.Thus king Rajaraja proved to be an efficient and successful ruler. He was by farthe greatest south Indian ruler and that is why he was honored with the title of‘the great’. The walls and ramparts of the Rajarajeshwara temple bear the detailedaccount of his victories.

Fig. 2.3 The Kailasha Temple, Ellora

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Rajaraja’s son, Rajendra Chola was more powerful and ambitions than hisfather. He ruled for a long period from 1014 to 1044 A.D. He not only consolidatedhis father’s empire but also added to its glory with fresh victories. He foughtmany campaigns in the Southern peninsula. Two of these were really bold anddaring. One was when his armies advanced along the eastern coast of India, andreached as far as the river Ganges through Orissa. Before returning to the southhe defeated Mahipala, the King of Bengal and annexed Bihar to his Kingdomafter conquering it. He received the title of Gangai Kond and established thetown, Gangai Kond Cholapuram by name. Here he built beautiful temples andmagnificent places.

The second victorious campaign of Rajendra Chola was that of East Asia.For many centuries India traders had been trading with many parts of south-eastAsia. This trading extended upto southern China. Indian goods were sent to Chinaby ships and cargoes were brought from there. The Indian ships were obliged topass through the straits of Molucca. These were at the time under the control ofthe Kingdom of Shrivijya. The merchants of Shrivijaya and the Pirates createddifficulties for the Indian ships. So, at the request of the Indian traders RajendraChola sent out a powerful navy for their safety. Thus the Cholas fought againstthe Kingdom of Shrivijaya which included Sumatra and Java and also someparts of the straits of Molacca. The Cholas held under control some of theprovinces of the Kingdom of Shrivijaya in 1025 A.D. However, this control didnot last long.

The successors to Rajendra Chola were not so capable and powerful as hewas, secondly they had to enter into a prolonged fight with the Chalukyas of theWest. Internal revolts also weakened the authority of the Kingdom. Many of thefeudal lords set up their own Kingdoms. Thus, by the end of the twelfth centuryonly a small Kingdom in Tanjore was left in the control of the Chola Kings. TheChola Kingdom was brought to an end by the attack of Malik Kafur in A.D.1310-II on Rajendra III, the last ruler of this dynasty.

Administrative system of the Cholas :-The king was the head of the administration and Government. He had a

council of ministers to advise and guide him. The different branches of Governmenthad each an officier at the top. The whole empire was divided into provincesthey were called ‘Mandalams.’ Each Mandalam was again divided into‘Valanddus’(Districts). The lowest unit of administration was the village. Eachvillage had a village council known as ‘Ur’ The life and the work of the villagewere discussed in these council. The councils, was often divided into a number

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of small committees and each committee looked after one aspect of administra-tion. The members of these committees were elected annually on the basis oftheir qualifications. The management of villages was thus done in a democraticway.

The Economic system :-The main source of income of the Kingdom was taxes on land. One sixth of

the land produce was realized as land tax. In addition to this taxes were realizedfrom the weavers, oil producers, goldsmiths, traders etc. Octroi duty was alsolevied in the markets. Out of total revenue thus collected, a portion was keptapart for the king and remaining used to be spent on the works of public utilitylike digging of tanks, construction of roads and also on the salary of the stateemployees, maintenance of the army and on temple buildings.

The social condition :-Besides the king and the courtiers, the brahmins and the tradesmen occupied

a place of pride in society during the Chola rule. Brahmins were respected onaccount of their learning and knowledge of the Religious scriptures. Great learnedbrahmins were gifted land and villages by the king. In this way some of thebrahmins became so rich that even a few generations of them could lead acomfortable life.

Trade in the Chola Kingdom reached a new height. But the conditions ofthe labourers in town and the farmers in villages was far from satisfactory. Theyhad to work very hard. The shudras were treated as untouchables and were notallowed to enter temples. These two classes of people remained engaged in theservice of the higher classes. The condition of women in South India was betterthan that of the women in the north. Women belonging to the upper classes ownedproperty also.

Religion, art and literature :-Most of the Chola kings followed the Shaiva doctrine but were quite liberal

in their religious outlook. they treated all religions Vaishnawism, and BuddhismJainism with equal respect. King Rajaraja, although a Shaiva, built temples ofVishnu and gave Charities to Buddhist monasteries. The Vaishnavas were called‘Alwars’ whereas the Shaivas were known as ‘Nayannars.’ They were free toexplain and propagate their own religions. During this period some new sectsintroduced new ideas into system of worship and devotion and began to propagatethem among the people.

During this period many of the great religious teachers came to the north

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from the south although, later on, north India also did produce some great teachersof religion. The best known of the south Indian religious teachers wereShankaracharya and Ramanuja-charya. Shankaracharaya belonged to Kerala andlived in the eighth century. His philosophy is known as the Advaita system whichmeans that there is only one unique and supreme power in the whole of theuniverse. He believed in the acquisition of knowledge and held that it was throughknowledge that one could worship God. Shankaracharya, travelled all over Indiaand preached his philosophy. He held religious discussions with many a learnedmen.

Ramanuja-charya was another great religious teacher of south India wholived in the eleventh century. He preached that one should worship God withtotal devotion. His idea was that in, comparison to knowledge devotion andlove are of greater importance in worshipping God. He tried to remove thedistinction on the basis of castes and to bridge the gulf between the high and thelow which prevailed in the society at thattime.

The Cholas made an advance in thesystem and tradition of building construc-tion of the Pallavas. They build many mag-nificent temples in Tanjore and Gangai-Kond Cholapuram. The Rajrajeshwaratemple in Tanjore is an unparalleledspecimen of architecture of the time. Theking and the wealthy persons used to do-nate land and money very liberally forbuilding temples and for their security. Theroyal temples built by the Cholas weregrand and magnificent like theBrihadeshwara temple of Tanjore.

In the Central Shrine room the image of the God goddess was installed.These images were made of bronze or stone. The bronze images are famous allover the world for their art and beauty.

The temples were the centres of social activity and religious functions. thewalls of the temples were beautified with images and variety of scenes, thecourt scenes the battle scenes, the scenes of worship and also the scenes ofmusic and dancing.

Fig. 2.4 The Brihadeshwar Temple Tanjore

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Both Sanskrit and Tamil prospered during the time of the chola kings. Thetemples were the centres of education both in towns and villages. Temple priestsworked as teachers also. Schools used to meet in the country yard or in a part ofthe temples. Donations were given to these institutions by the kingdom. Gener-ally education was imparted through Sanskrit and the pupils were brahmins. Itwas essential to acquire the knowledge of the Vedas and other scriptures. Manyof the inscriptions of the Chola kings are in both Sanskrit and Tamil. Kambanwrote his famous work, the Ramayana, in Tamil, Besides this a lot of works inpoetry and drama were composed in Tamil by scholars.

Telugu being the language of the common man, the Ramayana and theMahabharata were written in that language Scholars like Nannaya, Tikkanna andYaramma produced literary works of high quality on the basis of Mahabharat inTelugu during this period. Kannada being the languages in the areas around Mysore,learned men Pampa, Paunna and Ratna produced good-quality literature inKannada. Saints also preached in language of the people.

The period between the eighth and the twelfth century, was a period ofdevelopment not only from the political point of view, but also from the point ofview of trade and commerce, building construction, religious reformation, arts,literature and cultural upliftment.

The Pandya KingdomThe Pandyas were Dravidians and had been ruling in the areas around the

districts of Madurai, Ramnad and Tinneveli of South India. Madurai was theircapital. In the seventh century Pandya King Arikesri Marvarman defeated theCheras of Kerala siding with the Chalukyas he defeated the Pallavas and extendedhis Kingdom over a small area. For about 150 years thereafter, the Pandya Kingscontinued to fight against the Pallava, the Ganga, the Chola and the Chalukyakings for the security of their kingdom. During the ninth century the Pandyas roseagain. Their king Shrimakhallabha defeated a combined army of the Gangos, theCholas, the Kalingas, the Pallavas and the Magadhas. In 920 A.D. the Cholasdisintegrated this kingdom. Thereafter, the Pandya kings continued to try to getback their kingdom by revolt. About three hundred year later, during the time ofJatavarman Sunder I (1251-1258 A.D.) The Pandya authority again reached itspeak. He defeated the Cher, the Cholas, the Hoyasal and the Kakatiya kings. Hesecured control over Kanchi also. The Pandya kings also built a number of templesamong which the temples of Sri Rangam and Chindambaram are famous. TheVenetian traveler, Marco Polo, visited South India during the reign of MarvarmanKulashestra Pandya. He has given an account of the political, social and religious

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conditions of the Pandya Kingdom, struggle continued among the successors andby the end of the thirteenth century this kingdom lost its existence.

The Chera Kingdom :Like the Cholas and the Pandyas the Cheras were also Dravidians. In their

kingdom were included the modern Malabar, Travancore and Cochin. Chera andKerala are synonymous words. IN the first century A.D. There was a king Perunarby name who was killed in a battle with the Cholas. After some time matrimonialrelations were established between the Cherasand the Cholas. A king namedSenguttavan extended his Kingdom by removing the neighbouring Pandyas andCholas. But in the eighth century the Pallavas obtained control over the CheraKingdom. In the tenth century the Cholas brought under their occupation the CheraKingdom and this went on upto the twelfth century. The thirteenth century sawthe spread of the influence of the Pandyas. By and by the authority of the Cherasended completely.

EXERCIES

I. Short-answer Questions:1. Write down the names of the main royal dynasties.

2. Who were the Rashtrakutas ? How did they establish their Kingdom?

3. Who re-established the Chalukyas ?

4. Who were the chief rulers of the Pallava dynasty ?

5. How far was the Kingdom of Rajaraja I spread ? Why is he called‘great’?

6. Mention the public welfare items of work of the Chola Kings.

II. Answer the following question in about 200 words each :-1. Describe the adventure of victorious advance of Rajendra Chola.

2. Given an account of the administration of the Chola Kingdom.

3. Describe the religious condition of the Chola reign.

4. What improvements in literature were made during the Chola reign?

5. Give an account of the society during the Chola reign.

6. Why did Rajendra Chola make an attack on the south eastern Kingdom ?

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III. Fill in the blanks with the word/words given in the brackets:-1. ..................had a powerful kingdom in the Deccan which tried to

conquer a part of the plains of Ganga.

(The Cholas, The Chalukyas, The Rashtrakuta)

2. The Rastrakutas had to fight many wars with the Powerful kings ofthe .............dynasty.

(Kakatiya, Hoyasala, Chola)

3. The Rashrakuta dynasty was established by ..............(Kirti Durg,Krishna I, Narasingha Varman).

4. The Chola ruler..............received the title of Madurai Konda.

(Aditya I, Parantaka I, Rajraja I)

5. The Kailash temple at Ellora was made by Krishna I who belongs tothe dynasty...............

(Pallava, Rashtrakuta, Chola)

IV. Write ‘YES’ against the statements that are true and ‘NO’ againstthe ones that are false :-

1. The Rastrakutas ruled over Dwar Samudra situated near Mysore.

2. Tarantaka defeated Krishna II, a Rashtrakuta king.

3. The Ratha temples in Mahabalipuram were built during the Pallavaperiod.

4. Warangal was the capital of the rulers of Yadava dynastry.

5. The Chola rulers fought battles again and again against the powerfulPartiharas and the Palas.

V. Things to do :-Collect the pictures of the ancient temples of India and distinguish between

the different styles of architecture in the construction of temples north and southIndia.

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CHAPTER-3

KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH

(A.D. 800-1200)

The period of about 400 years (AD. 800 to 1200) of the history of India isknown as the Rajput period. The political unity of India had received a setbackafter the death of Harsha. Both in the South and the North many a dynasty cameinto existence and declined during this period. But none of them was able toconquer most of the territories of India and unite them into one integrated unit.

Kannauj was the capital of Harsha. From the time of Harsha, Kannaujacquired as much importance as did Pataliputra during the Mauryas and theGuptas or as Delhi has at present. Kannauj had become not only the politicalcapital of India but also her cultural capital Every ambitious ruler desired tomake it his capital It was their conviction that one who ruled over Kannaujwould-be accepted as the emperor of the whole of north India. A hard struggletook place among the ruling dynasties of the time to gain control over Kannauj.They were the Rashtra Kutas the Palas and the Pratiharas. The Rashtrakutaswere ruling in the region around Nasik in northern Deccan. Govinda III, KrishanIII and Indra III were the Powerful and influential monarchs in this dynasty. It.was they who brought fame to the Rashtrakutas. The kingdom of the Palas spreadall over Bengal and a large part of Bihar: The first king of this dynasty wasGopal. After his death his son, Dharmapala, came to the throne. He was the mostfamous king of this dynasty. The word ‘Pala’ occurs at the end of the names ofthe kings of this dynasty. So, they are known as the Palas.

The Pratiharas set up an independent kingdom over Southern Rajasthan andsome parts of Malwa. Vatsaraja was the most famous among the Pratiharas andthe second famous king was Nagabhatta II. By the end of the eighth century thePratiharas had established their rule over Kannauj. Later on, king Dharmapalaof the Pala dynasty reorganised his army and brought Kannauj under his controlBut the Palas could not hold Kannauj for a long time. During the reign of KingMihir Bhoja the Pratiharas regained their strength and captured Kannauj. At thebeginning of the tenth century, by reorganizing themselves and consolidating theirpower the Rashtrakutas brought Kannauj under their control once again. Thus all

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the three dynasties of north India spent their time in fightings and trying to gaincontrol over Kannauj.

This resulted in the decrease in their military strength and soon all the threelost their powers. Several small. kingdoms came into being in north India whichhad relation with the Rajput dynasties which appeared on the scene later on. Therule of the Sens was established over the Pala Kingdom. The reins of theR a s h t r a k u t a .Kingdom came intothe hands of theChalukya Kings.

The Origin ofthe Rajputs :

The name ofthe Rajasthan, thepresent state of theIndian. Republic,was Rajputana. Onthis part of thecountry lived amajority of theRajputs and theirKings.

The Rajputsclaim to be thedescendants of theancient sun-family(Suryavanshi) or the moon family (Chandra-Vanshi). Another belief is that theyhave descended from the fire-family (agni-kula) the Fire-pit (Yagna-Kunda) wereborn the Pratiharas, the Pawaras, the Solankis and the Chauhans.

These families set up their kingdoms in the Western India Rajputana andcentral India and continued to make efforts to increase the sphere of their influence.It is undoubtedly true that the Rajputs tried to unite the whole country byestablishing vast empire.

Fig-3.1 The Map of India: India from 800 A.D.to 1200 A.D.

INDIA IN THE PERIODA.D.800-1200

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A LLAKSHYADEEP

(INDIA)

R.In

dus

R. Mahanadi

R. Godavari

R.Couvery

ARABIANSEA

R. Ganga

ANDAMAN& NIKOBAR

ISLAND(INDIA)

Delhi

CHAUHANAS

SOLANKIS

RASTRAKUTAMalkhand

R.Krishna

Puri

Kashmir

R.Taongpo

Indore

CHANDELSPALAS

KAMARUPA

Nasik

Presentinternationalboundries...

CHOLAS

PRATHARAS

UTKALA

TOMARAS

Bhubanesware

PAWARS

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They also faced very bravely the raids of foreigners of them the Pratiharasruled over Kannauj region about which we have already read. In the centralregion of Rajputana was the Kingdom of the Chauhan (Chahamanas). Chahaman,was the founder of that family. Previously, these kings were the tax-paying lordsunder the GurjarPratiharas. Later on, Vigraharaja added to the strength and gloryof the Chauhan family by defeating the Tomars and he laid the foundation of anindependent rule. His son, Sinharaja bore the title of ’Maharajadhiraja’ In thetwelfth century Ajayraja Chauhan founded the city of Ajayameru (Ajmer) and gotpalaces and temples built in it. A great and powerful ruler of this dynasty wasking Prithviraja. A description of his deeds of bravery has been given by hiscourt poet, Chandvardai, in his book entitled ‘Prithviraj-Raso’, He fought againstthe Solankis of Gujarat, the Chandelas of Bundelkhand and Jaichand. Kingprithviraja III was the most honoured among the Kings of his time. Prithviraja IIIhad to face the attacks of Sahabuddin Muhammad Ghori. In the end he, wasdefeated and Delhi and Ajmer came under the Muslim authority.

The founder of the Solankis (Chalukyas) in Gujarat was Maharaja. Thisfamily had perhaps no connection with the Chalukyas of the South. Mularaja hadto confront the attacks from the Chauhans from the north, Tailap II from theSouth, the Parmaras of Malwa and also, the Kalchuri Kings. He, however, managedto keep up his kingdom. During the reign of Bhima I of this dynasty, MahamudGhaznavi’s’ raids took place. On seeing the might of Mahamud he got so frightenedthat without giving any fight he ran away leaving his capital behind The Hindusfought bravely, but were defeated. Mahamud Gaznavi ransacked temples; brokethe idol of the temple of Somnath, killed thousands of Hindus and returned toGazni with immense wealth. The succeeding kings of this family were not soworthy and therefore its decline began.

The Parmara (Pawar) family which claimed to have come out of the Fire-Pit (agnikunda) was founded by Upendra (Krishnaraja) who had been a subedarof Malwa and had owed allegiance to the Rashtrakutas. A ruler of this family,Harsha, was very powerful and established an independent kingdom in Malwaby defeating the Rashtrakutas. He made Dhar, which is near Indore, his capital.

His successor was Munja, who was the greatest army commander of hisage and was a powerful king. Munja expanded his kingdom by defeating almostall the Kings around him. He was a lover of art and literature and was himself apoet. Magnificient temples were got built by him in the main towns of his kingdom.The Munja-Sagar lake near Dhar, which exists even to day, was built by him.King Bhoja was another great king of the Paramara family. He was extremely

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ambitious and powerful. During his reign the city of Dhar reached the peak of itsglory. King Bhoja was a highly learned man and connoisseur of art. He foundeda university at Dhar. He was a devotee of Lord Shiva he built a lot of temples inhis kingdom. He set up a town named Bhojpur, a place to the south of presentBhopal. After King Bhoj a rulers of the Paramar family continued to rule forabout two hundred years. At last, in 1305 AD Alauddin Khilji conquered Malwaand brought it under the control of the Delhi Sultanate.

In addition to these prominent Rajput kings there were many small royalfamilies all over India who had begun their rule under the protection of thePratihara and Rashtrakuta kings but later on who became independent ruler afterrevolting against, their protectors. These kings may be grouped under two catego-ries. (I) Those kingdoms which had connections with the history of the Rajputs.They were the rulers of central India and Rajasthan e.g. the Chandelas ofBundelkhand and the Guhelots of Mewar who ruled over the region to the southof the Chauhan Kingdoms. The Tomars ruled over the region north-east of theChauhan kingdom, which is Present Haryana, and around the areas of Delhi. Itwas these Tomars who founded the city of Delhi in A.D. 736 Later on the Chauhansdefeated the Tomars and annexed their Kingdoms within their territory (2) Someother kingdoms were either in the hilly areas or had no connection with theRajputs. Among these were Nepal, Kamraup of Assam, Kashmir’ and Utkal inOrissa. Among the hilly Kingdoms in the Punjab, Chambal Jammu and Kuluwere” notable. These kingdoms used to fight against one another to show theirmight or to expand their territories. Those battles reduced their strength gradually.The whole country was divided into, small and big kingdoms. They could neverunite together to face any external aggression on account of their disunity. Thusthey could not protect themselves when there was an invasion of the Turks fromthe North-Western of India. The first attack of the Arabs had taken place onSindh in 643 A.D. For about three hundred years, thereafter several attacks ofthe Arabs and Turks continued to take place. Of these the raid of Mahmud ofGhazni caused a severe loss to India.

Mahmud of Ghazni:Subugtagin was the ruler of Ghazni, a very small princely state in central

Asia. After his death, his son Mahmud (AD.998) came to the throne. He was theworthy son of a worthy father. He was very brave, ambitious, daring and religious.He had all the qualities of a brave soldier and an able commander. After hisaccession to the throne he chalked out a plan for a vast empire and was successfulalso in translating it into reality. He was extremely greedy and idiot. To plunder

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wealth and to spread. Islam in non-islamic areas of the world with the power ofthe sword, were the aims of his life.

He drew up a plan to secure unlimited wealth and to spread Islam in India.He raided the land between A.D. 1000 and AD. 1026. Every year he would raidIndia, ransack the cities and the palaces and go back honoured with the titles of“idol breaker” and “conqueror’.

The first raid of Mahmud was made in 1000 A.D. He got control over someof the border forts. Next year he attacked the old king Jaipal of Peshawar. Theking was defeated. The army of the sultan looted as much wealth as would behard to count. He carried out raids on Multan three times, conquered it, imprisonedthe king and made the conquered territory apart of his empire. King Jayapala’sson Anandpala requested the rulers of Gwalior, Kalinjar, Kannauj, Ajmer andUjjain to unite and give a fight to Mahmud. Many kings joined this fight. But dueto lack of expertise in military science and army movement of the Indian side,Mahmud was victorious Mahmud’s last raid was on Somnath temple situated onthe coast of Kathiawar. It was the most magnificent of the temples in medievalIndia. The vast wealth of the temple was looted by Mahmud.

Although Mahmud’s attacks were like raids, his chief objective was not toset up a kingdom but to plunder wealth. Although he went back after plunderinghis raids. But left the Indian kings weaker in their military power. Foreignerscame to know about the political and ‘military weaknesses of India the destruc-tion of the ancient temples gave a severe jolt to the architecture and a vast quantityof wealth went out of the country.

Muhammad Ghori :Indian king took no lessons even from the destructive raids of Mahmud.

They continued to fight among themselves as before and the country grew weakerand weaker. At the end of the twelfth century Muhammad Ghori’s invasion tookplace. Muhammad was the son of the ruler of Ghor, a small kingdom inAfghanistan.’ Gradually the power or the ruler of Ghor increased so much thathe captured Ghazni permanently. Muhammad was appointed ruler of Ghazni.

The objective of Muhammad Ghori’s invasion was not merely to plunder,but he also desired to add to his kingdom the northern part of India by conqueringit. His first attack was on Multan. Here he defeated the ruler of the Karmayeecommunity. Then he captured Sindh, In 1178 A.D. he tried to penetrate into Indiathrough Gujarat, hut the Solanki king Mularaj II defeated him. So he concentratedhis attention on the northern kingdoms. By 1186 AD. he brought under his control

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the forts of Peshwar, Lahore and Sialkot. Thus he became the master of thewhole of the border areas and the Punjab.

After the victory of the Punjab, the border of Muhammad’s Kingdom beganto touch those of Ajmer and Delhi which were ruled by Prithviraja ChauhanMuhammad attacked the fort of Bhatinda in 1191 A.D. Having come to know thisPrithviraja advanced with a large army. Fierce fighting took place at Tarainbetween the two armies. Muhammad was defeated and he managed to escape ina badly wounded condition. Returning to Ghazni he collected a large armyconsisting of daring and ferocious men belonging to the hilly kingdoms of CentralAsia and the very next year came down to attack India again. This time he hadbrought with him about one lac twenty thousand soldiers. King Prithvirajaappealed to the other, kings for help. It is said that about a hundred and fifty bigand small kings rallied under Prithviraja’s flag. Only the Gaharwar king Jaichandof Kannauj, did not side with the Chauhans in this battle. Both the armies cameface to face on the plains of Tarain again in A.D.1192. Although the Rajputsfought with exemplary courage and bravery, they were defeated on account ofthe absence of able leadership and fighting skill. Prithviraja was taken prisonerand later on put to death. By this victory the Turks came to control Ajmer, Delhiand Hansi (a town situated to the north-west of Delhi). Prithviraja was the mostpowerful king in north India. With his defeat easier for Muhammad Ghori to winover India.

Muhammad Ghori had generally to face difficulties in Afganistan. He,therefore went back to Ghazni leaving his slave and able general Qutb-ud-din torule over the conquered territory as his representative. In A.D. 1205 a fightingrace, the Khokhars, revolted. Muhammad Ghori came to suppress them. Therevolt was put down but while he was returning to Ghaini, a young Khokharmurdered him.

Social life :Although the political and economic authority of kings during this period,

weakened, they did live in pomp and show. Much of their income was spent inbuilding palaces and temples and also to maintain the pomps and show of theircourts. The courts were attended not only by feudatories but also by the wealthybrahmins and traders. The status of Brahmins and Kshatriyas in society washigh. Brahmins conducted religious ceremonies and rituals of worship. Some ofthem wrote biographies of the king and histories of the kingdom and verses inpraise of the king. Some of them were also appointed to high posts. Kshatriyaswere also learned and good warriors. Brahmins and Kshatriyas got subdivided

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into many sub-castes and sects, among whom the feelings of high and low beganto deepen. The Rajputs acquired a separate entity on account of the their braveryand courage.

Among the other classes in society were farmers, craftsmen, businessmenand labourers. Of all ‘the classes in society the life of the Shudras’ was the mostdifficult. They had no rights and they were looked down upon. Most of themwere cultivators and labourers. Those who did the lowly work were treated asuntouchables.

Many far-reaching changes in the condition of wormen took place in thisage. Among the Rajputs the system of Swayamvara was prevalent. Marriagestook place at an early age among the ordinary classes. Polygamy was in vogueamong the higher classes. The custom of Sati began to grow widerspread. Thelife of the Rajput women was also full of bravery and courage like that of theirmen-folks. On the death of their husbands in battles or in foreign attacks, womenwould take to “Jauhar” i.e. they would burn themselves to death rather than fallinto the hands of the enemies.

Economic life :In this age village-folks remained engaged in rearing animals and doing

agriculture. The important change that took place in agriculture, was with regardto land measurement and realization of land tax. Previously, there was no systemof payment of salary in cash. Instead of the payment of salary the authority wasgiven to realize the land revenue in a particular village or a piece of land. Thisrevenue used to be equal to the amount of money he would normally receive assalary. In such a case the authorized person did not have any rights of ownershipover the land. But with the coming of the medieval period many such personsbegan to claim the ownership of the land. Persons authorized to collect landrevenue came to be called ‘rai’ or ‘thakur’. They kept a large portion of the landrevenue for their own use and credited the rest into the treasury of the king. Theywere also required to maintain troops which the king could demand wheneverhe wanted. Thus they remained under the control of the king. Besides these, theBrahmins and learned men were also granted lands as gifts. The land revenuepertaining to the gifted land was fully utilised by those who were granted thelands.

As the number of such persons increased, the amount of revenue whichcame to the king decreased. Many of the officers who had many villages andlarge areas of land, in turn would grant the right to their subordinates for the sake

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of convenience. Thus a number of intermediaries came into existence betweenthe king and the peasant. This led to the fast growth of feudalism one result ofthis was that those who had large grant of land often behaved like independentrulers. The peasants who cultivated such lands started paying more attention tothe feudatories. So the king gradually began to be quite away from the peasants.On account of the decrease in the king’s revenue, the expenses on security alsodecreased and it became hard to maintain a large and powerful army. This wasone of the primary reasons why the kingdoms of north India could not protectthemselves from the attacks of the Turks. There was rivalry and jealousy amongthe feudatories. ‘Even small disputes were settled through a fight. Most of theirtime and money were spent on such, futile wars. If any feudatory felt that he hadbecome sufficiently strong, he would proclaim himself, independent and set upan independent kingdom. Often the king was too weak to restrain the feudatoriesfrom taking such steps. Thus the Rastrakutas who had been feudatories of theChalukyas became the independent rulers. The Chandelas ruling under thePratiharas also became independent. The Cholas of the South had also began asfeudatories.

The peasants had to suffer most in these circumstances. They not only paidthe revenue to the lord but had to do free labour also for him. Often the feudallord would realize from them extra taxes on roads, mills, water for irrigationetc. They were fated to toil hard and remain poor.

The inhabitants of towns and cities remained engaged in different tradesand industries. Like those in the South the different traders had organizedthemselves into various groups. Cotton, Woollen and silk cloth, ivory goods,ornaments and utensils of gold and silver, statues and idols of cast bronze, play-things and earthen pots were produced in large quantities in the country.

Goods within the country were transported by roads and rivers. Patliputra,Ayodhya, Ujjain, Kannauj, Mathura and Kashi were big business centers. Becauseof the settlement of the Arab traders on the west coast of India, trade with theMediterranean countries and western Asia flourished. Cotton and Woollen clothes,precious stones, sandalwood, Coconut, cloves, nuts ivory goods and Kesharwere exported outside and horses, dates and wine were imported in largequantities from outside.

Religious life :On account of the patronage of the Rajput Kings, Hindu religion became

very popular. Buddhism which had started declining during the reign of Harsha

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now remained confirm to east India. Jainism had its influence on Rajasthan,Gujarat and among some royal families of the south. At the beginning of this agea number of such learned men and philosophers were born who had deep faithin the Vedic rituals. As such the realization of self-attainment through ritualsbecame a part of Hindu religion. Hindu religion included the Vaishnawa, theShiva and the Shakta sects. Gradually tantra-mantra and inhuman ritual practicesgot into these sects.

When the religious thought began to get distorted in north India, then saints,like Shankaracharya and Ramanuja in the south brought a sense of reawakeningin it. Both of them belonged to the south and you have already read about them.Vishnu was worshipped in his two incarnations-as Rama and as Krishna. Templesof a number of Gods and Goddesses were built in this age. The legends about thelives of Ram a and Krishna were depicted on the: walls of the temples with thehelp of images and pictures. Festivals were celebrated with fun fare. It wasduring this age that Opposition to the complicated rituals began and stress beganto be given on simple Bhakti (devotion). This very feeling gradually developedinto the “Bhakti movement” later on.

Education and Literature :

Education spread well during this age. The temples were the main centresof education where children of the higher castes were taught. Buddhism played anotable part in the field of education. The famous monastery at Nalanda was stillin existence. Kashi, Kannauj etc. were principal centres of learning. King Bhojahad a university built at Dhar.

The interest in science and astronomy that was taken in the Gupta periodstarted decreasing now, For example, the discoveries of Aryabhatta instead ofbeing used to make further discoveries about the sun, the Earth and the Universe,were mixed up with astrology on account of ignorance and superstition. Indianmedical system of Ayurveda was famous the world over but now further progressin’ this area too stopped.

This period has its importance in the field of literature also. Even now thelanguage of literature was Sanskrit. Among the famous poetic works were Magha’sShishupal Vadh; Bhavabhuti’s ‘Uttar Ram Charit’ and Bharavi’s ‘Kiratarjuniyam.’The most popular literary work of the period was ‘Katha Sarit Sagar’ a collectionof stories. Biographies of kings were also written. Of them Vilhan’s Vikramank-Dev-Charit’ and Kalhan’s “Raj Tarangini” and famous history books. In northern

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India Krishan Worship spread and many poetic works based on the love-legendsbetween Radha and Krishan were produced. Jaideva’s ‘Geet-Govinda’ is one ofthem.

Architecture and Painting :The famous kings and the powerful feudatories built temples in this age

which are living examples of architecture. There are hundreds of temples whichwere built in this period. The temples at Puri and Bhuvaneshwar and the Suntemple at Konark in Orissa are the most famous among these.

The Chandella kings built the Khajuraho temples in Bundelkhand. Thesetemples have style different from the style of the Orissa temples. The group ofJain temples on Mount Abu in Rajasthan with white marble is a creation of thisperiod. The art of building forts also developed in this period. The forts atChittor, Ranthambhor, Gwalior etc. were also built in this period.

Alongwith architecture, sculpture and painting also made much progressduring this period. Under the patronage of the Pala Kings many idols of Godsand Goddesses were made of bronze, black stone. Moral paintings continued to

Fig. 3.3 The Shiv Temple of Khajuraho

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be used to decorate the walls of temples and palaces. Another type of paintingwhich became-very popular during the Mughal period later on, began in thisperiod. It was the art of miniature painting. Artists began to draw pictures toillustrate books. These pictures drawn on the books made of palm-leaves are theideal specimens of art. Afterwards more, Subtitles and colours came to be usedin them.

EXERCISES

I. Fill in the blanks with a word from those given in the brackets:1. Many battles were fought in north India to gain control over the city

of:............(Kannauj, Delhi, Agra)

2. King Bhoj was a powerful king belonging to the............. dynasty.(Chandela, Pratihara, Parmara)

3. Delhi was founded by the rulers of the............... family.

(Chauhan, Tomar, Gaherwar)

4. The famous temples at Khajuraho were built by the.............rulers.(Chandela, Pala, Gurjara)

5. Mahmud of Gazni attacked India...........times.

(Fifteen, Seventeen, Three)

II. Match the contents of column A with those of column B.A . B

1. The Rashtrakuta kings. 1. Ruled over Avanti and someparts of southern Rajasthanwas

2. The Pratihara Kings 2. Raj Tarangini.

3. The aim of the invasions of 3. Ruled over the northern area

Mahmud of Gazni. around Nasik in the Deccan.

4. Kalhan’s famous historical 4. were in a large number in north

book. India.

5. The followers of the Shiva 5. was to obtain money and

and the Vaishnawa’ sects wealth by plunder.

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III. Answer the following questions :-1. Which powers struggled among themselves to obtain control over

Kannauj?

2. How did the Gurjar Pratiharas expand their Kingdom?

3. What Were the main causes of Mahmud of Ghazni’s attacks on India?

4. What are the beliefs prevalent today about the origin of the Rajputs?

5. What is the importance of the battle of Tarain in Indian history?

6. What changes in the economic system were made during the Rajputperiod?

7. What was the condition of women during the Rajput period?

8. Give an account of the social life in the reign of the Rajputs?

9. What progress was made in architecture and painting during theRajput period?

IV. Something to do:-1. Show the areas in the map of Asia which were attacked by Mahmud

of Gazni and-Muhammad Ghori.

2. Show the areas of rule of the major north Indian dynasties in map ofIndia.

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CHAPTER 4

THE DELHI SULTANATE

(A. D. 1206 TO 1526)

The period of Indian history from AD. 1206 to AD. 1526 is known as theperiod of Delhi Sultanate. Five different dynasties ruled over Delhi during thisperiod.

The Slave dynasty (A/D. 1206-1290) :

All the rulers of this dynasty were either themselves slaves or the sons ofslaves. That is why this dynasty is called the Slave Dynasty. The first ruler ofthis dynasty was Qutub-ud-din Aibak, the general of Muhammad Ghori. After thedeath of Muhammad Ghori, he became the Sultan of Delhi. He was a Turk ruler.The second big ruler of this dynasty was Iltutmish. The credit far establishing theturks in India goes to him. He put down the revolt of the Turkish noblemen andTatars and also defeated those Rajputs whowere trying to regain their lost freedom. Itwas during his reign that the Mongols, underthe leadership of Chenghez Khan, establishedtheir control over the area along the Indus.Thus he had to spend his time in facing allsorts of troubles Iltutmish got the unfinishedQutub Minar completed which had beenstarted during the time of Qutab-ud-din. Theson of Iltutmish proved to be of no worth.So the reigns were taken over by hisdaughter, Raziya. But the Turkish Generalsof the time look it to be a matter of dishonorto work under Raziya a woman. They,therefore, revolted. But Raziya did not loseher courage even in these circumstances.

She herself led the army in the fight andtried to suppress the revolt. In the meantimethe conspirating generals got her murdered. Fig. 4.1 The Qutub Minar

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Raziya was an able, intelligent and brave ruler.

The last ruler of the slave dynasty was Balban. He stationed an army on theborder in order to put in check the Mongols. Very hard punishment was given tothe disloyal ones and at last he was able to enforce his unfettered authority.

The successors to Balban were incapable. The slave dynasty, therefore,came to an end. Kekubad was the last ruler of this dynasty.

The Khilji Sultan (A.D.1290-1320) :Jalaluddin Khilji occupied the throne of Delhi after putting to death the last

ruler of the slave dynasty. He laid the foundation of the Khilji family. The attackon devagiri in the South by his nephew, Alauddin was a notable incident duringhis time. Alauddin murdered his uncle, Jalaluddin and then occupied the throneof Delhi himself. He reorganized the army and conquered Gujarat, Ranthambhor,Chittore, Ujjain, Mandav and Chanderi. He sent out his reliable general, MalikKafur, to conquer the South. Thus, he succeeded in spreading his empire fromthe North to the South.

A vast sum of money was needed to maintain a large army. Alauddin raisedthe land taxes on the fertile land between theGanga and the Yamuna (theDoab). During histime farmers had to pay half of their produce astaxes. He fixed the prices of articles andappointed officers to keep a watch on themarkets so that the soldiers were not requiredto spend a large amount on buying essentialcommodities and they could maintainthemselves with their low salary. During hisreign articles of daily use were very cheap.

Those traders who did not sell goods atthe prices fixed or who played false in weight,were given hard punishment.

The succeeding rulers of the Khilji familywere also weak and incapable. As a result, soonthe rule of this family also come to an end.

The Tughluq family (A.D. 1320-1413) :The first ruler of the Tughluq family was Gayasuddin Tughluq, but the

famous sultan of this family was Muhammad-bin-Tughluq. He ruled for about 26

Fig 4.2 Raziya Begum

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years. During his reign an Arab traveller, Ibn-Batutah came to India. He has written highly aboutTughluq. He had noted that among all the Sultansof Delhi, he was the most intelligent and able ruler.His ideas were very noble but he committed manyerrors in implementing them. As a result, all hisplans failed.

First of all Muhammad Tughluq drew up aplan for extending the boundaries of his empire byorganising a large army. He required a vast amountof money for this. He therefore, raised, the taxeson the farmers of the Doab area. But unfortunatelya famine broke out at the time. The farmers notonly refused to pay the taxes, but also revoltedagainst him. At last the order to raise the taxes hadto be withdrawn by the people at the Sultan.

The second plan of Muhammad Tughluq was to transfer his capital fromDelhi to Devagiri. After making Devagiri his capital he named it Daulatabad.Daulatabad being situated, in the South, it was easier to exercise control overthe South. He ordered all the officers of Delhi and the subjects to shift toDaulatabad. Proper care about the conveniences on way to Dautalabad wastaken. But it proved to be really matter of great misery for the people to leavetheir native places and move to a place about 1100 Kilometers away. Theybecame annoyed with the Sultan. For the Sultan also it was very difficult tocontrol the North while remaining in Daulatabad. He again issued orders to shiftthe capital back to Delhi from Daulatabad. These movements caused him heavylosses, with the terms of money and manpower. This plan also failed.

In order to make good the wastage of money and wealth caused by theshifting of the capital and the famine, Muhammad Tugluq drew up a plan to issuetoken coins of copper. The face value of these value of token coins was equal tothe value of the real gold coins.

Gold or silver could be obtained in exchange for the coins from the royaltreasury. This scheme of Muhammad Tughluq also proved unsuccessful becausehe could not exercise proper control on their minting. As a result, token coins ofcopper began to be minted in many a household. Tughluq was, thus, obliged todiscontinue the scheme of token coins. As gold and silver had to be given inexchange for the token coins already issued the royal treasury became almost

Fig 4.3 Alauddin Khilji

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empty. As a matterof fact people at thetime did not haveany faith in the maincurrency these days.

Firoz Tughluq,the nephew ofMuhammad Tughluqascended the throneafter him. He didmany acts of generalwelfare for thebenefit of theoppressed people.Arrangements forirrigation weremade to increaseagricultural Prod-uce . Many tankswere dug and canalsconstructed duringthese very days. He

founded new townships like Firozabad, Hissar and Jaunpur. Many works inSanskrit were translated into Arabic and Persian during his time.

After the death of Firoz Tughluq there was no powerful ruler in this family.In 1398 TaimurLung invaded India. He plundered Delhi to his hearts content andreturned to his native place, Samarkand. Before returning, he appointed Khizr-Khan as the Governor of the Punjab.

The Syed family (A.D. 1414-1451) :Khizr-Khan laid the foundation of the Syed family. There were in all four

Sultans in this family. The last Sultan occupied the throne of Delhi by the nameof Alauddin Alamshah. He was also an incapable ruler. He was, therefore, re-moved by Bahlol Lodi, who captured the throne of Delhi.

The Lodi Dynasty (A.D. 1451-1526) :Lodi Sultans were Afghans. All the previous Sultans of Delhi were Turks.

Fig 4.4 The Kingdom of Alauddin Khilji

Present external Boundary of India

EMPIRE OF ALLAUDDINKHILJI 1320 A.D.

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A LLAKSHYADEEP

(INDIA)

ARABIANSEA

Andaman &NikobarIsland(India)

Delhi

Kashmir

Chittor

Deogiri

AjmerRanthombor

GhodiKadaBanaras

Lahore

YarangalGulbarg

DwarSamudra

Madurai

,

The Delhi Sultanate

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The main Sultan of the Lodi dy-nasty were Sikandar Lodi andIbrahim Lodi.

Ibrahim Lodi was veryproud, hot-tempered and head-strong. His behaviour with hisofficers and the subject was notgood. That brought about dissat-isfaction and revolt all over thekingdom. Oppressed by the tyr-anny of Ibrahim Lodhi, DaulatKhan, the governor of Punjab, in-

vited the ruler of Kabul, Babur, to attack India. A fierce battle took place atPanipat in 1526 between Babar and Ibrahim Lodi. Lodi was defeated in thebattle and thus came to an end the Lodi dynasty.

The Administration of Sultanate :-The Sultan was supreme in the administration of the sultanate. In military

and judicial affairs also, the Sultan had the final say. The Turk Sardars of thetime were very powerfu1. They used to conspire against the Sultan and, at times,they were successful even in occupying the throne of Delhi with their conspiracy.

There was no definite system of succession during this time. Some of thesultans inherited the throne where as some occupied it with their intelligence,skill and bravery.

The main source of income for the kingdom was land revenue. About onethird of the land-produce was realized as revenue. During the rule of some of theSultans, this proportion reached up to a half of the produce. The officers ap-pointed in villages and districts used to realize the revenue. The post of Mukaddam(head of the village) continues to exist even today. The major portion of theincome was spent on the army, the personal expenses of the Sultan and on buildingmagnificent buildings and forts.

For the convenience of administration the Sultans of Delhi divided theKingdom into a number of provinces. There, used to be a subedar in every suba(Province). He would be either a relative or a favourite of the Sultan.The Rise of the New Kingdoms :

As a result of the decline of the Sultanate a number of new Kingdomscame into existence in different parts of the country. Many of these kingdoms had

Fig 4.5 The Tomb of Firoz Tughluq at Hauskhas Delhi

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been the provincesof the sultanate andnow become inde-pendent Kingdom.The Chief amongthese were thekingdoms ofBengal, Gujarat,Malwa, Mewar,Marwar, Jaunpur,Vijayanagar andBahamani.

The kingdomof Gujarat wasfounded by AhmedShah. He alsofounded the city ofAhmedabad. Theruler of Malwawas Husangshah.He foundedMandavgarh Bythis time two of the Kingdoms of the Rajputs-Mewar and Marwar-had becomequite powerful, although there existed some sort of rivalry between them. RanaKumbha of Mewar was a man of Versatile genius. Besides being a ruler he wasa good poet and musician, Jodhpur and Bikaner kingdoms also came into exist-ence around this time.

The Kingdom of Kashmir had also become important during this period.Zainat Abedin was the popular ruler of it. He encouraged the study of Sanskritand Persian and also did many, acts of general welfare. In the eastern India thetwo important Kingdoms were those of Jaunpur and Bengal. Jaunpur was later tobecome a centre of Hindi literature and learning.

In the Deccan the Bahamani Kingdom and the Kingdom of Vijayanagarawere important. The Bahamani Kingdom was founded by Hasan Gangu, an officerof Muhammad Tughluq. He belonged to Bahamanshah family of lran. So theKingdom founded by him came to be known as Bahamani Kingdom. Firoz Shah

Delhi

INDIA IN THE LATE14th & 15th CENTURIES

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A LLAKSHYADEEP

(INDIA)

ARABIANSEA

Andaman &NikobarIsland(India)

Kashmir

Chittor

Deogiri

AjmerRanthombor

GhodiKadaBanaras

Lahore

YarangalGulbarg

DwarSamudra

Madurai

SindhAgra

BengalAhmedabadKhandesh

R.Ganga

R. Mahanadi

R. Krishna

Fig 4.6 India In The Late 14th & 15th Centuries

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was the most powerful ruler of this dynasty. Vijayanagara Kingdom-Two broth-ers named, Harihar and Bukkas founded this kingdom which was situated to thesouth of the Bahamani Kingdom. The rulers of the Bahamani and the VijayanagaraKingdoms were very ambitious and wanted to bring under their control the wholeof the peninsula. They, therefore were always at war. As a result of their mutualjealousy and warfare they could not make their position strong. But even thenthey continued to hold their sway for two hundred years. As they remained unaf-fected by the turmoils in the north India, they made useful contribution to thedevelopment of the Indian culture and civilization. Notable progress was madein art, architecture and the regional languages during their time.

EXERCISES

I. Match the contents in column A with those in column B.A B

1. Qutub-ud-din Aibak 1. Battle with Babar in Panipat.

2. Iltutmish 2. Founder of the slave dynasty.

3. Alauddin Khilji 3. Attack of Chenghez Khan.

4. Mohammad-bin-Tughluq 4. Control on market price.

5. Ibrahim Lodi 5. Use of token currency.

II. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words given in the brackets :-1. Most of the ruler the, Delhi, Sultanate were................. (Afghanis,

Turks, Mongols, Mughals)

2. ...................stationed his army on the borders to stop attacks byMongols.(Balban, Raziya, Iltutmish, Alauddin)

3. Arab traveller, Ibn-battutah has given a description of the reign of.................. (Firoz, Tughluq, Mohammad-bin-Tughluq, AlauddinKhilji, Ibrahim Lodi).

4. Bahmani and Vijayanagar were the two main kingdoms in .............

...........India. (South, east, north, central)

5. .........................sent an army towards the deccan under the command

of Malik Kafur. (Balban, Raziya, Alauddin, Iltutmish)

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III. Short answer questions :l. Why did the Turk nobles oppose Raziya?2. Mention about the land tax and the price control policies of Alauddin

Khilji.

3. Mention three of the important events of Mohammad Turghluq’s time.

4. Describe the system of administration of the Delhi Sultanate.

5. How did Alauddin Khilji expand his kingdom?

IV. Essay-type questions:1. Muhammad Tughluq’s policies failed although they were well thought

why ?

2. Which kingdoms rose in India after the fall of the Sultanate?

3. Give a description of the Bahamani and the Vijayanagara Kingdoms.

V. Things to do :1. Make a list of the Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate according to the

families and write against each the duration of their rule in theChristian years.

2. Draw the outlines of the Chief Kingdoms during the Sultanate in themap of India.

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CHAPTER-5

THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE DURING THESULTANATE

We have already read that India had become a house divided against itself.As a result of the prevailing disunity and want of the spirit of nationalism,conspiracies and revolts began to take place. In such a situation some powerful.foreign ruler attacked our country captured and then began to rule over it. Thus,from the very ancient times there came to live in Indian people belonging todifferent culture patterns and religious beliefs.

During the early medieval period the Arabs came to Sind and the South astraders. The Turks and Afghans came to the north from the central Asia as invad-ers. Some of them founded their Kingdoms in India, expanded them into empiresand gradually settled down here. Whenever a foreign people conquer a countryand settle down in it, they bring with them new ideals of life as also new patternsof living. Not only is the conquered country influenced by these new patterns,but the life of the conquerors also gets influenced by the culture of the conqueredpeople.

The Turks and the Arabs, who came to India, brought with them the ideas,the cultures and the patterns of living of Iran and central Asia. Indian society gotinfluenced by them. And with their settling down in India, the Indian culture andpatterns of living also influenced them. Thus, Indian gradually developed asnew type of culture which was a fusion of a variety of living pattern and thoughts.Social life:

Indian society was divided into four major groups during the period of theSultanate. The aristocracy and the priesthood held the highest position. The generaltownmen and the peasants belonged to the other groups. The aristocracy was theruling class which consisted of the Sultan, the nobles, the Hindu princes and theLandholders. The Sultan lived a life of Splendour in Delhi. Whenever a newSultan was enthroned the Khutba or sermon was read in his name and new coinsbearing his name were minted and issued. Following the footsteps of sultan, thenobles and the wealthy lived a life of pomp and show, full of luxury. The Brahminsand the Ulemas were an important part of society as teachers of religion. Thoseamong them who acted as advisers to the Sultan exercised a tremendous influence.

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Some of them were exceptionally wealthy and had received grants of land. Thepeople living in towns were generally the merchants traders and artisans, andsome nobles and officers. Most of the towns were trading centres. Some of thetowns were administrative and military centres and some towns were places ofreligious pilgrimage. The artisans lived in a special locality of the city accordingto their crafts. Even today we find that some localities and areas of cities arecalled after the type of artisans and merchants who lived there at one time. Thelife of the peasants continued much as before. The changes brought about by thecoming of the Turks and Afghans remained limited to the upper levels of society.The caste system was an important feature of society during the time. The statusof women declined gradually. Among the royal families and the wealthy familiespolygamy was practised. The Purdah system and the custom of child marriagegot wider acceptance. These customs resulted into a decline in the status ofwomen.

Religious life :

Islam came to India with the turks and the Afghans. This resulted in manythings. Although there was some bitterness at the outset, both Hindus and Muslimswere influenced by each other and each borrowed some religious ideas-from theother. This gave rise to two religious trends-the Sufi movement and the Bhakiimovement.

The Sufis :

Along with the Turks, a number of saints and religious preachers came toIndia. Among them were some Sufi saints. They settled down in different partsof India. They preached love and devotion and Bhakti as the means of comingnearer to God. They believed that man could gain access to God if he bore reallove for him in his heart. These Sufi saints did not give much importance toprayer, fasting rituals of worship etc. They had a broad outlook and were-tolerantof other communities and their religions. Many Hindus became the followers ofthese Sufi saints.

Moin-ud-din Chisti was a great sufi saint of his time. He lived at Ajmer fora long time and also died there. He was convinced that bhakti (devotional) musicwas also a path leading to God-Urs is held every year on his mansoleum eventoday. Another famous saint of this very community was saint Nizamuddin Auliyawho lived near Delhi. He was honoured by both the sultan and the common man.Love and war were include into Islam on account of the Sufi Saints.

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The Bhakti Movement :Many saints who tried for the Hindu muslim unity were born in the four-

teenth and the fifteenth centuries. All such saints laid greater emphasis on loveas the means of coming closer to God, rather than on ritual. That is why it iscalled the Bhakti Movement.

Mahaprabhu Chaitanaya preached religion in Bengal. He was a devotee ofLord Krishna. He composed many couplets on Krishna-Lila and sang them inchorus. Sant Gyaneshwara in Maharashtra preached Bhakti. He wrote the Gitain Marathi and brought it within the reach of the common man. Sant Namdeo andSant Tukaram also were born in Maharashtra. Both of them preached that lovewas the means of developing devotion to God. In Banaras Kabir spread Bhaktithrough the language of the people. He tried to remove the discrimination betweenthe Hindus and the Muslims. He held that god is one and is called by differentnames. He rebuked both the Hindus and the Muslims for the unnecessary ritualthe show and the bigotism. The disciples or Kabir set up different community bythe name. Kabir-followers (Kabir-Panth.). Kabir was a social reformer andsymbol of communal unity. His teachings areas valuable and relevant today asthey were during his time. Vallabhacharya was a Telgu brahmin of the South. Hetravelled on places of Pilgrimage like Mathura, Vrindaban and Varanasi etc. Inthe north and preached devotion to the service of Krishan. The group of the eight

Chief disciples of his is called“Ashta-Chhap”. Suradasa wasthe main poet belonging to thisgroup.

Nanak was anotherimportant preacher of religion.He founded the Sikh religion.Later on his followers becamevery powerful in north-India. Histeachings have been compiled ina book called “Granth Sahab.”Nanak said emphatically that allmen are equal and therefore thereshould be no differences basedon castes. He laid emphasis on

Fig. 5.1 Khwaja Moin-ud-din Chistie’sMausoleum at Ajmer

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the purity of mind and character. He held that therestrictions with regard to eating based on castedifferences were of no avail and insisted thateveryone of his followers should eat in a commonkitchen (Langar). The Chief canons of histeaching were one God, one Guru, and one nameto worship.

Influence on the people :The Bhakti Movement widely influenced the

society of the time. All the saints had laidemphasis on devotion to God and purity ofcharacter in their teachings. They preached thatfor the devotion to God one need not give up thisworld, and that rituals are not necessary. Onecan realise God through love. This ledto the strengthening of the sense ofdevotion to God among the commonman as also among the people of thelow classes. The preachers preached inthe language of the people. Averyimportant advantage that occurred fromit Was the development of literature inHindi and the regional languages themost important aspect of the BhaktiMovement was that it tried to bringcloser the followers of Hinduism andIslam by removing their differences andbridging the gulf between them.

The Economic life :The raiders that had come to India

before the Turks and the Afghans e.g. Mahmud of Ghazni and Taimur Lung,plundered the country and took away with them unlimited wealth and money. Butwhen the Sultans of Delhi established their Kingdom in India, the wealth andproperty of the country were put to use within the country itself. The Sultans ofDelhi tried their utmost to improve the economic condition of the country.

The Sultans and the noblemen gave encouragement to business and industryin order to meet their needs. Many cooperative factories were also opened.

Fig 5.2 Kabir

Fig 5.3 Guru Nanak

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Trade reached a new height during this period. Every town had a market place.Big fairs were also held in which traders would assemble to buy and sell goods.Indian traders carried on their trade with Malaya, China, Central Asia, Iran,Afghanistan and many European countries. Foreign traders brought gold to Indiaand in exchange took away with them cotton and silk cloth, herbs, utensils ofmetal ivory goods etc. to their countries.

An African traveller, Ibn-Batutah came to India during Muhammad Tughluq’sreign. Giving the account of his travels he has recorded that the magnificent cityhe ever visited was Delhi. The main cities and ports were Broach, Khamobat,Multan, Lakhnoti, Sortargaon (Bengal) etc. On Account of the extensive rise ofmoney in trade and business, coins in a large quantity were minted and circu-lated. The silver coins were called tank and these were started by Sultan Iltutmish.It was on the lines of the tankah that the silver rupees were issued later on. It wasduring this time that the system of weights by tolas was started which continuedtill the modern adoption of the metric system.

The main occupation of the common people was agriculture. The villagefolks earned their living by agriculture and small scale crafts. The common man’slife was full of wants and poverty. Although the Sultans in Delhi drew up, manya plan for the improvement of agriculture, that did not bring about any change inthe traditional agricultural work. The life of the peasants in villages remained asit had, been before. Food stuff was in abundance and its price was also low.

The source of income of the state was the land tax. It was something betweena half to one third of the land produce and was realized in cash coins or in kind.Jajia tax used to be realized from the Hindus. It was a tax imposed on the nonmuslim citizens. Zakat (a religious Tax) was collected from the Muslims and thewhole income from this was utilised for helping the poor. In addition to thisoctroi on commodities of trade, irrigation tax, tax on the mineral wealth, housetax, pilgrimage tax etc. were the other sources of income of the state.

Language and Literature :Regional languages developed in this age and literature was produced in

them. The two forms of Hindi-Braj and Avadhi were used. Persian was the courtlanguage in several parts of the country. Persian, therefore exercised its influenceon many languages in the country and many Persian words found their way intothe different Indian languages. A new language, Urdu, came into existence as aresult of the mixture of Persian with Hindi. The grammar of Urdu was the sameas that of Hindi but its vocabulary was drawn from Persian, Turkish as well as

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Hindi. Gradually Urdu began to be used mainly in the towns. In the same way,Punjabi in the north, Gujarati in the west, Bengali in the east, Marathi in theSouth. Many of the popular literary works in Sanskrit viz. the Puranas, theRamayana and the Mahabharata were translated not only in the regional languages,but also in Arabic and Persian. Over and above the works of translation, therewere many poets and writers who produced original works in various languagesin the forms of epic poems, lyric poems, plays etc. Famous among such poetsand writers were the Telegu poet, Srinadha, Malik Muhammad Jayasi, Maithilpoet, Vidyapati etc. Amir Khushrau was famous poet and learned man of thisage. He wrote in the language of the common people in addition to creatingworks in Arabic and Persian. Khusrau’s puzzles are still prevalent among thecommunity.

Education and Literature Loving Sultans open many maktabs and Madarassasfor muslim students. The maktabs and schools attached to mosques and templeswere the centres of learning.

Architecture:The Turks and Afghans brought with them new styles and techniques of

architecture. These got merged with the ancient Indian styles and new type ofarchitecture developed. Two of the very important architectural forms of thisperiod were the arch and the dome. Both of these forms were based on advancedmathematics and engineering skill.

After the coming of these new styles, both the arch and the dome werewidely use in mosques, tombs and a little later, in private residences as well.The construction of the tall, slender tower was another style of this period.

The coming together of the two styles of architecture resulted into theconstruction of some very beautiful buildings. The Qutub Minar built during thereign of the Mamluk sultans and the nearby mosque were the earliest of theseconstructions.

Painting and Music :The artists of the time were engaged in decorating books -belonging to the

rulers and the courtiers. So they lived under the royal patronage. Sometimes theypainted the portraits of their patron kings and sometimes they illustrated theevents described in the books with their paintings.

The inclusion of new forms enriched the art of music also. The musicalinstruments like the Sitar, the Sarangi and the Tabla became very popular duringthis time.

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The coming of the Afghans and the Turks resulted into many experimentswith new patterns of living. As a result there took place the development ofreligious movements, languages, painting, architecture and new and beautifulstyles of music.

EXERCISES

I. Match the names in column A with contents in column B.A B

1. Nanak 1. Preached Bhakti in Maharashtra

2. Chaitanya 2. Preached Bhakti in the peoples

languages in Banaras.

3. Kabir 3. Founded the Sikh-religion.

4. Gyaneshwara 4. Preached Krishan-Bhakti in Bengal.

II. Fill in the blanks with the correct word/words given in the brackets:1. ..............was the court language in a large area of the country during

the Sultanate Period. (Urdu, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit.)

2. A new language born out of mixture of Hindi and Persian was.........

............. (Braj, Awadhi, Urdu, Bengali)

3. A famous poet...............wrote puzzles in the people’s language duringthe Sultanate rule. (Kabir, Sur, Amirkhusrau)

III. Write ‘YES’ against the statements that are true and ‘NO’ againstthe ones that are false:

1. In the Sultanate period Indian traders travelled within local andforeign countries.

2. The Chief source of income for the state was trade.

3. The life of common people was full of wants and poverty.

4. During this period the main occupation of the people was agriculture.

5. The rulers of Ahmednagar built beautiful buildings on the hills ofMandu.

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IV. Short answer questions :-1. Describe the condition of the peasantry during the Sultanate period.

2. Throw light on the condition of women during the Sultanate period.

3. What were the contributions of the Sufi saints to Indian society?

4. Describe the main characteristic of the society during the Sultanateperiod.

5. Give an account of the development in language and literature duringthe Sultanate period.

6. What were the influences of the Sufi saints and the Saints of theBhakti movement on the society at that time?

7. How did the Turks and the Afghans influence the architecture &music in India?

8. Give an account of the following in 3 sentences each -

Nanak, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Kabir, Vallabhacharya

V. Things to do:Collect interesting details about Nanak, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Kabir andVallabhacharya.

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CHAPTER 6

THE COMING OF THE MUGHALS AND THEEUROPEANS TO INDIA

The political situation in India was in disarray before the attack of theMughals. The whole country was divided into small kingdoms. Sultan IbrahimLodi was the last emperor of the Sultanate in north India. Lodi, Sultans dependedmore on the patriotism and loyalty of the Afghan Chiefs. Ibrahim Lodi could notkeep them under his control on account of his incapability. So, many of the Afghanchiefs revolted against the Sultan and declared themselves independent rulers ofso many kingdoms

In such a situation many of the Afghan Turkish chiefs took to conspiracy. Inorder to capture the throne of Delhi, They plotted with Babur, the ruler of Kabul,to get rid of the Delhi Sultanate. Rana Sanga of Mewar also wanted to exercisehis control over Delhi.The Lodi also agreed tohelp Babur againstIbrahim Lodhi, the Sultanof Delhi. Babur hadPreviously raided as faras the border of India. Heknew that India was arich country and hencewhen he was asked formilitary aid by the chiefsof lndia, he agreed in notime and reached Punjabwith his army.Babur (1526 to 1530A.D.)

Daulat Khan, theAfghan Chief of Delhi,surrendered to Baburwithout giving him a Map 6.1 India at the time of the Mughal Victory.

INDIA ON THE EVEOF MUGHALCONQUEST

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A LLAKSHYADEEP

(INDIA)

ARABIANSEA

Andaman &NikobarIsland(India)

Delhi

Kashmir

Gujrat

Khandesh

MewarSind

Bihar

Agra

BundelKhand

Punjab

GolcombaBijnor

Vijaynagar

Madurai

OrissaBerar

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fight. With the desire of becoming the Sultan of Delhi, he also helped Baburagainst Ibrahim Lodi by providing him with military aid. Babur had brought hisartillery with him which was a novel thing for the Indian army. He had also asmall but well trained expert cavalry. Babur himself was a brave and expertgeneral. He knew how to plan an effective strategy and use his army to the bestadvantage.

In 1526 A.D. Babur attacked Ibrahim Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi. A fiercebattle took place on the famous plain of Panipat. This was the first battle ofPanipat. The battle was won by Babur.

Babur died in 1530 A.D.Babur was not only brave warrior and able general but also a superb literary

figure. He was well versed in the Turkish language and a poet and writer too.

Humayun (1530 to 1540 A.D.)After Babur’s death his son, Humayun, ascended the throne of Delhi. Babur

founded the Mughal rule in India, but he could not live long to make it secureagainst the enemies,Therefore Humayun had toface a lot of difficultiesimmediately after comingto the throne. The Afghanchiefs were determined toturn the Mughals out of thecountry. Sultan BahadurShah of Gujrat wasplanning to capture thethrone of Delhi. Humanyunsucceeded in conqueringGujrat and Malwa, but hecould not establish hisauthority over Western

India. Being preoccupied with all these revolts and having had to face the enemies,Humayun could not find time to look after the administration. On the other hand,Sher Shah was making efforts to re-establish the influence of the Afghans.

Sher Shah (1540 to 1545 A.D.) :Sher Shah was the son of a Chief who was the owner of a small estate in

Bihar. In his childhood he was called ‘Farid’ but after having killed a lion, he

Fig. 6.2 Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi

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was recheristened Sher Khan’. Sher Shah organized a powerful army with thehelp of which he became an independent ruler. He was very much influenced bythe policies of Alauddin. By defeating Humayun he became the ruler of India.

Administrative reforms of Sher Shah:First of all, Sher Shah organized his army. He began the system of paying

salaries to the officers in cash the administrative officers and the workers couldmake a complaint directly to the emperor. He began to tour the Kingdom in orderto inspect the work of the officers. On account of all these things he became verypopular among his subjects. Like Sultan Alauddin, he fixed up the land revenueafter measuring the land. He took care to collect the revenue but he also tookpain to see that no injustice was done to the peasants. The peasants were notrequired to pay taxes for nothing.

Emperor Akbar, later on, adopted the land reforms of Sher Shah as they were.

Sher Shah got many roads constructed in his kingdom in order to facilitatetransportation. On both the sides of the roads shady trees were planted; wellswere dug and at short districts rest houses were built for the comfort of thetravellers. He repaired the road stretching from north India to Bengal, Whichwas built during the Maurya period. The same road from Peshawar to Calcuttais now known as the ‘Grand TrunkRoad’, He built roads in the southupto Burhanpur and to Jaunpur inthe east to link the borders of hiskingdom with Delhi. With theconstruction of these roads itbecame easy for the officers, theworkers and the traders to movefrom one place to another. It wasSher Shah who first started the useof the one-rupee coin.

Sher Shah could rule only forfive years. Unfortunately, he waskilled in an explosion in theexplosive store during the raid of Kalinjar in 1545 A.D. Sher Shah’s death provedto be boon to Humayun because Sher-Shah’s successors were weak and incapable.On account of this the position of north India weakened. Humayun desired to bethe ruler of Delhi once again. He, with the help of the Shah of Persia, conqueredKandhar and Kabul. After conquering Punjab in 1555 he took possession ofDelhi and Agra. In this way, the Mughal rule was established in India once

Fig. 6.3 Sher Shah’s Tomb at Sasaram

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again. Humayun, like his father, Babur, could not enjoy the fruits of his victoryfor long. After only one year, while coming down from the stair-case of thelibrary he fell down and died. His son, Akbar, who is counted among the greatkings of India, succeeded him.

The Bahmani Kingdom :The political situation of south India was also affected when the mughals

came to power. Hasan Gangu, one of the officers of Muhammad-bin- Tughluq,founded the Bahmani Kingdom in the fourteenth century. As he received the titleof ‘Alauddin Bahman Shah’, this kingdom came to be known as the ‘Bahamani’kingdom. In south India, this kingdom extended upto the river Krishna. The mostpowerful ruler of the Bahmani dynasty was Firoz Shah Bahmani He was a goodpoet and had special interest in Science, Mathematics and logic. The Bahmani

Kingdom progressed a great deal in the fifteenth century. The credit for thisgoes to its able and wise minister named Mahamud Gavan. He was a Persianbusinessman. After coming to India, he took up employment under the Sultan.Making progress gradually he became the Chief Minister of the BahmaniKingdom. With his skill and prudenceMahamud Gavan advised the BahmaniSultan rule justly for nearly twenty fiveyears. In matters of collecting taxes, hecommitted no atrocities on the subjects.He conquered Goa from Vijayanagar sothat the profit on trade therefore began tobe received by the Bahmani Kingdom.

All this increased the popularity of Mahamud Gavan among the subjectsbut, on the other hand, some other people began to be jealous of him. They beganto conspire against him. In 1481 A.D. these people with the consent of the Sultangot Mahamud Gavan murdered.

The succeeding rulers could not exercise control over their chiefs. Besidesthis, the frequency of attacks from the neighbouring Kingdom of Vijayanagar wasincreasing. Therefore the Bahmani Kingdom got divided into five independentKingdoms.

The Vijayanagar Kingdom :By the end of the fifteenth century when the Bahmani Kingdom started

declining after the death of Mahamud Gavan the Vijayanagar Kingdom rose topower again. At that time Krishna Deva Rao, the greatest ruler of the VijayanagarKingdom, ruled it. His reign continued for about twenty-one years. He defeated

Fig. 6.4 Coins of Krishna Deva Rao

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the rulers of Orissa and Bijapur on the battlefield. He took possession of theDoab of Raichur from the Bahmani Kingdom. On the Western coast he establishedfriendly relations with all the local kings. The boundaries of his kingdom extendedupto south Konkan in the west, Vishakhapattanam in the east and upto the end ofpeninsula in the south.

Krisnha Deva Rao made friendly relations with Portuguese also. He gavethem lots of facilities. He permitted the Portuguese Governor, Albubuerque toconstruct a fort. Another Portuguese, Payes by name, lived in his court for manyyears. He has given a description of the administrative system prevailing duringthe reign of Krishna Deva Rao. Krishna Deva Rao introduced a large irrigationscheme for the agricultural development in his kingdom. He issued orders to hisofficers with regard to the welfare of his subjects. Krishna Deva Rao constructedmany temples and palaces. He was interested in literature and was proficient inTelegu and Sanskrit languages. He wrote ‘Amukta Malyada’, a long poetic com-position in Telegu. Krishna Deva Rao died in 1530 A.D.

The Three kingdoms of South:The decline of the Vijayanagar Kingdom began just after the death of Krishna

Deva Rao, in 1565 A.D. Vijayanagar came under the combined attack of theforces of the neighbouring states-Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar, and wasdefeated on the battlefield of Taliketa. In this way Vijayanagar lost it glory.

India and Europe:At the end of the fifteenth century the Portuguese were the first to come to the

Western sea coast of India. In 1408, the first ship of Vasco-de-gama reached Indiato trade. They were so much benefited by their trade that they felt encouraged tosettle in India. By and by they commanded over small Indian territories andestablished their factories there. By the side of the factories the Portuguese builttheir settlements. In these settlements lived their missionaries whose main objectivewas to propagate Christianity. Goa had already become a colony of the Portuguese.

Before the coming of the Portuguese traders some Europeans had also cometo India who travelled various parts of the country e.g. Marco Polo from Veniceand Nikitan from Russia visited South India. But both of them had come along.

In the sixteenth century traders came to India from Some other parts ofEurope, Such as England, France, Denmark, Holland and Spain, to trade andestablished their settlements. These European countries wanted to establish traderelations not only with India but with other Asian countries also.

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The Renaissance .:After the long spell of the Dark Ages, a new movement took place in Europe

which gave rise to such tendencies as have direct bearing on our modern thinkingand living. This movement is called the Renaissance. First of all, it began inItaly in the fifteenth century and in the next two centuries it spread to the wholeof Europe. This movement revived interest among the people in the ancient cultureand civilization of Europe. People’s attention was drawn to the Greek and Romancultures and civilizations that were in existence before the beginning ofChristianity. Learned men studied seriously about the artistic achievements, theliterature, the philosophy and the history of those ancient cultures. Consequently,new ways of thinking developed. The whole atmosphere began to be pervadedwith a spirit of enquiry. Many rules of small kingdoms and wealthy merchantsbegan to take an interest in this. Due to long standing trade contacts with theArabs, their learning reached Italy and Spain. This added to the curiosity of theEuropeans. By and by, the influence of the church began to wane on the learnedpersons. People were not inclined to accept whatsoever was told by the Churchabout the universe, God and human life. People were not inclined to accepteverything blindly. Now the basis of thinking was what man could perceive andfeel. Science was born through this process. People did not believe that knowl-edge was given by God. They came to believe that one could gain knowledge bywisely observing the world around him. The Renaissance thinkers emphasizedthat knowledge should be used for human welfare. Man should do good, notbecause it is God’s command but because all men are human beings.

In the fifteenth century, a Polish philosopher, Copernicus, tried to prove thatthe sun is the centre of the universe and the earth and other planets move aroundit. This idea of Copernicus prevented a revolutionary thought before the scholarsof the world because upto that time it was taught by the church that the earth wascreated by the God and thus it was the centre of the universe. Centuries before,the theory of Copernicus was attempted to be proved by Aryabhatta in India. Inthe beginning of the Seventeenth century Galileo, an astronomer and scientist ofItaly, proved this by his observation and experiment. He invented the telescopeand through it studied the sun and other planets. To prove his theory he used hisscientific methods. The knowledge gained by his experiments began to spread toother European countries and thus new scientific discoveries began to be made.The new thoughts of the Renaissance were enthusiastically accepted by themerchants and the middle class people in the cities because they were againstthe church and feudalism. Leonardo-da-Vinci was another scientist and artist of

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Italy. In his paintings, he beautifully depicted the feelings of an average humanbeing. The Monalisa portrait made by him was an incomparable piece of paint-ing. Being interested in science, he invented a number of machines out of whichthe ‘flying machine’ was the most exciting of his experiments. In the field ofliterature Shakespeare was a great dramatist of the later Renaissance period andhe gave expression to human hopes and aspirations, ‘pleasure and pain veryeffectively in his dramas.

The period of Discoveries andInventions:

The thoughts of the Renaissanceperiod spread fast from one city to anotherall over Europe. At the same time anincident took place in Europe. It was thecapture of Constantinople by the Turks in1453 A.D. Previously, a great portion ofwestern Asia was under the control of theTurks. On having taken possession ofConstantinople by the Turks, the trade relations between Europe and Asia cameto an end. Trade between Europe andAsia was necessary for many reasons.For example, Europe had the need ofAsian Spices and many European citieswere dependent on this trade. Had thattrade stopped, these cities would havedeclined. The simplest and easiestroute from Europe to Asia was throughWestern Asia which was now closed.The European kings and the merchantsencouraged old and adventurous sailorsto discover new sea-routes to Asia inorder to gain the advantage of directtrade with Asia.Till then, the Europeanshad no knowledge of the other parts ofthe world. The scientists of theRenaissance period were ready to helpthese sailors to hunt for new sea-routes. As a consequence manyEuropean sailors set out on sea-expeditions towards different directions to discover new sea-routes. Thus the

Fig 6.7 Vasco-de-Gama

Fig 6.6A Specimen Ship of the 16 th Century

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period of new discoveries began.

First of all, the Portuguese came forward in this direction. BartholomewDiyaz travelled along the Western Sea-Coast of Africa in 1488 AD. And hesailed up to Cape of Good Hope, the tip of Southern Africa. Another Portuguesesailor was Vasco-de-Gama.

Queen Isabela gave him help. Following Diyaz, he continued his journeyalong the eastern coast too. Crossing the Arabian sea he reached the harbour ofCalicut on the Western Sea-Coast of India in 1498 A. D. Thereafter the Portuguesemerchants started coming to India. Prior to this the Indian trade was dominatedby the Arabs. So they opposed the Portuguese, but by making attacks on the Arabtrade settlements, the Portuguese brought under their control the Arab trade.They built trade houses at Calicut, Cochin and Cannanor. Before long, theirposition became strong in India. Like the, Portuguese, the Spainiards also didnot lag behind in this sphere. Under the leadership of Columbus, a Spanish sailora sea-expedition started. The Spanish kings bore all the expenses of it. Columbuswanted to reach India by the Western route. He, therefore, sailed towards the

West and reached the islands of West Indies, whichhe took to be a part of India. This was in the year1492 A.D.

Amerigo Vespucia was successful in reachingAmerica in 1497 A.D. By this time, geographershad come to know that it was a new continent.Therefore the continent was named America, afterthe name of Amerigo. When Magellane went aroundthe world in 1519 A.D. The existence of thecontinent of America was proved. The Spainiardsmet with no success in respect of Asia, but theydiscovered two great civilization in America. Thesewere the Ajtex civilization of Mexico and the Incascivilization of Peru. They conquered these areas,

destroyed these civilization and took away the gold and silver from there toSpain.

Scientists and geographers helped the sailors immensely in the discoveryof new trades and new countries. First of all, progress and improvements weremade in the drawing of maps. Whenever a ship went to a new country it returnedwith new information and knowledge. Geographers would effect changesaccording to the new knowledge in their records. The invention of the ‘Mariner’s

Fig 6.8 Columbus

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compass’ proved to be a boon for the sea voyages. It lessened the danger ofgetting the ships lost in the sea. Now ships could sail, across the sea. The compasswas invented in China and it reached Europe through the Arabs. The Portuguese-invented the movable sails which could be adjusted according to the direction ofwind. The Portuguese were also the first to fit good quality guns in their shipsand thus they increased their fighting power.

In this adventure of hunting new searoutes and discovering new lands, otherEuropean countries joined in later on.

The Reformation and its reaction:From the ‘Dark Ages’ upto the Renaissance, Christianity was the dominant

religion in Europe. By now Christianity was divided into two groups. One ofthem was the Roman Catholic and the other was the Greek orthodox Christianity.Constantinople was the centre of the greek orthodox religion. They held that theirreligious outlook was the order and more orthodox one. Rome was the centre ofthe Roman catholics. Their version of Christianity was of a later date and wasaccepted from all over northern and Western Europe. The biggest leader of thechurch was called the Pope. Pope means ‘father’. During this period the Popewas the most powerful authority in both political and religious matters. The au-thority of the Pope was unlimited and uncontrolled. None could challenge it. Hecould punish those who opposed the accepted beliefs and practices in the field ofreligion.

Gradually the rights of the Pope and those of the church began to be chal-lenged. People began to express their indignation at the interference of the Churchin secular matters like politics. Till then, the church had a right to collect taxes ofvarious kinds from the public. But now people began to object to these taxes also.Feelings of the people grew stronger against the Roman catholic church and atlast they broke away from it. Christian theologians like Martin Luther, Erasmus,John Kelvin etc. denounced the church. At the beginning of the sixteenth centurypersons denouncing the church organized themselves, into a new group of Chris-tians called the “Protestants” This movement is known as the reformation move-ment in religion. On account of this division of Christianity a lot of blood wasshed because the Catholics and the Protestants continued their fight against eachother for along lime. In many northern countries of Europe; the property of theChurch was snatched away and the taxes collected by the Church began to bedeposited in the royal treasury. Trading was encouraged. By and by, the gov-ernments in these countries began to take interest in trading with Asia. Thesecountries were, at last successful in setting up their dominions in Asia and Africa.

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The Portuguese in India:The Portuguese came to India to trade. Their first objective was to take

over the control of the spice trade from the Arabs. They succeeded in their aimby even resorting to piracy. To snatch away the spice trade they had to establishtheir settlements in west Asia, India and later on, in Southeast Asia.

The Portuguese had another interest in India. They wanted to convert intoChristianity as many Indians as possible. They did’ not hesitate even to compelthe people to become christians. They established the inquisition also in India.Christianity was not a new religion for India. The Syrian Christians had beenliving peacefully in India for many centuries before that. Yet the Portuguesewere not satisfied with that situation. They tried their allmost to convert as manyIndians to Christianity as possible.

The Mughals in India :The Mughals came to India to establish their empire and they did get suc-

cess in it. The biggest difference with them and the earlier invadors was that theMughals made India their home, settled down here and became a part of theIndian population. They always kept the welfare of India in view. Leaving asideAurangzeb, other Mughal rulers were liberal in their religious outlook and policy.The result of the Mughal rule was the laying of the foundation of a powerfulempire in which almost the whole of India was included. India got the opportu-nity to witness the era of a new civilization. Akbar was the symbol of this newcivilization.

EXERCISES

I. Match the contents of the column A with those of column B.A B

1. After defeating Humayun 1. The Kingdom of Vijayanagar

Sher Shah, became powerful.

2. Mahmud Gavan helped the 2. Came from Venice and visited

Bahmani kings south India.

3. At the end of the fifteenth 3. Declared himself the ruler of

century when the Bahmani India.

Kingdom declined

4. Marco Polo 4. Came from Russia andtravelled in the Deccan.

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5. Nikitin 5. Rule wisely and justly fortwenty five years.

II. Fill in the blank with the right word or words from those given inbrackets.

1. In 1526 a battle was fought on the famous plains of...................whenBabur defeated the Lodi army. (Talikota, Tarain, Panipat)

2. It was possible that ............... might have become as great..............asultan as Akbar if he had more time to rule.

(Babur, Humayun, Sher Shah)3. ......... was an able chief minister of the Bahmani.....................

Kingdom. (Mahamud Gavan, Ibn Batutah, Al Beruni)

4. ....................discovered that the earth moves round the sun.(Copernicus, Galileo, Leonardo-da-Vinci)

5. ...............was the first European who reached America. (Magelane, Columbus, Amengo Vespucia Vasco-de-Gama)

Short answer questions:1. Give three reasons for the first battle of Panipat.

2. Who was Sher Shah? Why did he get success?

3. How did Humayun regain his lost Kingdom?

4. Who established the Bahmani Kingdom?

5. Who was Krishnadeva Rai? Why is he remembered?

6. Who were the first Europeans to come to India and why did they come?

7. What is meant by ‘Renaissance’? What was its influence on Europe?

8. Write two sentences on each:

Copernicus, Galileo, Leonardo-da- Vinci.

9. What do you understand by the Reformation?

Essay- type questions :1. Give an account of Sher Shah’s administration.

Things to do:Find out the routes in the world map through which the Arabs and theEuropeans came to India.

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CHAPTER -7

AKBAR

Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar was born on 23rd November, 1542. A,D. inthe palace of Veersal a Hindu King of Amarkot (Sind). At that time Humayun hadtaken refuge at Amarkot after being defeated by Sher Shah. He did not know thatthe son born in such adverse circumstances, would one day become a greatemperor of India. Akbar’s childhood was spent in misery. When he became fiveyears old, arrangements for his education was made, But his heart was not instudies. He was staying with Bairam Khan in Punjab when he got the news of hisfather’s death. Bairam Khan held Akbar’s coronation at that very place on February14,1556 and declared him the emperor of Delhi. Akbar was thirteen years old atthe time. Akbar was very young, his guardian, Bairam Khan looked after theaffairs of the state.

At the beginning Akbar had to face a lot of dif-ficulties. Delhi and Agra were under the controlof Adil Shah Sur and his Chief Minister wasHemu. The Rajputs also were seeking anopportunity to regain their lost power. SikandarShah Sur was creating trouble in Punjab.Kabul was in Mirza Hakims Possession.

Besides this, there were a number ofsmall Kingdoms. Akbar was short of moneyand the economic conditions of thecountry was in a shambles.

Akbar’s first conflict was with Hemu. A fierce battle took place on thehistorical plains of Panipat on November 15, 1556.A.D. between the two armies.Hemu was a general of proved merit and he had a large army. But on beingpierced by an arrow suddenly in the eye, he fell down. On his removal from thebattlefield confusion and stampede took place among his soldiers. The Mughalarmy was victorious. Hemu was taken prisoner and later on, put to death. As aresult of the victory in the second battle of Panipt. Akbar regained his control

Fig 7.1 Akbar

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over Delhi and Agra. Once again the authority of the Mughals was established innorthern India.

When Akbar came of age he took the reign of administration into his ownhands from Bairam Khan. After establishing his authority on a sound footing inDelhi and Agra, he decided to extend the area of Mughal domination. He advancedto conquer the important forts of Gwalior, Ajmer and Jaunpur. He sent his armyunder the command of Adham khan and Pir Muhammad to gain control overMalwa. The ruler of Malwa, Baj Bahadur was given to luxury and was a loverof music. Mandu was his capital. Getting defeated Baj Bahadur showed his backbut later on surrendered himself.

Akbar set him free and took him into his army.Akbar sent one of his generals Asaf Khan to attack on Gondwana. This

kingdom was situated in the areas around Jabalpur and Mandla of the presentMadhya Pradesh. In those days the widow queen Durgawati used to rule there onbehalf of her minor son, Vir Narayan. She faced the army squarely taking asword in her hand but when she had no hopes of victory she put an end to herlife. Vir Narayan also died fighting like hero. Asaf Khan plundered the limitless

wealth of the Kingdom.

Akbar was convinced that to rule overIndia could be possible only with the supportof the Hindus as well as the Muslims. He putthis principle into Practice firstly by establishingfriendly relations with the Rajputs. He mademany pacts and alliances with the Rajputs. Hecemented this friendly relations with marriagealliances between his family and those of theRajputs. He himself married a number of Rajputprincesses. He also appointed many Rajputs onhigh offices of his administration. The result ofthis was that the Mughal Administration wasbenefitted by the services of many Rajput Chiefs.The son of the king of Amer, Mansingh was oneof his most prominent and efficient generals.

With the help of his Rajput friends Akbarwas successful to annex to his empire such fortsas Chittore and Rartthambhor. Nevertheless, theruler of Mewar, Udaisingh did not accept defeatFig 7.2 Queen Duragwati

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Fig 7.3 Maharana Pratap

and after his death his son, Maharana Pratapcarried on his struggle against Akbar. A veryfierce battle took place in 1577 A.D. on theplains of Haldi Ghati between the armies ofRana Pratap and Akbar.

The Army of Rana Pratap taught theMughal army a good lessons of life. Finally,the Mughal army was victorious. Rana Pratapwas taken away to a safe place. Rana Pratapunderwent a lot of hardships, wandered fromforest to forest, ate bread made out of grass,but kept up his dignity, honour and glory. Uptothe end of his life, he did not accept Akbar’sdomination and continued to struggle for hismotherland. Prior to his death, he did regainhis control over the whole of Mewar except Chittore.

Akbar’s desire was to exercise control over the whole of India. Heconquered Gujarat and Bengal. Since there areas were connected with the sea,they were Important trade centres. Traders in Gujarat traded with the Arabs andthe Europeans. Likewise Bengal traders traded with south-east Asia and Chinain spices and cloth. The profits from the trade in both these provinces went to theMughal treasury.

Akbar also annexed to his empire the Kingdoms of Khandesh, Ahmednagar,Bijapur and Golconda. In those days Chand Bibi ruled over Ahmednagar as theguardian of the minor nephew. When the Mughal army attacked Ahmednagar,Chand Bibi faced the Mughal onslaught very boldly. She did not accept defeattill the end. After the death Chand Bibi, the kingdom of Ahmednagar was mergedwith the Mughal empire.

Akbar conducted attacks on Orissa and also on the places of militaryimportance in the North-Western border provinces like Kabul, Baluchistan andKandhar and expanded his empire.The Administration of Akbar

Akbar was an unbriddled aristocrat. He built up a vast empire and applieda uniform system of administration throughout the country. He brought about thefollowing improvements in order to reinforce the administration :-

Akbar divided the whole empire into 15 Subas (Provinces) and every Subawas divided, into Sarkars and every Sarkar into Parganas. The highest officer of

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every Suba was a Subedar who was responsible for the maintenance of law andorder in the Suba. The Dewan kept the record of land revenue. The Bakshi metthe needs of the army and sent necessary information regularly to the Capital.The administration of a city was the responsibility of the Kotwal. The system oftransferring the officers from one place to another from time to time was alsostarted.

The Mansabdari system was established in order to strengthen the adminis-tration. Under this system each noble was given a mansab (rank). The rank of amansab was valued high or low according to the number of mounted soldiersone was authorized to keep. These were from 10 to 10,000 in number. Theemperor could deploy the army of a mansabdar as he liked. The emperor had aselect band of soldiers and an artillery. Therefore, there was not the fear of anyMansabdar’s using his army against the emperor.

The land-development carried out during Akbar’s time were of great im-portance and the credit for this goes to his Dewan, Todarmal. He executed tenyear settlements. First of all, land was divided into categories measure the fieldschains made of bamboos were introduced. The land revenue was fixed at one-third of the annual produce calculated on a ten year average. The cultivatorcould credit the revenue either in cash or in kind; according to his convenience.The officers in charge of land development were paid handsome salaries so thatthey did not trouble the farmers.

The sources of Income of the State :

The sources of income were the mint inheritence, presents, monopoly trade,self tax, octroi duty and land tax. The chief sources out of these was the revenue.

The trade system:

Agriculture was the main occupation. Fishing, saltmaking, making opiumand liquor were the other common occupations. The useful trades of cloth -making, paper making, production of equipments for war, making utensils ofdifferent metals were in a state of development; cotton cloth making made agreat progress. Trade both internal as well as external made a good progress.

The religious policy:

At the beginning, Akbar was a staunch muslim. But gradually religiousliberation and tolerance came to him. He adopted a policy of equality, freedom,tolerance, liberalism and compromise with regard to all religions. Akbar himself

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was intelligent He could analyse and test the other Scriptures in the light ofreason. He built a place of worship (Ibadat Khana) at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575AD. where he would hold discussions with the saints and learned men belongingto different religions. He studied the basic principles of all religions and cameto the conclusion that the fundamental principles of all religions were the same.Although the paths of realization were different. He made no discriminationamong Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists and showed anattitude of respect towards all religions. In order to attain compromise and ad-justment. among the different religions and to establish a new religion he starteda new sect called the Din-i-Ilahi. Akbar accepted the principles of conduct andbehavior of the Hindu religion. He used to put’ on a ‘tilak’ on his forehead andperformed worship also. He stopped realizing the Zazia tax from the Hindus.Pilgrimage tax imposed on the Hindus was abolished. Hindu women used toworship different Gods and goddesses in his palace.

The consequences of Akbar’s Religious Policy:

1. The fanaticism and bigotism of Islam were turned down by Akbar’s’religious policy.

2. Akbar’s state authority was strengthened by the support of the Hindus.As a result, the successors of Akbar could rule peacefully for about150 years after him.

3. Akbar’s liberal policy brought about a coordination and cohesion inthe society.

4. The non-muslims gave up opposing the Mughal rule.

5. On account of his policy it became possible to establish peace andstrengthen the economic position of the country.

6. A fusion between the Hindu and the Muslim cultures took place onaccount of the coming together of the Hindus and the Muslims.

Development of Fine Arts and Literature:

(1) Literature: Tremendous progress was made during the reign of Akbarin the fine Arts and Literature. Famous poets and literary men like Surdas, Tulsidas,Abdul Rahim Khankana, Raskhan, Birbal, Keshav das, Abul fazal, Faizi, Badayunietc. lived during Akbar’s rule. ‘Sursagar’ of Surdas, ‘Ram Charit Manas’ of

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Tulsidas, ‘Ramchandrika’ of Keshav Das, ‘Akbar-Nama’ of Abul Fazal and also‘Aine Akbai’ were very famous in literary works. Akbar got Sanskrit bookstranslated into Persian. He himself however was not lettered.

(2) Music and Painting : Music made progress during Akbar’s time.Emperor of Music, Tansen, was afamous singer of his court. Akbarpartronised painting also. He invitedartists from overseas to teach painting.A fusion of the Indian and the Persianstyles of painting began to be madeduring Akbar’s time. Bright colourswere used in the paintings of the time.

Paintings of trees,rivers,mountains, animals and human beings used to be done very attractively.

(3) Architecture: A mixing of the Indian and the Persian style ofarchitecture was done in the buildings built during Akbar’s time.

Akbar got forts built in Agra, Lahore, and Allahabad. The fort of Agra is afine specimen of architecture. Akbar built a city Fatehpur Sikri by name. Thebuildings of importance here were the Diwan-e-Khas, the Diwan-e-Aaam, thepalace of Mariam, the palace of the Turk Sultan, Jodhabai’s palace, Birbal’s pal-ace. Jama Masjid, the tomb of Sheikh Saleem Chistie, the Buland Darwaza etc.

Akbar a great National Emperor:

If we consider things from a wider angle, all of Akbar’s actions go to provehim to be a national emperor. He laid the foundation of a secular state by givingthe freedom of religion to all. He treated the Rajputs with honour. He tried toremove the evil social customs. He established political unity in the country byconquering the largest areas of the country. Discrimination was done away withwhile making appointments to the posts under the Government. He encouragedinter-caste marriages. During his reign great advancement was made in the fieldsof literature, music, painting and architecture.

Fig 7.4 Akbar’s mausoleum at Sikandara

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EXERCISES

Essay-type Questions:l. What were the primary difficulties during Akbar’s accession to the

throne?

2. What were the battles fought by Akbar for the expansion of hisKingdom?

3. Explain Akbar’s Rajput policy?

4. Explain Akbar’s administrative system?

5. Explain the taxation system of Akbar?

6. What was Akbar’s religious policy? What was its influence on thesociety of that time.?

7. Explain the development in literature and Arts during Akbar’s time.

8. “Akbar was a great national emperor” Elucidate.

Short-answer question :9. Describe the second battle of Panipat and mention its results.

10. How and why did Akbar free himself from his guardian, BairamKhan?

11. Mention the incident of queen Durgawati’s sacrifice.

l2. How did Maharana Pratap struggle to save his motherland?

13. How did Chand Bibi struggle against the Mugha1s?

14. What was the influence of Akbar’s Rajput policy on the minds of thepeople?

15. Mention the characteristics of the mansabdari system of Akbar.

16. Give any five results of Akbar’s religious policy.

17. Make a mention of the famous buildings of Akbar’s time?

18. Choose the correct alternative and write it:

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(a) The most important result of the battle of Panipat was that :(1) Hemu was killed.

(2) Akbar got control over Delhi.

(3) The Mughals struck roots in India.

(4) It facilitated Akbar to win other victories.

(b) The main result of Akbar’s Rajput policy was that :(1) It brought about Hindu-Muslim Unity.

(2) Akbar got reliable persons to help him.

(3) Akbar secured the faith of the people.

(4) Akbar made himself free from treacherous courtiers.

(c) Among Akbar’s measures of improving the strength of the army,the most important was :

(1) to abolish the Jagir system.

(2) to pay the salary in cash

(3) to start the Mansabdari system.

(4) to keep the navy.

(d) Akbar is considered a national emperor because :(1) he expanded the Mughal empire in India.

(2) he abolished evil social customs.

(3) he brought about improvement in literature and art.

(4) he ruled as a secular ruler.

(e) Collect the pictures of the famous buildings of Akbar’s time.

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CHAPTER 8

THE AGE OF SPLENDOUR AND WEALTH

Akbar established a vast empire with his strength and made arrangementfor its efficient administration. In reality it was Akbar who was the founder ofthe Mughal empire because he put it on a permanent footing. This made itsufficiently easy for his successor, Jehangir and for the two later rulers, Shahjahanand Aurangzeb to rule. During their reigns the area under Mughal control wasexpanded and its revenue increased. Life at the court went on becoming moreand more luxurious. That is why this age came to be known as the age of splendourand wealth.

Jehangir :After the death of Akbar in 1605 A.D. his eldest son, Salim, ascended the

throne by the name of Jehangir. Before that he was the Subedar (Governor) ofAwadh and Bengal. In the beginning he managed the administration well and

made no changes in the religious and administrativepolicies of Akbar.

Jehangir was educated and learned. He had a verygood knowledge of Turkish and Persian. He wrote hisreminiscences in“Tuzuki-Jehangiri” inwhich persian style canbe seen. This work ofJehangir provides uswith a lot of informationabout his reign.

He had a great attachment for painting andwas himself a painter of a high order. DuringJehangir’s time the art of Painting reached its zenith.

Marriage with Nur Jahan :In 1611 A.D.Jehangir married NurJahan. She,

was a beautiful and intelligent woman. Jehangirwas very deeply influenced by her beauty and Fig 8.2 Nur Jahan

Fig 8.1 Jehangir

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ability. Nur Jahan’s influence continued to grow on the administration and Jehangirdisplayed growing indifference in the affairs of the state and sank into a life ofluxury. He also fell ill for a long period and during that time, Nur Jahan shoulderedhis responsibilities and carried on the administration of the empire. Nur Jahanappointed her kith and kin to the high posts of administration and this gave rise todissatisfaction among the courtiers.The main events of Jehangir’s reign :

On the whole the reign of Jehangir was peaceful. Not many battles werefought in his time. He consolidated the authority of the Mughals in Bengal. Thestruggle that had started between Akbar and the king of Mewar, Rana Pratap,came to an end with Pratap’ s son, Amar Singh’s entering into a treaty Jehangircontinued his father’s policy of matrimonial alliances with the Rajputs. He senthis army to the hills of Punjab and took control of Kangra. The clash with theAhmednagar Kingdom was a source of trouble. Jehangir sent a large army underthe command of Prince Khurram for an attack but having got frightened MalikAmber, the ruler of Ahmednagar, made a treaty and the struggle ended then andthere. Thus Jehangir made the Mughal empire more powerful.

During Jehangir’s reign the king of Iran recaptured the Kandhar Province.This was a loss to the empire.

Jehangir had to face internal revolts also. His son, Khurram (Shah Jahan)revolted against him because Nur Jahan wanted Shaheryar to be the successor ofJehangir. However, this revolt was put down.

Jehangir’s general, Mahawat Khan also revolted but Nur Jahan managed tocrush it with her insight and he fled towards the south.

The European traders had started arriving during Akbar’s reign itself. Duringthe reign of Jehangir the king of England sent Sir Thomas Roe as his ambassador.He tried to execute a trade agreement with Jehangir, but failed. Sir Thomas Roeas his ambassador. He tried to execute a trade agreement with Jehangir, butfailed. Sir Thomas Roe lived in Agra for three years. He has given a livelyaccount of the life in the Mughal court.

Jehangir is specially remembered for the chain of justice. He had a goldenchain with bells tied to it hung by the wall of his palace. Any person was free toappeal against injustice by pulling that chain.

Shah Jahan :The reign of Shah Jahan, the builder of the World famous ‘Taj Mahal’ was

the period of highest glory for the Mughals.Shah Jahan was Jehangir’s son.

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After the death of his father 1628 AD.He succeeded to the throne. In the ca-pacity of a prince, he had participatedin a battle in which he displayed thequalities of an efficient general. He hadhis marriage with Arjumand Banu, whowas very beautiful and was the daughterof Asaf Khan. Shah Jahan confirmed onher the title ‘Mumtaj Mahal’. It was onher grave that the world famous ‘Taj Mahal’ was built.

Soon after his coming to the throne Shah Jahan had to face the revolts of theRajputs of Bundel Khand and the Mughal Governor Khan-e-Jahan Lodi, theDeccan. The revolt in Bundelkhand was suppressed easily, but the Deccan hadby this time become an area of trouble for the Mughals. Shah Jahan paid hisattention to this problem. Ahmednagar was made a part of the Mughal empire1636 A.D. He forced Bijapur and Golconda also accept the Mughal supremacy.Shah Jahan made his son, Aurangzeb the Governor of the Deccan. Aurangzebtried his utmost to conquer Bijapur and Golconda and annex these to the Mughalempire. But he could not get complete success. Another group in the south tooppose the Mughal authority was that of the Marathas. We shall learn about themin detail later on.

After sorting out the problems in the Deccan, Shah Jahan concentrated hisattention on the north west In order to secure- the defence of the north-westernborder he sent his armies to Balkh and Badak Shan in central Asia. He recaputredKandhar from the Shah of Iran in 1688 A.D. but this victory did not last longbecause Kandhar again went out of his hands.

By this time the Portuguese had become quite powerful on the eastern coast.They had established a business settlement at Hugli. Using it to do piracy in theBay of Bengal.

The Mughal armies cleared them out of Hugli. Then the armies advancedtowards the north-east and annexed Kamrupa in Assam.

Shah Jahan was taken ill in 1657 A.D. The war of succession ensued soonafter amongst his four sons Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb and Muravd. AmbitiousAurangzeb defeated all his brothers and captured the throne. He also imprisonedhis father, Shah Jahan had to spend his last days in great misery. He used to lookat the Taj Mahal from the fort and remember his queen, Mumtaj Mahal. At last

Fig 8.3 Mumtaj Begun and Shah Jahan

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Shah Jahan died as a prisoner in1666 A. D.

Shah Jahan’s reign was aperiod of great splendor. He builta city “Shah Jahanabad” in hisname and made it his capital. It isa part of Delhi at present. It washere that he erected the JamaMasjid and the Red fort.

The “Takhit-i-Taus” i.e. thePeacock throne, which wasstudded with costly jewels was placed in this very fort and Shah Jahan used tosit on it. The world renowned diamond, ‘Kohinoor’ was studded into this throneand it was later looted and taken away by Nadir Shah.

At present this diamond is lying safe in the British Museum.Aurangzeb became the Mughal emperor in 1658A.D. He ruled for nearly

fifty years. The greatest expansion of the Mughal empire was made during hisreign.

Aurangzeb, on account of his policy of religious fanaticism gave up Akbar’spolicy of religious tolerance. He imposed a lot of restrictions on the non-muslims.On account of this policy the loyalty of the Hindus towards the Mughal rule cameto an end, The Jats, the Rajputs, the Sikhs and the Marathas revolted against it;one after the other. Most of Aurangzeb’s time was consumed in putting downthese rebellions. This adversely affected the administration.The Jat Rebellion:

The Jats of Mathura rebelled under Gokula’s leadership against theattrocities of Aurangzeb. Twenty thousand Jats confronted the Mughal army, butGokula was taken prisoner and, later on; he was sentenced to death and executedin Agra. The enthusiasm of the Jats did not, however, weaken at this. They carriedon the rebellion under the leadership of first, Rajaram and then Chudaman. Theserebellions took place in the life time of Aurangzeb and continued even after thatand helped the decline of the Mughal empire.

The Sikh Revolt:Aurangzeb was unhappy with the Sikhs. After the death of the Seventh Guru

he tried to take advantage of the differences over the succession of the Guru’sthrone. In the meantime, the power of the Sikhs was increasing. The ninth Guru,Teg Bahadur, built a fort at Anandpur. In order to put an end to the increasing

Fig 8.5 Taj Mahal Agra

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power of the Sikhs, the Mughal administration ordered the execution of GuruTeg Bahadur in 1675 A.D. This, naturally created a deep anger among the Sikhs,His son, Guru Govind Singh, organised the Sikhs and made them militant.Henceforth the expression ‘Khalsa’ which meant ‘the pure’ began to be used forthe Sikhs. To bring about uniformity among the Sikhs it was made compulsoryfor everyone of them to have the five characteristics: Kesha (hair), Kangha(Comb), Kara (Iron bracelet), Kripan (dagger), and Kachcha (underwear). Withthese measures Guru Govind Singh turned to Sikhs into a powerful organization.Which made Punjab a serious danger spot for the Mughal authority. Under theleadership of Guru Govind Singh the Sikhs carried on their struggle against themughals for long time.The Rajput Rebellion:

The Rajputs had contributed a lot to the strengthening of the foundation ofthe Mughal empire; but Aurangzeb hated them. He was afraid of the powerfulcourtier, Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur. After his death in 1678 AD. Aurangzeb triedto annex his kingdom, Jodhpur (Marwar). At this the Rajputs, under the leadershipof Durgadas Rathore, revolted. Aurangzeb sent his son, Akbar to crush it. but theRajputs won him over their side. Afterwards Aurangzeb made a treaty with RanaJai Singh of Mewar. But the struggle of the Rathores continued unabated till thelast days of Aurangzeb’s life.The Maratha Rebellion:

The Marathas were the small, chieftains under the control of the DeccanKingdoms. They were strong in the hilly region around Pune (Poona) and theKonkan. The strength of the Marathas was continuously increasing under Shivaji’sleadership. Seeing the weakening of the Bijapur Kingdom Shivaji tried to makehimself an independent ruler. The King of Bijapur sent his general, Afzal Khanto fight against Shivaji but Shivaji killed him. Then Aurangzeb got purturbed. Hesent the governor of the Deccan, Shaista Khan to fight against. Shivaji, but onShivaji’s making a sudden attack, Shaista Khan had to flee for his life. In 1665AD. Aurangzeb sent Raja Jai Singh to lead an attack on Shivaji. Although JaiSingh did not get success in it, he made Shivaji agree to go to the Mughal courtby the treaty of Purandar Shivaji came to the court at Agra along with Jai Singh.He was not received with due honour and dignity which annoyed him. Aurangzebput him under confinement in Agra, With great shrewdness Shivaji slipped out ofthe confinement. On reaching Deccan Shivaji declared himself to be theindependent ruler of the Maratha Kingdom. Shivaji sat on the throne in 1674A.D. During the six years of his reign he was successful in establishing a powerful

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Maratha Kingdom. His death occurred in the year 1680 A.D.

Shivaji’s administration was of high order, which was inspired by theideals of public welfare. The reins of the Maratha Kingdom were in the hands ofthe king, but there was a committee of eight persons called Ashta-Pradhan toadvise him on the affairs of the State. The main-source of income was the tax onland which amounted to two-fifths of the land produce. In addition to this, taxescalled ‘Chauth’ and ‘Sardesmukhi’ were also levied on those living outside theMaratha Kingdom (the areas under the Mughal empire and the Deccan). ‘Chauth’was one fourth of tax which the farmers paid to the other kingdoms of the Deccan

or to the Mughal empire.‘Sardeshmukhi’ used tobe over and above theabove mentioned tax andwas one tenth of the totalrevenue. The areas fromwhere these taxes wererealized, where kept freefrom the Maratha lootingand attacks.

Shivaji’s characterwas unique. He was anable administrator. Hewas inspired by thefeeling of public welfarein his rule. He consoli-dated the scatteredpower of the Marathasand organized it in theform of a powerful na-tion. He was a highly re-ligious man but he alsomaintained an attitude oftolerance towards otherreligions. He had a deep

respect for women. He issued strict standing orders to his army not to do anyharm to the women and children of the enemies and to the standing crops. Shivaji’sname will always be remembered as an uplifter of the nation.

Map 8.9Map of India : The Kingdom of Shivaji-India 1680 A.D.

Present external Boundary of India

INDIA 1680 A.D.KINGDOM OF SHIVAJI

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A LARABIAN

SEA

Trichunapalli

Baroch

Machchalipatnam

Pondichery

Madras

Tanjore

Karwar

Burhanpur

Bombay

ElichpwarNagpur

SataraPune

Kolhapur

Beleari

Mysore

INDIA

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The Bijapur & Golconda Kingdoms :In the Deccan the kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda were a problem for

the Mughal rulers. Being an orthodox Sunni Aurangzeb harboured enmity towardsthese princely states right from the time of his father, because their rulers wereShia Muslims. The seige of Bijapur and Golcunda continued for years together.At least, both were merged with the Mughal empire although, later on, both thesekingdoms went out of the control of the Mughals.

Social and Cultural life in the Mughal Period:The Society: The society during the mughal period was feudal. It was divided

into three classes the high, the middle and the low, The emperor occupied the higheststatus. He lived a life of luxury and splendor among the feudatories were Iranians,Turanis, Indian Muslims and Amirs as well as kings. Their dresses and interestsexhibited high splendor and glory. The Jagirdars and the Zamindars were very richand lived a luxurious life.They spent money freelyon hunting, fights ofanimals and birds, musicand songs, drinking,gambling and throwinglavish parties. Theofficers of the state andthe middle class. Peopleof this class whosenumber wascomparatively less, liveda peaceful and contentedlife. In the lowest classwere included thefarmers, artisans andlabourers. Their numberwas a legion. Their lifewas full ofdiscontentment andpoverty because theirwages were very low anwhereas the taxes and, theprices were quite high.

Map 8.10Map of India : Aurangzeb’s Empire in In India 1700 A.D.

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A L

ARABIANSEA

Delhi

Kashmir

Khandesh

Ahmadnagar

Ajmer

Gujrat

BiharRajputAllahabad

Lahor

e

Golkunda

Berar

Hydrabad

Madurai

Present external Boundary of India

INDIA 1700 A.D.KINGDOM OFAURANGZEB

Malva

Agra

Orissa

INDIA

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Villages had little contact with the towns and cities. Their modes of living,their mores were as they had been before. There was not, much of a difference inthe dresses of the Hindus and the Muslims. Things like practising magic andMagical spells, consideration of omens, holding the gurus, pirs and mendicantsand fakirs in reverence bowing heads at the mausoleums and dargahs etc were invogue equally was among the Hindus and the Muslims. People belonging to boththe communities participated in the festivals of each other.

Economic ProgressThe Mughal period was a period of prosperity in agriculture and trade. The

measures of land reforms introduced by Akbar brought about improvement in thecondition of the farmers. In addition to food grains, canes, cotton, indigo, tobaccoand silk were grown in large quantities. Different kinds of industries alsoflourished. The cloth industry prospered a lot during this period, Mulmul ofDacca, Zari-work of Banaras, cotton, cloth of Bengal, Bihar and Gujaral, Woollencloth of Kashmir were the items of world-renown. Factories were run by theGovernment in which thousands of workers and - labourers were employed. Thetrade of the time was chiefly in the hands of the Hindus. The chief centres oftrade during this period were Delhi, Agra Lahore, Banaras, Surat, Machchlipattamete. India’s foreign trade was done with countries like Perisa, China, East Africa,Russia and Western Europe. The country was getting prosperous by the incomefrom the trade.

Literature and Education:Many a Mughal emperor was either himself learned or patronized learned

men. As a result, in addition to the production of original literary works in Persianand Hindi Works of translation also were done.

Babur himself wrote his autobiography, ‘Babur-nama’ in the Turkishlanguages. Humayun’s sister, Gulbadan wrote Humayan in Persian. Humayanhimself was lover of literature. During Akbar’s reign translation of theMahabharata, the Ramayana, the Atharvayeda, Nal-Damayanti, Tuzuk-i-Babri,the Bible, the Quaran etc. were made into Persian. Books of historical importancelike ‘Akbar-nama’ and ‘Ain-e-Akbari’ were written by Abul Fual. EmperorJehangir wrote his autobiography ‘Tuzk-i-Jehangiri,’ The ‘Bhagwat Gita’ andthe Upanishads were translated into Persian during Shah Jahan’s time. MuhammadSadiq wrote a book entitled .’Shah Jahan nama. ‘Aurangzeb compiled a treatise‘Tatwah-e-Alamgiri’ with the help of some muslim books.

On account of the Bhakti movement during the Mughal rule, Hindi literaturemade an unprecedented advancement. Akbar had, in his court, high-ranking poets

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like Mansingh, Birbal, Abdul-Rahim Khankhana etc. It was during the time ofAkbar that Surdas wrote ‘Sursagar’ and Raskhan and Meera composed literaryworks in devotion of Krishan. Tulsi Das also produced his famous poetic work,‘Ramcharit Manas’ during this very period. Senapati, Bhushan Dev, Bihari etc.were the other poets of repute who produced poetic works in Hindi.

There was no formal government arrangement for public education duringthe Mughal period. The nature of education was chiefly religious, and the schoolssituated in the temples and the mosques were the main centres of education.There were madrsas and school for higher education in which there was’arrangement for the study of Mathematics, Astrology and Medicine. Girls hadtheir education at home. The main centres of muslim education were Agra, Delhi,Jaunpur, Lahore and Ahmedabad. Banaras and Nadia in Bengal were the Hinducentres of higher learning. The court language of the Mughals was Persian, butpeople used Urdu and Hindi in villages and towns. Lucknow and Delhi becamethe centres of Urdu poetry during the eighteenth century.Architecture:

Architecture received a special encouragement during the Mughal period.We find an admixture of the Central Asian, South-east Asian and Indian styles inthe architecture of this period.

The process of building construction started primarily during Akbar’s time.He got built many buildings in Agra, Lahore, Allahabad and Fatehpur Sikri. Thebuildings of Fatehpur. Sikri are of a high quality from the artistic point of view.A special mention deserves to be made of the Diwan-e-Aam, the Diwan-e-Khas,the palace of Mariam, the Jama Masjid, the Buland Darwaza among them. Allthese buildings are made of red stone. During Jehangir’s time marble stone beganto be used. The tomb of Akbar in Sicandara built during Jehangir’s time is afamous building.

The reign of Shah Jahan is considered to be the golden period of architectureon account of the magnificent and attractive buildings constructed during thetime. He built magnificent buildings, forts, mosques, tombs in Agra, Lahore,Delhi, Kabul, Kandhar, Ajmer, Ahmedabad etc. The Diwan-e-Aam, ,the Diwan-e-Khas and the Moti Masjid and the fort of Agra are his famous bui1dings. Hechanged his capital from Agra to Delhi and laid the foundation of the city ofShahjahanabad. Of the buildings erected, here the Red Fort and the Jama Masjidare the main ones. The most famous building of Shah Jahan is the Taj Mahal. It isa building made of white marble stone. From the artistic point of view no otherbuilding is comparable to it.

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Painting: The most important painting technique of the period was the tech-nique of miniature painting. The art of painting reached its zenith during Jehangir’stime. He himself was a painter and connoisseur of art. He could recognize theartist by just looking at the painting of the painters of his time Farooq Beg, UstadMansoor and Bisan Das were very high class painter, Painting did not receiveany special encouragement during the time of Aurangzeb.

Music: The Mughal emperors had an interest in music Babur himself knew alot of about art. Humayun loved music. Akbar himself was a good singer. He had inhis court many musicians of repute. Tansen was one of his nine jewels in the courton whom was conferred the title of “The emperor of music.” There were manysingers in Jehangir’s court also. Sahah Jahan’s voice was very sweet. Ramadas andMahapatra were the famous singers of his court. Aurangzeb was against music.Consequently, many musicians left the Mughal court and went away to the courts ofthe provincial governors, the Rajput kingdoms of Rajasthan and the Kingdoms onthe hills. That caused the growth of interest in music in these areas. Later on, manygharanas (schools) of music were established.

The Mughal rulers were lovers of nature. They got the famous gardens built inKashmir and they also beautified their buildings by having gardens around them.

EXERCISES

I. Select the most appropriate words from the brackets and fill inthe blanks :

1. During Jehangir’s time the greatest progress was made in the art of.................(painting, music, writing)

2. Shah Jahan got the Red Fort built in..................(Delhi,Lahore,Agra).

3. ....................came to the court of Jehangir as the ambassador of theking of England. (Hawkins, Columbus, Sir Thomas Roe)

4. Vir Durgadas fought against the Mughals for the safety of the Kingdomof..............(Mewar, Marwar, Khandesh).

5. Shivaji sat on the throne in the year ....................(1574, 1674, 1680).

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II. Match the contents of column A with those of B :A B

1. Humayun-nama 1. Abut Fazal

2. Akbar-nama 2. Muhammad Sadiq

3. Sur sagar 3. Humayun

4. Shah Jahan-nama 4. Gulbadan

5. Ramcharit Manas 5. Surdas

6. Tulsidas

III. Answer briefly the following questions :-1. Describe the Major events of Jehangir’s reign.

2. Describe Noor Jahan’s influence on the Government.

3. Which rebellions had Shah Jahah to face in the beginning?

4. Describe the relations of Aurangzeb with Shivaii.

5. What do you know about Shivaji’s administration?

6. What were the results of the policy of religious fanaticism ofAurangzeb?

7. Name the famous buildings of the Mughal period.

8. Why did the Sikhs revolt during the time of Aurangzeb?

9. Describe the economic condition of the Mughal period.

10. Give an account of the progress made in literature during the Mughalperiod.

11. Describe the condition of the society during the Mughal period.

12. Give an account of the war of succession for Shah Jahan’s throne.

IV. Interesting things to do:1. Prepare an album of the buildings built in the Mughal period. Write

the name of the person who constructed it against each building.

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CHAPTER 9

THE FALL OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

Aurangzeb was the last powerful Mughal emperor. His empire spread allover India, from the north to the south. Before him no other emperor had such avast empire. But after his death in 1707 A.D. the Mughal empire became veryweak. New powers came into existence in the form of Kingdom.

During the Mughal reign there used to be fighting’s on the question of suc-cession. After Aurangzeb’s death such as infighting took place among his sons.The son victorious in this fight acceeded to the throne by name of Bahadur Shah.The four years of his rule were full of problems and difficulties.

During Bahadur Shah’s reign, the Rajputs and the Sikhs took to rebellion.Bahadur Shah could do nothing to suppress them. After his death again the battlefor succession ensured and several rulers came on the throne for a short period.But all of them were incapable and powerless. Taking advantage of the weaknessof the administration Banda Bairagi led the Sikh rebellion and decided to set upan independent Sikh Kingdom in the Punjab. The Afghans settled in Ruhelkhandalso revolted against the Mughal rule. Taking advantage of the weakness of theMughal rule the governors of Hyderabad, Bengal and Awadh establishedindependent Kingdoms in their respective provinces.

While the Mughal rulers were already facing and suffering from the internalrebellions. Nadir Shah, the king of Iran and Ahmed Shah Abdali, the king ofKabul invaded India.

Nadir Shah plundered Delhi to his heart’s content and took away with himthe famous. ‘Takht-i-Taus’ of Shah Jahan and the Kohinoor diamond to Iran. Onthe other side after, consolidating their strength, the Marathas were extending thesphere of their influence to northern India. As a result, the famous third battle ofPanipat took place between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Marathaswere defeated in this and they had to go away from the north. But on account ofthese attacks the Mughal empire remained restricted just to the areas aroundDelhi. They remaind just nominal rulers. Real power passed into the hands ofthe newly established kingdoms.

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The EuropeanTraders:

There was a greatdemand of lndian clothand spices in Europe.That is why the tradersof Europe decided totrade with India. Theytook full advantage oftheir increasing seapower.

First of-all, aPortuguese sailor,Vasco-de-Gama reachedCalicut through a newSea route. ThePortuguese carried ontheir trade with India fora long time. In theseventeenth century, theDutch, the English andthe French also came toIndia to trade. They

established trade companies. There was competition among these companies.The English companies secured their control over the cloth-trade, The placeswhere they had established their factories are today known as Madras and Calcutta.The Portuguese founded the city of Bombay, but on the marriage of the princessof Portugal with Charles-II, the ruler of England, the Portuguese gave awayBombay to the English as dowry.

The naval power of the English gradually increased to a great extent. Thetraders of Holland and Portugal could not come to their level, but the rivalry intrade with the English did not end, because now, in 1664 A. D. the Frenchcompanies established a trade centre at a place called Pondicherry. Thus, therewas again a stiff competition between the English and the French traders. TheFrench lost to the English. Now the English companies, not only were able to

Map 9.1Map of India : India is the beginning of Eighteenth Century.

INDIA IN THEEARLY EIGHTEEN

CENTURY

INDIAN OCEAN

BAYOF

B A N G A L

ARABIANSEA

Andaman &NikobarIsland(India)

Delhi

Kashmir

GujratKhandesh

Jodhpur

Bihar

Agra

Avadh

Punjab

GolcombaBijnor

Hydrabad

Cochin

BengalBerar

Calicut

Goa

Pondichery

Madras

Bijapur

Marathas

Bikaner

Mewar

Mewar

Jaipur

Lahore

Lakshyadeep

(India)

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control the trade in India but they also began to interfere in the politics of thenew kingdoms in India. This gradually enabled them to establish their rule inIndia.

The causes of the fall of the Mughal Empire :

After the death of Aurangzeb the Mughal empire broke up, but its fall hadalready begun during his very reign. It had reached- its climax in the eighteenthcentury. As we have already seen, the successors of Aurangzeb were weak andincapable. They did not possess the capacity to rule over such a vast empire.They remained puppets in the hands of the officers.

Succession wars very often took place during the Mughal period and thatwent on reducing the strength of the state. The provincial Governors becamepowerful and some of them set up independent kingdoms. Hyderabad, Awadhand Bengal became independent states on account of this very reason.

The military power of the Mughals had also weakened. The artillery, ofwhich they were very proud, had become outdated. They paid no attention to theimprovement of the guns and cannons. Instead of training the Indian personnelfor the artillery they began to appoint foreign soldiers to manage it. The Mughalsmade no efforts to modernise their army.

Many drawbacks crept into the mughal administration. Their manasabdarswere no more loyal to the Kingdom. They discontinued maintaining mountedsoldier in the required strength. Officers also began, to care more for their personalinterests.

Economic reasons were also responsible for the fall of the Mughal empire.Foreign attacks, internal rebellions and the wars of succession caused a greatdeal of money to be wasted. The number of mansabdars increased reducing thenumber of Jagirs. That affected the peasants adversely for the Jagirdars startedrealizing more from them. The wasteful and extravagant living of the mughalemperors also added to the financial crisps.

The pompous and luxurious living of the emperors, the mansabdars and thewealthy in the eighteenth century caused erosions in the moral and social valuesof the people. The aristocrats spend most of the their time in drinking, display ofwealth and ideal enjoyment. They were unable to do anything to save the empirefrom the imminent decline. Consequently, the English, who were more advanced,gradually extended their authority over the whole of India.

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EXERCISES

I. Match the content of column A with those of column B.

A B

1. Banda Bairagi 1. Fought the third battle of Panipat

with the Marathas.

2. Bahadur Shah First 2. Plundered Delhi and took away to

Iran the Takht-i-Taus.

3. Nadir Shah 3. Decided to establish an independent

Kingdom in the Punjab.

4. Ahmed Shah Abdali 4. Was an incapable Mughal ruler.

II. Fill in the blanks with the words given in brackets :

1. Vasco-de-Gama was the first........................sailor who came to In-d i a

by a new sea-route. (English, Dutch, Portuguese, French)

2. The city of Bombay was obtained by Charles, the ruler of Englandas dowry from ........ (India, Portugal, Holland, France)

3. The toughest encounter the English company had to do was withthe....................company . (Dutch, German, French, Portuguese)

III. Write ‘YES’ against the statements that are true and ‘NO’against the ones that are false.

1. Only Aurangzeb was responsible for the fall, of the Mughal empire.

2. The Mughal rulers paid no attention to increasing the sea-power.

3. The third battle of Panipat was fought between Ahmed Shah Abdaliand the English.

4. The trading companies of Europe, came to India after the death ofAurangzeb.

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IV. Answer briefly the followoing questions:-

1. Which were the new kingdoms that came into existence in theeighteenth century?

2. Which defects got into the Mughal administration?

3. What was the result of the Mugha1 emperor’s policy of not payingattention to the importance of the sea power?

4. What were the reasons that compelled the Mughal rulers to faceeconomic stringency?

5. Write down the four main causes of the fall of the Mughal empire.

V. Something to do:

1. Make a list of the present day important centres of textile industry.

2. Prepare a list of important Indian Sea-ports.

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CIVICS

CHAPTER-1

OUR CONSTITUTION

The meaning of Constitution:Constitution is a collection of those rules through which a country is

governed. In our constitution the rules have been framed on the basis of thecultural values of India. The ideals of democracy, secularism and socialismhave been enshrined in it. The rights and duties of the citizens of India have alsobeen anuciated in this constitution.

According to our constitution, there are three chief organs of the Governmentof India.

1. The Legislature 2. The Executive 3. The Judiciary.

The Legislature: The law-making organ is called the legislature. The In-dian Parliament makes laws for the whole country. It has two Houses-The LokSabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The Executive:- That part of the Government which enforces law is calledthe Executive. The President, The Council of Ministers and the Public ServicesConstitute the Executive.

The Judiciary:- The disputes arising out of the encroachment of laws, aresettled by the Judiciary. The Indian judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, theHigh Courts, the Subordinate Courts the Lok Adalats and the Nyaya Panchayats.

The above three organs of the Government work independently. Along withthe division of powers, these organs co-operate with one another. Therefore, noconflict of any type arises and the balance is evenly maintained.

A short History of the Development of the Constitution :-

We celebrate 15th August, and 26th January as National Festivals each year.Our country became independent on 15th August, 1947. Therefore, this day is

Our Constitution

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called the Independence Day. This independence was achieved after a long andhard struggle by the Indian people. Before independence our country was gov-erned by the laws of the British Government. Since long, we were being exploitedby the British Government. Due to their dual policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ therewas great unrest among the Indians. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,many movements were started, one after another by the Indian National Congress.In order to crush these movements, a reign of terror was unleased by the BritishGovernment. As a result, there was a demand for freedom from every nook andcorner of the country. Thus the pressure was increasing to grant freedom to Indiaon the British Government.

In 1939, the second world war brokeout. The British Government got en-tangled in it. In India the freedom movement was gathering momentum. Indianswere not in favour of helping the British Government in the war. Indian, soldierswere considered to be very brave. Therefore, the British Government wantedthem to fight for it in the war. In order to please the Indians by giving them somesort of freedom a goodwill mission was sent to India. The mission is known asthe “Cabinet Mission.”

The Mission recommended that there should be a Constituent Assembly toframe a constitution for India. According to this recommendation, election washeld in July, 1946 to elect a Constituent Assembly of India. The members wereelected not by the people directly, but by the members of the Provincial LegislativeAssemblies.

Members of the Constituent AssemblyThe first meeting of the Constituent As-

sembly was held on 9th December, 1946. Themembers were drawn from differentcommunities and regions of India. It also hadmembers representing different politicalparties. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Pandit JawaharLal Nehru, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel,Maulana-Azad, Dr. Shyama PrasadMukherjee, Sardar Baladev Singh were someof the members. Shrimati VijayalakshmiPandit, Shrimati Sarojini Naidu andRajkumari Amrit Kaur were important women Fig 1.1 Dr. Rajendra Prasad

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members. Some constitutional experts such as Shri Alladi Krishan Swamy Ayyar,Dr. B.R Ambedkar and Shri K.M. Munshi were.

Why Republic Day on 26th January?The Constitution was passed on 26th November, 1949 by the Constituent

Assembly but it was enforced on 26th January, 1950. There is a reason for this.In its Lahore session in December, 1929, the Indian National Congress haddecided to fight for complete independence of India and 26th January, 1930 wascelebrated as the complete Independence Day. More than 30 members belongedto the Scheduled Castes. The Anglo-Indian and Parsess were represented byShri Frank Anthony and Dr. H.P. Modi. Dr. Hari Singh Gaur, Seth Govinddas,Pandit Ravishankar Shukla, Shri Gopikrishna Vijayavargiya, Shri Ram Sehciya,Shri Sitaram Jajoo, Shri H. V. Kamath, Shri Kusumkant Jain, Shri RadhavallabhVijayavargiya were some of the members from the present Madhya Pradesh. TheChairman of the Constituent Assembly was Dr. Rajendra Prasad, PanditRavisankar Shukla who belonged to Chhattisgarh was a member of the constituentassembly.

The Drafting Committee :-

The Drafting Committee was formed toprepare the draft of the constitution. Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was its Chairman. TheConstituent Assembly took about three yearsto prepare the Indian Constitution. All thesessions of the Assembly were open to thepress and the people. The views and theopinion of the people were also expressedfreely in newspapers. Thus, the people of Indiawere indirectly involved in the making of theirconstitution. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had saidthat they did not want colonial independence.They wanted complete independence. In orderto commemorate this date, the IndianConstitution was enforced on 26th January, 1950. This day was declared as theRepublic Day, because the constitution made India a Republic. The Supremeruler, the President, is elected by the people.

Fig 1.2 Pandit Nehru

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Lord Mountbatten was the Governor General of India in 1947. After himShri C. Raj Gopalachari became the first Governor General, of free India. Hewas the first Indian to hold this office. General Election was held in the countryfor the first time in 1952. Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the first elected Presidentof India.

Fig 1.3 Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Fig 1.4 Vallabh Bhai Patel

Fig 1.6 Sarojini NaiduFig 1.5 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Fig 1.7 Vijaylaxmi Pandit Fig 1.8 Rajkumari Amritkaur

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EXERCISES

I. Why was the Indian Constitution needed?

2. What is the meaning of the Constitution?

3. How was our constitution made?

4. Who was the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly?

5. Why was our constitution enforced on 26th January?

6. Who was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution?

7. Give the name of a member of the constituent assembly who belongedto Chhattisgarh ?

8. Clarify the meaning of the following :-

The Constituent Assembly the Drafting Committee.

9. Name the persen who represented Chhattisgarh as a member ofConstituent Assembly.

Practical :-Meet some old man in your locality and collect information aboutthe Indian freedom movement.

Think over :If you are asked to preside over some meeting, how will you dischargeyour duty?

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CHAPTER 2

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INDIANCONSTITUTION

Before knowing the main characteristics of the Indian constitution, it isessential to know about its preamble. The constitution of every country in theworld has its own preamble. The preamble reflects the views and the objectivesof the constitution makers and also the basic values of the country and theconstitution. We waged along battle for freedom. Themakers of the constitutionhad a dream of an idealsociety which was stated inthe following preamble :

We, the people ofIndia having solemnlyresolved to constitute Indiainto a sovereign,socialistic, secularDemocratic Republic andto secure to all its citizens;Justice, social, economicand political.

Liberty of thought,expression, belief, faithand worship.

Equality of status and of opportunity, and to promote among them allFraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the, unity and integrity ofthe Nation.

In our Constituent Assembly this 26th day of November, 1949, do herebyadopt, enact, and give to ourselves this constitution.

Fig 2.1

ge] Hkkjr ds yksx] Hkkjr dks ,d laiw.kZ izHkqRo laiUulektoknh] /keZ fujis{k yksdra=kRed x.kjkT; cukus ds fy,rFkk mlds leLr ukxfjdksa dks lkekftd] vkfFkZd vkSj jktuhfrdU;k;] fopkj vfHkO;fDr] fo�okl /keZ vkSj mikluk dh Lora=rk]izfr"Bk vkSj volj dh lerk izkIr djusds fy, rFkk mu lc esaO;fDr dh xfjek vkSj jk"Vª dh ,drk rFkk&v[k.Mrk lqfuf�prdjus okyh cU?kqrk c<+kus ds fy, n`<+ ladYi gksdj viuh bllafo/kku lHkk esa vkt rjh[k 26 uoacj 1949 bZ- ¼ferh ekxZ�kh"kZ�kqDy lIreh laor~ 2006 foØeh½ dks ,rn~ }kjk bl lafo/kku dksvaxhd`r] vf/kfu;fer vkSj vkRekfiZr djrs gSaA

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The preamble as given above clearly states that our country is now sover-eign in all matters. The ultimate source of an power is the people.

Democracy, secularism and socialism are the basic principles of our con-stitution. There are also some other features of constitution.

Sovereignty : This is the main feature of the Indian Consitution. India iscompletely independent state now. We are not subordinate to any country inexternal or internal matters. We the Indians run our own government. Our peopleis now capable of making its own government. Our Government is now capableof making its own decision in internal and foreign affairs.

Democracy : Democracy means a Government which is run by therepresentatives of the people who are elected on the basis of adult franchise.This means that each adult, man and woman, elects a representative of his or herown choice. The representatives are elected after every five years. Theserepresentatives together, form the Government.

Secularism : The State gives equal treatment to all the religions. It does notfavour any particular religion. The constitution given complete freedom to itscitizens to practise and preach their own religion.

Socialism : The achievement of socialism based on economic and socialequality is one of the chief goals of our constitution. It has been provided in it togive equal opportunities in education, employment, justice etc. to all. Specialfacilities have been given to the backward and the downtrodden people. Thedirective principles have been incorporated for the establishment of a welfareState. Presently, economic disparities create unrest in the country. Under suchcondition the country cannot make any progress. Therefore, efforts have beenmade to create a society based on social and economic equality. Socialism isone of our National Goals.

Federal system of Government :

The Federal System of Government is that system where the powers of thecentral government and the state government are well defined in the constitution.Our constitution sets up a federal system of government. In our Country, there are28 states and 7 union territories. There are separate Governments at the centreand in the states. The division of powers between the Central and the StateGovernments has been made according to the three lists in the constitution.

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1. The Union List 2. The State List 3. The Concurrent List.

1. The Union List :- Railways, Post and Telegraph, Armed Force, ExternalAffairs etc. are some of the subjects included in this list.

2. The State List :- The subjects of local, importance like Police, Jail,Education, Agriculture, Health etc. are enumerated in this list.

3. The Concurrent List :- Both the Parliament and the State Legislaturecan make laws on the subjects given in this list.

Single Citizenship:- our constitution provides for a single citizenship ofthis country. The citizen of each state is a citizen of India. We do not have thesystem of double citizenship in India. A person may be living in Madhya Pradeshor Maharashtra but he is called only the citizen of India.

The Parliamentary System:- Like Britain there is the parliamentary sys-tem of Government in India. The real power is vested in the Parliament. Theministers in the Central Cabinet are members of the Parliament. The Prime Min-ister and other ministers are answerable to the Parliament for their actions.

The Directive Principles of State Policy :To bring about economic and social welfare in the country, the directive

principles of State Policy have been stated in our constitution. The purpose is tobring social ‘equality’ in the country. Special direction have ‘been’ given for theuplift of the backward communities and the weaker sections of our society. Thereis a provision to make special laws for women. The directive principles directthe Government to work for the social well-being, security, economic and socialprosperity of the nation. There is a Directive Principle which aims at achievingfree, and compulsory education for all children up to the age of the 14 years. Thedirective principles also provide equal pay for equal work to both men andwomen.

The Fundamental Rights and Duties :The fundamental rights are the necessary condition for the development of

the personality of an individual. These help in promoting democratic values.There are six fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution, so necessary forthe development of the personality of the citizens.

The rights and duties are inter-related, One man’s duty is another man’sright Neglect of duties is a curse for humanity and it hampers the growth ofsociety. When the citizens forget their duties there is lawlessness in the society.Therefore, proper balance should be maintained between rights and duties.

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EXERCISES

1. Throw light on the main aims of the Indian Constitution.

2. Explain three main characteristics of the Indian Constitution.

3. Write a short note on anyone of the following :-(a) Democracy (b) Single Citizenship (c) The Directive Principles of State

policy.

4. Fill in the blanks :-(a) India is completely a.................state.

(b) The fundamental rights help in the development of the.....................ofa man.

(c) Neglect of duties is a.............................for humanity.

Practical :Learn the prayers of all the religions.

Think over :How do all religions promote humanity?

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CHAPTER 3

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES

In the last Chapter you have read that fundamental rights help in thedevelopment of the personality of every citizen. In almost all the democraticcountries, some rights are guaranteed to the citizen in the constitution. The IndianConstitution has guaranteed some important rights. Even the Parliament or theLegislative Assemblies cannot make any law which encroaches upon these rights.Any law which interferes with the fundamental rights can be set aside by theSupreme Court. It is only during an emergency that the fundamental rights can besuspended

Our Constitution has guaranteed six types of rights to the citizens as givenbelow:-

Our Fundamental Rights1. Right to Equality : Our constitution gives equal treatment to all the

citizens. The State cannot discriminate on the basis of religion, caste, creed, sex,language, place of birth etc. The state gives equal opportunities to everyindividual, on the basis of abilities, in the field of education, employment,profession and earning a livelihood. Untouchability has been abolished. Scheduledcastes and Scheduled Tribes have been given special facilities. Due to theirbackwardness, some seats have been reserved for them in schools, colleges andGovernment services so that they may come at par with other sections of thesociety.

All the titles, awarded before independence have been abolished. In freeIndia such distinctions as ‘Bharat Ratna’ and ‘Padmashri’ are conferred foroutstanding service to the country.

2. Right to Freedom :- Every citizen has the right to read and write, speak,hold public meeting peacefully and form any association or union. He is free togo to any part of the country and settle there. He can take up any job or trade anywhere in India. He is also free to acquire any property anywhere in the country.

3. Right against Exploitation :- The purpose of this rights is to prevent anyexploitation in society. It is an offense to buy or sell men, women and children.The constitution prohibits forced labour of beggar’. Nobody can be asked towork against his wishes. No child under the age of 14 years’ can be employed towork in any factory or mine.

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4. Right to Freedom of Religion :- Every citizen in India has the freedomto practise his own religion. People of different religions have also the freedomto preach their religion in a peaceful manner. They can also form any religiousassociation for religious purposes.

5. Cultural and Educational Rights :- Every Indian citizen has the right topreserve his own language, script and culture People in different part of thecountry speak different languages. They take pride in their language and culture.They have the right to establish their own educational institutions.

6. Right to Constitutional Remedies :- Each citizen has the right to approachthe court in order to protect his fundamental rights. If the fundamental right arecurtailed or taken away by any law of the Government the citizens, can approachthe court and challenge the action of the Government. That is why the courts aredescribed as the protectors of citizens rights.

Fundamental Duties :- Our constitution was enforced on 26th January,1950.But nothing was said about the duties of the citizens in the constitution. In orderto make people conscious about their duties, the constitution was amended in1976 and the fundamental duties of the citizens were incorporated in it. Theseare as Under :

Fig 3.1 Our Fundamental Rights

Organization

Right ToLiberty

SpeechWriting

Right ofEquality

Occupation

THEFUNDAMENTAL

RIGHT

RightAgainstExploit-

ation

Right ToEducation

Culture

Right To Liberty of Religion

Right ToConstitutional

Remedy

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1. To show respect to the Indian Constitution, the National Flag andthe National Anthem.

2. To have faith in the ideals of National Freedom Movement.

3. To protect the Integrity and Unity of the Country.

4. To Defend and Serve the Country.

5. To Develop the Spirit of Goodwill and brotherhood.

6. To Inculcate Scientific Attitude among people.

7. To Preserve the Ancient Culture.

8. To Protect Forest, lakes and Wild-life.

9. To Protect the Property of the nation.

10. To strive individually and collectively for the achievement ofNational Goods.

There is a great relationship between fundamental rights and duties’ asenshrined in the constitution. The right and duties are complementary to eachother. You cannot think of the one without the other. The rights and duties areinter related. Both are concerned with the development of a sense of responsibilityamong the citizens. By doing so, our National character is developed.

EXERCISES

1. Why are the fundamental rights essential for the citizens of the country?

2. Under the right to freedom, what types of freedom have been granted to Indian Citizens?

3. Under the right against exploitation, which evils in society have been prohibited?

4. What facilities have been provided to the weaker section of society in the Indian Constitution?

5. What rights have been given to the citizens to prevent the encroachment of the ‘Fundamental Rights?

Practical:-Make a list of some evils in the society.

Think over :-What steps will you take to remove social evils?

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CHAPTER-4

CENTRE-STATE RELATIONSHIP

Our Constitution makers have envisaged a federal system of government forour country. Ours is a vast country. People of different religions, castes, languagesand communities live here. The federal system of government is more suitablefor such big countries. This system of Government has been adopted in India.According to this system there are two set of Governments. At the National

level, there is a Central Government which includes the President, the PrimeMinister, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament. There is anotherGovernment at the State Level which includes the Governor, the Chief Minister,the Council of Ministers. the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.This dual type of government is called the Federal System of Government.

The Division of Powers between the Centre and the States

According to the constitution, the powers of the central and the stategovernment have been clearly defined in writing, in their respective areas. Thesepowers have been divided into three lists.

THE UNION THE STATE

Fig 4.1 Distribution of powers between theCenter and the State

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I. The Union List 2 The State List 3 The Concurrent List.

The Union List :- All the subjects of National importance are included inthis list. These subjects relate to the whole country, e.g. Post and Telegraph,Railway, Foreign Relations, Armed Forces, Currency etc. In all 97 subjects,

only the Parliament is entitled to make law in these subjects.

The State List :- All the localor regional subjects like Education,Health, Agriculture, Jail etc. areincluded in this list. They are 66 innumber. The State Legislature areempowered to make laws on thesesubjects for the states.

The Concurrent List:- This listcontains 47 subjects. Both theParliament and the State Legislaturesare empowered to make laws onthese subjects. If there is any disputeregarding these laws. The laws madeby the Parliament will prevail.

Fig 4.2 Subjects in the Union List

SUBJECTSIN THE

UNION LIST

Foreign Affairs Metereology Navy Army Air Force

U.N

.O.

Inte

rnat

ion

alR

elat

ion

Nat

ion

alH

igh

way

sA

irw

ays

Sh

ipin

gR

ailw

ays

Fig 4.3 Subjects in the State List

SUBJECTSIN THE

STATE LIST

Agriculture Irrigation Fisheries Roads Forests

Polic

e

Jail

Courts Hospitals

Sanitation

Veterinary

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EXERCISES

1. What do you understand by the Federal System of Government?

2. How is the division of Powers made between the centre and states?

3. Why has ‘Defence’ been included in the Union list and ‘Police’ in theState List?

4. Practical:Find out the subjects of the ‘Concurrent List’ and Prepare a list of them.

Think Over:Whose decision is final when there is a dispute between the Central

Government and a State Government? And Why?

The Indian Parliament

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CHAPTER -5

THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT

The Indian Constitution provides for a dual Government. The UnionGovernment runs the administration of the whole country specially in regard tothe subjects given in the Union list. The President, the Lok Sabha and the RajyaSabha form the Parliament in India. The Parliament is the supreme law makingbody in our country.

There are two Houses of Parliament.1. The Lok Sabha 2. The Rajya Sabha.

The Lok Sabha :- The First House of the Indian Parliament is called theLok Sabha. It is the house of the people. Its members are elected directly by the

people.

Composition :- Thenumber of elected members ofthe Lok Sabha may be upto 545.They are elected by the people.

Term : The members of theLok Sabha are elected for aperiod of 5 years.

Election :- For the electionof the members of the Lok

Sabha, the whole country is divided into constituencies. Every Indian Citizenwho is not less than 18 years of age has a right to vote. This is called AdultFranchise. The election is held through the secret ballot system.

Qualifications :- The following qualifications are necessary for the candidatesof the Lok Sabha.

1. He must be a citizen of India.

2. He should not be insolvent, mentally unsound or a convict.

Fig 5.1 The Parliament House

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3. He should not hold any office of Profit under the Government.

4. He should have completed 25 years of age.

Office-bearer :- There is one speaker and one deputy Speaker for the LokSabha. They are elected from amongst the members themselves. The speakerpresides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha. He controls the proceeding andmaintains discipline in the house.

The Rajya Sabha:- The Second House is called the Rajya Sabha.Composition :- There are in all 250 members in this house. Out of these, 12members are nominated by the President. These persons are well-known in thefields of Literature, Art Science, Social Service etc.

Election :- The members of the Rajya Sabha are indirectly elected. They areelected bymembers of theL e g i s l a t i v eAssemblies. Theage of themembers of thishouse should be30 years or more;The otherqualifications arethe same as thoseof the members ofthe Lok Sabha.

Term :- TheRajya Sabha is apermanent house.It is never dissolved. One third of the members of the Rajya Sabha retire afterevery two years and at the same time an equal number of new members areelected. A member is elected ordinarily for a period of six years.

Chairman:- The Vice President of India is the Ex-officio Chairman of theRajya Sabha. At present Shri Bhero-Singh Shekhawat is the Vice-President of India

Fig 5.2 How Laws are made

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and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In this way the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabbatogether, make the Indian Parliament. Some special facilities have been given to themembers of the Parliament. They get monthly pay and allowances. Every memberis provided with a living accommodation in Delhi. Besides this, he is entitled forfree Telephone,Free First Class Travel by rail to any part of India. Functions:- The following are some of the important functions of the Lok Sabha :-

(a) Legislative Powers :- The Parliament is the Supreme law-making bodyin the country. It makes laws for the whole country. Every bill, which is intro-duced in any of the houses of the Parliament has to go through three readings. Inthe first reading, copies of the bill are given to the members. Any member whointroduces the bill, explains the purpose of the bill. In the second reading, clauseby-clause discussion of the bill takes place. Some members support the bill whilesome other members criticise it. The suggestions given by the members are eitheraccepted or rejected. In the third reading, the bill, as a whole is finally discussedand put to vote. If the majority of the members are in favour, the bill is passed.The same procedure is repeated in the other house. After having passed by theother house also, it is sent to the President for his consent and signature. Itbecomes an Act after his signature.

(b) Passing the Budget :- The budget is approved by the Parliament. With-out the approval of the Parliament, the Government can neither in any taxes, norcan spend any amount. Thus, the Parliament keeps control on them in-come andexpenditure of the Government.

(C) Control over the Executive :- The Parliament exercises control overthe Executive. The Prime Minister and his Ministers are responsible to theParliament for their work. The Lok Sabha can remove them by passing a Noconfidence motion against them.

(d) Amendment of the Constitution :- It is only the Parliament which hasthe power to amend the constitution, if there is a need for it. Some provisions ofthe constitution can be amended only after getting the approval of the StateLegislative.

(e) Impeachment :- Through the process of Impeachment, the Parliamenthas the power to remove the President, the Vice-President and the Judges of theSupreme Court and the High Courts.

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EXERCISES

1. How is the Lok Sabha formed?

2. How are the members of the Lok Sabha elected?

3. What is the minimum age-limit for voting in the General Election inIndia? Write the correct answer.

(a) 25 years (b) 30 years (c) 18 years (d) 21 years

4. Write about each of the following in one sentence :

(a) Adult Franchise (b) The Speaker of the Lok Sabha

(c) The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

5. Describe the functions of the Parliament.

Practical :- Find out the name of the member of Parliament in your constituency.

Think Over :- Why is the Parliament a Supreme body?

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CHAPTER-6

THE PRESIDENT AND THE UNION CABINET

The office of the President is the symbol of National Dignity and Unity. Theadministration of the whole country is run on his behalf. He is supreme commanderof the three wings of the Armed Forces. According to the Indian Constitution thewhole Executive Power of the Central Government is vested in the President butthe real powers are exercised by the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.The President is only the Constitutional head. The Constitution has provided fora Council of Ministers to help the President. The Prime Minister keeps thePresident informed of all the decision of the Cabinet.

The Election of the President : The President is elected indirectly by thepeople. Members of both the houses of the Parliament and the elected membersof the State Legislative Assemblies take part in the election of the President. AtPresent Shri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is the President of India.

The Functions and Powers of the President : The President is the head of the Executive of the Indian Union. He appoints

the Prime Minister, other Ministers,the Governors, the Ambassadors, theJudges etc. He summons and adjournsParliament sessions. He alsoinaugurates the Budget Session of theParliament. Money bills are presentedwith his consent. Every bill becomesan act after his signature. The Presidenthas also some emergency powers. Hehas also the power to grant pardon.

The Central Council of Minis-ters :- We have already read that thereis a Council of Ministers to help thePresident. The Prime Minister is theleader of the Council of Minister. The Fig 6.1 Election of the President

President

Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha

Vidhan Sabha

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leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha is appointed as Prime Minister bythe President. On the advice of the Prime Minister other ministers are appointedby the President.

There are three categories of ministers

1. Cabinet Ministers 2. State Ministers 3. Deputy Ministers. The Council ofMinisters is made up of all the three. Each minister must be a member of eitherthe Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha. If he is not a member of either of the twohouses, he must become so within a period of six months from the date of takingoffice.

The Function of the Cabinet :- For the smooth running of the administration,different departments are allotted to the members of the Council of Ministers.Very often a minister is allotted more than one department. Each minister isresponsible for the work and administration of his department. The Council ofMinisters is collectively responsible to the Parliament of its actions. Beforeassuming office, each minister is administered an oath of secrecy.

The Prime Minister :- The Office of the Prime Minister is very importantin the Indian Constitution because the Prime Minister is the leader of the Majorityparty in the Lok Sabha. All the ministers work in a co-operative manner underhis leadership. The Prime Minister distributes the department among the ministers.

The Prime Minister is the Chief advisor of the President. All the importantappointment made by the President are made in consultation with the PrimeMinister. Thus the Prime Minister is the leader of the Parliament, the Council ofMinisters, the country and the people. It is mainly the Prime Minister who runsthe administration of the country.

THE CIVIL SERVICESThe cabinet decides the major issues and the policies. The concerned

minister has a major role to play in the execution of these decisions.. The ministerformulates the policies of his ministry. The execution of their policies is theresponsibility of the Civil Servants. The Civil Servants are called GovernmentServant. They execute the laws at the public level.

The Civil Servants are recruited by the Public Service Commission. Thesuccess of the Government depends upon the work of the civil servants. Education,Health, social welfare, construction of roads, the upkeep of the means of transportand Communication etc. require the services of a large number of civil servants.The civil servants should not be members of any political party.

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EXERCISES

1. Throw light on the importance of the office of the President.

2. Write the powers and functions of the President.

3 How is the Central Council of Ministers formed?

4. Describe the functions of the Council of Minister?

5. Why is the office of the Prime Minister of India so important?

6. Write short notes on the followings :

(a) Civil Services (b) Election of the President.

7. Fill up the blanks :(a) The office of the President is the..................... of National dignity

and unity.

(b) The President is only a constitutional .................

(c) The Prime Minister is the.....................of the majority party in the LokSabha.

(d) The Civil Servants are called.....................servants.

Practical :Find out the functions of the present Prime Minister of India.

Think over:If you were the Prime Minister of the country what would you do for itsdevelopment?

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CHAPTER-7

THE STATE LEGISLATURE

In the last chapter you have read about the Parliament, the President and theCentral Council of Ministers. Our country is so vast in size and population that itis difficult to control it from the centre. Therefore, in order to run it properly, ourcountry has been divided into many states. The administration of these states isrun by the State Governments.

The laws of the states are made by the state legislatures. At the centre thereare two houses of parliament. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Likewise, inthe state legislature there may be two houses, the Legislative Assembly and theLegislative Council. In our country a few states have Legislative Councils. Mostof the state have Legislative Assemblies only. In Madhya Pradesh there is onlyone house i.e. the Legislative Assembly. Like the Lok Sabha this house representsthe people of the state.

The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)The whole of Chhattisgarh is divided into 90 Assembly Constituencies.

Thus, there are 90members of theLegislative Assemblyin our state. Thebuildingof ChhattisgarhLegislative Assemblyis located in Raipur. Inthe same way there isa legislative Assemblyin each state.

The term of theLegislative Assemblyis five years. But it canbe dissolved even

earlier than five years by the Governor.

The qualifications of a member of the Legislative Assembly are the same asthose of the members of the Lok Sabha. The election of the Speaker and the

Fig 7.1 The Vidhan Sabha Bulding C.G.

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Deputy Speaker is made by the members of the ‘Legislative Assembly. Themembers of the Legislative Assembly also take part in the election of the Presidentof India and the members of the Rajya Sabha.

Our constitution has given some special powers to the Legislative Assem-bly. Under the legislative powers, the Legislative Assembly makes necessarylaws for the state on the subjects in the state list and the concurrent list. Underthe financial powers, it controls the finances of the State. It passes the budget ofthe State. It exercises control over the Council of Ministers in a variety of ways.

The Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) : There is a different procedurefor the election of the Legislative Council. One-third of its members are electedby the members of the Legislative Assembly. Another one-third is elected by thelocal bodies of the State e.g. Municipal committees, Municipal corporations andZilla Parishads. Some members are elected by the university graduates andteachers constituencies. The rest of the members are nominated by the stateGovernor. Their qualifications are the same as those of the members of the RajyaSabha. This house co-operates in the working of the Legislative Assembly.

EXERCISES

1. Fill up the blanks :-(a) There are.................. houses, in the state legislature.(b) There is ................house in the state legislature of Chhattisgarh(c) There are ..................Assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh(d) The term of the Legislative Assembly is............years.

2. Who elects the Speakers and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly?3. What are the powers enjoyed by the Legislative Assembly?4. How much of the population is represented by a member of the Legislative

Assembly?5. What is the procedure of election for the Legislative Council?

Practical:Observe the proceedings of any session of the Legislative Assembly in yourstate.

Think over:If you are made the members of the Legislative Assembly, what would you dofor the Welfare of the people?

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CHAPTER 8

THE GOVERNOR AND THE STATE COUNCIL OFMINISTERS

The Governor is the head of the state. The administration of a state is carriedon in the name of the Governor. The Governor is appointed by the President. Heholds office for five years but he can be removed before the completion of histerm and his term can also be extended by the President of India.

A citizen of India who has completed the age of 35 years can be appointedGovernor of the state. A Governor should not be a member of the Parliament orthe state legislature nor he should hold any office of profit.

The powers and functions of a Governor are like those of the President ofIndia. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, other ministers, the top officersof the state like the Chairman and the members of the Public Service Commissionand the Advocate General. The budget session of the Legislative Assembly be-gins with the Address by the Governor. The Governor has the power to summonand adjourn the sessions of the Legislative Assembly. All the bills passed by theLegislative Assembly become Acts after the signature of the Governor. Sometimeswhen the Assembly is not in session, the Governor can himself pass some orders.These orders are called ordinances. These are the legislative powers of theGovernor. The Governor can reduce the punishment awarded under a state lawand he can also grant pardon. If the Governor feels satisfied that the Governmentof the state is not running according to the provisions of the constitution, he canrecommend to the President to declare emergency in the state. In such a situation‘President’ s rule can be promulgated in the state. Money bills require the approvalof the Governor before they can be introduced in the Assembly. This is to beremembered that the Governor acts only on the advice of the Chief Minister.

The State Council of Minister and the Chief Minister :

The State Council of Ministers is the real executive of the State. The ChiefMinister is the leader of the Council of Ministers. The Governor appoints theleader of the majority party in the state legislature as Chief Minister. Other

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ministers are appointed by the Governor and then departments are allotted on theadvice of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister and other ministers must be themembers of the Legislative Assembly.

The Chhattisgarh Council of Ministers Consists of Cabinet Ministers stateMinisters and Parliamentary Secretaries. All these together make the state councilof Ministers. The number of Ministers in the cabinet is not fixed in the constitution.Their Number is at the discretion of the Chief Minister.

The Council of Ministers is the executive of the state. It Formulates thepolicies of the state and gives advice to the Governor on administrative matters.The business of the Legislative Assembly is approved by the Council of Ministers.The Council also decides upon the nature of the bills to be presented in the

Fig 8.1 The State Goverment of Chhattishgarh

STATE GOVERMENTOF

CHHATTISHGARH

THEGOVERNOR

THECHIEF

MINISTER

THEHIGH

COURT

TAHSIL

DISTRICTADMINISTRATION

DIVISIONALCOMMISSIONER

DEPARTMENTALADMINISTRATION

THECABINET

THELEGISLATIVE

ASSEMBLY

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Legislative Assembly. It also formulates the economic and taxation policy of thestate. It also makes plans for the welfare of the state. The budget of the state ispresented in the assemblies after the approval of the Council of Ministers.

THE CHIEF MINISTER

The Chief Minister has a major role to play in the politics and the Govern-ment of the state. He presides over the meetings of the cabinet. He can demandthe resignation of any minister. He informs the Governor about the decisions ofthe cabinet. The appointments to the important posts are made on his advice. Thewhole cabinet is dissolved if the Chief Minister resigns. Hence the Chief Ministeroccupies an important place in the state.

The State Civil Services

The State Council of Ministers lays down the policies of the state. Eachminister is responsible for the function of his department. But the minister is notexpected to implement the decisions of the government and do all the workhimself. The civil services therefore play an important role in this regard. Theminister is the head of his department. To help him there are many officers likethe Secretary, the Special Secretary, the Deputy Secretary and other Governmentservants. Above all the secretaries, there is a Chief Secretary. All these takentogether are called the civil service, The polices of the government are executedinto action with the help of the civil services.

The head office of all the department is called the secretariat. The Secretariatof Chhattisgarh is situated at D.K.S. Mantralaya Bhawan, Raipur. It is theSecretariat which implements the decisions of the Government. The Budget ofthe Government is prepared by the finance, department in the secretariat.

There are a number of department in the state Government, Some of theimportant departments are General administration, Finance, Education, Health,Agriculture, Law, Irrigation, Home, Public works, Forests, Information andPublicity, Excise, Revenue, Cooperation, self-government, industries, Jail etc.Almost all the departments have their head-quarters at Raipur. It is from thesecretariat that orders are sent to the divisional and district places. We have inour State 3 Division and 16 Districts.

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The head of the ‘division is called the Commissioner and the head of theDistrict is called the Collector. The Divisional Commissioner hears, the appealsregarding land and revenue of the lower courts. He supervises the relief work ofthe Government during natural calamities like, drought, floods and famine. Hegives orders to the Collectors and inspects their work. He is a senior member ofthe Indian Administrative service.

EXERCISES

1. Write the correct Answer :

(a) The Governor is appointed by ..............

(The President, The Prime Minister, The Chief Minister).

(b) The Chairman of the State Public Service Commission is appointed by.............(The Chief Minister, The Governor The Speaker).

(c) The leader of the State Council of Ministers is ............

(The Governor, The Chief, Minister, The Prime Minister).

2. What are the powers enjoyed by the Governor?

3. Write any four functions of the state council of Ministers.

4. The Chief Minister has an important place in the State Government.Write any four duties of the Chief Minister in support of your answer.

5. Describe main duties of the Divisional Commissioner.

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CHAPTER-9

OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM

When children quarrel among themselves at home, for various reasons,the elderly people settle their disputes. In the same way whenever there is adispute or a controversy between two persons or institutions, they go to thecourt of law for justice.

The Supreme Court :- Our constitution has provided for a free and unitaryjudicial system. The highest and most prominent court is the Supreme Courtin our country. This is located in Delhi.

Organisation :- The Supreme Court has one Chief Justice and 25 otherjudges. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President. The other judges arealso appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice.

The qualifications for the post of a judge of the Supreme Court are asfollows :

1. He should be a citizen of India.

2. He should have worked as a judge for at least five years or must be anadvocate for at least 10 years.

Term : The judges of the Supreme Court can work up to the age of 65 years.

Removal of the Judges :

Once appointed the judges cannot be removed easily from their posts.They can be removed only by the President on grounds of proven misbehav-ior and incapacity. For this the Parliament must pass a resolution by a twothird majority. No judge of the Supreme Court has so far been removed fromhis post.

Functions and Powers :

I. Original Jurisdiction :- This court has the original jurisdiction to hearcases for the first time. Such cases are of two types :

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(a) Such cases wherethere is a disputebetween the UnionGovernment and aState Government,one side and one ormore state Govern-ment on the other side.

(b) Such cases whichrelate to the funda-mental rights of thecitizens of India. Herethe protection of thefundamental rights isinvolved, Any citizenof India can move theSupreme Court, if hisfundamental rightshave been encroachedupon by theGovernment.

2. Appellate Jurisdiction :

(a) The supreme Court hears appeals against the decision of the State Highcourts.

(b) Civil suits involving the amount of at least Rs. 20,000/ - can be heard asappeal in the Supreme Court.

(c) The Supreme Court hears appeals in such criminal cases where the deathsentence has been awarded by a State High Court.

(d) The permission to appeal is given when it is certified by the High Courtthat the case, civil or criminal, is fit for appeal. The Supreme Court can alsogrant special permission to appeal in some cases.

Fig 9.1 The Judiciary

Chief Justice

Supreme Court

Sub Ordinate Court

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3. Advisory Powers

The President of India can seek advice from the Supreme Court on anylegal issue. But the President is not bound by the advice given.

4.Protection of the Fundamental Rights :

The laws which violate any clause of the Constitution may be declarednull and void by the Supreme Court on a writ. Any citizen of India can movethe Supreme Court for the protection of the fundamental rights granted inthe constitution.

5. The court of records :

The Supreme Court is also the court of records. All the Judgements givenby the Supreme Court are used like laws in the other courts. They are cited aprecedents in the lower courts

The High Courts

The constitution provides for a High Court in each state.

The High Courts :- The High Court of Chhattisgarh is located in Bilaspur.

Composition :- The High Court has one Chief Justice and some other Judges.The President of India appoints the Chief Justice and other Judges in consul-tation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Qualifications :- The following are the qualifications of the judges of theHigh Court -

1. He should be citizenof India.

2. He must haveworked as a judge inany court in the statefor five years or musthave been an advocatefor at least 10 years.

3. He should be a dis-tinguished jurist in theopinion of the Presi-dent of India. Fig 9.2 The High Court Building of Chhattishgarh

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Functions and Powers :

I. Judicial Powers :- The High Court has both original and appellatejurisdictions. It has the power to hear, for the first time, civil and criminalcases and cases regarding the fundamental rights.

2 Power to Pass orders :- The High Court can take necessary action regardingthe protection of the fundamental rights granted in the Indian constitution. Itis binding on all the subordinate courts to obey the orders of the High Courtregarding the protection of the fundamental rights.

3 Control over the Subordinate Courts :- The High Court has the power toInspect and control all the courts of the state. It has the power to appoint,promote and transfer the judges of the subordinate courts. It has also thepower to decide the election petitions. The appeals against Its decision canonly be made in the Supreme Court.

The Subordinate Courts

The Court of the District Judges is the highest civil court in the district.You have already read about it in the 6th class. This court has the power tohear civil cases. Civil judges are appointed in the district courts. The cases oflesser amounts are heard by the Sub-judges and the Munsifs.

The Sessions Courts :- There are sessions courts to hear the criminal cases.The cases involving fighting, looting, murder are heard in these courts. Thesecourts work under the high court of the state.

Lok Adalats : In the existing system the Indian courts take a long-time todecide cases. The parties in dispute have to spend a lot of money. To reducethe time and expenditure, a system of Lok Adalat has been started in thiscountry. Under this system, cases are decided speedily and without muchexpenditure.

The Nyaya Panchayat : The minor cases in the rural areas are settled by theNyaya Panchayats at the village level. You have already read about it inearlier classes.

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EXERCISES

1. Why do we need a court ?2. Who appoints the judges of the High Court?3. What are the qualifications of the judges of the Supreme Court ?4. What types of cases are heard in the Supreme Court ?5. Describe the composition and powers of the Supreme Court ?6. How is the High Court in our state organised ?7. Describe the, functions of the High Court ?8. Write short notes on the following :-

(a) Civil and Criminal Cases(b) The Lok Adalats.

Practical :Find out the names of the Judges of the High Court of your state.

Think over:If you are appointed a Judge, what Points would you take into

consideration?

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CHAPTER-10

OUR NATIONAL SYMBOLS

Shri Rabindranath Tagore had called India a sea of greatmen. This is thecountry where we can .see unity in diversity. From Kashmir to KanyakumariIndia is one. Every Indian feels proud of his country. Every citizen respects theIndian constitution.

Every free country has its own National Flag, National Anthem and NationalEmblem which are the holy symbols of its national glory and national unity.

The National Flag is the symbol of our freedom, equality and unity. TheConstitution Assembly has approved this flag. This flag is rectangular in shape.The length and breadth are in 3:2 proportion. For example if the length of theflag is 15 centimeters, the breadth is 10 centimeters.

The composition :- Our National Flag is divided horizontally into threeequal parts of stripes which are of different colours. The top most stripe is ofdeep saffron colour. The saffroncolour is the symbol of patriotism,sacrifice and bravery. This remindsus of those brave people who laiddown their lives for the country.

The middle stripe is white. Thewhite colour is the symbol of Truthand purity. According to MahatmaGandhi, the Father of the Nation,truth is God. The white colourinspires to speak the truth and live asimple and pure life.

The lowest stripe is dark green.This colour represents progress andprosperity in life. This inspires usto make our motherland greener and more prosperous. We should grow moreand more food in our country. The green colour is a symbol of the dignity oflabour. Our National Flag is called the Tricolour because it is made up of threecolours.

Fig 10.1 Our National Flag

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In the centre of the white stripe, there is a wheel called the Ashok Chakra. Itis of navy blue colour. Its diameter covers the whole breadth of white stripe.There are 24 spokes in it. These spokes inspire us to serve the country through-out the 24 hours of the day. The wheel signifies motion, progress and change.

Importance :- Our Flag reminds us of the freedom movement in our country.In the beginning the flag of the Indian National Congress was the same with theonly difference that in place of the ‘Chakra’, there was a ‘Charkha’. The ‘Charkha’was very dear to Mahatma Gandhi. The ‘Charkha’ became a symbol of Boycottof foreign goods and the use of Swadeshi goods. The spinning on the ‘Charkha’and wearing of ‘Khadi’ made out of it was a step towards self-reliance. The‘Charkha’ was also a symbol of the opposition of the foreign rule in the freedommovement. This flag links the present with our past.

The National Flag is hoisted on the occasion of National festivals. You cansee the National Flag on all important Government buildings in the country. Inother countries also, it is hoisted on the Indian Embassy buildings. It is loweredas a mark of respect when a honourable national leader or dignitary of a friendlycountry dies. This is how we express our respect to the departed soul.Rules :

· We should respect our National Flag.· When the National Flag is raised, the saffron colour band should be

at the top.· No flag or emblem should be placed either above the National Flag

or to its right.· All other flags are to be placed to the left of the National Flag, if the

yare flown in a row. Also the National Flag must be put in thehighest position.

· The National Flag should be flown over important Governmentbuildings only, When the National Flag is carried in a procession itshould be carried on the right shoulder and in the front line.

· The National Flag should be hoisted on important national festivalsand on special occasions.

· The National Flag should not be displayed by the common peopleon motor cars and other vehicles even on special occasions.

· The National Flag should not be used for decorative purposes.· The National Flag must not be used for purposes of trade or business.· The National Flag should be hoisted from sunrise to sun-set. It should

always be taken down on sun-set.

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The National AnthemThe National Anthem is full of praise for our motherland. It has been com-

posed by the poet Rabindranath Tagore. The hoisting of the National Flag isimmediately followed by the singing of the National Anthem. The complete poemhas five stanzas. But only the first stanza has been adopted as the National Anthem.

The National Anthem reads as follows:Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka, jaya he

Bharata-bhagya vidhata

Punjab-Sindhu-Gujarata-Maratha-

Dravida-Utkala-Banga

Vindhya-Himachala-Yamuna-Ganga

Uchchhala Jaladhi Taranga

Tava subha name jage,

Ta_a subha ashish mange

Gahe tava Jaya-gatha.

Jana-gana mangala dayaka, jayahe

Bharat-bhagya-Vidhata

Jaya he, Jaya he, Jaya he,

Jaya Jaya Jaya, Jaya he.

Rules for singing the National Anthem:! When the National Anthem is sung or played every one should stand at

attention.

! We should not move or talk while singing or listening to the NationalAnthem.

! Every Indian should know the words and the meaning of the NationalAnthem.

! Everybody should know the tune of the National Anthems that it may besung in chorus.

! While singing in chorus, it should be sung in tune.

! This is the emblem of the Government of India. It is in two parts the Crestand the base.

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The crest shows three lions but in fact thereare four lions, The lion on the back is not seenin the picture. It can be seen on the Ashoka Pillarwhich is in Sarnath. The base shown as horseto the left and a bull to the right. In betweenthere is a wheel which is made of twenty fourspokes.

Below the crest is inscribed. the mottowritten in Devanagari Script, Satyameva Jayate.It means ‘Truth alone triumphs’.

The chakra in the centre is a symbol of‘Dharma’. It signifies motion, progress andchange for the welfare of humanity. The horserepresent energy and speed. The bull representshard work and steadfastness. The citizens of

India should resolve to exhibit three qualities in their characters. This emblemhas been adopted as a seal by the Government of India. It can be seen on allcurrency notes and coins.

EXERCISES

1. Name the three colours in our National Flag.2. What do the three colours in the National Flag represent?3. What rules would you follow in paying respect to the National Flag?4. What rule should be followed while singing the National Anthem?5. Explain the importance of the National Emblem.6. Who has composed the National Anthem?

Tick mark the right answer.(1) Bankimchander Chatterji(2) Rabindranath Tagore(3) Maithli Sharan Gupta(4) Makhan Lal Chaturvedi

Practical:Prepare an album of National Flag of other countries.

Think over :India is a land of unity in diversity, How?

Fig 10.2 Our National Symbol

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GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER-1

ATMOSPHERE

The earth consists of three spheres. the Atmosphere, the Hydrosphere andthe Lithosphere. Life is found on the earth in the Zone where all these threespheres come in contact with each other. This zone is known as ‘Biosphere’which is very important for us.

This section deals with the atmosphere

The atmosphere extends several hundreds of Kilometres above the surfaceof the earth. This gaseous envelope is known as the atmosphere. It is alwaysrestless and so weather changes are frequent in it. The amount of insolation isnot the same everywhere on the earth so, it can be divided into various temperaturezones. The changes in temperature bring about pressure changes. The water vapourpresent in the atmosphere is responsible for many weather phenomenon such asclouds, rainfall and snowfall.

With the increase in height above sea level, the air becomes rarer.

New Terms :-

Atmosphere :- A layer of gases surrounding the earth for few hundredKilometres.

Air :- A gaseous mixture. .

Heat :- A feeling ofwarmth given by a substance.

Rain :- Water dropletsfalling from clouds.

The atmosphere is amixture of different types ofgases. These gases are in adefinite proportion in theatmosphere. The following tableillustrates this fact : -Fig 1.1 Atmosphere

ATMOSPHERE

EARTH

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TABLE

S.No. Gases Percentage

1. Nitrogen 78.03

2. Oxygen 20.99

3. Argon 0.94

4. Carbon-di-oxide 0.03

5. Hydrogen, Ozone,

Helium etc. 0.01

Total 100.00

It is clear from the above table that nitrogen and oxygen are the two mainconstituents of the atmosphere. All these gases are very important for our life.

We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon-di-Oxide during respiration. On thecontrary, the plants take carbon-di-Oxide and give off oxygen. This helps in themaintenance of ecological balance.

Apart from gases, the atmosphere consists of dust particles and water vapour.The dust particles are more in number near the earth surface while, water vapouris found even at higher elevations. Their quantity varies with seasons and theyare responsible for occurrence of fog and rainfall over the earth.

EXERCISES

Fill in the blanks: -1. The atmosphere extends upto a height of........................ above the

earth’s surface.2. As one rises high above the surface of earth, the air becomes..............3. Man inhales......................gas during respiration.4. The plant takes in........................and gives off.................gas.5. Apart from the gases the atmosphere also contains

............................. and ..............................Write short Answers :-

1. Write down the names of different gases of the atmosphere.2. What is atmosphere?3. How is air pollution caused? How does it affect the human life?

Do it :-Draw a diagram of the atmosphere.

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CHAPTER. 2

AIR AND ITS TEMPERATURE

The heat in the atmosphere is known as temperature. The sun is the sourceof this heat. The sun is about 15 crore kilometres away and thousand times largerthan the earth. It causes heat and energy in the space all around. Through theatmosphere the sun rays enter and reach the surface of the earth. The surfaceabsorbs heat first and then slowly releases it. This process is known as‘Radiation.’ The atmosphere is heated up by the temperature released from thesurface. When the air is heated it becomes lighter and so it rises up. In this way,heat spreads in the atmosphere. Temperature is measured with the help of aninstrument-Thermometer.

‘Degree celsius’ (°C) is the unit of temperature. Celsius was the scientistwho invented the centigrade. Thermometer in which °C is the freezing point and100 °C is the boiling point of water.

The temperature of any place does not remain constant. The variations oftemperature taking place in 24 hours can be found out by a special type ofThermometer known ‘Maximum and Minimum temperature Thermometer.’ It wasinvented by Sir Mr. Six.

The following factors affect the amount of radiation :

(a) The perpendicular sun rays travel a shorter distance of the Air and itstemperature sphere and also heat lesser earth surface. The result is that moreinsolation is received at places with perpendicular sun rays.

(b) The inclined rays travel a greater distance of the atmosphere and haveto heat a larger earth surface. Hence, lessers insolation is received at places.

(c) The temperature changes are diurnal and seasonal. The days are hotterthan the nights and the summer is hotter than the winter season.

Factors affecting Atmospheric Temperature

The sun is the source of heat for atmosphere Temperature depends uponmany factors:

1. Latitude :There is a decrease in temperature as we proceed from equator towards

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poles. On latitude depends the angle of striking sun rays. Therefore, highertemperatures near equator and lower temperatures near poles are found.

2. Altitude :There is a decrease in temperature with increase of height above sea level.

For this reasons, the higher mountain peaks are cooler than the low lands. Usually,forever 165 metre rise, there is a decrease of 1°C.Thermal Zones

On the basis of unequal temperature distribution over the earth surface,there are three zones:

1. Tropical Zone :Maximum solar radiations are received in lower latitudes (middle portion

of the earth) and so it is known as Tropical Zone.

2. Frigid Zone :Both the Poles gets

minimum insolation and therefore, thepolar areas are called as “The FrigidZones.”

3. Temperate Zone :Between the tropics and poles lies

the area with higher temperature than thepoles and lower temperature than thetropics. This region is termed as ‘TheTemperate Zone.’

EXERCISESI. Short Answer Questions :

1. What is radiation?2. Which instrument is used for measuring temperature?3. Write down the factors which affect temperature?

II. Fill in the blanks :-i. Thc perpendicular rays trave1.................part and the inclined rays trave1

......................part of the atmosphere.ii. Sun is................kilometres away from the earth.iii. Thc surface receives temperature from....................

III. Do it :Draw a diagram showing the temperature zones of the earth.

TEMPRATE ZONE

PRIEID ZONE

Fig 2.4 Temperature Zones

TEMPRATE ZONE

TORRIED ZONE

FRIGID ZONE

60 1/20

23 1/20

00

00

60 1/20

23 1/20

60 1/20 23 1/2

0

60 1/20

23 1/20

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CHAPTER-3

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Air is a gaseous material. Like other natural substances it has its weighttoo. This weight is known as air pressure or atmospheric, pressure.

“Atmospheric Pressure is the Pressure of a vertical air column of a unitarea of the surface of earth.” The instrument used for measuring atmosphericpressure is called a Barometer. Millibar is a unit for showing pressure.

The atmospheric pressure is unequal over the earth surface. It dependsupon two factors. They are :

1. Height above sea level :Atmospheric pressure is maximum near sea level. With the increase in height,

the air becomes lighter and so there is a decrease in the atmospheric pressure.The amount of oxygen also decreases at higher elevations Therefore, when weclimb up a mountain, carrying of oxygen gas becomes necessary.2. Temperature:

Higher the temperature, lighter is the gas. The result is that it rises up. Lowtemperature makes the air heavy and so there is a rise in the atmospheric pressure.The permanent wind system is highly affected by the changes of temperature.Atmospheric: Pressure Belts.

Earth movements, temperature and height above sea level give rise todifferent pressure belts over the earth. These belts are as follows.

Air Pressure Relta Extent

1. Equatorial Low 0° to 10° North and South.

Pressure Belt

2. Sub-Tropical High 30° to 35° North and South.

Pressure Belt.

3. Sub-polar Belt of Low 45° to 66 ½ North and South.

Pressure Belt

4. Polar High Pressure 85° to 90° North and South.

Belt.

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During summer the northern hemisphere faces the sun, So all the pressurebelts shift 2°-5° North-Wards, In winter, the Southern hemisphere faces the sunfor a longer time and so these pressure belts shift 2°-5° South-Wards Weather,land and water are highly affected by the pressure belts.

EXERCISES

Write Short Answer :I. What is atmospheric pressure?2. On what factors does the air pressure depend?3. What is the extent of various atmospheric pressure belts?4. Give the position of pressure belts in summer and winter seasons.

Fill in the blanks :-1. Unit for measuring air pressure is........2. Air is a...............Substance;3. The places where temperature is higher. the pressure is ..........4. At sea level the atmospheric pressure is............

Do it :-Draw a diagram to show the atmospheric pressure belts.

Fig 3.1 Air Pressure Belt

66 1/20

100

00

66 1/20

450

450

350

350

23 1/20

23 1/20

100

66 1/20

100

00

66 1/20

450

450

350

350

23 1/20

23 1/20

100

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CHAPTER-4

WIND DIRECTION AND VELOCITY

The air is not visible like the other substances. But we cannot ignore itsexistence and importance. On the earth surface, the horizontal moving air isknown as ‘Wind.’

The wind always moves from high pressure area to low pressure area..The wind does not move straight but, it is deflected towards right or left. Thedeflection of wind is found out with the help of an instrument ‘Wind-vane.’‘The direction of wind is governed by Farrel’s Law’.

Farrel’s Law

According to Farrel :

The earth rotates on its axis from west to east. Due to this rotation, inthe northern hemisphere the winds and ocean currents turn towards theirown right and in the southern hemisphere towards their own left. This deflec-tion is not apparent in a short distance of one or two kilometers. But, if thewinds move for a distance of thousands of kilometers then the change indirection becomes apparent. This is the reason why the Trade wind and West-erlies do not follow the straight courses while moving from high pressure tolow pressure. They follow the inclined paths.

Wind-Velocity

When two places consist of different atmospheric pressure, the windblows from high to low pressure area. The speed of wind depends upon thechange of pressure or the pressure gradient. Higher the pressure gradient,faster is the wind speed. The velocity of wind is measured in kilometer perhour. Actually, a slight change of pressure, Say 1/10th of a millibar, can pro-duce high velocity. wind. In such cases the wind reaches a velocity of 75-100kms/hour. The leaves of a tree are moved by a wind velocity of 4.5 kmslhour.The instrument used for of measuring Wind velocity is known as ‘Anemom-eter.’ Beanfort’s chart is used for finding and comparing the wind speed.

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TYPES OF WINDDepending upon the pressure and velocity the winds are put in three

categories:-

Categories Permanent Seasonal LocalWinds Winds Winds

Types of winds 1. Trade 1. Land and Sea 1.Loo breeze .

2. Westerlies 2. Cyclones 2. Chinook (Anti Trade) and

Anticyclones3. Polar 3. Monsoon 3. Sirocco

4. Fohn5. Hurricane6. Typhoon

Permanent winds (Planetary winds)The Permanent winds are of three types :.

1. Trade Winds :In both the hemispheres they move from the sub tropical high to the

equatorial low. In the northern hemisphere their direction is from north-eastto south west and in the Southern hemisphere from south-east to north-west.For this reason they are also known as the “Easterly winds.”:2. Westerly Winds :

They blow from the sub-tropical high pressure areas to the sub-polarlow pressure belts. They mainly flow in the temperate zones. Their directionis south-west in the northern hemisphere and north-west in the southern hemi-sphere. This is the reason, why they are called as ‘ Westerly Winds.’3. Polar Winds :

In both the hemispheres these winds blow from polar high pressure beltsto the sub-polar low pressure belts. In northern hemisphere they blow North-East to South-West land in the Southern hemisphere from South-East toNorth-West. These winds are very cold and dry because of having their originfrom the poles.

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Seasonal Winds :

Apart from the planetary winds there are some winds which blow dur-ing a particular period of a day or a year Their directions are also fixed. Theseasonal winds are as follows:

(i) Land and Sea Breeze :

On the sea shore on one side there issea water and on the other side there is landsurface,with the variation of temperaturesduring day and night land and sea breezeblows. Breeze means wind.

During day the land surface is quicklyheated up while the water is relatively cool.The air over land also gets heated, it be-comes lighter too, so it rises up. The airover the sea water is cooler and heavier.So, it moves to fill the empty space. Thismovement of air is from sea to land, there-fore, it is called “Sea Breeze.”

(b) The land is quickly heated or cooled while, water takes more timefor this process. During night, the land surface is cooled earlier than waterso, warm air over water becomes lighter and it rises up. The lower surface isleft vacant, towards which cooler wind from the land surface blows. Thewind that blows from land towards sea is known as “Land Breeze.”

Fig 4.1 Regular Winds

P.Easter Line

P.Easter Line

Subpolor Low

Subpolor Low

Prevaling Weater LinesSubtropical High(Horse Latitude)

Subtropical High(Horse Latitude)

Prevaling Weater Lines

North East Trade

North East TradeEquatorial Low (Dolddurms)

Fig 4.2 Sea Breeze and Land Breeze

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Cyclones and Anticyclones :

These winds are irregular in their speed and direction. They blow for ashort duration and that, too, occasionally. Their territories are also indefi-nite. Therefore, they are also known as the changeable winds.

As these originate eddies in river water due to some obstructionsimilarly,whirling movement of air is also caused in the atmosphere. Theseatmospheric eddies are known as cyclones and anticyclones.

Cyclones

When a low pressure develops in the centre, the wind rushes towards itfrom the surroundinghigh pressure areas.This type of wind sys-tem is called as a “Cy-clone.” The centre ofthe cyclone is termed as“Eye of Cyclone.”Heavy rainfall resultingin a great loss of menand money is caused bycyclones.

Anticyclone

A high pressure area surrounded by low pressure on all the sides, isknown as an anticyclone. Since, high pressure lies in the centre, wind blowsout from it. The speed of wind is low, sky is clear and there is no rainfall inthe anticyclonic conditions.

Monsoon Winds

Winds blowing in a particular season are known as the monsoon winds.It means they are seasonal winds. They are best developed on an extensiveportion of the continent of Asia, which is well surrounded by oceans and hasa greater range of summer and winter temperatures.

With the change of season the wind direction also changes, for examples.

(I) In summer season the interiors of the continent become very hot.

Fig 4.3 Cyclones and Anticyclones.

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This condition makes it a region of low pressure from where air is lifted up.Winds from the surrounding oceans, where pressure is higher, rush towardsthe continent.

(2) During winter season the conditions are reversed. The oceans be-come warmer than the continental portion and the low pressure is developedon the former. The air is warm and lighter on oceanic waters and so it islifted up. The wind from the cooler high pressure areas of the continentcomes to take its place.

The monsoon winds blow from sea to land in summer and from land tosea in the winter season. Their duration is of about six months each.

Local Winds

On the earth surface the winds, blowing on a particular place are knownas “Local Winds”. In each region they are given a different name. The impor-tant local winds are as follows:-

(i) Loo (Hot Wind) :

These winds blow on northern India in the summer season, especially, inthe months of May and June. They are called Loo or Lapat (Flames). Theycause illness and sometimes they prove fatal.

(ii) Chinook:

It blows in the North-Western part of North America. After crossing theRocky mountain ranges the wind which, descends down in the rain shadowarea becomes very hot. Ice melts due to these winds. The prairie plains arebenefitted and cattle rearing conditions become favourable by the ChinookWinds.

(iii) Fohn :-

It is also a hot wind of Europe. It too helps in melting of snow. Thegrapes ripe faster.

(iv) Hurricane :-

High speed storms in the south eastern North America are called Hurri-cane. Such type of storms are also common in Australia. They cause im-mense harm.

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(v) Typhoon :

On the South Eastern coast of Japan, in the Philippines, East Indies etc.Cyclones with high velocity wind strike. They are termed as Typhoons. Theytoo are destructive in nature.

EXERCISES

I. Answer the following :-1. How do the winds and currents flow according to the Farrel’s Law?2. Which instruments are used for finding the direction and velocity of

winds?3. Give names of the Planetary winds?4. Which are the seasonal winds?5. Give names of the local winds?6. What are monsoon winds?

II Fill in the blanks :i. Wind blows from................to.................pressure area.ii. The sea breeze blows during..................... and the land breeze blows

during.......................time.iii. At the centre of the cyclone the pressure is ...........and at the centre of

an anticyclone the pressure is.................iv. In India..........winds blow.

III. Essay type Questions:1. What do you understand by Farrel’s Law?2. Describe the planetary winds?3. Differentiate between a cyclone and an anticyclone.

IV. Draw figures to show land and sea breeze.

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CHAPTER-5

ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY

The water present in the gaseous state in the air is its humidity. It is alsoknown as water vapour. This water vapour is the most changeable factor of theatmosphere.

Sources of Water vapour and it’s Characteristics

The sources of water vapour of the atmosphere are the Oceans, seas, lakes,tanks, rivers, wells, vegetation etc. Whenever air and water come in contactwith one another, the water droplets enter the atmosphere in the form of vapour.It’s amount is not the same in the atmosphere. Higher the temperature more is theamount of water vapour. The water vapour can interchange into solid, liquid orgaseous stage.

States of Humidity in the Atmosphere

Humidity plays a major role in heating or cooling of the atmosphere. Thereare three main stages of humidity:

(A) Evaporation :-

Due to hightemperature the waterturns into vapour andmixes with the air. Thisprocess is known asevaporation.

(B) Condensation :-

Through evaporation,a fixed amount of watervapour is absorbed by theair, which is said to beSaturated when thetemperature of the

CONVENTIONAL RAINS

CONDENSATION

SURFACE WIND

Fig 5.1 Conventional Rain

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saturated air goes down 0° when vapour changes into minute droplets of water.This process is known as condensation.

(C) Forms of Condensation

Various forms of condensa-tion are seen in the atmosphere;such as-Cloud, dew, hail, snow,fog, rainfall etc.

RAINFALL

In the atmosphere conden-sation process is responsible forthe falling of water droplets onthe surface of earth. This isknown as rainfall. There arethree types of Rain.

(1) Conventional Rain:

The land and the air over it gets heated up in the tropics due to highertemperatures. This gives rise to the conventional Currents. The rainfall which iscaused by the condensation of these conventional currents is known as the con-ventional Rainfall. It is always associated with lightening and thunder of clouds.Such type of rainfall is very common in the equatorial Regions.

(2) Orographic Rain :

When a mountain comes in the way of a humid wind, it is forced rise up.The ascending air gets cooled and rain occurs. Such type of rainfall is known as“Orographic Rainfall’.” On the lee-ward side (Opposite side) of the mountainthe air descends down and there is no rainfall on this side. This region is knownas the “Rain Shadow Area.”

(3) Cyclonic Rain:

There is low pressure in the centre of a cyclone. The air rushes fast towardsthis centre because there is high pressure all around it. The air in the centre iswarmer and lighter, so it quickly rises up, resulting heavy rainfall. Such type ofrainfall is known as “Cyclonic Rain.”

The rainfall is measured with the help of an instrument the “Rain ‘Guage.”

Fig 5.2 Rain Caused by Mountains

Cool Air

Chinok Wind

RainShadow

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EXERCISES

I. Give short answers :I. What is humidity?

2. What are the different forms of atmospheric humidity, Write theirnames?

3. What is rainfall?

4. What do you understand by Cyclonic Rain?

5. What is a rain shadow area?

II. Fill up the blanks :-1. The sources of water are .....................

2. The evaporation is.............in summer season than the winter season.

3. The whether vapour changes into.............................state withcondensation

III. Do it :1. Find out whether humidity is higher in sumner season or in rainy

season.

2. Draw figures to explain conventional rain and orographic rain.

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CHAPTER-6

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Weather:The description of atmospheric conditions such as temperature, humidity,

wind direction, its velocity, amount of rainfall etc. of a place at a particular timeis known as it’s Weather. Thus weather deals with the atmospheric condition ofashort period. The weather constantly changes with place and time.

Climate:The average of weather conditions is known as the climate. It is the sum

total of variety of weather conditions of an area for a longer time. The clementsof climate are temperature, wind, humidity, and rainfall etc. They all affect theweather and climate of a place.

Meteorologilcal InstrumentsMany instruments are invented to measure elements of weather and climate

a few of them are as follows :

1. Thermometer:An instrument used to measure the temperature of a place is known as

Thermometer. The unit for measurement of temperature is Celsius/Farenheit/Rumur. But now a days degree celsius iscommonly used. A thermometer, consists ofa glass tube with a round bulb at one end.Mercury is filled in this tube and bulb.Within the increase of temperature the levelof mercury rises up in the tube. The tube iswell graduated in °C and

of. The graduations

denote both the freezing and the boilingpoint. The reading is taken by observing thelevel of mercury in the tube. Read out thetemperature from (from6.1).2. Maximum and minimumtemperature Thermometer :

The temperature of a place does not Fig 6.1 Thermometer

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remain constant. The change of temperature isfound out with the help of Maximum and mini-mum temperature thermometers. Temperature isshown by the index pins. The instrument is madeup of glass tube which contains mercury oralcohol. In one tube, the level of mercury risesand the index pin shows the maximum temperaturewhile in the other tube with the fall of level ofalcohol, the index pin shows the minimumtemperature. The graduations of the tube are in

opposite directions. They are from 0°-130°.

3. Barometer :

Atmospheric pressure is measured with the help of an instrument calledBarometer. There are two types of Barometers. In one type, mercury is usedwhile in the other no liquid is used. The former is Fortins’s Barometer and thelater is Aneroid Barometer. Aneroid means without liquid. Aneroid barometerlooks like a rounded watch. It consists of graduations on the dial and a needle.The needle inside the box moves with the change of atmospheric pressure andpoints to the graduated dial. The number indicated by this needle is read and thisshows the atmospheric pressure of thatplace.

4. Rain Guage :

A rainguage is an instrument tomeasure rainfall of a place. It consists of acylindrical vessel with a funnel at itsopening mouth. This funnel collectsrainwater in the vessel. The collectedwater is poured in a graduated flask tomeasure the amount of rainfall. The flaskis graduated both in inches andCentimetters.

5. Wind vane and Anemometer :Wind vane is used to find out the

direction of wind. It consists of a straight

The Dial

Fig 6.2 Barometer

Fig 6.3 Rain Guage

a

b

c

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rod on which one arrow rotates and shows thedirection of the wind. The cardinal points i.e.North, South; East and West are written on theinstruments and one can find out the direction ofthe wind by observing the alphabet of the cardinalpoint (N.S.E.W.) and the position of the arrow.

Anemometer is used to measure the velocityof wind. There are four cups attached to a verticalmetallic rod which move with the force of thewind. The wind velocity is read from theinstrument. The speed of wind is measured inKilometres per hour.

EXERCISES

I. Short answer question:1. What is the difference between weather and climate?2. Write down the element of climate?3. Which instruments are used to show weather conditions? Give their

names.4. What is a wind-vane? Give its use.

II. Fill up the blanks :-1. The average of weather condition is known as.................2. A thermometer is used for measuring ...........3. The main unit for measurement of temperature is ..........4. Rain fall is measured with the help of...............

III. Do it:1. Prepare a model of wind-vane by observing its figures.2. Draw figures in diffferent weather instruments.

Fig 6.4 Weather Clock (forknowing wind direction and

wind velocity)

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SECTION II

CHAPTER -7

HYDROSPHERE

Continent - Large land masses of earth surface above Sea Level.

Ocean - Vast water bodies surrounding the land masses.

What is Hydrosphere?The part of the surface of the earth which is covered with water is known as

Hydrosphere. Water is found in Oceans, seas,lakes and rivers of our earth. The snow and iceare also included in hydrosphere. On 71 % ofthe earth’s surface there is water.

Importance of the Oceans :Water is necessary for all the living be-

ings. Oceans playa significant role in our life.The water which evaporates from oceans giveus rain. Different types of salts, fishes, corals.pearls etc. are also obtained from the Oceans.

Look at the globe and the world map. Givenames of the Ocean and mark their size wiseorders. They are-Pacific Oceans, AtlanticOcean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean (The NorthPolar Sea), Antarctic Ocean (The South PolarSea).

The Pacific Ocean is the largest Ocean.Its area is larger than the areas of all the Oceansput together. It is also the deepest among all theOceans. The Marinas trench is the deepesttrench (11022 M below sea level) of the world.

Movements of the Ocean waterChildren you must have seen a river or a

Fig 7.1 Hydrosphere on theglobe.

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tank. Its marginal area is shallow and the central part is much deeper. The depthin the centre is not equal everywhere. Similarly, the depth of the seas and oceansis also not equal. It becomes clear from Fig. 7.2.

There are three types of movements of Ocean waters:

1. Waves

2. Currents

3. Tides

Waves :- In waves only the surface water oscillates. Winds are respon-sible for the origin of the waves. When one wave moves forward, in successionother waves are formed. They push one another and end up near the shore.

Currents :- Thehydrosphere is never atrest. It always showsone or the other type ofmovement. The oceanwater is mobile. Out ofall the movements ofocean water, currentsare most important.“The generalmovement of a mass ofsurface water in afairly defined directionfor a considerable distance is known as an Oceanic current.” “Actually currentsare like rivers in Ocean water which flow in a definite direction regularly.”

Types of currents

Depending upon their speed and temperature, the currents are of two types:

1. Warm Current

2. Cold Current

Generally those that flow polewards from the equatorial region are knownas warm currents. Those that flow from the polar regions towards Equator arecalled as the cold currents.

Reasons for the Origin of currents

The factors responsible for the origin of Oceanic currents are as follows:

Fig 7.2 Depth of Oceans.

CONTINENTALSHELF

ISLANDCONTINENTAL

SLOPE OCEAN DEEPS

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1. Difference ofTemperature :

Temperatures arehigher in the equatorialregion where watersurface is raised up due toexpansion of water. Thiswater flows towardspoles. For bringingequilibrium colder waterfrom poles flow towardsthe equator.

2. The PlanetaryWinds :-

Majority of Oceancurrents flow along thedirection of the planetarywinds.

3. The Earth’sRotation :

In 24 hours the earthmakes one rotation on it’s

axis. This daily movement deflects the Oceanic water in the form of a current

The direction of a current depends on two factors:

(i) The direction of the planetary winds.

(ii) Shape of the lands mass.

Important Oceanic currents

(A) Currents of Atlantic Ocean :(i) North Equatorial Current Warm Current

(ii) South Equatorial Current Warm Current

(iii) Gulf Stream Warm Current

(iv) Labradore Cold Current

SOUTH ATLANTICOCEAN

AFRICA

NORTHATLANTIC

OCEAN

SOUTHAMERICA

COLDHOT

GREENLAND

NORTHAMERICA

Fig 7.3 Currents of Atlantic Ocean.

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(v) North Atlantic drift Warm Current

(vi) Canary Cold Current

(vii) Brasilian Current Warm Current

(viii) Bengula Current Cold Current

Saragasso Sea is the calm region encircled by currents.

(B) Currents of the Pacific Ocean :(i) North Equatorial Current Warm

(ii) KurosivoWann Warm

(iii) North Pacific Warm

(iv) Kurile Cold

(v) California Cold

(vi) East Australian Current Warm

(vii) Peruvian Cold

Fig 7.4 Currents of Pacific Ocean.

SOUTHPACIFICOCEAN

NORTHPACIFICOCEAN

SOUTHAMERICA

COLDHOT

NORTHAMERICA

Counter Equiterial

ASIA

AUSTRALIA

North Equiterial Currents

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(C) Currents or the Indian Ocean :(i) West Australian current...................cold.

(ii) North Equatorial current...............warm.

(iii) Mozambique................................warm.

(iv) South Equatorial current..............warm.

(v) South Equatorial current..............warm.

1. Impact of climate :The warm currents tend to increase the temperature of the coastal region

closer to them while, the cold currents reduce the temperature.2. Impact on Fisheries :

The fish is found in a large number at places where the warm and coldcurrents meet. New found land and Japan are famous fishing grounds in the

world.3. Impact on Ports :

The port remainsopen throughout the yearwhen a warm currentflows adjoining to itscoast. Due to the effect ofa cold current the coastalwater freeze and theports are closed for agreater period of theyear.4. Impact onTransportation :-

The ships arenaturally benefitted bythe favourable directionsof the currents, becausethey can reach theirdestiny in less fuel. Buton the contrary at theconfluence of cold and

warm currents, a danger of accidents due to fog formation, always persists.

Fig 7.5 Currents of Indian Ocean (Summer)

The territorial waters of India extended into the sea to a distance of twelvenautical miles measured from the apporopriate base line.

INDIAN OCEAN

ASIA

AUSTRALIA

AFRICA

WEST WIND DRIFT

HOTCOLD

EQUATORMonsson DRIFT

S. EQUATOR

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EXERCISES

1. Write the correct answer :1. Of the earths, surface, hydrosphere covers :

(a) 68%

(b) 31 %

(c) 71%

(d) 65%

2. On the basis of their speed and temperature, the currents are ofthe following types:

(a) Five

(b) Two

(c) Four

(d) Three

3. Which of the following industry would have been affected, hadthere been no Gulf Stream near the eastern coast of NorthAmerica.

(a) Lumbering

(b) Textile

(c) Fisheries

II. Explain:1. What is the difference between waves and currents?

2. Why is gulf stream a boon for North Western Europe?

3. What is the effect of Ocean currents on our life?

III.Do it:1. From where do we get drinking water? Collect paper cuttings.

2. Collect photographs of the animals found in,Oceans.

3. Find out the places of the confluence of warm and cold currents in aworld map.

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CHAPTER-8

TIDES

In 24 hours the surface of sea water rises and falls twice. This periodicregular rise and fall of the level of sea is known as tides. The rise of watertowards the coast is termed as the “High Tide” while the fall of the retreat of theOcean water from the coasts is known as the “Low Tide.”

Causes of Tides :

The gravitational pull of the sun, and moon causes tides. The Sun is very farfrom the earth. On the contrary the Moon is quite near to it. Therefore, water isattracted by the gravitational pull of the moon than the sun. The water being

liquid, is affected more thanthe solid earth by moon’s pull.The moon attracts the watersurfaces. The part of waterwhich is just infront of themoon is pulled up. The rise inwater level is a tide. The tidesare produced at two pointssimultaneously, firstly, at theplace just infront of the moon,

and secondly, at the place just on opposite side of it. The rise of water level atthe second place is due to the fact that the moon slightly attracts the solid earthtoo. Due to this water at the opposite side is left behind and so it accumulates,resulting in a tide. Thus, at a time there are two tides at two different places onopposite sides in the Ocean waters.

Due to the rise of water level at two points. There occurs a fall of waterlevel midway between the high tides. This fall is termed as “Low Tide.” Inoceans, low tides also occur simultaneously at two places on opposite sides.

A place experience two high and two low tides in twenty four hours. But thetime and height of the tides is not uniform.

Earth

Moon

New MoonSpri

ng T

ideMoon

Spri

ng T

ide

Sun

Fig 8.1 High Tide

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Types of TidesDepending upon the height of the waves, there are two types of tides:

(i) Spring Tide

(ii) Neap Tide.

(i) Spring Tide :- On a full moon and new moon the sun, the moon and theearth, all the three lie in a straight line. Due to the combined gravitational pull ofthe sun and the moon the tides on these days are higher. Such type of tide is

known as “Spring Tide.”

(ii) The Neap Tide :When the gravitational pull of the

sun and the moon act at right angles tothe earth’s centre, their force ofattractions acts opposite to each other,resulting in a small rise of the oceanwater. This type of tide is known as the“Neap Tides.” It happens when themoon is in its first and third quarters, isthe eighth day after the full moon andthe new moon.

Effect of Tides on Human Life :(1) With the tidal waves the river mouths are kept clean. The waves wash

away the debris.

(2) The tides help in navigation. Larger ships can reach the shallow harbourswith high tidal waves and they can return to the sea with the ebb (low side).

EXERCISES

I Choose the right answer :1. On which day there will be no spring tide?

(a) Full Moon

(b) New Moon

(c) The eighth-day (Asthami)

Fig 8.2 The Neap Tide

Earth

Moon

Neap Tide

Moon

Neap Tide

Sun

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2. The sea coast must have suffered in the absence of tides because of(a) Accumulation of debris.

(b) Rivers not flowing into the sea

(c) The fish not reaching the Coasts.

II. Explain:1. What is the difference between a Spring Tide and a Neap Tide?

2. How do the tides effect the human life?

III. Do it:i. Draw a diagram to show “Spring Tide.”

ii. On full moon and new moon nights observe the position of the moonin the sky.

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CHAPTER-9

NEW TERMS EUROPE

Land Hemisphere: The northern hemisphere of the earth surface, whichcontains nearly six sevenths of the world’s total land area.

Fold Mountains: Mountains with long parallel ranges. They are formedwhen the land gets gradually compressed owing to forces at work under theearth’s crust.

Massif : A large mountain mass with one or two summits.

Fiord : Deep inlets of sea standing between high cliffs and penetrating intothe land.

Peninsula: A large stretch of land surrounded by sea on all sides except onethrough which it is connected to a large land mass.

LAND AND CLIMATE

As a continent, Europe is indeed very small. It is just three times the size ofour country. Barring Australia, it is the smallest continent. But Europe is verythickly populated; and yet it is prosperous too! During the past few centuries on

other continent has left its impact on therest of the world so much as has Europe.

Study the map of the world. You willfind that Europe is not a continent but is atbest a big peninsula of the continent ofEurasia. This subcontinent occupies acentral position in the land hemisphere.This is an excellent position for reachingout to the other continents by sea or airroutes. Also note the shape of thiscontinent. Large arms of seas havepenetrated deep into Europe. Find out thenames of these seas from the figure. Canyou think how their presence must haveaffected Europe?

Fig 9.1 Europe-LocationLook at the central of Europe in the

Northern hemisphere.

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Look at thecoastline ofEurope. It is highlyi n d e n t e d .Obviously, itshould provide anumber of naturalharbours andports.

Many of thebays and seass u r r o u n d i n gEurope areshallow. Theyoffer some of thebest sites forfishing. As no partof Europe, exceptRussia is very far

from sea, there has been a greater search for sea communication among the people.This made it encouraging for the European seamen taking to trade and to thediscovery of unknown continents.

It thus became possible with the new sea routes that many of the ideas,movements and inventions born in Europe have influenced the life of people allover the world today.

POLITICAL MAP OF EUROPE

Study the political map of Europe carefully and name the largest country inthe subcontinent. Name landlocked countries in Europe. Locate British Isles andfour other important countries of western Europe. Name their capital cities.Belgium and Netherlands are the two small lowland countries very thicklypopulated. The countries of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Rumania and Albaniasituated on Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are known as Balkan states.There is the small and independent Vatican city state in a part of Rome with apopulation of a few hundred people. It is the seat of Pope and the headquartersof the Roman Catholic Church. Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark arecollectively known as Scandinavia.

Fig 9.2 Europe - Political DivisionNote the names of the countries, their capitals, sizes and

locations in Europe.

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Physical Features

Look at the map of Europe and note the degrees of latitude and longitudewithin which it is situated. This map will also tell you that Europe is a continentof mountains and plains. It may broadly divided into three major physical divi-sions. (i) the North Western Highlands, (ii) the Great European Plains, and (iii)Central Plateau and the Southern Mountains.

The North Western Highlands

The North Western Highlands include the mountains and plateaus of Nor-way and Sweden. They also extend into the northern parts of Scotland, Walesand Ireland. These mountains are situated close to the ocean, and their branchespenetrate deep into the sea. They form highly indented and rugged coastlines. Atplaces, like the coast of Norway, long, narrow and deep arms of the sea betweenhigh cliffs penetrateinto the land, theseare called fiords.These mountainsalong with the Uralsin the east are theoldest in Europe.Many of thesemountains are lowand slope verygently away fromthe sea.

The GreatEuropean Plains

These plainsstretch between theAtlantic Coast inthe west and theUral Mountains in the east. These are broadest in Russia and go on narrowingwestwards. To their north lie the white sea and the North Western highlands andto their south are the southern plateaus and mountains. Besides the Great Plains,

Fig 9.3 Europe - Physical Features.Note the three major physical division of Europe. Locate the

important mountains ranges, rivers and seas shown in the map.

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there are small plains of Lombardy in Italy and the lowland of Andalusia inSpain, and the plains of Hungary.

The Great European Plains are drained by a number of rivers. The Seineand the Rhine are the important rivers that join the English Channel and theNorth Sea, respectively. River Rhine is known for its great rift valley and itsdelta formed Netherlands along the North Sea. The River Danube is the secondlargest to the east and after cutting across the Carpathian mountains falls into theBlack Sea. It passes through a number of countries. The other rivers joining thissea are the Dnieper and the Don. The Volga which is the largest river of Europejoins a landlocked sea named the Caspian.

Central plateau and Southern MountainsA series of plateaus and the mountains lying close to the southern border of

the great plain are also not very high. They have been considerably eroded in thepast. In fact, these mountains today are only the stumps of the mountains whichonce were very high. Important among these are the Central Massif of France,the Vosges, the Black forests and the Plateau of Bohemia. They are more importantfor minerals than for agriculture.

To the South of these old mountains, lies a chain of young and very highmountains barring the way to the Mediterranean Sea. It stretches from the Atlantic

in the west to theCaspian in theeast, from whereit further extendsinto Asia. Thesemountains withhighpeaks, steepslopes and deepvalleys are they o u n g e s tmountains ofEurope. The mosti m p o r t a n tmountain systemamong them isknown as theAlps Mont BlancFig 9.4 Rainfall

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is the highest peak of the Alps. You will find that this peak is only half as high asMount Everest which is 8,848 metres above sea level in the Himalayas.

Besides the Alps, the other important mountain ranges in this group are thePyrenees, Apennines, Dinaric Alps, Carpathian and Caucasus. The plains ofHungary and Lombardy within this mountain zone are agriculturally productiveBut these high mountains are important for pastures for cattle and sheep and forbeing the sources of water power.

The highest mountain peak of Europe lies in the Caucasus. It is known asElbrus. It is nearly two-thirds the height of Mount Everest.

The ranges of the southern mountains generally run parallel to one another,forming folds, as it were. It is believed that such fold mountains were developedwhen the land was gradually compressed from either side as a result of theinternal movement beneath the earth’s crust

Climate and Vegetation

The major part of the continent is situated in the cool temperate zone. Inspite of its location and compact size, the climatic conditions in Europe varyfrom region to region. This is because the climate of Europe is influenced bymany factors. Theyare its relief,proximity to theseas, the effects ofthe North AtlanticDrift and theWesterlies.

The deeppenetrating arms ofthe sea have am o d e r a t i n ginfluence on theclimate of Europe.The warm waters ofthe North AtlanticDrift keep the seasalong westernEurope ice free. The

Fig 9.5 Natural Vegetation of Europe.Find out the relationship between the belts of rainfall and

natural vegetation.

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warming influence of these waters is carried further in land by the westerlies. Intheir wake, they also pick up moisture and cause a fair amount of rainfall.

These permanent winds are responsible for a fairly well distributed rainfallall through the year especially in the western parts of Europe. The rainfall isheavy in the west and along the western slopes of the mountains. It decreases asone proceeds eastward, where it mostly occurs in summer.

The moderating influence of the westerlies and nearness to ocean makesummers warm rather than hot in western Europe. Winters too are cool, ratherthan cold. In winter weather is often very foggy. The temperature remains equableand the rainfall is well distributed all over the year. This is a typical marine ormaritime climate also known as west European type.

Away from it the Central and Eastern Europe get little of the moderatinginfluence of the Sea. As a result, the summers are hot and winters very cold.Such a climate with extremes, a wide range of temperature and moderate rainfallis known as the continental type of climate.

The rainfall in Southern Europe is confined mainly to the winters. Duringsummer this region comes within the influence of off-shore winds. These windsgive little rainfall. In winter, however, this region is open onto the influence ofthe rainbearing, westerlies. This is typical Mediterranean type of climate inwhich summers and long, hot and dry, and winters warm and wet.

The land north of the Arctic Circle has an extreme cold climate. Precipitationis very scanty and is in the form of snow. Summers are short, with days long andwarm. The sun is visible even at midnight for a period in a country like Norwaybeyond the Arctic circle. This wind-swept region is covered with snow for themajor part of the year. It is covered with the tundra type of vegetation, that ismoss, lichen and a few stunted trees such as willows and birches. The reindeerand the polar bear are the common animals of the tundra region.

South of the tundra lies the belt of the taiga region Between the two, thereis never a sharp line of demarcation. It is a region of coniferous forests with talland straight pine, spruce and fir as the common trees. These trees providesoftwood and as such are valuable the forests and their northern margins arealso the trapping grounds of fur animals like lynx, sable, mink and squirrel.

Denmark has become the second largest producer in the world of mink furs,skins of seal and blue fox which it gets from Greenland. Further south lies a belt

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of mixed forests. It consists of some coniferous trees of the taiga type. Morecommon, however, are the broad leaved trees which shed their leaves in winter.They are called deciduous tree. Common among these are oak, ash, and popular.

In the Mediterranean region trees are required to stand a long summerdrought. Therefore the trees are small in size but have deep roots. Their leavesare small, generally thick and oily or glossy. This helps to avoid evaporation ofwater. Some trees are thorny and other have thick and pulpy barks. Olive cork-oak and storie pine are the common trees. Olive, fig, grape and orange are thewell-known fruit trees of the region.

In Eastern Europe, where rainfall is too meagre, the common vegetation isof grasses and herbs. The grass is coarse and found in patches. The region isknown as steppe grasslands.

EXERCISES

REVIEW QUESTIONS.1. Answer the following questions.

(i) Which are the three major physical divisions of Europe?

(ii) What is a land hemisphere?

(iii) Name the channel that separates the British Isles from the Europeanmainland.

(iv) Which country has the plains of Lombardy?

(v) Inspite of dense Population the countries of Europe are welldeveloped. Give reasons?

(vi) Name two countries of Europe which are centuries ahead?

(vii) Norway depends on the Sea. Give reasons.

2. Distinguish between(i) The marine type of climate and the continental type of climate.

(ii) The taiga and the Mediterranean types of vegetation.

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3. Complete the following statement with a correct ending.Southern Spain receives rainfall in winter because.

(i) It lies in the zone of the westerlies.

(ii) It lies in the zone of winter monsoon.

(iii) It attracts moist winds from the Mediterranean Sea.

(iv) Westerlies wind belt shifts southwards in winter.

4. (Describe the four types of climate found in Europe. How far arethey influence by the westerlies?)

MAP WORK

5. Study the map of Europe and then make the correct pair-fromthe following:

(i) Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Balkan States

(ii) lrish Republic, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England Lowcountries

(iii) Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Rumania and Albania. Scandinavia

(vi) Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg. British Isles

6. Show the following in an outline map of Europe:(i) Baltic Sea and Black Sea.

(ii) River Danube

(iii) The Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians, and

(iv) Rome, Warsaw, Oslo and Copenhagen.

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CHAPTER-10

NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE PEOPLE

NEW TERMS

Mixed Farming :- Combination of cultivation of crops and rearing of animalsfor their milk and meat on the same farm.

Dykes: Big embankments built in order to protect land from the sea.

Sericulture : Rearing of silk worms and producing raw silk as a cash cropfor supplementing farm incomes.

Truck farming: A term used for vegetable and fruit farming. It is also knownas truck or market gardening because things like vegetables, fruits and flowersare carried, by trucks to markets.

Intensive Agriculture : A farming practice involving greater use of man-power per unit of land,

Europe is a vey thickly Populated continent. Europe is fortunate to have alarge proportion of a level and well watered low land. Almost every inch of ithas been brought under the plough. Lands in the hills which are neither so fertilenor so level, are used as pastures. On them are fed some of the most cared-forcattle in the world. Hill and mountain slopes and tracts of infertile lands arewisely left under forests. The forest trees are carefully nurtured. Even the smallEuropean countries have used the natural beauty of their landscape in mountains,along river and the sea coasts in attracting tourists from far and near.

Where the land has not been found fertile to provide adequate food forpeople they have, turned to the sea to make good this deficiency. Many of themlearn their living by taking to fishing, shipping and overseas trade or commerce.

The Dutch have been constantly at war with the sea for wresting land fromthe sea by pushing it back and back. Their country is rightly known as Holland orNetherlands since, it is a low land In fact, a struggle for keeping sufficient quantityof water free of sediments in rivers for navigation along their deltas is alsocarried on. The water has to be saved from salts of the sea and pollution from alarge number of factories.

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In order to protect these newly claimed fertile low lands from the sea theDutch have built big embankments, called dykes along the sea front. Theseembankments protect land from being flooded by the sea. Such lands in lowcountries of Netherlands and Belgium are now used for cattle-grazing and fortruck gardening. Formerly, hundreds of windmills were busy pumping out waterfrom these low lands into the sea. Now it is being done with the help of bigpumps worked with electricity.

The Europeans have gone further in discovering very large undergrounddeposits of coal and iron. The bowls of earth have also been exceptionally kindand generous to these people. These black twins-iron and coal-have helpedEurope to develop several industries, big and small. Even the much needed oilhas now been extracted from beneath the shallow waters of the North and theBaltic seas in Netherlands, Norway and Great Britain.

Europe is bestowed with one more gift of nature, namely, water, which hasbeen used very wisely for the development of water power, inland navigationand, irrigation. In fact, the Europeans were the first to develop power fromrunning water and put it at the service of man.

Industries, a network of transport and the mastery over the seas have all ledEurope to capture international trade. A very large proportion of this trade isvery much in its own favour. This explains why Europe is popular as well asprosperous. It has helped the small countries like Denmark, Belgium and Nether-lands to build up a large variety of their exporting industries by importing essentialraw materials and even food.

EXPLOITINGS OILCultivating Crops

About one third of the total land in Europe has been brought under theplough. However, the quality of soil and the climatic conditions are not the sameallover the region. Therefore, a variety of crops are grown in different parts ofEurope, depending upon soil, climate and availability of farm labour.

By far the most important crop of Europe is wheat. The important wheatproducing areas are the Ukraine in the Soviet Union, Paris Basin, in France, thePlains of Hugary and the Great Plains of Europe, the low countries and thePovalley in Italy. Wheat cultivation is confined to rich soils with cool but relativelylong summers with abundant sunshine.

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The poorer soilsare devoted to barley,rye; and oats, in thatorder. Europe andRussia are the leadingproducers of thesecoarse cereals. Theysupplement wheat,the sample food cropof Europe.

Sugar-beet andpotatoes are theimportant root cropsof Europe. The sugar-beet is the source ofsugar and has thesame importance tothe Europeans as ithas for us. Potatoes,too, are used to supplement their food. These are grown in the plains of Centraland Eastern Europe such as in Germany and Poland. Flax is the only fibre cropof Europe and is used for making linen. It is grown in cool, damp lands, especiallyin Russia. It is the only raw material which is grown in Belgium and is notimported.

Fruits such as apples, olives, figs, grapes, peach and oranges are also grownin very large quantities. The orchards are confined to the sunny hill slopes andstony soils of Mediterranean Europe. Bulgaria, in the east, is known for itshorticulture, roses and vegetables in its warm valleys. Belgium and Netherlandsin the west have also excelled in producing flower bulbs and vegetables. Theseproducts are exported to countries in their neighbourhoods.

Rearing AnimalsEurope has nearly one fifth of its land, namely the meadows and pastures,

left open for its animals. Well distributed rains and cool summers ensure abundantand nutritious grass for its animals. Dairy cattle do very well in cool, moistmarine type of climate. The countries around the North Sea are famous fordairying. Cattle are also reared for their meat. Since pigs multiply and grow

Fig 10.1 Europe-Forests, Ceops and Livestock.Note the various ways in which land is used in Europe. Why are

forests found mostly in the northern part and why is the crop landlargest in the central part ?

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very quickly, they arereared on farms forpork. Denmark is theexample of a countrywhich has shiftedfrom growing cerealsto the production ofcattle and pigs.Butter, eggs andbacon form the basisof its agriculture andthe milk yield of acow is very high.Sheep are confinedto drier parts. Theyare reared both forwool and mutton.Poultry farming is a very common feature of agriculture in Europe.

Nurturing Forest TreesAbout one-fourth of the land in Europe is still left under- forests in spite of

heavy pressure on land for agriculture, Forests in Europe are confined to Scandi-navian and Alpine mountains and to the taiga region in Russia. On the other handthe regions in Southern and Central Europe have experienced a rapid removal offorest over vast areas.

Harvesting The-SeasEurope possesses some of the rich fisheries of the world. Famous among

them are the Dogger Bank and the Great Fisher Bank. The fish catch in Europebeing well over ten million tonnes, Europe has the highest consumption of fishper head of its population. Norwegians are the great seafarers and fishermen ofEurope. They have well-equipped vessels working as central floating factoriesfor catching a variety of fishes along their fiords coast. They exploit the icywaters and barren islands in polar regions for catching the valuable seals andthe whales. Norway catches 582 kilograms of fish per inhabitant every year andat least 85 percent of it is exported. Thus Europe is, some what able to make upfor its insufficient food supplies. Fish provides a valuable source of protein fora balanced and nutritious diet at a relatively low cost.

Fig 10.2 Europe-Distribution of MineralsNote the location of major coal and oil fields of Europe. In which

countries are these located ?

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Exploiting Underground WealthEurope possesses large mineral deposits hidden under the land. By far the

most important among them are coal and iron ore. Bituminous coal of goodquality is found in Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. A low grade varietygo coal, brittle and brown in colour, is known as lignite. German DemocraticRepublic is its principal producer. In Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia and Polandhave fairly good coal deposits for their home needs. Coal is the major source ofpower in Europe. It is now supplemented by waterpower in an equally big way.Petroleum, on the other hand, is still largely imported by many countries in WesternEurope. Big reserves of mineral oil and natural gas are found in Russia andRumania. Rumania is an important producer of petroleum and natural gas inEurope outside Russia. That is why the oil derricks occupy the central place onits national emblem as one of its main riches. In Western Europe the North Seaoil-fields discovered in the later sixties are now producing sufficient oil.

Iron ore is found in France and Russia on a very large scale. Other producersare Sweden, the United Kingdom and Spain. Europe also produces bauxite, sulphurand potash.

Converting Nature’s Gifts into Goods and UtilitiesIt is true that Europe has a wide range of natural resources. But what is

really more interesting is the way they are wisely used by the people. Even incultivating land, theyfollow different methods.Where the land isabundant and the labourscarce, they use bigmachines on their farms.Extensive agriculture isthus practised on large-sized farms where moreand more machines areemployed in place ofhuman labour. In theareas where land isscarce but the labour issurplus, intensiveagriculture becomes the

Fig 10.3 Europe-Major Industrial AreasName the countries and the main parts of Europe known for

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rule. Where they find that raising of crops can be combined with rearing ofanimals and the practice of sericulture they follow mixed farming. It is foundthroughout Europe, from Ireland in the West to Central Europe, Russia and NorthernItaly.

In order to maintain and improve the fertility of soils, they use fertilizers,follow rotation of crops and employ other scientific techniques. In dry lands ofthe steppes and the Mediterranean region, they have readily taken to irrigation.Much of the agricultural produce is processed before it is consumed. In theprocess people have developed several industries, employing a large number ofworkers. A large number of mills are engaged in converting wheat into flour.Bakeries, in turn, convert it into loaves of bread. Sugar mills are busy inmanufacturing sugar from sugar-beet. Even fruits and their juices are preservedin various forms and widely marketed. Denmark andthe countries of EasternEurope like Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland have developed their food procesingand agriculture-based industry.

Wool, flax fibres and silk are now turned into textiles. The textile mills inEurope are busy not only in manufacturing wollen cloth and linen but they, alsoproduce cotton textiles by importing cotton from other parts of the world.

Milk is converted into cheese and butter. Some of it is now turned intocondensed and powedered milk. These tinned dairy products enter internationaltrade on a big scale. The use of science and technology has gone a long way inchanging milk, a perishable commodity, into prized articles of international trade.

Meat and fish are also now frozen and tinned before they are marketed likemany other commodites.

Logging and lumbering is now followed, with several other industrialactivities. Important among them is making of pulp and cellulose. Newsprint,paper rayon, and other synthetic fibres are produced from wood.

Fishing has become a very complex operation. Deep sea fishing involvespreservation of fish. The fish is marketed both fresh and as a Preserve product.Fish oil like cod liver oil and fish manure are also marketed on a large scale.Norwegians value seal fishes for their skins, leather furs and edible fats. Thereare allied industries which manufacture fishing nets, fishing boats and fishpreservation plants.

Iron and steel industries have become key industries since they are basic tomany other manufacturing industries. The major centres of these industries arefound in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia. But many other

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countries like Italy, Bel-gium, Czechoslovakiaand Poland make goodsteels by even purchasingfrom abroad the rawmaterials which are notfound in their ownterritory. They areresponsible for producingvarieties of steel. This, inturn, is consumed byother industries, engagedin manufacturing railwayengines, wagons,automobiles, ships andother machines. Coal asa raw material is used inseveral chemical industries. Aluminium is used in making aeroplanes. The poorScandinavian countries like Norway, in 1920’s have also become rich by beingindustrialised. Agricultural countries like Denmark and small countries likeSwitzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Austria have also builtup diversified industries producing articles in small quantity but of great valueand high quality. They are reputed for making electronic goods, precisioninstruments, metallurgical and glass articles and chemicals, fetching good prices.The European countries are competing with one another in exporting their specialskills and knowledge to the developing countries of Asia and Afiica.

Moving The Goods And The People

One of the essential condition for the development of industries is the presence

of a network of transport and communication. Europe has every modern means

of transport for moving the goods and the people.

The railway lines criss-cross Europe, not with standing the great mountain

barriers. Railway routes cross the mountain passes like St.Gotthard and St.Bernard

in the Alps connecting the countries on both side of high mountains, which have

the major railway junctions of Europe. Compare the positions of London, Paris,

Fig 10.4 Europe-RailwaysWhich part of Europe has a thick network of railways ?

Study this figure and fig 6.3 given in this book to find out Alpinepasses or the routes crossing them.

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Berlin and Moscow. How do they differ from one another. Very often the road

transport competes with the railways. The highways are broad and well surfaced

roads, busy with trucks, buses and cars. People have developed a high sense of

road traffic with the result that there is a very low rate of accidents.

The bulky and heavy goods or cargo are generally transported by major

inland water ways since water transport is very cheap. Note the Rhine passing

through the industrial heart of Western Europe. It is the busiest inland waterway

of Europe and carries more traffic than any other inland waterway in the world.

Besides the, Rhine, the Seine, Thames and Danube are important waterways. In

the medium-sized country of Rumania, there are nine ports on the entirely

navigable river Danube over a distance of only 1,075 kilometres. Denmark, the

land of 97 inhabited islands, has a number of bridges and a network of ferry

services to maintain communication links. Moscow is connected by rivers and

canals to several seas. Locate on your map the important sea ports of Europe.

Air transport has also now become very popular in Europe. Airways connect

all important cities of Europe with one another. The international airports of

Paris, London, Berlin, Frankfurt connected with almost all other continents.

Distances which were

earlier covered in

months are now

covered in hours by

large and speedy jet

planes.

Population ofEurope

Asia has the

largest number of

people. But it is

Europe that has the

highest density ofFig 10.5 Inland Waterways of Europe.

Mark the rivers connected by navigable canals.

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population. If the people

of Europe were to be

uniformly distributed all

over the continent, there

would be 98 persons per

square kilometre. If we

exclude the former So-

viet Union from Europe,

it possesses only 7 per-

cent of the world’s land

area. But it accounts for

nearly one fifth of the

world’s population.

By and large, the great plain of Europe are densely populated. While north-

ern Europe is thinly populated. Western Europe and some islands like Malta are

thickly populated. Eastern and southern Europe have a moderate density of

population, leaving aside a few pockets. However, the most densely populated

parts of Europe are found around coal fields and major ports. While the former

are essentially industrial centres, the later are the centres of international trade

and commerce. The more the number of big industrial centres and major ports,

the greater is the trend of more and more people leaving the villages for towns. It

is turning a country like Denmark into a large town with many green spaces. In

former German Federal Republic there is an unbrokenline of about 30 towns in

the Ruhr industrial belt. Belgium (323 persons per square kilo metre), German

Federal Republic (247), Netherlands (240) the United Kingdom (239), Italy

(186) and former German Democratic Republic (155) are the top six countries

with highest densities of population.

The geography of Europe points out to us how important the natural resources

of a country are to its people. But, more so, are the people themselves who

utilise these resources intelligently for national Prosperity.

Fig 10.6 Europe-Distribution of population which areasof Europe are very densely populated and which ones

sparsely populated ? why are they so ?

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EXERCISES

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Answer the following questions :

(i) What is the staple food crop of Europe?

(ii) Name two cereals that supplement the main food crop of Europe.

(iii) Which is the busiest inland waterway of Europe?

(iv) Name the two leading sea fisheries of Europe.

(v) How should natural resources be utilized for national development.

2. Distinguish between:

(i) Bituminous coal and lignite.

(ii) Extensive and intensive agriculture,

3. Make out correct pairs from the two columns.

(i) A farming practice in which only a few farmers (a) I n t e n s i v efarming till large farms mainly with the help of machines.

(ii) A farming practice in which major emphasis is (b) Extensivefarming laid on breeding and rearing of milk cattle. (c) Mixedfarming.

(iii) A farming practice involving combination of (d) Plantation andagriculture cultivation of crops and rearing of animals for theirmilk and meat on the same farm.

4. Complete the following statement with the most suitable ending. Europehas made great progress because.

(i) it has very large and rich agricultural lands.

(ii) it is favourably situated in relation to other parts of the world.

(iii) its people have made the best possible use of its position andnatural resources.

(iv) it has been the “Cradle of the Western Civilization.”

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5. Write how the following countries have used their natural resources totheir advantage.

(i) Denmark

(ii) Netherlands

(iii) Norway

6. Give reasons for the following. .

(i) European agriculture had to be mechanised thoroughly.

(ii) European countries are the exporters of technical know-how tocountries in Asia.

(iii) Denmark has a large number of bridges and network of ferryservices.

(iv) Some countries of Europe depend upon fisheries for theirlivelihood.

(v) Most of the inhabitants of Europe use machinery in Agriculture.

MAP WORK

7. On an outline map of Europe locate and name the following.

(i) the straits joining (a) the Atlantic Ocean and the MediterraneanSea and (b) Sea of Marmara and Black Sea.

(ii) Two important passes in the Alps carrying important railway line.

TOPIC FOR-CLASS DISCUSSION

8. From Practices in Europe.

Collect information on this topic. Divide the class into a few groupeach collecting information on one aspect of it. Then discuss whichpractices have any significance for India.

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CHAPTER 11

THREE MAJOR COUNTRIES OF WESTERN ANDCENTRAL EUROPE

NEW TERMSDairy farming: A kind of agriculture in which major emphasis is on breed-

ing and rearing milch cattle. Hay and other fodder crops are raised mainly tofeed cattles.

Insular Location: Surrounding by seas on all sides.

Industrial Revolution: A marked change in manufacturing from hand-oper-ated tools in houses of people to power-driven machinery installed in spaciousfactories especially built for it. It came about in England in the middle of the

eighteenth century.

Rotation of Crops:Raising of crops in acertain sequence on thesame piece of land mainlywith a view to restoringthe fertility of soil.

France and the UnitedKingdom are importantcountries of WesternEurope. France and theUnited Kingdom, locatedvery close to each other,have several things incommon, Paris andLondon are capitals of thetwo countries and arecentres of governmental,industrial and business

Fig 11.1 France-Relief Features.Note the location of France, its mounatins, plateaus, river

basins and important rivers.

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activity. But they are also differ from each other in many respects. Paris likeLondon is not a great seaport. France is larger in size than the United kingdombut has less population. France is still a country of farmers and not ofmanufacturers like the United Kingdom and German countries. Of all, the WestEuropean countries, France is not dependent on supplies of foodstuffs from othercountries.

FRANCE

France is only one sixth the size of India. Still in Europe it is the secondlargest country, next only to Russia. France faces three seas. It is further boundedby two big mountains. Together they have given France a well-de-fined boundary.Relief and Climate

France has a varied relief Look at its north western coastline, which ishighly indented and rugged. France has narrow coastal plains and fertile rivervalleys like those of the Seine and the Loire. It possesses low hills such as thosein Brittany. The Central Massif of France is a wide plateau made up of very oldrocks. On its borders are situated the young fold mountains, namely, the Alps andthe Pyrenees. The Rhone river valley separates the folded ranges of the Alps toits east from the Central Massif towards its west. Mont Blanc (4807) metersabove sea level, the loftiest peak of the Alps, lies in France.

France is ‘Small Europe’ in many ways. This is so not only in regard to itsrelief but more so with regard to its climate. While the western and northen partsof the country enjoy the oceanic type of climate, north-eastern France and thehigh central plateau have continental climate, with hot summers and severewinters. But autumns are long and sunny in the sheltered valleys of central plateau.Eastern France, much farther than the Atlantic, reminds us of the continental typeof climate. Southern France experiences typical Mediterranean type of climate.It has long dry summers and mild rainy winters. This part of France is muchwarmer and has much more sun shine than any part of the United Kingdom. Thediagrams of temperature and rainfall for some places in France, are given here.If you study them carefully you will be able to understand the contrast in climate.

Land Use and Economic Development

The indented coastline of France has given it numerous natural harbours.They provide good opportunities for fishing, shipping and overseas trade.

Narrow coastal plains and fertile river valleys have been turned into richagricultural farmland. A little over one-third of the total area of France is under

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cultivation. Wheat is by-far the most important crop of France especially in thenorthern plain of Paris Basin. It also produces maize, rye, potatoes, flax, barley,oats and sugar-beet. Flax and sugar-beet are grown chiefly in the north of Francewith linen mills and sugar factories in the neighbouring town. Barley growsmore in the cooler north, oats and rye on poorer soils of north-west coast and thecentral plateau. France farmers generally follow mixed farming and rear cattle,pigs and poultry on their farms. The animals are fed on hay, fodder and tops ofsugar-beet. The animal products fetch good returns to the farmer.

France is a land of intensive agriculture. Every bit of land is used. Manuresand fertilizers are applied. Rotation of crops is followed. All these help to main-tain fertility of the soil. As a result, the yields of crops in France are very high. Itis the only West European country which is self-sufficient in food grains. Ter-raced and sheltered valley slopes are generally devoted to cultivation of grapesevery where particu-1arly in southernFrance. The fieldswhere grapes are cul-tivated are knownvineyards. Most of thegrapes are used in mak-ing wines.

French wines areknown for theirquality. The mostnotable among them isChampagne. Francealso produces otherMediterranean fruitslike olives, figs,peaches, plums, pearand oranges. Innorthern half of thecountry the apple takes the place of vine. Here apples and grapes with hops,instead of the vine, are used to prepare wine.

The low hills and plateaus of France make it possible to leave about one-fourth of its total area under meadows and pastures. These pasture lands whichare well fed with rain showers, are used for rearing animals for their milk as

Fig 11.2 France-ResourcesNote the varied land use and resources of France.

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well as meat. As a result, it is a leading producer of milk, butter and cheese inthe whole of Europe, excluding Russia. France also has a large number of sheep,yielding fine wool.

Fortunately, France has preserved nearly one-fourth of its land under for-ests. Besides its forest wealth, the mountainous part of France possesses someof the turbulent rivers. These rivers, which are well fed with snow and rain-water, tumble down the high mountains and plateaus. They provide France with,abundant water-power at a low cost. Down below on the plains they are usedfor inland water transport.

France is equally well endowed with underground wealth. More then 90percent of very rich-iron ore deposits are found in Lorraine in the north-eastCoal is available only in some parts. Iron-ore, coal and water-power providethe necessary base for its iron and steel industry. France exports iron-ore bauxiteand alumina and imports 60% of their coa1 needs from the neighbouring countriesof Europe.

France is well known for its iron and steel industry. It specialises in buildingmachines, It produces motorcars, trucks, railway equipment, ships andaeroplanes. It has also a large textile industry. It manufactures chemicals,fertilizers, electric goods and perfumes.

France has an integrated network of transport. It possesses well-kept highways and efficient railways. Well-knit inland waterways have proved an assetto its heavy industries. It can now boast of its modern air-services. Paris is thecapital city of about 9 million people and is the centre of every kind of transport,It is rightly called the heart of France, This well planned city of France gives usan idea of the achievement of France in arts, literature, science and technology.It has been the leading fashion-centre of the world.

The total population of France is about 55 million which is even less thanthat of Bihar. It gives it an average density of nearly 101 persons per squarekilometre. Over 70% of its population is now concentrated in big towns andcities.

THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom is yet another small country of north western Europe.It is hardly one-thirteenth the size of India. In total area it is nearly as large as thestate of Jammu and Kashmir. But it, too has been a big European nation.

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Unlike France, the country is situated off the mainland. This country, occu-pying a major portion of the British Isles, is surrounded by the sea. It is, there-fore, insular in location.

The English Channel which separates this country from the continent, ishardly 33 kilometers at the narrowest. However, it had been found too wide toovercome for any invader. The country did wisely utilize this advantage toincrease its wealth and prosperity. Two Indians, namely Mihir Sen and ArtiSaha, made news by swimming the English Channel.

While France is a compact and homogeneous country, the British Isles consistof some 5,000 islands, those of Great Britain and Ireland being the largest ofthem. They comprise two sovereign states of the United Kingdom of Great Britainincluding North Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The major Part of the countrythus consists of the bigger island of Great Britain including three Units of England,Scotland and Wales.

Relief and Climate

Unlike France, the United Kingdom is a country of low relief. It is markedwith undulating lands, rolling hills, dissected plateaus and small rivers. Theseare highlands or uplands but not mountains as such. The highest peak is onlyabout 1,350 metres above sea level. The country has an indented coastline witha number of big and small natural harbours and no part of the land is more than125 kilometres away from the sea.

The climate of the United Kingdom is typically oceanic. It is temperate andequable with a range between summer and winter temperatures. The westerliestend to make its winters warm and summers cool. The rainfall is fairly welldistributed throughout the year. But the winter months are slightly rainier than theothers. The clouds and fogs restrict the sunshine, on an average, to less than twohours a day. The cyclones or the western depressions crossing the islands tendto make the weather cloudy, humid and often foggy. Such day of raw weather arefollowed by fair weather. It is thus a land of variable weather.

Land Use and Economic Development

As there are no mountains worth the name in these islands, it has just 7percent of land left under the forests. Neither the forests nor the farmlands dominatethe landscape of the United Kingdom. Nearly half of its land is claimed by themeadows and natural pastures predominantly in the western part of the country.

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As a result, sheep and cattlerearing have become veryimportant agriculturalactivities. The United King-dom has become famous forits milk cattle. On an average,a milk cow yields more than3,000 kilogram of milk everyyear. The country exports itsmilk cows on a large scale.

The country has less thanone-third of its total landdevoted to farming. The majorfarmlands of the UnitedKingdom are to be found ineast and south-east England.Not much of this land is fertile.Only 5 percent of its peopleare engaged in farming. Yetwith the help of modern toolsand techniques, they produceenough food and raw,materials to meet two-thirdsof the country’s food needs.Barley, wheat, rye, oats,potatoes, sugar-beet, veg-etables and fruits are the major crops. Even on these farms cattle and pigs arereared for their milk and pork. Poultry-farming is very common. Now more andmore machines and tractors are being used on English farms.

The shortage of food supplies is made up by fishing. The country issurrounded by the shallow seas that abound in fish. The long indented coastlinehas provided numerous natural fishing harbours. The most important fishingground is the Dogger Bank. The country has a large mechanized fishing fleet. Ithas facilities, to preserve fish, both on the fishing craft and at the fishing ports.

The total fish catch of this small country is nearly eight lakh tonnes a year,

Fig 11.3 The United Kingdom-Location and ReliefFeatures.

What makes it an island country of Europe ? Note the seasseparating it from other countries, Which parts have thehighlands and which have the lowlands ? Why does the

coastline favour the location of a number of naturalharbours ?

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No wonder then that the fish is an important item of food in the United Kingdom.

Perhaps, thegreatest natural re-sources of the UnitedKingdom has beencoal. It was the firstcountry to use this‘black gold’ on a verylarge scale. Thishelped the country toplace itself on theindustrial map of theworld very early.Although the goodreserves of coal havebeen worked outrapidly, the countrystill produces 43million tonnes of hardcoal. Some new coaldeposits werediscovered in theNorth Sea. The countryhas not much of water-power and it is coalwhich supplies nearlythree- fourth of the totalenergy produced in thecountry.

Huge oil andnatural gas deposits were first discovered in the bed of the North Sea in the latesixties of this country and production began in 1975 by 1986, Great Britain wasthe world’s fifth largest oil producer. Today Britain is meeting most of its ownoil needs from this source. The United Kingdom was the first to produce atomicenergy for commercial purpose, supplementing its power resources.

The country was equally rich in its iron-ore deposits. For several decadesit led the world in the production of pig iron and crude steel. Its iron-ore deposits

Fig 11.4 The United Kingdom-ResourcesLocate the areas having croplands, dairy, farms, fishing-grounds,

coal and the oil-fields. Note the important industrial centers.

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are now almost exhausted or are of low grade, and the annual production. Iremained only 4.5 million tonnes. Nonetheless, it has a flourishing iron and steelindustry based mainly on imported iron-ore.

The widespread use of steam and mechanical power led to the birth of theIndustrial Revolution in this country. Principal industries are coal-mining, ironand Steel engineering, electronics and the chemical works. It builds Ship andmanufactures railway engine wagons, motor-cars and aeroplanes. This countryalso stands high in the respect of processed foods and beverages. It has a verybig textile industry, which grew in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Itmanufactures cotton and woollen textiles. It has to import raw materials likecotton and wool from other countries. But now cotton textiles are being rapidlyreplaced by plastics, chemicals and paper making industries. Look at the mapand locate the centres of various industries. They are located either near the coalfields or near the sea-ports. Why should it be so ?

Although Britain has come down in many industries among the leadingproducers of the world, yet manufactured goods and their export play a dominantrole in national economy.

For industries, a good network of transport is a must. The United Kingdomhas a fine network of roads and railways, surpassed only by Belgium in Europe.

Many of its industries and commercial centres are located on the coasts.They are well served by the seaways. There are over 300 ports among whichLiverpool, Glasgow, NewCastle, Southampton and London are also notable asimportant industrial centres.

In the midland plain of England, the cities of Birmingham, Manchaster andSheffield are other important industrial centres. London is the capital city, largestin size and population (Greater London having 6.8 million people). It is servedby the busiest international airport in the world. It is situated on the Thamesriver which is navigable by ocean going ships. This small country has a largepopulation of nearly 56 million. The average density of population is as high asthat of our country. There are almost 239 persons per square kilometre in thecountry as a whole. While England is the most densely populated, Scotland isthe least densely populated area. Four out of every five persons live in cities andtowns. This shows how industrialized this country is But the big increase in thenumber of automobiles, especially private cars, rise in population and increasedcrowding in cities are causing-noise and air pollution. Can you find out how?

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The waste material from a large number of factories goes into the rivers. It iscalled water pollution. The quality of air and water has gone down and is badfor the people health. These problems are now catching the attention of the peo-ple and the government not only here but elsewhere also.

The British industries greatly depend upon trade with other countries. Thiscountry imports foodgrains and a variety of raw materials for its industry. Itexports manufactured goods. But for such a trade, the British people would havebeen poorer than what they are today.

In addition to it the large number of Indian and Asians settled in Britain areworking industries and other services. Their contribution towards the buildingup of British economy is significant.

UNITED GERMANY

The two post war halves of Germany covering western part known as FederalRepublic of Germany and eastern part as German Democratic Republic wereunited on October 3, 1990. With nearly 80 million people, a formidabled army apotent export driven economy, United Germany will again dominate Europe, isan nerving thought for some of its neighbours, especially those who sufferedNazi Occupation and atrocities during the world war second.

United Germany is a land of plains, low plateaus and the uplands. Becauseof its central position in Europe, almost every trans continental route passes throughthis country facing the north and Baltic seas, this country shares land frontierswith as many as nine countries. This had been an asset to this Country for devel-oping international trade. The two halves of Germany are comparted as :-

Basic Statistics West East

1. Area 000' sq. Ian. 249 108

2. Population 61.7million 16.1million

3. Density of Population 247 155

4. Percentage Employed in

Industry 41 48

Agriculture 5 12

Services 54 40

5. Work Force Employment 29.7 million 8.6 million

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RELIEF:

The northern half of the country consists of low lands forming apart of thegreat European plain. They border the North sea, which is an arm of the AtlanticOcean. These lowlands are covered with sand, gravel, pebbles and pieces ofrocks. They are the deposits left behind by the old ice sheets of the past ages.The coastal area is sandy with dunes, lakes and marshes at a number of places.The central zone consists of low and worn down uplands, deeply eroded byrivers flowing through them. The black forest is a low lable land belonging to it.To its south lie the rugged high lands of the Bavarian Alps separating them fromSwitzerland and Austria. On the east of the central zone, there is the famousRhineland a wide rift vally of Rhine river. The 864 km long river is the busiestwater way of the world. The Elbe, weser and Danube are other important rivers.All the rivers flow in a northerly direction towards the north sea with the exceptionof the Danube. The Southern section consists of the high lands, small valleys andheavily wooded mountain ranges.

CLIMATE

The country lies between 47° and 55° latitude, so it has a temperate climatehaving frequent changes in weather and rainfall through out the year. The coastallowlands enjoy a marine type of climate with cool summers and mild winters.As one proceed south wards or eastwards, the sea influence diminishes and therange of temperature tends to increase. The winter become severe in the southowing to the rise in altitude and snowfall is relatively heavier.

LAND USE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Although Germany is a leading industrial country, it has an efficientagriculture. This is because of man’s efforts in bringing about a technicalrevolution on the land. The country’s agriculture is now almost mechanical, fromthe ploughing of soil to harvesting. This was necessary because a large manpower was moving from village farms into the towns. The reclamation of swamp-land and building of dykes along the North sea coast have helped to raise theproductive capacity of land. Inspite of the huge productive capacity of Germanagriculture, it meets only about three fourth of the nation’s food requirements.Great quantities of fertilizers and manures are used to raise good crops of wheat,barley, rye, oats, potatoes and sugar beet, depending upon the soil and climaticconditions. In the production of rye and potatoes, the country is second only to

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the Soviet Union. The vine-clad hills and terraces along the slopes of the Rhinevalley are called vineyards. The fertile soil of the valley is known for growingfruits and vegetables. Land is extensively cultivated employing all the modernmeans and mixed farming is practised allover the country. This country is one ofthe largest producer of sugar beet in the world.

The best leaves and its factory waste form valuable fodder for cattle in thecountry. It has made animal husbandry, including dairying an important agriculturalactivity. The northern most vine growing region of Europe is found on the slopesof Elbe river valley, which is most important in the heartland of this country.Although intensive agriculture is still carried on in lowlands and valleys, farmingis highly mechanized especially in the collective farms in the south middle region.

Nearly one third of the land is under forests and woods. These are mostlyconfined to the southern uplands and the Bavarian Alps. Besides lumbering thewell cared forests revolution provide base for manufacturing wood pulp, paperand news print.

MINERAL RESOURCES:

The great resource of the country is its coal. The Ruhr is the biggest and therichest coal producing area in Europe. It is this coal which has given rise to thelargest number of mining and heavy industries in the Ruhr area known asGermany’s black Country. The saar is yet another important coal field of theGermany. The excellent cooking coal is even exported arid is one of the bases ofthe country’s most intensive iron and steel industry in the world Bulk of its iron-ore is, however low grade. That is why the country has been importing at leastone-third of its iron-ore requirements from Sweden alone.

The hills and plateaus in the south of eastern Germany are more importantfor the wealth of metals, silver copper, lead, Zinc and iron have been minedthere since long. A part of these uplands has been known as Erzgebirge or oremountains on this very ground. Two resources, brown coloured lignite coal andpotash salt have been responsible for making these region of the country highlyindustrialised. Lignite is used both for producing thermal electricity and as araw material for the chemical industry. Although there are small fields of hardcooking coal in this region its production is less than one percent of the totalproduction. Potash salt is a mineral resource gaining increasing importance for anumber of chemical industries. Besides industries based on agricultural prod-ucts, this country is known for plastic, synthetic rubber, chemicals artificialfertilizer and photographic optical and engineering industries.

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INDUSTRIES:

The Ruhr is a small right bank tributary of river Rhine which joins it as it leavesthe hills on its way to the sea. It is studded with heaps of coal coke furnaces, foundries,iron and steel plants, steel rolling mills, chemical plants, and textile factories. TheRuhr is often called the heart of Industrial Europe, making this country the third largestproducer of steel in the world after the United States of America and Soviet Union. Alarge number of towns and cities are so close together, that it is not easy to distinguishone from the other. It is the most densely populated part of this country. It leave anappearance of a single integrated industrial area in Europe. Industrial centres are nowfound in all parts of the country away from Ruhr’s coal depending other advantageslike hydropower in southern high lands, traditional skills, the raw materials and theimproved means of communications. The country is known also for its automobileindustry and is next to the United States of America in the production of cars andtrucks. It is also reputed for its chemical products.

The industries are well served by a dense network of railways, inland water-ways and roads. Airways are also very important in connecting different parts of thecountry and those of the world. Besides the life line of the Rhine, there are canalsconnecting the rivers and the seas. The 99 km. long Canal known as kiol canal con-nects the North sea with Baltic sea. As many as 400 ships pass through it every day,which is indeed a greater volume of traffic than that in the Panama Canal. The trafficon river Rhine consists of raw materials, food supplies. coal, petroleum and indus-trial products to and from the Gennany. In the southern part of country, the DanubeServes a similar purpose in carrying the traffic from northern and central Europe.

Major Cities and Towns :

Berlin is the capital city of Germany. It is the meeting place of importantroads, railways and airways of middle Europe. It is river port and is linked byriver and canal with parts of the country with Baltic and North Sea and also theRhine. Before unification Berlin City was divided into two parts. Eastern partwas the capital of German Democratic Republic while western part was underFederal Republic of Germany.

Magdeburg, Leipzig and Dresden are other important cities in eastern partsituated along river Elbe or its tributaries. Magdeburg is built on an island ofriver Elbe to the northwest of leipzig in the southern part of the great plain. It is

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the crossing point of routes, the focus of the sugar beat growing area, sugarrefineries, breweries tobacco and the chemical works. It has an iron works andsteel photographic and optical products are made at places in this region. Leipzigis an ancient city, a great road and railway junction to the north of the valuablecoking coal field and has important lignite deposits close to it. Besides, largescalecommerce it has industries depending upon agriculture based on lignite.

Bonn was the capital city of Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated ata point where the Rhine enters into northern low lands. Hamburg and Bermanare leading ports along the North Sea.

Leaving aside Ruhr industrial cities Cologne, Mannheim and Frankfurt arethe other important cities or Rhine valley. Mannheim is not only an importantriver port but is the centre of one of the most well known chemical works in thecountry. Frankfurt is the focus of routes and the second largest airport in thecountry. It has become famous for its fur trade and some industrial aspects of thecity activities. Cologne is situated on the Rhine where its valley starts widening,after which the river emerges in to plains. It is the oldest bridging point on it andis a junction of the highways from east to west along the southern edge of theEuropean plain, and from North sea Ports into the heart of western Europe. It isthus at the head of Navigation for sea-going vessels on the Rhine. It has facto-ries, manufacturing textiles, sugar, tobacco, chemical, chocolates and cars. Mu-nich is the chief city of Bavaria in the far south. It is noted for its breweries andfor manufacturing leather, paper, rubber goods and furniture. Yet is continuous tobe better known for its art and culture.

TRADE AND COMMERCE :

The Commercial links of this country with many other nations have grown.The turnover of exports and imports has greatly increased over the years. Theregion along the Baltic coast is very large but there were inadequatecommunication links between it and the ports. These have now been improvedand Rostock has become an important port having better links also with theBerlin. Besides commerce, fisheries, shipbuilding and the transport industry havegained an added importance.

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EXERCISES

1. Answer the following questions:

(i) Name three different types of climate found in France.

(ii) Mention three important features of the oceanic climate.

(iii) By what name is the central plateau of France known?

(iv) Name one important river each of the two German republics.

(v) Why is France called a miniature Europe?

(vi) Britain is equal to Kashmir state of India in size but it is counted amongthe great countries why?

(vii) The government of Britain is worried about the over industrialisationWhy?

(viii) The Ruhr region is called the heart of Europe. Why?

2. Give reasons for the following :

(i) Britain looks more to the sea than to the land for its prosperity.

(ii) While France has been mainly a land power, the United Kingdom hasbecome a sea power.

(iii) Whereas France exports iron ore, the United Kingdom has to import it.

(iv) The United Kingdom was the first to set up an atomic power plant.

(v) Lignite is the most important resource of unified German.

(vi) The government of Britain is worried about the over industrialization.

(vii) The Ruhr region is called the heart of Europe.

3. Give a brief account of the natural resources of France and show howthey are being properly used.

4. What geographical factors have made the Federal Republic of Germanythe leading industrial country of Europe?

5. Give a brief account of some route-towns of the two German republicsshowing their importance.

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CHAPTER-12

THE COMMON WEALTH OF INDEPENDENTSTATES

It is a vast area extending across the continents of Europe and Asia. It wasformerly known as the Union of Soviet Social Republics or the Soviet Union.After the World War I, the Russian empire was replaced by the Soviet Union.During the World War II it enormously extended its frontiers and several parts ofAsia were annexed by it. This Union of fifteen republics emerged as one of themajor powers in the world politics. But as a result of the formal dissolution ofthe Union, fifteen republics were established. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia werethe first to declare themselves as independent states. Later remaining twelverepublics emerged as sovereign states. In order to maintain proper co-ordinationamong themselves, the eleven republics organised themselves into the commonwealth and the Independent States. Russia is the largest of these republics. Outof the above eleven republics the ten situated in Europe are as follwos :

1. Estonia 2. Lativa 3. Lithuania 4. Byelorussia5. Ukraine 6. Moldavia 7. Georgia 8. Armenia9. Azerbaijan 10. Russia

Physical FeaturesBut for its mountainous fringes, nearly the whole of its area is flat, or consits

of low plateaus of uplands.

The Plains of RussiaThese are one of the most extensive plains in the world. They stretch from

the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the south. Itis a continuation of the Central European plains bounded by the Ural mountainsin the east.

These low-lying rolling plains are drained by several rivers flowing indifferent directions. Find out their names from the map. Of these the Volga, theDneiper and the Don are the most important. Being very fertile, these plainsform the heartland of Russia.

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Eastern mountainous region.The Urals are the main mountains of this region. These mountains form

barrier between the two continental wings of the country. They rise to a greaterheight in the south. The Pachori river rises from the Urals. It is a tributary of theVolga. The Ural river also rises from these mountains. It falls in the Caspian Sea.

South-eastern lowlandsThe land in the north of the Caspian Sea is up to four metre below sea

level. The Volga and the Ural fall into the Caspian Sea after crossing this land.

ClimateRussia has continental type of climate with extreme variations. It ranges

from the bitter arctic winters to suffocating hot summers of the Central Asiandeserts. In general, winters are long and cold and summers short but warm.Except the European part of the country, Russia is little affected by the temperinginfluence of the oceans. Moreover, the northern lowlands are exposed to thecold polar winds. They blow from across the Arctic Ocean which is frozen fornine months. Owing to these reasons together with the huge size of the countrythe winters inRussia areextremely cold.The freezing ofinland and coastalwater; covers largeareas and there arefew all-weatherports. Only in thesheltered areas inthe MountainsJ a n u a r ytemperature may beabove freezingpoint.

A large part ofRussia receivesrain during the

THE COMMONWALTH OF INDEPENDENTSTATES (FORMERLY REPUBLICS OF USSR)

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short summers. Snowfall is common all over the country for as many as ninemonths in Siberia. Rains go on decreasing from west to east. It is scanty inSiberia ard the Caspian Turan lowland. The heaviest rainfall occurs in theCaucasus mountains. They get most of their rain in winter.

Vegetation There is a great variety in vegetation. Several vegetation belts succeed one

another in regular sequence from north to south. They are the tundra the taiga, themixed forests the steppes and the desert vegetation belts.

Forty percent of land is covered with forests. They are most extensive inSiberia and the eastern region. It is the largest source of timber in the world. Thetrees are mechanically felled. This saves a lot of time. Soft wood is used formaking pulp for paper and newsprint. This region is the major producer of logsand boards of wood which are exported.

Animal RearingOnly 15 percent of the land is under pastures and meadows. Cattle, pigs,

sheep and reindeer are reared in large number for their milk, meat, wool andfur. Dairy-farming is specially developed around Moscow. Sheep are scared,both wool and mutton, in the dry parts of central Asia. Reindeer are reared onthe far north for their milk and meat. They also serve as beasts of burden in icyregion.

Economic DevelopmentRussia is very rich in natural resources of all kinds. But its valuable resources

is its own people. After the revolution of 1917 the people, by their hard labour,have done a lot to develop the vast natural resources. This has made their countryone of the strongest in the world.

AgricultureAgriculture is the main occupation of Russia. Only 10 percent of its total

area is under cultivation, yet it is very large when compared to that of any othercountry in the world. Collective farming was developed here. They have bigfarms called Kolkhozes. They occupy almost half of the cultivated land. Thefarmers pool their resources such as land, cattle, implements and seeds.

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There are some farms owned and run by the government. They are calledsovkhozes. The managers and the labourers on these farms are appointed by thestate. These farms specialize in certain products. Their main object is to conductexperiments. They also serve as demonstration farms and are scattered in differentparts of the country. They have their own machines and equipment. In the drycentral Asian land irrigation has increased the agricultural productivity.

Russia produces wheat, barley, rye, oats, maize, sugar beat, potato,sunflower seeds and cotton. Flax is grown around Moscow. It is a useful fibre.Cotton is an important crop of the warm desert region of central Asia.

Mineral and Power Resource:The country is very rich in mineral resources. It has huge reserves of iron

ore, manganese and bauxite. The country has very rich deposits of gold. Its otherminerals are lead, tin, nickel, copper, potash, platinum and tungsten.

Coal is the greatest power resource of Russia. It has a leading position inthe production of coal and lignite. It has a large output of petroleum and naturalgas. Russia has also considerable deposits of uranium. It is used for the productionof atomic energy. Russia has large dams for the production of hydroelectricity. Itis the second largest producer of electricity from all sources. The Syr and Amurivers provide water for irrigation in the dry south.

IndustriesHeavy Industries account for more than two-thirds of the country’s industrial

production, contributing half of the national income. Iron and steel is the mostimportant industry of Russia. New Centres have come up in Siberia and CentralAsia. The country produces tractors, heavy machines, trucks, blast furnaces,arms and ammunitions and chemicals. It helps in building shops and aeroplanes.The centres of textile industry are Moscow and Leningrad. The country is thelargest producer of beet sugar.

TransportRussia is a country of vast distances. Railways and rivers are the chief

means of transport. The Trans-Siberian railway is the largest railway in theworld. Moscow is the biggest railway junction. The Trans-Siberian Railwayhas connected Moscow and Leningrad with distant cotton growing areas. Now

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attention is being paid to the construction of good roads and electrification ofrailway lines.

Most of the country is flat and has been suitable for inland water transport.But in early winters and early summers, floods in the north flowing Siberianrivers make them unsuitable for navigation. In winter rivers are frozen and serveas natural tracks for sledges. Most of rivers in Russia are now inter connectedwith canals. Moscow has now become a port of four seas the Caspian Sea,Black Sea, Baltic Sea and White Sea.

Murmansk is the only ice-free port in Russia which operates throughout theyear in the Arctic Sea. It is along the route to Vladivostok. Despite its location inthe extreme north the warm Atlantic Drift keeps it ice-free. Some of the importantports on the Black Sea, the Baltic and the Pacific are kept open by the ice breakers.Pipe-lines carry oil from the oil fields to other parts of the country and to manyeast European countries.

There has been amazing development of air transport in Russia. Moscowand Leningrad are the plain airports of the country. Airlines connect practicallyevery country with them. Aircraft are of great help in the remote areas like northernand eastern Siberia.

Moscow is the capital of Russia. It is the largest city of the country and themost important transport centre. Russian is the official language. It is the firstlanguage of about sixty percent people.

UkraineUkraine is the second largest state in terms of population. It has many

important industries though it is basically agricultural region. Kiev is the capital.The people of Ukraine are of Russian origin Ukraine is important as a wheatproducing area. The other important producer is rye Sugar-beet and sunflowerare also produced here. Ukraine has big iron and steel plants. It is a thicklypopulated area.

GeorgiaHistorical evidence suggests that about 2800 years ago Georgian civilisation

emerged in the caucasus mountains. In early 19th century the Russians occupiedit. Tibilisi is the capital of Georgia.

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AzerbaijanAzerbaijan had been a part of the Russian empire in the pre-christian era.

Later the turks settled here in large numbers. In the 19th century under differencetreaties the northern portion which includes the oil rich area of Baku was includedin Turkey. In 1918 Azerbaijan emerged as a republic in 1920, it was taken overby the Red Army of Russia. It has a big Muslim population. It is an importantcotton producing republic. Baku is the capital which is situated on the CaspianSea.

ArmeniaArmenia had been under the Persian, Roman, Greek, Arab and Turk influence.

In 1920 Turkey and the Soviet Union divided Armenia between themselves. Inthe December of the same year Armenia was declared as a Soviet Republic. It isknown for its copper mines. Yerevan is the capital of Armenia.

EstoniaEstonia is one of the Baltic republics. Tallin is its capital.

LithuaniaLatvia is situated between Estonia and Lithuania. Riga is its capital.Lithuania is on the Baltic Sea which is ice free even in the winter and it’s

navigable throughout the year. For more than fifty years, it had been an unwillingpartner of the Soviet Union. Volnius is the capital of Lithuania.

RussiaThe Russian empire came into being in early fifteenth century. Both in turns

of area and population it is the largest constituent of the Soviet Union. Moscowwhich has a population of 5.17 crore is the capital. Russia extends from theBaltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It has 8800 km east-west and 4800 km north-south dimensions. The large variety of its population can be particularly seen inthe north-eastern and western areas.Byelorussia

Byelorussia was established by the Russian Ukrainians and basically bythe white slave communities of the east in the 9th century. After the Mongol

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invasion, this area was occupied by the Polish and the Lithuanian Kings. As anafter the conflict between Poland and the Soviet Union during the first worldwar, half of the western portion of Byelorussia was handed over to Poland.According to a treaty concluded in September 1939, the Soviet Union took backthe portion from the Poles. This is a major fertilizers producing area. It is anexporter of consumer goods.

MoldaviaA portion of this area which was known by the name of Kiev Russia was

annexed by the Romanian Kings in the 15th century. In the 19th century it becamea part of the Russian empire. Vesverya, its western portion, was transferred toRomania in 1918. But in 1940, under a treaty Vesverya was regained to form theMoldavian republic. It is an important centre for the production of grapes andimplements. Kishinev is the capital of Moldavia.

EXERCISES

1. What natural features divide Russia into two continents?

2. Name the main minerals found in Russia.

3. Write a note on the agricultural products of Ukraine.

4. Name the eastern and western terminals of the Trans-SiberianRailway.

5. When did the Soviet Union collapse?

6. Which areas compose the commonwealth of Independent states?

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CHAPTER 13

AFRICA

LAND, CLIMATE, RESOURCES AND THEIR UTI-LIZATION

NEW TERMSStrait: A narrow stretch of water Connecting two large bodies of water of

seas.

Isthmus : A neck of land separating two seas.

Waterfall: A sudden descent of water over a big step in the bed of the river.

Wildlife: Animals and birds leading a free life in their natural surroundings.

Rift valley: A long and deep valley with steep slopes on both sides formeddue to a crack or a rift in the land.

Tropical Rain-forests: Dense and thick forests of the equatorial regionwhere the temperature and rainfall are very high.

Savana : The tropical grasslands in Africa having tall and coarse grasses.

Density of population: The average number of persons per unit area, i.e.square kilometre.

The African continent is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean seaand from Asia by the Red Sea. However, it almost touches Eurasia at threedifferent points. (a) the Straits of Gibralter in the north-west, (b) the Suez Canalin the northeast and (c) the Straits of Bab-el Mandeb in the east. By the beginningof the twentieth century several European countries had become so powerfulthat they had brought most parts of the world under their rule. Almost the wholeof Africa had come under the domination of one or the other European power.Today, however, most of the African people have gained independence. Thepeople who are still under foreign rule are fighting for their independence andare due to win their freedom soon. The political map of Africa has changedrapidly in recent years.

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The LandThe map shows some of

the major land forms of Africa.Almost all of Africa appears tobe one huge plateau though itconsists of several plateaus.The plateaus is higher in thesouth and in the east. A fewvolcanic mountain peaks riseabove the plateau in the easternpart near the equator. In fact, thehighest peak of Africa is locatedin this highland region. It ismount Kilimanjaro with a heightof 5,895 metres above sea level.It remains snow-coveredthroughout the year.

The lowland areas are inthe western and the northernparts and along the coast.

One of the special physical features of Africa is its Great Rift Valley. ARIFT VALLEY is a long and deep valley formed due to cracks or rifts in theland. It is bounded by wall like steep slopes on both sides. In Africa, there is along chain of such rift valleys runnning from the south of lake Malawi northwardto the Red sea and then through the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Afuaba to theDead Sea. Hence it is known as the ”Great Rift Valley.”

Many of these valleys are filled with water called lakes. Therefore, thereare several large lakes in the highland region of Africa. Lake Victoria is thelargest lake in Africa. It is also the source of river Nile, which is the longestriver in the world. It rises in the rainy equatorial region and flows northward.After a long journey through the Sahara desert, it reaches the Mediterranean Sea.Another important river is the Zaire in Central Africa. It is also known as Congoin the later part. It drains a large area and discharges a huge amount of water intothe Atlantic Ocean. In fact it carries the greatest volume of water among all therivers of Africa. The Niger in the western part and the Zambezi and the Orangein the southern part are the other important rivers of Africa.

Fig 13.1 Africa- Political divisions

Map

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With the exception of the Nile and the Zaire, few African rivers can be usedfor shipping. This is because the rivers drop from the higher plateaus to thecoastal lowlands making waterfalls. Victoria Falls on Zambezi is higher andwider than even the famous Niagara Falls of North America.

About one-third of Africa is a desert land The Sahara is the largest desertin the world. It is located in the northen part of Africa. The Kalahari desert insouthern Africa is another great desert.

Climate and Natural VegetationAfrica extends between 370 14' N to 340 50' S latitudes. Thus the major

part of it lies within the tropical zone. It is, in fact, the most tropical of all thecontinents. The temperature is very high almost througout the year. The highesttemperature in the world has been recorded at Al-Aziziyah (Libya) as 58 0C.Only on the high plateaus and mountains is it somewhat moderate. Even on theplateaus the day temperatures are high although the nights are cool.

There are marked variations in the distribution of rainfall. It has causedwide variations in climate.

The belt lying along the equator on both sides has a hot, wet climatethroughout the year. It rainsalmost daily and there is only oneseason, namely, the hot-wetsummer.

This is known as the equa-torial type of climate. Because ofthe abundance of heat andmoisture, most of the region iscovered with thick forests called-TROPICAL RAIN FORESTSit has a varied wildlife.

To the north and south of therain-forests, there are regions ofwarm summers and mild winters.In these belts most of the rainoccurs in summer. There is adistinct dry period. Total rainfall

Fig 13.2 Africa Physical features

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is also much less than that in the tropical rain-forests. This climate is known asthe Sudan type of climate. This climate is found in a very large part of the continent.Its vegetation is mostly grasses. The tropical rainforests gradually begin to openup and give place to woodlands, which finally turn into grasslands. The regioncovered with tall and coarse grasses is known as the SAVANNA. It is thehomeland of a variety of grass-eating animals and the wild beasts that live bykilling them.

Beyond the savanna, both in the northern and in the southern parts of Africa,there are extensive deserts. They are known as the Sahara in the north and theKalahari in the south. Temperatureis very high. In fact the highesttemperature in the world is foundhere. There is almost no rainfall.The climate is hot and extremelydry known as the desert type ofclimate. Vegetation is eitherwholly absent or includes onlyscrubs and bushes.

The northern and the southerncoasts of Africa have mild andrainy winters and warm and drysummers. This is known as themediterranean type of climate.

The climate is cooler in thehighlands of southern and easternAfrica.

Natural Resources And Their UtilizationThe boundaries provided by nature to any area are known as NATURAL

RESOURCES. They include things such as soil, water, minerals, forests andanimals. Africa is rich in several natural resources.

SoilSoil is one of the most important natural resources. It supports different

kinds of plants and trees. Soil is formed very slowly. It takes, hundreds of yearsto form a one centimetre thick layer of soil

Fig 13.3 Africa-Climatic divisions

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Some soils,are better suited forcrops. Such fertilesoils are usuallyfound in the rivervalleys and plains.However, some ofthe less fertile soilscan also be madefertile by addingfertilizers. Butsome soils are notat all suitable forcrops, though they can support other kinds of plants or grasses.

In Africa, only, 10 percent of the soil is suitable for crops. It includesthe volcanic soils of east Africa, the alluvial soils of the Nile valley and certainsoils of the savanna lands, which are very fertile. In other parts of the continentclimatic conditions and the nature of the land form have been unfavourable forthe formation of good soil. However, a very large part of central Africa is underforest cover, which is also an important natural resource of the continent.

Water:A large part of the Africa is dry. However the remaining parts get good

rainfall. There are many rivers which carry plentiful rain water throughout theyear. A good deal of this water is used for irrigation. Many rivers reach the seathrough a series of waterfalls because they flow from the higher plateau areas onto the lower coastal plains. As such ships and boats are prevented from sailingvery far upstream. These can, however, be used for the development ofhydroelectricity.

The Kariba dam on the Zambezi is the largest producer of water-power in,Africa. The Aswan dam on the Nile in Egypt is another very big dam.

Minerals:Africa is very rich in several valuable minerals. It leads the countries of the

world in the production of diamond, gold and platinum.

Fig 13.4 Africa-Annual Rainfall Fig 13.5 Africa-Natural

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More than 95 percent of the world’s diamond production Comes from Africa.The price of diamond depends on its size and brightness. Good quality diamonds,often used in jewellery, fetch a high price. Inferior quality diamonds are used forindustrial purposes.

Africa is responsible for more than half the world’s gold production. SouthAfrica is the major producer of gold and platinum in Africa. As you know, gold isused for making ornaments but its greatest value lies in the fact that it serves as thebasis for issuing currencies in all the countries of the world.

Africa has large reserves of cobalt, manganes, chromium, copper, tin, bauxite,and uranium. But there is not much coal and iron ore in this continent. This hashampered the production of steel, which is so important for industrial growth. Inthe past, most of these resources were used reck essly by the Europeans powers,who exported them in large quantities. As a result, several large copper mines arenow closed. Today the independent nations of Africa are facing the problem offinding out ways by which these resources could be utilize wisely for their economicprosperity. Cobalt and manganese, which are mixed with iron to make steel, arefound in the Southern half of Africa leads the countries of the world in the productionof chromium, a metal which does not rust. Zaire and South Africa are the mainproducers of copper (Which is used for making electric wires), bauxite (whichyields alumimum) and uranium (which is used in producing atomic energy).Petroleum is found in many parts of Africa such as Nigeria, Libya and Angola.

Forests Forests and trees are very important sources of wealth. Besides timber, many

other products are obtained from them. Large parts of central Africa are covered withthick forests. They yield hardwood which may be used as timber. They have manyvaluable trees such as mahogany, ebony and kapok.

Rubber trees grow wild in these forests, though they are native to South America.However, they are now being planted properly. Africa exports rubber in large quantities.

Three different types of palm trees are found in Africa. They are coconutpalm, oil and date palm. Coconut palms are found in the tropical islands (such asZanzibar and Pemba) and along the equatorial coast such as Tanzania. Theyyield copra from which coconut oil is obtained. Oil palm, from which palm oilis obtained, is common in west Africa. Nigeria exports a good deal of this oil.Date palm grows in the oasis in the drier regions. Dates constitute an importantitem of food for the local people. Egypt exports a large amount of dates.

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Cacao and kola aretrees which provide usbeverages. Cocoa isobtained from the cacaotrees. Like coffee, it is avery popular drink and isalso used for makingchocolate. Cacao growswell in the equatoriallowlands. West Africancountries, Such as Ghanaand Nigeria, export agood deal of cocoa. Kolatrees yield nuts which areused in preparing coladrinks and chewing gum.

Africa has a largevariety of fruit trees. Inthe tropical region,banana, pineapple,papaya, jackfruit andmango are common. Citrus fruits such as lemon, orange and lime are also grownhere. The mediterranean regions grow olives, apples, peaches and grapes. EastAfrica produces cashewnuts. Zanzibar and Pemba islands are the biggest producersand exporters of cloves in the world.

WildlifeThere is an abundance of wildlife in Africa. The extensive equatorial forests

and swamps as well as the huge grass lands are ideal homes for a variety ofbirds and animals.

Elephants, wild buffaloes, snakes, pythons, monkeys; hippopotamuses andrhinoceros are some of the important animals found in the forests and swamps.Deer, stag, zebra and giraffe belong to the open woodlands and grasslands. Someanimals such as lions and tigers prey on these grass-eating animals. Camels arefound in the deserts. The ostrich, a large, fast-running bird, is found in the Kalaharidesert.

Wild animals and birds are important natural resources. Previously they

Fig 13.6 Africa-minerals and industries.

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were hunted for their skinsbones, horns, tusks andfeathers, which were soldfor good prices. As a result,the number of these animalsand birds reduced. Thegovernments of the differentcountries of Africa have,therefore, made laws againstunlicensed hunting. SeveralWildlife sanctuaries andnational parks have beendeveloped. These arerestricted woodlands andforests where hunting is notallowed. The animals canlive freely in their naturalsurroundings. Tourists fromall over the world visit these national parks to watch wildlife in naturalsurroundings. Tourism is thus a fast growing industry which provides goodincome to the local people. However, hunting of these animals has not stoppedcompletely, and so there is a need to enforce the laws.

In the higher savanna regions of eastern, northern and western Africa, cattlegrazing is very important. Large herds of cattle are owned by nomadic tribes,who move from one place to another with their herds.

CropsDifferent kinds of crops are grown here. Some crops are grown by the

people for food. These are called FOOD CROPS.

There are other crops which are grown mainly for manufacturing industries.These are known as CASH CROPS.

Most of the food crops of Africa are root crops such as yam and cassava.With the exception of maize, cereals are not very important. Wheat, rice andmillets like sorghum are grown only in small quantities.

Amongst the cash, crops, palm oil, groundnut, cocoa, coffee, cotton andsisal are important.

Fig 13.7 Africa-widlife

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Palm oil and groundnut are produced mainly in west Africa. Cocoa andcoffee from Africa constitute about 60 and 24 percent of world trade respectively.Cotton has been grown in the Nile Valley for several thousand years. About ninepercent of the world’s trade in cotton comes from Africa. Sisal is a vegetablefibre that is used in making ropes and sacks. Africa is one of the world’s largestproducers and exporters of sisal. In fact, Tanzania leads the countries of Africain sisal production. Sisal plants thrive well on poor, sandy, soils. They are rearedin a nursery. After words they are planted in rows in large fields. After three orfour years, their leaves are cut off and crushed by machines. The fibre is leftwhich is dried and made into ropes and sacks.

The islands of Zanzibar and Pemba are famous for cloves and coconuts.They produce about nine-tenths of the world’s cloves. The clove trees grow to aheight of about 12 metres. They have long, dark and shining leaves. The creamypink buds of the trees are picked just before they burst open. Picking must bedone within a very short time. The picking season is a very busy time.

In the past few years, many African nations increased their production ofcash crops. This could provide them money to build dams, industries, transportand communication lines and improve their living conditions. Hence, the areaunder food crops decreased in many countries. In some parts of Mica, droughtconditions are prevailing because of the failure of rainfall for many years. Therehas been acute food shortage in several countries of Africa.

The People

The people of Africa vary greatly. About 70 percent of these people are theBlacks. The rest of them have come from other parts such as Europe and Asia.

The first European settlement in South Africa was made in 1652. Now thereare more than 3,000,000 Europeans in south Africa alone, but they constituteonly 20 percent of the population. Though the white people are in a minority theyrule the country. Besides, they practice a policy of segregation i.e., the non whitepopulation is not allowed to live freely in the country. It is a serious problem.

Like in our country, several hundred languages are spoken here. This presentsproblems in communication. Many Africans, therefore, find it useful to be ableto speak at least two languages like us. One is the local language or dialect. This

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enables them tocommunicate withpeople in their ownvillage or tribe. Inaddition, they learn tospeak French, Italian,English, Arabic orSwahili. SWAHILI is alanguage which isunderstood by manypeople. Differentreligions such as Islam,Christianity and Animismare followed by thepeople of Africa.ANIMISM is the religionfollowed by many tribes.It is based upon love andrespect of nature.

The total population of Af-rica is about 537 million. If it isdistributed uniformly over thewhole continent there will beonly 18 persons per square kilo-metre In other words DENSITYOF POPULATION in Africa is18 persons per square kilome-tres We may, therefore, say thatit is a thinly populated continent.The actual distribution of popu-lation is, however uneven.

Look at the population mapand note the vast spaces whichare unpopulated. The Saharadesert in the north and the

Fig 13.9 Africa-distribution of Population

Fig 13.8 Crops and livestock

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Kalahari desert in the southwestern part have very little population. Why arethese regions thinly populated? Why do we find a dense population in the valleyand the delta of the Nile and some parts of west Afiica?

Transport

Africa does not have enough means of transport. The extensive deserts andthick forests hinder the construction of roads and railways. Rivers are usefulonly for localtransportation. Thepresence of waterfallsmakes them largelyunnavigable. Railwaysand roads are not welldeveloped. Mostly theylink the mining and otherimportant centres withthe coast. Air transport isbecoming more and moreimportant but it is costly.

Locate on the mapthe two sea routes of theworld, one passingthrough the Suez canaland the other goingaround the Cape of GoodHope.

Africa is a continent of great promise because it has vast natural resources.The new independent countries of Africa are making great progress in develop-ing their agriculture, industries and transport routes. India and many other na-tions are helping African nations to develop their resources.

Fig 13.10 Africa- transport lines, major cities

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EXERCISES

Review Questions1. Answer the following questions briefly.(i) Which mountains lie in the north-western and south eastern parts of

the continent of the continent of Africa?(ii) Why do most of the rivers in Africa have water falls before they

flow into the sea?(iii) Why has there been a serious food shortage in Africa?(iv) Which are the thickly populated parts of Africa?(v) Which language of Africa is understood by many people?(vi) Why is climate in Africa different at different places?(vii) Which is the hottest place in the world?(viii) How many years does it take in the formation of one Centimetre

layer of Earth?

2. Make correct pairs from the following two columns:(a) The world’s longest river (i) Zaire(b) The African river discharging

a huge amount of water into the Atlantic Ocean (ii) Kariba(c) The desert northern Africa (iii) Kalahari(d) The dam on the Nile (iv) Nile(e) The dam on the Zambezi (v) Aswan(t) The desert of southern Africa (vi) Sahara

3. Some of the trees and plants found in Africa are sorghum, ebony,kola, wheat, mahogany, sisal, cotton,. and cacao. List them under thefollowing categories :

(i) Trees which give hardwood(ii) Trees which give fruits for making beverages(iii) Plants which yield fibre(iv) Plants which produce cereals

4. Give reasons:1. Although a big continent, Africa, has small population.2. Why are most of the countries of the continent still undeveloped?3. Why is Africa called a dark continent even today?

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CHAPTER-14

LAND OF FORESTS-ZAIRE

NEW TERMSCassava: An important plant of the tropical region. The roots of the plant

are eaten as food.

Export: Goods and services sold by one country to another country.

River basin: A large area drained by a single river and its tributaries.

Zaire was ruled by Belgium for a long time. But it became an independentcountry in 1960. It is about three-fourths the size of India but it has a smallpopulation which is just a little more than that of Kerala State. See the locationof Zaire in the map of Africa.

Land and ClimateThe greater part of Zaire lies within the basin of river Zaire from which it

has derived its name. The Zaire basin is a large saucer-shaped depressionsurrounded by the plateaus.The Zaire is one of thelargest rivers of the worldBut it is navigable only inparts because it hasnumerous waterfalls andrapids, i.e., small waterfalls.

Zaire lies in theequatorial region and so ithas high temperature andheavy rainfall throughout theyear. The abundance of heatand moisture causes plantsand trees to grow veryrapidly. The land istherefore, covered bytropical rain forests. Theseforests are evergreen Fig 14.1 Zaire

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because all trees do not shed their leaves at the same time. In these dense foreststrees compete with each other for sunlight and become very tall. Many of themreach a height of 40 metres or more. Trees of several species are found in a verysmall area. Below the tall trees there are several small trees. Beneath them is amat like green cover of grasses, shrubs and climbers. Because of the trees andthe undergrowth, it is very difficult to travel in these forests. River courses arethe only means by which one can travel in these forests. The foliage in theseforests is so dense that the rays of the sun hardly reach the forest floor. Theseforests are, therefore, dark and gloomy.

On both sides of the rainforest, savanna grasslands are found.

Resources and their UtilizationZaire is rich in several natural resources such as forests, wildlife, soil,

minerals and water power, Agriculture and mining are the two important economicactivities of the people.

Forests:A large part of the country is covered with equatorial or tropical rain-

forests. Though they contain one of the largest reserves of hardwood in theworld, they have not yet been utilized much.

Wildlife:

Zaire is often called a gigantic zoo because of its large variety of wildlife.Snakes, phythons, monkeys, elephants and hippopotamuses are some of theexamples of animals living in the forests and swamps of Zaire. Besides, a varietyof birds also live in its forests.

Soil and Crops:

Although Zaire is a lowland, only onefifth of its total land is under cultivation.It is because of its vast forest cover.

The principal food crops grown here are rice, maize, cassava and sorghum.Rice is grown in the north, the north-east and in the Kasai province in the south.Maize is grown in the Savanna region. Cassava is a kind of tuber. Its plant growsto a height of about a metre and a half. The tuber is dried and pounded into flour.

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Cash crops such as rubber, coffee, cotton and oil palm are grown just forexport. Cattle rearing is done on the high lands especially in the savannas.

Methods of agriculture are mostly traditional. The food crops are used mainlyby the families producing them. Efforts are being made to improve agricultureby providing fertilizers and using new methods of farming.

Minerals and Industries:Zaire has vast reserves of copper, diamond, cobalt, tin, zinc, manganese

and uranium. They are found mainly in the southern province of Shaba (Katanga).It is one of the largest producers of copper and industrial diamond in the world.Most of the minerals extracted within the country are exported.

Most of the industries in Zaire process agricultural and mineral productsfor export. They are located mainly in Likazi (Jodotville) and Lubumbashi(E1izabethville).

Water Power:There is huge potentiality for water power. It has a number of dams and

hydel power stations. It also supplies water power to its neighbouring countries- Congo and Burundi.

However, there is a lot of scope for future development.

The people:The people of the country are mainly the Blacks. They, however, belong to

different tribes. Nearly two-third of the population consists of the Bantu-speakingBlacks.

Its total population is about 32 milion. Because of the country’s huge size,the density of population is low, i.e., about 14 persons per square kilometre.

Zaire is mainly rural. However, the number of people now living in urbanareas is growing very fast. In fact, the rate at which the towns and cities havedeveloped in Zaire, is one of the highest in Africa. Many of, these urban centreswere developed by the European settlers. They are similar in appearance to anycity of a developed country. Kinshasa is the largest city and is the capital ofZaire. Lubumbashi (Elizabethville) and Kisangani are other important cities.Matadi is the chief port of the country which is situated on the river Zaire.

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EXERCISES

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Answer the following questions briefly?

(i) In which river basin is Zaire located ?

(ii) Why is the river Zaire navigable only in parts?

(iii) What is an evergreen forest?

(iv) Which are the main food crops of Zaire?

(v) The population of which state of India is equal to that of Zaire ?

2. What are the characteristics of equatorial rain-forests? Why havethese forests not yet been used much?

3. Why are most of minerals from Zaire exported and not used ?

4. Explain how cassava is grown and used.

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CHAPTER-15

LAND OF PALM AND PALM OIL-NIGERIA

NEW TERMSTributary: A stream or river which joins a larger river. Hydroelectricity

Electricity produced by the force of falling water on turbines.

Inland drainage: A river system in which rivers do not reach the sea or theocean.

Nigeria is one of the largest countries of Africa. In population it leads allthe countries of Africa. It is one of the wealthiest and most progressive countriesof the continent.

Land and Climate:

Nigeria is a country oflowlands and plateaus. Thecoastal area in the south is alowland covered with rain-forests. The surface of theland is undulating, i.e., itrises and falls so that it lookslike waves.

Further north, lies theplateau of Jos wherewoodlands of the southgradually give place tograsslands. The extremenorth of the country mergeswith the Sahara Desert.

The Niger is the mostimportant river after whichthe country is named. It

Fig 15.1 Nigeria

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drains the greater part of Nigeria before it fall into the Gulf of Guinea. Rivers ofthe north-eastern part of the country flow into lake Chad, thus forming an inlanddrainage system, i.e., one where the rivers do not reach a sea or an ocean.

Coastal Nigeria has an equatorial type of climate and has rainfall throughoutthe year. In the interior there is a marked dry season in summer. Hot and dust-laden winds often blow from the north east during this season known as theHARMATTAN.

Resources and their utilization

Crops:

Nigeria is mainly an agricultural country. The major part of its land isunder food crops which are consumed locally. They include yam, cassava, millet,maize, sweet potatoes, rice and beans. The country is self-sufficient in food andis very important for certain agricultural exports. It is the world’s largest exporterof palm kernels, palm-oil and groundnuts It is second largest producer of cocoa.It also produces cotton, rubber, tobacco and banana.

The oil palm tree grown very well in the equatorial climate. It reaches itsfull height of approximately 12 metres in about fifteen years. The fruits of thetree grow in clusters. Oil is extracted from the hard nut as well as from the pulpfruit by simple crude methods or by machines. The chemical properties of thetwo oils are different. It is used in making margarine, soap, candles, hair-oil andother things.

Animal Rearing :

It is important in the northern grass lands, Cattle, goats and sheep are reared.The goat-skins are supplied to the leather industries of Nigeria.

Forests:

One-third of the country’s total area is under forest. Timber and plywoodare the important exports.

Water Power:Nigeria is rich in water power resources. Kainji dam has been counstructed

on the river Niger. There are four hydel power stations in Jos in the north.

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Minerals and Industries :

There are large reserves of tin and columbite in the central plateau. Theyare exported on a large scale. Nigeria also posses iron, lead, zinc, manganeseand limestone. It is the only coal producing country of western Africa. It is oneof the largest mineral oil producing countries of Africa. In the 1970s it experienceda real oil boom because of increased production. This affected the economiccondition of Nigeria in many ways. On the one hand it helped in earning moremoney for the country, and on the other it affected agriculture adversely. Increasedincome generated demand for services of all types. As a result the percentage ofpeople employed in services increased from about 10 in 1970 to 23 in 1982. Butthe percentage of people engaged in agriculture dropped from 75 in 1970 to 59in 1982.

Nigeria has several industries such as textiles, food processing, leather andtanning, oil mills, cigarettes, rubber factories and metal works.

The transport and communication system of Nigeria is one of the best inAfrica.

The People:

The majority of the people are the Blacks. They however, belong to differenttribes.

Nigeria has a population of 92 million. The density of population is about100 persons per square kilometre. The density of population is comparativelyhigher in the south western and south eastern parts than in the rest of the country.

Lagos is the capital city of Nigeria. Lagos and Port Harcourt are the principalports. Ibadan is the largest city and an important trade centre. Important industrial‘centres are Kano, Kaduna and Jos in the north and Lagos and port Harcourt inthe south.

Land of Palm and Palm Oil - Nigeria

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EXERCISES

1. Answcr the following questions briefly

(i) How did Nigeria receive its name ?

(ii) Which industries are found in Nigeria?

(iii) Name the river on which the dam in Nigeria is located. Also namethe dam.

2. Make correct pairs from the following two columns :

(a) The capital city of Nigeria

(b) An important port of Nigerla

(c) An important trade centre of Nigeria

(d) The most important cash crop of Nigeria

(c) An important industrial centre of northern Nigeria

(i) Kano

(ii) Cocoa

(iii) Lagos

(iv) Port Harcourt

(v) Ibadan

(vi) Accra

(vii) Palm oil

3. What-are the major crops of Nigeria ? What climatic factors areresponsible for their growth ?

4. In what ways has the oil boom in Nigeria affected its economiccondition?

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CHAPTER-16

THE GIFT OF THE NILE - THE ARAB REPUBLICOF EGYPT

NEW TERMS

Gulf: A small area of the sea penetrating into the land. It is usually of alarger extent than a bay.

Distributaries: The channels of a river by which it distributes its water.

Delta: A more or less triangular tract made up of alluvium at the mouth of ariver. It is traversed by a number of distributaries.

The Arab Republic of Egypt is situated in Africa but it is at the junction oftwo continents, namely, Africa and Asia. Until the Suez Canal was constructed,the isthmus of Suez formed a land bridge between Africa and Asia. The SuezCanal serves as a very useful and convenient gateway of international tradebetween the countries of the east and the west.

You will notice, that Egypt is a part of the Great Sahara Desert whichoccupies nearly half the northern part of Africa. A very small part of Egypt liesin Asia also. The life-giving waters of the Nile have made it one of the richestand most thickly populated lands of Africa. No wonder the Egyptians considertheir land the gift of the Nile. The Nile Valley has been the home of one of theoldest civilizations of the world.

Land and Climate

The larger part of the country is a desert because of scanty rainfall. Thispart is almost wholly uninhabited. Hot, dry and sand laden winds blow from thesouth during early summer, i.e, April and May. These are Known as KHAMSIN.

There is a narrow strip of land along the river Nile, which is fertile. Theriver has deposited rich mud on both sides during floods. In fact, not more thanone thirtieth of Egypt is populated. People live on both the banks of the Nile in a

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strip of land, which has a maximum width of about 25 kilometres. At places, it isnot more than two or three kilometres wide.

The Nile is the second largest river in the world. Its source lies in LakeVictoria. This lake is located in the equatorial region, where it rains heavilythroughout the year. It, therefore, collects a large volume of water before enteringEgypt.

At Cairo, the river slits into a number of channels, distributing its waterover a wide tract. Such channels by which river water is distributed are knownas DISTRIBUTARIES.

Resources and their utilizationCrops:

Agricultural land is very limited in Egypt. Only three percent of the totalland is under cultivation. However, nearly three-fourth of the population is engagedin agriculture, there is a great pressure of population on agricultural land.

Fig 16.1 The Nile Valley

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Even though the Nile Valley and its delta are one of the world’s most fertilelands, agriculture cannot be carried out without irrigation. The flood waters ofthe Nile have been used for irrigation with great skill for the last 5,000 years.The Egyptian farmer, called FELLAH, has to work very hard on his small fieldbut he is able to grow at least two crops annually.

The principal crops of Egypt are maize, rice, wheat, millet, and sugarcane.Dates are an important product, grown especially in oasis.

Cotton is the most important cash crop of Egypt. It is world famous for itsfine quality. Cotton plant needs a fertile soil, high temperature and abundantsunshine. It grows well here with irrigation water. Its fruit or ball ripens in aboutsix months, after which it burst open showing the white fluff that is cotton. Rain,fog, dust and pests can damage cotton crop. That is why the hot, dry and cleanweather of Egypt is very suitable for cotton growing.

Water Resources :

Several high dams have been built on the Nile. The largest among them is atAswan. Canals taken from the dams irrigate crops throughout the year.Hydroelectricity is also produced at these sites.

Minerals and Industries :

Mineral oil is the most important mineral wealth of Egypt. It is found inSinai and along the Red Sea coast. Other minerals such as phosphates, sea salt,manganese and iron ore are also produced.

The cotton textile and food industries are quite important and also theoldest Engineering industries i.e. manufacture of diffrent kinds of equipment,chemical industries i,e,

manufacture of fertilizers, glass, soap, etc, and oil refineries are developingfast.

The people

The inhabitants of Egypt are mostly Arabs and are followers of Islam. Thetotal population of the country is about 46 million. The average density of

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population is thus 46 persons per square kilometer. The actual distribution, how-ever is very uneven. In the Nile valley it is more than 900 persons per squarekilometre.

Al Qahira (Cairo), the capital of Egypt is the largest city of Africa.The famous pyramids of sphinx are located near Cairo. AI Iskandariya(Alexandria) is the chief sea port and the second largest city of Egypt. But Said(Port Said) at the Suez Canal is a big trading centre.

Transport :

The roads and railways run along the course of the river Nile. The networkof transport lines is very dense in the delta region. However, there are roads inall directions. Cairo is the centre of the transport system. Besides, it is also avery important international airport. But, it is the Suez Canal which has putEgypt on the world map of intemational trade. The canal was cut across theisthmus which separates Africa and Asia. It now links the Mediterranean Seawith the Red Sea. The opening of the Canal in 1869 shortened the voyage fromBombay to London by more than 7,000 kilometres. The canal is 162 kilometreslong and a ship takes about 10 to 12 hours to pass through it.

Fig 16.2 A Pyramid

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EXERCISES

1. Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) Name the source of the Nile.

(ii) Which is the most important cash crop of Egypt? What percentage ofland is under cultivation?

(iii) Why is irrigation necessary for agriculture in Egypt.

(iv) Which seas are connected by the Suez Canal ?

(v) Which is the biggest dam on the river Nile?

(vi) Which is the longest river in the world?

2. Distinguish between :

(i) A tributary and a distributary.

(ii) A strait and an isthmus.

3. Complete the following statement by choosing the correct endingfrom those given below the statement. The Suez Canal is the busiestinternational waterway because

(a) it charges nominal toll on the goods passing through it.

(b) it saves the long journey round the Cape of Good Hope.

(c) it is an all sea level canal.

(d) it is the longest sea canal.

4. What are the favourable conditions for the growth of cotton in Egypt?

5. Why is Egypt called the gift of the Nile?

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CHAPTER-17

SOUTH AFRICA-LAND OF GOLD ANDDIAMONDS

Cape : A prominent headland projecting into the sea.

Ocean Current : A general movement of the surface water of the oceanflowing in a definite direction like a stream.

Pastoral farming : The practice of breeding and rearing animals on pasturesfor milk, meat, wool and skin.

Mixed farming: Combination of cultivation of crops and rearing of animalson the same farm.

Apartheid : Policy of segregating people on the basis of their race or colourof their skin.

South Africa lies in the southernmost part of the continent. It is a largecountry, about three-eighth the size of India, but has only a small population. Ithas a variety of natural resources. It is known for its mineral wealth, particularlygold and diamonds.

It is bounded on three sides by two oceans namely, the Atlantic Ocean andthe Indian Ocean. It occupies an important position on the international traderoute.

Land and ClimateAlmost the whole of South Africa is a high plateau sloping towards the

west. The Drakensberg mountains in the east form the edge of this plateau. Someof its ridges are higher than 3,000 metres. To the east of these mountains, theland drops down rapidly. To the south, the land drops down in steps.

The Plateau region is covered with grasses. It is called ‘the veld’. It is aDutch word which means field.

South Africa lies in the warm temperate zone. It has a moderate climate dueto several reasons. It is surrounded on three sides by oceans. The great height ofthe plateau is another reason for its cool climate. It is further cooled by the coldocean current along the west coast.

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The Orange and the Vaal river flow from the Drakensberg mountains westward to the Atlantic Ocean. The Limpopo river flows along the northern boundaryof the country for some distance.

Except in coastal areas, the rainfall is not much and decreases from south tonorth and from east to west. Most of the country has rains in summer but thesouthern coast sets rain during winter.

Resources and their utilization Soil and Crops:Since a large part of the country on the western side does not get sufficient

rain, it is a dry land. The eastern part has a good rainfall but most of it is hillyand unsuitable for cultivation. It is only in the veld region in the north centralpart that the land is fertile and rainfall is moderate. As such only one-eighth ofthe total land of South Africa is under cultivation. Maize is the most importantcrop. Wheat, oats and barley are also grown.

Animal Rearing:

It is more important than the cultivation of crops. The breeding and rearingof animals on pastures is known as PASTORAL FARMING. Cattle, goats andsheep are reared fortheir milk, meat,wool and skin. TheMerino sheep ofSouth Africa arefamous for their finewool. In fact, as anexporter of woolSouth Africa is nextonly to Australia. Insome areascultivation of crops iscombined withanimal rearing. Thistype of agriculture isknown as MIXEDFARMING.. Fig 17 South

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Minerals and Industries:South Africa is the leading producer of gold and diamonds in the world. It

accounts for nearly half of the world’s production of gold. The gold mines arenear Johannesburg. Rocks containing gold are blasted, crushed, washed andsorted. Then with the help of chemicals, gold is dissolved and separated fromthe ore. The centre of diamond mining is Kimberley Platinum, manganese, uranium,copper, iron, asbestos and coal are the other important minerals of the country.Mining is the most important activity of the people.

South Africa is the most industrialized country of Africa. It manufactures anumber of products from its agricultural raw materials. Tinned fruit, processedfood, sugar, cigarettes, meat, dairy products and textiles are the important products.The iron and steel industry has become a major industry. Metal works and chemicalindustries are also developing.

The People:The total population of South Africa is about 39 million. The density of

population is only 26 persons per square Kilometre. Nearly two- third of thepopulation consists of the Blacks. Less then one fifth of the population is composedof the whites. The rest of the population includes the Asians and mixed groups.South Africa was earlier a colony of England but later on it was given selfgovernment. But government was still run by whites. Although the whites werein minority but the government was entirely run by them. Non-whites has no partin the government. They were permitted to live only on lands reserved for them.They could own land only in their reserves. They were not given higher jobs.They mostly worked in mines and they were paid less than whites. Thus therewas complete segregation of the non-white people in every sphere of life-political, economic and social. The policy of segregating the people on the basisof their race or colour is known as Apartheid. No other country of the worldshows such disregard of human rights as south Africa.

Before 1915 Gandhiji had awakened nonwhites about their human rights.As a result the non whited had been struggling hard for their rights. Thousands ofpeople including children’s home lost their lives in this struggle. The nonwhitesfinally succeeded in their struggle. In 1994 there was pact-between NelsonMandela the leader of non-whites and the Govt. of whites and an interimGovernment was formed. Nelson Mandela is the leader of the new Government.All the countries of the world welcomed this.

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Johannesberg is the largest city of South Africa. It is a commercial andIndustrial centre. Protria is the Captial City of the Country. Cape town is thelegislative Capital. It is also the largest port. The other two important ports areDurban and port Elizabeth. The country has a good network of railways. Thishas enabled it to exploit its mineral wealth and to develop its agriculture andindustries.

EXERCISES

1. Answer the following questions briefly.(i) What is the area of South Africa as compared to India?(ii) What is the veld?(iii) Why does South Africa enjoy a moderate climate.(iv) What is meant by mixed farming?(v) What is apartheid?

2. Make correct pairs from the following two columns.(a) The centre of diamond mining in South Africa(b) The centre of gold mining in South Africa(c) The capital city of South Africa(d) The biggest port of South Africa(e) The southern most tip of South Africa.

(i) Johannesburg(ii) Cape of Good Hope(iii) Cape Town(iv) Kimberley(v) Pretoria(vi) Port Elizabeth.

3. What is meant by pastoral farming? Why is it important in SouthAfrica?

4. Which are the important minerals of South Africa? How is goldmined and refined?

5. Why is agriculture less important in South Africa?