Through the Eyes of Travellers
Q) What was the name of the book written by Al-Biruni?
Answer: Kitab-ul-Hind
Q) What was Ibn Battuta's profession?
Answer: Qazi or judge
Q) What was the purpose of Bernier's visit to India?
Answer: To serve as the Sultan's envoy to the Mongol ruler
Q) What were the main topics covered in Al-Biruni's book?
Answer: Religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners and customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology
Q) What mode of transportation did Ibn Battuta use to travel to India?
Answer: Overland through Central Asia
Q) What were the challenges faced by travelers in the past?
Answer: Attacks by bands of robbers
Q) What was the significance of travel literature in understanding the past?
Answer: It provided insights into the lives and cultures of people from different regions
Q) What were the contrasts highlighted by Bernier between European and Indian customs?
Answer: Bernier observed that Europeans were more individualistic and materialistic, while Indians were more communal and spiritual
Q) What was the significance of Al-Biruni's mathematical orientation?
Answer: It allowed him to make precise and predictable comparisons between different cultures
Q) What was the motivation behind Ibn Battuta's travels?
Answer: A desire to explore new worlds and peoples
Q) What were the challenges Al-Biruni faced in understanding Indian society?
Answer: Al-Biruni faced challenges due to language differences, religious disparities, and the insularity of the local population.
Q) How did Al-Biruni compare the caste system to social divisions in ancient Persia?
Answer: Al-Biruni compared the caste system to social divisions in ancient Persia, suggesting that social stratification was not unique to India.
Q) What was Ibn Battuta's experience of the subcontinent?
Answer: Ibn Battuta encountered a subcontinent integrated into a global network of communication.
Q) What strategies did Ibn Battuta use to represent unfamiliar aspects of Indian society?
Answer: Ibn Battuta employed various strategies to represent unfamiliar aspects of Indian society, including emphasizing the exoticness of plants like coconut and paan.
Q) What is the significance of the coconut and paan in Ibn Battuta's writings?
Answer: The coconut and paan represent the unfamiliar and exotic aspects of Indian society that Ibn Battuta encountered.
Q) What were the two main functions of bazaars in addition to economic transactions?
Answer: Bazaars served as hubs of social and cultural activities.
Q) What did Ibn Battuta find particularly impressive about Indian agriculture?
Answer: Ibn Battuta was struck by the fertility of the soil, which allowed farmers to cultivate two crops a year.
Q) Which aspect of Indian trade particularly impressed Ibn Battuta?
Answer: Ibn Battuta was amazed by the efficiency of the postal system, which enabled merchants to send information, remit credit, and dispatch goods across long distances.
Q) What was the fundamental difference between Ibn Battuta and François Bernier in their approaches to describing India?
Answer: While Ibn Battuta focused on highlighting the novel and exotic aspects of India, Bernier sought to compare and contrast India with Europe, often emphasizing perceived shortcomings in India.
Q) According to Bernier, what was the primary drawback of crown ownership of land in Mughal India?
Answer: Bernier believed that crown ownership of land discouraged long-term investment in agriculture, leading to stagnation and decline.
Q) What was Bernier's overall assessment of Indian society?
Answer: Bernier painted a bleak picture of Indian society, characterized by a rigid social hierarchy, widespread poverty, and a lack of a middle class.
Q) What was the basis for the concept of oriental despotism, developed by Montesquieu?
Answer: Montesquieu drew inspiration from Bernier's descriptions of crown ownership of land in India to argue that Asian rulers possessed absolute authority and kept their subjects in a state of subjugation.
Q) How did Karl Marx characterize the pre-colonial economic system in India?
Answer: Marx proposed the concept of the Asiatic mode of production, suggesting that the state controlled the appropriation of surplus, leading to a stagnant society with autonomous village communities.
Q) What was Bernier's perception of urban life in Mughal India?
Answer: Bernier dismissed Mughal cities as mere "camp towns" that existed solely to serve the imperial court and lacked independent economic foundations.
Q) What evidence contradicts Bernier's characterization of Mughal cities as solely dependent on imperial patronage?
Answer: The existence of prosperous merchant communities and professional classes in urban centers indicates that these towns had a broader economic base beyond imperial patronage.
