Q5
Answer the following questions in about 150 words each: (a) What were 'Brahmadeya' grants? How do you account for the large number of such grants in the early medieval period? (10 marks) (b) The establishment of large number of urban settlements in North India in the thirteenth century was principally owing to the deployment of Turkish garrisons across the lands. Comment. (10 marks) (c) Much of the political instability after the death of Iltutmish was the doing of the Chahalgan. Elucidate. (10 marks) (d) The Rajput school of painting was Mughal in style and Rajput in its content. Comment. (10 marks) (e) Account for the rise of the Maratha power in the eighteenth century. (10 marks)
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
निम्नलिखित प्रश्नों में से प्रत्येक का उत्तर लगभग 150 शब्दों में दीजिए: (a) 'ब्रह्मदेय' अनुदान क्या थे? पूर्व मध्यकाल में बड़ी संख्या में दिए गए इस तरह के अनुदानों का विवरण आप कैसे देंगे? (10 अंक) (b) तेरहवीं शताब्दी के उत्तर भारत में अधिक संख्या में शहरी बस्तियों की स्थापना मुख्य रूप से तुर्की सैन्य टुकड़ियों की समस्त भू-भाग में तैनाती के कारण हुई थी। टिप्पणी कीजिए। (10 अंक) (c) इल्तुतमिश की मृत्यु के उपरांत अधिकांश राजनीतिक अस्थिरता चहलगान की करतूत का परिणाम थी। स्पष्ट कीजिए। (10 अंक) (d) राजपूत चित्रकला, शैली में मुगल थी पर विषयवस्तु में राजपूत। टिप्पणी कीजिए। (10 अंक) (e) अठारहवीं शताब्दी में मराठा शक्ति के उत्थान की व्याख्या कीजिए। (10 अंक)
Directive word: Elucidate
This question asks you to elucidate. The directive word signals the depth of analysis expected, the structure of your answer, and the weight of evidence you must bring.
See our UPSC directive words guide for a full breakdown of how to respond to each command word.
How this answer will be evaluated
Approach
The directive 'elucidate' in part (c) demands clear explanation with supporting evidence, while other parts use 'comment' and 'account for' requiring balanced analysis. Allocate approximately 30 words per sub-part (150 words each), spending roughly equal time on all five parts since each carries 10 marks. Structure each answer with a precise definition or thesis statement, followed by 2-3 substantive analytical points with specific examples, and a brief concluding observation that ties to broader historical significance.
Key points expected
- Part (a): Define Brahmadeya as tax-free land grants to Brahmanas; explain proliferation through royal legitimation strategies, agrarian expansion, and temple-building patronage in early medieval peninsular India
- Part (b): Analyze Turkish garrison towns (qasbas) as nuclei of urbanization; balance military-administrative factors with commercial revival, mint establishment, and integration with existing trade networks
- Part (c): Identify the Chahalgan (Chalisa) as Iltutmish's slave nobility; explain their factional rivalries, succession disputes between Raziyya and successors, and erosion of centralized authority 1236-1246
- Part (d): Distinguish Mughal stylistic elements (naturalism, perspective, Persian techniques) from Rajput thematic content (mythological narratives, courtly life, regional patronage at Mewar, Marwar, Bundi)
- Part (e): Trace Maratha rise through Shivaji's military innovations, Peshwa administrative consolidation, revenue system (chauth and sardeshmukhi), and exploitation of Mughal/post-Mughal power vacuum
Evaluation rubric
| Dimension | Weight | Max marks | Excellent | Average | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronology accuracy | 20% | 10 | Precise dating for all five parts: early medieval period for Brahmadeya (c. 600-1000 CE), 13th century for Turkish garrisons (1206-1290), 1236-1246 for Chahalgan instability, 16th-18th centuries for Rajput painting evolution, and specific phases of Maratha rise (Shivaji 1674, Peshwa ascendancy 1713 onwards) | Broad period identification with minor errors; vague 'medieval' or 'Mughal period' references without specificity; conflation of early and late medieval phases | Significant chronological confusion such as placing Brahmadeya in Sultanate period, misdating Chahalgan to Balban's reign, or treating Maratha rise as exclusively 18th century phenomenon |
| Source & evidence | 20% | 10 | Cites specific inscriptional evidence (copper plates for Brahmadeya), archaeological reports (urban sites like Hansi, Badaun), Persian chronicles (Minhaj-us-Siraj for Chahalgan), named artists/styles (Mewar, Kota, Bikaner schools), and Maratha documents (peshkash records) | General reference to 'inscriptions' or 'chronicles' without naming sources; mentions of 'historians say' without attribution; correct but unsupported factual claims | No source citation; reliance on textbook generalizations; factual errors such as confusing Rajput painting with Mughal atelier production or misidentifying Chahalgan as Turkish nobility |
| Multi-perspective analysis | 20% | 10 | Demonstrates balanced causation: for (a) royal and Brahmana mutual benefit; for (b) military AND commercial factors; for (c) Chahalgan agency AND structural weaknesses of Iltutmish's succession; for (d) patronage dynamics AND artistic synthesis; for (e) internal consolidation AND external opportunity | Single-factor explanations; acknowledges complexity but does not develop; presents opposing views without resolution | Monocausal narratives (e.g., Turkish garrisons alone caused urbanization); ignores historiographical debates; presents descriptive lists without analytical framework |
| Historiographic framing | 20% | 10 | Engages with key scholarly positions: Burton Stein's 'segmentary state' for Brahmadeya; Simon Digby and Satish Chandra on garrison urbanization; Peter Jackson on Chahalgan and 'mamluk' politics; Asok Kumar Das on Rajput painting schools; André Wink on Maratha 'fitna' and Mughal fragmentation | Implicit awareness of debates without explicit naming; references to 'some historians' without specificity; conventional narrative without critical engagement | No historiographical awareness; presents all statements as uncontested fact; anachronistic value judgments or presentist interpretations |
| Conclusion & synthesis | 20% | 10 | Each sub-part concludes with precise linkage to broader themes: Brahmadeya and regional state formation; garrison towns and Indo-Islamic urbanism; Chahalgan and Sultanate institutional fragility; Rajput painting and cultural hybridity; Maratha rise and 18th century power redistribution | Summary restatement of points without development; generic concluding phrases ('thus it was significant'); missed opportunity for cross-period or thematic connections | Abrupt ending without conclusion; introduces new information in conclusion; contradictory final statements; conclusion absent or irrelevant to question asked |
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