1 | BHIE : 144

Q 1. Critically examine various kinds of ancient Indian inscriptions with special reference to Ashokan
edicts.
ANS: Varieties of scripts that are found from the excavations stand evidences of the society and culture of
the ancient India. The inscriptions, though serve as the sources of early history of India, have also their own
characteristics value.
In early historical India there were two main varieties of scripts namely Brahmi and Kharoshthi. Apart from
these there are stone cave inscriptions that are also equally important to provide information related to
the Indian history.
Asoka’s Edicts & Inscriptions
The Edicts of Ashoka are in total 33 inscriptions written on the Pillars, boulders and cave walls of Mauryan
Period, during the reign of the Emperor Ashok that are dispersed throughout the Indian Sub-continent
covering India, Pakistan and Nepal.
These inscriptions are divided into three broad sections –
. Major Rock Edicts
. Pillar Rock Edicts
. Minor Rock Edicts
These edicts have mentioned that Buddhism as a religion had reached as far as the Mediterranean under
the Ashokan reign. Many Buddhist monuments had been created in the wide-spread area. BHIE 144 Free
Solved Assignment
In these edicts, Buddhism and the Buddha are also mentioned. But primarily these edicts focus more on
social and moral precepts rather than the religious practices (or the philosophical dimension) of Buddhism
during Ashoka’s reign.
A notable thing in these inscriptions is, that Ashoka refers to himself in many of these inscriptions as
“Devampiyaa” which means “Beloved of the Gods” and “King Piyadassi.”
Language used: The inscriptions found in the eastern parts of Mauryan empire are written using the
Brahmi script in Magadhi language.
While in the western parts of the empire, the script used is Kharoshti, written in Prakrit. To add to the
variety, one extract in the Edict 13 is written in Greek and Aramaic.
The world came to know of these details of Mauryan empire and Ashoka when the edicts and inscriptions
were decoded by British Archaeologist James Princep.
Major Rock Edicts: There are fourteen major rock edicts in series and two separate
Major Rock Edict I – It Prohibits animal slaughter and bans festive gatherings. he mentions that only two
peacocks and one deer were being killed in Asoka’s kitchen which he wanted to be discontinued.
Major Rock Edict II – This edict provides for care for man and animals. It also describes the presence of
Pandyas , Satyapura and Keralputra Kingdoms of South India.
Major Rock Edict III – It mentions and guides about Generosity to Brahmans. This edict was issued after 12
years of Asoka’s coronation.
It tells about the Yuktas which were subordinate officers and Pradesikas (who were district Heads)
accompanied with Rajukas (Rural officers) would go to the all the parts of the kingdom every five years to
spread the Dhamma Policy of Ashoka.
Major Rock Edict IV – It says that Dhammaghosa(sound of righteousness) is ideal to the mankind and not
the Bherighosa(sound of war). It also talks about the impact of Dhamma on the society. BHIE 144 Free
Solved Assignment
Major Rock Edict V – It concerns about the policy of people towards their slaves. “Dhammamahamatras”
are mentioned in this edict as appointees of the state.
Major Rock Edict VI – This describes the King’s desire to stay informed about the conditions of the people
of his regime constantly. Welfare measures for the people.
Major Rock Edict VII – Ashoka requests tolerance for all religions and sects. This is repaeted in 12th edict.
Major Rock Edict VIII – It describes Ashoka’s first Dhamma Yatra/visit to the Bodhgaya and Bodhi Tree
Major Rock Edict IX – This edicts condemns popular ceremonies and stresses on Dhamma.
2 | BHIE : 144

Major Rock Edict X – It condemns the desire for fame and glory of individual and stresses upon popularity
of Dhamma.
Major Rock Edict XI – It elaborates on Dhamma(Moral Law).
Maior Rock Edict XII – Here also he request for tolerance among different religions and sects as mentioned
in 7th edict.
Major Rock Edict XIII – Asoka mentions his victory over Kalinga . Also mentions Victory of Asoka’s Dhamma
over Greek Kings, Antiochus of Syria, Ptolemy of Egypt, Antigonus of Macedonia, Magas of Cyrene,
Alexander of Epirus and Cholas, Pandyas etc.
These are inscribed on 15 rocks found across India. Minor Rock Edicts have been found at various
locations.
It is interesting to note here that, Ashoka has used his name only at these four places. Maski in Karnataka;
at Brahmagiri in Karnataka; at Gujarra in Madhya Pradesh; at Nettur in Andhra Pradesh.
Pillar Edicts: BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
The pillars edicts use two types of stones. One type is a spotted, white sandstone sourced from Mathura.
Another type is a Buff colored Sandstone and Quartzite sourced from Amravati.
There are a total 11 pillars that have been found in India and Nepal. These are found at Topra
(Delhi),Meerut, Kausambhi, rampurva, Champaran, Mehrauli, Sanchi, Sarnath, Rummindei, and Nigalisagar.
All of these pillars are monolithis made from single rock).
Pillar Edict I – It mentions about Ashoka’s principle of protection to people.
Pillar Edict II – It defines “dhamma’.
Pillar Edict III – It abolishes the practice of harshness, cruelty, anger, pride among his subjects as sins.
Pillar Edict IV – It deals with duties of Rajukas.
Pillar Edict V – This edicts describes the list of animals and birds which shall not be killed on listed days.
Also there is another list of animals which must not be killed at all occasions.
Pillar Edict VI – It describes the Dhamma Policy of the state.
Pillar Edict VII – It describes the works done by Ashoka for fulfilment of the Dhamma Policy. He observes
that all sects desire self control as well as purity of mind.

Q 2. Anayse Barani’s idea of history.

ANS: Ziauddin Barani was born in 1285 at Baran. He was born in a noble family. His grandfather was a wazir
in the court of Alauddin Khilji. His father worked as a deputy (naib) in the court of Arquli Khan, the son of
Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji.
Barani was brought up to believe that aristocratic birth was essential to be considered for the
appointments in higher orders in the society.
According to him, the class or order system is determined on the basis of occupational and social
ladders. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
Barani was the favorite courtier and companion of Muhammad Bin Tughluq for seventeen years. However,
he was out of favor with Sultan Firoz Tughluq.
He banished Barani from the court and even imprisoned him for some time at Bhatner, after which he
spent his life in poverty. He lived an underprivileged life in the later part of his life and died at the age of
seventy-two in 1357 A.D.
During the exile, he wrote his well-known literary chronicle Tarikh-i-FiruzShahi in which he records events
from the reign of Balban to that of Firoz Tughluq.
His work Fatwa-i-Jahandari is a book on political philosophy that deals with the techniques and rules of
government. It is a book that intends to guide the rulers.
The most distinguishing character of this book that deals with the political ideals to be followed by the
rulers is its class character. The class classification in this book is primarily based on occupational and social
status.
The classes, Barani believed, had specific skill sets which were hereditary and are attained by birth.[1]
3 | BHIE : 144

Barani sought for stability and justice in the society around him and believed that this could only be
achieved through the ruling institution of sultanate when managed by a properly instructed sultan.
However, his political theory had some personal ambitions attached to it. Barani through his book Fatwa -i-
Jahandari tried to support his prejudices and his self-interests (he tries to uphold his position by slamming
new ideologies).
He used this text as a medium to establish the social structure of the society according to his ideologies
through his writing, as this book was supposed to guide the ruler of the state, a textbook of sorts. BHIE 144
Free Solved Assignment
Barani believed that god created everything in yoked pairs, bringing forth from one entity another entity
that stands to the first as its corresponding opposite or antitheses.
He believed that in this temporal world, good alone does not exist. The evidence of truth or falsity is
possible only through the existence of their corresponding moral antitheses. He explains that the truth is
identified as truth only because there exists falsity.
Otherwise, the classification of something into true or false will not make sense.[2] This goodness and
badness are also present in the nature of all men.
These virtues or vices are distributed in a heterogeneous way among men. He states that only prophets are
born impeccable. The saints are preserved from the vices from the time they receive God’s protection.
Only in a few men, the virtues pre-dominate the vices. But he states that God has created men with a
capability to change their dispositions.
The main focus point in Fatwa-i- jahandari is to induce rulers to change their dispositions and rule as true
Islamic kings. [3] “The meaning of “truth being established at the center” is not that falsehood totally
vanishes while truth alone remains in the world.
For almighty god has said: “we have created two spirits” – that is, god has created things in pairs and
brought into existence one thing in opposition to another. …. The object of the above preamble is
this. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
“Truth being established at the center” does not mean that falsehood is totally overthrown. Truth becomes
luminous only through the existence of falsehood, good through the existence of evil, Islam through the
existence of infidelity and theism through the existence of polytheism.
In this way, it becomes clear that this is truth and this is the falsehood, that this is good and this is evil, that
this is Islam and this is polytheism.”[4] He applied this concept of virtues and vices, good and bad to state
that: for the common classes(as opposed to higher classes like scholar or elite classes, bureaucracy,
courtiers or ruling class) to understand tlie wisdom of creator in full splendor,
the king must favor those who are endowed with virtues and disfavor those who have vices. He advises
rulers to make appointments or promotions strictly in accordance with the ‘wisdom of creation’,
which according to him is designed by his idea of the class ladder and its structure. Certain qualities, the
virtues, and vices; merits and disadvantages, are attached to an individual soul in its basic nature.
He believed that being a low-born or base stock reflects the dominance of vices in that entity.
Thus, he uses his two concepts: BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
1.The co-existence of bad along with good, and arrives at
2.The distribution of virtues and vices (good and bad) by god at the time of creation which is inherent to all
human beings to justify his argument that states that being a low-born reflect the predominance of vices.
This shows him using his literary work as a stage to promote his prejudice towards the ‘low borns’ or
people of lower hierarchical and social rank. He believed that only persons of high worth and aristocratic
lineage were allowed to rule.
He believed that the descendants of the aristocratic lineage were naturally trained in the field of their
predecessors
(Example: ruling class, bureaucracy, aristocratic classes etc.), as they are brought up observing and learning
from them. “In the appointment of intelligence officers, auditors, and spies, religious rulers have had good
intentions and objects.
4 | BHIE : 144

The intelligence officer should be truthful in speech, truthful in writing reliably, well-born, worthy of
confidence, sober and careful where he lives and not much given to social and convivial intercourse so that
his object, which is obtaining correct information for the king’s business, may be attained.
But if the intelligent officer is a thief, a man without rectitude, low-born, mean, a frequenter of very place
and a caller at every door, corrupt, greedy, covetous and reckless, then what should be the predicate of
the rulers’ intentions, his designs and his search for the welfare of his subjects, will become the opposite.
For, the dishonest and lowborn intelligence officer, who is a master intrigue and “wire pulling”, spins many
lies that look like the truth, and through his testifying to false information, affairs are thrown into
disorder.”
[5] We see Barani also stressing the importance of wise ministers in the state, and their role in the
functioning of the state system. He also explains how several qualities of a wazir effect the kingdom in
particular ways. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
By these, he concludes saying that it is essential to have good ministers of higher virtue. However, his
definition of higher virtue, along with the obvious traits expected, also requires the person to be of noble
birth.
This shows his prejudice towards classes. He used the medium of his writings to aid his purpose. [6] “It is a
religious duty and necessary for kings whose personal aims are the protection of religion and stability in
affairs of government to follow the practices of God Most High in their bestowal of place.
Whomsoever god has chosen and honored with excellence, greatness, and ability, in proportion to his
merit so should he be singled out and honored by kings… … he whom god has created with vile qualities
and made contemptible in his sin, rascality, and ignorance, who as a sport of the devil has been brought
into existence as a slave of this world and a helpless victim of his lower self, should be treated and lived
with according to the way he was created, so that the wisdom of the creation may illumine the hearts of
all.
But if the ruler, out of a natural inclination or base desire, self-will, or lack of wisdom honors such a
scoundrel, then the ruler holds God in contempt and treats him with scorn…”[7]
Barani explains that god bestows on his creation, abilities proportionate to their merits. So the qualities of
excellence, greatness, and ability reflect a persons’ merit which must be honored.
On the other hand, he says that the reason for rascality, ignorance and sin are present in beings as a
reflection of their lower merit. Barani tries to say that, the birth of a person as a slave is a direct indication
that god wants him to be a slave.
If the ruler tries to honor this man against gods’ decision to make this man a slave, it would count as
disrespect to god (by questioning gods’ decision about the distribution of wisdom among his
creations). BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
It is a sin on the part of the ruler and he has to face the wrath of god ultimately. “…..
Teachers of every kind are to be strictly enjoined not to thrust precious stones down the throat of dogs or
to put collars of gold round the necks of pigs and bears- that is, to the mean, the ignoble,
the worthless; to shop keepers and the low-born they are to teach nothing more than the mandates about
prayer, fasting, alms-giving, and the pilgrimage to mecca, along with some
chapters of the Quran, and some doctrines of faith, without which their religion cannot be correct and
valid prayers are not possible.
They are to be instructed in nothing more lest it brings honor to their mean souls. They are not to be
taught reading and writing, for plenty of disorders, arise owing to the skill of the lowborn in knowledge.
The disorders into which all the affairs of religion and government are thrown is due to the acts and words
of the lowborn whom they have made skillful.
For by means of their skill they become governors, revenue collectors, accountants, officers, and rulers, if
the teachers are disobedient and it is discovered at the time of the investigation that they have imparted
knowledge or taught letters or writing to the lowborn, inevitably punishment for disobedience will be
meted out of them.”[8]
5 | BHIE : 144

The above text clearly depicts the attitude that Barani carried towards ‘low-borns’. He refers to them as
mean souls, stating that teaching them more than bare essentials would be like thrusting precious stones
down the throat of dogs’.
He clearly states that educating ‘lowborns’ would lead to the appointment of them in certain positions
which has to be avoided. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
As a measure to prevent these appointments, he strongly discourages imparting education to certain
classes of society, so that the question of appointing them does not arise in the first place.
From the above citations[“For by means of their skill they become governors…”] we can gather that Barani
considers ‘class’, and not ‘skill’, as the primary criteria for appointments in higher cadres.
Barani requires the Islamic ruler to exercise his powers against both heretics and unbelievers. Among the
former, he numbers philosophers. Among latter, he singles out Brahinans.
According to him, the former should be expelled or suppressed and the latter was not to be allowed to the
status of dhimmis but to be confronted with the choice of Islam or of perpetual war. Barani had a great
deal of disliking for philosophers.
The philosophers were people who used rational thinking, they also were not opposed to the idea of
education to all classes and encouraged the appointment of all sorts on the basis of merit and discarded
class system.
He states that Muhammad bin Tughluq, whom he once rose to the level of prophets was an oppressor,
tyrant, ill-minded person with no political worth. This is because the sultan was functioning on the advice
of the philosophers in his court.
He lived in a community that is dominated by nonMuslim population. He was very unhappy with this state
of affairs and gets very stringent related to the matters of the ‘unbelievers’. But here it is interesting to
note that he highlights Brahmans instead of the non-Muslims (Hindus).
One of the possible reasons could be the power that these classes exercised in the social structure of
Indian system (particularly as ministers, royal advisors, court historians etc.). The above two classes of
people (philosophers and Brahmins) posed a threat to his position (and to his clan, in general) beyond
doubt.
So it could be considered that this power that Barani wanted the ruler to exercise against the heretics and
unbelievers is a one that stems from his personal interest as opposed to an interest of the state.
Q 3. How Buddhist biographies narrate the Buddhist view of the past? Elaborate.
ANS: Buddhism is one of the world’s major religions. It originated in India in 563-483 B.C.E. with Siddhartha
Gautama, and over the next millennia it spread across Asia and the rest of the world.
Buddhists believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but that if one achieves a state of
enlightenment (nirvana), it is possible to escape this cycle forever.
Siddhartha Gautama was the first person to reach this state of enlightenment and was, and is still today,
known as the Buddha. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god, although there are supernatural figures who can help
or hinder people on the path towards enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama was an Indian prince in the fifth
century B.C.E.
who, upon seeing people poor and dying, realized that human life is suffering. He renounced his wealth
and spent time as a poor beggar, meditating and travelling but ultimately, remaining unsatisfied, settling
on something called “the Middle Way.”
This idea meant that neither extreme asceticism or extreme wealth were the path to enlightenment, but
rather, a way of life between the two extremes. Eventually, in a state of deep meditation, he achieved
enlightenment, or nirvana underneath the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening).
The Mahabodhi Temple in Bihar, India—the site of his enlightenment—is now a major Buddhist pilgrimage
site.
The Buddha taught about Four Noble Truths. The first truth is called “Suffering (dukkha),” which teaches
that everyone in life is suffering in some way. The second truth is “Origin of suffering (samudāya).” This
states that all suffering comes from desire (tanhā).
6 | BHIE : 144

The third truth is “Cessation of suffering (nirodha),” and it says that it is possible to stop suffering and
achieve enlightenment. The fourth truth, “Path to the cessation of suffering (magga)” is about the Middle
Way,
which are the steps to achieve enlightenment. Buddhists believe in a wheel of rebirth, where souls are
born again into different bodies depending on how they conducted themselves in their previous lives.
This is connected to “karma,” which refers to how a person’s good or bad actions in the past or in their
past lives can impact them in the future. There are two main groups of Buddhism: Mahayana Buddhism
and Theravada Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhism is common in Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. It emphasizes the
role models of bodhisattvas (beings that have achieved enlightenment but return to teach humans). BHIE
144 Free Solved Assignment
Theravada Buddhism is common in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar). It
emphasizes a monastic lifestyle and meditation as the way to enlightenment Buddhism has been a
controversial religion.
The head of the Tibetan school of Buddhism and traditional leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, fled from
China-controlled Tibet in 1959 to India in fear of his life.
Many Tibetan Buddhists actively resist Chinese control of the region.
Recently, the current Dalai Lama, who is understood to be the fourteenth reincarnation of the first Dalai
Lama, has raised questions over whether and where he will choose to reincarnate.
Q 4. Discuss briefly the main ideas of colonial historiography with special reference to J.S. Mill.
ANS: Just about this time, between 1806 and 1818, James Mill wrote a series of volumes on the history of
India and this work had a formative influence on British imagination about India.
The book was entitled History of British India, but the first three volumes included a survey of ancient and
medieval India while the last three volumes were specifically about British rule in India.
This book became a great success, it was reprinted in 1820, 1826 and 1840 and it became a basic textbook
for the British Indian Civil Service officrs undergoing training at the East India’s college at Haileybury.
By the 1840s the book was out of date and in his comments its editor H.H. Wilson pointed that out in 1844
(Wilson also pointed out many factual errors in the book); but the book continued to be considered a
classic.
Mill had never been to India and the entire work was written on the basis of his limited readings in books
by English authors on India.
It contained a collection of the prejudices about India and the natives of India which many British officers
acquired in course of their stay in India.
However, despite shortcomings from the point of view of authenticity and veracity and objectivity, the
book was very influential for two reasons.
One of these reasons is often recognised: James Mill belonged to an influential school of political and
economic thought, the Utilitarians inspired by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. BHIE 144 Free Solved
Assignment
As an Utilitarian exposition of history Mill’s history of India was also at the same time implicitly an
Utilitarian agenda for British administration in India.
The other reason for the immense influence the book exercised has not been recognised as much as one
might have expected.
This book perfectly reflected the cast of mind at the beginning of the nineteenth century which we have
noticed earlier, a cast of mind which developed in the wake of Britain’s victory in the AngloFrench wars for
hegemony in Europe, and Britain’s growing industrial prosperity.
James Mill broadcast a message of confident imperialism which was exactly what the readers in England
wanted to hear.
While James Mill had produced an Utilitarian interpretation of history, a rival work of history produced by
Mountstuart Elphistone is more difficult to categorise in terms of philosophical affiliation.
7 | BHIE : 144

Elphinstone was a civil servant in India for the greater part of his working life and he was far better
equipped and better informed than Mill to write a history of India.
His work History of Hindu and Muhammedan India (1841) became a standard text in Indian universities
(founded from 1857 onwards) and was reprinted up to the early years of the next century.
Elphinstone followed this up with History of British Power in the East, a book that traced fairly
systematically the expansion and consolidation of British rule till Hastings’ administration.
Q 5. Explain the idea of history writing as discussed by nationalist historians.
ANS: Nationalist approach to Indian history may be described as one which tends to contribute to the
growth of nationalist feeling and to unify people in the face of religious, caste, or linguistic differences or
class differentiation.
This may, as pointed out earlier, sometimes be irrespective of the intentions of the author.
Initially, in the 19th century, Indian historians followed in the footsteps of colonial historiography,
considering history as scientific based on fact-finding, with emphasis on political history and that too of
ruling dynasties.
Colonial writers and historians, who began to write the history of India from late 18th and early 19th
century, in a way created all India history, just as they were creating an all-India empire. BHIE 144 Free
Solved Assignment
Simultaneously, just as the colonial rulers followed a political policy of divide and rule on the basis of
region and religion, so did colonial historians stress division of Indians on the basis of region and religion
throughout much of Indian history.
Nationalist historians too wrote history as either of India as a whole or of rulers, who ruled different parts
of India, with emphasis on their religion or caste or linguistic affiliation.
But as colonial historical narrative became negative or took a negative view of India’s
political and social development, and, in contrast, a justificatory view of colonialism, a nationalist reaction
by Indian historians came.
Colonial historians now increasingly, day by day, threw colonial stereotypes at Indians. Basic texts in this
respect were James Mill’s work on Ancient India and Elliot and Dawson’s work on Medieval India.
Indian nationalist historians set out to create counter-stereotypes, often explicitly designed to oppose
colonial stereotypes thrown at them day after day.
Just as the Indian nationalist movement developed to oppose colonialism, so did nationalist historiography
develop as a response to and in confrontation with colonial historiography and as an effort to build
national self-respect in the face of colonial denigration of Indian people and their historical record.
Both sides appealed to history in their every day speech and writing. Even when dealing with most obtuse
or obscure historical subjects, Indians often relied in their reply on earlier European interpretations. BHIE
144 Free Solved Assignment
For example, many colonial writers and administrators asserted that historical experience of Indian people
made them unfit for selfgovernment and democracy, or national unity and nation-formation or modern
economic development, or even defense against invasion by outsiders.
Colonial rule would gradually prepare them – and was doing so – far all these tasks
BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
Assignment – III
Q 6. Amuktamalyada as a historical source
ANS: Āmuktamālyada (Telugu: ZUŠ Josó) is a Telugu epic poem composed by Krishnadevaraya, the
Vijayanagara Emperor in the early 16th century. Amuktamalyada translates to “One who offered the
garland after wearing it themselves”.
Considered as a masterpiece, Amuktamalyada describes the story of wedding of the Hindu Lord
Ranganayaka an avatar of Lord Vishnu and Goda Devi aka Andal the Tamil Alvar poet and daughter of
Periyalvar, at Srirangam. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
It is believed that Krishnadevaraya wrote the work, after getting a dream in the portico of the Srikakula
Andhra Maha Vishnu temple, in the Srikakulam Village (today’s Krishna District) on the banks of river
8 | BHIE : 144

Krishna, in which Lord Andhra Maha Vishnu appeared and instructed him to write the story of his wedding
to Andal at Srirangam in Telugu.
Q 7. Bakhar
ANS: Bakhar is a form of historical narrative written in Marathi prose. Bakhars are one of the earliest
genres of medieval Marathi literature.
[1] More than 200 bakhars were written in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, the most important of
them chronicling the deeds of the Maratha ruler Shivaji Maharaj.
Bakhars are considered valuable resources depicting the Maratha view of history, but also criticized for
falsification, embellishment and magnification of facts.
Most scholars believe that the word bakhar is a metathesis of the Arabic-origin word khabar
(“information”). S N Joshi argues that the word is derived from the Persian word khair or bakhair (“all is
well”, the end salutation in a letter), since it appears at the end of most texts.
Bapuji Sankpal argued that the word is derived from the Sanskrit-origin word akhyayika (“story”). BHIE 144
Free Solved Assignment
he principal characteristics of bakhars are that they were written in prose, had a forceful style of writing,
were of political historical nature which appealed to Maratha patriotism, were often commissioned by a
patron,
displayed an acceptance of tradition and also a belief in the supernatural.[1] Early bakhars were sparsely
written and contained a number of words of Persian derivation, later works tended to be voluminous and
contained Sanskritised prose.
Q 8. Sufi Hagiographies
ANS: Sufism is also known as Tasawwuf in the Arabic speaking world. It is not a particular sect of Islam,
rather it transcends all the sects of Islam.
It is a style of worship which emphasises on introspection, closeness with God, purification of the soul,
renunciation of worldly things.BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
They are the Muslim Saints who entered India in the 12th Century and gained popularity in the 13th
century. Sufi saints believed in the following ideals.
Seeking inner purity The only way to reach God is through devotion and love. They believed in Prophet
Mohammed and also attached importance to their ‘Murshid’ or ‘Pir’ (Guru) More priority is given to
devotion rather than prayers.
Sufi saints were classified into 12 orders. Each of the 12 orders belonged to a prominent Sufi saint.
Since the first Muslim hagiographies were written during the period when Sufism began its rapid
expansion,
many of the figures who later came to be regarded as the major saints in Sunni Islam were the early Sufi
mystics, like Hasan of Basra, Farqad Sabakhi, Dawud Ta, Rabi’a al‘Adawiyya, Maruf Karkhi, and Junayd of
Baghdad. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
Q 9. Genealogical traditions of western India
ANS: An ancient and diverse Indian culture is located in South Asia on the Indian sub-continent. Its people
and civilizations date back thousands of years.
The family is the center of Indian traditions. Covering generations, India has the tradition of the joint family
system.
It is a system under which extended members of a family – parents, children, the children’s spouses and
their offspring, all live together. It is the eldest male member who is the head of the family in the Indian
system.
He makes all important decisions and rules, and other family members abide by them. While doing Indian
genealogy, the knowledge that there is the long standing practice of arranged marriages, done by the
parents for each of their children.
The practice is still done, just at a lesser degree compared to years ago. In turn, there is little or no divorce,
mostly because they believe marriage is for life.
9 | BHIE : 144

Indian food is mostly vegetarian with occasionally use of lamb, fish, chicken and goat meat. Cattle are part
of their Hindu religion as well as the culture.
The cow is revered and honored and the provider of good fortune. A variety of spices are used in the food
dishes. In the northern end wheat is the basic food and in the southern region it is rice. BHIE 144 Free
Solved Assignment
The sari, a draped garment, is the traditional female clothing Clothing for most people is made of cotton to
help keep the body cool in the very hot Indian climate.
Indian dance, music and poetry hold many traditional customs. They’re the established way to express a
story.
Some forms take on the classical style and others more of the folk style. Both typically represent the Hindu
deities of Shiva, Kali and Kristna.
In the ornate Indian architecture it provided influenced eastern and southeastern Asia regions
architecture. The building of temple spire and towers started in India.
Hinduism is the main religion for most Indians, approximately 81 percent of the population. From the
region four major religions have originated, they are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
The religions actually define the Indian culture. Their ethnic-language background is that of Indo-Aryan, a
note in Indian genealogy. With very diverse regions across the sub-continent there are also a variety of
languages.
Some of the forms (5) different from Hindi are Bengali, Dogri, Oriya and Urdu. The main and official
language used is Hindi, with English as a secondary language.
So those with the native language of Bengali would also need Hindi to function effectively in India.BHIE 144
Free Solved Assignment
Traditionally the Indian people have always been conscious of social order and their status with family,
friends and neighbors.
This has created a hierarchy where every relationship has a clearcut station that must be observed for the
social order to be maintained.
Being in a close-knit family the people have a genuine trust among their relatives. They keep in contact
with all members, including far extended relatives. The elderly are highly respected and the first ones
greeted in any group.
Q 10 Subaltern Writings on India
ANS: The ‘Subaltern’ is a term given by Antonio Gramsci to refer to those groups in society who are under
the hegemony of the ruling elite class. Subaltern classes include peasants, tribes, women and other groups
denied access to get hegemonic power.
Historically speaking, Subaltern studies defined itself as an attempt to allow people to speak. Under
Subaltern studies, new kind of writings has been started.
The Subalterns have given an opportunity to speak and share their pains, anger, sufferings and experiences
which was denied by the elitist historians and scholars.
The Subaltern scholars try to make an alternative history writing in which history would be written from
below rather than from above. BHIE 144 Free Solved Assignment
In the domain of literature, we can trace the root of subalternity. In the narration of Premchand writing
subaltem subject such as peasants, women and Dalits makes their strong presence.
But Subaltern as an autonomous domain of history and cultural studies emerged against elitist
historiography of the Western world.
In post-colonial India, the Subaltern studies reflected in the various forms of writings of history and
literature.
So, subalternity becomes a dominant frame. in literature when the marginalized section of the society has
no voice of its own.