CBSE Board Class 12 History Sample Papers 2010

SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER 2010
HISTORY
CLASS-XII
Time Allowed : 3 Hours
Max. Marks : 100
General Instructions
(i) Answer all the questions. Marks are indicated against each question.
(ii) Answers to questions carrying 2 marks (Part ‘A’ – Questions 1 to 3) should not exceed
          30 words.
(iii) Answers to questions carrying 5 marks (Part ‘B’ – Section I, II, III – Questions 4 to 14) should
not exceed 100 words.
(iv) Answers to questions carrying 10 marks (Part ‘C’ – Questions 15 to 16) should not exceed
          500 words.
(v) Part ‘D’ has questions based on 3 sources.
(vi) Attach maps with the answer scripts (Part ‘E’).

PART A
1.Mention any two strategies that were used to increase agricultural production
from the 6th century BCE onwards. 2

2. Describe any two practices associated with the Chishti Silsila of the Sufis. 2

3. State any two difficulties faced by the census commissioners in collecting and classifying the data.
2

PART B

SECTION I
Answer any three of the following questions
4.Explain the socio-economic differences in Harappan Society that archeological
finds seem to suggest.5

5Explain the issues that should be kept in mind by the historian while handling .7
inscriptional sources.

6.Mahabharata is a good source to study contemporary social attitudes. 5
Support this statement with suitable examples.

7.Describe the main features of temple architecture in early India.5
(3×5 = 15)
 
PART B

SECTION II
Answer any two of the following questions.
8.Who were Nayakas and Amara Nayakas? Describe their role in the
administration of Vijayanagar Empire.
9.Analyse how the Mughal emperor’s court procedures reflected his
status and power..

10.Describe any three strengths and two limitations of the Ain-i-Akbari 5
as an important document in the study of the Mughal period.
(2×5 = 10)

PART B

SECTION III
Answer any three of the following questions :

11. Describe the life style of the Pahariyas in the late 19th century. 5

12. ‘Rumours circulate only when they resonate with the deep fears and
suspicion of the people’. How was this statement true in the context
of the Revolt of 1857?
13.List any five ways in which the Taluqdars of Awadh were affected by 5
British policy.5
14.What were the proposals of the Cabinet Mission in 1946? Why did the Indian
National Congress and the Muslim League ultimately reject them?

PART C – Long answer Questions
15.
Explain why the Zamindars were central to agrarian relations in the
8
2+3 = 5
Mughal period.
10
OR
Explain the role the royal centre played in the social and political life
of Vijanagara?
16.
Explain the changes that came about in the social life of the new
cities under colonial rule.
10
OR
Explain how the coming of Gandhiji broadened the base of the Indian
national movement.
PART D – Passage Based Questions
17.
Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow :
Prabhavati Gupta and the village of Danguna
This is what Prabhavati Gupta states in her inscription :Prabhavati Gupta
... commands the gramakutumbinas (householders/peasants living in the
village). Brahmanas and others living in the village of Danguna.
“Be it known to you that on the twelfth (lunar day) of the bright (fortnight)
of Karttika, in order to increase our religious merit donated this village
with the pouring out of water, to the Acharya (teacher) Chanalasvam in...
You should obey all (his) commands ...
We confer on (him) the following exemptions typical of an agrahara ...
(this village is) not to be entered by soldiers and policemen : (it is) exempt
from (the obligation to provide) grass, (animal) hides as seats, and charcoal
(to touring royal offices); exempt from (the royal prerogative of) purchasing
fermenting liquors and digging (salt); exempt from (the right to) mines
and khadira trees; exempt from (the obligation to supply) flowers and milk;
(it is donated) together with (the right to) hidden treasures and deposits
(and) together with major and minor taxes...”
This charter has been written in the thirteenth (regnal) year. (It has been)
engraved by Chakradasa.
(i) Who had issued this inscription?
1
(ii) Why does she want to donate the land? Who is the receiver of
the land?
2
(iii) What were the exemptions conferred on a typical agrahara land?
9
2
(iv) State the significance of this source. Give any three points.
3
OR
How artefacts are identified
Processing of food required grinding equipment as well as vessels for mixing,
blending and cooking. These were made of stone, metal and terracotta. This is
an excerpt from one of the earliest reports on excavations at Mohenjodaro, the
best-known Harappan site :
Saddle querns ... are found in considerable numbers ... and they seem to have
been the only means in use for grinding cereals. As a rule, they were roughly
made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone and mostly show signs of hard
usage. As their bases are usually convex, they must have been set in the earth
or in mud to prevent their rocking. Two main types have been found : those on
which another smaller stone was pushed or rolled to and fro, and others with
which a second stone was used as a pounder, eventually making a large cavity
in the nether stone. Querns of the former type were probably used solely for
grain; the second type possibly only for pounding herbs and spices for making
curries. In fact, stones of which latter type are dubbed “curry stones” by our
workmen and our cook asked for the loan of one from the museum for use in
the kitchen.
(i)
What are the two types of querns?
2
(ii) What materials were these querns made of? (iii) Explain the two ways of classifying finds of excavations. 2
(iv) How do archeologists determine the function of the artefacts and other finds?
18.
2
2
Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow :
On Horse and on foot
This is how Ibn Battuta described the postal system :
In India the postal system is of two kinds : The horse-post called ‘Uluq’, is run
by by royal horses stationed at distance of every four miles. The foot-post has
three stations permit. It is called ‘dawa’, that is, one third of a mile ... Now, at
every third of a mile there is a well populated village, outside which are three
pavilions in which sit men with girded loins ready to start. Each of them car-
ries a rod, two cubits in length with copper bells at the top. When the courier
starts from the city, he holds the letter in one hand and the rod with its bells on
the other; and he runs as fast as he can. When the men in the pavilion hear the
ringing of bell they get ready. As soon as the courier reaches them one of them
takes the letter from his hand and runs at the top speed shaking the rod all the
10
while until he reaches the next dawa. And the same process continues till the letter
reaches its destination. This foot-person is quicker than the horse-post; and often it
is used to transport the fruits of Khurasan which are much desired in India.
(i) Name the two kinds of postal systems described above. 2
(ii) Explain how the foot post worked. 2
(iii) Why does Ibn-Battuta think that the postal system in India was efficient?
(iv)
2
How did the state encourage merchants in the 14th century? 2
OR
The pilgrimage of the Mughal princess Jahanara, 1643
The following is an excerpt from Jahanara’s biography of Shaikh Muinuddin
Chishti, titled Munis al Arwah (The Confidant of Spirits) :
After praising the one God ... this lowly faqira (humble soul) Jahanara ... went
from the capital Agra in the company of my great father (Emperor Shah Jahan)
towards the pure region of incomparable Ajmer ... I was committed to this
idea, that every day in every station I would perform two cycles of optional
prayer.
For several days ... I did not sleep on a leopard skin at night, I did not extend
my feet in the direction of the blessed sanctuary of the revered saving master,
and I did not turn my back towards him. I passed the days beneath the trees.
On Thursday, the fourth of the blessed month of Ramzan, I attained the happi-
ness of pilgrimage to the illuminated and the perfumed tomb ... With an hour
of daylight remaining, I went to the holy sanctuary and rubbed my pale face
with the dust of that threshold. From the doorway to the blessed tomb I went
barefoot, kissing the ground. Having entered the dome, I went around the light-
filled tomb of my master seven times ... Finally with my own hand I put the
finest quality of itar on the perfumed tomb of the revered one, and having
taken off the rose scarf that I had on my head, I placed it on the top of the
blessed tomb ...
(i)
How does Jahanara show her devotion to the Shaikh? Answer by
giving examples.
2
(ii) Why did the dargah attract a lot of devotees? (iii) How do we know that Akbar also had a great regard for the saint? 2
(iv) What other activities were part of the Ziyarat or ‘Pilgrimage’.
19.
2
2
Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow :
11
A small basket of grapes
This is what Khushdeva Singh writes about his experience during one of his visits to
Karachi in 1949 :
My friends took me to a room at the airport where we all sat down and talked
... (and) had lunch together. I had to travel from Karachi to London ... at 2.30
a.m. ... At 5.00 p.m. ... I told my friends that they had given me so generously
of their time, I thought it would be too much for them to wait the whole night
and suggested they must spare themselves the trouble. But nobody left until it
was dinner time ... Then they said they were leaving and that I must have a
little rest before emplaning ... I got up at about 1.45 a.m. and, when I opened
the door, I saw that all of them were still there ... They all accompanied me to
the plane, and, before parting, presented me with a small basket of grapes. I
had no words to express my gratitude for the overwhelming affection with
which I was treated and the happiness this stopover had given me.
(i)
Who was Khushadeva Singh?
1
(ii) How did his friends show their affection to him during his visit to
Karachi?
2
(iii) Why was Kushadeva Singh seen as a symbol of humanity and harmony?
2
(iv) What is a memoir. In addition to memoirs, how does oral history help
historians reconstruct events of the recent past? Give two points.
1+2 = 3
OR
“There cannot be any divided loyalty”
Govind Ballabh Pant argued that in order to become loyal citizen people had
to stop focusing only on the community and the self :
For the success of democracy one must train himself in the art of selfdiscipline.
In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others. There
cannot be any divided loyalty. All loyalties must exclusively be centred round
the State. If in a democracy, you create rival loyalties, or you create a system in
which any individual or group, instead of suppressing his extravagance, cares
nought for larger or other interests, then democracy is doomed.
(i)
What according to G.B. Pant are the attributes of loyal citizens in a
democracy.
(ii)
3
What is meant by ‘Separate Electorates’? 2
(iii) Why was the demand for Separate Electorates for Muslims made during
the drafting of the Constitution?
2
12
(iv) Why was G.B. Pant against this demand? Give two reasons.
2
Part ‘E’
20.
On an outline map of India and its neighbouring countries, mark and name
Gandhara, Panchala, Magadha, Avanti, Vajji.
5
OR
On an outline map of India, and its neighbouring countries, mark and name
five important centres of the revolt of 1857.
21.
On an given outline map of India 5 places in South India between 14th
to 16th centuries are marked as 1 to 5. Identify and write their names
on the lines given.
5
QUESTIONS FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
(In lieu of Map Questions 20 and 21)
Q 20.
Name five centres of major rock edicts of Ashoka’s empire.
5
OR
Name any five centres of the revolt of 1857.
Q 21.
Name any three cities and two kingdoms in South India between the 14th and 16th centuries.
3+2 marks