Source-Based Questions with Answers
CBSE Class 12 – History
Part II: Themes in Indian History – Part II
Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers and Towns – Early States and Economies (c. 600 BCE–600 CE)
Board: CBSE Board Examinations
I. Political Formations and Kingship
“The king was expected to maintain order, collect taxes, and protect his subjects.”
Q1. What responsibilities of the king are mentioned in the source?
The king was responsible for maintaining law and order, collecting taxes, and protecting his subjects.
Q2. How did these responsibilities strengthen royal authority?
These duties made the king essential for governance and ensured control over resources and people.
“Some states were ruled by kings, while others were governed by assemblies of powerful men.”
Q3. Which two types of political systems are referred to?
Monarchies and republics.
Q4. Name one example of a republican state.
Vajji.
II. Agrarian Expansion and Peasants
“The use of iron tools made it possible to clear forests and extend cultivation.”
Q5. Which technology helped agrarian expansion?
Iron tools such as axes and ploughshares.
Q6. How did agrarian expansion support state formation?
It increased agricultural surplus, which supported administration and armies.
“Peasants paid taxes in the form of grain, labour, or money.”
Q7. What does this source reveal about taxation?
Taxes were collected in multiple forms depending on local conditions.
Q8. Why were peasants crucial to early states?
They produced surplus that sustained the state and urban centres.
III. Land Grants and Administration
“Kings donated land to Brahmanas and religious institutions, recorded on copper plates.”
Q9. What were land grants?
Land grants were donations of land made by kings to Brahmanas or religious institutions.
Q10. Why were land grants recorded?
To provide legal proof and ensure permanent rights over the land.
“Some land grants exempted the recipients from paying taxes.”
Q11. What privilege did land grant recipients enjoy?
They were often exempted from paying taxes to the state.
Q12. How did this affect village society?
It increased the power of land grant holders and altered rural power relations.
IV. Towns, Trade and Coinage
“Towns were centres of trade, craft production, and administration.”
Q13. What functions of towns are mentioned?
Trade, craft production, and administrative activities.
Q14. Why did towns depend on villages?
Villages supplied food and raw materials to towns.
“Punch-marked coins were widely used for trade.”
Q15. What were punch-marked coins?
Early metallic coins stamped with symbols using punches.
Q16. How did coins facilitate trade?
Coins provided a standard medium of exchange, making trade easier.
V. Historical Sources
“Inscriptions record land grants, administrative orders, and royal achievements.”
Q17. What information do inscriptions provide?
They provide details about administration, land ownership, and political authority.
Q18. Why are inscriptions important for historians?
They offer direct and reliable evidence about early states and economies.