Very Short Answer Type Questions
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. Early Political Formations
Q1. What were Mahajanapadas?
Mahajanapadas were large territorial states that emerged in India around the sixth century BCE.
Q2. How many Mahajanapadas existed according to early Buddhist texts?
There were sixteen Mahajanapadas.
Q3. Name one powerful Mahajanapada.
Magadha.
Q4. What type of political system existed in Vajji?
Vajji followed a republican form of government.
Q5. Who exercised power in monarchies?
Power was exercised by hereditary kings.
II. Expansion of Agriculture
Q6. Which tool helped in clearing forests for cultivation?
Iron axes helped in clearing forests.
Q7. Why was agriculture important for early states?
Agriculture provided surplus needed to maintain armies and administration.
Q8. What was the main occupation of peasants?
Cultivation of land.
Q9. In what form did peasants pay taxes?
Taxes were paid in grain, labour, or cash.
Q10. What is meant by agrarian expansion?
It refers to the spread of agriculture into new areas.
III. Peasants, Chiefs and Kings
Q11. Who were chiefs?
Chiefs were local leaders controlling smaller territories.
Q12. How did kings assert their authority?
Through rituals, warfare, and tax collection.
Q13. Name one duty of a king.
Maintaining law and order.
Q14. Who provided the main revenue to the state?
Peasants.
Q15. What legitimised the king’s power?
Performance of rituals and control over land.
IV. Land Grants
Q16. What were land grants?
Donations of land made by kings to individuals or institutions.
Q17. To whom were land grants usually given?
Brahmanas and religious institutions.
Q18. On what were land grants recorded?
Copper plates or stone inscriptions.
Q19. Why were land grants important?
They helped in expanding cultivation and political control.
Q20. From which period did land grants become common?
From the early centuries CE.
V. Towns and Trade
Q21. What were towns?
Centres of trade, craft production, and administration.
Q22. Name one important trading item.
Textiles.
Q23. What connected different regions of India?
Trade routes.
Q24. Which metal coins were commonly used?
Silver and copper coins.
Q25. What were punch-marked coins?
Coins stamped with symbols using punches.
VI. Administrative System
Q26. Why were officials appointed?
To collect taxes and maintain administration.
Q27. What did inscriptions reveal?
Details of administration, land grants, and rulers.
Q28. What was revenue mainly collected from?
Agricultural land.
Q29. Why did administration become complex?
Due to expansion of territories.
Q30. What supported the administrative system?
Agricultural surplus.
VII. Historical Sources
Q31. Name one archaeological source.
Inscriptions.
Q32. In which languages were inscriptions written?
Prakrit and Sanskrit.
Q33. What do coins tell historians?
Information about economy and rulers.
Q34. Name one literary source.
Dharmashastras.
Q35. Why are texts important?
They provide insights into social and political life.
VIII. Additional Revision Questions
Q36. What period does this chapter cover?
c. 600 BCE to 600 CE.
Q37. Who maintained armies?
Kings.
Q38. What supported urban growth?
Trade and surplus production.
Q39. What strengthened king–peasant relations?
Revenue collection.
Q40. What promoted regional integration?
Trade routes.
Q41. Who were artisans?
Skilled craft producers.
Q42. What shows royal authority?
Inscriptions and coins.
Q43. What type of economy existed?
Agrarian-based economy.
Q44. Who controlled land?
Kings and chiefs.
Q45. What linked villages and towns?
Exchange of goods.
Q46. What ensured political stability?
Strong administration.
Q47. What was surplus?
Excess production after consumption.
Q48. Who benefited from land grants?
Religious institutions.
Q49. What helped historians date events?
Inscriptions.
Q50. What formed the base of early states?
Agriculture.
Q51. What was collected as tax?
Produce and money.
Q52. What developed alongside towns?
Trade networks.
Q53. Who issued coins?
Rulers.
Q54. What expanded political control?
Land grants.
Q55. What shaped early economies?
Kings, farmers, and towns.