Page 9 - SST Class 07

century by the chronicles Minhaz-i-Siraj, he castes. During this period powerful empires
meant the areas of Punjab, Haryana and the came up like the Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Mughals,
land between the Ganga and Yamuna. When Cholas etc.
Babur used this term Hindustan, he used it in a 4. Important changes took place in religion
broader sense to include the geographical and also in Hindustan. There was the emer-
cultural characteristics of the entire subcontinent. gence of Bhakti Movement which believed

India is often referred to as Bharat in Sanskrit that God can be reached through love and
Literature. India is also known as Bharatvarsham. devotion. No expensive or complicated
A Period of Varied Developments rituals were needed. Bhakti Movement also
1. The period between 700 to 1750 is a very rejected caste hierarchy.
dynamic period because a rich variety of During the 7th century, the new religion Islam
developments took place during this period. arrived in India. This new religion based itself on
New groups of people appeared in India the worship of one God Allah before whom all
during this period. This included Turks, are equal irrespective of social and economic
Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Mughals, Persians, who differences.
came from outside and Rajputs, Marathas, The history of the period from 700 to 1750 is
Sikhs, Jats and Ahoms who were indige- considered dynamic and ever-changing and
nous people and became politically impor- described as Medieval period. It saw tremendous
tant in this period. changes. There were many transformations and
2. In other areas also there were new develop- what happened in the 16th and 17th centuries
ments. New food items like potatoes, corn, was very different from the developments the 8th
chillies arrived in the subcontinent. or 9th century. Therefore, the question is being
3. Society became more complex as the four asked by many historians today that whether it is
major castes or varnas got divided and justified to label the entire period as “Medieval”.
subdivided into a number of Jatis or sub-

Terminology

Harmony : melodiousness
Delineating : describe or portray (something) precisely
Chronological : the arrangement of things following the order in which they occured
Manuscripts : a book, document or piece of music written by hand rather than typed or printed

Inside Story
Inside Story
g Many of our social customs, traditions and beliefs have their origin in the Medieval period.
The dress we wear and the food we eat, bear a clear impact of this period
g Archaeological sources of ancient Indian history refer to the sources which are obtained by
the process of archaeological excavations.
g Methodical and systematic assessment of ancient monuments and buildings and other
works of art generate archaeological evidence.

g One of the most trustworthy evidence can be attained from numerous inscriptions.

Social Science-7 9