Class 7 History Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Tribes, Nomads And Settled Communities

1. Match the following:
garh             –    khel
tanda           –    chaurasi
labourer      –    caravan
clan              –   Garha Katanga
Sib Singh    –   Ahom State
Durgawati   –   paik
Answer:
garh – chaurasi
tanda – caravan
labourer – paik
clan – khel
Sib Singh – Ahom state
Durgawati – Garha Katanga

2. Fill in the blanks: 
(a) The new castes emerging within vamas were called……………………
(b) ……… were historical works written by the Ahoms.
(c) The…….. mentions that Garha Katanga had 70,000 villages.
(d) As tribal stales became bigger and stronger they gave land grants to………….. ..
Answer: (a) jatis
(b) Buraryis
(c) Akbar Nama
(d) temples, Brahmanas.

3. State whether true or false:
(a) Tribal societies had rich oral traditions.
(b) There were no tribal communities in the north-western part of the subcontinent.
(c) The Chaurasi in Gond states contained several cities.
(d) The Bhils lived in the north-eastern part of the sub-continent.
Answer:    (a)—T, (b)—F, (c)—F, (d)—F

4. What kinds of exchanges took place between nomadic pastoralists and settled agriculturists?
Answer: The nomadic pastoralists exchanged wool, ghee, etc. with settled agriculturists for grain, cloth, utensils and other products.

5. How was the administration of the Ahom state organized?
Answer: The Ahom state depended upon forced labour. Those forced to work for the state were known as peaks.
A census of the population was taken. Each village had to send a number of paiks by rotation.
People of densely populated areas were shifted to thinly populated areas. Ahom clans were thus broken up. By the first half of the 17th centuiy the administration became quite centralised.

6. What changes took place in vama-based society?
Answer: The following changes took place in uama-based society:

• Smaller castes or jatis emerged within vamas.
• On the other hand, many tribes and social groups were taken into caste- based society and given the status of jatis.
• Specialised artisans such as smiths, carpenters and masons were also recognised as separate jatis by the Brahmanas.
• Jatis rather than vama became the basis for organising society.
• Among the Kshatriyas, new Rajput clans became powerful.
• Many tribes became part of the caste system. But only the leading tribal families could join the ruling class. A large majority joined the lower jatis of caste society.
• Many dominant tribes of Punjab, Sind and the North-West Frontier had adopted Islam. They continued to reject the caste-system.

7. How did tribal societies change after being organised into a state?
Answer: The emergence of large states changed the nature of tribal societies. We can understand this with the help of two examples—the Gond society and the Ahom society.

1. The Gond Society. Their basically equal society gradually got divided into unequal social classes. Brahmanas received land grants from the Gond rajas and became more influential. The Gond chiefs now wished to be recognised
   as Rajputs. So, Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of ‘Sangram Shah’.
2. The Ahom Society. The Ahoms built a large state which broughtmany changes in the Ahom society. The influence of Brahmanas increased. Temples and Brahmanas were granted land by the king. In the reign of Sib Singh, Hinduism became the predominant religions. But the Ahom Kings did not completely give up their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism.

8. Were the Banjaras important for the economy?
Answer: The Banjaras were very important for the economy. They were trader-nomads and controlled trade and commerce. They played an important role in transporting grain to the city markets. They usually bought grain where it was cheaply available and carried it to places where it was dearer. From there, they again reloaded their oxen with anything that could be profitably sold in other places.

9. In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?
Answer: The history of the Gonds was different from that of the Ahoms in the following ways:

• The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana. The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar in the 13th century.
• The Gonds practised shifting cultivation. The Ahoms did not practise this type of cultivation.
• The Gond society was not as much developed as the Ahom’s. The Ahoms built a large state by using firearms. They could even make high quality gunpower and cannons.
• The Ahom society was very sophisticated. Poets and scholars were given land grants. Theatre was encouraged. We do not find these things in the Gond society.

There were many similarities between the Gonds and Ahoms:

• Both were capable of building large states.
• Both had to face Mughal attack. Despite their brave defence, both were defeated by the Mughals.
•  Both of them granted land to the Brahmanas, who became very influential.
• We find the administration centralised in the history of the Gonds as well as the Ahoms.

10. Plot the location of the tribes mentioned in this chapter on a map. For any two, discuss whether their mode of livelihood was suited to the geography and the environment of the area where they lived.
Answer: Several tribes live in different parts of India. See the map given below

These tribes settled temporarily at the places which suited them as per their need and livelihood. Whenever, they found the environment or their mode of living unfavourable, they migrated to other suitable places.

11. Find out about present-day government policies towards tribal populations and organise a discussion about these.
Answer: Present-day government policies towards tribal populations are very positive.

• Education is being spread in the tribal areas.
• Facilities like roads, water, electricity have been increased.
• The government is doing actively for the overall upliftment of the tribal       populations.
• The government has enforced reservation for them in government jobs. This policy of the government has helped the tribal people in many ways. They are now joining the mainstream of the society.
• The government is also determined to protect their cultural and social traditions.

12. Find out more about present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent.
Answer: What animals do they keep? Which are the areas frequented by these groups? Ans. Present-day nomadic pastoral groups in the sub-continent are – Gaddi shepherds living in the western Himalayas, Gujjar Bakarwals, living in Jammu & Kashmir, Banjaras living in Rajasthan. These nomadic people keep sheep, goats and camels. They frequently visit Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan.