CBSE

ADDITIONAL PRACTICE QUESTIONS

HISTORY (027)
Class XII | 2023–24

Time Allowed: 3hrs Maximum Marks:80

General Instructions:
1. Question paper comprises five Sections – A, B, C, D and E. There are 34 questions in
the question paper. All questions are compulsory.
2. Section A – Question 1 to 21 are MCQs of 1 mark each.
3. Section B – Question no. 22 to 27 are Short Answer Type Questions, carrying 3 marks
each. Answer to each question should not exceed 60-80 words.
4. Section C - Question no 28 to 30 are Long Answer Type Questions, carrying 8 marks
each. Answer to each question should not exceed 300-350 words
5. Section D – Question no.31 to 33 are Source based questions with three sub questions
and are of 4 marks each.
6. Section-E - Question no. 34 is Map based, carrying 5 marks that includes the
identification and location of significant test items. Attach the map with the answer book.
7. There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice has been
provided in few questions. Only one of the choices in such questions have to be
attempted.
8. In addition to this, separate instructions are given with each section and question,
wherever necessary.
SECTION A 1 X 21=21
S. No OBJECTIVE TYPE OF QUESTIONS MARKS
1. Al-Biruni, had several “barriers” that he felt obstructed his understanding, 1
to him language was so different that ideas and concepts could not be
easily translated from one language into another. Which language is he
referring to.

a. Persia
b. Sanskrit
c. Arabic
d. Prakrit
2. The Ain is made up of five books (daftars), of which the first three books 1
describe the administration, the third book ‘mulk abadi’ deals specifically
with one of the following option, mark the same.

a. administration of the empire.

b. civil administration of the Empire.
c. fiscal side of the Empire.
 d. Praise of the emperor
3. Study this painting of Abu’l Fazl presenting the manuscript of the completed 1
Akbar Nama to his patron, and answer the question by choosing the correct
option.

1. What does the gesture of the patron towards Abu’l Fazl suggests, choose
from the given options.

a. His disinterest towards the manuscript.

b. His recognition of the efforts put by Abul Fazal.
c. The depiction of images in the manuscript.
d. His support for the inclusion of paintings

NOTE: The following question is for the visually impaired candidates in lieu
of Question number 3.

1. There were three constituents of village community during the Mughals

they were, the cultivators, the panchayat, and the village headman identify
the term used for the village headman from the options.
a. Kamil
b. major
c. Muqaddam
d. Asamis.
4. In 1851 Governor General Lord Dalhousie described a kingdom as “a 1
cherry that will drop into our mouth one day”. Which kingdom was referred
as a cherry by Lord Dalhousie.

a. Bengal
b. Bihar
c. Panchal
d. Awadh
5. The dietary practices of the Harappans were studied by the archaeo- 1
botanists, in which of the following fields are archaeo-botanists
specialised?

a. The study of old rocks

b. The study of dead animal and plant remains.
c. The study of ancient plant remains.
d. The study of sea animals
6. Land grants during the rule of Chandragupta II provide some insights into 1
the relationship between which of the following pairs.

a. Artisans and hunter-gatherers

b. Fishermen and samantas.
c. Pastoralists and officials
d. The state and cultivators
7. In the questions given below, there are two Statements marked as 1
Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Read the Statements and Choose the
correct option from the codes.
Assertion(A) The practice of endogamy meant that marrying daughters into
families outside the kin was considered desirable.
Reason (R)Daughters had no claims to the resources of the household.

a. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

b. Both a and r are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
c. A is true, but R is false.
d. A is false, but R is true.
8. Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched? 1

a. Purusha sukta Created by Brahmanas

b. Manusmriti Laid down the duties of
Chandalas
c. Critical edition of Mahabharata VS Sukthankar
d. The Bhagavat Gita Advice offered by Lord
Krishna to Arjun
9. To which school of art does the image below belong to, choose from the 1
options.
a.

Mathura school
b. Amaravathi school
c. Kushana school
d. Satavahanas school

NOTE: The following question is for the visually impaired candidates in lieu
of Question number 9.
New modes of disposal of the dead were done by making of an elaborate
stone structure which emerged in south India from the first millennium BCE
they were known by one of the following name, choose from the options.
 a. Dome
b. Megaliths
c. harmika
d. chhatri
10. Fill in the blank with a correct option. 1
As per the travellars description of the caste system, the _____________
means born outside the system and were often expected to provide
inexpensive labour to peasants and zamindars.

a. Caravans
b. zaytun
c. Antyaja
d. Qazi
11. Who recited these versus? choose from the given options. 1

‘I will build a funeral pyre of sandalwood and aloe,

Light it by your own hand
When I am burned away to cinders.
Smear this ash upon your limbs.
… let flame be lost in flame’.

a. Kabir
b. Shankaradeva
c. Mirabai
d. Salim Chisti.
12. Why was the script in the Harappan seals called as enigmatic, Choose the 1
correct reason from the following options?

a. It resembles the Hieroglyphic script of Egypt.

b. It had too many symbols, between 600 and 1000 in number.
c. It was written from left to right.
d. Its writing remains undeciphered to date.
13. Match the structures with their purpose. Choose from the codes given 1
below.
Structures Purpose
Chaitya 1. Contains relics of Buddha
Vihara 2. Prayer Hall for the Buddhist monks
Sangha 3.Dwelling place of Buddhist monks
Stupa 4. Organisation of monks

Codes
A. 1, 2, 3, 4.
B. 2, 3, 4, 1.
C. 1, 3, 4, 2.
D. 3, 4, 2, 1.
14. Domingo Paes wrote about a tank constructed by Krishnadeva Raya as…. 1
‘The king made a tank … at the mouth of two hills so that all the water which
comes from either one side or the other collects there’…. How were these
Tanks constructed? Choose the correct option from below.
a. Tanks were constructed by breaking down a hill.
b. By digging deep in the earth.
c. At the roof of building.
 d. Constructing walls at the four sides.
15. To curtail the deceitful act of the money lender the British passed a law, 1
identify the law/ act from the given information.

a. It was passed to protect the ryots.

b. According to this law, the loan bonds signed between money lenders and
ryots would have validity for only three years.
c. This law was meant to check the accumulation of interest overtime.
d. To stop Moneylenders manipulating laws and forging accounts.

Codes
a. Indian council act 1861
b. Limitation law 1859
c. government of India act 1858
d. Income tax act 1861
16 Who said that the deliberations of Constituent Assembly were under 1
influence of the British. Choose from the options.

a. Somnath Lahir
b. Muhammad Ali Jinnah
c. BR Ambedkar
d. Mahatma Gandhi.
17. In the questions given below, there are two Statements marked as 1
Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Read the Statements and Choose the
correct option from the codes.

Assertion (A) Paharis followed Jhoom cultivation.

Reason (R) They lived in huts within tamarind graves.

a. Both assertion and reason are true, but reason is not the correct
explanation of assertion.
b. Both assertion and reason are true, and reason is the correct explanation
of assertion.
c. Assertion is false, but reason is true.
d. Assertion is true, but reason is false.
18. Arrange the following events in chronological order by selecting the correct 1
order from the options.

a. Mutiny starts in Meerut.

b. Subsidiary alliance introduced in Awadh.
c. defeat of British at chinhat.
d. Rani Jhnasi was killed in the battle.

Codes
1. a, b, c, d.
2. a, b, d, c.
3. b, a, c, d.
d. b, a, d, c.
19. Who described the Mahanavami Dibba of the Vijayanagar empire as 1
the“House of Victory”., choose from the options.

a) Duarte Barbboa
 b) Domingo Paeas
c) FernaoNuniz
d) Abdur Razzaq
20. Fill in the blank with the correct option. 1
__________ was the socialist member of congress who was active in the
underground resistance during Quit India Movement.

a. Sardar Patel
b. Jayaprakash Narayan.
c. Nathuram Godse
d. Somnath Lahiri
21. Gandhiji told the privileged invitees that “there is no salvation for India 1
unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your
countrymen in India”. “There can be no spirit of self-government about us,”
In which meeting did Gandhiji made this statement, choose from the
options.

a. At Champaran satyagraha
b. at Foundation of Indian National Congress.
c. At the opening of Banaras Hindu University.
d. Round Table conference
SECTION B 3x6=18
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
22. What is your understanding of the layers excavated in the Indus valley 3
civilization? Elaborate.
OR
How were the Historians able to provide new insights into the subsistence
strategies of the Harappan Culture, analyse.
23. ‘The rulers of Vijayanagara innovated and developed new traditions in the 3
Virupaksha temple’, examine the statement.
24. How did Al Biruni overcome the inherent problems and understood the 3
Indian social and Brahmanical practices. Identify the sources that provided
him the support.
25, State any three reasons used by the Historians to reconstruct the history 3
of Mauryan Empire.
26. What do you infer by Damin-i-Koh? How did it come into being, illustrate? 3
27. The rumours in 1857 began to make sense when in the context of the 3
policies pursued by the British from late 1820’s, support your answer with
evidence.
OR
The annexation of Awadh displaced not just the nawab, but also disposed
the taluqdars of the region, causing breakdown of an entire social order’
Critically examine the statement.
SECTION C 3x8=24
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
28. The Mahabharata is a great source to study the Kinfolk values of ancient 8
times, Justify the statement.
OR
 Describe the elements considered by historians to analyse Mahabharata,
with reference to the efforts of V S Sukthankar’s critical edition of
Mahabharata.
29. ‘Revenue was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire’ examine the 8
statement in the context of agriculture and trade.
OR
Despite the limitations, Ain-I Akbari remains an extraordinary document of
its time, Validate the statement.
30. Gandhiji encouraged the communication of the nationalist message in 8
mother tongue rather than in language of the ruler, analyse, how he knitted
the non-cooperation movement with this philosophy.
OR
The initiatives in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda marked Gandhiji as
a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor, summarize the statement.
SECTION D 3x4=12
SOURCE BASED QUESTIONS
Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
31. Buddhism in practice
This is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, and contains the advice given by
the Buddha to a wealthy householder. named Sigala:
In five ways should a master look after his servants and employees … by
assigning them work according
to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them
in sickness; by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave at times
…
In five ways should the clansmen look after the needs of samanas (those
who have renounced the world)
and Brahmanas: by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open
house to them and supplying their worldly needs.
There are similar instructions to Sigala about how to behave with his
parents, teacher, and wife.

31.1 What advice was given by Buddha to Sigala regarding relationship 1

between a master and his servants and employees?
31.2. List the instructions given by Buddha to the clansmen for Samanas 1
and Brahmanas.
31.3. According to you what suggestions Buddha would have advocated 2
regarding parents and teachers?
32. Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
The story of Data Ganj Bakhsh
In 1039 Abu’l Hasan al Hujwiri, a native of Hujwir near Ghazni in
Afghanistan, was forced to cross the Indus as a captive of the invading
Turkish army. He settled in Lahore and wrote a
book in Persian called the Kashful- Mahjub (Unveiling of the Veiled) to
explain the meaning of tasawwuf, and those who practised it, that is, the
sufi.
Hujwiri died in 1073 and was buried in Lahore. The grandson of Sultan
Mahmud of Ghazni constructed a tomb over his grave, and this tomb-shrine
became a site of pilgrimage for
his devotees, especially on his death anniversary.
 Even today Hujwiri is revered as Data Ganj Bakhsh or “Giver who bestows
treasures” and his mausoleum is called Data Darbar or “Court of the Giver”.
1
32.1. Name the book written by Abul Hasan al Hujwiri. ½+½=1
32.2. When did Abul Hasan die and who built his tomb? 2
32.3. How is Abul Hasa revered today?
33. Read the following source and answer the questions that follow:
“There cannot be any divided loyalty”.
Govind Ballabh Pant argued that in order to become loyal citizens 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 self-discipline. 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.

33.1. why did Govind Ballabh Pant lay more stress on the art of self- 1
discipline?
33.2. What was considered important for the success of democracy? 1
33.3. ‘In democracies one should care less for himself and more for others;
give your views on this philosophy. 2
SECTION E Marks-5
MAP BASED QUESTION
34.1) On the given political map of India, locate and label the following with
appropriate symbols:
I. Amravati – A Stupa 3
II. Nageshwar- Harappan Site
III. Cholas-important kingdom in south
OR
Bijapur- Capital of deccan sultanate.

(34.2) On the same outline map, two places have been marked as ‘A and 2
B,as the centres of the Revolt of 1857 Identify them and write their correct
names on the lines drawn near them.
meerut and azamgarh

Note: The following questions are for the Visually Impaired Candidates only
in lieu of Q.No.34
(34.1) Mention any two sites of the matured Harrapan period.
(34.2) Mention any one Territory under Mughal empire.
or
Name any one territory under British control in 1857.
(34.3) Mention any two centres of the National movement.