CBSE Class 6 Social Science India That Is Bharat Worksheet Set 03

Fill in the Blanks

Question. Persians were the residents of ancient _________.
Answer: Iran
Explanation: Ancient Persia is the country known on world maps as Iran today.

Question. Xuanzang journeyed from China to India in the __________ century CE.
Answer: 7th
Explanation: The 7th century covers the 600s, which is when this famous monk visited.

Question. Historical names of India are recorded in the accounts of __________ and __________.
Answer: travellers, pilgrims
Explanation: People wrote diaries and travel logs when visiting Indian shrines and markets.

Question. The word ‘Sindhava’ originates from ‘Sindhu’, which refers to the __________.
Answer: Indus River
Explanation: Sindhava describes things or waters connected to the Indus River.

Question. ‘Bharata’ is mentioned in a historical text called the __________.
Answer: Vishnu Purana
Explanation: The Vishnu Purana describes Bharata as the land between the snowy peaks and the sea.

Question. India is an _________ country.
Answer: Ancient
Explanation: India has one of the oldest and most fascinating civilizations in the world.

Question. The term “Hindustan” was first used by the Persians __________ years ago to describe the Indian sub-continent.
Answer: 1800
Explanation: Around 1,800 years ago, Persian stone carvings first wrote down the name Hindustan.

Question. The title ‘Hindustan’ was first used in a __________ inscription.
Answer: Persian
Explanation: Kings of Persia carved the name into rocks in their own Persian script.

True or False

Question. 'Hindustan' was initially used by the ancient Greeks to describe the Indian Subcontinent.
Answer: False
Explanation: The word Hindustan was first used in ancient Persian rock inscriptions about 1,800 years ago, not by Greek writers.

Question. The term 'Hind' was used by the Persians to designate India.
Answer: True
Explanation: Ancient Persians living near the Indus River turned the word 'Sindhu' into 'Hind' to name the land beyond the river.

Question. The term ‘Bharatavarsha’ is used to describe solely the southern part of India.
Answer: False
Explanation: Bharatavarsha was used in ancient literature to describe the whole Indian subcontinent, not just the southern region.

Question. Xuanzang was a Chinese scholar who visited India.
Answer: True
Explanation: Xuanzang was a well-known scholar from China who traveled through India and studied at the ancient university of Nalanda.

Question. The Rig Veda referred to the whole Indian subcontinent as 'Jambudvipa'.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Rig Veda only used the name 'Sapta Sindhava' for the northwest river area; the name 'Jambudvipa' came into use much later.

Question. The Indian Constitution exclusively uses the name 'India', excluding 'Bharat'.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Constitution of India uses both names together, proudly declaring: "India, that is Bharat".

Question. The Chinese term 'Tianzhu' for India, originated from 'Sindhu', also meant 'heavenly master'.
Answer: True
Explanation: Tianzhu developed from the word Sindhu and carried the respectful meaning of heavenly teacher or master.

Question. 'Bhāratavarsha' refers exclusively to the region of Kashmir.
Answer: False
Explanation: Bharatavarsha represented the entire subcontinent of India, while Kashmir was just one region inside it.

Questions / Assertion / Reason

Question. Assertion (A): The names given to India by foreigners often originated from their perception of the Indus River.
Reason (R): The Indus River was a notable geographical feature encountered by those entering the subcontinent from the northwest.
(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.
Answer: (A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
Explanation: The huge Indus River was the first big landmark foreign visitors saw, so they named the region after it.

Question. Assertion (A): The term ‘Bharata’ is used to describe the whole Indian Subcontinent in the Vishnu Purana.
Reason (R): ‘Bharata’ refers to the land north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains.
(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 correct but (R) is wrong.
(D) (A) is wrong but (R) is correct.
Answer: (A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation: The Vishnu Purana clearly states that the land between the southern seas and the snowy mountains is Bharata.

Question. Assertion: Emperor Ashoka used the name ‘Jambudvipa’ to define the whole of India.
Reason: ‘Jambudvipa’ was used to describe present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, as well as parts of Afghanistan.
(A) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(B) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(C) Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
(D) Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.
Answer: (B) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
Explanation: Both statements are correct, but modern country borders do not explain why King Ashoka selected that name.

Question. Assertion: Chinese speakers refer to India as ‘Yintu’ or ‘Yindu’.
Reason: The Chinese name for India ‘Yintu’ or ‘Yindu’ is taken from the word ‘Sindhu’.
(A) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(B) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
(C) Assertion (A) is true, but Reason (R) is false.
(D) Assertion (A) is false, but Reason (R) is true.
Answer: (B) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
Explanation: Both statements are true; the name traveled from Sindhu to Hindhu to Indu and finally to Yindu in Chinese.

Question. Assertion (A): The term ‘Hindustan’ was first used about 1,800 years ago.
Reason (R): It was used by most conquerors of India to describe the Indian Subcontinent.
(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 correct but (R) is wrong.
(D) (A) is wrong but (R) is correct.
Answer: (B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Explanation: Both statements give true facts, but later invaders using the name does not explain its very first appearance.

Questions / Short Question Answers

Question. Which was the common term used by most conquerors of India to describe the Indian subcontinent?
Answer: Hindustan.
Explanation: Many rulers arriving from Central Asia and Persia called the northern plains and the country Hindustan.

Question. When do we first come across a name for the whole Indian Subcontinent?
Answer: We first come across a name for the entire Subcontinent in the Mahabharata.
Explanation: The epic Mahabharata is the earliest Indian text that gives a single shared name to the entire subcontinent.

Question. What is the source of the name ‘Bharata’?
Answer: The name ‘Bharata’ originates from the Rigveda, where it refers to an ancient Vedic tribe. The term gained significance through mentions of kings named Bharata in later literature. Over time, ‘Bharata’ became synonymous with the Indian subcontinent, representing the country’s geographical and cultural identity.
Explanation: The name comes from an ancient noble tribe and a heroic king named Bharata mentioned in our earliest books.

Question. Name one natural boundary of the Indian Subcontinent seen on a physical map.
Answer: The Himalayas (or Hindu Kush, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal).
Explanation: The snowy Himalayan mountain range acts as a giant natural border along northern India.

Question. What is the significance of the phrase ‘India, that is Bharat’, mentioned in the very beginning of the Constitution?
Answer: The phrase ‘India, that is Bharat’ in the Indian Constitution highlights the continuity of the country’s ancient identity (Bharat) with its modern identity (India), acknowledging its historical roots and beliefs.
Explanation: It connects our ancient culture with our modern nation so that we remember our rich history while moving into the future.

Question. What does the word ‘Bharatavarsha’ mean?
Answer: The term Bharatavarsha means “the country of the Bharatas”.
Explanation: 'Varsha' means country or division of land, so Bharatavarsha means the homeland of the Bharata people.

Question. Who were the first outsiders to mention India and what name did they use?
Answer: The Persians, ancient inhabitants of Iran, were the first foreigners to mention India. In the 6th century BCE, a Persian emperor conquered the Indus river region, known as ‘Sindhu’. As a result, they named India ‘Hind’, ‘Hidu’, or ‘Hindu’ in their earliest records and inscriptions, adapting the term ‘Sindhu’.
Explanation: The Persians were India's first foreign neighbors to write about us, calling the land Hind or Hindu.

Question. What does the term 'Bhāratavarṣha' mean, and how did it begin?
Answer: 'Bhāratavarṣha' means "the country of the Bharatas." It first appears in the Rig Veda as the name of a Vedic people and later came to represent the entire subcontinent.
Explanation: It began as the name of a group of Vedic people and later grew to mean all of India.

Question. What is the exact meaning of the term ‘Jambudvipa’?
Answer: The term ‘Jambudvipa’, first mentioned in Mahabharata literally means ‘the island of the fruit of the Jamun tree’. This term was used to refer to the Indian subcontinent.
Explanation: It literally means the island where delicious purple jamun fruit trees grow everywhere.