CBSE Class 7 Social Science Chapter 05 India, A Home To Many MCQs Set 01

Answer: (C) True nobility lies in treating the entire world as one's own family

Explanation:
Both quotes reject the narrow view of 'mine versus not mine' and instead praise those who consider the whole world their family, setting up the chapter's theme of India welcoming outsiders as its own.

Answer: (B) Their ship was wrecked in a storm near the coast

Explanation:
The chapter describes how the Bene Israel's ship ran into a storm and was wrecked near the coast, after which the survivors settled in India and built a new life there.

Answer: (D) It would remain valid as long as the world, sun, and moon endure

Explanation:
The Raja's grant used the memorable phrase that the land was theirs "as long as the world, sun, and moon endure," signalling a permanent and generous gesture of welcome.

Answer: (B) India's role as a shelter for persecuted people of many faiths

Explanation:
• Vivekananda spoke proudly of India sheltering the Israelites and Zoroastrians
• He framed this as a matter of national and religious pride
• The speech reinforces the chapter's theme of India as a refuge for the persecuted

Answer: (B) Romans saw their beliefs about Christ as heretical, while Persians suspected them of aiding Rome

Explanation:
The reasons differed on each side: Rome treated them as heretics over differing beliefs about Christ, whereas Persia suspected them of secretly favouring its Roman enemies, so persecution came from two different directions for two different reasons.

Answer: (B) Someone who holds beliefs differing from the accepted official view

Explanation:
The glossary in the chapter defines a heretic as someone considered to hold beliefs, especially religious ones, that go against the dominant official view.

Answer: (A) The fall of the Sassanid Empire to Arab Muslim forces

Explanation:
Once the Sassanid Empire collapsed under Arab Muslim conquest in the 7th century, Zoroastrians faced forced conversions, religious taxes, and destroyed fire temples, pushing them to sail across the Arabian Sea to India.

Answer: (B) That the Parsis would blend into society without disturbing or displacing anyone

Explanation:
Dissolving sugar into the milk without spilling any of it symbolised that the Parsis would sweeten and enrich the society they joined while causing no disruption or overflow, unlike an unwelcome burden.

Answer: (B) Arabs came voluntarily as traders, while Siddis were brought forcibly as slaves

Explanation:
The chapter is explicit that Arab merchants came as peaceful traders seeking commerce, whereas the Siddis were enslaved in Africa and brought to India by Arab, Portuguese, and British traders, a fundamentally different and more painful journey.

Answer: (A) It is the oldest mosque in India, built with help from Arab settlers

Explanation:
Arab traders who settled along Kerala's coast and became part of the Mappila Muslim community helped construct this mosque, which the chapter identifies as India's oldest.

Answer: (B) She helped women access banking and taught organic farming and livelihood skills

Explanation:
Rather than focusing on politics or religion, Hirabai Lobi's work centred on practical upliftment — connecting Siddi women to banks and training them in organic farming — for which she received the Padma Shri in 2023.

Answer: (B) Early Malabar coast settlement, then Mughal-era settlement in Agra, then settlement in Chennai

Explanation:
Historical evidence points first to an 8th-century Malabar coast settlement, followed by Mughal-era development in Agra during the 16th century under Akbar's patronage, and later expansion to Chennai around the mid-17th century.

Answer: (B) Persian religious authorities branded their teachings on unity as heretical and mistreated them

Explanation:
Baha'u'llah's teaching of unity among people and harmony between religions clashed with Persia's ruling religious leadership, who declared the Baha'is heretics and treated them harshly, pushing many to seek safety elsewhere, including India.

Answer: (C) He mobilised aid organisations to rescue and shelter around a thousand orphans in his own state

Explanation:
• He worked with the Red Cross and similar organisations
• He arranged safe transport of Polish orphans to Jamnagar
• He provided them food, shelter, and care for several years during the war
• His efforts were later honoured with a memorial in Warsaw

Answer: (A) Over 25,000 people

Explanation:
The chapter notes that the Bene Israel, who first settled on the Konkan coast after a shipwreck, eventually grew into a community numbering more than 25,000 shortly after independence, making them the largest Jewish group in India.

Answer: (A) Hostility, often rooted in religious, ethnic or political motives, sometimes involving harassment or violence

Explanation:
This is simply the meaning given in the sidebar note accompanying the discussion of Syriac Christians, describing persecution as hostility tied to religious, ethnic, social or political motives, often with harassment or violence attached.

Answer: (A) That ancient India and Iran shared deep linguistic and spiritual ties

Explanation:
By listing near-identical terms across the two languages, the chapter is illustrating an ancient connection between Vedic and Zoroastrian traditions long before the Parsis ever reached India, not something that emerged after their settlement here.

Answer: (A) Chief Justice under Akbar

Explanation:
The chapter mentions Abdul Hai serving as Chief Justice in Akbar's court, alongside Lady Juliana, who worked as a doctor in the royal palace — both examples of Armenians holding influential Mughal-era positions.

Answer: (A) Tibetan king adopts Buddhism, then Nalanda is destroyed and monks flee to Tibet, then Dalai Lamas become rulers, then China annexes Tibet, then the Dalai Lama flees to India

Explanation:
• Tibet's king embraced Buddhism in the 7th century, making it a Buddhist centre.
• Turko-Afghan invasions in the 12th-13th centuries destroyed Nalanda, sending monks fleeing to Tibet.
• From the 15th-17th centuries, Dalai Lamas grew into spiritual heads and then rulers.
• China annexed Tibet from 1950, and after the 1959 uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India.

Answer: (A) A traditional Tibetan medicine system blending Ayurveda with ideas from China, Persia and Greece

Explanation:
Sowa Rigpa, or the 'Art of Healing', was codified in 8th-century Tibet and combines Ayurvedic principles with influences from several other ancient civilisations; it is practised today at institutions like Men-Tsee-Khang and forms part of India's AYUSH programme.

Answer: (A) Military invasions destroyed learning centres such as Nalanda

Explanation:
Turko-Afghan military campaigns in eastern India wrecked Nalanda and other Buddhist centres of learning, prompting monks to escape eastward into Tibet, often carrying valuable Sanskrit manuscripts with them.

Answer: (A) To advance compassion and religious harmony, protect Tibetan culture, and revive India's civilisational values

Explanation:
• One commitment promotes human values such as compassion, forgiveness and tolerance.
• Another works towards harmony among religions.
• A third focuses on preserving Tibetan culture.
• The last aims to revive Indian civilisational values like karuna and ahimsa.

Answer: (A) Protection and shelter offered to someone fleeing danger in their homeland

Explanation:
Asylum here refers to India offering the Dalai Lama safety after he fled Tibet following the 1959 uprising, allowing him to live and function as an 'honoured guest' rather than granting him citizenship or any diplomatic treaty.

Answer: (A) To show that some who arrived intending to conquer India were themselves won over by its culture

Explanation:
The chapter uses these groups as examples of invaders who, rather than imposing their own ways, ended up absorbed into India's philosophy, economy and culture — reinforcing the broader theme of India's power to assimilate outsiders.

Answer: (A) They are designated a scheduled tribe

Explanation:
Despite this recognition, the chapter points out that the Siddis' economic condition remains weak, and ongoing efforts aim to improve their access to education and livelihood opportunities.