CBSE Class 8 Social Science Chapter 03 The Rise Of The Marathas MCQs Set 01

Answer: (A) The Deccan plateau, particularly present-day Maharashtra

Explanation:
The chapter explicitly states that the Marathas are a group of people native to the Deccan plateau, more specifically present-day Maharashtra, and they are identified with the Marathi language which has had a rich literary history since the 12th century.

Answer: (B) To secure access to resources of coastal regions and protect the west coast

Explanation:
When Chhatrapati Shivaji's kingdom expanded to India's west coast, he needed a navy to secure access to the resources of coastal regions. This was revolutionary at the time, as neither the Bijapur Sultanate nor the Mughal Empire maintained a full-time naval force.

Answer: (B) It represented the formal beginning of the Maratha Empire with full Vedic rites

Explanation:
The coronation with full Vedic rites at Raigad in 1674 was a formal declaration of Chhatrapati Shivaji's sovereignty. He took the title 'Shri Raja Shiva Chhatrapati' and even started his own era, the Rājyābhiṣheka shaka, demonstrating his independence from any overlord.

Answer: (B) They composed devotional songs in local languages, helping develop cultural identity, and some focused on social organisation and political awareness similar to Sikh gurus

Explanation:
Between the 7th and 17th centuries, saints like Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, and Tukaram composed devotional songs in Marathi, translated important texts into the local language, and focused on social organisation and political awareness. This created a solid cultural foundation that helped the Marathas organise themselves into a political power.

Answer: (B) Guerrilla warfare using small groups with speed, surprise, and knowledge of terrain

Explanation:
The chapter describes how Chhatrapati Shivaji used guerrilla warfare to protect his people from powerful enemies. This tactic employed small groups in a focused way, with speed, surprise, and knowledge of the terrain to defeat bigger armies, as demonstrated in his encounter with Afzal Khan.

Answer: (D) Creating a hereditary nobility system based on Mughal models

Explanation:
Chhatrapati Shivaji actually abolished hereditary posts and land assignments, which were practices under the Sultans and Mughals. Instead, he paid salaries and periodically transferred officials. He rejected the Mughal hereditary nobility system rather than adopting it.

Answer: (C) Taxes levied from provinces not directly under Maratha control, with protection offered in return

Explanation:
The Marathas levied taxes called chauth (25 per cent) and sardeshmukhi (an additional 10 per cent) from provinces not directly under them. In return, the Marathas protected those provinces and did not intervene in their internal administration. Over time, some of these provinces became part of the Maratha Empire.

Answer: (B) He challenged European control of naval passes and demanded cartaz from Europeans themselves, reversing the colonial practice

Explanation:
Europeans had forced Indians to purchase naval trade passes (cartaz) at a price. The Marathas under Chhatrapati Shivaji challenged this practice and started demanding passes from the Europeans themselves. Kanhoji Angre later guided the Marathas to naval victories using geography and tactics, and the Europeans labelled him a 'pirate' out of frustration.

Answer: (B) It carried a Sanskrit inscription rather than the prevalent Persian seals, asserting his cultural identity

Explanation:
Chhatrapati Shivaji's seal carried a Sanskrit inscription, a notable departure from the prevalent Persian seals of the time. The inscription stated: 'This seal (i.e. authority) of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the son of Shahji, waxing like the new moon, revered by the world, reigns for the welfare (of the people).' This reflected his vision of Swarājya and assertion of cultural identity.

Answer: (B) It was a treatise aimed at promoting the Marathi language by providing Sanskrit equivalents for Persian words used in diplomacy

Explanation:
This treatise was commissioned to promote the Marathi language. It provided Sanskrit equivalents for the prevalent Persian words used in diplomatic exchanges, which resulted in a considerable decrease in the percentage of foreign loanwords in Maratha diplomacy, asserting cultural independence.

Answer: (B) It shifted from a centralised structure to a more decentralised one, with regional chiefs and the Peshwa wielding greater power

Explanation:
After Chhatrapati Shivaji's death, the centralised state gave way to a more decentralised structure, still nominally centred around the Chhatrapati, but with chiefs wielding more power. The Peshwa, in particular, wielded great influence and even over the Chhatrapati himself.

Answer: (B) He was made to stand before Aurangzeb and a defeated general, incensing him; he stormed out and was placed under house arrest but escaped by hiding in gift baskets with his son

Explanation:
After being insulted by being made to stand before Aurangzeb and a general he had defeated, Chhatrapati Shivaji stormed out of the court. Aurangzeb put him under house arrest. To escape, he devised a clever strategy of distributing gifts containing fruits and sweets in baskets to holy men and Mughal generals. Guards initially checked the baskets but soon stopped, allowing Chhatrapati Shivaji and his son Sambhaji to hide and escape.

Answer: (B) She governed her state for thirty years while building and restoring temples, ghats, wells, and roads throughout India, and promoting traditional crafts like the Maheshwar weaving industry

Explanation:
Though a member of the Holkar dynasty, Ahilyabai Holkar's contributions were primarily administrative and cultural. She governed wisely for thirty years after losing her husband and son, built and restored hundreds of temples and infrastructure across India, and revitalised the Maheshwar weaving industry, demonstrating that Maratha women wielded significant influence beyond military campaigns.

Answer: (B) Hat-wearing Europeans like Portuguese and English

Explanation:
Amatya specifically identifies 'hat-wearers like the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, the French and the Danes' as people intent on territorial expansion and propagating their religion, advising against letting them construct fortified buildings.

Answer: (C) Marathi

Explanation:
The chapter states that the Marathas are identified with Marathi, which has had a rich and continuous literary history since the 12th century.

Answer: (B) Yadava dynasty

Explanation:
The text explicitly mentions that during the 13th century, most of Maharashtra was ruled by the Yadava dynasty with Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad) as its capital.

Answer: (B) Devotion to the divine or a particular deity through spiritual paths

Explanation:
Between the 7th and 17th centuries, saints and seekers adopted bhakti—devotion to the divine or a particular deity—as a spiritual path, composing devotional songs and poetry to spread their messages widely among the masses.

Answer: (B) Chauth and sardeshmukhi

Explanation:
Chauth comprised 25 per cent of provincial revenues while sardeshmukhi added an additional 10 per cent; in exchange, the Marathas provided protection and did not interfere in internal administration.

Answer: (B) He had to surrender a significant portion of his kingdom and his son entered Mughal service

Explanation:
Following his military defeat to Jai Singh, Chhatrapati Shivaji was forced to concede defeat, give up a sizeable part of his kingdom, and allow his son Sambhaji to enter Mughal service as part of the treaty agreement.

Answer: (B) He stormed out of the court, leading Aurangzeb to place him under house arrest

Explanation:
Incensed by the insult of standing before Aurangzeb and a general he had previously defeated, Chhatrapati Shivaji stormed out of the court; Aurangzeb responded by placing him under house arrest, from which he later engineered an escape.

Answer: (B) Guerrilla warfare using terrain knowledge, speed, and surprise with small focused groups

Explanation:
Guerrilla warfare, using small groups of soldiers strategically, knowledge of terrain, speed and surprise—proved effective against bigger armies and was particularly suited to the mountainous regions the Marathas controlled.

Answer: (B) It carried a Sanskrit inscription rather than the prevalent Persian seals of the time

Explanation:
His seal carried a Sanskrit inscription—a notable departure from the prevailing Persian seals used by others—asserting both his cultural identity and his vision of Swarājya (sovereignty) in a distinctly Indian form.

Answer: (B) He challenged the European monopoly on naval trade passes by demanding passes from Europeans themselves instead of Indians paying for European passes

Explanation:
Europeans had forced Indians to purchase naval trade passes (cartaz) at high prices; when Kanhoji Angre reversed this by demanding passes from Europeans, they expressed frustration by labelling him a pirate to discredit his legitimate authority.

Answer: (B) She organised large Maratha armies and sent them to invade Mughal territories in the north, making her the architect of northward Maratha expansion

Explanation:
After her husband Rajaram's death, Tarabai recognised that Aurangzeb's focus on the Deccan had left north India vulnerable; her military strategy and ability to organise and direct large armies made her instrumental in the Marathas' northward territorial expansion.

Answer: (B) His concern for the welfare of common people and recognition that destroying such trees would cause lasting harm to their livelihoods

Explanation:
Chhatrapati Shivaji's letter explicitly states that fruit-bearing trees take many years to mature and that people depend on them like their children, making their destruction cause lasting sorrow. He concludes that accomplishments through oppression perish along with the oppressor — a principle revealing his commitment to protecting his subjects' interests even at the cost of resource availability.