CBSE Class 12 History Kinship Caste And Class MCQs Set 02

Question. Rulers whose name ended with the term 'Puta' belonged to
(a) Satavahana dynasty.
(b) Shunga dynasty.
(c) Mauryan dynasty.
(d) Kanva dynasty.

Answer : A

Question. The rulers whose names were derived from that of their mothers were
(a) Shakas.
(b) Satvahanas.
(c) Kurus.
(d) Mauryas.

Answer : B

Question. According to the Sanskrit text Mahabharata, Duryodhana plotted to kill
(a) Dhritarashtra.
(b) Draupadi.
(c) Kauravas.
(d) Pandavas.

Answer : D

Question. Ekalavya was a
(a) nishada.
(b) suvarnakara.
(c) chandala.
(d) priest.

Answer : A

Question. Panini’s ‘Ashtadhyayi’ is a work on
(a) Sanskrit grammar.
(b) Sanskrit history.
(c) Sanskrit mantras.
(d) Sanskrit plays.

Answer : A

Question. The Brahmanas considered some people as being outside the system by classifying certain social categories as _______.
(a) Kinfolk
(b) Varnas
(c) Untouchable
(d) Nishada

Answer : C

Question. The classification of people, in the name of gotras in Hindu religion, was practised from c. 1000 BCE onwards, by the
(a) Brahmanas.
(b) Kshatriyas.
(c) Vaishyas.
(d) Shudras.

Answer : A

Question. Mandasor Stone inscription records the history of a guild of
(a) goldsmiths.
(b) rathakaras.
(c) potters.
(d) silk weavers.

Answer : D

Question. According to the ______, the paternal estate was to be divided equally amongst sons after the death of the parents.
(a) Varnas
(b) Varnas
(c) Manusmriti
(d) Mahabharata

Answer : C

Question. The janapada which was inhabited by the cousins Pandavas and Kauravas was that of
(a) Shurasenas.
(b) Mallas.
(c) Sakyas.
(d) Kurus.

Answer : D

Question. Families are usually parts of larger networks of people defined as relatives, or to use a more technical term ______.
(a) Kinfolk
(b) Patriliny
(c) Marriage
(d) Polygamy

Answer : A

Question. _______contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces and settlements.
(a) Manusmriti
(b) Sutta Pitaka
(c) Mahabharata
(d) None of the above

Answer : C

Question. The number of categories into which the Dharmashastras and Dharmasutras divided the ideal occupations were
(a) Two
(b) Three
(c) Four
(d) Five

Answer : C

Question. Marriage within a unit, a kin group, caste or a group living in the same locality, is called
(a) endogamy.
(b) exogamy.
(c) polygyny.
(d) polyandry.

Answer : A

Question. ______means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on.
(a) Kinfolk
(b) Patriliny
(c) Marriage
(d) Polygamy

Answer : B

Question. Historians consider several elements when they analyse texts such as:
(i) They examine the language of the texts whether they were written in Prakrit, Pali or Tamil, languages that were probably used by ordinary people, or in Sanskrit, a language meant almost exclusively for priests and elites.
(ii) They also consider about the kind of texts like whether these were mantras, learnt and chanted by ritual specialists, or stories that people could have read, or heard.
(iii) They also consider author’s perspective about the text.
(iv) They try and ascertain the possible date of the composition of the texts as well as the place where they may have been composed.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)
(B) (i) and (ii)
(C) (i) and (iii)
(D) All of the above

Answer : D

Question. The word ‘Didactic’,means
(A) something that is meant for purposes of instruction.
(B) The description of events in a story
(C) Noticeable or sudden and often surprising
(D) Extremely mournful, melancholy or pathetic.

Answer : A

Question. The original story of Mahabharata was probably composed by
(A) Lord Ganesha
(B) Rishi Veda Vyasa
(C) Charioteer-bards known as sutas.
(D) Lord Brahama

Answer : C

Question. Identify the years span, when an archeologist B.B.Lal excavated at a village named Hastinapura in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh)?
(A) 1951–52
(B) 1962–63
(C) 1970–71
(D) 1950–51

Answer : A

Question. Present-day historians suggest that the fact that the author(s) describe a polyandrous union indicates that polyandry may have been prevalent amongst ruling elites at some point of time.
(i) Some historians note that while the practice of polyandry may have seemed unusual or even undesirable from the Brahmanical point of view, it was (and is) prevalent in the Himalayan region.
(ii) There may have been a shortage of women during times of warfare, and this led to polyandry. In other words, it was attributed to a situation of crisis.
(iii) The author(s) choose to associate this practice with the central characters of the Mahabharata because sometimes creative literature often has its own narrative requirements and does not always literally reflect social realities.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?
(A) Only (i)
(B) (i) and (ii)
(C) (i) and (iii)
(D) All of the above

Answer : D

ASSERTION AND REASON BASED MCQs :

Question. Assertion (A): The Buddhists developed an alternative understanding of social inequalities, and of the institutions required to regulate social conflict.
Reason (R): In a myth found in a text known as the Sutta Pitaka Buddhists suggested that originally human beings did not have fully evolved bodily forms, nor was the world of plants fully developed. All beings lived in an idyllic state of peace, taking from nature only what they needed for each meal.
(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 and R is true.

Answer : A

Question. Assertion (A): From the fifth century BCE, Brahmanas took over the story of Mahabharata and began to commit it to writing.
Reason (R): This was the time when chiefdoms such as those of the Kurus and around whom the story of the epic revolves, they were gradually becoming kingdoms. New kings want their itihasa to be recorded and preserved more systematically.
(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 and R is true.

Answer : A

CASE-BASED MCQs :

Question. Observe the picture and answer any three of the following questions by choosing the correct option.

Question. Where has this sculpture been found?
(A) Amravati
(B) Hastinapur
(C) Harappa
(D) Mohenjodaro

Answer : A

Question. To which century does the sculpture belong to?
(A) c. third century BCE
(B) c. second century CE
(C) c. eighth century CE
(D) c. fifteenth century CE

Answer : B

Question. How has the sculptor shown the difference between the chief and his follower?
(A) The chief has placed hand on head of the follower
(B) The chief is taller than the follower
(C) The chief is in the lead and the follower is behind him
(D) All of these

Answer : D

Question. From which Tamil literature has this been taken?
(A) Puranaruru
(B) Abhigyanam
(C) Kadambini
(D) None of these

Answer : A

Question. Which foreign traveller wrote in his account that“untouchables” had to sound a clapper in the streets so that people could avoid seeing them.”?
(A) Fa-Hien or Fa-Xian R
(B) Hiuen-Tsang
(C) Marco Polo
(D) Megasthenes,

Answer: a

Question. Which of the following statement is correct regarding the interpretation of Sutta Pitaka?
(a) Originally human beings did not have fully evolved bodily forms, nor was the world of plants fully developed.
(b) All beings lived in an idyllic state of peace, taking from nature only what they needed for each meal.
(c) There was a gradual deterioration of this state as human beings became increasingly greedy, vindictive and deceitful.
(d) Human beings were not responsible for the creation of the system, they could not change it in future.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
(A) Only a
(B) a and b
(C) a, b, c
(D) Only d

Answer: c

Question. A forest-dwelling or a hunting community is called
(A) Nishada
(B) Chandala
(C) Suvarnakaras
(D) Shudras

Answer: a

Question. Which of the following statement is not the correct interpretation of mahasammata?
(A) The idea of leadership was based purely on choice.
(B) The institution of kingship was based on the choice of God.
(C) Recognition of human agency in creating and institutionalising economic and social relations.
(D) Human beings were responsible for the creation of the system, they could also change it in future.

Answer: b

Question. Puranaruru is one of the anthologies of poems. To which literature does it belongs?
(A) Tamil Sangam literature.
(B) Buddhist literature
(C) Sanskrit literature
(D) Bengali literature

Answer: a

ASSERTION AND REASON BASED MCQs :

Question. Assertion (A): People of some jatis did not easily fit in the varna system.
Reason (R): People of some jatis organised into groups called shrenis.
(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 and R is true.

Answer: b

Question. Assertion (A): A wealthy Shudra can live like a rich man, can have servants and people respect him.
Reason (R): Economic status determined a person’s status in society.
(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 and R is true.

Answer: a