Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in Current Affairs.

If the government increases taxes or decreases expenditure then the fiscal deficit gets reduced. Indian government is trying to reduce the fiscal deficit by increasing tax revenue by selling the share of PSUs and by reducing the government expenditure. The deficit reduction influences the different sectors of an economy in different ways.

The government is trying to fill the gap of reduced fiscal deficit by making government activities more efficient through better planning of programmes and better administration.

The cutting back government programmes in vital areas like agriculture, education, health, poverty alleviation has adverse effect on the economy.
The same fiscal measures can lead to a large or small deficit government by the state of the economy. During recession period GDP falls which reduces tax revenue which increase the fiscal deficit.

There were two types of Postal system i.e.

• Dawa - On Foot. 
• Uluq - on horse

• He didn't take notes of everything which he saw daily.
• Many things out of his memory. 
• He also wrote those things which he heard from his friends.
• So in his account one finds such terrible mistakes as "wrong routes" and "wrong names" of the rulers.

Bernier said that the sole reason for the bad condition in the country was the royal ownership of the land. But modem historians do not agree with him. There is no indication in the Mughal documents that the land belonged to the lung. For example, Abdul Fasal, who was a scholar and historian during the reign of Akbar, said the land taxes were a reward for the sovereignty (supreme authority) of the king.

The king charged taxes from his subjects in return for the protection given to them. It was not taxes for the land owned by the ruler. Land tax was often high. That might be reason why the Europeans travellers thought that all the land belonged to the king. In fact, it was neither tax nor land tax. It was a tax on the crops.

Bernier says that there was no Middle Class in India. There were only 2 classes – the poor and the rich. The poor were the majority and they were suppressed by the ruling minority. There were too poor and too rich people, but there was no middle state. Bernier did not have a good impression about the Mughal Empire.

He assessed the Mughal King as follows:

1. The king was the king of beggars and uncultured people.

2. The Mughal cities and towns were in a state of ruin and the air there was polluted.

3. The fields were full of bushes and marshlands which caused diseases.

The word Hindu came from an old Persian word. In the 6-5 centuries BC, this word was used to indicate the region lying east of the River Sindhu.

The Arabs continued using this expression. They called this region Al-Hind and the people ‘Hindi’. Later, the Turks started calling the people Hindu and their land as Hindustan and their language Hindavi. None of these was indicative of any religion. The word Hindu was used to indicate somebody’s religion much later.

Ibn Battuta’s home country is Morocco

In the 17^th century, 15% of Indians lived in cities. This was more in proportion than the people living in cities in Western Europe. In spite of that the Mughal cities were called camp towns by Bernier. Camp Towns are those that depend on the capital city for existence. During the Mughal rule, the capital was often shifted. Bernier says that when the capital was moved to a new city, it developed fast, but when the capital was moved from there, the city got ruined. Cities did not have strong social and economic bases. They relied on royal protection.

There is some kind of contradiction in what Bernier says about cities. He says the manufacturing sector was in ruin. But he says there were large scale exports of products. Bernier’s is an over simplication of things. At that time there were manufacturing cities, trade cities, port cities, holy cities, and pilgrimage centres. Their existence shows the prosperity of the trading and working communities.

Among the merchant and trading communities, there were strong bonds, often blood relations. They had organized themselves into organizations based on caste and profession. In Western India, these trading communities were called Mahajans. Their top leader was Seth. The topmost one in the city was called nagarseth.

In the city, there were doctors (Hakim, Vaidyas), teachers (Pandits, Mullah), advocates (Vakil), Artists, Musicians and calligraphers. Some of them were working for the king. But most of them worked for the people in bazars and markets.

Since the time of the writings of Bernier, they have influenced Western theorists. These descriptions were used by the French Philosopher Montesquieu to develop his concept of Oriental Despotism. This theory argues that the Eastern (Oriental) Kings had full authority over their subjects. The subjects often lived in poverty. All land belonged to the ruler. There . was no private property. Except the King and the lords, all lived difficult lives.

This concept was further developed by Karl Marx in the 19^th century. The concept he developed is called Asiatic Production Process. Marx argued that even before colonization, in India and in other parts of Asia, the ruling class acquired the profits coming from extra production. This helped in developing village communities that had self-governing powers and were considered equals.

But these communities, in spite of their autonomous status, were supervised by the Centre. Till the extra profits owed into their hands, the rulers respected the autonomous village communities. Marx considered the system of production in Asia as stunted and unfit for growth.

Bernier presented India on the model of the binary opposition. This way India was presented as directly opposite to Europe. He also presented the differences between India and Europe on a comparative scale. India was at the lowest rung of the ladder. In short, Bernier felt that India was inferior and worse than the. Western countries.

Battuta’s descriptions make it clear that there were discriminations even among slaves. Under the Sultan many women slaves served. Some of them were experts in dance and music. Once, Battuta had an opportunity to enjoy their performance, during the wedding celebrations of the Sultan’s sister.

Women slaves also worked as spies of the Sultan. The Sultan employed them to secretly observe the activities of his nobles. Slaves,

both men and women, were generally employed for household work. Ibn Battuta says that to carry palanquins slaves were used. The price of women slaves bought for domestic work was very little. Most families could afford one or two of them.

European travellers often spoke highly of the behaviour shown to women. They did that to show the differences between the treatment given here to women and the treatment of women in European countries. Bemier wrote extensively about the practice of Sati. Bemier points out that all women did not observe Sati in the same manner. Some jumped into the pyre happily. But some had to be forced into the pyre.

In those days travels were risky. There were robbers everywhere. Battuta himself was attacked by robbers a number of times. He gave preference to travel with his friends in a caravan. But this did not protect him from robbers. When he was going from Multan to Delhi, his caravan was attacked by robbers. Many of his co-travellers were killed. Ibn Battuta was severely wounded.

Ibn Battuta was an Enthusiastic and determined traveller: Difficulties along the way and the attacks from robbers did not stop him. Before he returned to Morocco, he travelled extensively in North Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and China. It is believed that he reached even China.

(b) Reproduction. 

New Initiatives: The RBI has been taking steps for improving the financial access to people in rural areas. Banks operate in rural areas either through branches or through Business Correspondents (BCs). A Business Correspondent is an approved bank agent providing basic banking services using a Micro ATM (terminal). These Business Correspondents encourage people in rural and remote areas to open bank accounts, save money and also use loan facilities provided by the banks. Bio-metric smart card identification systems are used to open these accounts.

The decision of the government to scrape 500 and 1000 currency notes is affecting different class of society in a different way.

Poor class : 

This class is affected adversely immediately. Because they use debit or credit card is very less.

Temporarily they face problem but they become normal within month.

Middle class : 

They too have to stand on a big queue for short time because they still need the 100 rupee note, for making petty payments. 

Upper class : They too may face trouble for few days but their life would become normal very soon.

Long term benefits : 

1. Developmental activities would pick up significantly as the tax revenue increases. 

2. Corruption would reduce. 

3. Government can reduce rates of taxes. 

4. Illegal activities would reduce. 

5. Dowry and other social practices like extravagant marriages would reduce due to white economy.

Visualizing the Nation :
(i) Artists personified the nation-portrayed nation as a female figure.
(ii) Artist used the female allegory to portray ideas such as liberty, justice, and the republic.
(iii) Statues of Marianne were erected to remind the national symbol to persuade them to identify with it.
(iv) Marianne images were marked stamps.
(v) Germania became the allegory of the German nation. She wears a crown of oak leaves, as in Germany oak stands for heroism.

(i) While Aurangzeb ruled, the Ahoms had a prolonged struggle with the Mughals.

(ii) The Mughals attacked the Ahoms’ region.

(iii) The Ahoms united under the leadership of Gadadharsinha. Commander Lachit Borphukan gave an intense battle against the Mughals.

(iv) The Ahoms used the guerilla technique in the conflict against the Mughals.

(v) It became impossible for Mughals to create a strong base in Assam.

(a) The reigning Sultan of Delhi at that time was Ibrahim Lodi.

(b) Daulatkhan Lodi, was the governor of Punjab under the Sultanate.

(c) The relationship between Ibrahim Lodi and Daulatkhan Lodi was strained.

(d) Daulatkhan Lodi invited Babur to march to India. Taking this opportunity, Babur invaded India.

1. eight century

2. Chauhan dynasty

Answer is: The Yadavas

Muhammad Ghuri

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni

Answer is: Deogiri

When Akbar tried to bring India under his central authority he had to face the opposition of Maharana Pratap, Chandbibi and Rani Durgavati.

The Cholas conquered the Maidive Islands and Sri Lanka using their naval strength.

The Yadava period

The Yadava period

Answer is: The Turks

King Vishnuvardhan

King Vishnuvardhan

Shivaji Maharaj

1. Rani Durgavati

2. Maharana Pratap

3. Babur

Answer is: Nanded

Maharana Pratap became immortal in history due to his qualities of valour, courage, self-respect and sacrifice.

1. Yadava

2. Turks

Answer is: Chandbibi

Muhammad-bin-Qasim

The Mahanubhav Panth and the Varkari movement emerged in the Yadava period.

Gondvana can be broadly said to comprise the eastern part of Vidarbha, part of Madhya Pradesh to its North, the Western part of today’s Chhattisgarh, Northern part of Andhra Pradesh and Western part of Odisha.

Guru Tegh Bahadur

(a) The Gahadwal dynasty

(b) Parmar dynasty

Gadadharsinha

Maharana Pratap

The Arab rulers turned towards India to expand their empire.

(a) Rajaraj I

(b) Rajendra I

Rana Sanga of Mewad

Commander Lachit Borphukan

Marathas offered stiff resistance to Aurangzeb and defended their independence.

Answer is: Babur