Hinglish

Governance, Trade and Cultural Life

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 16: Turning Tides: 11th and 12th Centuries · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 16.6

Learn

Constant war meant kings needed large armies of soldiers, horses and elephants, paid for by tribute and taxes. Ghūrī's system was more centralised, giving officers temporary land rights in return for revenue and military service. Despite the turmoil, trade with China and Southeast Asia grew, with west-coast ports and shipyards, though agriculture remained the mainstay: rice, saffron, spices, ginger, wheat and cotton. The Chālukya king Someśhvara III wrote Mānasollāsa, an encyclopaedia on everything from astronomy to cooking, and the Chandellas built the temples of Khajuraho.

New thinkers emerged. Rāmānujāchārya taught viśhiṣhṭādvaita, seeing the world and souls as real and stressing bhakti. Basaveśhvara (Basavaṇṇa), a minister at Kalyāṇī, founded the Lingāyat movement, rejecting caste and ritual, teaching devotion and honest work, and writing Kannada vachanas; his Anubhava Maṇḍapa let men and women of every background meet to discuss life. Indian culture also travelled: Angkor Wat in Cambodia, built in the 12th century, is the world's largest religious monument, first dedicated to Viṣhṇu. So the period shows both change (Turkic conquest and destruction) and continuity (trade, art, learning and resilience).

Explore: change or continuity?

  1. Sort each development.

Remember

  • Armies needed strong administration; trade grew and farming stayed the base of the economy.
  • Rāmānuja and Basava reshaped religious thought; Indian culture shaped monuments like Angkor Wat.

Quick check

Basaveśhvara's Anubhava Maṇḍapa was …

  1. a hall where people of all backgrounds discussed life and values
  2. a fort
  3. a market for horses
  4. a royal treasury
Answer

a hall where people of all backgrounds discussed life and values. Men and women of every caste and language could take part.

Think about it

If an Anubhava Maṇḍapa existed today, what should people discuss there?

One answer

Topics like fairness and equality, caring for the environment, honesty in work and public life, and how people of different backgrounds can live well together.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.