CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Paper 3

These Sample papers are part of CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Here we have given CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Paper 3.

CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 History Paper 3

Students who are going to appear for CBSE Class 12 Examinations are advised to practice the CBSE sample papers given here which is designed as per the latest Syllabus and marking scheme as prescribed by the CBSE is given here. Paper 3 of Solved CBSE Sample Paper for Class 12 History is given below with free PDF download solutions.

Time: 3 Hours
Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions

(i) Answer all the questions. Some questions have internal choice. Marks are indicated against each question.
(ii) Answer to question nos 1 to 3 carrying 2 marks should not exceed 30 words each.
(iii) Answer to question nos. 4 to 9 carrying 4 marks should not exceed 100 words. Students should attempt only 5 questions in this section.
(iv) Question 10 (for 4 marks) is a value based question and compulsory question.
(v) Answer to question nos 11 to 13 carrying 8 marks should not exceed 350 words.
(vi) Questions 14 – 16 are source based questions and have no internal choice.
(vii) Question 17 is a map question includes ‘identification’ and significant’ test items.

PART-A

Answer all the questions given below:

Question 1:
Who built Sudarshana lake? Which ruler repaired this lake?

Question 2:
Mention the importance of Kamalapuram tank.

Question 3:
Describe the functions of kotwal in medieval towns.

PART-B
Section-I

Answer any five of the following questions:

Question 4:
What were the rules of marriage during the period (c 600 BCE – 600CE)

Question 5:
‘The mid first millennium BCE is often regarded as a turning point in the world history. Justify the statement.

Question 6:
What were the main teachings of Alvars? Explain.

Question 7:
Discuss the role played by women in Mughal imperial household.

Question 8:
Write a brief account of Shahmal’s role in the revolt of 1857.

Question 9:
How did importation of European styles in buildings reflect imperial vision? Give reasons.

Section II

Value Based Question

Question 10:
Read the following passage and answer the question that follow.

“Mughal queens and princesses began to control significant financial resources. Shahjahan’s daughters Jahanara and Roshanara enjoyed an annual income often equal to that hight imperial mansabdars. Jahanara, in addition, received revenues from the port city of Surat.
What values were maintained in imperial household (Mughal empire) to make women empowered?

PART-C

Answer all the questions given below:

Question 11:
Discuss the discovery of the Harappan Civilisation.
OR
How did the Harappan Civilisation come to an end? Explain.

Question 12:
Explain the stages through which the Vijaynagara Empire was established.
OR
Describe the role of Nayakas and Alvar Nayakas in the administration of Vijaynagara.

Question 13:
“The travels and surveys of Buchanan were the basis of development and progress for the British East India Company” Discuss.
OR
Discuss the Fifth Report.

PART-D

Source Based Questions

Question 14:
Reading the following excerpt carefully and answer the questions that follow.

The Pandya Chief Senguttuvan visits the forest

This is an excerpt from the Silappadikaram, an epic written in Tamil: (When he visited the forest) people came down the mountain, singing and dancing … just as the defeated show respect to the victorious king, so did they bring gifts – ivory, fragrant wood, fans made of the hair of deer, honey, sandalwood, red ochre, antimony, turmeric, cardamom, pepper, etc…. they brought coconuts, mangoes, medicinal plants, fruits, onions, sugarcane, flowers, areca nut, bananas, baby tigers, lions, elephants, monkeys, bear, deer, musk deer, fox, peacocks, musk cat, wild cocks, speaking parrots, etc. …

1. How did people welcome him? What gifts did the people bring for him? 3
2. Why did people bring these gifts? 2
3. What would the chiefs have used these for? 2

Question 15:
Read the following excerpt carefully and answer the questions that follow.

The bird leaves its nest

This is an excerpt from the Rihla: My departure from Tangier, my birthplace, took place on Thursday… I set out alone, having neither fellow traveller… nor caravan whose party I might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my resolution to quit all my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests… My age at that time was twenty-two years. Ibn Battuta returned home in 1354, about 30 years after he had set out.

1. Explain ‘Rihla’.
2. Why did he find difficult to travel in India? Mention two reasons.
3. What did Ibn-Battuta say about Indian towns?

Question 16:
Read the following excerpt carefully and answer the questions that follow.

No, no! You can never be ours

This is the third story the researcher related: I still vividly remember a man I met in Lahore in 1992. He mistook me to be a Pakistani studying abroad. For some reason he liked me. He urged me to return home after completing my studies to serve the qaum (nation). I told him I shall do so but, at some stage in the conversation, I added that my citizenship happens to be Indian. All of a sudden his tone changed, and much as he was restraining himself, he blurted out, “Oh Indian! I had thought you were Pakistani.” I tried my best to impress upon him that I always see myself as South Asian. “No, no! You can never be ours. Your people wiped out my entire village in 1947, we are sworn enemies and shall always remain so.”

1. Why did both Hindu and Muslim think the severe enemies of each other after partition?
2. What did the person advice to the muslim think the severe enemies of each other partition?
3. What did the Indian try to explain? Who was right and why?

PART-E

Map Questions

Question 17:
17.1. On the given outline map of India, locate and label the following with appropriate symbols.
(a) Banawali
(b) Lumbini – a Buddhist site.

17.2. On the same outline map of Indian three centres of the revolt have been marked as A, B and C. Identify them and write their correct names on the lines drawn near them .

Answers

Answer 1:
(i) Sudarshana lake was an artificial reservoir which was built by a local governor during the reign of the Mauryas.
(ii) It was repaired by a Saka ruler, Rudradaman and one of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty.

Answer 2:
(i) Kamalpuram tank was one of the most important tanks of Vijayanagra.
(ii) Its water was not only used to irrigate nearby fields but its water was also conducted to the royal center through a channel.

Answer 3:
(i) The main function of kotwal was to maintain social order of the town which was dominated by the ruling elite groups.
(ii) He also oversaw the internal affairs and policing of the town.

Answer 4:
(i) Sons were important for the continuity of patrilineage, daughters were viewed rather differently within the framework.
(ii) They had no claims to the resources of household. Marrying them outside the families of the kin was considered desireable exogamy.
(iii) The lives of young girls and women belonging to families that claimed high status were often carefully regulated to ensure they were married at the right time and to the right person.
(iv) ‘Kanyadan’ of a daughter in marriage was an important religious duty of the father. Marriage involved the bridegroom house becoming bride’s house. She lost all claims on her father’s family.
(v) The Dharmasutra and Dharmashastras recognised as many as eight forms of marriage. Of these four were considered good while the remaining condemned.

Answer 5:
(i) It saw the emergence of thinkers like Zarathasustra in Iran, Kongzi in China, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in Greece, Mahavira and Buddha among others in India.
(ii) They tried to understand the mysteries of existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order.
(iii) It was the time when new powerful kingdom emerged in India in Ganga valley region. Social and economic life was changed in different ways. Extension of agriculture due to occupations of newlands; used new techniques and iron tools.
(iv) New religions-Buddhism and Jainsism emerged in India that changed the authority of Hinduism in which at that time many evils were prevailing.

Answer 6:
(i) They Alvar took several steps to preach Vaishnavism in southern India. They used Tamil to impart their teachings.
(ii) They considered Vishnu as omnipresent and omnipotent and could be attained only through Bhakti.
(iii) They stated that anybody can attain salvation by immersing himself in the devotion of Vishnu.
(iv) They believed equal rights for both men and women and inspired them to lead a simple and pious life. They opposed caste system and said that the status of higher law depends . upon one’s karma.

Answer 7:
(i) The king emperor had wives, maid servants and slaves. Mughal families had kept many slaves who performed minor job. Slaves Khawjasar, served as servants and bodyguard, both inside and outside the families.
(ii) Nootjahan, Mughal queen and princesses began to keep strict control over the financial matters. Shah Jahan’s daughter Jahanara and Roshanara got high salaries like mansabdars.
(iii) Jahanara played an important role in designing the Chandni Chowk, the main centre of attraction of Shahjahanabad.
(iv) As women had kept control over financial resources they got constructed buildings and gardens.

Answer 8:
(i) Shahmal locally acknowledged as raja was a Jat cultivator of village Bijrol of Pargana Baraut in Uttar Pradesh.
(ii) His kingship ties extended over chowraseedes – 84 villages. He mobilised the headmen and cultivators of chowraseedes, urging them to revolt against the oppressive British rule.
(iii) The men attacked and destroyed symbols of British rule – bridges, roads. They assisted sepoy mutineers in Delhi by sending supplies and blocking communication between British headquarters and Meerut.
(iv) Shahmal changed a British bungalow into a hall of justice, setting disputes and dispensing justice. He also set up a network of intelligence. Under him people were lulled into the belief that Firangi raj was over and their time had come. He was killed in July 1857.

Answer 9:
(i) It expressed the British desire to create a familiar landscape in an alien country and thus feel at home in the colony-setting of hill stations.
(ii) The British felt that European styles would best symbolise their superority, authority and power-as Government House was built by Lord Wellesly in Calcutta.
(iii) The new gothic style building were built in Bombay included the Secretariat, University of Bombay, High Court and Victoria Terminus. These buildings dominated the central Bombay skyline and gave a distinctive character to the city.
(iv) British thought that buildings looked European would mark out the difference between the colonial masters and Indian people. It was reflected in the White areas and Black areas of colonial cities and their bungalows.

Answer 10:
Expected points

1. Imperialistic and social respect
2. Equality
3. Women empowerment
4. Freedom of work

Answer 11:

1. Alexander Cunningham, the first director-general of ASI started archaeological excavations in mid 19th century. He took interest in early historic period 6th century BCE- 4th century CE and later periods.
2. He used the accounts left by Chinese and Buddhist pilgrims, inscriptions and other texts for reconstructions. He recovered artefacts from excavated sites, he found it difficult to relate them within the framework of investigation.
3. He thought Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley. He missed the significance of Harappan seals were that discovered at Harappa by archaeologists such as Daya Ram Sahni in early decades of the 20th century.
4. Archaeologist R.D. Banerji’s discovery of similar seals in Mohenjodaro led to the conjecture that these sites were part of a single archaeological culture. On these finds in 1924 John Marshal Director, General ASI announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus Valley to the world.
5. John Marshal’s stint as Director General marked a change in Indian archaeology. One shortcoming of Marshal was that he tended to excavate along regular horizontal units ignoring the stratigraphy of the site.
6. R.E.M. Wheeler rectified John Marshal’s problem and brought with a military precision to the practice of archaeology. He recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound.
7. The major Harappan sites are in Pakistan. It has spurred Indian archaeologists to try and locate sites in India. An extensive survey in Kutch has revealed a number of Harappan settlements in Punjab and Haryana. They are Kalibangan, Lothal, Rakhigarhi and Dholavira.
8. The Harappan sites have led to international interest and specialists from the subcontinent and abroad are using modem scientific techniques like surface exploration to minutely analyse every scrap of available evidence.

OR

1. Many explanations have been given for the end of the Harappan civilisation. These range from climate change, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting and drying up of rivers due to over use of the landscape.
2. The rainfall in the Indus region slightly increased around 3000 BCE and further decreased in the earlier part of the 2nd millennium BCE.
3. It may have adversely affected agriculture and stock breeding. The decline of the decreasing fertility on account of increasing salinity of the soil caused by expansion of the neighbouring desert.
4. Others attribute it to sudden subsidence or uplift of the land which caused floods.
5. Wheeler believed that the civilisation was destroyed by Aryan invaders. His views were based on the skeleton remains recovered from Deadman lane and correlated to the archaeological evidence of the Rig Veda.
6. George Dales refutes Wheeler, he explained that the skeletons found in the site, did not belong to the same period. The citadel, the only fortified part of the city yielded no evidence of final defence.
7. The end of the Harappan civilisation was a gradual process. By 1800 BCE most of the mature Harappan sites in the region such as Cholistan had been abandoned. There was an expansion of population in new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
8. The important features associated with Harappan civilisation on writing, weights, pottery, artefacts, long distance trade, craft, disappeared. Even the house construction techniques deteriorated. The urban way of life gave way to a rural way of life. It appears that a strong unifying element perhaps. The Harappan state came to an end.

Answer 12:

1. The Vijaynagara empire was founded by the two brothers Harihara and Bukka in 1336. The Sangama dynasty was the first important dynasty. It kept its control till 1485.
2. The Saluvas military commanders replaced the Sangamas. They remained in power till 1503.
3. Tuluvas replaced the Saluvas. The most famous of the Tuluva dynasty was Krishnadeva Raya. Under his regime the empire was expanded and consolidated.
4. The Raichur doab was acquired and severe defeats inflicted on the rulers of Orissa and Bijapur. Trade and industry flourished.
5. After Krishnadeva’s death, his successors were troubled by rebellious ‘nayaks’. Aravidu dynasty came to power, but the real power was exercised by the triumvirate among which the leading person was Rama Raya.
6. Ram Raya’s policy of playing off one sultanate king against the other, finally resulted in the three kingdoms (Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar joined their hands).
7. They inflicted a crushing defeat on Vijaynagar in the battle of Talikota (1565).
8. The city of Vijayanagara was sacked. The battle of Talikota marked the end of the great age of Vijaynagar. The kingdom lingered on till the 17th century. The seat of Aravidu power shifted to the east. It ruled from Penikonda and later Chandragiri.

OR

Role of Nayakas:

1.  The Nayakas were the military chiefs. They exercised their power in Vijayanagara administration. They controlled the forts and had many soldiers under them.
2.  They kept on moving from one place to another. The peasants who were in search of fertile land sometimes took their help.
3. The Nayakas spoke Telugu or Kannada. They had accepted the authority of Raya of Vijayanagar.
4. Taking the advantages of the weakness of the central administration, they rebelled. They could be suppressed only by military action.

Role of Amara Nayakas:

1. The Amara Nayakas were the military commanders. They were alloted some territories to rule by the ruler of Vijayanagra empire.
2. They were free to carry out the administration of their state. They had right to collect land revenue from the peasants and other taxes from the craftspersons and leaders living under their territory.
3. They kept some portion of the revenue collected for their personal consumption and for the maintenance of their horses and elephants and submitted the rest to the state treasury.
4.  The rulers of Vijayanagra had firmly established and then controlled in peninsular region.

Answer 13:

1. Francis Buchanan came to India in 1794. He was a physician. He served in the Bengal Medical Service by 1815. For few years he had been the surgeon to Lord Wellesly, the governor general of India.
2. He undertook detailed surveys of the areas under the control of East India Company and became an employee of the East India Company.
3. He was inspired by the love of nature. He had a keen desire to discover the unknown. He visited every where accompanied by draughtsmen, surveyors, planquin bearers and the coolies.
4. On his part, Buchanan provided the company all the requisite information. He did his work to the satisfaction of the Company and he was considered as an agent of government.
5. Buchanan was a keen observer of things. Regions where he went, he saw the stones and rocks. He observed and checked the different strata and layers of soil. He searched for minerals and invaluable stone.
6. Buchanan registered the areas where iron ore, mica and granite were available. Further, he recorded the local practices of salt making and iron ore mining.
7. Buchanan, the man of vision, always thought how the land could be made more fertile to give more production. According to him, crops should be cultivated in a particular soil.
8. His priorities were always different from the local inhabitants. He always worked for the commercial concerns of the East India Company. Always he prepared strategies for the development. He did not like forest dwellers who were primitive and savage.

OR

1.  The Fifth Report was voluminous affairs. It ran into 1002 pages. 800 pages were appendices that reproduced petitions of zamindars, ryots, reports of collectors from districts and notes on the revenue and judicial administration of Bengal and Madras.
2. It was submitted to the British Parliament in 1857 about the policies and practices of East India Company from its inception on the activities of the East India company were closely debated and watched in England.
3. Many groups in Britain opposed the monopoly that the company had over trade with India and China. They wanted the revocation of the charter that gave the company this monopoly.
4. Many private traders wanted a share in the India trade and British industrialists wanted India to be transformed into a market for their goods.
5. Political groups argued that Bengal conquest had benefitted only the company and not the nation as a whole. A number of Acts were passed to regulate and control the company rule in India.
6. The Company was forced to produce regular reports on India’s administration and committees were appointed to enquire into Company’s affairs.
7. The fifth report was one such report created and presented with a motive of pointing finger towards the East India Company from the very beginning.
8. For over a century and a half, the fifth report has shaped our conception of what happened in rural Bengal. But the report cannot be accepted uncritically. The Fifth Report exaggerated the collapse of zamindari power.

Answer 14:
(i) (a) He was warmly received by the people.
(A) The people welcomed him by singing and dancing and showed much respect towards him.
(c) The people brought many gifts for him by such as ivory, fragrant woods. Fans made of the hair of deer, honey, sandalwood, pepper etc.

(ii) (a) Mark of respect
(b) To pay homage.
(c) As a gesture of accepting the suzerainty of the chief and his leadership in warfare, arbitrating disputes.

(iii) (a) The chiefs have used these gifts for their amulets, rituals, etc.
(b) They used animal hides as seats, minerals etc.

Answer 15:
(i) (a) ‘Rihla’ is a famous book of the accounts of the travel of Ibn Battuta.
(b) It is in arabic and provides us a detailed description about the social and cultural life of India in 14th century.

(ii) (a) Routes were unsecure.
(b) There was always a fear of robbers and dacoits on the way.

(iii) (a) Indian towns are prosperous.
(b) They are densely populated.
(c) These towns are the centres of both social and cultural activities.

Answer 16:
(i) (a) During the partition there were large massacre. Both Hindus and Muslims killed each other.
(b) There was not humanity among them- they considered themselves their fast enemeis.

(ii) (i) The person advised the researcher that he will return to his nation after completing his studies to serve his qaum.
(b) He said like this because he has mistaken him to be a Pakistani studying abroad.

(iii) (a) The Indian tried to explain that he considered himself as a South Asian.
(b) A south Asian may be a Pakistani or an Indian, it did not matter.
(c) Both were right because they were angry with the bloodshed of 1947. Many people of their villages were infed out in this bloodshed.

Answer 17:

(2) (A) Jabalpur (B) Gwalior (C) Delhi

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