Class 12 Sample Paper History (Half Yearly)

SAMPLE
PAPER
Half Yearly Examination

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HALF YEARLY EXAMINATION
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER

Class - XII Subject – History
Time – 3 Hours Maximum Marks-80

General Instructions
1. Answer all the questions. Some questions have internal Choice. Marks are indicated against
each question. This Question paper contains six sections.
2. Section A: Question numbers 1 to 16 are objective type questions carrying 1Mark and should
be answered in one word or one sentence each (Attempt any 15)
3. Section B: Question number 17 to 19 are case based questions having multiple choice
questions. Each question has 4 sub -parts. Attempt any three sub parts from each question.
4. Section C:Answer to questions carrying 3 Marks (question number 20-23) should not exceed
100 words each
5. Section D: Answer to questions carrying 8 marks (question number 24-26) should not exceed
350 words each.
6. Section E: Question numbers 27-29 are source based questions carrying 5marks each
7. Section F :Question number 30 is a Map question that includes the identification and location
of significant test items. Attach the map with the answer book.

Section A
[1X15=15]

1. Who was the most famous king of Vijayanagara Empire?
2. Name two fruits which came with the Europeans from the new world to the subcontinent in
the 16th/17th century
3. Some colossal statues of kings of a particular dynasty have been found out to be installed at
a Mat near Madhura. Similarly some were found from Afghanistan as well. Some historians
feel that this kings had considered themselves as God like and adopted the titles such as
Devaputra. Who were these rulers?
4. Who wrote the Rihla?
5. Who was the grand father of Ashoka the Great?
6. By profession Bernier was a --------
7. Name the different types of peasants of 16th century, India
8. Arrange the following dynasties of Vijaya nagara Empire chronologically
A. Saluva

B. Tuluva
C. Aravidu
D. Sangama
9. Al biruni came to India with _____
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10. Differentiate the context of Vinaya Pitaka and Sutta Pitaka
11. Who was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni?
12. According to Jain tradition what does the word ‘Theerdhankara' mean?
13. Who is known as the father of Indian archaeology?
14. Who were the founders of Vijayanagara Empire?
15. Which archeologist understood the necessity to study the Harappan sites stratigraphically?
16. What are the Jatakas

Section B

17. Read the following excerpt carefully and answer any three questions. [1X3=3]
A different genre of Sufi poetry was composed in and around the town of bijapur,
Karnataka. These were short poems in the Dakhani (a variant of Urdu) attributed to chisty
Sufis who lived in this region during the 17th and 18th centuries. These poems were
probably sung by women while performing household chores like grinding grain and
spinning. Other compositions were in the form of Lori Nama or lullabies and shadi namah
or wedding songs it is likely that the surface of this region where inspired by the pre-
existing bhakti tradition of the Kannada vachanas of the lingayats and the Marathi abangas
of the sants of pandhapur. It is through this medium that Islam gradually gained a place in
the villages of the Deccan .

i. Choose the correct option.
Codes
Assertion (A) Sufi Saints conversed as well as wrote their poetries in local languages
Reason( R ): They wanted to connect with masses and spread the gospel of Sufism
among them
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 not true
D. A is not true But R is true

ii. What was the reason behind penetration of Islam into the villages of the deccan?
A. Sufi Saints developed a new variant of poem to propagate their messages.
B. Coercive tactics and forced to conversion by the rulers of Bijapur.
C. Sufi Saints amalgamated earlier traditions prevalent in those areas for preservance
of Sufi ideas.
D. Both A and C

iii. What was the main theme and characters of Padmavat written by Malik Muhammad
Jayasi ?
A. Love, Padmini and Ratan singh
B. Courage, Padmini and Ratan singh

C. Justice, Baba Farid and Sheik Nizamuddin Auliya
D. None of the above

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iv. What is Sama
A. Annual meeting of Sufi Saints
B. Pilgrimage to khanques
C. Recitation of songs poetries etc at the Khanquah of Sufi Saints
D. All of the above .

18. Read the following excerpt carefully and answer any three questions. [1X3=3]

The nature of the self.

The self of mine within the heart is smaller than barley or mustard or Millet or the kernel of
a cedar of Millet. This self of mine within the heart is greater than the earth, greater than the
intermediate space, greater than heaven, greater than these World.

The true sacrifice this one the wind that blows, this is surely a sacrifice... While moving, it
sanctify’s all this, therefore it is indeed a sacrifice.

Answer any of the three of the following

i. What is the source of this verse?
A. Upanishad
B. Veda
C. Mahabharata
D. Ramayana

ii. According to the verse what is surely a sacrifice?
A. The wind
B. Human beings
C. Salt
D. River
iii. Why the inner self is compared to a seed and then to the space?
A. Because we are great
B. Because the soul has no limit
C. Because the soul can be big and small at the same time
D. none of the above
iv. What is the central idea given in the Upanishad?
A. That the soul is huge and minute at the same time
B. The wind can be a purifier
C. The sea can hide the inner self
D. The world is made by God and we are very small in front of God

19. Read the following excerpt carefully and answer any three questions [1X3=3]
When the king Devanampiya Piyadassi had been ruling for eight years , the country of the
Kalingas Present day coastal Orissa was conquered by him . 150,000 men were deported,
100,000 were killed, and many more died.
After that now that the country of the Kalinga has been taken, Devanam piyadassi devoted

to an intense study of Dhamma, to love the Dhamma and to instructing the people in
Dhamma. This is the repentance of Devanampiya on account of his conquest of the
country of the Kalingas .This is considered very painful and horrible by the king that while

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one is conquering an unconquered country slaughter death and deportation of people take
place there...
Choose the correct option

(i) Assertion (A) :the king Devanampiya Piyadassi instigated by the horrors of Kalinga
war,
Reason ( R ): He was highly anguished by the death and destructiom caused by the
Kalinga war.
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 not true
D. A is not true But R is true

(ii) Who is Devanampiya
A. Chandra Gupta I
B. Asoka
C. Samudra Gupta
D. None of these
(iii) What is Dhamma
A. Buddhist Philosophy
B. Hindu Philosophy
C. Jaina Philosophy
D. All of the above
(iv) Kalinga is in the current state of ------
A. Bihar
B. Odisha
C. Jharkhand
D. Assam
Section C

20. Compare and contrast the major principles of Buddhism and Jainism [3]
21. Abddur Razzak, an ambassador from Persia, was impressed by the fortification of
Vijayanagara Empire “Justify the statement [3]
22. How does the religious texts like Mahabharata gives us an insight to the life of the people?
Explain with examples [3]
23. Explain the role of women in the society of the Indian subcontinent in the 16 and 17
th th

century [3]

Section D

24. Explain the various sources of History of the life of the people of 16th and 17th Indian
subcontinent keeping The Ain -Akbari as the main source [8]
25. How the archeologists used evidence from material remains to piece together parts of

fascinating Harappan History? Explain [8]
26. The South western part of Vijaya nagara settlement is designated as ‘ Royal centre'. Explain
[8]

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Section E

27. The One Lord
Here is a composition attributed to Kabir
Tell me, brother, how can there be No one lord of the world but two?
Who led you so astray?
God is called by many names. Names like Allah Ram Karim Keshav, Hari and Hazrat. Gold
may be shaped into rings and bangles. Isn’t it gold all the same? Distinctions are only in
words that we invent.
Kabir says they are both mistaken. Neither can find God. One kills the goat, the other cows.
They waste their lives in disputation.
1. How did Kabir describe the Ultimate Reality? [1]
2. Explain the arguments give by Kabir against the lords of the world od different
communities. [2]
3. Do you agree with Kabir? Give your own views as well. [2]

28. A tiger like husband
This is a summary of a story from the Adi Parva one of the chapters of mahabharatha.
The pandavas had fled into the forest. They were tired and fell asleep. Only Bheema the
second pandava , renowned for his powers,was keeping watch . A man eating Rakshasa
caught the scent of the pandavas and send his sister hidimba to capture them. She fell in
love with him, transformed herself into a lovely maiden and proposed to him.
He refused . Meanwhile ,the Rakshasa arrived and challenged and Bhima killed him . The
others woke up hearing the noise .Hidimba introduced herself and declared her love for
Bhima.
She told Kunti ,“ I have forsaken my friends my dharma ,and my kin; and good lady,
chosen your tiger like son for my man... Whether you think me a fool or your devoted
servant, let me join you, great lady, with your son as my husband.”
Ultimately,Yudhishtira agreed to the marriage on one condition that they would spend the
day together ,but that Bhima would return every night . The couple roamed all over the
world during the day time . In due course ,Hidimba gave birth to a Rakshasa boy named
Ghatotkacha .Then the mother and son left the Pandavas. Ghatotkacha promised to return
to the Pandavas whenever they needed him . Some historians suggest that the term
Rakshasa is used to describe the people whose practices differed from these laid down in
Brahmanical texts.
1. Who was Hidumba? [3]
2. On what condition did Bhima agreed to marry Hidumba? Who kept the condition? [2]

29. The poor peasents
An excerpt from Berniers's description of the peasantry in the country side. Of the vast
tracts of country constituting the empire of Hindustan, many are little more than sand or
barren mountains, badly culrivated thinly populated. Even a considerable portion of the

good land remaines untilled for want of labourers : many of whom perish in consequence
of the bad treatment they experience from governors. The poor people, when they become
incapable of discharging the demands of the land lords are not only often deprived of the

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means of subsistence, but are also made to lose their children, who are carried away as
slaves.
Thus it happens that the peasantry, driven to despair by so excessive a tyranny, abandon
the country side. In this instance, Bernier was participating in contemporary debates in
Europe concerning the nature of state and society and intended that his description of
Mughal India would serve as a warning to those who did not recognise the merits of
private property.
1. What were the problems about cultivating the land, according to Bernier? [2]
2. Why did the peasantry abandon the land? [1]
3. Explain the reasons given by Bernier for exploitation of the peasants? [2]

Section F
30. The following is a Map question. Each point to be located holds ½ marks. All the points
mentioned should be located in the given marks. All points are compulsory to locate and
mark [½ ×10=5marks]

A. In the given outline map of India mark the following major sites of the Harappan
civilisation
i. The port city where remaining of a ship was excavated.
ii. A centre of crafts production.
iii. The site from where we got the evidence of a ploughed land
iv. The Indian site from where a terracotta model of plough was retrieved
v. Water reservoirs where found

30 B. Mark in the same map the five major political centres of the Mauryan Empire

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