National Eligibility Test June-2011 for Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lectureship

National Eligibility Test June-2011

for Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lectureship .
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Eco-Zones

ECO-ZONES
In the Sangam literature there is a description of different eco-zones. They represented different geographical regions with the existence of different natural resources. The reference to these zones indicates the uneven development in the different regions. This also indicates the kind of economic activities followed by the people in these different zones.

The first eco-zone was the hilly region. Here the people were hunters and depended on primitive economic occupations. Agriculture was not highly developed. They followed slash and burn cultivation.

Megalithics and the Sangam Literature

THE MEGALITHIC CULTURE
This culture was one of earliest iron-using archaeological settlements in South India. Megaliths were the burial monuments for important tribal figures. In these monuments, we find different implements like stone and iron tools which were needed for daily existence.

These monuments are found around river valleys, important trade routes and strategic places. In the different districts of South India we have discovered megalithic monuments. Many inscriptions of the Mauryan king Asoka have been found in these regions where megalithic sites have been discovered.

The people followed a primitive kind of agriculture. They were used to move from place to place. Primitive form of exchange existed between the different tribal groups. These settlements indicate the beginning of use of iron for the purpose of production. It is said that they belonged to the period around 5th century B.C.

State Formation in Kalinga

KALINGA STATE FORMATION
Another important post Mauryan empire that was established was the royal family of Kalingans. Before the coming of the Mauryans, this region was not developed economically and politically. Perhaps the people were nomadic people who had some knowledge of agricultural production. There existed different tribes. We discover the iron age culture in this region. Thus there was transformation from stone age to iron age civilization.

The region was fertile and it consisted of navigable rivers like Mahanadi. We have mentioned that under Asoka, they were defeated and subjugated by the Mauryans who established their administrative centre in the region of Kalinga which became the capital of the eastern part of the Mauryan empire. It is stated that in Kalinga, there was secondary state formation. This kind of state emerges in those regions where the greater empires established their model of administration which was imitated in the locality.

Satavahana State, Society and Economy

SATAVAHANAS OF ANDHRA
They were the most important post-Mauryan kingdom in the Deccan region of India. In ancient Indian literature like Mahabharata and Manusmrti, this region was known as barbaric or a region where there existed many tribal people. In this region, we have discovered several megaliths which were the burial monuments.

The people in this region, before the emergence of the state, were the primitive people who lived by hunting and slash and burn cultivation; they were nomadic and hence moved from place to place. It is said that there was transformation from tribe to caste, from pre state society to state society.

Among the Satavahanas the great rulers were Gautamiputra Satakarni and Vasistiputra Pulamavi. The Satavahanas claimed that they supported the cause of the brahmanas and protected them from their enemies.

The Satavahana kings supported both the brahmanas and Buddhist institutions. Several land grants were made in the different regions of Deccan particularly in those regions where agriculture was at its primitive stage and where the Satavahanas did not have real control.

RETIREMENT AGE: HC DISMISSES TEACHERS’ PLEA

RETIREMENT AGE: HC DISMISSES TEACHERS’ PLEA

 KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a batch of petitions seeking enhancement of retirement age of college teachers from 55 to 65.

The petitioners had sought issuance of a directive from the state government on the basis of the regulations issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Dismissing the petitions, a Division Bench comprising Justices C N Ramachandran Nair and P S Gopinathan said that fixing of retirement age was a policy decision of the state government and the court cannot interfere in the matter. It is for the state government to take a decision on whether the UGC guidelines should be implemented or not.

The court accepted the argument of the state government that a lot of qualified people were waiting for their turn to get appointment as teachers in colleges.

"The UGC packages and incentives are only recommendable or advisory in nature. The government can decide whether they should be adopted or not. If the retirement age is extended, then qualified people waiting for their turn will have to remain unemployed for another ten years which may deplete their quality and capability," the court said.

RESEARCHERS FIND ANCIENT STONE TOOLS IN INDIA

RESEARCHERS FIND ANCIENT STONE TOOLS IN INDIA

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID | AP

Published: Mar 25, 2011 22:28 Updated: Mar 25, 2011 22:38

WASHINGTON: The human migration out of Africa reached south India more than a million years ago, newly discovered stone tools indicate.

Researchers led by Shanti Pappu of the Sharma Center for Heritage Education in Tamil Nadu discovered more than 3,500 quartzite tools of the distinct Acheulian design used by the earliest humans in Africa starting more than 1.5 million years ago.

The tools dated to at least 1.07 million years old and some possibly 1.51 million years old, the researchers report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

That is almost contemporary with similar tools found in Africa, the researchers noted in their paper.

HISTORY OF NIYAMASABHA KERALA

HISTORY OF NIYAMASABHA KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Sate of Kerala has 140 constituencies and to form a government , candidates are elected from each constituency. And party which has won majority of constituencies will be able to form the government.

The candidates elected in Legislative Assembly elections are known as MLA or Member of Legislative Assembly. Kerala Legislative Assembly is also known as Niyamasabha.

In 1888 - Kerala Legislative Council was formed

In 1904 - Sri Moolam Popular Assembly of Travancore was formed

In 1905 Voting Rights were given to only those citizens who paid an annual land revenue

In 1925 a Legislative Council was formed at Kochi

In 1956 State of Kerala was formed

In 1957 First Election of Kerala was held

In 1st March 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly was formed

The Indo-Greeks

After the fall of the Mauryans, there was the emergence of brahmanical dynasties like Sungas and Kanvas which ruled for few years. But the most important development in the post Mauryan period was the arrival of foreign tribal groups into India. Most of these belonged to the category of Indo-Greeks, while some groups came from Iran and Afghanistan and also China. There was the emergence of new dynasties like the Kalinga royal family and Satavahanas in the deccan.

INDO-GREEKS
During 200 B.C. there were many invasions. The Indo-Greeks from the region of Afghanistan began the attack of Indian territories. The weak successors of Asoka were not in a position to fight against this invasion by the Bactrians. But the Greeks could not establish a permanent rule in India. The most famous king among them was King Menander also called Milinda who wrote Milindapanha or ‘The Questions of King Milinda’. He supported Buddhism. The Indo- Greek kings issued large number of coins. They were the first to issue gold coins in India. The Indians learned the Greek style of art which is found in Gandhara style of art.

Asoka, Buddhism and Policy of Dhamma

ASOKA (273-232 B.C.
King Asoka was originally a Saivite, but later he became a Buddhist. It is said that he fought against his brothers and killed many of them to capture the Mauryan throne after the death of his father Bindusara.

Asoka became very famous for his attempts to spread Buddhism through out the world. Initially he was also ambitious to consolidate his empire. He waged a war against the province of Kalinga and subjugated them. Kalinga was an important territory for the Mauryans as its subjugation allowed the Mauryans to maintain contact with territories in east Asia. In the war it is said that thousands of people lost their lives. This war is regarded as a turning point in the personal life of Asoka as he decided not to continue to commit needless violence and bloodshed.

Mauryan Administration, Society and Economy

ADMINISTRATION
It is said that king was the supreme head of the legislative, executive and judiciary branches. He was assisted in administration by the Prime Minister, other ministers, the commander-in-chief, the royal treasurer, etc. The members of the council of minister could give advice to the king, but final decisions were left to the king. The ministers and other officials were directly appointed by the king after examining them thoroughly.

There existed both civil and military officials. They were paid a salary in cash. The highest official was paid the salary of 48000 panas per year. The soldiers were paid 500 panas per year. There were officials who maintained the records of population, income and expenditure of government. We find reference to officials and clerks who collected income tax and custom duties.

Chandragupta Maurya

MAURYAN EMPIRE UNDER CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA
After the return of Alexander from India, the Mauryan king Chandragupta defeated the Nandas of Magadha and established the Mauryan empire. Most of the Nanda territories and other regions of India were subjugated by Chandragupta Maurya. In this work of building the empire, it is said that he was ably assisted by Kautalya or Chanakya, who was the Prime Minister in the court of Chandragupta.

ARTHASHASTRA
Kautalya wrote Arthashastra, a political treatise, which is quite often compared with Machivalli’s ‘The Prince’. Kautalya suggested various methods of subjugating neighbouring territories. However, there is a controversy among historians regarding the date of Arthashastra. It is said that certain parts of the text belongs to the Mauryan period.

NATURE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE

NATURE of the MAURYAN EMPIRE

Many historians initially claimed that the Mauryan empire was a centralized one as all the powers were concentrated in the hands of the king. Historians like R.K. Mukherjee, Romila Thapar and others suggested that there existed a centralized pattern of administration in the Mauryan empire. According to them, the king possessed all the powers in his own hands. Ministers and officials were appointed and paid a salary by the king, which allowed greater powers to remain with the king.

However, this assumption has been challenged by Gerard Fussman, who stated that due to slow communications, it was very difficult to maintain control over different parts of the empire.

DECLINE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE

DECLINE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE

DECLINE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE
Within a few years of death of Asoka, there was the decline and fall of Mauryan empire. Historians have debated the reasons for the decline of Mauryan empire.

DIVISION OF EMPIRE
The Mauryan empire was divided into two parts: the western and eastern. This weakened the empire and the Mauryans could not defend their territories from foreign tribes who captured Mauryan territories and established their kingdoms on the Indian soil. Among the foreign tribes, the most important were the Indo-Greeks, the Sakas and the Kushanas.

WEAK SUCCESSORS
Asoka's weak successors were not in a position to continue his high ideals and they could not control all the aspects of administration. This factor has been suggested as the main cause for the fall of the Mauryan empire. The huge Mauryan empire needed capable monarchs to manage its administration.

ALEXANDER'S INVASION OF INDIA

ALEXANDER'S INVASION (326 B.C.)
The King of Macedonia, Alexander invaded India as part of his ambition to conquer the entire world. Even before Alexander’s invasion, India was not unknown to the Greek world. Certain parts of Indian territories were ruled by the Persians, who obtained huge revenue in terms of gold from these territories. Herodotus was aware of the richness of India because Herodotus had described the revenue obtained by the Persian empire from Indian territories. The Indians in the Persian army of King Xerxes had fought against the Greeks.

After defeating and conquering Persia, Alexander decided to invade India also. However this invasion is not recorded in the ancient Indian literature. This invasion did not have much impact on the everyday life of Indians as Alexander did not touch the heartland of India.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERES

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERES

51) Who of the following advised the British East India Company to seek from the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam, a ‘sanad for the Diwani of Bengal ?
a) Manik Chand
b) Omi Chand
c) Raja Daulat Ram
d) Maharaja Raj ballabh

Ans: Ans: Maharaja Raj Ballabh: d

 Maharaja Raj Ballabh Sen, the Dewan (Diwan of Dhakka) of Serajuddaula, who conspired to overthrow the nawab with the help of Robert Clive and bring in the English in 1757. Raja Raj Ballahb Sen was a Vaidya, a community which dominated the intellectual and political scence in pre-colonial and colonial India in Bengal. Even people like Amitya Sen, the Noble Leuterate and Sushmita Sen, the Miss Universe and actress of Mumbai Film industry belong to Vaidya community of Bengal.
Maharaja Raj Ballabh was an accomplice of Mir Jaffer and Ghaseti Begum. Krishan Ballabh, son of Maharaja Raj Ballabh had misappropriated a huge sum of the government and took shelter with the English. It was one of the cause of the attack of Sirrajudullah on Calcutta. Maharaja Raj Ballabh was finally got killed by Nawab Mir Qasim. He was also known as the founder of Rajnagar. 

REFORMATION

REFORMATION

Question II-2-3: What do you understand by the term Reformation? What were the shortcomings of the Church, which led to the Reformation?
Or
Examine the role of Martin Luther in the rise and progress of Reformation in Germany.
Or
What do you understand from Reformation? What were its causes and main objectives.
Or
What do you understand from the Reformation Movement? What were its effects on the political and social life of Europe?
Or
What do you understand by the Reformation? Throw light on its aims and causes. What were its effects?

Answer: - The Reformation movement was the most important movement after the Renaissance in the history of Modern period. This movement in fact was a reaction against the Pope and the church, which took place in the European countries in the sixteenth century. It was a religious revolution of sixteenth century, which culminated in the separation of many nations of Europe from the Church of Rome."

The Main Aims of Reformation:
The main aims of this movement are discussed briefly as follows: -

It can be added here that apart from the above mentioned aims, the movement was originally aimed at ending the superstitions of ancient times for which efforts were being made since the thirteenth century.