Chapter – 5

Through the Eyes of Travellers

In this post, we have given the detailed notes of Class 12 History Chapter 5 (Through the Eyes of Travellers) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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Travelers’ Perspective

• In the previous lesson we studied Indian history according to various religious texts.
• In this lesson we will understand the history of India from the perspective of the travelers who came to India.
• The text mainly describes three travelers Al Biruni Ibn Battuta François Bernier

Problems of Traveling in Ancient Times

• long time
• lack of facilities
• fear of pirates
• natural disasters
• diseases
• fear of getting lost

Why were Travels Done in Ancient Times?

• interest
• business
• preaching
• seek knowledge
• natural calamity
• looking for new opportunities

Major Travelers to India

Although many travelers traveled to India, but we will know about some of the main travelers and the account given by them.

• al biruni
• ibn battuta
• Francois Bernier

Al Biruni

• Al Biruni was born in 973 AD in Khiva region of Khwarizm, region of Uzbekistan.
• Khwarism was an important center of education at that time.
• Alberuni received the highest level of education at that time
• Al-Biruni was the knower of many languages, mainly Arabic Persian Syrian Sanskrit
• and had knowledge of the Hebrew language
• Alberuni’s arrival in India
• In 1017 AD Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked Khwarism and after this attack
• Mahmud of Ghaznavi Khwarism took many poets and scholars hostage and brought them to India. Al Biruni was also one of these hostages.
• Al Biruni came to India as a hostage but gradually he started liking this region and he told 70 years of his life in India only.
• During his lifetime, Alberuni studied the prevailing system in India at that time and wrote all his experiences in one of his main books, Kitab-ul-Hind Tehqeeq-e-Hind.

Kitab ul Hind

• the author al biruni language arabic
• writing style
  • Kitab ul Hind has 80 chapters, all chapters are written in a simple and clear way.
  • Each chapter begins with a question, followed by a question on the basis of the Indian system, and finally Indian culture is compared with other cultures.
  • Contents This book describes Indian culture, language, art, custom, sculpture, festivals etc.
  • Along with this, this book also contains religious philosophy, dentistry and medical information.

Some of the main things mentioned in Kitab ul Hind

Caste System

• Alberuni compared the Indian caste system with the Persian caste system.
• Indian caste system
  • The Indian caste system was the varna system created by the brahmins, in which there were mainly four varnas, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
  • The varna of a person was determined on the basis of his birth i.e. if a person is born in a brahmin family, he will become a brahmin and a person born in a shudra family will be considered a shudra throughout his life.
  • Brahmins used to be at the top of this system, followed by Brahmins, Kshatriyas used to be Vaishyas and Shudras.
  • This system was based on birth i.e.
• Persian caste system
  • There were also mainly four Varnas in the Persian caste system.
  • Horsemen and ruling classes Monks and priests Physicians Scientists farmers and craftsmen
  • In this system, the varna was determined on the basis of the work being done by the person.

Thoughts of Al Biruni

• Al-Biruni said that the caste system was everywhere but the caste system in India was very rigid and discriminatory.
• Alberuni said that the untouchability present in the brahminical system was completely wrong.
• According to Al-Biruni, no person or thing can be considered impure on the basis of birth because every impure thing can try to be holy.

Ibn Battuta (1304 AD)

• Place of Birth Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 at a place called Tangier in the region of Morocco, South Africa.
• All the members of Ibn Battuta’s family were highly educated and respected. According to this tradition, Ibn Battuta also acquired literary and classical education at an early age.
• Ibn Battuta was said to be an obstinate traveler because he was very fond of traveling
• Due to this interest, Ibn Battuta traveled to many places such as Iraq, Mecca, Syria, Yemen, Oman etc.
• In 1332 he set out to visit India and in 1333 he reached Sindh (present-day Pakistan).
• After this he came to Delhi to meet the Sultan of Delhi, Mohammad bin Tughlaq.
• Muhammad bin Tughlaq was greatly impressed by the knowledge of Ibn Battuta and granted him a Qazi (the rank of judge) in his kingdom.
• In the future, due to some misunderstanding between the king and Ibn Battuta, he was also kept in prison for some time but due to the misunderstanding in the future, he was thrown out of jail.
• Due to his interest in traveling, he was sent by the Sultan of Delhi as an ambassador to the Mongol ruler (China).
• During this he wrote a book called Rihla.
• In 1347 Ibn Battuta decided to return home

Rihla

• This book was produced by Ibn Battuta
• This book is written in Arabic language
• Main things mentioned in Ibn Battuta’s book Rihlah
  • Indian city
  • Agriculture
    • Coconut
    • Page
  • Slavery
  • Postal system

Indian City

• According to Ibn Battuta, Indian cities were densely populated, this region was full of opportunities, most of the people living in the cities were prosperous.
• Temples and mosques used to be all kinds of religious places in these markets.
• Indian agriculture About Indian agriculture, the brothers wrote that due to the fertile soil in India, agriculture could be done twice a year.
• Agriculture yield was higher in India as compared to western regions

Cloth

• There was a high demand for silk, zari, etc. fabrics in India.
• Muslin clothes were expensive in India that’s why only rich people used to wear muslin clothes.
• Clothing made of cheap fibers was used by common people

Postal System of India

• According to Ibn Battuta, the Indian postal system was very developed and unique at that time.
• It used to take about 50 days for a normal person to travel from Sindh to Delhi but by postal system the news was delivered from Sindh to Delhi in only 5 days.
• At that time mainly two types of postal system were prevalent.
• horse postal system uluk foot mail system claim
• Under the horse postal system, there were state horses every 4 miles.
• The message was carried from one place to another by these horses.
• Under the foot mail system, the messenger used to run with a message in one hand and a stick in the other, which had some bells on it.
• This messenger used to run for 3 miles every mile there were three rest houses for him and after every 3 miles there was a village a second messenger stood in this village the first messenger used to hold him the message and that stick and the second The messenger used to carry that message forward from there, similar arrangement continued till the message arrived.

Coconut

• Coming to India, Ibn Battuta saw coconut trees, these trees looked exactly like palm trees.
• Ibn Battuta was very surprised to see the coconut
• Ibn Battuta compared the coconut to the human head
• He wrote that coconut is a fruit just like human head, its upper part is hard like human skull and inner part is soft like human brain and the fibers on it look like hair.
• He wrote that coconut is used in many ways, rope is made from reso, the water inside it is drunk and the soft part inside is also eaten like a fruit.

Page

• Essay about betel vine, Ibn Battuta wrote that there is no fruit on it, it is grown only for the leaves
• The method of using it is also strange, before eating it, betel nut is placed on it and broken into small pieces, then this betel nut and leaves are chewed together in the mouth and after some time it is spit.

Slavery

• According to Ibn Battuta, in those days slaves were sold in the market like ordinary goods.
• People of all classes situated in the society were kept as slaves
• These slaves were used for domestic work.
• Male slaves were mainly used for lifting palanquins and female slaves were kept for domestic work.
• Male slaves cost less than female slaves
• Mahila slaves used to be proficient in music and dance art as well. Music and dance were also performed by them on some chief officers.
• Sometimes these two were also sent by some kings as secret chars to watch over the houses of the people.
• Ibn Battuta gives three experiences in relation to slaves
  • The first Mohammed bin Tughlaq, being pleased with a preacher named Nasruddin, gave him one lakh coins and 200 slaves.
  • When Ibn Battuta reached Siddha, he presented the Sultan with horses, camels and slaves.
  • Ibn Battuta also gave raisins and some slaves as a gift to the governor of Multan.

Francois Bernier

• Francois Bernier was born in France in 1620 AD
• He was a philosopher, historian, politician and physician.
• He came to India in search of opportunities and stayed here for many years as a physician to Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan.
• He lived in India from 1656 to 1668 (12 years)
• During this period he wrote his book Travels in the Mughal Empire.

Travels in the Mughal Empire

• In this work, François Bernier compared the Indian system with the western countries.
• In this book he criticized the Indian system and depicted it in pathetic condition.

Some highlights mentioned in Travels in the Mughal Empire

land ownership

• According to François Bernier, there was a lack of private landownership in India at that time, that is, no person had any private land, the entire land was under the king.
• The land was cultivated by the farmer and the tax was paid to the king.
• Farmers could work on that land but could not pass it on to their next generation
• For this reason, the farmers did not seriously take care of the production and land.
• Due to this system, agriculture was destroyed and farmers had to face exploitation.

Indian Society

• According to François Bernier, there were either very poor people or very rich people in the Indian society at that time.
• lack of middle class
• Trisha was exploited by the king and the upper class and the lower class
• There was lack of services in the cities and the governance system was poor.
•  

Tradition of Sati

• Francois Bernier criticized the practice of Sati prevalent in India
• Under this custom a woman was burnt alive along with her husband’s funeral pyre after becoming a widow.
• He called this system inhuman and full of atrocities.
• Recounting one of his experiences, he wrote about a 12-year-old girl wearing a white sari and being dragged to a pyre by four Brahmins and an old woman with her hands and feet tied on that pyre. were given so that he would not run away and then he was burnt

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