CBSE Class 12 History Question Paper 2012 Code 61/2/1

CBSE CLASS XII Questions

• 1.

  Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow :
  How Buddhist texts were prepared and preserved
  The Buddha (and other teachers) taught orally – through discussion and debate. Men and women (perhaps children as well) attended these discourses and discussed what they heard. None of the Buddha’s speeches were written down during his lifetime. After his death (c. fifth-fourth century BCE) his teachings were compiled by his disciples at a council of ‘‘elders’’ or senior monks at Vesali (Pali for Vaishali in present-day Bihar). These compilations were known as Tipitaka – literally, three baskets to hold different types of texts. They were first transmitted orally and then written and classified according to length as well as subject matter.
  The Vinaya Pitaka included rules and regulations for those who joined the sangha or monastic order; the Buddha’s teachings were included in the Sutta Pitaka; and the Abhidhamma Pitaka dealt with philosophical matters. Each pitaka comprised a number of individual texts. Later, commentaries were written on these texts by Buddhist scholars.
  As Buddhism travelled to new regions such as Sri Lanka, other texts such as the Dipavamsa (literally, the chronicle of the island) and Mahavamsa (the great chronicle) were written, containing regional histories of Buddhism. Many of these works contained biographies of the Buddha. Some of the oldest texts are in Pali, while later compositions are in Sanskrit.
  When Buddhism spread to East Asia, pilgrims such as Fa Xian and Xuan Zang travelled all the way from China to India in search of texts. These they took back to their own country, where they were translated by scholars. Indian Buddhist teachers also travelled to faraway places, carrying texts to disseminate the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhist texts were preserved in manuscripts for several centuries in monasteries in different parts of Asia. Modern translations have been prepared from Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan texts.

  ---

• 2.

  ‘‘The temple architecture of the Vijayanagara empire was distinctive and unique.’’ Explain the statement with examples.

  View Solution

  ---

• 3.

  Explain the role of Guru Gobind Singh in Sikhism.

  View Solution

  ---

• 4.

  Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow :
  Framing the Constitution
  The Indian Constitution, which came into effect on 26 January, 1950, has the dubious distinction of being the longest in the world. But its length and complexity are perhaps understandable when one considers the country’s size and diversity. At Independence, India was not merely large and diverse, but also deeply divided. A Constitution designed to keep the country together, and to take it forward, had necessarily to be an elaborate, carefully-worked-out, and painstakingly drafted document. For one thing, it sought to heal wounds of the past and the present, to make Indians of different classes, castes and communities come together in a shared political experiment. For another, it sought to nurture democratic institutions in what had long been a culture of hierarchy and deference.
  The Constitution of India was framed between December 1946 and November 1949. During this time, its drafts were discussed clause-by-clause in the Constituent Assembly of India.

  ---

• 5.

  ‘‘The Royal Centre of Vijayanagara comprised a variety of buildings that reflected the prestige of the empire.’’ Explain the statement with examples.

  View Solution

  ---

• 6.

  Describe the process undertaken by V.S. Sukthankar and his team in preparing the critical edition of the Mahabharata.

  View Solution