Reading Comprehension

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To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required. For these the rebels sometimes turned to those who had been leaders before the British conquest. One of the first acts of the sepoys of Meerut was to rush to Delhi and appeal to the old Mughal emperor to accept the leadership of the revolt. This acceptance of leadership took its time in coming. Bahadur Shah's first reaction was one of the horror and rejection. It was only when some sepoys had moved into the Mughal court within the Red Fort that the old emperor agreed to be the nominal leader of the rebellion.

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"Though the wise should hope, by this virtue... by this penance I will gain karma... and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of samsara (transmigration). It can neither be lessened or increased... just as a ball of string will when thrown unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make and end of sorrow"

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The volume of information being gained daily shows how wickedly the salt tax has been designed. In order to prevent the use of salt that has not paid the tax which is at times even fourteen times its value, the Government destroys the salt it cannot sell profitably. Thus it taxes the nation's vital necessity; it prevents the public from manufacturing it and destroys what nature manufactures without effort. No adjective is strong enough for characterising this wicked dog-in- the-manger policy. From various sources I hear tales of such wanton destruction of the nation's property in all parts of India. Maunds if not tons of salt are said to be destroyed on the Konkan coast. The same tale comes from Dandi. Wherever there is likelihood of natural salt being taken away by the people living in the neighbourhood of such areas for their personal use, salt officers are posted for the sole purpose of carrying on destruction. Thus valuable national property is destroyed at national expense and salt taken out of the mouths of the people.

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By the eleventh century, Sufism evolved into a well-developed movement with a body of literature on Quranic studies and Sufi practices. Institutionally, the sufis began to organise communities around the hospice or Khanqah controlled by a teaching master known as shaikh. He enrolled disciples and appointed a successor. He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the master. Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century.

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In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to his homeland after two decade of residence abroad. These Years has been spent for the most part in south Africa, where he went as a lawyer, and in time became a leader of the Indian community in that territory. as the historian Chandran Devan Esan has remarked. South Africa was “the making of the Mahatma”. It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi First forget the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, First promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women.

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Temple building in the region had a long history, going back to dynasties such as the Pallavas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and cholas. Rulers very often encouraged temple building as a means of associating themselves with the divine-often, deity was explicitly or implicitly identified with the king. Temples also Functioned as center of Learning. Besides, rules and other often granted land other resources for the maintenance of temples. Consequently, temples developed as significant religious, social, cultural and economic centres. from the point of view of the rules, constructing, repairing and maintaining temples were important means of winning support and recognition for their power, wealth and piety.

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The Buddha (and other teachers) taught orally through discussions and debates. 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 (Pall 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 pitalar 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 Diparamsa (literally, the chronicle of the island) and Mahawansa (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.
The 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.

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From the Fifth report
Referring to the condition of zamindars and the auction of lands, the Fifth Report stated :
The revenue was not realised with punctuality, and lands to a considerable extent were periodically exposed to sale by auction. In the native year 1203, corresponding with 1796-97, the land advertised for sale comprehended a jumma or assessment of sicer rupees 28, 70, 061, the extent of land actually sold bore a jamm or assessment of 14, 18, 756, and the amount of purchase money sicca rupees 17, 90, 416. In 1204. Corresponding with 1797-98, the land advertised was for sicon rupees 22, 66, 191, the quantity sold was for sicca rupees 22, 74, 076 and the purchase money Nicon rupees 21, 47, 580. Among the defaulters were some of the oldest families of the country, Such were the rajahs of Nuddea. Rajeshaye. Bishenpore (all districts of Bengal), and others, the dismemberment of whose estates at the end of each succeeding year, threatened them with poverty and ruin, and in some instances presented difficulties to the revenue officers, in their efforts to preserve undiminished the amount of public assessment.

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Mesopotamian texts datable to the third millennium BCE refer to copper coming from a region called Magan. Interestingly enough copper found at Mesopotamian sites also contains traces of nickel. Other archaeological finds suggestive of long-distance contacts include Harappan seals, weights, dice and beads. Mesopotamian texts mention contact with regions named Dilmum, Magan and Meluhha. They mention the products from Meluhha: Carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold, and varieties of wood. A Mesopotamian myth says of Meluhha: "May your bird be the haja-bird, may its call be heard in the royal palace."

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Here are verses from the Rigveda invoking Agni, the god of fire, often identified with the sacrificial fire, into which offerings were made so as to reach the other deities. "Bring. O strong one, this sacrifice of ours to the gods, O wise one, as a liberal giver. Bestow on us, O priest, abundant food. Agni, obtain, by sacrificing, mighty wealth for us". Verses such as these were composed in a special kind of Sanskrit, known as Vedic Sanskrit. They were taught orally to men belonging to priestly families.

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According to Buddhist philosophy, the world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing, it is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles. In the earliest forms of Buddhism whether or not god existed was irrelevant.

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Section I-Regarding Zemindars. It is evident that the British Government in making zemindary settlement have imposed exorbitant Jumas (revenne demand) and have disgraced and ruined several Zemindars by putting up their estates for public auction for arrears of rent, in so much, in the institution of a suit by a common Ryot, a maid servant or a slave, the respectable Zemindars are stummoned into court, arrested, put in goal and disgraced. In litigation regarding Zemindaries, the immense value of stamps, and other unnecessary expenses of the civil courts,.... are all calculated to impoverish the litigants. Besides this, the coffers of the Zemindars are annually taxed with the subscription for schools, hospitals, roads, etc. Such extortions will have no manner of existence in the Badshahi Government; but on the contrary the Jumas will be light, the dignity and honour of the Zemindars safe, and every Zemindar will have absolute rule in his own Zemindary...

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"Perhaps the most unique features of the Harappan civilisation was the development of urban centres. They had citadel and the lower towns. One of the most distinctive features of Harapppan cities was the carefully planned drainage system. The roads intersected at right angles and were well planned."

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"The sepoys began their action with a signal: firing of the evening gun or sounding of the bugle. They attacked Government buildings. Everything and everybody connected with white man became a target. The British had no answer to the actions of the rebels. British rule, as one British officer noted "collapsed like a house made of cards"."