A historian is comparing the Ain-i Akbari with records of a market town in Awadh from the late seventeenth century. The Ain's lists of crops for northern India leave out a certain plant. The later records show the same plant growing in nearby fields, smoked by many townspeople in hookahs and chillums, and carried by traders to distant markets. A court chronicle adds that an emperor had once issued an order against it. She sets out to trace where the plant came from and how it spread.
The historian learns that the plant reached northern India in the early years of the seventeenth century. In which region of India had it arrived first?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The Deccan
Option (1) The Punjab — Incorrect. The Punjab is part of northern India, where tobacco spread later, after first reaching the Deccan.
Option (2) Bengal — Incorrect. Bengal is known in this part for its sugar and its 50 varieties of rice. Tobacco reached the Deccan first.
Option (3) Gujarat — Incorrect. Gujarat lies in western India. Tobacco is traced first to the Deccan, from where it moved north.
Option (4) The Deccan — Correct. The plant is <strong>tobacco</strong>. It <strong>arrived first in the Deccan</strong> and spread to northern India in the early years of the seventeenth century.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.4 An abundance of crops … |