Just as the regions within the subcontinent were not isolated from one another, so too, contact with lands beyond the seas and mountains had existed for millennia. One axis of understanding the significance of these connections that is frequently adopted is to focus on the religions of ruling elites. Later (c. thirteenth century) the Turks and Afghans established the Delhi Sultanate. This was followed by the formation of Sultanates in the Deccan and other parts of the subcontinent; Islam was an acknowledged religion of rulers in several areas. This continued with the establishment of the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century as well as in many of the regional states that emerged in the eighteenth century.
Lines left out after the first sentence of the passage give an example of these early contacts. Which of the following is that example?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Arab merchants frequented ports along the western coast in the first millennium CE.
Option (1) Arab merchants frequented ports along the eastern coast in the first millennium CE. — Incorrect. The coast is changed. Arab merchants came to ports on the western coast.
Option (2) Central Asian people settled in the south-eastern parts of the subcontinent in the first millennium CE. — Incorrect. The region is changed. Central Asian people settled in the north-western parts of the subcontinent.
Option (3) Arab merchants frequented ports along the western coast in the first millennium CE. — Correct. Arab merchants visited ports on the western coast in the first millennium CE. This is one of the contacts with lands beyond the seas.
Option (4) Persian merchants frequented ports along the western coast in the first millennium BCE. — Incorrect. Two words are changed. The merchants were Arabs, and the time is the first millennium CE.
NCERT (2026-27): “5. New Strands in the Fabric |