Identify the incorrect statements regarding the travellers in Medieval India:
(A) Jean-Baptiste Tavernier travelled to India at least seven times.
(B) Manucci, the French doctor, never returned to Europe and settled down in India.
(C) Francois Bernier was closely associated with the Mughal court.
(D) Danishmand Khan, was a Syrian noble at the Mughal court.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (D) only
(A) Jean-Baptiste Tavernier travelled to India at least seven times. Incorrect statement. The French jeweller Tavernier travelled to India at least six times, not seven.
(B) Manucci, the French doctor, never returned to Europe and settled down in India. Incorrect statement. Manucci did settle down in India, but he was an Italian doctor, not a French one.
(C) Francois Bernier was closely associated with the Mughal court. Correct statement. Bernier, a Frenchman, was in India from 1656 to 1668 and was closely associated with the Mughal court, as a physician to Prince Dara Shukoh.
(D) Danishmand Khan, was a Syrian noble at the Mughal court. Incorrect statement. Danishmand Khan, with whom Bernier worked as an intellectual and scientist, was an Armenian noble at the Mughal court.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 The ‘enjoyment of curiosities’ … Later, after 1600, we find growing numbers of Dutch, English and French travellers coming to India. One of the most famous was the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who travelled to India at least six times. He was particularly fascinated with the trading conditions in India, and compared India to Iran and the Ottoman empire. Some of these travellers, like the Italian doctor Manucci, never returned to Europe, and settled down in India. François Bernier, a Frenchman, was a doctor, political philosopher and historian. Like many others, he came to the Mughal Empire in search of opportunities. He was in India for twelve years, from 1656 to 1668, and was closely associated with the Mughal court, as a physician to Prince Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, and later as an intellectual and scientist, with Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble at the Mughal court.…” |