Meera, a history student in Delhi, is preparing a project on an eleventh-century scholar from Central Asia. She learns that he was brought as a hostage to the capital of a Sultan who had invaded his homeland, and that he later came to like that city. He studied the languages and texts of the subcontinent, spent years with its learned men, and wrote a long account of its people in Arabic. Her teacher tells her that accounts written by such outsiders are of special value to historians.
Meera finds that the scholar's interest in the subcontinent began in the Sultan's capital. Which background shows that such an interest was not unusual at that time?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Sanskrit works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine had been translated into Arabic from the eighth century
Option (1) Sanskrit works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine had been translated into Arabic from the eighth century — Correct. Interest in India was not unusual in Ghazni because Sanskrit works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine had been translated into Arabic from the eighth century onwards. Arabic readers already knew Indian learning.
Option (2) Persian works on poetry and history had been translated into Sanskrit from the eighth century — Incorrect. The flow of learning ran the other way. Sanskrit works went into Arabic, which is why Arabic readers already knew Indian learning.
Option (3) Arabic works on law and theology had been taught by scholars in the Punjab for centuries — Incorrect. The Punjab became part of the Ghaznavid empire only later. Long teaching of Arabic law there is not what made his interest ordinary.
Option (4) Greek works on philosophy had reached the subcontinent through Sanskrit translations by then — Incorrect. Greek philosophy reached Al-Biruni through Arabic translations. That route has nothing to do with why Indian learning interested readers in Ghazni.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.1 From Khwarizm to the Punjab … |