Meera, a college student, visits her grandparents in a remote village in Odisha. Her grandfather tells her that, by family memory, their ancestors once lived in a distant region and moved to this village many generations ago. Back in college, her classmate Rohan argues in a debate that India's contact with the wider world began only after the economic reforms of the 1990s and the arrival of mobile phones and the internet.
The grandfather's account fits the book's description of people who came to India from different parts. In which roles does the book say they came?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → As traders, conquerors and migrants in search of new lands
Option (1) As traders, conquerors and migrants in search of new lands — Correct. Through India's long past, people from different parts came here as traders, as conquerors and as migrants in search of new lands, and they settled down here. This fits the grandfather's memory of ancestors who came from elsewhere and settled in the village.
Option (2) As traders, missionaries and indentured labourers on ships — Incorrect. Missionaries are not among these roles. Indentured labourers on ships belong to colonial times. They were taken away from India to distant lands; they did not come to settle here.
Option (3) As pilgrims, scholars and envoys sent by foreign kings — Incorrect. Pilgrims, scholars and envoys are not the roles given for the people who came and settled in India. The chapter lists traders, conquerors and migrants.
Option (4) As conquerors, refugees and labourers for colonial plantations — Incorrect. Refugees and plantation labourers are not among these roles. Labour for colonial plantations went out of India as indentured labour; it did not come in to settle.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Early Years |