Which statements are incorrect among the following statements?
(A) Sanskrit was a barrier for Al-Biruni to understand the Indian society in a well manner.
(B) Al-Biruni attempted to suggest that social divisions were unique in India.
(C) Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a dull city with less population.
(D) Francois Bernier described Indian society as consisting of undifferentiated masses of impoverished people.
(E) Abdur Razzaq described Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) a familiar nation.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B), (C), (E) Only
(A) Sanskrit was a barrier for Al-Biruni to understand the Indian society in a well manner. Correct statement. Al-Biruni discussed several “barriers” to understanding, and the first was language: Sanskrit was so different from Arabic and Persian that ideas could not be easily translated from one into the other.
(B) Al-Biruni attempted to suggest that social divisions were unique in India. Incorrect statement. Al-Biruni looked for parallels in other societies, such as the four social categories of ancient Persia, and so suggested that social divisions were not unique to India.
(C) Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a dull city with less population. Incorrect statement. Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a vast city, with a great population, the largest in India.
(D) Francois Bernier described Indian society as consisting of undifferentiated masses of impoverished people. Correct statement. Bernier described Indian society as undifferentiated masses of impoverished people, subjugated by a small minority of a very rich and powerful ruling class.
(E) Abdur Razzaq described Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) a familiar nation. Incorrect statement. Abdur Razzaq did not appreciate what he saw at Calicut; he found its people “a people the likes of whom I had never imagined” and described them as “a strange nation”.
NCERT (2026-27): “4.1 Overcoming barriers to understanding … Al-Biruni, for instance, was aware of the problems inherent in the task he had set himself. He discussed several ‘barriers’ that he felt obstructed understanding. The first amongst these was language. According to him, Sanskrit was so different from Arabic and Persian that ideas and concepts could not be easily translated from one language into another.… 4.2 Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system … Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for parallels in other societies. He noted that in ancient Persia, four social categories were recognised: those of knights and princes; monks, fire-priests and lawyers; physicians, astronomers and other scientists; and finally, peasants and artisans. In other words, he attempted to suggest that social divisions were not unique to India.… 5.2 Ibn Battuta and Indian cities … It appears from Ibn Battuta’s account that most cities had crowded streets and bright and colourful markets that were stacked with a wide variety of goods. Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a vast city, with a great population, the largest in India. Daulatabad (in Maharashtra) was no less, and easily rivalled Delhi in size.… 6.1 The question of landownership According to Bernier, one of the fundamental … As an extension of this, Bernier described Indian society as consisting of undifferentiated masses of impoverished people, subjugated by a small minority of a very rich and powerful ruling class. Between the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich, there was no social group or class worth the name.…”
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