FOREIGN TRAVELERS IN INDIA - HISTORY

FOREIGN TRAVELERS IN INDIA 

Throughout the course of history, India has been a center of attraction for rulers and travelers worldwide. 

• They have always been attracted to ample opportunities for our country provided and have been interested in its diverse culture, religions, and traditions. 
• Most of these came to India wrote their own accounts that deal with its unique focus areas.
• Some travelers wrote about the affairs of the court while some focused on contemporary style architecture and monuments or depicted the social and economic life.
• Every such account presents a veracious picture of then Indian Civilisation.
• In the ancient and medieval periods, many prominent travelers visited India and recorded their observations and declarations.

Brief description of some of the most important Travelers:

(1.) Megasthenes, Time period: 302 - 298 BC.

• Born- 350 BC.
• Greek Historian, Diplomat, Explorer, Ambassador of Greek Warrior Seleucus I Nikator.
• Indian Dynasty- Maurya dynasty.
• Ruler: Chandragupta Maurya = Founder of the Maurya dynasty.
• He visited the Maurya capital Patliputra.
• The book- Indica/Indika. 

Indica- 

• Indica described the sub-continent as a quadrilateral shaped country, bounded by the ocean on the Southern & Eastern side.
• It also gives us the details of soils, rivers, plants, animals, administration & the social and religious life of India.
• The book also communicated that Indians worshiped Lord Krishna during that time and there existed seven castes in India.
• He founded two major caste system - 1.) Endogamy, 2.) Hereditary occupation.
• He was influenced by the Herodotus classification of Egyptian society.

(2.) Fa - Hien, Time Period: 405 - 411 AD.

• Chinese Buddhist monk and translator.
• First Chinese pilgrim to visit India.
• He studied the Sanskrit language in Patliputra.
• Indian dynasty - Gupta dynasty.
• Ruler- Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya).
• He visited Peshawar, Taxila, Mathura, Kannauj, Sravasti, Kapilvastu, Sarnath, and many other places.
• Books - Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms.
• His Religious & Social life of Indians at that time.

(3.) Hiuen Tsang, Time Period: 630 - 645 AD.

• The Chinese traveler, Buddhist scholar-monk, and translator.
• Known as - Xuanzang, Prince of Pilgrims.
• Ruler - Harshavardhana (Pushyabhuti).
• He spent five years at the Nalanda University and studied under Acharya Shilabhadra.
• He visited Kashmir, Punjab, Kapilvastu, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Decca, Odisha, Bengal.
• Book: Si-Yu-Ki = Buddhist Record of The Western World.

(4.) I -Tsing, Time Period: 671 - 695 AD.

• Chinese traveler.
• He visited India in connection with Buddhism.
• Contributions - work on Biographies of eminent monks, which provides information about the social, religious & cultural life of the country.

(5.) Al - Masudi, Time Period: 956 AD.

• Arab historian, geographer, author, and explorer.
• Known as - Herodotus of the Arabs.
• Book - Muruj-ul-Zehab.
• He combined world history with scientific geography, social contemporary, and biography as is published in English named "The Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems".

(6.) Al-Biruni (Abu Rehman Muhammad), Time Period: 1024 - 1030 AD.

• Scholar well versed in Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Sanskrit.
• He came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni and traveled all over India.
• Books - 1.) Kitab-ul-Hind, 2.) Tahqiq-i-Hind.
• The books dealt with social, religious, and political conditions in India.

(7.) Marco Polo, Time Period: 1292 - 1294 AD.

• Italian merchant, adventurer, writer.
• He visited South India during the reign of the Pandyan ruler of Madurai, Madverman, Kulshekhara.
• Books - 1.) The Travels of Marco Polo, 2.) The Book of Sir Marco Polo = this book is inspired, Christopher Columbus.

(8.) Ibn Batuta, Time Period: 1333 - 1347 AD.

• Moroccan traveler.
• Throughout his life, he traveled in Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman, and few trading ports on the coast of East Africa.
• India visit- during the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, who appointed him as "Qazi" or Judge of Delhi.
• Book - Rihla (in Arabic)
• The book is highly meticulous where deep observations about new cultures, people, beliefs, and values.
• He also mentions - postal systems.

The route he took is shown diagrammatically below:

(9.) Nicole De Conti, Time Period: 1420 - 1421 AD.

• Italian merchnat & traveler.
• He traveled to the Vijayanagara kingdom.
• Ruler - Devaraya I.
• In Mylapore (Chennai), he founded the tomb of St. Thomas.
• He confirmed the gold and spice trade amongst India, Sumatra, China.
• He referred to the Telugu language as "Italian of the East".
• Book - Cristofordo da Bollate.

(10.) Abdur Razzaq, Time Period: 1443 - 1444 AD.

• Persian, Timurid chronicler, scholar.
• He traveled to the Vijayanagara kingdom.
• Ruler - Devaraya II.
• Book: Malta-us-Sadain was Majma-ul-Bahrain.

(11.) Domingo Paes, Time Period: 1520 - 1522 AD.

• Portuguese merchant, writer, explorer.
• Indian dynasty- Tuluva dynasty (Vijayanagara empire)
• Ruler - Krishnadeva Raya.
• Book - Chronica dos reis de Bisnaga.

He reported the following features about the empire:

• Advanced irrigation technology - that allowed the present to high yielding crops.
• wide variety of cultures where shown in crops & vegetation.
• the busy market of precious stones.
• the city was prospering and its size was comparable to Rome, which abundant vegetation, aqueducts, and artificial lakes.

(12.) William Hawkins, Time Period: 1608 - 1611 AD.

• The representative of English East India Company and ambassador of the British King James-I.
• Traveled to Agra in the court of Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
• He came to negotiate for the establishment of a factory at Surat.
• Favor by Jahangir enabled him to overcome all difficulties and this permission was the first distinct recognition of English commerce in the East.

(13.) Sir Thomas Roe, Time Period: 1615 - 1619 AD.

• English diplomats, members of the House of Commons, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
• He stayed at the court of Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
• The main objective of his mission was to get the protection of the factory of British East India Company at Surat.
• Book - 1.) The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the Court of the Great Mogul, 2.) Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire.

(14.) Jean-Baptise Tavernier, Time Period: 1638 - 1643 AD.

• French gem (diamond) merchant, traveler.
• He came to ti India and traveled as far as Agra and from there to the Kingdom of Golconda.
• He also visited the court of Shahjahan.
• In his book, he has discussed diamond and the diamond mines of India.

(15.) Francois Bernier, Time Period: 1656 - 1717 AD.

• Frenchman, doctor, political philosopher, historian.
• Indian Dynasty - Timurid dynasty.
• Ruler - Dara Sikhoh
• He stayed here for 12 years in the Mughal Empire.
• He compared Mughal India with contemporary Europe.
• He wrote in his book about the prevalent social and economic life.
• He described Mughal cities as 'Camp Towns' because towns owned their existence on the imperial camps.

               

Read More

ENGLISH GRAMMAR - NON-FINITE VERBS

Non-Finite Verbs (Infinitives, Gerund, Participles)           

Study the following sentence carefully:

(i.) I have given her a gift.

(ii.) I like to give her a gift today.

In the sentence (i.): the verb 'have given' has 'I' as its subject. The verb 'have given' is limited by the number and person of its subject. It is, therefore, called "Finite Verb".

In the sentence (ii.): 'like' is a finite verb. But 'to give' has no separate subject and it is not limited by number and person. It is, therefore, called a "Non-Finite Verb".

Forms of Non-Finite Verbs:

The Non-finite verbs are divided into 3 forms

A. Infinitive: It is a kind of Noun with certain features of a verb. 'To' is used with infinitives. However, it is excluded sometimes.

Example-

(i.) She comes here to study. (Purpose)

(ii.) Everyone desires to be admired. (Passive voice)

(iii.) She admitted to having been spying for the enemy for some time. (Continuous infinitive)

(iv.) Everyone desires to be popular. ('Be' as an ordinary verb)

Rules of Infinitive:

Rule I:

(A) Verb/Adjective/Noun + Infinitive

Example-

(i.) He comes here to study. (Active voice)

(ii.) Nobody likes to be cheated. (Passive voice)

(iii.) Everyone desires to be rich. (No verb)

(B) Some of the verbs and adjectives are followed by infinitives i.e., agree, happy, desire, dare, hope, expect, want, wish, need, want, refuse, eager, fail, glad, happy, herb, easy.

(C.) How + Infinitive. When the infinitive is used to express manner, the full forms of the infinitives are 'how to'. The verbs implying manner/method are- know, learn, explain, teach, discover, wonder, show, ask, remember, forget, etc.

Example-

(i.) She knows how to write French.

(ii.) We taught her how to cook food.

Rule II: Difference between 'To' & 'For'

(A) For + Gerund is used for actions showing cause. (Action in the past)

Example-

(i.) She will punish you for breaking the glass.

(ii.) She punished you for coming late.

(B) For + Gerund is used for showing purpose for which the subject is used.

Example-

(i.) This comic book is to read. 

(ii.) This machine is to measure weight.

(C.) For + Noun is used for the purpose in place of to + verb when the verb is made to serve as a noun.   

Example-

(i.) We come here for a dance.

(ii.) Mohan requested for a song.

(iii.) Ankit went for a walk.

(D.) To + Gerund is also used with certain verbs & phrases.

Example-

(i.) She is used to swimming at the pond.

(ii.) Sita came here with a view to studying.

Rule III: Direct Infinitive

In certain cases, the infinitive without 'to' is used. 

(A.) 'Need' & 'Dare' in the negative & interrogative sentences only when they are used as auxiliaries.

Example-

(i.) She needs to work hard. (Affirmative)

(ii.) He need not work hard. (Negative as auxiliary)

(iii.) Do you need to work there now? (Interrogative)

Note: '-s' is not used with dare/need as an auxiliary verb.

(B.)'Direct Infinitive' is used after the verbs - let, bid, make, know, help, feel, hear, watch, see. A direct infinitive is used only when these verbs are used in an active voice (not in the passive voice except the verb 'let'.) The verb 'let' is followed by direct infinitive both in active & passive voice.

Example-

(i.) I made the student write an essay.

      The student was made to write an essay. (Passive voice)

(ii.) The teacher let him go out. 

       He was let go out by the teacher. (Passive voice)

(C.) Direct Infinitive is used with 'but, than, and, except, as, or.

Example-

(i.) She did nothing but cry. 

(ii.) He did no more than sleep the whole day.

(D.) Direct Infinitive is used with phrases, 'why not & why.

Example-

(i.) Why stay here? (Question)

(ii.) Why not stay here? (Suggestion)

(E.) Have + Object (used in the sense of 'wish') is followed by a direct infinitive.

Example-

(i.) I will have him believe it.

(ii.) Hw will have me recite this poem.

(F.) Won't + have + object + gerund (used in the sense of won't allow)

Example-

(i.) I won't have you talking like that.

(ii.) I won't have you staying at Ranchi.

Rule IV: Perfect Infinitive

(A.) It should be used if the action expressed by the infinitive precedes the action of the finite verb.

Example-

(i.) He admitted to having uttered these words against me.

(B.) The verbs where perfect infinitive if needed, used i.e., deny, confess, admit, recollect, remember, recall, claim, regret, seem, suspect, learn, suppose, etc.

Example-

(i.) He denied having seen him yesterday.

(ii.) I still remember to have met you in Dehradun last year.

(iii.) She appears to be poor these days.

Rule V: Use of infinitive after Adjective & Noun in active voice should be taken care of

(A.) The adjective 'enough' is used after adjective or 'very' before an adjective when infinitive expresses affirmative meaning. 'Too' is used before an adjective when infinitive expresses negative meaning.

Example-

(i.) He is too ill to go out. (cannot go out)

(ii.) She is good enough to help me. (can help me)

(B.) Noun preposition should be used, if required, after the infinitive when the infinitive qualifies the noun.

Example-

(i.) These days no airlines are safe to travel by.

(ii.) I gave him a pen to write with.

(iii.) I have no book to read.

Rule VI: Split Infinitive

'To' should not be separated from its verb by inserting any adverb between the two.

Example-

(i.) You are required at least to obey your parents.

(ii.) I advised him to carry carefully the bag.

(iii.) The students were required to study seriously study for the examination.

Rule VII: Continuous Infinitive

Continuous Infinitive can be used with the following verbs and Modal auxiliaries.

(a.) appear, seem, believe, consider, think, report, arrange, hope, pretend, say, etc.

(b.) maybe, might be, should be, could be, must be, etc.

Example-

(i.) Shalini appears to be running temperature. (It appears that....)

(ii.) He pretended not to be overhearing our talk. 

(iii.) She must be waiting for her husband. (Deduction)

2.) Gerund (Verbal Noun):

Gerund s a verb form that functions as a noun. It is formed by adding '-ing' with a verb. It is used in place of Infinitive in certain cases. 

Example-

(i.) I do not believe in talking rubbish. (Preposition + gerund)

(ii.) I do not like riding. (Direct gerund)

(iii.) She is used to swimming. (To + gerund)

(iv.) Smoking is not good for health. (Subject)   

  

Note:

1. Infinitives & Gerunds are easily replaceable. However, certain rules have to be followed for replacing infinitives & gerunds by each other.

Example-

(i.) I like to swim today. ( At a particular time)

(ii.) I like cooking. (Habitual statement)

2. The difference between particle & gerund. 

Gerund: is a kind of noun-like infinitive.

Participle: is adverb/adjective (action in progress)

Example-

(i.) I saw her smoking in the waiting hall. (Participle)

(ii.) Smoking is injurious to health. (General)

(iii.) She was punished for playing carelessly. (Gerund, showing reason)

Rules of Gerund:

Rule I: (Prepositon + Gerund)

The gerund is used after certain verbs/phrases that are followed by appropriate prepositions instead of 'to'.

Example-

(i.) I prohibited him to go there. (Use 'from going' in place of 'to go')

      I prohibited him from going there.

(ii.) She is bent to harm her friend. (Use 'on harming' in place of 'to harm')

       She is bent on harming her friend.

(iii.) He is confident to get success. (Use 'of getting' in place of ' to get')

       He is confident of getting success.

Rule II: Direct Gerund

(A.) The following phrases & certain verbs are followed by direct gerund i.e., avoid, mind, can't, help, bear, resist, enjoy, stop, practice, finish, miss, imagine, regret, means, anticipate, love, hate, dislike.

(B.) Phrasal verbs are allowed followed by direct gerunds such as give up, put off, set about, etc.

Example-

(i.) We stopped to write. (use 'writing' for 'to write')

      We stopped writing.

(ii.) She has given up to play hockey. (Say 'playing')

       She has given up playing hockey.

(iii.) You should avoid to spend extra money. (Use 'spending' in place of 'to spend')

        You should avoid spending extra money. 

Rule III: To + Gerund

Example-

(i.) He is addicted to smoke heavily. (Use 'smoking' for 'smoke')

      He is addicted to smoking heavily.

(ii.) We go there with a view to study Science. (Use 'studying' for 'study')

        We go there with a view to studying Science.

Rule IV:

The noun or pronoun before a Gerund (verbal noun) should be in the possessive case. 

Example-

(i.) I don't like him wasting time. (Use 'his' in place of 'him')

      I don't like his wasting time.

(ii.) Geeta insisted on Rohan going with her. (Say 'Rohan's' for 'Rohan')

        Geeta insisted on Rohan's going with her.

3.) Participle:

The participle is the form of a verb that ends with -ing, -ed, -en, -t.

(A.) It is used both as a verb (progressive) and an adjective.

Present	Past	Past Participle	Present Participle	Perfect Participle
Burn   Find	Burnt   Found	Burnt   Found	Burning   Finding	having burnt   having found

Example-

(i.) We found a candle burning. (Verb, Present Participle)

(ii.) A burning candle was extinguished. (Adjective, Present Participle)

(iii.) A burnt paper was discovered. (Adjective, Past Participle)

(iv.) Having taken food he left for office. (Perfect Participle)

Rules of Participles:

Rule I: Participle Clause/ Absolute Phrase (Nominative Absolute)

A participle is used as a particle clause. It is a kind of clause containing the participle place of a finite verb. It is a kind of participle with Noun/Pronoun going before it.

Example-

(i.) Walking in the park I came across an old friend. (Present Participle, Active Voice)

(ii.) Surprised at the news I rushed to the airport. Past Participle, Active Voice)

(iii.) Having been arrested the thief was taken to prison. (Perfect Participle, Passive Voice)

    

Rule II:

The participle can be changed into the following clauses:

 (a.) Adverb Clause of Time (while, having, on)

Example-

(i.) As I was wandering in the street, I met my old friend.

     (While) wandering in the street I met my old friend.

(ii.) After I had passed High school I got a job.

      Having passed High school I got a job.

(b.) Adverb Clause of Condition (by, without, but for)

Example-

(i.) If you go out, you will catch a cold.

      By going out you will catch a cold.

(ii.) If you don't work hard, you will not pass.

      Without working hard you will not pass.

(c.) Adverb Clause of Reason (owing to, because of, on account of)

(i.) As she ran very fast, she was able to overtake me.

     On account of running very fast she was able to overtake me.

(ii.) Since she was late, she was punished.

     Being late she was punished.

(d.) Adverb Clause of Contrast (In spite of, despite, notwithstanding, for all)

Example-

(i.) Although she came late, she was not punished.

      In spite of coming late she was not punished.

(ii.) Though she is rich, she is not happy.

      Despite being rich she is not happy.

(e.) Adjective Clause:

Example-

(i.) I saw a girl who was singing a song.

      I saw a girl singing a song.

(ii.) The students who are studying English here will be successful.

       The students studying English here will be successful.

(f.) Co-ordinate Clause: A participant can replace a co-ordinate clause. 

Example-

(i.) He returned and he was smiling.

      He returned smiling.

(ii.) She went out and she was disappointed.

      She went out disappointed.

Rule III: Misrelated/Unrelated Participles: When the participle clause/phrase is not followed by a subject of its own, the participle is called misrelated, dangling, or unattached.

Example-

(i.)  Wandering in the street a dog bit him. (wrong)

       Wandering in the street he was bitten by a dog. (Correct).

 

   

       

   

 

 

Read More