Uttarakhand P.C.S. Prelims 2010

Medieval Travelogues

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

The famous historian who visited India with Mahmud of Ghazni was-

Solution & Analysis

Answer: B

Concept Foreign historians often accompanied conquerors to document their deeds. Al-Beruni was unique because he used his proximity to the invader to conduct a scientific study of Indian society.

Explanation Al-Beruni (Abu Rayhan Muhammad) was brought to Ghazni as a prisoner of war and later accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni on several Indian campaigns in the 11th century. His book *Tahqiq-i-Hind
is the most authoritative foreign account of that era.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Option B is correct. He learned Sanskrit and interviewed Brahmins to understand the Hindu religion and sciences.
Logic 2: Ibn Battuta (D) came in the 14th century, and Ferishta (A) was a late 16th-century historian of the Deccan.

Active Recall

Question

What was Al-Beruni's method of studying India?

Answer

He adopted a comparative approach, contrasting Indian philosophical concepts with those of Greek thinkers like Socrates and Plato.

Core Insight

Al-Beruni's presence transformed a period of military raids into an era of deep cross-cultural intellectual documentation.