Get Class 11th NCERT Solutions for Chapter 7 from the English Hornbill Textbook. The NCERT solutions of this chapter have been provided after a detailed analysis of the latest syllabus issued by CBSE. Students of Class 11th can study the answers provided here to score well in their school exams. These solutions are the perfect resource to prepare for the examinations in a proficient manner.
NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English - Hornbill Textbook | Chapter 7
Ques: Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meaning from the context.
- blow-by-blow account
- morale booster
- relegated to
- political acumen
- de facto
- astute
- doctored accounts
- gave vent to
Answer:
- blow-by-blow account: detailed account. In the text “The Adventure” this expression occurs in the context of Gangadharpant trying to understand the outcome of the Battle of Panipat by reading a book on the topic.
- morale booster: anything that serves to increase morale or confidence. The expression occurs in the text 'Adventure' where it is told that the Marathas emerged victorious in the Battle of Panipat which increased their morale or confidence in establishing their supremacy all over the country.
- Relegated to: assigned to a lower rank or position. In the text, it is said how Dadasaheb, a Maratha Chieftain was assigned to a lower rank after the Battle of Panipat.
- political acumen: political shrewdness with keen insight. In the text 'The Adventure' the expression is used to convey how Madhavrao and Vishwasrao because of their shrewdness could expand their influence all over India.
- de facto: existing in fact whether with lawful authority or not. In the text 'Adventure' the Peshwas are regarded as de facto rulers as they kept the Mughal regime alive in Delhi.
- astute: marked by practical hardheaded intelligence. In the text “The Adventure” this word is used to convey that the Peshwas were very intelligent to recognize the importance of the technological age dawning in Europe.
- doctored accounts: manipulation of accounts. This expression conveys that the Bakhars were not providing historical facts but manipulated accounts of history.
- give vent to: to express one's feelings and ideas. Professor Gaitonde expressed his ideas in the public lecture on the Battle of Panipat.
Ques: Tick the statements that are true.
- The story is an account of real events.
- The story hinges on a particular historical event.
3.Rajendra Desphande was a historical event.
- The places mentioned in the story are all imaginary.
- The story tries to relate history to Science.
Answer: 1.The story is an account of real events. (True)
2.The story hinges on a particular historical event. (True)
- Rajendra Deshpande was a historian. (True)
- The places mentioned in the story are all imaginary. (False)
- The Story tries to relate history to Science. (True)
Ques: Gangadharpant could not help comparing the country he knew with what he was witnessing around him.
Answer: The given statement is in the text The Adventure by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. The statement is in the context of Gangadharpant experiencing a different historical view of India after the Battle of Panipat. According to this perspective of Indian history, the Marathas emerged victorious in the said battle and extended influence over the entire country till the end of the twentieth century. They were gradually replaced by democratically elected bodies. The country Gangadharpant was witnessing around him had always been strong and self-respecting. He could not help comparing it with the country that he knew. The two versions of the historical reality of India indeed were perplexing to him and he started comparing the two in order to understand the phenomenon. This was later explained by Rajendra in the light of catastrophic theory, according to which, there could be alternative realities existing side by side out of which any one of the alternatives is revealed to an observer. This is what happened with Gangadharpant in that he was witnessing an altogether different version of Indian history. This induced him to compare the two versions of India as mentioned in the History textbooks and another revealed to him.
Ques: “You have passed through a fantastic experience: or more correctly, a catastrophic experience”
Answer: This statement was made by Rajendra to Prof. Gaitonde in the text The Adventure by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. Rajendra made this statement in the context of Prof. Gaitonde experiencing a different version of the outcome of the Battle of Panipat. Prof Gaitonde was a historian and he was invited in a seminar to speak on the Battle of Panipat. He was to make a point that if in the battle of Panipat the Marathas emerged victorious then what would have happened. Interestingly, Prof. Gaitonde happened to experience the very hypothesis as reality. He entered a different level of consciousness and was witnessing events like the Battle of Panipat in an altogether different version. In the History books, the Marathas are mentioned as being a loser in the battle but in his experience, the Marathas emerged victoriously. Prof. Gaitonde was unable to understand this phenomenon. It is in this context, Rajendra tried to offer a scientific explanation to rationalize Prof. Gaitonde's experience. He meant to say that what Prof. Gaitonde experienced was not imaginative or fantastic but was also real. He tried to explain this in light of the catastrophic theory. According to this theory, there can be many alternative realities simultaneously existing. An observer sees only one of the alternatives. By applying this theory, Rajendra tried to explain the outcome of the Battle of Panipat as revealed to Prof. Gaitonde. The catastrophic theory has been developed by observing the outcome of experiments on small systems like atom and their constituent particles. The behavior of these systems cannot be predicted definitely even if all the physical laws governing those systems are known.
Ques: “You neither traveled to the past nor the future. You were in the present experiencing a different world.”
Answer: The statement is from the text The Adventure written by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. These words were said by Rajendra to Professor Gaitonde in the context of his entering into a different state of consciousness, which revealed a different version of the outcome of the Battle of Panipat. According to this version as revealed to Prof. Gaitonde, the Marathas emerged victorious in the battle, which is contrary to the facts as presented in the History books. The statement reveals that one can experience an altogether different world without traveling to the past or the future. Prof. Gaitonde was witnessing a different set of events remaining in the present. It was not a matter of fantasy or imagination on the part of Prof. Gaitonde but a different reality as revealed to him. Such alternative realities occur due to bifurcation leading to different courses of events simultaneously. In the present context, the bifurcation took place in the Battle of Panipat so that in one course of the event the Marathas emerged victoriously and in another, they lost the battle. The History books mention that the Marathas lost the battle of Panipat, which is also true and the other version as revealed to Prof. Gaitonde is also true.
Ques: A single event may change the course of the history of a nation.
Answer:
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In Favor
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Against
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A single event may change the course of the history of a nation. The battle of Panipat for example is said to be the turning point in the history of India. In the Battle of Panipat, the Marathas gave in to the forces of Ahmed Shah Abdali. After this event, the history of India took another turn. Gradually, the country was overtaken by the foreign forces. In the story The Adventure it is mentioned how in the beginning Prof. Gaitonde was preparing a speech on what course the history would have taken if the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat. This shows the importance of a single event in the history of a nation.
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The motion that A single event may change the course of the history of a nation is a matter of perspective only. It is a relative truth. If we apply the catastrophic theory in understanding history then we will find that there may be alternative outcomes of a single event so that we cannot proclaim that any one course of the event is the reality. Since there may be alternative courses of history so debating on a single course is not fruitful. In the story, the Adventure due to catastrophic phenomenon the Battle of Panipat is revealed in a different version to Prof Gaitonde. According to this version, the Marathas emerged victorious in the Battle of Panipat. After the event, the Marathas extended influence over the entire country. India never fell to the alien forces. So, to argue that a single course of the event may change the course of history is not tenable. There may be alternative effects following an event.
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Ques: Reality is what is directly experienced through the senses.
Answer:
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In Favor
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Against
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Our senses, that is the senses of touch, sight, taste, and hearing and smell provide us facts about the world we live in. Knowledge from experience comes through these senses. The reality is what we directly experience through these senses. No other reality exists which is not revealed to the senses.
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Reality is not what is directly revealed to the senses. We cannot experience so many entities like atoms and molecules but these are real. We cannot even predict the behavior of these entities accurately. This point is mooted by Rajendra in the story Adventure when he points to the discoveries made by the physicists regarding the behavior of the atoms. We can predict the position of a bullet fired in a particular direction from a gun but we cannot predict the position of an electron fired from a source. This proves that reality is not what is directly revealed to the senses, there can be alternative realities existing side by side.
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Ques: The methods of inquiry of history, science, and philosophy are similar.
Answer: In Favor of
The methods of inquiry of History, Science, and Philosophy are similar. In the story The Adventure one can find the perspectives of History, Philosophy, and Science converging towards a focal point. History employs the methods of observation, analysis, and rationalism in understanding the course of past events. Science is based on observation, experimentation, and analysis. Rationalism is the most fundamental principle that Science follows. Philosophy is thoroughly critical in methodology.
Philosophy examines everything including the assumptions and methodology of science and other disciplines like History. In the story The Adventure History, Science, and Philosophy converge. Prof. Gaitonde experienced an altogether different version of the outcome of the Battle of Panipat. Contrary to the version as provided in the History textbooks, the Marathas emerged as victorious in this battle. Prof. Gaitonde tried to understand this rationally but he failed to get any clue. In this context, Rajendra intervened to explain this phenomenon in the light of the Catastrophic theory which is being employed by Physicists in understanding the behavior of atoms. Here we find Science and History converging. A similar perspective is seen in Philosophy that truth is relative and not absolute. In fact, the philosophical movement of post Modernism is based on this.
In other words, the methods of inquiry of History, Science, and Philosophy are similar.
Against
It is a misnomer that the methods of inquiry of History, Science, and Philosophy are similar. The similarity is at a superficial level and not at the core. In the story, The Adventure Rajendra tried to rationalize the experience of Prof Gaitonde by applying the Catastrophic theory. But this explanation is not convincing though it convinced the professor. Catastrophic theory can best explain the phenomenon of the physical world but History deals with the behavioural world. It is concerned with the behaviour of society and individuals. The methods of inquiry will also vary accordingly.
The method of inquiry of Philosophy is speculative. Philosophy even questions rationalism. Philosophy is highly critical of the methods of Science and History. In other words, the methods of History, Science, and Philosophy are not similar. The story The Adventure by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar is, in fact, a science fiction that is trying to show the convergence of Science History and Philosophy. In reality, the three disciplines, namely, Science, History, and Philosophy have to employ different methodologies of inquiry vis-a-vis the subject matter.
Ques: Tick the item that is closest in meaning to the following phrases.
- to take issue with
(i) to accept
(ii) to discuss
(iii) to disagree
(iv) to add
- to give vent to
(i) to express
(ii) to emphasise
(iii) to suppress
(iv) to dismiss
- to stand on one's feet
(i) to be physically strong
(ii) to be independent
(iii) to stand erect
(iv) to be successful
- to be wound up
(i) to become active
(ii) to stop operating
(iii) to be transformed
(iv) to be destroyed
- to meet one's match
(i) to meet a partner who has similar tastes
(ii) to meet an opponent
(iii) to meet someone who is equally able as oneself
(iv) to meet defeat
Answer:
- (ii) to discuss
- (i) to express
- (ii) To be independent.
- (ii) To stop operating
- (iii) To meet someone who is equally able as oneself.
Ques: Why do you think Professor Gaitonde decided never to preside over meetings again?
Answer: Professor Gaitonde was experiencing a different version of the Battle of Panipat. According to this version, the Marathas emerged victorious in the Battle and started extending influence over the entire country. His mind was actually witnessing a different version of the historical reality. Interestingly, he was also witnessing an event that was not conforming to the conventions. The event was a lecture session on the outcomes of the Battle of Panipat. In this lecture session, Prof. Gaitonde observed that the chair of the President was vacant. This again was contrary to the conventions. Prof. Gaitonde rushed to occupy the chair and started explaining the need of a President in a lecture session like this. The public got angry on this point and started throwing objects on him. He had a harrowing experience. This led him to decide not to preside over meetings again.
Ques: “You need some interaction to cause a transition.”
Answer: The statement is made by Rajendra in the text The Adventure by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. Rajendra offered a scientific explanation in the light of catastrophic theory to rationalize the fantastic experience undergone by Prof. Gaitonde regarding the course of India's history after the Battle of Panipat. As per the History textbooks, the Marathas lost the Battle of Panipat after which India gradually fell to the foreign forces. Contrary to this fact, Prof. Gaitonde witnessed that the Marathas emerged victorious in the Battle of Panipat and extended influence all over the country. These two versions of history seemed perplexing to Prof. Gaitonde. Rajendra's explanation convinced Prof. Gaitonde but he was unable to understand how his consciousness level changed so that he could experience a catastrophic event in history. In this context, Rajendra tried to explain that when Prof. Gaitonde was hit by a truck he was at that time thinking about the Battle of Panipat. The neurons in his brain acted as a trigger to change his consciousness level leading to his experience of another version of the course of history after the Battle of Panipat.
Ques: “The lack of determinism in quantum theory!”
Answer: The statement occurs in the text Adventure by Jayant Vishnu Narlikar. This statement is made by Prof. Gaitonde in response to the explanation of Catastrophic theory as explained by Rajendra. Rajendra was trying to rationalize the experiences of Prof. Gaitonde in which he witnessed an altogether new version of Indian History. According to the revelations made to Gaitonde, the Marathas emerged as victorious in the Battle of Panipat and extended influence over the entire country making India self-reliant in all respect. The Maratha Peshwas were gradually replaced by democratically elected bodies. Rajendra tried to explain this varied version by applying the catastrophic theory. The catastrophic theory postulates that there can be many alternative realities existing simultaneously. This theory has been developed on the basis of experiments on small systems like atom and their constituent particles. The physicists have observed that the behaviour of these systems cannot be predicted definitively even if all the physical laws governing those systems are known. That means there is a lack of determinism. This theory has been developed in Quantum physics and wonderfully explains phenomena like that experienced by Prof. Gaitonde was convinced by the explanation offered by Rajendra which could resolve the perplexities as presented before him in the face of two different versions of Indian history.
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