HST 1020 - Social Group/Political Terms Quiz

Jain

Followers of Janism, a religion teaching nonviolence and ascetic discipline

Shi’a

One of the biggest branches of Islam, believe leadership should have stayed in the Prophets family (specifically Ali)

Sunni

Biggest branch of Islam, accepts caliphs who who were not in the Prophet’s family.

Sikh

Follower of a monotheist religion started in Punjab region of India. Core principles are selfless servuce, equality of all, mediation, and remembrance.

Parsi/Zoroastrian

Group of people who follow the Zoroastrian religion, originally from Persia.

Caste

System of social classes, rigidly defined (inherited by birth/blood), and ranked in a ritual hierarchy.

Brahmin (Brahman)

Highest class in the caste system, traditionally priests or scholars.

Pathan

Ethnic group from Northwestern India or Afghanistan. Muslim group, associated with marital traditions.

Bania

Moneylenders or merchants, often associated with commerce/trade (Gujaratis, Marwaris)

Bhatia

Hindu merchant community, from Kutch, Sindh. Prominent in Bombay.

Bohra, Khoja, and Memon

Muslim trading communities in India, mostly western India.

Dalit/Untouchable

The outcasts of the caste system. The lowest of social order in Hindu society.

Anglo-Indian or Eurasian

Mixed race, often with white father and Indian mother.

Urdu

The language of North India, common at popular level with Hindi, written in Devanagari script. Borrows heavily from Sanskrit.

Hindi

Language of North India, common at popular level with Urdu, but written in Devanagari script. Borrows more heavily from Sanskrit.

Marathi

Language of western India, the region of Maharashtra.

Gujarati

Language of western India, the region of Gujarat.

Vernacular

Local, Indian languages (not english)

Viceroy

Highest British official in India

Princely States

Areas under rule of Indian rulers, bound in treaties to higher British authority. Are autonomous in local issues.

Mughal

Empire that ruled much of India from the 15th-18th centuries.

The Raj

The name for the British rule of India, starts officially in 1858

Raja/Maharaja

Title of a king or ruler of a princely state.

Indian National Congress

Major anticolonial political party in India, started in 1885. Leaders included Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Muslim League

Major anticolonial political party in India reprsenting Muslim interests and concerns within a Hindu-dominated British India. Founded in 1906; leaders include Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

BMC (Bombay Municipal Corporation)

Created in 1888 the BMC is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of Bombay.