Through the Eyes of Travellers | Class 12 History Notes
By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 3 min read
Through the Eyes of Travellers – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Through the Eyes of Travellers from Class 12 History, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.
Perceptions of Society (C. Tenth to Seventeenth Century)
This introductory section sets the stage for understanding how travellers from different parts of the world perceived Indian society between the tenth and seventeenth centuries. It highlights the diverse reasons for travel—work, trade, pilgrimage, adventure—and the encounters with unfamiliar landscapes, customs, languages, and beliefs. The section notes the rarity of travel accounts by women despite their known mobility. Surviving travel narratives vary widely in focus, from court affairs to religious practices and architectural marvels. For example, Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi's fifteenth-century diplomatic visit to Vijayanagara offers an important description of the city. The section also points out that some travellers, such as Mughal administrators, journeyed within the empire and documented local customs and folklore. The chapter will focus on three notable travellers: Al-Biruni from Uzbekistan (eleventh century), Ibn Battuta from Morocco (fourteenth century), and François Bernier from France (seventeenth century), whose accounts enrich our understanding of India's past. The section also mentions how certain Indian plants like the coconut and paan intrigued these travellers, symbolizing the unfamiliarity they encountered.
📊 Diagram: Figure 5.1a shows paan leaves, a plant whose leaves were chewed and fascinated travellers. Figure 5.1b depicts a coconut, notable for its unusual shape and uses, which also attracted travellers' curiosity.
🧪 Activity: No specific activity in this introductory section.
🔗 Connection: Leads to detailed study of individual travellers' accounts, starting with Al-Biruni and his Kitab-ul-Hind.
Frequently asked questions
1. Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
Kitab-ul-Hind is a detailed account of India written by Al-Biruni, a scholar from Uzbekistan who visited India in the early 11th century. The book provides a comprehensive study of Indian society, culture, religion, and science. Al-Biruni's work is notable for its objective and scholarly approach, as he tried to understand Indian customs and beliefs from an insider's perspective, despite being an outsider. The Kitab-ul-Hind remains an important source for historians studying medieval India.
2. Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.
Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their travel accounts from different cultural and temporal perspectives. Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century Moroccan traveller, wrote from the viewpoint of a Muslim scholar and jurist, focusing on Islamic practices, law, and the Muslim rulers of India. His accounts often emphasize religious and social customs, and he sometimes judged Indian society by Islamic standards. Bernier, a 17th-century French physician in the Mughal court, wrote from a European and secular perspect
3. Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier's account.
Bernier's account depicts urban centres in Mughal India as vibrant hubs of economic activity, craftsmanship, and cultural diversity. He notes the presence of skilled artisans producing exquisite goods such as muskets, fowling-pieces, and gold ornaments. The cities were well-organized with markets, workshops, and administrative buildings. Bernier also highlights the high quality of Indian workmanship, sometimes comparable or superior to European standards. His observations suggest that urban cent
4. Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta.
Ibn Battuta's accounts provide evidence that slavery existed in medieval India, though it might have differed from the chattel slavery known in other parts of the world. He mentions slaves in various roles, including domestic servants and laborers. Some slaves were war captives or purchased from markets. However, Ibn Battuta also notes that slaves could sometimes gain freedom or rise in social status. His observations suggest that slavery was integrated into the social and economic fabric but wa
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