Prelims 2016 · Q38
EasyBanjaras during the medieval period of Indian history were generally
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) traders
Banjaras were nomadic traders who moved grain and other goods by caravan on pack animals, especially bullocks. Sultan Alauddin Khalji used them to bring grain to city markets, and under the Mughals they supplied grain to armies on campaign.
- ✓ (d) NCERT calls the Banjaras the most important trader-nomads of the period. Alauddin Khalji used them to carry grain to city markets, and Jahangir's memoirs mention them selling grain from their bullocks in towns.
- ✗ (a) They were not settled farmers; they moved with their caravans from place to place.
- ✗ (b) They carried food grain for the Mughal army, but as suppliers and carriers, not as fighters.
- ✗ (c) Weaving was the work of other artisan communities; the Banjaras carried goods between regions.
Remember · Banjaras were the main trader-nomads of medieval India, moving grain and goods in caravans on pack animals such as bullocks.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Indian Society, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Indian Society, Chapter 4 “during the colonial period the long-distance trade in salt was controlled by a marginalised ‘tribal’ group, the Banjaras”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·