(i) The term MLA stands for a Member of Legislative Assembly.
(ii) He / She is elected through a general election and represents a particular constituency.
(iii) It is not necessary for one to be a member of a political party to become a MLA.
(iv) He / She can contest the election as an independent candidate also.

A press conference is an event organized to officially distribute information and answer questions from the media. Press conferences are held by corporations and other businesses, politicians and other government officials.

Shivaji's political system consisted of three circles. At the centre was the swaraj. Shivaji would not allow the people to be harassed in any way. In the second circle, Shivaji claimed suzerainty, He protected the people from loot and plunder for which they were required to pay chauth (one fourth of the revenue as protection money) and sardeshmukhi (an extra one-tenth, as the chieftain's due). In the third circle, Shivaji's only objective was plunder. Deshmukhs held sway over rural regions and their control was over between twenty and hundred villages. Each village had a powerful headman (patil), who was assisted by a village accountant of a keeper of records (kulkami).
Army:
Shivaji gave utmost attention to his army and training of its personnel. In the beginning, the backbone of his army was the infantry. In the plains, his cavalry force grew in size and importance. Every soldier was selected personally by Shivaji. Retired captains holding a high reputation were put in charge of guarding the forts.
Ashtapradha
Shivaji designated eight ministers as the Ashtapradhan, each holding an important portfolio. Peshwa was the equivalent of a modem prime minister in the Maratha Empire. Originally, they were subordinates to the Chhatrapati.Shivaji was influenced by the Mughal revenue system. The assessments were made on the actual yield, with three-fifths left to the cultivator and two-fifths taken by the government. In judicial administration, civil cases continued to be decided by the panchayat, the village council, while criminal law was based on the shastras, the Hindu law hooks.
Responsibilities of the Astarpradhan:
Pantpradhan / Peshwa - Prime Minister
Amatya / Mazumdar - Finance Minister
Shurunavis/Sacheev - Secretary
Waqia-Navis - Interior Minister
Sar-i-Naubat / Senapati  - Commander-in-Chief
Sumant / Dubeer - Foreign Minister
Nyayadhish - Chief Justice
Panditrao - High Priest

Land revenue administration:
Land revenue administration was toned up during the reign of Akbar. Raja Todar Mal, Revenue Minister of Akbar, adopted and refined the system introduced by Sher Shah.
Zabt System:
(i) According to Zabt system, after a survey, lands were classified according to the nature and fertility of the soil.
(ii) The share of the state was fixed at one-third of the average produce for 10 years.
Jagir:
(i) The Mughal emperors enforced the old iqta system, renaming it jagir. It is a land tenure system developed during the period of Delhi Sultanate.
(ii) Under the system, the collection of the revenue of an area and the power of governing it were bestowed upon a military or civil official now named Jagirdar.
(iii) Every Mansabdar was a Jagirdar if he was not paid in cash. The Jagirdar collected the revenue through his own officials.
Zamindars:
(i) Those appointed to collect the revenue from the landholders were called zamindars.
(ii) Zamindars collected taxes and maintained law and order with the help of Mughal officials and soldiers.
(iii) The local chieftains and little kings were also called zamindars.

The main causes of the decline of the Vijayanagar empire were
(i) After Krishna Devaraya, the rulers were inefficient in the Vijayanagar empire. Making use of the situation the commanders declared independence.
(ii) There were frequent wars between Vijayanagar and Bahmani kingdom which made the country economically weak.
(ii) Finally, the sultans of Deccan kingdoms formed a league against Vijayanagar. The combined forces of the enemies defeated Vijayanagar in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 A.D.
(iv) These Sultans destroyed the buildings, palaces, temples and the capital city of Hampi.

Functions of the Political parties:
(i) Provide: Loyal opposition, accountability & stability.
(ii) Nominate: Select and nominate individuals to elected office.
(iii) Organize: Organize political campaign, rallies and announcement of Manifesto to win public office.
(iv) Inspire: Put forward different policies and programmes for the welfare of the people.
(v) Co-ordinate: Connect the society and the state. Co-ordinate among members elected to office.
(vi) Govern: Form and run the government and develop public policy.

Political Equality includes
(a) Right to vote
(b) Right to hold public Office
(c) Right to criticise the government
(i) Citizens should have equal opportunity to actively participate in the political life
(ii) In India the voting right is given to all the citizens who has attained 18 years of age without any discriminations
(iii) Any person who has completed the age of 25 years can contest in the election in India.
(iv) Right to criticise the government is also very important right and the people can express their resentment through demonstrations.
(v) The value of the vote of the Prime Minister and value of vote of common man in general election is same which denotes political equality.

(i) The sacking and massacre by Tamerlane or Timur of Delhi came a decade after Firuz Shah Tughluq died.
(ii) Timur had occupied some parts in the north-west of India.
(iii) Taking advantage of India's weakness, he entered India in December 1398 and plundered Delhi.
(iv) Punjab, besides the Delhi city, was the province that suffered most by Timur's raid.
(v) Apart from carrying huge wealth in the form of gold, silver, jewels, also took along Indian artisans like carpenters and masons to work on monuments in Samarkand.

(i) The chola rulers established a well organized system of administration in which the empire was divided into mandalans, naadu, Kurrams and gramam.
(ii) A very efficient local administration was another important feature of the Chola rule.
(iii) Chola gave importance to irrigation - vati-vaykkal, ur-vaykkal and naduvaykkal ensured proper distribution of water.
(iv) The Chola rulers built the famous temples in Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram.
(v) Chola Kings were great patrons of learning.
(vi) Trade flourished during their period.

(i) The people of Sind were given the status of 'protected subjects'.
(ii) There was no interference in the lives and religions of the people.
(iii) The Arab scholars visited Sind and studied many Indian literary works.
(iv) They translated many Sanskrit books on astronomy, philosophy, mathematics and medicine into Arabic.
(v) They learnt the numerals 0 to 9 from India. Until then, the people in the West did not know the use of zero.
(vi) Through the Arabs, Europe gained more knowledge in mathematics. The importance of zero was learnt by them from India.
(vii) It is believed that the people in the West and the Arabs learnt the game of chess only from the Indians.

(i) The picture and the legend on the coins convey the names of kings with their titles and portraits, events, places, dates, dynasties and logos.
(ii) The composition of metals in the coins gives us information on the economic condition of the empire.
(iii) Mention of king's achievements like military conquests, territorial expansion, trade links and religious faith can also be found in the coins.
(iv) Muhammad Ghori had stamped the figure of Goddess Lakshmi on his gold coins and had his name inscribed on it.
(v) This coin tells us that this early Turkish invader was in all likelihood liberal in religious outlook.
(vi) Copper Jitals are available for the study of the period of the Delhi Sultans.
(vii) Silver Tanka introduced by Iltutmish, Ala-ud-din Khalji's gold coins, Muhammad-bin- Tughluq's copper token currency are indicative of coinage as well as the economic prosperity or otherwise of the country of the time.
(viii) Ajital contained 3.6 grains of silver. Forty eight jitals were equal to 1 silver tanka.

Division of labour means dividing the process of production into distinct and several component processes and assigning each component in the hands of a labour or a set of labourers, who are specialists in that particular process.

Urban settlements are classified on the basis of
(i) Size of population
(ii) Occupational structure
(iii) Administration

In deserts rocks in the shape of a mushroom, commonly called mushroom rocks.

The innermost layer of the earth is called the core. It is also known as barysphere. It is separated from the mantle by a boundary called Weichart-Gutenberg discontinuity. The core is also divided into two parts.
(i) The outer core, which is rich in iron, is in liquid state.
(ii) The inner core, composed of Nickel and Ferrous (Nife), is solid in state.