Question

Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A strange nation?
The travelogue of Abdur Razzaq written in the 1440s is an interesting mixture of emotions and perceptions. On the one hand, he did not appreciate what he saw in the port of Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) in Kerala, which was populated by “a people the likes of whom I had never imagined”, describing them as “a strange nation”. Later in his visit to India, he arrived in Mangalore and crossed the Western Ghats. Here he saw a temple that filled him with admiration: Within three leagues (about nine miles) of Mangalore, I saw an idol-house the likes of which is not to be found in all the world. It was a square, approximately ten yards a side, five yards in height, all covered with cast bronze, with four porticos. In the entrance portico was a statue in the likeness of a human being, full stature, made of gold. It had two red rubies for eyes, so cunningly made that you would say it could see. What craft and artisanship!
(31.1) Why did Abdur Razzaq call India a ‘strange nation’?

Hint:

Focus on identifying cultural or societal differences that travelers highlight in their accounts.

Answer 1

Abdur Razzaq called India a ‘strange nation’ due to its unfamiliar customs, cultural practices, and diverse people, which were different from anything he had encountered. The bustling trade and social diversity of Calicut left him amazed and perplexed.