Chapter 13 – Sultan Ghiyasuddin in the Qazi's Court
wailing: crying and sobbing long and loudly.
upright: honest, just.
summon: to order someone to come, to send for someone.
summons: a written notice ordering someone to appear in court.
fix: Here, ‘fix’ means a difficult or awkward situation.
docks: an enclosed space in a court of law, for the accused person.
offence: crime, a wrong deed.
offender: a person who has done something wrong or illegal.
waver: falter, hesitate, became unsure.
Things to do
1. Answer the following questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ :
(a) Did the Sultan want to kill the widow’s son?
Ans: No
(b) Did the officer give the summons to the Sultan?
Ans: Yes
(c) Did the Sultan appear in the Qazi’s court?
Ans: Yes
(d) Was the Qazi’s judgement fair?
Ans: Yes
(e) Did the Sultan obey the law?
Ans: Yes
(f) Was the Sultan happy with the Qazi?
Ans: Yes
2. Give reasons for the following:
(a) The Sultan hid a sword in his robe.
Ans: The Sultan hid a sword in his robe because he wanted to behead the Qazi if he hesitated to do his duty.
(b) The Qazi hid a whip under the cushion.
Ans: The Qazi hid a whip under the cushion because he wanted to whip the Sultan if he disobeyed the law.
(c) The widow was satisfied.
Ans: The widow was satisfied because the Sultan paid fine for his offence to her and also apologized.
(d) Everyone praised the Sultan and the Qazi.
Ans: Everyone praised the Sultan and Qazi because both the men performed their duties without hesitation and brought justice to the poor widow.
3. Give opposites of the following words:
eastern
Ans: western
untimely
Ans: timely
appear
Ans: disappear
respect
Ans: disrespect
accepted
Ans: rejected
present
Ans: absent