In medieval India, the term “Fanam” referred to :
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Answer: B. Fanam was a small gold or silver coin used in south India, especially under the Vijayanagara rulers, and later by European trading companies on the coast.
Watch for: Unfamiliar regional terms tempt students to guess; fanam is a coin often mentioned with the pagoda (varaha).
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because fanam was money, not cloth.
- C. Wrong because fanam was a coin, not an ornament.
- D. Wrong because fanam was a coin, not a weapon.
Source to check: NCERT Class 7 Our Pasts II, Chapter on Vijayanagara and trade; Satish Chandra, Medieval India
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.