Q. Muslin was a very famous cotton textile all over the world during 17th century. Consider the following statements with reference to it:

1. Muslin type of cotton textile had its origin in Kerala and neighbouring region.
2. Malmal was the finest variety of Muslin found in the Indian subcontinent.

Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer: Only 2
Notes: Only the second statement is correct. The first statement is incorrect as Muslin was a type of cotton textile which had its origin in Bengal, particularly, places in and around Dhaka- now the capital city of Bangladesh. The second statement, however, is correct. The finest variety of muslin was called malmal. Sometimes, foreign travellers also used to refer to it as malmal shahi or malmal khas implying that it was worn by, or fit for, the royalty.