History Mock Test - 4

The correct answer is Chandragupta Maurya.

Key Points

• Seleucus I Nicator sends Megasthenes as ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
• Seleucus I Nicator was the army chief of Alexander.
  • In 305 BC Seleucus I Nicator attacked Chandragupta Maurya.
  • After this battle, Megasthenes send as ambassador.

Additional Information

Chandragupta Maurya

• It is the first emperor of the Mauryan Empire, seizes the satrapies of Paropanisadai, Aria, Arachosia and Gedrosia from Seleucus I Nicator, the Macedonian satrap of Babylonia.
• Chandragupta Maurya, known as Sandrakottos to the Greeks, was the founder of the Maurya Dynasty.
• Maurya did not battle with Alexander the Great, who invaded the Indian kingdom in 326 BCE.
• In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great defeated Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes.
• Porus was a king of the Paurava dynasty, located on the banks of the river Vitasta (Jhelum) in the Punjab region
• Chandragupta Maurya was born in Patna in the modern-day Bihar state of India.
• Chandragupta, with the help of an intelligent and politically astute Brahmin, Kautilya usurped the throne by defeating Dhana Nanda in 321 BC.
• In 305 BC, he entered into a treaty with Seleucus Nicator in which Chandragupta acquired Baluchistan, eastern Afghanistan and the region to the west of Indus. He also married Seleucus Nicator’s daughter.
• Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya dynasty. ​The Greek name of Chandragupta Maurya was Sandrocotts.

The correct answer is Shortughai.

Key Points

• Canal traces have been discovered in Shortughai.
• Shortughai is located in Afghanistan.
• It is thought to be the Indus Valley Civilization's northernmost settlement.
• Carnelian and lapis lazuli beads, bronze objects, and terracotta figurines were found in Shortughai.
• Dryland cultivation is indicated by a ploughed field with flax seeds in this location, as well as irrigation canals created to deliver water from Kokcha.

Additional Information

• Kalibangan - Wooden drainage, Copper Ox, Wooden plough, Camel’s bone, and Fire altars were discovered in Kalibangan.
• Chanhudaro - Bangle Factory, InkPot, Bead makers shop and Cart with a seated driver were discovered in Chanhudaro.
• Dholavira - Exclusive water management, Only site to be divided into three parts, Embankments Stadium, Rock Cut architecture are some features of Dholavira.

The correct answer is 16.

Key Points

Mahajanapadas:

• As the rulers of the Mahajanapadas were building huge forts, maintaining big armies, they needed more resources. 
• And they needed officials to collect these. So, instead of depending on occasional gifts brought by people, as in the case of the Raja of the Janapadas, they started collecting regular taxes.
• Taxes on crops were the most important.
• This was because agriculture was the main occupation at that time.
• Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. 
• This was known as bhaga or a share.
• For example, a weaver or a smith may have had to work for a day every month for the king.
• During the second urbanisation period in ancient India, there were sixteen kingdoms that existed during the sixth to fourth century BCE known as Mahajanapadas.
• The Buddhist text Angutara Nikaya mention 16 Mahajanapadas.

• Name of Mahajanapadas	Capital of Mahajanapadas	Today Location
  Asmaka or Assaka	Potali	Banks of Godavari
  Avanti	Ujjaini or Mahismati	Malwa and Madhya Pradesh
  Anga	Champa/Champanagri	Munger and Bhagalpur
  Chedi	Sothivati	Bundelkhand region
  Gandhara	Taxila	Rawalpindi
  Kashi	Kasi	Banaras
  Kamboja	Poonch	Rajouri and Hajra
  Kosala	Shravasti	Eastern Uttar Pradesh
  Kuru	Indraprastha	Meerut and Southeastern Haryana
  Magadha	Rajagriha	Gaya and Patna
  Malla	Kusinara	Deoria and Uttar Pradesh
  Matsya	Viratanagara	Jaipur
  Panchala	Ahichchatra and Kampilya	Western Uttar Pradesh
  Shurasena	Mathura	Western Uttar Pradesh
  Vajji	Vaishali	Bihar
  Vatsa	Kausambi	Allahabad

The correct answer is slaves.

Key Points

• According to Sangam's text, 'Adimai' are slaves.
• According to Sangam's text, 'Vellalar' are large landowners.
• According to Sangam's text, 'Uzhavar' are ploughmen.
• Gahapati - According to Pali's text, A Gahapati was the owner, master, or head of the family, in charge of the women, children, slaves, and labourers who shared a home.

The correct answer is coins.

Key Points

• Numismatics is the study of Coins.
• Numismatics is the study of coins, including visual elements such as scripts and images, metallurgical analysis and the circumstances in which they have been excavated.
• A paleographer is someone who examines undeciphered and older scripts or the study of ancient and medieval handwriting.
• Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions.

The correct answer is Bull type.

Key Points

• Five types of gold coins issued by Skandagupta are Archer type, Horseman type, King and queen type, Lion-slayer type and Chhatra type.
• Also, Skandagupta issued 4 types of silver coins Altar type, Garuda type, Madhyadesha type and Bull type.

Additional Information

Skandagupta

• He was a ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
• His period was from 455 AD to 467 AD.
• He defeated Hunas. 
• He restored the Gupta empire from his enemies.
• He composed the Bhitari Inscription which was written in 19 lines that describe the ancestors of Skandagupta, about himself and his achievements.
• The Bhitakari Inscription also mentions the Skandagupta's conflict with Pushyamitra.

The correct answer is Sanskrit.

Key Points

• Arthashastra written by Chanakya is in the Sanskrit language.
• Arthashastra deals with political science, military strategy, statecraft, and economic policy.
• The Arthashastra is a kind of manual for Chandragupta that teaches him how to rule a country and encourages him to take direct action in dealing with political issues without regard for ethical considerations.

Additional Information

• Chanakya was an ancient Indian Renaissance man who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor.
  • Both Chandragupta and his son Bindusara had Chanakya as their chief advisor.
  • He is known under the names Kautilya and Vishnugupta.

The correct answer is Chanhudaro.

Key Points

The correct answer is the Longest rock edicts.

Key Points

• The 7th rock edict of Ashoka is the longest rock edict.
• 7th rock edict - Requests tolerance for all religions.
• 13th rock edict - Description of Kalinga war.
• 11th rock edict - Description of dharma victory of Ashoka.
• 5th rock edict - Appointment of Dhammamahamatras.

The correct answer is Udayin.

Key Points 

• Udayin shifted his capital from Rajagaha to Patliputra.
• Udayin was a ruler of the Haryanka dynasty.
  • He established Patliputra.
  • He ruled from 460 BC to 440 BC.
  • He was the son of Haryanka king Ajatashatru.

Additional Information

• Bimbisara was the founder of the Haryanka dynasty.
  • Bimbisara was killed by his son Ajatshatru.
• Ajatshatru ruled from 492 BC to 460 BC.
  • Mahavir swami and Gautam Buddha died during the reign of Ajatshatru.
• Kalashoka was a ruler of the Shishunag dynasty.
  • He shifted his capital from Vaishali to Patliputra.

The correct answer is people of foreign origin.

Key Points

• Mleccha was used by the ancient Indians originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behaviour, and also used as a derogatory term in the sense of impure, impolite, and/or inferior people.
• Aryans in the later Vedic age moved from the Sapta Sindhu region into the Ganges–Yamuna Doab and the territories on its fringe.
• The areas within this land of the Aryas, called Aryavarta, were named for the ruling clans, and the area encompassed within Aryavarta gradually expanded eastward.
• By the end of the period, clan identity had changed gradually to territorial identity, and the areas of settlement came eventually to form states.
• The people beyond the Aryavarta were termed the mlecchas (or mlechchhas).
• In other words, mlechchhas refer to people of foreign origin. Hence option 1 is the correct answer.
• The term was also used to refer to impure barbarians who were unfamiliar with the speech and customs of the Aryas.
• A Sanskrit term, mlechchha was used by the Vedic peoples much as the ancient Greeks used Barbaros, originally to indicate the uncouth and incomprehensible speech of foreigners and then extended to their unfamiliar behaviour.
• As a mlechchha, any foreigner stood completely outside the caste system and the ritual ambience.
  • Thus, historically, contact with them was viewed by the caste Hindu as polluting.

The correct answer is Superintendent of minting.

Key Points

Mauryan empire was established by Chandragupta Maurya by defeating Dhanananda of the Nanda dynasty during 322-21 BC.

• Mauryan period (322 BC- 185 BC) was one of the most important periods of Ancient Indian history.
• The literary sources related to this period were Kautilya's Arthasastra, Megasthenes's Indica, and Vishaka Dutta's Mudra Rakshasa.
• Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus Nicator in the court of the Indian king Chandragupta of the Mauryan empire.
• The Mauryan empire was divided into four provinces with imperial capital at Pataliputra.
• The Mauryan administration was well organised with many functionaries supporting the same.

The correct answer is The prefect crops.

Key PointsJins-i-Kamil

• Jins-i-Kamil means the perfect crops.
• During the Mughal period also various sources like Ain-i-akbari by Abul Fazl inform about the variety of crops produced in India.
• However, the focus on the cultivation of basic staples did not mean that agriculture in medieval India was only for subsistence.
• The Mughal state also encouraged peasants to cultivate jins-i kamil (literally, perfect crops) as they brought in more revenue.
• Crops such as cotton and sugarcane were jins-i kamil par excellence.
• Cotton was grown over a great swathe of territory spread over central India and the Deccan plateau, whereas Bengal was famous for its sugar.
  • Such cash crops would also include various sorts of oilseeds (for example, mustard) and lentils.
• This shows how subsistence and commercial production were closely intertwined in an average peasant’s holding.

The correct answer is Taxila.

Key Points

• Capital of Gandhar mahajanapada was Taxila.
  • ​The people of Gandhar had received extensive military training.
  • Gandhar was noteworthy in terms of international trade.​

Additional Information

• Capital of Kuru mahajanapada was Indraprastha.
• Capital of Vatsa mahajanapada was Kausambi.
• Capital of Saurasena  mahajanapada was Mathura.​
• ​There were 16 mahajanapada mentioned in the Buddhist text Anguttar Nikaya.

The correct answer is Wood.

Key Points

• Wood is not used by the Indus Valley Civilization to make beads.
• Stones like carnelian (a gorgeous red colour), jasper, crystal, quartz, and steatite are used to manufacture beads.
• Metals like copper, bronze, and gold are used to manufacture beads.
• Also, shell, faience, and terracotta or burnt clay are used to manufacture beads.
• Beads manufactured at Chanhudaro and Lothal were taken to large urban centres such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa.​

Additional Information

• The Indus Valley Civilisation, often known as the Harappan Civilisation after Harappa, was the first of its sites to be explored by British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler in the 1920s.
• In the second millennium BCE, the Harappan civilisation arose on the banks of the Indus River and extended across most of western India.

The correct answer is 1838.

Key Points

James Prinsep (1799 -1840)

• ​James Prinsep was an English scholar, orientalist, and antiquarian.
• James Princep in India was an administrator in the mint of the British East India Company. 
• The main contribution of James Princep to the development of Indian epigraphy can be seen in terms that he was the first person who deciphered the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts. 
• In 1838, James Prinsep, an officer at the East India Company's mint, decipher Brahmi and Kharosthi, two ancient scripts used in inscriptions and coins.
• James Prinsep was an antiquarian, orientalist, and scholar from England.
• He discovered that the majority of Inscription mentioned a king known as Piyadassi, which means "pleasing to behold."

The correct answer is land grants.

Key Points

• Kadamba's economy was supported by both agriculture and trade.
  • References of Tribhoga, Sarvanamasya and Talavritti land-grants suggest the presence of land holdings by individuals and religious groups. Kadamba rulers provided liberal grants to Jainas and Shaivas.
  • Xuan Zhang attests to the presence of a number of Buddhist monasteries and mathas at Banavasi.
  • Kadambas owed their prosperity largely to their maritime activities.
  • The capital of the Kadambas of Goa – Chandrapur – was an important maritime centre

Additional Information

• The Kadambas initially emerged prominently around Talagunda (modern Shimoga district) in the north-western Karnataka around 345 CE.
• The centre of their political activities was the Banavasi region, which is why they are also commonly known as Kadambas of Banavasi.
• They were absorbed into Chalukyan polity around the 6th century CE and became feudatories of the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas.
• They once again emerged into prominence in the second half of the 10th century CE. 

The correct answer is Mudrarakshasa.

Key Points

• The other famous dramatists to have flourished in this period are Shudraka, writer of Mrichchhkatikam and Vishakhadatta who authored Mudrarakshasa.
  • The Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of king Chandragupta Maurya to power in India.
  • As Mudrarakshasa is a work of Vishakhadatta and not Kalidasa, option 2 is the correct answer.
• Chandragupta II is remembered for his patronage of art and literature.
• The literature in the Gupta period was written in Sanskrit. 
• He is credited with maintaining nine luminaries (navaratna) in his court, fifth century AD.
• Amongst these nine luminaries, the great Sanskrit poet and playwright Kalidasa was the most notable of them all. 
• Kalidasa is known for his plays depicting life in the king’s court.
  • His works are very famous and have been translated into many European languages.
  • Some of the works that he authored are Meghadutam, Abhijnanashakuntalam, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava and Malavikagnimitra.
  • The notable feature of his works is that the characters of higher caste speak in Sanskrit while those of lower caste and women speak in Prakrit.
  • The real value of his work, however, lies in his imagery, language and dialogue, which are fresh and vigorous.
• Abhijnana Shakuntalam is the story of the love between a king named Dushyanta and a young woman named Shakuntala.
• Malavikagnimitra, a five-act drama written by Kalidasa in the 5th century CE.
  • The story is a light tale set in a harem, and, unlike Kalidasa’s other works, it sustains a playful and comical mood throughout.
  • It concerns the machinations of King Agnimitra to win Malavika, a female dance student with whom he is in love.
• Meghaduta, lyric love poem in some 115 verses composed by Kalidasa about the 5th century CE.
  • The verse is unique to Sanskrit literature in that the poet attempts to go beyond the strophic unity of the short lyric, normally the form preferred for love poems, by stringing the stanzas into a narrative.

The correct answer is Sanskrit.

Key Points

• The Aihole Inscription, also known as the Aihole prashasti, is a nineteen line Sanskrit inscription in Kannada script at Meguti Jain temple in Aihole, Karnataka, India.
• A eulogy dated 634–635 CE, was composed by the Jain poet Ravikirti in honour of his patron king Pulakeshin II of the Badami Chalukya dynasty.
• It is a great source for reconstructing the history of this period. It records the achievements of Pulakesi II, especially his victory against Harshavardhana, the ruler of Northern India.
• The famous Chalukya King Pulakeshi II was a follower of Jainism.

The correct answer is Tobacco

Key PointsTobacco

• Tobacco was introduced by the Portuguese during the late 16th century from Brazil during the reign of Akbar. 
• Tobacco use was a novelty in the first decade of the 17th century.
• But, its use became widespread by 1617, among the nobility and even among the common people.
• During the reign of Emperor Akbar, tobacco was introduced by the Portuguese in the late 16th century.
• Jahangir had to issue a decree forbidding the smoking of tobacco to protect the health of the people and control the habit.
• The intake of tobacco became so popular that Jahangir had to pass a decree around 1617 to ban it.

The correct answer is Shankaradeva.

• Bhagavati Dharma was the teachings of Shankaradeva. 
• Shankaradeva was a Vaishnava saint of Assam and hence devotee of Vishnu. 
• His teachings Bhagavati Dharma was based on Bhagavad Purana and Bhagavad Gita.
• He was considered as the propagator of Eksaran Naamdharma. 
• He encouraged Naam Kirtan and Naam Ghar. 
• Kirtan Ghosha is considered as the composition of his teachings.
• He followed monotheism.  

The correct answer is Option 1.

• The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by an engineer and antiquarian named Colonel Colin Mackenzie.
• An employee of the English East India Company, he prepared the first survey map of the site.
• Much of the initial information he received was based on the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and the shrine of Pampadevi.
• Subsequently, from 1856, photographers began to record the monuments which enabled scholars to study them.
• As early as 1836 epigraphists began collecting several dozen inscriptions found at this and other temples at Hampi.
• Colin Mackenzie was appointed as the first Surveyor General of India in 1815.

Source - Page 170 Theme Seven - Class XI NCERT

The correct answer is Shakas.

Key Points

• Chandragupta II (AD 375–414) succeeded Samudragupta.
• He is also known as Chandragupta Vikramaditya.
• He not only extended his father’s empire but also consolidated his position through matrimonial alliances with other royal dynasties of the period.
• His greatest military achievement was his victory over the Shaka kings who were ruling in western India for the last three hundred years.
• This conquest made the Gupta empire reach up to the western coast, famous for trade and commerce.
• This contributed to the prosperity of Malwa and its chief city Ujjain.
• Vikram Samvat: The Vikrama Samvat had been founded by the emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain following his victory over the Sakas in 58 BC

The correct answer is a system of morals consistent with the tenets of most of the sects of the time.

Key Points

• Ashoka’s dhamma Policy
  • Ashoka made an example of himself for others by strictly following the principles of dhamma.
  • The Dhamma propagated by Ashoka was a system of morals consistent with the tenets of most of the sects of the time. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
  • He went to all the places associated with the life of Gautama Buddha.
  • He ordered the construction of a large number of Buddhist monasteries.
  • He dispatched Buddhist scholars to distant parts of the world to propagate the philosophy of Buddhism.
  • His son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra went to Sri Lanka to spread the message of dhamma.
  • Ashoka also appointed special officers known as Dhammamahamatras to spread and enforce the principles of Buddhism throughout the empire.
  • He got principles of dhamma engraved in Prakrit on rocks, pillars, and caves so that the masses could read and practice them.
  • He organized the third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra to discuss the ways and means of propagating Buddhism.
  • Ashoka established the idea of paternal kinship.
  • He regarded all his subjects as his children and believed it the king’s duty to look after the welfare of the subjects.
  • Through his edicts, he said everybody should serve parents, revere teachers, and practice ahimsa and truthfulness.
  • He asked everyone to avoid animal slaughter and sacrifice.
  • He expounded humane treatment of animals, servants, and prisoners.
  • He advocated tolerance towards all religions.
  • He sought conquest through Dhamma and not war.
  • Most of his edicts are written in Pali and Prakrit in Brahmi script.
  • Some are written in the Kharoshti and Aramaic scripts also.
  • There are some edicts written in Greek as well.
  • The language depends on the location of the pillar.

• The main motives behind the English introducing improved communications and transport was too get the raw material from the interiors and also to flood it with cheap British manufactured goods.
• It was realized by the British that railways could be an efficient means of transporting goods. Industrial Revolution in England had created a huge demand for raw materials. Also, markets were needed for the sale of finished industrial goods.
• Hence, Railway serves an easy and cheap mode of transport for serving the British industrial and commercial needs. Railways were also felt necessary for a quick and efficient movement of troops for expanding the territories of the Empire and to quell any internal rebellion
• Areas around towns, raw material producing areas and of plantations and other commercial crops, hill stations and cantonment towns were well-connected by railways from the British colonial era. These were mostly developed for the exploitation of resources. 

The correct answer is 1915.

Key Points

Hindu Mahasabha 

• Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malaviya
• Hence the correct answer is option 2.
• The Hindu Mahasabha was a Hindu Party that remained confined to North India.
• It aimed to unite Hindu society by encouraging the Hindus to transcend the divisions of caste and sect.
• It sought to define Hindu identity in opposition to Muslim identity.

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key PointsPeasants and their lands

• The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami.
• Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants - khud-kashta and pahi-kashta. The former were residents of the village in which they held their lands.
• Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in the same way as the lands of other property owners.
• Khud Kashta permanently lived in villages. They had their own land and practised agriculture over there, while the Pahi Kashta cultivated land on a contractual basis, which originally belonged to someone else.

 Awadh was the first state to enter into the Subsidiary Alliance is not correct,

Key Points

• Awadh was not the first state to enter into the Subsidiary Alliance.
• Hyderabad (1798) was the first state to enter into the Subsidiary Alliance.

Additional Information

• The Subsidiary Alliance System was a “Non-Intervention Policy” used by Lord Wellesley who was the Governor-General (1798-1805) to establish British Empire in India.
• According to this system, every ruler in India had to accept to pay a subsidy to the British for the maintenance of the British army.
• In return, the British would protect them from their enemies. 
• Order in which the Indian States entered into Subsidiary Alliances
  • Hyderabad (1798)
  • Mysore (1799 – After Tipu Sultan was defeated in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War)
  • Tanjore (1799)
  • Awadh (1801)
  • Peshwa (Marathas) (1802)
  • Scindia (Marathas) (1803)
  • Gaekwad (Marathas) (1803)

Buddhism is an Indian religion based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia.

Key Points

• Mahayana Buddhism can be defined as a major movement in the history of Buddhism which has its origins in northern India.  Around 1900 years ago a new form of Buddhism, called 'Mahayana Buddhism' developed.
• Mahayana uses Sanskrit as its main language, and monastic and lay followers work for the liberation of all sentient beings, making compassion and insight its central doctrines.
• In this modern form of Buddhism, the statues of Buddha were started made in Mathura and Taxila.

• Bodhisattvas were accepted as the persons who had attained enlightenment.

• It was supposed that after attaining enlightenment Bodhisattvas can live in isolation.

Note: Before the formation of Mahayana Buddhism Buddha's presence was shown in sculpture by using certain signs.

Hence, the correct answer is (2) Statues of Buddha were made.

The correct answer is Al-Biruni.

Key Points

• Abu Rayhan al-Biruni was an Iranian scholar.
• He has been variously called as the:-
  • Founder of Indology
  • Father of Comparative Religion
  • Father of modern geodesy
  • The first anthropologist
• He wrote the book Kitab-ul-Hind.
• Alberuni (Abu Raynham Beruni) was a Persian scholar who came to India with Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017.
• He commented on Indian sciences, Hindu religious beliefs, customs, and social organization.

Additional Information

• Al-Masudi's Book - The Meadows of Gold
• Sulaiman's Book - Ancient Accounts of India and China
• Firdausi's Book - Shahnameh

The correct answer is British, Chennai.

Key Points

• The famous Fort St. George built by the British in India is situated in Chennai.
• It is the first British fortress in India.
• It was founded in the year 1644 by the British East India Company.
• The construction of this fort gave momentum for further settlement and trading activity.
• Currently, the Fort St. George houses the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and other official buildings.
• The French built French War Memorial in Puducherry (erstwhile Pondicherry) in 1937.
• The Dutch built Bolghatty Palace in Kochi in the year 1744.
• The Portuguese built Basilica of Bom Jesus in 1605, etc. in Goa.

The correct answer is 3 only.

• Tomb of Sufi saints - Dargah. Hence pair 1 is incorrectly matched.
• Assembly of Sufi masters - Khanqahs. Hence pair 2 is incorrectly matched.
• Genealogy of Sufi teachers - Silsilas. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.

Key Points

• Sufis were Muslim mystics.
• They rejected outward religiosity and emphasised love and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings.
• Like the saint-poets, the Sufis too composed poems expressing their feelings, and a rich literature in prose, including anecdotes and fables, developed around them.
• The Sufi masters held their assemblies in their khanqahs or hospices.
  • Devotees of all descriptions including members of the royalty and nobility, and ordinary people flocked to these khanqahs.
  • They discussed spiritual matters, sought the blessings of the saints in solving their worldly problems or simply attended the music and dance sessions.
• The tomb or dargah of a Sufi saint became a place of pilgrimage to which thousands of people of all faiths thronged.
• Like the saint-poets, the Sufis too composed poems expressing their feelings, and a rich literature in prose, including anecdotes and fables, developed around them.
• Among the great Sufis of Central Asia were Ghazzali, Rumi and Sadi.
• Like the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis, the Sufis too believed that the heart can be trained to look at the world in a different way.
• They developed elaborate methods of training using zikr (chanting of a name or sacred formula), contemplation, sama (singing), raqs (dancing), discussion of parables, breath control, etc. under the guidance of a master or pir.
• Thus emerged the silsilas, a genealogy of Sufi teachers, each following a slightly different method (tariqa) of instruction and ritual practice.

Additional Information

• The Chishti silsila was among the most influential orders.
• It had a long line of teachers like Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga 

The correct answer is option 3, i.e, Abdul Hamid Lahori.

"Padshahnama" (Chronicle of the Mughal Emperor) was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori.

• He was a traveller and historian during the period of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
• He has described Shah Jahan's life and activities during the first 20 years of his reign.
• He completed his work in 1648.
• Abdul Hamid Lahori, who wrote his Badshahnama  in two volumes.
• The first volume of this work is based upon Qazvini's work.
• The second volume covers the next ten years of Shah Jahan's reign.
• His work was published by the Asiatic society as the third volume of the Badshahnama of Lahori.

The correct answer is Vijayanagar.

Key Points

• Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century.
• Hampi is an ancient village in the Indian state of Karnataka.
• Hampi's name is derived from that of the local mother goddess, Pampadevi.

Additional Information

• On the south bank of the River Tungabhadra is the 7th-century Virupaksha Temple, near the revived Hampi Bazaar.
• Southeast of Hampi, Daroji Bear Sanctuary is home to the Indian sloth bear.
• Vijayanagara or "city of victory" was the name of both a city and an empire.
• Hampi also referred to as the Group of Monuments, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in East-Central Karnataka.
• The empire was founded in the fourteenth century. In its heyday, it stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the peninsula.
• The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by Colonel Colin Mackenzie. He worked for East India Company.

The correct answer is All of the Above.

Key PointsAgriculture

• One of the estimates claims that at the beginning of the 17th century India’s population was about 125 million.
• A large variety of crops such as barley, gram, pulses, rice, and wheat were cultivated.
• Commercial crops such as indigo, oil-seeds, cotton and sugarcane were also cultivated.
• During the seventeenth century two new crops, viz., tobacco and maize were added.
• On a note, no new agricultural technique was introduced during this period.
• India was able to export food items like rice and sugar to the neighbouring countries.

The factors that helped in the continuous development of agriculture in India of the Mughal period.

• Excess of land
• Availability of workers
• Dynamism of farmers
• Development of artificial means of irrigation.

The correct answer is Both 1 and 2.

Key PointsCampaigns launched by Gandhiji in his home state

Gandhiji was involved in two campaigns in his home state of Gujarat.

Ahmedabad Mill Strike 1918

• Ahmedabad Mill Strike 1918 was one of the initial movements led by Gandhi after his return from South Africa.
• There was a situation of a dispute between the Mill owners and workers on the question of discontinuation of Plague Bonus once the epidemic had passed but the workers insisted it stay.
• The workers demanded a 50% wage hike.
• The Mill Owners were willing to give only 20% wage hike. 
• It involved cotton or textile mills of Ahmedabad. o Gandhi was invited by Anasuya Ben Sarabai and her brother Ambalal Sarabhai, leading mill-owner of Ahmadabad towards the cause of the mill owners.
• Here Gandhi used the weapon of Hunger strike for the first time. 
• The result was that the strike was successful and the workers got a 35% wage hike.

• The cause for Kheda Satyagraha was that the peasants of Kheda district were in extreme distress due to a failure of crops and that their appeals for the remission of land revenue were being ignored by the Government.
• Discontinuation of the Plague bonus was the immediate cause for Ahmedabad textile mill strike. 

The correct answer is Warren Hastings.

Key Points

• Izaredari system was introduced by Warren Hastings in 1773 in Bengal.
  • There was a frequent change in the assessment period and no fixed revenue generation.

Important Points

• According to this land tenure (first in India), the right to collect revenue was auctioned to the highest bidder.
  • The peasants, merchants, and shopkeepers had to pay their rent to the Izaredar.
  • The system was eventually ended by the Permanent Settlement under the Cornwallis Code in 1793.

The correct answer is ​12 March 1930. 

Key PointsSalt March

• On March 12, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi embarked a historic Salt March from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to the village of Dandi in the state’s coastal area to protest against the steep tax the British levied on salt.
• The Salt March began on March 12, 1930 and continued till April 6, 1930.
• It was a 24-day Salt March, which was non-violent in nature, is historically significant as it led to the mass Civil Disobedience Movement.
• Upon reaching the seashore in Dandi, Mahatma Gandhi broke the law by producing illegal salt.
• Sarojini Naidu also joined Gandhi and every day more and more people would join. At the final destination, there were around fifty thousand people.

The correct answer is Tamil Nadu.

• The female Bhakti Saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar hails from the South Indian state Tamil Nadu.

Key Points

• Karaikkal Ammaiyar is one of the earliest contributors to Tamil devotional literature, hailing from the coastal city of Karaikkal, Tamil Nadu.
  • She was the renowned female devotee of Lord Shiva.
  • She lived around the 6th century.
  • Poetry: Themes in Ammaiyar's poetry include Siva as a heroic ideal.
  • Karaikkal Ammaiyar's biography was included in 'Periyapuranam' of court poet Sekkilar in the 12th century during the Chola period.
    • 'Periyapuranam' describes the lives of 63 Nayanmars.
    • Nayanmars(Leader or Chieftain) are devotees of Siva including members of all jatis Brahmins, Untouchables, hunters.
  • Karaikkal Ammaiyar temple was constructed by Malaiperumal Pillai in the centre of Karaikkal.

Additional Information

The correct answer is ​1 - 2 - 3 - 4Key Points

Abolition of sati: 

• The Bengal Sati Regulation (Regulation XVII) was passed by the then Governor-General of India, Lord William Bentinck making the practice of Sati illegal in all of British India. The act was made illegal and punishable by the courts.
• Sati Regulation XVII A. D. 1829.
•  After this law was enacted, similar laws prohibiting this custom were passed in princely states in India. In 1861, after the control of India went on the British Crown directly, Queen Victoria issued a general ban on Sati throughout India.

Passing of Widow Remarriage Act: 

• The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act 1856, also Act XV, 1856, passed on 16 July 1856, legalised the remarriage of widows in all jurisdictions of India under East India Company rule.
• The act was enacted on 26 July 1856. It was drafted by Lord Dalhousie and passed by Lord Canning before the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The beginning of the revolt:

• The revolt of 1857 was the conscious beginning of the Independence struggle against the colonial tyranny of the British.
• There are various names for the revolt of 1857 – India's First War of Independence, Sepoy Mutiny, etc.
• The revolt began on May 10, 1857, at Meerut as a sepoy mutiny.

Queen’s Proclamation:

• On November 1, 1858, a grand Darbar was held at Allahabad.
• Here Lord Canning sent forth the royal proclamation which announced that the queen had assumed the government of India.
• This proclamation declared the future policy of the British Rule in India

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key PointsThe Doctrine of Lapse

• The Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in 1852 by which the British annexed any local state whose ruler died without any son, no ruler was allowed to adopt a son.
• Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur, and Oudh states were captured by the British under this doctrine.
• Rani Lakshmi Bai’s adopted son was not permitted to sit on the throne of Jhansi.
• Jaitpur, Sambalpur and Udaipur were also annexed.
• The annexation of Awadh by Lord Dalhousie on the pretext of maladministration left thousands of nobles, officials, retainers, and soldiers jobless.
• This measure converted Awadh, a loyal state, into a hotbed of discontent and intrigue.
• The Doctrine of Lapse was withdrawn by Lord Canning (1857-1861).

The correct answer is Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.

Key Points

Lal, Bal, and Pal

• The trio of assertive nationalists comprising Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bipin Chandra Pal was popularly known as Lal, Bal, and Pal.
• Lala Lajpat Rai first started the first Indian bank – the Punjab National Bank. He was popularly known as ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ (The Lion of Punjab) and Punjab Kesari.
• Keshav Gangadhar Tilak popularly known as Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a law student from Poona, Maharashtra.
• The British often regarded him as the “Father of Indian Unrest”.
• He gave the famous slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and, I shall have it.”
• He published a newspaper Keshri to propagate his ideas.
• Bipin Chandra Pal was popularly known as the “Father of Revolutionary Thoughts”.

The correct answer is Champaran Satyagraha.

Key Points

Champaran Satyagraha:

• It was India’s first Civil Disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917.
• Mahatma Gandhiji was persuaded by Pandit Raj Kumar Shukla to visit the region and take action against the oppressed Indigo cultivator.
• Landless tenants, indentured labourers, and poor farmers were forced to grow indigo and other cash crops instead of food crops.
• They were forced to grow indigo and sell it at a low price.
• Gandhiji adopted non-violent Satyagraha as a mass movement to oppose such coercive acts against farmers.
• The English District Magistrate ordered Gandhiji to leave the district by imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Penal Code. 
• Gandhiji defied that order and pleaded guilty. He was ready to face consequences.
• The government agreed to abolish the exploitative tinkathia system and peasants also received a part of the money extracted from them as compensation.
• This movement made Gandhiji a nationwide leader and non-violent Satyagraha was adopted as a method of protest.

Additional Information

Ahmedabad Mill Worker Strike:

• The industrial dispute between the owners and workers of a cotton mill in Ahmedabad lead to a strike demanding a hike in wages.
• The owners wanted to withdraw the bonus to the workers while the workers were demanding a hike of 35% in their wages.
• Gandhiji underwent a hunger strike.
• The Ahmedabad Mill strike was successful and the workers were granted a wage hike.

Bardoli Satyagraha:

• The Bardoli Taluk was hit by floods and famines in 1925 affecting crop yield.
• The Bombay Presidency increased the tax rates by 22% despite poor harvest.
• Farmers in Bardoli invited Vallabhai Patel to launch the protest movement and Gandhiji also supported this movement.

The correct answer is Lord Cornwallis.

Key Points

• Lord Cornwallis:
  • Lord Cornwallis was a British army officer, administrator, and diplomat who had previously served his country during the War of American Independence.
  • He had surrendered along with his troops to the Americans at Yorktown.
  • In 1786, he accepted the offer to take up the post of Governor-General of Bengal on a condition that he be given the supreme military command as well.
  • He arrived at Calcutta on 12 September and took charge.
  • Under his guidance, the Cornwallis Code was developed to govern the civil, policing, and judiciary administration in British India.

Additional Information

• Lord John Shore:
  • John Shore was a British official of the East India Company who served as Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1798.
  • In 1798 he was created Baron Teignmouth in the Peerage of Ireland.
  • Shore was the first president of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
  • A close friend of the orientalist Sir William Jones (1746-1794), Shore edited a memoir of Jones's life in 1804, containing many of Jones's letters.
• Lord Clive:
  • Major-General Robert Clive was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency.
  • He began as a writer for the East India Company (EIC) who established the military and political supremacy of the EIC by securing a decisive victory at the Battle of Plassey in Bengal.
  • He Arrived in Fort St. George (Madras) in 1744 to work for the East India Company as a ‘factor’ or company agent.
  • He enlisted in the company army where he was able to prove his ability.
  • He is also known as “Clive of India”.
• Lord Warren Hastings:
  • Warren Hastings (1732-1818) became the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal) in 1772 and the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1774 till he resigned in 1785.
  • He started his career as a writer (clerk) in the East India Company at Calcutta in 1750.
  • In 1758, he became the British resident at Murshidabad, the capital of Bengal, after Mir Jafar was installed as the Nawab after the Battle of Plassey.
  • During his term, the First Anglo-Maratha war and the second Anglo-Mysore war were fought.
  • The Regulating Act of 1773 was passed during his term.
  • He supported Sir William Jones in the formation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1785.

The correct answer is  February 1916

Key Points

Importance of the speech of BHU

• Gandhi’s first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) In February 1916.
• It was merely a statement of fact that Indian nationalism was an elite phenomena, a creation of lawyers, doctors and landlords.
• Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the laboring poor
• Gandhiji chose to remind those present, of the peasants and workers who constituted a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience.
• The first public announcement of Gandhiji’s own desire was to make Indian nationalism more properly representative of the Indian people as a whole.

The correct answer is Mahatma Gandhi.

Key PointsFirst Round Table Conference

• The conference resulted from a review of the Government of India Act of 1919, undertaken in 1927 by the Simon Commission, whose report was published in 1930.
• The First Round Table Conference was officially inaugurated by King George V on November 12, 1930, in Royal Gallery House of Lords in London and chaired by the Prime Minister
• Ramsay MacDonald presided over the first Round Table Conference
• This was the first conference arranged between the British and the Indians as equals
• The Congress and some prominent business leaders refused to attend, but many other groups of Indians were represented at the conference.

The correct answer is 15.

Key Points

• The Constituent Assembly of India was chosen to draught the Indian Constitution.
• The 'Provincial Assembly' selected it. Its members served as the nation's first Parliament after India gained independence from the British government in 1947. The Indian Constituent Assembly had 389 members, 15 of them were women.
• The 15 women were: Ammu Swaminathan, Annie Mascarene, Dakshayani Velayudhan, Begum Aizaz Rasul, Durgabai Deshmukh, Hansa Jivraj Mehta, Kamla Chaudhry, Leela Roy, Malati Choudhury, Purnima Banerjee, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Renuka Ray, Sarojini Naidu, Sucheta Kriplani and Vijayalakshmi Pandit. 

Important Points

• Following India's independence from the British government in 1947, its members formed the 'Provisional Parliament of India,' which was the country's first parliament.
• M. N. Roy, a pioneer of the Indian Communist movement and a proponent of radical democracy, suggested the notion of a Constituent Assembly in 1934.
• In 1935, the Indian National Congress made it a formal demand. Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru presided over the Indian National Congress session at Lucknow in April 1936. 

Additional Information

• The official demand for a Constituent Assembly was made, and the Government of India Act, 1935 was rejected since it imposed the Constitution against Indians' choice. C. Rajagopalachari demanded a Constituent Assembly based on the adult franchise on November 15, 1939, and the British agreed in August 1940.
• 299 representatives from all castes, regions, religions, and genders crafted the constitution.
• These delegates met for 114 days over the course of three years (2 years 11 months and 17 days to be exact) to discuss what should be included in the constitution and what legislation should be included. B. R. Ambedkar was the chairman of the Constitutional Drafting Committee.

The correct answer is Birjis Qadr.

Key Points

Wajid Ali Shah

• Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (1822-1887) belonged to the princely kingdom of Awadh (Oudh) in Uttar Pradesh, India, succeeding his father Nawab Amjad Ali Shah, to become the province’s tenth and last nawab.
• Wajid Ali Shah’s self works included numerous poems, prose, ragas, playwrights, and ghazals under his pen name of ‘Qaisar’. 
• Wajid Ali Shah, was exiled by the British on the pretext of misgovernance.
• Therefore, at the age of 11, Birjis Qadr was declared the Nawab by his mother Begum Hazrat Mahal, who also became his regent.
• His reign lasted for only one year.
• Nawab Wajid Ali Shah passed away on 1st September, 1887 at Kolkata.

The Correct Answer is 26 January 1930, Lahore.

Key Points

• The Indian National Congress issued the Purna Swaraj declaration on January 26, 1930, resolving the Congress and Indian nationalists to fight for Purna Swaraj or full independence from the British Empire.
• Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian flag on the banks of the Ravi River in Lahore, Pakistan, on December 31, 1929.
• The Congress had requested that India's people commemorate January 26th as Independence Day.
• The Indian flag was raised in public around the country by Congress volunteers, nationalists, and the general public. 
• The Congress designated January 26 as India's Independence Day, honouring those who fought for the country's independence.
• The British decided to hand over power and political clout to India in 1947, and 15 August was designated as India's official Independence Day.
• The new Constitution of India, as drafted and approved by the Constituent Assembly, was to take effect on January 26, 1950, to commemorate the 1930 declaration.
• India became a republic on that day in 1950. Every year, the 26th of January is observed as India's Republic Day.

The correct answer is Travelling from England to South Africa by ship.

Important Points

• Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in 1908 during his return visit to South Africa from India via London by ship.
• He completed writing in ten days, and that too with his left hand when the right hand started paining.
• This book prescribes how India can secure political freedom and more importantly, how humans can rise above the animal to become a world of peace.
• The thought written in South Africa in the midst of a struggle to secure the basic human rights of Indians living there is more relevant today than ever before.
• Hind Swaraj was written in the midst of passive resistance, as Satyagraha was then to secure the basic human rights of the people of Indian origin living In South Africa.
• The book first appeared in installment in Indian Opinion, and then came in a book form (in Gujarati) in 1909.
• It was proscribed at once by the Government of Bombay. Following the Upanishad tradition, he cast the book in the form of a dialogue between himself the 'The Editor', and an interlocutor 'The Reader'.