Indian History multiple choice questions with answers and explanations, 20 per page, for SSC, Banking, UPSC, Railway and state exams.
1733 questions
Which of the following is one of the 'three gems' (triratna) of Jainism?
Samyag-darshana, or right faith, is the first of the three gems that Jainism lays down as the path to liberation.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the "Amara-Nayaka system", which one of the following statements is not correct?
The amara-nayakas were in fact expected to spend part of their revenue on temples and irrigation works. The amara-nayaka system was a key political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire, and it drew on the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements :
1. The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Hinayana sect of Buddhism.
2. Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment.
3. Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Statement 1 is wrong because the Bodhisattva ideal is central to Mahayana Buddhism, not Hinayana. A Bodhisattva is a being moved by compassion who is on the path to Buddhahood but postpones his own nirvana so that he can help all living beings reach liberation.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about Harappa Civilization is/are correct?
1. There is the extraordinary uniformity in artefacts as evident in pottery, seals, bricks and weights.
2. The late Harappa sites also maintained the same construction techniques as were used in mature Harappa sites.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The mature Harappan phase shows a striking uniformity in its artefacts, but that uniformity broke down in the late Harappan phase.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following assumed the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah to set himself up as an independent ruler with his base in Hyderabad?
Chin Qilich Khan, a powerful Mughal noble, took the title Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah and founded the independent state of Hyderabad.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched?
1. Permanent Settlement : Lord Cornwallis
2. Ryotwari Settlement : Thomas Munro
3. Mahalwari Settlement : Holt Mackenzie
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Each of the three British land revenue systems is matched with the official most closely linked to it. The Permanent Settlement was introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha in 1793.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about Amaranayakas of Vijayanagara are correct?
1. The Amaranayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the Raya.
2. In lieu of their service and also to maintain their contingents, they were paid in cash.
3. They maintained stipulated contingents and elephants.
4. They used to send tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
The amara-nayakas were paid with territory to govern, not with cash, so statement 2 is the one that is wrong.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about the practice of Vedic sacrifices :
1. The shrauta (Vedic sacrifices) involved the use of three fires - the garhapatya (householder's fire), ahavaniya (offeratorial fire) and dakshinagni (southern fire).
2. These fires were supposed to be placed in pits of different shapes, i.e., the garhapatya to be square, ahavaniya to be round and that of the dakshinagni, rectangle-shaped.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The shrauta rites did use three sacred fires, but statement 2 gets their shapes the wrong way round. Shrauta sacrifices are the grand rituals laid down in the Shrauta Sutras and the Brahmanas.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about Mahatma Gandhi's anti-untouchability campaign is/are correct? 1. The All India Harijan Sevak Sangh was founded for this purpose. 2. The campaign was to root out untouchability, since it did not enjoy the sanction of the Hindu shastras. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Gandhi set up the All India Harijan Sevak Sangh in 1932 to fight untouchability, and he argued that untouchability had no sanction in the Hindu shastras.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following statements about the Mansabdari system is correct?
Under the Mughal mansabdari system, every officer held a numerical rank called zat, which fixed his position in the hierarchy and his personal salary.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following founded the 'Self-Respect Movement'?
E. V. Ramasamy, known as Periyar, started the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu in 1925. Periyar left the Congress in 1925, unhappy with its attitude to caste, and began the movement to give non-Brahmins and the depressed castes a sense of dignity.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements about the first Indian Factory Act passed in 1881 is/are correct ? 1. The Act dealt primarily with the problem of child labour. 2. The Act laid down that children between 7 years and 12 years of age would not work for more than 9 hours a day. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
The Indian Factories Act of 1881, passed under Viceroy Lord Ripon, was mainly about child labour and capped the working day of children aged 7 to 12 at nine hours.
Read the full explanation →Freedom fighter Kanaklata Barua was martyred in:
Kanaklata Barua was shot dead by the police on 20 September 1942 while leading a procession to hoist the tricolour at the Gohpur police station in Assam.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following presided over the first session of All India Kisan Sabha in Lucknow in April 1936?
Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was elected president of the All India Kisan Sabha when it was founded at Lucknow in April 1936.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following Sultans succeeded in finally breaking and destroying the power of Turkan-i-Chihalgani?
Ghiyasuddin Balban, who ruled from 1266 to 1287, broke the power of the Turkan-i-Chihalgani, the group of forty Turkish nobles.
Read the full explanation →The Dutch were defeated by Marthanda Varma of Travancore Kingdom in the battle of
In the Battle of Colachel in 1741, the forces of Marthanda Varma of Travancore defeated the Dutch East India Company.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following periods has provided the evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan in Rajasthan?
The ploughed field at Kalibangan lies below the Harappan city and belongs to the Early Harappan (pre-Harappan) phase, about 2800 BCE.
Read the full explanation →What were Manigramam and Nanadesi in early medieval India?
Manigramam and Nanadesi were powerful trade guilds of south India in the early medieval period. In the age of the Pallavas, Cholas and later Chalukyas, merchants organised themselves into guilds that ran long-distance and overseas trade.
Read the full explanation →Chronologically arrange the formation of the following political associations, beginning from the earliest:
1. Poona Sarvajanik Sabha
2. Indian Association
3. Madras Mahajan Sabha
4. Bombay Presidency Association
Select the answer using the code given below:
The four bodies were founded in 1870, 1876, 1884 and 1885 respectively, which is the order of the question. The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha was set up in 1870, and Justice M.G.
Read the full explanation →The 'Swadeshi' and 'Boycott' were adopted as methods of struggle for the first time during the
Swadeshi and boycott were first adopted as national methods of struggle in the movement against Lord Curzon's partition of Bengal.
Read the full explanation →