Set 138 of the Indian History mixed quiz has 20 multiple-choice questions from 20 different topics of the subject: Buddhism and Jainism, World History: Nationalism in Europe and the Unification of Italy and Germany, Mauryan Empire and more. 12 of them were asked in real previous-year papers. A topic quiz checks one chapter; this set revises the whole subject at once, the way an exam paper does, where the next question can come from any chapter. Every question carries an explanation of why the correct option is right and why the others are wrong. Keep to the timer, read the explanations at the end, and go back to the notes of any topic where you slipped.
20 questions with answers and explanations
The story Gandatindu Jataka was written in which language?
The Gandatindu Jataka is one of the Jataka tales, the stories of the Buddha's earlier births, which were composed in Pali and preserved in the Buddhist canon.
Read the full explanation →At Plombieres in July 1858, Cavour secured an alliance against Austria with
Cavour judged that Sardinia-Piedmont could not defeat Austria alone, and at Plombieres in July 1858 he reached a secret understanding with Napoleon III for French military help in a war against Austria.
Read the full explanation →Statement I : King Ashoka abolished capital punishment and disbanded his army.
Statement II : After Kalinga War, Ashoka was remorseful and became a Buddhist.
Ashoka turned to Buddhism after the Kalinga war, but he neither abolished the death penalty nor disbanded his army. The Kalinga war, fought around 261 BCE in the eighth year of his reign, left over a lakh dead, and in Rock Edict XIII Ashoka records his deep remorse.
Read the full explanation →Who founded the city of Hyderabad in 1591?
The fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty founded Hyderabad in 1591 on the banks of the Musi, a short distance from the crowded hill fort of Golconda, and the Charminar was raised in his reign at the centre of the new city.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements regarding King Krishnadevaraya is NOT correct ?
Amuktamalyada is a Telugu work, not a Sanskrit one, so this statement is wrong. Krishnadevaraya (ruled 1509–1529) was the greatest king of the Tuluva dynasty of Vijayanagara.
Read the full explanation →The partition of Bengal of 1905 was carried out by which Viceroy?
He announced the partition of the Bengal Presidency in July 1905 and it came into force on 16 October 1905, creating the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam; the official reason was administrative convenience, but the real purpose was to divide the Hindu and Muslim population and weaken the nationalist…
Read the full explanation →Verses ascribed to poet-saint Kabir have been compiled in which of the following traditions? 1. Bijak in Varanasi 2. Kabir Granthavali in Rajasthan 3. Adi Granth Sahib Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Kabir's verses survive in three separate but overlapping traditions: the Bijak, the Kabir Granthavali and the Adi Granth Sahib. Kabir, a weaver of Varanasi who lived around the fifteenth century, spoke of a formless God and mocked empty ritual in both Hindu and Muslim practice.
Read the full explanation →Which Act of the British Parliament created the office of the Governor-General of Bengal?
It was the first attempt by the British Parliament to regulate the affairs of the East India Company: it redesignated the Governor of Bengal as the Governor-General of Bengal, gave him a Council of four, made Bombay and Madras subordinate to him and provided for a Supreme Court at Calcutta.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following Viceroys was the first to officially shift his Council to Simla in summer season?
In 1864 Sir John Lawrence made Simla the official summer capital, moving the Viceroy and his Council there from Calcutta for the hot months.
Read the full explanation →Which commission's report led to the establishment of the first Public Service Commission in India in 1926?
The Royal Commission on the Superior Civil Services in India of 1923–24, under Viscount Lee of Fareham, recommended rates of Indianisation for the services and the immediate setting up of a Public Service Commission; it was established in 1926 and became the Federal Public Service Commission under the Government of…
Read the full explanation →The Theosophical Society was led by
Annie Besant became the international president of the Theosophical Society in 1907 and led it until her death in 1933.
Read the full explanation →Which ruler of Sindh was defeated and killed by the Arabs at the battle of Raor?
He was the Brahman ruler of Sindh who refused to compensate the Arabs for the ships plundered by the pirates of Debal, and he fell fighting Muhammad bin Qasim at Raor in 712 CE, after which Sindh passed under Umayyad rule.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements about Bipin Chandra Pal is correct?
Bipin Chandra Pal was one of the leading Extremists, the "Pal" of the famous trio Lal-Bal-Pal. The trio were Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal.
Read the full explanation →The Shimla Agreement of 2 July 1972 was signed between Indira Gandhi and which leader of Pakistan?
After the war of December 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh, the two countries met at Shimla and agreed on 2 July 1972 to settle their differences bilaterally and by peaceful means, to respect the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir resulting from the ceasefire, and to work towards…
Read the full explanation →Consider the following events : 1. Muslim League Resolution for Pakistan 2. Gandhi-Irwin Pact 3. Dandi March 4. Second Round Table Conference Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the given events (earliest to latest) ?
The Dandi March came first in 1930, then the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the Second Round Table Conference in 1931, and the Lahore Resolution for Pakistan in 1940.
Read the full explanation →The monasteries of Nalanda, Vikramashila and Odantapuri were destroyed by the forces of which invader?
Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, a commander in the service of the Ghurids, overran Bihar at the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century and destroyed the monastic universities of the region, after which organised Buddhist learning in eastern India came to an end.
Read the full explanation →The creation of a Federal Court in India was advocated by which of the following Acts/Commissions?
This Act provided for a Federal Court, which was set up at Delhi in October 1937 to settle disputes between the Centre and the provinces.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following Indian thinkers first spoke of food-for-work programmes to counteract the effects of famines ?
His Arthashastra advises the king, in times of famine, to start public works such as forts and irrigation projects and to pay the workers in food.
Read the full explanation →According to the Tamil Sangam texts, who among the following were the large landowners?
Sangam literature describes the vellalar as the large landowners of the Tamil region, while the people who actually worked the land are named separately.
Read the full explanation →Statement I : The Zamindars were an exploitative class in Mughal India.
Statement II : The Zamindars often received the support of the peasantry in a large number of agrarian uprisings in North India in the seventeenth century.
The zamindars did exploit the peasants, and yet peasants often backed them against the Mughal state. Zamindars held rights over land and collected revenue on behalf of the state, keeping a share for themselves.
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