Indian History Mixed Quiz: Set 3

The correct answer is C, Daya Ram Sahni. He dug at Harappa on the bank of the Ravi in 1921, and the finds from that season identified a wholly unknown urban culture, which was named after the site. Option A, R. D. Banerji, made the companion discovery a year later in 1922, when he excavated Mohenjo-daro on the Indus and found the same seals and bricks, proving that the culture was spread over a vast area.

Option B, Sir John Marshall, was Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India at the time. He directed the work of both men and announced the discovery to the world in 1924, but he did not himself open Harappa. Option D, Mortimer Wheeler, came much later, in the 1940s; he is remembered for the theory that invading Aryans destroyed the cities, an explanation now rejected by most historians.

The correct answer is C, First Anglo-Maratha War. The Treaty of Salbai, signed in May 1782, closed that war between the English East India Company and the Marathas. The war had begun in 1775 when the Company backed Raghunath Rao for the Peshwa's seat through the Treaty of Surat. After the British defeat at Wadgaon in 1779 the fighting dragged on until Mahadji Scindia mediated the peace at Salbai. The treaty gave Salsette to the British, recognised Madhav Rao Narayan as Peshwa, and bought about twenty years of peace between the two powers. A is wrong because the Third Battle of Panipat, 1761, was fought between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali and ended in a single day, not with a treaty. B is wrong because the Battle of Buxar, 1764, was followed by the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765. D is wrong because the Second Anglo-Maratha War ended with the treaties of Deogaon and Surji-Arjangaon in 1803. Exam tip: remember the Maratha treaty chain Surat 1775, Purandar 1776, Wadgaon 1779, Salbai 1782.

The correct answer is A, Bimbisara. Bimbisara founded the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha and began Magadha's rise as the strongest of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. His capital was Rajagriha, today's Rajgir in Nalanda district, and he was a contemporary and admirer of Gautama Buddha. He grew his power through marriages: with the Kosala princess who brought Kashi as dowry, with Chellana of the Licchavis of Vaishali, and with Khema of Madra. He also conquered Anga, the region around present-day Bhagalpur, which gave Magadha control of trade on the Ganga. Option B is wrong because Brihadratha founded the older dynasty of Magadha, the one to which Jarasandha belonged. Option C is wrong because Ajatashatru was Bimbisara's son and successor, not the founder. Option D is wrong because only one ruler, Bimbisara, founded the dynasty. Exam tip: the Haryanka line runs Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Udayin, and Udayin shifted the capital to Pataliputra.

The correct answer is B, The Battle of Colachel. At Colachel in August 1741, Marthanda Varma of Travancore defeated the Dutch East India Company. It was one of the rare times an Indian ruler decisively beat a European power in open battle, and it ended Dutch hopes of expanding on the Malabar coast. The Dutch commander Eustachius De Lannoy was captured, joined Travancore's service, trained its army on European lines and rose to be its chief commander. Colachel lies on the coast of today's Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. A is wrong, because at Porto Novo in 1781 the British under Eyre Coote defeated Hyder Ali in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. C is wrong, because the battles of Pollilore were fought in 1780 and 1781 between Hyder Ali and the British in that same war. D is wrong, because Changanacherry is a town in central Kerala, not the scene of the 1741 fight with the Dutch. Exam tip: Colachel 1741, Marthanda Varma beat the Dutch; Porto Novo 1781, Eyre Coote beat Hyder Ali.

The correct answer is C, Prakrit and Brahmi. Most of Ashoka's edicts were written in Prakrit, the language people spoke, in the Brahmi script, so that ordinary subjects could understand his message of Dhamma. Brahmi was first deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837, and the edicts call the king 'Devanampiya Piyadasi', beloved of the gods. In the north-west, near today's Pakistan, the same Prakrit was written in the Kharosthi script, and at Kandahar in Afghanistan edicts were written in Greek and Aramaic. A is wrong because Ashoka did not use Sanskrit for his edicts, and the Devanagari script developed many centuries later. B is wrong because Kharosthi was used only in a few north-western edicts such as Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra, and Pali is the language of the Buddhist canon, not of the edicts. D is wrong because Greek appears only at Kandahar and Latin was never used. Exam tip: Ashoka's edicts, Prakrit language in Brahmi script; Prinsep read them in 1837.

The correct answer is A, Warren Hastings. The Regulating Act of 1773 created the post of Governor-General of Bengal, and Warren Hastings, then Governor of Bengal, became the first holder from 1774 to 1785, with a council of four and a Supreme Court at Calcutta set up in 1774. He ended the dual system of Robert Clive, shifted the treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta, set up civil and criminal courts in each district, and founded the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781; the Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in 1784 during his time. After returning to England he faced a long impeachment trial from 1788 to 1795 and was acquitted. Option B is wrong because William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India under the Charter Act of 1833 and abolished sati in 1829. Option C is wrong because Charles Metcalfe (1835 to 1836) freed the press. Option D is wrong because John Shore (1793 to 1798) followed Cornwallis and is known for non-intervention. Exam tip: first Governor-General of Bengal = Warren Hastings (1773 Act), first Governor-General of India = William Bentinck (1833 Act).

The correct answer is B, Nagasena. The Pali text Milindapanho, ‘The Questions of King Milinda’, records a long question-and-answer session between the Buddhist monk Nagasena and King Milinda. Milinda is the Indo-Greek king Menander I, who ruled in the second century BCE from Sakala, today’s Sialkot. Nagasena answers his doubts on the soul, rebirth and karma with simple examples; the best known is the chariot, which is only a name for its parts, just as a ‘self’ is only a name for changing parts. Buddhist tradition says Menander became a follower of the Buddha. Option A is wrong because Nagarjuna was the Mahayana thinker of about the second century CE who founded the Madhyamika school. Option C is wrong because Kumarila Bhatta was a Mimamsa philosopher of the seventh or eighth century who defended Vedic ritual. Option D is wrong because Nagabhata was a king, the founder of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, not a monk. Exam tip: Milinda = Menander (Indo-Greek, capital Sakala); his teacher in the text = Nagasena.

The correct answer is B, Khan Bahadur Khan. When the sepoys at Bareilly rose on 31 May 1857, Khan Bahadur Khan, a grandson of the Rohilla chief Hafiz Rahmat Khan, took charge of the town and of much of Rohilkhand. He had served as a judge under the Company and was living on a British pension, yet he set up his own government, raised an army of several thousand men and ruled in the name of the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, who recognised him as governor. The British recaptured Bareilly in May 1858; Khan Bahadur Khan fled to Nepal, was handed over and was hanged at Bareilly in 1860. Option A is wrong because Nana Saheb, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II, led the revolt at Kanpur. Option C is wrong because Begum Hazrat Mahal led the rising at Lucknow in the name of her son Birjis Qadr. Option D is wrong because Kunwar Singh led the revolt at Jagdishpur near Arrah in Bihar. Exam tip: Kanpur–Nana Saheb, Lucknow–Hazrat Mahal, Bareilly–Khan Bahadur Khan, Jhansi–Lakshmibai, Arrah–Kunwar Singh.

The correct answer is C, Vakataka Dynasty. Chandragupta II married his daughter Prabhavatigupta to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, whose kingdom lay in the Deccan, south of the Gupta lands. When Rudrasena died young, Prabhavati ruled as regent for her minor sons, so the Guptas had a friendly power guarding their southern flank. This alliance helped Chandragupta II in his campaign against the Shaka Kshatrapas of western India, whom he defeated to win Gujarat and Malwa. Her copper-plate grants, such as the Poona plates, are an important source for this period. Option A is wrong because the Lichchhavi link belongs to Chandragupta I, who married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi. Option B is wrong because the Kadambas of Karnataka claimed marriage ties with the Guptas, but Prabhavati was not married into that family. Option D is wrong because the Naga link is Chandragupta II's own marriage to the Naga princess Kuberanaga, who was Prabhavati's mother. Exam tip: Kumaradevi (Lichchhavi) with Chandragupta I; Prabhavati to the Vakatakas under Chandragupta II.

The correct answer is D, Jyotirao Govindrao Phule. Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj at Pune on 24 September 1873 to fight caste discrimination and the hold of priests over society. The same year he published Gulamgiri (Slavery), attacking Brahmanical domination, and earlier, in 1848, he and his wife Savitribai had opened one of the first schools for girls in Pune. The Samaj promoted education for Shudras, Dalits and women, marriages without priests, and equality; Phule was given the title Mahatma in 1888, and Dr Ambedkar counted him among his three gurus. A is wrong because Savitribai Phule, though a pioneer of women's education and a member of the Samaj, was not its founder. B is wrong because E. V. Ramasamy Periyar led the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu from 1925. C is wrong because Ayyankali was a Dalit reformer of Kerala who set up the Sadhu Jana Paripalana Sangham in 1907. Exam tip: Satyashodhak Samaj, Pune, 1873, Jyotiba Phule, book Gulamgiri.

The correct answer is B, Parantaka I. Parantaka I (907 to 955 CE), son of Aditya I, crushed the Pandya king Maravarman Rajasimha II and his Sri Lankan allies at the battle of Vellur, or Vellore, around 915 CE, and took the title Maduraikonda, 'captor of Madurai'. His reign is also remembered for the Uttaramerur inscriptions of 919 and 921 CE, which describe how village assemblies were elected by lot, and for covering the Nataraja shrine at Chidambaram with gold. Late in his rule he lost the battle of Takkolam (949 CE) to the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III, where his son Rajaditya was killed. Option A is wrong because Rajaraja I (985 to 1014 CE) came later and is known for the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur. Option C is wrong because Rajendra I led the Ganga expedition and took the title Gangaikonda Chola. Option D is wrong because Vijayalaya founded the imperial Chola line by capturing Thanjavur around 850 CE, before this battle. Exam tip: Vellur = Parantaka I (Maduraikonda), Takkolam = Chola defeat by Krishna III.

The correct answer is D, Annie Besant. Annie Besant, an Irish-born theosophist, was the first woman to preside over the Indian National Congress, at its Calcutta session in 1917. She had started the Home Rule League in 1916, founded the newspaper 'New India', and set up the Central Hindu College at Banaras, which later grew into Banaras Hindu University. The first Indian woman to become Congress president was Sarojini Naidu, at the Kanpur session of 1925. A is wrong because Indira Gandhi became Congress president much later, in 1959. B is wrong because Sucheta Kripalani was India's first woman Chief Minister, of Uttar Pradesh in 1963, and never headed the Congress. C is wrong because Nellie Sengupta presided over the Calcutta session of 1933, making her the third woman president, not the first. Exam tip: first woman Congress president Annie Besant, Calcutta 1917; first Indian woman Sarojini Naidu, Kanpur 1925.

The correct answer is C, 1206 AD and 1526 AD. The Delhi Sultanate began in 1206, when Qutb-ud-din Aibak became the first sultan after the death of Muhammad Ghori, and ended in 1526, when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat. In these 320 years five dynasties ruled from Delhi in this order: the Mamluk or Slave dynasty, the Khalji, the Tughlaq, the Sayyid and the Lodi. The Tughlaqs ruled the longest and the Khaljis the shortest. Famous rulers of the period include Iltutmish, Razia Sultan, the first woman to rule from Delhi, Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq. A is wrong because 1106 is a century before the Sultanate began. B is wrong because 1606 to 1826 falls in the Mughal and British periods. D is wrong because 1006 is the time of the raids of Mahmud of Ghazni, and 1326 falls in the middle of Tughlaq rule. Exam tip: Delhi Sultanate = 1206 to 1526; dynasty order Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi.

The correct answer is C, Lord Chelmsford. Chelmsford was Viceroy from 1916 to 1921, and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened on 13 April 1919, the day of Baisakhi, in Amritsar. A peaceful crowd protesting the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal was fired upon on the orders of General Dyer, with Michael O'Dwyer as Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab. Rabindranath Tagore returned his knighthood in protest, and the Hunter Commission was set up to inquire into the firing. The Montagu–Chelmsford reforms of the same year and the Government of India Act 1919 are also from his term. A is wrong because Lord Irwin (1926–31) is linked with the Simon Commission boycott, the Dandi March and the Gandhi–Irwin Pact. B is wrong because Dalhousie (1848–56) was a Governor-General famous for the Doctrine of Lapse. D is wrong because Ripon (1880–84) is remembered for local self-government and the Ilbert Bill. Exam tip: 1919 means Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh and Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, all under Chelmsford.

The correct answer is B, Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. The Bahmani kingdom was born in 1347 out of a revolt against his rule in the Deccan. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq ruled from 1325 to 1351 and tried to control the far south from Delhi, even shifting his capital to Daulatabad for a while. His nobles in the Deccan rebelled, and one of them, Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (Hasan Gangu), founded the Bahmani kingdom with its first capital at Gulbarga. Harihara and Bukka had set up Vijayanagara in 1336 in the same reign, so both great southern kingdoms rose under this one Sultan. Option A is wrong because Iltutmish ruled from 1211 to 1236, long before any Deccan kingdom of this kind. Option C is wrong because Ibrahim Lodi was the last Delhi Sultan, defeated at Panipat in 1526. Option D is wrong because Alauddin Khalji died in 1316; his general Malik Kafur raided the south, but no Bahmani state existed then. Exam tip: Vijayanagara 1336 and Bahmani 1347, both in Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq's reign.

The correct answer is A, Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla. Both were sentenced to death in the Kakori case and hanged in December 1927. On 9 August 1925, members of the Hindustan Republican Association stopped a train at Kakori near Lucknow and took away government money to fund their fight. Four of them were hanged: Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh, while Chandrashekhar Azad escaped arrest. The friendship of Bismil, a Hindu, and Ashfaqulla, a Muslim, is still remembered as a symbol of unity. Option B is wrong because Vasudev Chapekar was hanged for the 1897 killing of the plague commissioner Rand in Pune, and Savarkar was sent to the Cellular Jail, not hanged. Option C is wrong because Khudiram Bose was hanged in 1908 for the Muzaffarpur bomb attack in Bihar, and Prafulla Chaki shot himself at Mokama to avoid arrest. Option D is wrong because Surya Sen was hanged for the Chittagong armoury raid and Udham Singh for killing Michael O'Dwyer in London. Exam tip: Kakori 1925 means Bismil, Ashfaqulla, Lahiri and Roshan Singh.

The correct answer is D, Murshid Quli Khan. Aurangzeb sent him to Bengal as diwan, the officer in charge of revenue, and he later became its governor. After Aurangzeb died in 1707, he gradually stopped taking orders from Delhi, though he kept sending tribute. He became the first Nawab of Bengal (1717–1727) and moved the capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad, a town named after him. He transferred the Mughal jagirdars out of Bengal and collected land revenue strictly in cash from the zamindars. A is wrong because Mukarram Khan was a Mughal governor of Bengal in the 1620s, when the province was fully under the emperor. B is wrong because Ali Kadir is not linked with the rise of the independent Nawabs of Bengal. C is wrong because Alivardi Khan came later, seizing power in 1740; he was the grandfather of Siraj-ud-Daulah. Exam tip: Bengal broke away under Murshid Quli Khan, capital Murshidabad; the order is Murshid Quli Khan, then Alivardi Khan, then Siraj-ud-Daulah.

The correct answer is A, 12 and 63. Tradition counts 12 Alvars, the Vaishnava saint-poets devoted to Vishnu, and 63 Nayanars, the Shaiva saints devoted to Shiva, both from the Tamil country. Between about the 6th and 9th centuries these saints sang in Tamil rather than Sanskrit, travelled from temple to temple and welcomed devotees of every caste, laying the base of the Bhakti movement in South India. The hymns of the Alvars were collected in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, and those of the Nayanars in the Tevaram, part of the Tirumurai. Andal was the only woman among the Alvars, while Karaikkal Ammaiyar is the best-known woman among the Nayanars. Option B is wrong because it cuts the Nayanar count to 53. Option C is wrong because it raises the Alvar count to 23. Option D is wrong because both of its numbers are wrong. Exam tip: 12 Alvars for Vishnu, 63 Nayanars for Shiva, and Andal the lone woman Alvar.

The correct answer is C, Ahmad Shah Abdali. On 14 January 1761 the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, also called Ahmad Shah Durrani, crushed the Maratha army at Panipat in present-day Haryana. The Marathas were led by Sadashivrao Bhau, and Vishwasrao, the young son of Peshwa Balaji Bajirao, was killed in the fighting. Abdali was backed by the Rohilla chief Najib-ud-daula and by Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab of Awadh. The defeat checked Maratha expansion in north India for about a decade and made it easier for the British to rise to power. Option A is wrong because Hemu lost the Second Battle of Panipat to Akbar's forces in 1556. Option B is wrong because Muhammad Ghori fought the battles of Tarain in 1191 and 1192, not at Panipat. Option D is wrong because Babur won the First Battle of Panipat against Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 and founded the Mughal empire. Exam tip: Panipat I 1526 Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi; Panipat II 1556 Akbar vs Hemu; Panipat III 1761 Abdali vs Marathas.

The correct answer is C, Bahadur Shah. The Sultan of Gujarat let the Portuguese take Diu in return for their help against the Mughal emperor Humayun. By the Treaty of Bassein (1534) Bahadur Shah handed Bassein to the Portuguese, and in 1535, with Humayun invading Gujarat, he allowed them to build a fort at Diu. Relations soon turned sour, and Bahadur Shah was killed in 1537 on a Portuguese ship off Diu. The Portuguese then held Diu, along with Daman and Goa, until India took them back in December 1961 through Operation Vijay. Option A is wrong because Ahmad Shah I founded Ahmedabad in the fifteenth century, long before the Portuguese arrived. Option B is wrong because Mahmud Begarha fought the Portuguese, joining the Egyptian fleet at Chaul (1508) and losing the Battle of Diu (1509). Option D is wrong because Muhammad Shah is not linked with the grant of Diu. Exam tip: Bahadur Shah, the Humayun threat, Diu fort to the Portuguese in 1535.