Indian History Mixed Quiz: Set 7

The correct answer is A, Mohenjo-daro. The seal shows a figure seated in a yogic posture with horns on its head and animals around it, usually described as an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros and a buffalo, with deer below the seat. Sir John Marshall identified the figure as a proto-Shiva or Pashupati, the lord of animals, and it is the single most quoted piece of evidence for Harappan religion.

Option B, Chanhudaro, was a craft settlement that made beads and bangles and is remembered as the only large town without a citadel. Option C, Ropar in Punjab, gave a burial in which a dog was laid with its master. Option D, Banawali in Haryana, gave a terracotta toy plough. Seals in general were cut in steatite and most often carry the figure of a one-horned animal called the unicorn.

The correct answer is C, 1 and 3 only. The Act split subjects between the Centre and the provinces, but the reserved and transferred split applied only to provincial subjects. The Government of India Act, 1919 put the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms into law. Through the Devolution Rules it separated central and provincial subjects, and for the first time it separated provincial budgets from the central budget, giving provinces their own sources of revenue and the right to pass their own budgets. In the provinces it brought in dyarchy: transferred subjects such as education and local self-government went to ministers answerable to the legislature, while reserved subjects such as police and land revenue stayed with the Governor and his executive council. Statement 2 is wrong because the central subjects were never divided this way; dyarchy at the Centre was proposed only by the 1935 Act and was never brought into force. That rules out options A, B and D, which all contain statement 2. Exam tip: 1919 Act, dyarchy in the provinces; 1935 Act, dyarchy proposed at the Centre.

The correct answer is B, Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq. He was the Delhi Sultan when Timur invaded India in 1398. Timur, the Turko-Mongol ruler of Samarkand, crossed the Indus, defeated Mahmud Shah's army near Delhi in December 1398 and sacked the city for several days. The Sultan fled to Gujarat, and the Tughluq state never recovered. Timur left his supporter Khizr Khan in charge of Multan, and this link later helped Khizr Khan found the Sayyid dynasty in 1414. Option A is wrong because Nusrat Shah was a rival Tughluq claimant who held Firozabad for a few years; he was not the recognised Sultan at Delhi. Option C is wrong because Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad Shah III, a son of Firuz Shah, ruled earlier, from 1390 to 1394. Option D is wrong because Khizr Khan became the ruler of Delhi only in 1414. Exam tip: Timur's raid of 1398 ended Tughluq power in practice; the Sayyid dynasty began in 1414.

The correct answer is B, Rajagopalachari. C. Rajagopalachari, known as C.R. or Rajaji, drew up the formula in 1944 to end the Congress–League deadlock over Pakistan. Under the plan, the Muslim League would back the demand for independence and join the Congress in a provisional government. After the war, a commission would mark out the Muslim-majority districts of the north-west and east, and a plebiscite of all adults there would decide on separation. Gandhi used it as the basis of his talks with Jinnah in Bombay in September 1944, but Jinnah rejected it because he wanted the whole of Punjab and Bengal and a vote of Muslims alone. Option A is wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru did not draft this plan. Option C is wrong because Chittaranjan Das founded the Swaraj Party in 1923 and died in 1925, long before 1944. Option D is wrong because V. P. Menon drafted the June 1947 partition plan and later helped integrate the princely states. Exam tip: C.R. Formula 1944, Gandhi–Jinnah talks September 1944, Wavell Plan 1945.

The correct answer is D, Zabt. Under Akbar, each province was divided into revenue circles, each with its own schedule of revenue rates for individual crops, and this system was called zabt. Akbar's revenue minister Todar Mal carried out a careful survey of crop yields, prices and the area cultivated over ten years, from 1570 to 1580. On the basis of this data, tax was fixed in cash on each crop. Zabt worked only where Mughal officials could survey the land and keep careful accounts, so it was not possible in provinces such as Gujarat and Bengal. A is wrong because zat was the rank of a mansabdar that fixed his position and salary, not a tax system. B is wrong because iqta was a land assignment under the Delhi Sultans, and its holders were called iqtadars or muqtis. C is wrong because a jagir was the revenue assignment given to a mansabdar in place of a cash salary. Exam tip: Todar Mal, ten-year survey 1570 to 1580, crop-wise cash rates, zabt.

The correct answer is C, 1885. The Bengal Tenancy Act was passed in 1885, under Viceroy Lord Dufferin, to protect tenants in Bengal and Bihar from their zamindars. The Permanent Settlement of 1793 had made the zamindars owners of the land and left the peasants open to rising rents and eviction. After the Pabna agrarian revolt that began in 1873, the government promised relief, and the 1885 Act gave occupancy rights to a ryot who had held land in a village for twelve years and put limits on raising his rent. The date is easy to hold because the Indian National Congress was also founded in 1885. Option A is wrong because in 1868 tenants still depended on the weak Rent Act of 1859. Option B is wrong because in 1881 the new law was still being prepared. Option D is wrong because the Act was passed in only one year, 1885. Exam tip: Permanent Settlement 1793, Pabna revolt 1873, Bengal Tenancy Act 1885.

The correct answer is D, The Treaty of Salbai. Signed in May 1782 between the East India Company and the Marathas, it ended the First Anglo-Maratha War that had begun in 1775. The war started when the Bombay government backed Raghunathrao's claim to the Peshwa's seat. Mahadji Scindia helped broker the peace at Salbai: the British kept Salsette, recognised the young Madhavrao II as Peshwa, and Raghunathrao was pensioned off. The treaty brought about twenty years of peace between the two powers. A is wrong, because the Treaty of Surat of 1775 between the British and Raghunathrao started the war rather than ending it. B is wrong, because the Treaty of Purandar of 1776, made by the Calcutta council with the Poona ministers, set Surat aside but did not end the fighting. C is wrong, because the Convention of Wadgaon of 1779 was a humiliating surrender by a British force, later rejected by Warren Hastings. Exam tip: Surat 1775 began it, then Purandar 1776 and Wadgaon 1779, and Salbai 1782 ended it.

The correct answer is C, Atharvaveda. The Atharvaveda calls the Sabha and the Samiti the two daughters of Prajapati, which shows that they were seen as two separate popular bodies. The Sabha was a smaller council of elders and nobles that also did judicial work, while the Samiti was a larger assembly of the common people that discussed policy and could even have a say in choosing the king. Both are first named in the Rigveda, but it is the Atharvaveda that sets them apart and says the king needs their support to rule well. Together with the Vidatha and the Gana, they were the tribal assemblies of the Vedic age. Option A is wrong because the Rigveda mentions both bodies but does not present them as twin institutions. Option B is wrong because the Samaveda is a book of chants set to music for rituals. Option D is wrong because the Yajurveda deals with the rules and formulas of sacrifice. Exam tip: Sabha and Samiti, the two daughters of Prajapati, in the Atharvaveda.

The correct answer is D, Tarabai Shinde. She wrote Stripurushtulna, meaning 'A Comparison between Women and Men', in Marathi in 1882. Tarabai Shinde was a woman educated at home in Poona, and her book openly criticised the social differences between men and women. It asked why the same society that forgave men punished women so harshly, which is why it is counted among the first feminist writings in India. NCERT's Class 8 history book mentions her book alongside the work of Pandita Ramabai. A is wrong because Periyar started the Self-Respect Movement in the Tamil region and attacked caste and Brahmanical texts. B is wrong because Pandita Ramabai, a great Sanskrit scholar, wrote about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women and started a widows' home at Poona. C is wrong because Veerasalingam Pantulu formed an association for widow remarriage in the Telugu-speaking areas of Madras Presidency. Exam tip: Tarabai Shinde, Stripurushtulna (1882); Jyotirao Phule, Gulamgiri (1873).

The correct answer is A, (i) and (iv). Anekantavada and Syadvada are the two central Jain ideas about knowledge and truth. Anekantavada means 'many-sidedness': reality has many aspects, and no single point of view can capture all of it. Syadvada, the doctrine of 'may be', puts this into language; every statement should carry the word 'syat', meaning 'in some respect', and Jain thinkers built on it a sevenfold way of stating a thing, called saptabhangi. The story often used to explain it is that of the blind men and the elephant, each touching one part and describing a different animal. Option B is wrong because Sarvastivada ('everything exists') was an early Buddhist school, and Shunyavada ('emptiness') is the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism founded by Nagarjuna. Option C is wrong because it pairs a Buddhist school with a Jain doctrine. Option D is wrong because it adds two Buddhist schools and leaves out Syadvada. Exam tip: Anekanta and Syad are Jain; Sarvasti and Shunya are Buddhist.

The correct answer is D, 1905. Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in Pune on 12 June 1905. Its members took a vow to serve the country for life on a modest allowance, and they worked in education, famine relief, the uplift of backward classes and public life. Gokhale was a leading Moderate in the Congress; he presided over its Benares session in 1905, and Gandhi regarded him as his political guru. After Gokhale's death in 1915, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri led the society. The year is easy to fix because 1905 was also the year of the Partition of Bengal. Option A is wrong because 1907 was the year of the Surat split, when the Congress divided into Moderates and Extremists. Option B is wrong because 1906 saw the founding of the Muslim League at Dhaka. Option C is wrong because 1904 was the year of the Indian Universities Act passed under Lord Curzon. Exam tip: Servants of India Society, Pune, 1905, founded by Gokhale, Gandhi's political guru.

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, Lahore, 1929. At its Lahore session in December 1929, presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress passed the Purna Swaraj resolution declaring complete independence, not dominion status, as its goal. The tricolour was unfurled on the bank of the Ravi at midnight on 31 December 1929, and 26 January 1930 was celebrated as the first Independence Day; that date was later chosen for the Constitution to come into force in 1950, which is why Republic Day falls on 26 January. The session also authorised Gandhi to launch civil disobedience, which began with the Dandi March in March 1930. A, Bombay, 1885, was the first session of the Congress under W. C. Bonnerjee, which asked only for modest reforms. C, Kheda, 1917, is wrong: Kheda was the peasant satyagraha of 1918, and Champaran came in 1917. D, Bombay, 1942, was the session that passed the Quit India resolution on 8 August 1942. Exam tip: Lahore 1929, Nehru as president, Purna Swaraj, first Independence Day on 26 January 1930.

The correct answer is B, Bindusara. Bindusara was the son of Chandragupta Maurya and became the second ruler of the Mauryan Empire in about 297 BCE, ruling till about 273 BCE. Greek writers called him Amitrochates, from the Sanskrit 'Amitraghata', which means slayer of enemies. He kept up friendly ties with the Greek kingdoms of West Asia, and the Greek ambassador Deimachus lived at his court at Pataliputra. He is said to have extended the empire into the Deccan, and his son Ashoka served as viceroy at Ujjain before taking the throne. A is wrong because Kumaragupta I was a Gupta ruler of the fifth century CE, remembered for founding Nalanda. C is wrong because Ashoka was Bindusara's son and succeeded him in about 273 BCE, being crowned in 268 BCE. D is wrong because Kanishka was a Kushan king who ruled from 78 CE, the year the Saka era begins. Exam tip: the Mauryan order is Chandragupta (322 BCE), Bindusara (297 BCE), Ashoka (273 BCE); father, son, grandson.

The correct answer is D, Surya Sen. Surya Sen led the Chittagong Armoury Raid of 1930 in Bengal and had no part in the Kakori case. The Kakori train action took place on 9 August 1925, when members of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) stopped a train at Kakori near Lucknow and took the government cash it was carrying to fund their struggle. In the trial that followed, four revolutionaries were sentenced to death, and all four were hanged in December 1927. Option A is wrong because Ramprasad Bismil planned the action and was hanged at Gorakhpur. Option B is wrong because Rajendra Lahiri took part and was hanged at Gonda, two days before the others. Option C is wrong because Ashfaqulla Khan, Bismil's close friend, was hanged at Faizabad; the fourth martyr was Roshan Singh. Chandrashekhar Azad also took part but escaped arrest. Exam tip: Kakori 1925 with the HRA; Chittagong 1930 with Surya Sen.

The correct answer is D, Indo-Greeks. The Indo-Greek kings who ruled the north-west of India from about the second century BCE were the first in Indian history to issue coins that carried the name and portrait of the ruler, with Greek legends on one side and Prakrit in the Kharoshthi script on the other. The coins of Menander (Milinda), who appears in the Buddhist text Milindapanho, are the best known. This practice of putting the ruler's head and name on coins was later followed by the Kushanas and the Guptas. These coins are also the main source for the names of more than thirty Indo-Greek kings, most of whom are known from nothing else. A, the Mauryas, used punch-marked silver coins with symbols but no names or portraits. B, the Pushyabhutis of Thanesar and Kanauj, the dynasty of Harsha, came much later, in the sixth and seventh centuries CE. C, the Guptas, issued beautiful gold dinars with royal portraits, but they followed the Indo-Greek and Kushana example. Exam tip: first coins with rulers' names and images, Indo-Greeks; first large gold coinage, Kushanas; punch-marked coins, Mauryas.

The correct answer is B, Minto-Morley Reforms, 1909. The Indian Councils Act of 1909, known as the Morley-Minto Reforms, first gave Muslims separate electorates, in which only Muslim voters could elect Muslim members. It followed the Simla Deputation of 1906, when the Aga Khan led Muslim leaders to Lord Minto to ask for separate representation, and the Muslim League was founded the same year. That is why Lord Minto is called the Father of Communal Electorate. The Act also enlarged the legislative councils, and Satyendra Prasanna Sinha became the first Indian on the Viceroy’s Executive Council. Option A is wrong because the 1892 Act only brought indirect elections and let members discuss the budget. Option C is wrong because the 1919 Act widened communal representation to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans; it did not start it. Option D is wrong because the 1935 Act extended it further to the depressed classes, women and labour. Exam tip: separate electorates began in 1909 under Minto and grew in 1919 and 1935.

The correct answer is B, Sir William Jones. Jones, a judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta and a scholar of many languages, founded the Asiatic Society on 15 January 1784 to study the history, languages and culture of Asia. He translated Kalidasa’s Abhijnanashakuntalam into English in 1789, which made Sanskrit literature famous in Europe, and in 1786 he pointed out the family link between Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. Governor-General Warren Hastings supported the society as its patron but declined to be its president in favour of Jones. Option A is wrong because Jonathan Duncan founded the Sanskrit College at Benares in 1791. Option C is wrong because Warren Hastings was only the patron; his own foundation was the Calcutta Madrasa of 1781. Option D is wrong because William Bentinck, Governor-General from 1828 to 1835, is remembered for abolishing sati in 1829, not for this society. Exam tip: Calcutta Madrasa 1781 (Hastings), Asiatic Society 1784 (Jones), Benares Sanskrit College 1791 (Duncan).

The correct answer is B, Dholavira. Dholavira stands on Khadir island in the Rann of Kutch. Unlike the usual two-part Harappan town, it is divided into three: a citadel, a middle town and a lower town, all enclosed by stone walls. Its people cut a chain of large reservoirs into the rock to store the rain and the water of two seasonal streams, and a board of ten large signs, the longest Harappan inscription, was found at one of its gates.

Option A, Lothal, is the port with the dockyard. Option C, Rangpur, is a smaller Gujarat site that gave rice husk from a late level. Option D, Surkotada, gave the disputed horse bones. Dholavira was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021, a fact that has since become popular with examiners.

The correct answer is C, Lal Kot. Lal Kot was built by the Tomara Rajputs before the Delhi Sultanate began. The Tomara king Anangpal is credited with raising this fort in the 11th century, and it is counted as the first of the 'cities of Delhi'. Later the Chauhans under Prithviraj Chauhan enlarged it into Qila Rai Pithora. When Qutbuddin Aibak took Delhi, the Sultans first ruled from here, and the Qutb Minar complex in Mehrauli stands inside this old fort area. Option A is wrong because Siri was built by Alauddin Khalji around 1303 as a garrison city against the Mongols. Option B is wrong because Jahanpanah was built by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq, who walled in the area between Qila Rai Pithora and Siri. Option D is wrong because Tughlakabad was built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, in the 1320s. Exam tip: Lal Kot (Tomara) → Siri (Khalji) → Tughlakabad (Ghiyasuddin) → Jahanpanah (Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq).