Moplahs, or Muslim peasants, created a powerful anti-zamindar movement in:

The correct answer is D, 1761. The British East India Company captured Pondicherry from the French in 1761, during the Third Carnatic War, after Sir Eyre Coote had broken French power in the south at the Battle of Wandiwash in 1760. The town was handed back to France by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, but the French were forbidden to fortify it or keep troops there, so it survived only as a trading settlement and the contest for India was settled in Britain's favour. Pondicherry stayed with France until it was transferred to India in 1954. A is wrong because 1674 is the year the French East India Company set up Pondicherry under Francois Martin. B is wrong because no such capture took place in 1699. C is wrong because 1738 falls before the Carnatic Wars began in 1746. Exam tip: Battle of Wandiwash 1760, Pondicherry captured 1761, returned by the Treaty of Paris 1763, merged with India 1954.

The correct answer is D, Dharampala. Dharmapala, the second and greatest ruler of the Pala dynasty of Bengal and Bihar, founded the Vikramshila monastery and university in the late eighth century in what is now Bhagalpur district of Bihar, and he also restored and supported the older university at Nalanda. Vikramshila became the leading centre of tantric Buddhism, and its scholar Atisa Dipankara carried Buddhism to Tibet. The Palas were the last great royal patrons of Buddhism in eastern India, and both universities were destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji around 1200. A is wrong because Gopala founded the Pala dynasty and the Odantapuri monastery, not Vikramshila. B is wrong because Vasudeva was a Kushan ruler of the north-west, far from Bengal and much earlier. C is wrong because Shri Gupta founded the Gupta line and lived centuries before the Palas. Exam tip: Nalanda founded by Kumaragupta I and revived by Dharmapala; Odantapuri by Gopala; Vikramshila by Dharmapala.

The correct answer is B, the army. The Diwan-i-Arz was the military department of the Delhi Sultanate, headed by the ariz-i-mumalik, who recruited soldiers, held the muster, inspected horses and equipment and arranged pay. Balban set it up as a separate department, and Alauddin Khalji strengthened it with the dagh and chehra checks. Option A is wrong because finance and land revenue belonged to the Diwan-i-Wizarat under the wazir, the senior-most officer of the state. Option C is wrong because royal correspondence and the drafting of orders were the work of the Diwan-i-Insha, headed by the dabir-i-khas. Option D is wrong because justice was administered through the Diwan-i-Qaza under the qazi-ul-quzat, while the Diwan-i-Risalat handled religious matters, grants and appeals in the Sultan's name. Questions from this topic usually pair a department with its head, so it is worth fixing the four pairs together: wizarat with the wazir, arz with the ariz-i-mumalik, insha with the dabir-i-khas and qaza with the qazi-ul-quzat.

The correct answer is C, Ibrahim. Ibrahim Lodi came to the throne in 1517 and almost at once faced Rana Sanga of Mewar at Khatoli, near the Rajasthan border, where the Lodi army was defeated and the Sultan's forces driven back. The victory made Rana Sanga the strongest Rajput power of the day, and he later fought Babur at Khanwa in 1527. Option A is wrong because Bahlul Khan Lodi, the founder of the dynasty, died in 1489, long before this battle. Option B is wrong because Qutbuddin Aibak belonged to the Slave dynasty and died in 1210. Option D is wrong because Sikandar Lodi, Ibrahim's father, died in 1517 and is remembered for founding Agra in 1504, not for Khatoli. Ibrahim Lodi was finally killed at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

The correct answer is C, Firoz Shah Tughlaq. The Futuhat-i-Firozshahi is an autobiographical record in which Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who ruled from 1351 to 1388, set down his own works and orders, including his canals, his charitable department the Diwan-i-Khairat, his hospital and his religious policy. It is one of the rare Sultanate sources written by a ruler rather than about him. Option A is wrong because Ziauddin Barani wrote the Tarikh-i-Firozshahi and the Fatwa-i-Jahandari, works about the Sultans rather than by one. Option B is wrong because Amir Khusrau, the poet called Tuti-i-Hind, wrote the Khazain-ul-Futuh, the Tughlaqnama and other verse. Option D is wrong because Minhaj-us-Siraj wrote the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, the main chronicle for the Slave dynasty down to Nasiruddin Mahmud's reign, and dedicated it to that Sultan. A useful way to hold these four apart in the exam hall is to remember that only one of the options is a ruler, and the Futuhat carries that ruler's own name in its title.