Skip to content
GK24
Prime
Indian HistoryHardAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2018, GK

The aristocrat Muqarrab Khan was a great favourite of which Mughal Emperor?

  1. A.Akbar
  2. B.Jahangir
  3. C.Farrukhsiyar
  4. D.Shah Alam

Correct answer

B. Jahangir

Explanation

The correct answer is B, Jahangir. Muqarrab Khan was a close companion of Jahangir from his days as Prince Salim and rose high in the nobility once Jahangir became emperor in 1605.

Muqarrab Khan was a skilled surgeon and physician who had treated the prince, and Jahangir rewarded him with high rank and with the governorship of Gujarat, which included the port of Surat. In that post he dealt with the Portuguese and with the first English traders who came to Surat in the early seventeenth century, such as William Hawkins. He was also known for buying rare goods from European merchants for the emperor. Accounts of Jahangir's court and of early European trade in India mention him as one of the emperor's great favourites.

Option A is wrong because Muqarrab Khan rose to favour under Jahangir, not his father Akbar. Option C is wrong because Farrukhsiyar ruled from 1713 to 1719, a century later. Option D is wrong because Shah Alam II belongs to the late eighteenth century.

Exam tip: Jahangir's reign links Muqarrab Khan, Surat and the first English envoys, William Hawkins (1608) and Sir Thomas Roe (1615).

Practice Questions

View all
Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKEasy

The 'water frame' of Richard Arkwright was a device for

  1. A.producing a new type of painting
  2. B.irrigating fields for rice cultivation
  3. C.producing strong threads of yarn
  4. D.the faster movement of steamships
Show answer
Correct answer: C. producing strong threads of yarn

Richard Arkwright's water frame, patented in 1769, was a spinning machine driven by water power that spun strong cotton thread.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKMedium

Consider the following statements about the Salt March : 1. The Salt March was deliberately ignored by the European media. 2. The Salt March was widely covered by the American and European press. 3. The Salt March was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. 4. The Salt March impressed upon the British the urgent need to devolve more power to Indians. Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. A.1, 2 and 4
  2. B.2, 3 and 4
  3. C.3 and 4 only
  4. D.2 and 3 only
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 2, 3 and 4

The Salt March drew wide notice in the American and European press, brought women into the national movement in large numbers, and made the British see that they had to share more power with Indians.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKHard

The term Upari refers to which one of the following?

  1. A.A category of proprietary tenure under the Mughal rule
  2. B.A category of tenancy tenure under the Maratha rule
  3. C.A soldier in the Maratha army
  4. D.A village headman in the Mughal period
Show answer
Correct answer: B. A category of tenancy tenure under the Maratha rule

In the Maratha villages of the Deccan, an upari was a tenant who cultivated land without any hereditary right to it.

Q5.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2017, GKHard

With regard to nature of Mughal State, who among the following scholars argued that "the peculiar feature of the State in Mughal India was that it served not merely as the protective arm of the exploiting classes, but was itself the principal instrument of exploitation"?

  1. A.Irfan Habib
  2. B.Satish Chandra
  3. C.Athar Ali
  4. D.J. F. Richards
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Irfan Habib

In his study of the Mughal agrarian system, Habib argued that the Mughal State did not merely protect the exploiting classes but was itself the main instrument for taking the peasants' surplus.