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Indian HistoryMediumAsked in: RRB NTPC · 12 Jun 2022, Shift 1 (CBT 2, Level 5)

The Sanskrit drama 'Ratnavali', about the love story of Princess Ratnavali is said to have been written by ________.

  1. A.Kalidasa
  2. B.Harsha
  3. C.Bhavabhuti
  4. D.Vishakhadutta

Correct answer

B. Harsha

Explanation

The correct answer is B, Harsha. Ratnavali is one of three Sanskrit plays attributed to Emperor Harshavardhana of Kannauj, who ruled from 606 to 647 CE; the other two are Priyadarshika and Nagananda. Ratnavali tells how Princess Ratnavali of Simhala, living in disguise as Sagarika, wins the love of King Udayana of Vatsa. Harsha was a great patron of learning as well as a writer: Banabhatta lived at his court and wrote Harshacharita and Kadambari, the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang visited him, and he held assemblies at Kannauj and Prayag. A is wrong because Kalidasa, of the Gupta age, wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghaduta and Raghuvamsha. C is wrong because Bhavabhuti, in the court of Yashovarman, wrote Uttararamacharita and Malatimadhava. D is wrong because Vishakhadatta wrote Mudrarakshasa about Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya. Exam tip: Harsha's three plays are Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda; his biographer was Banabhatta.

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKMedium

The Ryotwari experiment in land revenue was started by

  1. A.Henry Dundas
  2. B.Alexander Reed
  3. C.David Ricardo
  4. D.Mountstuart Elphinstone
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Alexander Reed

Captain Alexander Read (the name is also spelt Reed) began the Ryotwari experiment in 1792 in the Baramahal region, which the Company had taken from Tipu Sultan, with Thomas Munro as one of his assistants.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKEasy

Who deciphered the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts?

  1. A.Piyadassi
  2. B.Colin Mackenzie
  3. C.Alexander Cunningham
  4. D.James Prinsep
Show answer
Correct answer: D. James Prinsep

Prinsep, an official of the East India Company's mint and secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837 and also made the key breakthrough in reading Kharoshthi.

Q3.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKHard

Which one of the following statements about the Justice Party is not correct?

  1. A.It clamoured for the same kind of separate communal representation for the Non-Brahmins as had been granted to the Muslims by the Morley-Minto Reforms.
  2. B.It was patronized mainly by richer landowning and urban middle class Non-Brahmins.
  3. C.It succeeded in getting the provision for 28 reserved seats for the Non-Brahmins in the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms.
  4. D.It supported the call given by the Congress to boycott elections in 1920.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. It supported the call given by the Congress to boycott elections in 1920.

The Justice Party did not join the Congress boycott of the 1920 elections; it contested them, won a majority in the Madras Legislative Council and formed the first ministry under the new reforms.

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

Which one of the following statements about the All India Depressed Classes Association is not correct?

  1. A.The All India Depressed Classes Association was formed in Nagpur with M. C. Rajah as its first elected President.
  2. B.The All India Depressed Classes Association was not attended by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar in 1926.
  3. C.Ambedkar resigned from the All India Depressed Classes Association and formed his own All India Depressed Classes Congress in 1930.
  4. D.The All India Depressed Classes Association favoured Ambedkar's demand for separate electorate for the depressed classes.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. The All India Depressed Classes Association favoured Ambedkar's demand for separate electorate for the depressed classes.

The All India Depressed Classes Association did not back Ambedkar's demand for a separate electorate; under M. C. Rajah it supported joint electorates with seats reserved for the depressed classes.