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Indian HistoryHardAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2025, GK

What is the military-device referred to by the term manjaniq ?

  1. A.A device for loading field-guns with gunpowder
  2. B.Preparing cavalry for rapid charge
  3. C.A bolting device for strengthening the gates of forts
  4. D.A device for throwing stones (mangonel)

Correct answer

D. A device for throwing stones (mangonel)

Explanation

The correct answer is D, a device for throwing stones (mangonel). The manjaniq was a siege engine that hurled heavy stones at fort walls and defenders.

The word comes from Arabic and is related to the Greek and Latin words that also gave English the term mangonel. The Turkish armies of the Delhi Sultanate used the manjaniq along with the arrada, a lighter stone-thrower, when they besieged forts such as Ranthambhore and Chittor. Writers of the time describe stones from these engines breaking down walls and towers. Such machines worked by levers and counterweights or twisted ropes, long before gunpowder artillery reached India with Babur in the sixteenth century.

A is wrong because loading guns with gunpowder belongs to a later age of firearms. B is wrong because a cavalry charge is a tactic, not a device. C is wrong because a bolt for fort gates is a defensive fitting, not the manjaniq.

Exam tip: Manjaniq and arrada were stone-throwing siege engines of the Sultanate; field guns came with Babur at Panipat, 1526.

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IHard

Consider the following statements pertaining to the Satavahanas : 1. Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics 2. Satavahana succession to the throne was generally patrilineal Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Satavahana kings carried names taken from their mothers, yet the throne usually passed from father to son. A metronymic is a name derived from the mother.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2018, Paper IHard

Which one of the following is not a characteristic feature of the Indian Independence Act, 1947?

  1. A.The Dominion of India got the residuary territory of India, excluding the provinces of Sind, Baluchistan, West Punjab, East Bengal and NWFP.
  2. B.The Act sought to lay down a Constitution by the Legislative will of the British Parliament.
  3. C.The Act proposed to set up two independent Dominions.
  4. D.The Constituent Assembly of each Dominion was to have unlimited power to frame and adopt any Constitution.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. The Act sought to lay down a Constitution by the Legislative will of the British Parliament.

The Indian Independence Act did not lay down any Constitution for India; it left the making of the Constitution entirely to the Constituent Assemblies of the new Dominions.

Q3.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IMedium

Which among the following statements about Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha is/are correct? 1. It was during the course of his campaign against racialism in South Africa that Gandhiji first applied Satyagraha 2. The two vital ingredients of Satyagraha are 'truth' and 'non-violence' 3. The Satyagrahi resists evil by inflicting suffering on himself and not by inflicting suffering on the opponent 4. In India, Satyagraha was first tried by Gandhiji in Champaran Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

All four statements correctly describe Gandhi's method of Satyagraha. Gandhi first used Satyagraha in South Africa, beginning in 1906 in the Transvaal against the law forcing Indians to register and carry passes.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2019, Paper IHard

Which of the following statements about the Arya Samaj which emerged in the late 19th century are correct ? 1. Had a very strong support base amongst the trading castes 2. Introduced 'shuddhi' or mass purification 3. The moderates in the Arya Samaj were headed by Hans Raj and Lajpat Rai and set up a chain of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic colleges 4. The Arya Samaj had fewer members than the Brahmo Samaj Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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

Statements 1, 2 and 3 are true, while statement 4 is false because the Arya Samaj grew far larger than the Brahmo Samaj.

Q5.Indian HistoryMedium

The Barrackpore Mutiny of 1824 broke out because the sepoys of the 47th Native Infantry refused to

  1. A.Wear a leather cockade on the turban
  2. B.Use the new Enfield cartridge
  3. C.March to Burma across the sea
  4. D.Serve under Indian officers
Show answer
Correct answer: C. March to Burma across the sea

During the First Anglo-Burmese War the 47th Regiment of Native Infantry at Barrackpore was ordered to Burma. The sepoys objected because crossing the sea meant loss of caste, and because no allowance had been granted for the carriage of their baggage as service custom required.