Which European ruler had observed, "Bear in mind that the commerce of India is the commerce of the world ... he who can exclusively command it is the dictator of Europe"?
- A.Queen Victoria
- B.Peter the Great of Russia
- C.Napoleon Bonaparte
- D.Gustav II Adolf
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Peter the Great of Russia. The remark that the commerce of India is the commerce of the world, and that whoever commands it exclusively is the dictator of Europe, is attributed to Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. Peter was determined to modernise Russia and open it to trade; he founded Saint Petersburg as a window on the West and sent expeditions towards Central Asia and the Caspian, hoping to reach the riches of India by land. The quotation is often used to explain why the European powers, the Portuguese, Dutch, English and French, fought so bitterly over the Indian Ocean trade in spices, textiles and indigo. Option A is wrong because Queen Victoria ruled when Britain already controlled India and became Empress of India in 1877. Option C is wrong because Napoleon Bonaparte dreamt of striking at British India through Egypt, but this line is not his. Option D is wrong because Gustav II Adolf of Sweden is remembered for his role in the Thirty Years' War, not for this remark. Exam tip: Peter the Great = founder of Saint Petersburg and of Russia's modern navy; his eye on India foreshadowed the later Great Game.
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Tomb of Sand, written by Geetanjali Shree, is the first book originally written in any Indian language to win the International Booker Prize.
2. Tomb of Sand is the first novel translated from Hindi to be given the International Booker Prize.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
'Tomb of Sand' won the International Booker Prize in 2022, and that win was a first on both counts. The novel was written in Hindi by Geetanjali Shree as 'Ret Samadhi' (2018) and translated into English by the American translator Daisy Rockwell, who shared the prize money with her.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not the work of Ashvaghosha ?
- A.Sariputraprakarana
- B.Buddhacharita
- C.Saundarananda
- D.Manjushrimulakalpa
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It is a later Mahayana Buddhist text of ritual and prophecy, not a work of Ashvaghosha. Ashvaghosha was a Buddhist poet, dramatist and philosopher of the first–second century CE, linked by tradition to the court of the Kushana king Kanishka.
Read the full explanation →Who was the author of the book of travels, called Rihla, written in Arabic, providing extremely rich and interesting details about India?
- A.Al-Biruni
- B.Ibn Battuta
- C.François Bernier
- D.Nizamuddin Ahmad
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The Rihla, meaning journey, is the Arabic travel book of Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller from Tangier who reached India in 1333.
Read the full explanation →Who is the author of the 16th century Sanskrit text, the Vraja Bhakti Vilasa which focuses on the Braj region in North India ?
- A.Todar Mal
- B.Narayana Bhatta
- C.Chaitanya
- D.Rupa Goswami
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Narayana Bhatta, a Vaishnava scholar of the sixteenth century, wrote the Sanskrit text Vraja Bhakti Vilasa in 1552, describing the sacred sites of the Braj region around Mathura and Vrindavan.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following pioneering Bengali women serialised her autobiography Amar Katha between 1910 and 1913 ?
- A.Binodini Dasi
- B.Rashsundari Debi
- C.Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
- D.Kailashbashini Debi
Show answer
Binodini Dasi, a leading actress of the Bengali stage, wrote Amar Katha ("My Story"), which first appeared in parts between 1910 and 1913 and was published as a book in 1913.
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