Which one of the following rivers in India was not crossed by Alexander and his army?

The correct answer is C, Bronze/Copper. Muhammad bin Tughlaq issued token coins of bronze and copper in 1329-30 that were to pass at the value of the silver tanka. The idea itself was sound and had worked in China and Persia, but the sultan did not keep the minting of these coins in state hands. Goldsmiths across the empire forged them in their homes, the treasury was flooded with fake coins, and traders refused to accept them. The sultan had to withdraw the issue and exchange the token coins for silver, which drained the treasury. A is wrong because Rupak was a coin name of the ancient period, not of this experiment. B is wrong because the rupee was introduced much later by Sher Shah Suri as a silver coin. D is wrong because the tanka was the standard silver coin whose value the token coins were meant to carry. Exam tip: link the pair - Muhammad bin Tughlaq and the failed bronze token currency of 1329.

The correct answer is B, Indian Councils Act, 1909. It is called the Morley-Minto Reforms after Lord Morley, the Secretary of State for India, and Lord Minto, the Viceroy at the time. The Act enlarged the legislative councils at the centre and in the provinces and, for the first time, allowed Indians to be appointed to the executive councils, Satyendra Prasad Sinha becoming the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s executive council. Its most lasting effect was separate electorates for Muslims, which is why Minto is remembered as the father of communal electorates. A is wrong because the Act of 1935 introduced provincial autonomy and a federal scheme. C is wrong because the Rowlatt Act of 1919 allowed detention without trial and led to the protests before Jallianwala Bagh. D is wrong because there was no Government of India Act in 1912. Exam tip: pair the names - Morley-Minto with 1909 and separate electorates, Montagu-Chelmsford with 1919 and dyarchy.

The correct answer is C, Razia Sultana. Razia was the only woman to sit on the throne of Delhi, so she was both the first and the last woman ruler of the Sultanate. She was the daughter of Iltutmish, who chose her over his sons, and she ruled from 1236 to 1240. She held court unveiled, rode an elephant and took the title Jalalat-ud-din Razia. The Turkish nobles of the Chalisa resented a woman on the throne, and she was overthrown and killed in 1240. A is wrong because Chand Bibi was a regent of Ahmednagar and Bijapur in the Deccan in the sixteenth century, not a Delhi sultan. B is wrong because Nur Jahan was the wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir and wielded influence through him, but never ruled as sovereign. D is wrong because Rani Durgavati ruled Gondwana and fought Akbar’s general Asaf Khan in 1564. Exam tip: remember the pair - Iltutmish named his daughter Razia, who ruled Delhi from 1236 to 1240.

The correct answer is A, Qutub-ud-din Aibak. Aibak was a Turkish slave of Muhammad Ghori and took charge of the Indian territories after Ghori died in 1206, founding the Slave or Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. He made Lahore and then Delhi his seat of power and began the Qutub Minar in honour of the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. He was known for his generosity and was called Lakh Baksh, the giver of lakhs. He died in 1210 after falling from a horse while playing chaugan, an early form of polo. B is wrong because Iltutmish was Aibak’s own slave and son-in-law, and ruled after him from 1211. C is wrong because Balban was a later Mamluk sultan who ruled from 1266 and was once part of the Chalisa, the group of forty nobles. D is wrong because Nasir-ud-din Mahmud ruled in the 1240s and 1250s, long after the dynasty was founded. Exam tip: fix the order - Aibak in 1206, Iltutmish in 1211, Raziya in 1236, Balban in 1266.

The correct answer is D, Pulakesin II. The Chalukya ruler Pulakesin II stopped Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada and kept him out of the Deccan. Pulakesin II ruled from Vatapi, that is Badami, between about 609 and 642 CE and was the greatest of the Chalukyas of Badami. His Aihole inscription, composed by his court poet Ravikirti, records this victory over Harsha. He also received the Persian embassy of Khusrau II, but was later defeated and killed by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I. A is wrong because Mangalesha was his uncle and predecessor, whom Pulakesin II removed from the throne. B is wrong because Vikramaditya I was his son, who ruled after him and recovered Badami from the Pallavas. C is wrong because Kirtivarman I ruled earlier, long before Harsha came to power. Exam tip: tie the names together - the Aihole inscription of Ravikirti records Pulakesin II stopping Harsha at the Narmada.