Who among the following was a slave of Muhammad Ghori? He became the ruler after the death of his master and founded the Slave Dynasty.

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 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.

The correct answer is D, Government of India Act 1858. This Act ended the rule of the East India Company and placed India directly under the British Crown. It was passed right after the Revolt of 1857, and is therefore also called the Act for the Good Government of India. It abolished the Company and the Board of Directors, created the office of the Secretary of State for India assisted by a 15-member Council of India, and renamed the Governor-General as the Viceroy of India. Lord Canning thus became the first Viceroy. A is wrong because the Charter Act of 1833 made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India and centralised the administration, but power stayed with the Company. B is wrong because the Regulating Act of 1773 was the first step of parliamentary control over the Company, not a transfer of power. C is wrong because Pitt’s India Act of 1784 set up the Board of Control for political matters while the Company kept trade. Exam tip: remember the pair - Revolt of 1857 and the Act of 1858 that made Canning the first Viceroy.