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Indian HistoryMediumAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2018, GK

Who was the first Nawab Wazir of Awadh in the 18th century?

  1. A.Nawab Safdarjung
  2. B.Nawab Saadat Ali Khan
  3. C.Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula
  4. D.Nawab Saadat Khan

Correct answer

D. Nawab Saadat Khan

Explanation

The correct answer is D, Nawab Saadat Khan. Saadat Khan, titled Burhan-ul-Mulk, was appointed governor of Awadh by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah in 1722 and founded the line of the Nawabs of Awadh.

As Mughal power weakened after Aurangzeb, governors of rich provinces became rulers in their own right. Saadat Khan, a Persian noble from Nishapur, made Awadh almost independent, curbed local chiefs and passed the province on to his family. He died in 1739, the year Nadir Shah invaded Delhi. His nephew and son-in-law Safdarjung succeeded him and also held the post of wazir of the empire, which is why the rulers came to be called Nawab Wazirs. The dynasty later ruled from Faizabad and then Lucknow until the British annexed Awadh in 1856.

Option A is wrong because Safdarjung was the second Nawab, after Saadat Khan. Option B is wrong because Saadat Ali Khan II ruled from 1798, much later. Option C is wrong because Shuja-ud-Daula, the third Nawab, fought at Buxar in 1764.

Exam tip: Awadh = Saadat Khan (1722), Safdarjung, Shuja-ud-Daula (Buxar 1764); annexed by Dalhousie in 1856.

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKEasy

The 'water frame' of Richard Arkwright was a device for

  1. A.producing a new type of painting
  2. B.irrigating fields for rice cultivation
  3. C.producing strong threads of yarn
  4. D.the faster movement of steamships
Show answer
Correct answer: C. producing strong threads of yarn

Richard Arkwright's water frame, patented in 1769, was a spinning machine driven by water power that spun strong cotton thread.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKMedium

Consider the following statements about the Salt March : 1. The Salt March was deliberately ignored by the European media. 2. The Salt March was widely covered by the American and European press. 3. The Salt March was the first nationalist activity in which women participated in large numbers. 4. The Salt March impressed upon the British the urgent need to devolve more power to Indians. Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

The Salt March drew wide notice in the American and European press, brought women into the national movement in large numbers, and made the British see that they had to share more power with Indians.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKHard

The term Upari refers to which one of the following?

  1. A.A category of proprietary tenure under the Mughal rule
  2. B.A category of tenancy tenure under the Maratha rule
  3. C.A soldier in the Maratha army
  4. D.A village headman in the Mughal period
Show answer
Correct answer: B. A category of tenancy tenure under the Maratha rule

In the Maratha villages of the Deccan, an upari was a tenant who cultivated land without any hereditary right to it.

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

With regard to nature of Mughal State, who among the following scholars argued that "the peculiar feature of the State in Mughal India was that it served not merely as the protective arm of the exploiting classes, but was itself the principal instrument of exploitation"?

  1. A.Irfan Habib
  2. B.Satish Chandra
  3. C.Athar Ali
  4. D.J. F. Richards
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Irfan Habib

In his study of the Mughal agrarian system, Habib argued that the Mughal State did not merely protect the exploiting classes but was itself the main instrument for taking the peasants' surplus.