Who was the founder of Pala Dynasty?

The correct answer is D, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati. Swami Sahajanand Saraswati set up the Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha in 1929 to organise the peasants of Bihar against the zamindars. He was a sanyasi who turned to peasant work, and his Sabha pressed for an end to illegal cesses and begar and for security of tenancy for the raiyat. What he built in Bihar grew into the All India Kisan Sabha, founded at Lucknow in 1936 with Sahajanand Saraswati as its first president and N G Ranga as general secretary. A is wrong because Kunwar Singh led the revolt of 1857 in Bihar and died in 1858. B is wrong because J M Sengupta was a Congress leader of Bengal with no part in it. C is wrong because Jayaprakash Narayan, though a Bihar leader, was then building the Congress Socialist Party, which was founded in 1934. Exam tip: Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha 1929 and the All India Kisan Sabha at Lucknow in 1936, both with Sahajanand Saraswati.

The correct answer is B, Ricardian theory of rent. The Ryotwari settlement rested on David Ricardo's theory of rent, which held that rent is the surplus left after the cost of cultivation is met, so the state could claim that surplus straight from the tiller. Alexander Read and Thomas Munro introduced the system in Madras, and it spread to Bombay, Assam and Berar, covering about half of British India. Revenue was settled directly with the ryot, the peasant, who was treated as the owner of his land so long as he paid; there was no zamindar in between, the demand was fixed in cash and high, and the settlement was revised about every thirty years. A is wrong because Adam Smith wrote on the division of labour and free trade, not on this settlement. C is wrong because Malthus is remembered for his theory of population. D is wrong because Marx wrote later and had no hand in British revenue policy. Exam tip: Permanent Settlement with Cornwallis in Bengal, Ryotwari with Munro in Madras, Mahalwari with Holt Mackenzie in the North-Western Provinces.

The correct answer is B, Chola. Thanjavur was the capital of the Chola dynasty, which ruled the Tamil country from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Vijayalaya Chola took Thanjavur from the Muttaraiyars in about 850 CE and made it his capital, and it stayed the seat of power through the empire's greatest years. Rajaraja I built the Brihadeeswarar temple there, a granite Shiva temple in the Dravida style completed about 1010 CE and now a World Heritage Site; his son Rajendra I later raised a new capital at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. A is wrong because the Palas ruled Bengal and Bihar, with their centres at Pataliputra and Munger. C is wrong because the Vakatakas ruled the Deccan from Nandivardhana and Vatsagulma. D is wrong because the Parmaras ruled Malwa and had Dhar as their capital. Exam tip: Thanjavur and the Brihadeeswarar temple go with Rajaraja I of the Cholas.

The correct answer is A, Slave Dynasty. Razia Sultan was the daughter of Iltutmish, and Iltutmish belonged to the Slave dynasty, also called the Mamluk dynasty or the Ilbari Turks. She ruled Delhi from 1236 to 1240 and is the only woman to have sat on the throne of the Delhi Sultanate. Iltutmish named her his successor over his own sons, and she took the administration in hand, gave up the veil, held open court and led the army in person. The Turkish nobles, the group of forty, would not accept a woman ruler; she was overthrown and killed in 1240. B is wrong because the Khilji dynasty came to power only in 1290 under Jalaluddin Khilji. C is wrong because the Lodhi dynasty ruled from 1451 to 1526 and was the last house of the Sultanate. D is wrong because the Mughal empire was founded by Babur in 1526, nearly three centuries after her. Exam tip: Razia, daughter of Iltutmish, Slave dynasty, 1236 to 1240.

The correct answer is B, Swadeshi Movement. The Swadeshi Movement began as the answer to Lord Curzon's partition of Bengal, which came into effect on 16 October 1905. Curzon called the partition an administrative measure, but the real aim was to divide Hindus and Muslims and break the strength of the nationalists in Bengal. The protest took the form of boycotting British cloth and goods and of promoting Indian-made cloth, salt, schools and banks; the day of the partition was observed as a day of mourning, and the annulment of the partition came in 1911. A is wrong because the Civil Disobedience Movement began in 1930 with the Dandi March. C is wrong because the Quit India Movement was launched in August 1942 after the failure of the Cripps Mission. D is wrong because the Non-Cooperation Movement started in 1920, growing out of Jallianwala Bagh and the Khilafat question. Exam tip: Partition of Bengal 1905 goes with Swadeshi and Boycott, and the partition was annulled in 1911.