CTET 2014 Previous Year GK Questions with Answers

The correct answer is C, Minhaj-i-Siraj. Minhaj-i-Siraj was the chronicler of the Delhi Sultanate who wrote the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri. He recorded that Raziyya, the daughter of Iltutmish, was more able and qualified than all her brothers, yet he added that he was uneasy about a woman ruling, because it went against the order in which God had placed men above women. Raziyya became Sultan in 1236 and was removed in 1240, and the nobles of the court never accepted her. A is wrong because Al-Biruni came to India with Mahmud of Ghazni in the eleventh century and wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind, long before Raziyya. B is wrong because Badayuni was a historian of Akbar's time who wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh. D is wrong because Ziyauddin Barani, author of the Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi, wrote later and was sharply critical of any departure from high birth and of Raziyya's rule. Exam tip: Minhaj-i-Siraj, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri; Barani, Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi.

The correct answer is D, Chirand. Chirand stands on the bank of the Ganga in the Saran district of Bihar and belongs to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic ages, not to the Harappan civilisation. It is known for its bone and antler tools, which are among the richest such finds in eastern India. A is wrong because Rakhigarhi, in the Hisar district of Haryana, is a Harappan city and the largest Harappan site found in India. B is wrong because Sotkakoh is a Harappan coastal settlement on the Makran coast, a port of call on the sea route westwards. C is wrong because Ganweriwala lies in the Cholistan desert on the dry bed of the Ghaggar-Hakra and is counted among the large Harappan sites, though it has been little excavated. Remember that Harappan sites cluster along the Indus and the Ghaggar-Hakra and on the Gujarat and Makran coasts. Exam tip: Chirand is Neolithic Bihar; Rakhigarhi, Sotkakoh and Ganweriwala are Harappan.

The correct answer is A, only those who left their homes could gain true knowledge. Both the Buddha and Mahavira taught that a person had to leave home and family and live as a monk or nun before true knowledge could be gained. That is why both faiths built up sanghas, organised groups of monks and nuns who begged for food, owned almost nothing and spent their time in study and meditation. Mahavira left home at thirty and the Buddha left Kapilvastu as a young prince, and both of them taught in Prakrit, the language of ordinary people. B is wrong because it was Jainism that drew its support mainly from traders, while Buddhism spread among kings, farmers and craftspersons as well. C is wrong because going without clothes was a rule for Jaina monks, not for Buddhist ones. D is wrong because the middle path was the Buddha's teaching, whereas Jainism asked for very hard penance. Exam tip: sangha and renunciation are common to both; the middle path is only Buddhist.