Indian History Questions

1. Who was elected as the permanent President of the Muslim League in 1908 ?
(A) Nawab Salimullah
(B) Syed Ahmad Khan
(C) Aga Khan
(D) Syed Amir Ali
Ans : (C)

2. According to Sarojini Naidu who was ‘‘the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’’ ?

(A) Syed Ahmad Khan
(B) Hasrat Mohani
(C) Maulana Azad
(D) Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Ans : (C)

3. Which of the following statements are not true of the Home Rule Movement ?
I. The demand was for selfgovernment and not complete independence.
II. The movement included promoting political education to build a base for selfgovernment
III. It did not achieve much impact or popularity.
IV. The movement was the part of the Congress activity.
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) III and IV
(D) IV and I
Ans : (C)

4. The two Home Leagues were founded in 1916. Their founders were—
I. Annie Besant
II. B. G. Tilak
III. Motilal Nehru
IV. Sardar Patel
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) III and IV
(D) IV and I
Ans : (A)

5. The partition of Bengal made in 1905—

(A) Was annulled as a result of the Morley-Minto Reforms in 1919
(B) Was withdrawn in 1908 because of the immense protests it evoked
(C) Was annulled by the king’s proclamation at the Delhi Durbar in 1911
(D) Continued till India got independence
Ans : (C)

6. The basic defect of the Lucknow Pact was—

(A) It was an agreement purely based on the bond of common hatred of the foreign rule
(B) It was based on the wrong notion that Hindus and Muslims formed separate communities
(C) It was a marriage of convenience without a pontiff
(D) It was a pact between powerless potentates
Ans : (B)

7. Who among the following is known as ‘the liberator of the press’ ?

(A) William Jones
(B) Wellesley
(C) Sir Charles Metcalfe
(D) Lord Minto
Ans : (C)

8. Who had given the title of ‘Mahatma’ to Gandhi ?

(A) B. G. Tilak
(B) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(C) Moti Lal Nehru
(D) Rabindra Nath Tagore
Ans : (D)

9. Who had said on the death of Tilak ‘my strongest bulkwar is gone’ ?
(A) Shaukat Ali
(B) Muhammad Ali
(C) Lala Lajpat Rai
(D) Mahatma Gandhi
Ans : (D)

10. Rabindra Nath Tagore renounced his knighthood for which reason ?
(A) Jallianwalla Bagh Tragedy
(B) Cruel suppression of Civil Disobedience Movement
(C) Bhagat Singh was hanged
(D) Chauri-Chaura incident
Ans : (A)

11. Which among the following pair accused for killing English officers in England was hanged ?
(A) Raj Guru and Sukhdev
(B) Khudi Ram Bose and Suryasen
(C) Madan Lal Dhingra and Udham Singh
(D) Kartar Singh Sarabhai and Ashfaqullah Khan
Ans : (C)

12. Write the correct chronological order of the following :

1. Foundation of Swaraj Party
2. Jallianwalla Bagh Tragedy
3. Congress-Muslim League Pact
4. Chauri-Chaura incident
(A) 2, 3, 1, 4
(B) 3, 2, 1, 4
(C) 3, 2, 4, 1
(D) 2, 3, 4, 1
Ans : (C)

13. In 1908 an attempt was made on the life of Kingsford, the unpopular judge at Muzzafarpur by—
1. Satyen Bose
2. Barindra Ghosh
3. Prafulla Chaki
4. Khudiram Bose
(A) 1 and 2
(B) 3 and 4
(C) 1 and 4
(D) 2 and 3
Ans : (B)

14. Which of the following were involved in throwing a bomb at the procession of Lord Hardinge through
Chandni Chowk (Delhi) in 1912 ?
1. Pulin Das
2. Bal Mukund
3 Avadh Behari
4. Amir Chand
(A) 1, 2, 3
(B) 2, 3, 4
(C) 2 and 3
(D) None of these
Ans : (B)

15. Who defended Aurbindo Ghosh in the Alipur bomb case ?

(A) Chittaranjan Das
(B) Motilal Nehru
(C) B.G. Tilak
(D) Surendra Nath Banerjee
Ans : (B)

16. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was given the epithet of ‘Lokmanya’ during—
(A) Home Rule Movement
(B) Surat Split
(C) Swadeshi Movement
(D) His imprisonment in 1908
Ans : (A)

17. The only Indian prince who actively participated in the Revolutionary Movement within and outside
India was—
(A) Raja Aridaman Singh
(B) Raja Hari Singh
(C) Raja Kumar Singh
(D) Raja Mahendra Pratap
Ans : (D)

18. Curzon Wyllie, who was murdered by Modan Lal Dhingra in London, was—
(A) Secretary of State for India
(B) Adviser to the Secretary of State for India
(C) Law Member
(D) Governor of Bengal
Ans : (B)

19. Who edited ‘Basumati’, the oldest Bengali Daily paper ?

(A) Anand Mohan Bose
(B) Surya Sen
(C) Barinder Ghosh
(D) V. D. Savarkar
Ans : (C)

20. Who said the following ‘‘the only lesson required in India at present is to learn how to die and the only
way to teach is by dying ourselves. Therefore, I die and glory in my martyrdom’’ ?
(A) Aurbindo Ghosh
(B) Khudiram Bose
(C) Chandra Shekhar Azad
(D) Madan Lal Dhingra
Ans : (D).

1. Who wrote the Book entitled ‘Ghulamgiri’ ?

(A) B. R. Ambedkar
(B) Narayan Guru
(C) Jyotiba Phule
(D) M. P. Pillai
Ans : (C)

2. Which one of the following had supported Mahatma Gandhi on the Non-
cooperation resolution at the Special Calcutta Session, 1920 ?
(A) C. R. Das
(B) B. C. Pal
(C) Annie Besant
(D) Motilal Nehru
Ans : (D)

3. Which one of the following books is the official History of Revolt of 1857 ?
(A) Eighteen Fifty Seven
(B) Theories of Indian Mutiny
(C) The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

4. Which one of the following had for the first time accepted that British
victory at Plassey was the victory of breach of faith ?
(A) Lord Clive
(B) Vansittort
(C) Hector Munro
(D) None of the above
Ans : (D)

5. Which one of the following Bengali drama was directed against Polygamy ?
(A) Bhanumati Chittavikas
(B) Kulin Kulasarvasva
(C) Vidhva Vivaha
(D) Nava Natak
Ans : (B)

6. The statement, “on bended knees I asked for bread and received stone
instead” is associated with—
(A) Khilafat Movement
(B) Non-Cooperation Movement
(C) Dandi March
(D) Quit India Movement
Ans : (C)

7. Which operation was started by the British Government to arrest the

leaders of Quit India Movement ?
(A) Operation Reander Paste
(B) Operation Zero Hour
(C) Operation Thunderbolt
(D) Operation Blue Star
Ans : (C)

8. Which one of the following had drafted the fundamental rights resolution at
the Karachi Session, 1931 ?
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Acharya Narendra Deo
(C) Subhash Chandra Bose
(D) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Ans : (A)

9. Which one of the following Bengali writers was the first to suggest the
adoption of Hindi as India’s National Language ?
(A) Bhudeva Mukherjee
(B) Dinbandhu Mitra
(C) Madhusudan Datta
(D) Kali Prasanna Sinha
Ans : (A)

10. Which one of the following is known as Mother of Indian Revolutionaries ?

(A) Annie Besant
(B) Sarojini Naidu
(C) Madame Cama
(D) Usha Mehta
Ans : (C)

11. Which one of the following had drafted the ‘Quit India Resolution’ ?
(A) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(B) Jawahar Lal Nehru
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) Acharya Narendra Deo
Ans : (B)

12. In which of the following places Hindu Mahasabha was for the first time
organised in 1915 ?
(A) Haridwar
(B) Allahabad
(C) Varanasi
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

13. Who among the following had read the English version of Presidential
address in the Tripuri Session of Indian National Congress, 1939 ?
(A) Acharya Narendra Deo
(B) Sarat Chandra Bose
(C) Subhash Chandra Bose
(D) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Ans : (C)

14. The party which observed the ‘Black Day’ on July 3, 1947 against Partition
of India was—
(A) Indian National Congress
(B) Forward Bloc
(C) Hindu Mahasabha
(D) Communist Party of India
Ans : (C)

15. The First President of Muslim League was—

(A) Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk Mustaq Hussain
(B) Mian Abdul Aziz
(C) Hidayat Hussain Khan
(D) Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Ans : (A)

16. Who said, “Like summer gale revolt of Meerut was unprecedented and
short-lived” ?
(A) S. N. Sen
(B) R. C. Majumdar
(C) S. B. Chaudhuri
(D) V. D. Savarkar
Ans : (A)

17. Which one of the following had drafted the Hindu Widows Remarriage
Act ?
(A) Lord Canning
(B) Lord Dalhousie
(C) Lord Hardinge
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)

18. When was the Treaty of Alinagar signed ?

(A) February 1756
(B) September 1756
(C) February 1757
(D) April 1757
Ans : (C)

19. In which of the following Sessions of Muslim League Two—

Nation Theory was propounded ?
(A) Lahore Session, 1940
(B) Bombay Session, 1915
(C) Delhi Session, 1918
(D) Calcutta Session, 1917
Ans : (A)

20. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

Author —Drama
(A) Girish Chandra Ghose —Mir Kasim
(B) D. L. Roy —Chhatrapati Shivaji
(C) Kshirod Prasad Vidyavinod —Nand Kumar
(D) Nikhil Nath Roy —Pratapaditya
Ans : (B)

21. Who was the biographer of A.O. Hume ?

(A) W. Wederbirn
(B) Lord Dufferin
(C) J. Charles
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

22. Which young woman leader was symbol of defiance and resistance during
Quit India Movement ?
(A) Sarojini Naidu
(B) Kalpana Dutt Joshi
(C) Sucheta Kriplani
(D) Aruna Asaf Ali
Ans : (D)

23. Who hailed Gandhi’s call for ‘Quit India’ as an ‘Epic Movement’ ?
(A) Ram Manohar Lohia
(B) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(C) Subhash Chandra Bose
(D) Jai Prakash Narayan
Ans : (B)

24. In which year English was made the medium of instruction in India ?
(A) 1844 A.D.
(B) 1835 A.D.
(C) 1833 A.D.
(D) 1813 A.D.
Ans : (B)

25. Who is known as the “Father of Muslim Renaissance in Bengal” ?

(A) Abdul Latif
(B) Mirza Ghulam Ahmed
(C) Muhammad Qasim
(D) Rashid Ahmed Gangohi
Ans : (A)

26. Which one of the following leaders was not a part of Noncooperation
movement ?
(A) M. A. Ansari
(B) M. A. Zinnah
(C) Abul Kalam Azad
(D) Hakim Ajmal Khan
Ans : (B)

27. Between which stations was the first railway line opened in India ?
(A) Calcutta to Raniganj
(B) Bombay to Pune
(C) Calcutta to Jamshedpur
(D) Bombay to Thane
Ans : (D)

28. Who was the President of the ‘Flag Committee’ ?

(A) B. R. Ambedkar
(B) J. B. Kriplani
(C) K. M. Munshi
(D) D. P. Khetan
Ans : (B)

29. Who said over the radio on 30th January 1948 “The Father of Nation is no
more” ?
(A) Sardar Patel
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) Rajendra Prasad
(D) Rajgopalachari
Ans : (B)

30. In which year was the National Development Council set up ?

(A) 1949 A.D.
(B) 1950 A.D.
(C) 1951 A.D.
(D) 1952 A.D.
Ans : (D)

31. Which one of the following books is associated with rise of National
Movement in India ?
(A) Gitanjali
(B) Anand Math
(C) Satyagrah Prakash
(D) Gita Rahasya
Ans : (B)

32. Bijauliya Movement was related to—

(A) Kerala
(B) Assam
(C) Rajasthan
(D) Orissa
Ans : (C)

33. Which was the first State to be created on linguistic basis ?

(A) Madras
(B) Andhra Pradesh
(C) Bombay
(D) Gujarat
Ans : (B)

34. Indo-Pak border is known as—

(A) Durand Line
(B) Mc Mohan Line
(C) Redcliffe Line
(D) Line of Control
Ans : (C)

35. The excavation at Chanhu Daro was directed by—

(A) John Marshall
(B) J. H. Mackay
(C) R. E. M. Wheeler
(D) Aurel Stein
Ans : (B)

36. Which of the following Harappan towns is divided into three parts ?
(A) Kalibanga
(B) Lothal
(C) Chanhudaro
(D) Dholavira
Ans : (D)

37. Which of the following is the most common motif of the Indus Seals ?
(A) Unicorn
(B) Bull
(C) Rhinoceros
(D) Elephant
Ans : (A)

38. Robert Bruce Foote, who discovered first Palaeolithic tool in India, was
originally a—
(A) Palaeobotanist
(B) Geologist
(C) Archaeologist
(D) Historian
Ans : (B)

39. The earliest evidence of agriculture in Indian Subcontinent has been

obtained from—
(A) Brahmagiri
(B) Chirand
(C) Mehrgarh
(D) Burzahom
Ans : (C)

40. Which of the following was not worshipped by the Harappans ?

(A) Shiva
(B) Mother Goddess
(C) Peepal
(D) Vishnu
Ans : (D)

41. Satapatha Brahmana is related to—

(A) Rigveda
(B) Yajurveda
(C) Samaveda
(D) Atharvaveda
Ans : (B)

42. King Ashvapati of the Upanishadic Age was the ruler of—
(A) Kekaya
(B) Matsya
(C) Panchala
(D) Sursena
Ans : (A)

43. Who of the following propounded the theory of the Arctic region as the
home land of the Aryan speaking people ?
(A) Max Muller
(B) Edward Meyer
(C) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(D) Herzefeld
Ans : (C)

44. Who was the priest of the Bharatas in the battle of Ten Kings ?
(A) Visvamitra
(B) Vasishtha
(C) Atri
(D) Bhrigu
Ans : (B)

45. To which Sakha does the published Rigveda Samhita belong ?

(A) Saunaka
(B) Ashvalayan
(C) Shakala
(D) Sankhayana
Ans : (C)

46. Who among the following teachers were visited by Siddhartha Gautama
in the quest of knowledge before his enlightenment ?
1. Alara Kalama
2. Udraka Ramaputra
3. Makkhali Gosala
4. Nigantha Nataputta
Indicate your answer from the codes given below—
(A) 1 and 4
(B) 4 and 2
(C) 2 and 3
(D) 1 and 2
Ans : (D)

47. Which of the following Upnishads is written in prose ?

(A) Isa
(B) Katha
(C) Brihadaranyaka
(D) Svetasvatara
Ans : (C)

48. The twenty thrid Jain Tirthankar was associated with—

(A) Vaishali
(B) Kausambi
(C) Varanasi
(D) Sravasti
Ans : (C)

49. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the codes
given below the lists—
List-I (Jain Tirthankaras)
(a) Santinatha
(b) Mallinatha
(c) Parsvanatha
(d) Mahavira
List-II (Cognizance)
1. Antelope
2. Lion
3. Serpent
4. Water jar
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 1 2 4 3
(B) 4 1 3 2
(C) 2 3 1 4
(D) 1 4 3 2
Ans : (D)

50. Who among the following laid down punishment for a person becoming
mendicant without making adequate provision for dependent wife and
children ?
(A) Manu
(B) Yajnavalkya
(C) Kautilya
(D) Narada
Ans : (C)

51. Consider the following statements and select the correct answer from the
codes given below—
Assertion (A) : In the maximum number of Varsavasas Gautama Buddha
stayed at Sravasti.
Reason (R) : Prasenjit, the ruler of Sravasti was of the same age as
Gautama Buddha.
Codes :
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(C) (A) is true, but (R) is false
(D) (A) is false, but (R) is true
Ans : (B)

52. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Sakyas —Kapilvastu
(B) Koliyas —Ramagrama
(C) Kalamas —Allakappa
(D) Mallas —Kusinagara
Ans : (C)

53. Where did the Mahasamghika School arise ?

(A) Bodha Gaya
(B) Rajagriha
(C) Sravasti
(D) Vaisali
Ans : (D)

54. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Charsada —Pushkalavati
(B) Sirkap —Takshasila
(C) Nagarjundakonda —Dhanyakataka
(D) Tamluk —Tamralipti
Ans : (C)

55. Rulers of which of the following dynasties bore the title Devaputra ?
(A) Maurya
(B) Sunga
(C) Kushana
(D) Saka-Kshatrapa
Ans : (C)

56. Rulers of which of the following dynasties maintained diplomatic relations

with distant countries like Syria in the West ?
(A) Maurya
(B) Gupta
(C) Pallava
(D) Chola
Ans : (A)

57. Who identified ‘Sandra Kottus’ of the Greco-Roman literature with

Chandragupta Maurya ?
(A) D. R. Bhandarkar
(B) Alexander Cunningham
(C) R. P. Chanda
(D) William Jones
Ans : (D)

58. Who were the beneficiaries of Asoka’s donations in the region of Barabar
Hill ?
(A) Buddhists
(B) Ajivikas
(C) Svetambar Jains
(D) Digambar Jains
Ans : (B)

59. In which of the following inscriptions Ashoka made his famous

declaration, ‘All men are my children’ ?
(A) Minor Rock Edict (Ahraura)
(B) Pillar Edict VII
(C) Lumbini Pillar Edict
(D) Separate Kaling Rock Edict I
Ans : (D)
60. Who among the following is credited to have performed four Asvamedha
sacrifices ?
(A) Pushyamitra Sunga
(B) Pravarasena I
(C) Samudragupta
(D) Nandivarman Pallavamalla
Ans : (B)

61. Who among the following was the ruler of Kanchi during the time of
Samudragupta ?
(A) Hastivarman
(B) Mantaraja
(C) Nilaraja
(D) Vishnugopa
Ans : (D)

62. Which one of the following places was a mint centre of the Yaudheyas ?
(A) Bayana
(B) Rohtak
(C) Bareilly
(D) Mathura
Ans : (B)

63. Which of the following parts were situated on the west coast of South
India ?
1. Kaveripattanam
2. Korkai
3. Musiri
4. Tondi
Indicate the correct answer from the codes given below—
(A) 1, 2
(B) 2, 3
(C) 3, 4
(D) 2, 3, 4
Ans : (C)

64. Who among the following was the first Satavahana King to introduce the
ruler’s head on the coins ?
(A) Satakarni I
(B) Gautamiputra Satakarni
(C) Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
(D) Yajna Satakarni
Ans : (A)
65. The largest of the Pallava Rathas is—
(A) Arjuna
(B) Bhima
(C) Dharmaraja
(D) Draupadi
Ans : (C)

66. Who of the following adopted ‘Garuda’ as dynastic emblem after the
imperial Guptas ?
(A) Rashtrakutas
(B) Western Chalukyas
(C) Shilaharas
(D) Chedis
Ans : (A)

67. Who among the following had the title ‘Parama-Saugata’ ?

(A) Bhaskar Varman
(B) Shashanka
(C) Rajya Vardhana
(D) Harsha
Ans : (D)

68. Who had appointed Parnadatta as the Provincial Governor of Saurashtra ?

(A) Chandragupta Maurya
(B) Rudradaman
(C) Chandragupta II
(D) Skandagupta
Ans : (D)

69. Who among the following was a lady Alvar Saint ?

(A) Andal
(B) Madhura Kavi
(C) Perumal
(D) Tirupan
Ans : (A)

70. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Nagananda —Harsha
(B) Mudrarakshasa—Visakhadatta
(C) Mrichchhakatika —Sudraka
(D) Ratnavali —Rajasekhara
Ans : (D)
71. Who among the following called themselves ‘Brahma-Kshatriay’ ?
(A) Palas
(B) Senas
(C) Pratiharas
(D) Chahamanas
Ans : (B)

72. The North Indian Dynasties that confronted the Rashtrakutas were—
(A) The Pratiharas and the Paramaras
(B) The Palas and the Chandelas
(C) The Pratiharas and the Palas
(D) The Chalukyas and the Chahamanas
Ans : (C)

73. ‘Niralamba Saraswati (Saraswati is now without support)’ thus lamented a

poet at the demise of—
(A) Chahmana Visaladeva
(B) Chandela Kirtivarma
(C) Mihira Bhoja
(D) Bhoja Paramara
Ans : (D)

74. The custom ‘Santhara’ is related to which of the following sects ?

(A) Jain
(B) Saiva
(C) Sakta
(D) Vaishnava
Ans : (A)

75. Who is supposed to be the future Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism ?

(A) Krakuchanda
(B) Amitabha
(C) Maitreya
(D) Kanak Muni
Ans : (C)

76. Which of the following incarnations of Vishnu is represented in art as

raising the Earth from the
Ocean ?
(A) Kurma
(B) Varaha
(C) Matsya
(D) Nrisingha
Ans : (B)
77. The Srivijaya ruler, who completed the construction of the Buddhist
Vihara started by his father at Nagapattana during the reign of Rajaraja I, was
—
(A) Samaragravira
(B) Balaputradeva
(C) Maravijayottunga Varman
(D) Trailokyaraja
Ans : (C)

78. Gangaikondacholapuram became the capital of the Chola empire from

the time of—
(A) Parantaka I
(B) Rajendra I
(C) Kulottunga I
(D) Vikrama Chola
Ans : (B)

79. Who are the four Rajput clans described in Prithviraja-Raso of Chanda
Bardai, who are said to have emerged from fire-pit of Mount Abu ?
(A) Pratiharas, Chahamanas, Gahadavalas, Kalachuris
(B) Paramaras, Chandelas, Chahamanas, Chalukyas
(C) Chahamanas, Kalachuris, Chandelas, Pratiharas
(D) Pratiharas, Chahamanas, Chalukyas, Parmaras
Ans : (D)

80. The Vikramshila Mahavihara, the renowned educational centre of Pala

period was at—
(A) Antichak
(B) Aphasad
(C) Basarh
(D) Chandimau
Ans : (A)

81. Which one of the following temples does not belong to the Cholas ?
(A) Brihadishwara
(B) Koranganatha
(C) Kailashanatha
(D) Airavateshwar
Ans : (C)

82. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Baz Bahadur —Malwa
(B) Sultan Muzaffar Shah—Gujarat
(C) Yusuf Adil Shah—Ahmednagar
(D) Qutub Shah —Golkunda
Ans : (C)

83. During the time of Alauddin’s invasion Warangal was ruled by—
(A) Chalukya Dynasty
(B) Chola Dynasty
(C) Kakatiya Dynasty
(D) Yadava Dynasty
Ans : (C)

84. Who of the following Rajput rulers gave donation for the reconstruction of
a mosque ?
(A) Mihir Bhoja
(B) Bhoja Parmar
(C) Prithviraj III
(D) Jai Singh Siddharaj
Ans : (D)

85. Arrange the followig rulers of Kashmir in a chronological order—

1. Avantivarman
2. Didda
3. Harsha
4. Jaya Singh
Indicate your answer from the codes below—
(A) 1, 2, 3, 4
(B) 2, 3, 4, 1
(C) 3, 4, 1, 2
(D) 4, 1, 2, 3
Ans : (A)

86. Which one of the following was not constructed by Qutubuddin Aibak ?
(A) Kubbat-ul-Islam mosque
(B) Qutub Minar
(C) Adhai din Ka Jhopada
(D) Alai Darwaja
Ans : (D)

87. Vijayanagar empire was founded during the reign period of—
(A) Firoz Tughlaq
(B) Sikandar Lodi
(C) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
(D) Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq
Ans : (D)
88. The historian Sewell has written a book entitled ‘A Forgotten Empire’.
What was the name of empire ?
(A) Mughal Empire
(B) Vijayanagar Empire
(C) Maratha Empire
(D) Mauryan Empire
Ans : (B)

89. Who among the following had joined Akbar’s Din-i-Ilahi ?

(A) Birbal
(B) Bhagwan Das
(C) Man Singh
(D) Surjan Rai
Ans : (A)

90. Jonaraja in his Rajatarangini, continued the narration of Kalhana upto—

(A) Jaya Singh
(B) Sultan Sikandar
(C) Sultan Zainul Abidin
(D) Muhammad Shah
Ans : (C)

91. Which new department was started by Muhammad-bin- Tughlaq for the
development of agriculture ?
(A) Diwan-i-Risalat
(B) Diwan-i-Ashraf
(C) Diwan-i-Kohi
(D) Diwan-i-Mustkharaz
Ans : (C)

92. Who among the following constituted Turkan-e-Chihalgani ?

(A) Qutubuddin Aibak
(B) Iltutmish
(C) Balban
(D) None of these
Ans : (B)

93. Who was Qazi Fazilat during the reign of Sher Shah ?
(A) The Qazi of Bengal
(B) The Chief Qazi of the Afghan Empire
(C) The Governor of Bengal
(D) None of the above
Ans : (C)
94. Which one of the following officers was the superintendent of port under
the Mughals ?
(A) Mutsaddi
(B) Mir-i-Bahar
(C) Tahvildar
(D) Mushrif
Ans : (B)

95. Which one of the following was not a reason for Balban abandoning the
policy of conquest and adopting the policy of consolidation ?
(A) Threat of external invasion
(B) Internal revolts
(C) Indian Kings willing to throw off the Turkish rule
(D) His weak nature
Ans : (D)

96. Which one of the following Sultans, was not an off spring of Iltutmish, but
was the last successor of his dynasty ?
(A) Rukn-ud-din Firoz
(B) Razia
(C) Muizuddin Bahram Shah
(D) Nasiruddin Mahmud
Ans : (D)

97. Which one of the following sons of Alauddin Khalji was born of his wife
Jhatyapali, the daughter of Raja Ramchandra Dev of Devagiri ?
(A) Shihabuddin Umar
(B) Khizr Khan
(C) Qutbuddin Mubarak
(D) Sadi Khan
Ans : (A)

98. What was Khanqah ?

(A) Works of Poet Amir Khusro
(B) Court of Sikandar Lodi
(C) Birth place of Khwaja Muinud-din Chisti
(D) The place where Sufi Mystics lived
Ans : (D)

99. On whom Emperor Akbar conferred the title of ‘Jagat Guru’ ?

(A) Purushottam
(B) Dastur Meherji Rana
(C) Hira Vijay Suri
(D) Devi
Ans : (C)

100. Which Queen of Jahangir had committed suicide by consuming poison ?

(A) Harkhabai
(B) Manmati
(C) Jodhpuri Begam
(D) Zeb-un-nisa
Ans : (B)

101. Who among the foreign travellers describes how the ‘Ganges water’ was
carried in copper vessels for Mughal Emperors to drink ?
(A) Thomas Coryat
(B) Edward Terry
(C) Ralph Fitch
(D) Sir Thomas Roe
Ans : (B)

102. Who was the member of Ulema, who issued the ‘Fatwa’ against Akbar
from Jaunpur ?
(A) Mullayazdi
(B) Mirza Hakim
(C) Abdun Nabi
(D) Abdullah Sultanpuri
Ans : (C)

103. Who wrote Futuhat-i-Ferozshahi ?

(A) Alberuni
(B) Firoz Shah Tughlaq
(C) Utbi
(D) Ibn Batuta
Ans : (B)

104. Who among the following was the lowest in rank in the Maratha
infantry ?
(A) Nayak
(B) Hawaldar
(C) Zumladar
(D) Hazari
Ans : (B)

105. In the third battle of Panipat Marathas were defeated by—

(A) Mughals
(B) Rohillas
(C) Britishers
(D) Afghans
Ans : (D)

106. Roshan Akhtar was of another name of—

(A) Ahmed Shah
(B) Muhammad Shah
(C) Jahandar Shah
(D) Shah Alam
Ans : (B)

107. What was the original name of Afzal Khan ?

(A) Abdullah Bhatari
(B) Samsuddin
(C) Sabar
(D) Muhammad Khan
Ans : (A)

108. Who among the following were Saints of Varkari sect ?

1. Chakradhar
2. Jnanesvar
3. Namadev
4. Ramdas
Indicate the correct answer form the codes given below—
(A) 1, 2
(B) 2, 3
(C) 3, 4
(D) 1, 2, 3, 4
Ans : (D)

109. What was Bargir in Maratha army ?

(A) Infantry
(B) Front liner
(C) Cavalry
(D) Water carrier
Ans : (C)

110. Who among the following was a Jahangiri Painter ?

(A) Abul Hasan
(B) Abdus Samad
(C) Daswant
(D) Mir Sayyid Ali
Ans : (A)
111. Where in India, did the Protuguese build their first fortress ?
(A) Cochin
(B) Goa
(C) Anjidiv
(D) Cannanore
Ans : (A)

112. Which Maratha State was the last to accept the Subsidiary Alliance of
the British ?
(A) Gaikwad
(B) Sindhia
(C) Holkar
(D) Bhonsle
Ans : (B)

113. During the Mughal period, what was ‘Narnal’ or light artillery ?
(A) One carried on elephantback
(B) One carried on camel-back
(C) One carried by man
(D) None of the above
Ans : (C)

114. What do the terms ‘Elchi’ or ‘Safir’ denote in the sixteenth century
Mughal administrative vocabulary ?
(A) Ambassadors
(B) Rebels
(C) Spies
(D) Governors
Ans : (A)

115. Which year of Akbar’s reign has been regarded by the historian, Vincent
A. Smith as ‘the most critical time’ ?
(A) 1556 A.D.
(B) 1561 A.D.
(C) 1571 A.D.
(D) 1581 A.D.
Ans : (D)

116. Who of the following was the first Indian to write English verse ?
(A) Kashi Prasad Ghosh
(B) Ramchandra Vidyavagish
(C) Krishna Mohan Banerjee
(D) Hariharanand
Ans : (A)
 117. Which one of the following statements is not correct about Bahadur
Shah Zafar ?
(A) He was an emperor without empire
(B) He was a warrior without any war experience
(C) Hassan Askari was his spiritual guide
(D) He succeeded to the throne in 1845 A.D.
Ans : (D)

118. During whose tenure did the incident of ‘Black Hole’ take place ?
(A) Mir Zafar
(B) Mir Qasim
(C) Alivardi Khan
(D) Sirajuddaula
Ans : (D)

119. Which one of the following had bestowed the title of ‘Jagat Seth’ to
Fatehchand ?
(A) Alivardi Khan
(B) Sirajuddaula
(C) Mir Zafar
(D) Muhammad Shah
Ans : (D)

120. In which of the following languages the book entitled ‘Hind Swaraj’ was
written ?
(A) Hindi
(B) Urdu
(C) Gujarati
(D) English
Ans : (C)

Important Facts of Indian History

History of Ancient India
● The Harappan Fort in the shape of a parallel square is 460 yards in length (north-south) 215 yards in
breadth (east-west) and 15-17 yards in height.

● The script of Indus civilization was pictorial in which there were more than 600 picture-letters and 60
original letters.

● The excavations of Chanhudaro were carried out in 1925 under the leadership of Earnest M’ckay. This
town had no fort.

● Naal, Daburkot, Rakhi Garhi, Banawali, Rangpur, Lothal, Des Morasi, Kulli, Rana Ghundai, Anjira,
Gumla, Amri, Ghundai, Mundigak, Diplabaga, Sahar-i-Sokhta, Bampur and Queta etc. are famous
historical sites where the remains of Indus civilization and pre Indus civilization have been excavated.
● Daburkot, Periano, Ghundai, Kulli, Mehi, Chanhudaro, Amri, Lohumjodaro, Alimurad, Ropar, Rangpur,
Sutkegender are the prominent (spots) places of Indus Valley civilization.

● The excavations of Kalibangan, a historical place in Rajasthan began in 1961 under the direction of B.
K. Thapar and B. B. Lal. From the lower layer of the excavation, the remains of pre Indus civilization and
from the upper layer of the Indus civilization are discernible. The fortress and the city both were
surrounded with walls.

● The excavations at Rangpur—an Indus site in Gujarat were carried out in 1953-54 under the leadership
of Rangnath Rao. Forts of raw bricks, drainage, terrecota utensils, weights and slabs of stone have been
found but the idol of mother Goddess (Matridevi) and coins have not been found.

● Lothal was situated at that time near the ocean. In excavations the remains of a dockyard have been
found which testify to the trade relations of Indus people with western Asia.

● In the district of Kutchh in Gujarat state, 12 kms north-east of Adesar is situated Surkotda which was
explored and excavated in 1964 under the guidance of Jagatpati Joshi.

● In the excavation of Indus civilization, a very big building has been explored. It is 242 ft long and 112 ft
broad. The walls are 5 ft thick.

● Some figurines on tables have been found in Indus civilization in the centre of which is a round shaped
Sun and around it are the pictures of 6 gods arranged in a way that they appear as if they are the Sun
beams. This testifies to the worship of Sun in the period.

● The proof of the existence of a Man-like being are 1 crore to 20 lacs years old.

● In the Indian population, there are four basic racial sub-difference. These are Negrito, Astro Australians,
Kakeshisi and Mongoloids.

● In India, skeletons (human body in bones-kankal) have been found in Sarai Nahar Rai near Allahabad,
Bataikhor and Lekhania. High in length, flat nose and broad mouth are their characteristics. These belong
to Mesolithic age.

● The pre stone civiliation came to be knwon in the region of river Sohan a subsidiary of Sindhu. Hence it
is called Sohan civilization. The Vatikapoom in the form of (Gandasa) axe and Khandak were its main
implements.

● In Harappan culture, the worship of Earth as goddess was in vogue. This is indicated by the idol of a
woman with a plant growing out of her womb.

● Along with the Elephants, Rhinoceros, Buffalos, Lions and Deers, the picture of Yogi engraved on a
seal (Muhar) suggests the worship of Shiva in Harappan civilization. This god had three heads and he sat
with crossed legs.

● The Talismans obtained in large numbers indicate that the people of Harappan culture believed in
witchcraft or the dead souls. These talismans were made of bronze and copper in the form of plate.

● In Harappan culture the weight (for measuring) were 16 or of its multiplied numbers.

● The dogs and cats were the domesticated animals and their foot prints confirm this fact.

● The remains of the horses have been found at Surkotda. The existence of the horse is not known from
the upper layer of Mohanjodaro excavation. The terrecota small figurines provide knowledge about it.
● The people of Lothal used rice in 1800 B.C.

● As Sindh was one of the oldest region for cultivating cotton, the Greeks named it as Sedon.

● In Harappan culture, silver was obtained from Afghanistan, Iran, South India, Arabia and Baluchistan.
Gold was imported from Afghanistan and Persia.

● The stone Lajward was brought from Badakshan, Feroza was brought from Iran. Jayumani was brought
from Maharashtra, Moonga and redstone were brought from Saurashtra and Western India and the
precious greenstone (Panna) was brought from Central Asia.

● The Ahar culture (Rajasthan) belonged to the Copper age. The houses were built of stone and a
mixture of lime and soil. Paddy was cultivated and Metal Work in Bronze were in vogue. All these were
the characteristics of this culture which existed about 2000 B.C.

● The remains of Malwa stone and Bronze culture have been found in Navdatoli where the houses were
built of mud, bamboo and dry grass in a square and round shape. The terrecota utensils and agricultural
products of wheat, oil seeds, pulses (Masur) and green and black gram are the characteristics of this
culture.

● The Rishis (Sages) like Gritsamad, Vishwamitra, Bhardwaj, Atri and Vashishta composed the Suktas or
the Vedic Mantras.

● The prominent female sages were Lopamudra, Ghosa, Shachi and Poulomi.

● Sam Ved is divided into three branches—(1) Kouthum, (2) Ranayaniya, (3) Jaminiya.

● Prominent among the Ayurvedacharyas were Acharya Ashwini Kumar, Dhanvantari, Banabhatt,
Sushrut, Madhav, Jeevan and Lolimbaraja etc.

● Ayur Ved is an ‘Upaved’ of Rig Ved, Dhanur Ved is ‘Upaved’ of Yajur Ved, Gandharva Ved is the
‘Upaved’ of Sam Ved and Shilpa Ved is the ‘Upaved’ of Atharva Ved.
● Rig Ved has two Brahmans—(1) Aitereya, (2) Kaushitaki.
● Krishna Yajur Ved has the Brahman—Taitteriya and Shukla Yajur Ved has the Shatpath Brahman.
● The Brahmans of Sam Ved are Tandav, Panchvish, Sadvish and Chhandogya.
● The Aranyakas deal with life, death and other serious themes. These are written and studied in
loneliness of the forests.
● Aitereya and Kaushitaki are the Aranyakas of Rig Ved. The author of Aitereya was Mahidas Aitereya.
● Taitteriya Aranyaka belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda.
● Sam Ved and Atharav Ved have no Aranyakas.
● Prominent among the Upanishads are Ish, Ken, Kath, Prashn, Mundak, Mandukya, Taitteriya, Aitereya,
Chhandogya, Vrihadaranyak, Shwetashwara, Kaushitaki and Mahanarayana.
● During the Rigvedic period Nishk was an ornament for the neck; Karnashobhan was an ornament for
the ear and Kumbh was the ornament for the head.

● In the Rigvedic age, the Aryans domesticated the cow, the buffalo, goat (ajaa), horse, elephant and
camel etc.
● Bheeshaj was the person who treated the sick people.
● The Rigvedic Aryans worshipped the Sun as Savita, Mitra, Pooshan and Vishnu. Sun was called the
‘Eye of Gods’; and Agni the ‘Mouth of Gods’. Agni was considered to be the Purohit of the Aryans. They
thought that the offering of the Yajna reaches to the gods through Agni. Varun was worshipped as a
spatial god.

● In Rig Veda, Usha, Sita, Prithvi, Aranyani, Ratri, Vak are worshipped as goddesses.
● Besides Rig Ved, the reference of Sita as the goddess of agriculture is made in Gomil Grihya Sutra and
Paraskar Grihya Sutra.

● The ancient idols of Ganesh show his main weapons as Paash and Ankush.

● In the Rigvedic age the traders were called ‘Pani’. They stole away the cattle of the Aryans.

● Das’ or Dasyas were more hated than the ‘Pani’. They have been referred as black complexioned
inauspicious and opposed to Yajnas. They were the worshippers of Phallus (Shishnadev).

● In the Rigvedic age, the cow was the backbone of economy. It was called ‘Aghanya’—not to be killed,
war has been referred as Gavisthi, the guest as Mohan and the daughter as Duhiti. One Rik refers to the
domestication of sheep.

● Vashishtha who replaced Vishwamitra as Purohit of King Sudas, has been mentioned as adopted son
of Urvashi, and born of the ‘Virya’ of Mitra and Varun on an earthen pot.

● Ballabh and Tarukshadas were chieftains who lavishly donated to the Purohits and through their grace
obtained respect and high place in the Aryan society.

● Savitri is referred in the famous Gayatri Mantra. In Rig Ved the maximum reference is made of Indra.
After him Varun is referred to. In the earlier Richas Varun and Marut have been mentioned as ‘Gan’.
Twasta also was a Vedic God.

● Prajapati has been referred as the Adi Purush—the first human (male). The gods were his children.

● In Rig Ved, the king has been mentioned as the Protector of the clan or the Gopta Janasya. The
reference to Sabha, Samiti, Gan, Vidath is made as the Tribal Councils.

● No bureaucracy developed in Rigvedic age. Yet the officer of Gochar land were called Vrajpati, the
officer of the village was called Gramani. He was the commander. The chief of the family is referred as
‘Kulap’.

● The words like Vrat, Gan, Gram and Shardh have also been used for indicating the group of Soldiers.

● In Rig Ved Jan is used 275 times, Vish is used 170 times. Sangram is the word which indicates war
between the villages.

● The God of Vegetation. It was also an intoxicating drink and the method of its preparation is referred in
the Rig Ved.

● The later Vedic literature was written during 1100 to 600 B.C. The painted grey ware—bowls and plates
were used and the tools which they used were made of iron.
● The main crop of the later Vedic age was wheat and paddy instead of barley.
● In the later Vedic age, the Vidath were extinct but the Sabha and the Samiti existed.
● In this period, the King performed the rites of Rajsuya Yajna with a desire to obtain divine power,
Ashwamedha Yajna to expand the empire and the Vajpeya Yajna for chariot racing with friends and
relatives of his Gotra.
● The Gotra system began in the later Vedic age. The custom of marrying outside the Gotra also started.
● In the literature of later Vedic age, the first three Ashrams are mentioned—(1) Brahmcharya, (2)
Grihastha, (3) Banprastha. The Sanyas Ashram is not mentioned.
● In later Vedic period the plant Som could not be obtained easily. As such other drinks were also used.
● Gold and Silver were mainly used for making ornaments and utensils. Other metals were used for
making many other implements in the later Vedic era.
● In later Vedic period, the commercial classes (Traders) organized themselves in ‘Sangh’. The Aryans
conducted sea trade. Nisk, Satman and Krishal were usded as coins for trade purposes.
● In comparison to the religion of Rigvedic period, the later Vedic religion had become very complex.
Purohits, Yajna and sacrifice were considered important. Many types of Yajnas were performed.
● The Shatpath Brahman refers to the various steps in progress of cultivation—Jutai (ploughing), Buwai
)planting), Lawani (weaning), Mandai (cutting) are the various processes mentioned in it.
● Sangam literature is compiled in 8 books. They are—(1) Narune, (2) Kuruntoge, (3) Aigunuru, (4)
Padirupyuttu, (5) Paripadal, (6) Karlittorga, (7) Nedultoge, (8) Purnanuru.
● In the Sangam age, the Tamil Grammar was written in a detailed book, ‘Tolakappiyam’.
● With the songs of the musicians, the dancers known as Panar and Widelier used to dance.
● Pedinekilkanku is a famous composition of Sangam literature.
● Sangam is a Sanskrit word meaning a Congregation and a Council.
● The main theme of the Sangam literature is ‘Romance’ (Shringar) and heroism (Veergatha). Shringar is
called as ‘Aham’ and Veergatha has been called as ‘Puram’.
● The first Sangam was organized at Madurai under the chairmanship of Rishi Agastya.
● The second Sangam was organized at Kapatpuram again under the chairmanship of Rishi Agastya.
● The third Sangam was organized at Madurai and it was chaired by ‘Nakkirar’.
● Avey was the family of Sangam age which meant Sabha (assembly).
● Panchvaram was the assembly of the advisors of the King of Sangam age.
● Ur was the institution which looked after the city administration.
● The excavation of Arikmedu, provide enough evidence to prove that once opon a time, the
cantonements of the Roman traders resided there.
● The teachers in the Sangam age were called as Kanakkaters.
● The students in the Sangam age were called Bhanwan or Pillai.
● Parshvanath arranged for fourfold vows (Chaturvrata) for the Bhikshus (monks)—(1) I shall not kill the
living beings, (2) I shall always speak the truth, (3) I shall not steal, (4) I shall not keep any property.

● Mahavir Swami has been called Nigashtha, Naatputra and Nirgranth Saatputra.

● Mahavir Swami left his mortal frame and attained Nirvana at Pawapuri near Patna in Bihar.

● The Triratna in Jainism are described as Samyak Shraddha (veneration), Samyak Gyan (knowledge)
and Samyak Acharana (conduct).

● According to Jainism, Nirvana (redemption) to free the soul from the physical bondage.

● Mahavir Swami has described five vows for the common people which are called as Panchmaha-vrat.
These are—Truth, Non-violence, No stealing, No collection of wealth or anything and celibacy (Satya,
Ahimsa, Astey, Aparigrah and Brahamacharya). To these was later added, ‘Not to eat at Night’.

● Kaivalya is total knowledge which the Nirgranthget.

● Buddha was born in the Lumbini forest, 14 km beyond Kapilvastu in Nepal Tarai.

● Kaundinya, a Brahmin astrologer, was contemporary of Buddha.

● Gautam obtained knowledge at Gaya. Hence the place is called Bodh Gaya.

● The first sermon of Buddha is known as ‘Dharma Chakra Pravartan’.

● Mahatma Buddha delivered his first sermon at Rishipattan (Sarnath).

● The followers of Buddha were divided into four sections—(1) Bhikshu or the monks, (2) Bhik-shuni or
lady monks, (3) Upasaks or devotees, (4) Upasikas or lady devotees.
● After delivering his teachings for constant 45 years, Mahatma Buddha attained Mahaparinirvan at the
age of 80 at Kushinara (Kushinagar).

● Tripitaks are—(1) Vinay Pitak, (2) Suttpitak, (3) Abhidhamma Pitak.

● Vinay Pitak is divided into 3 sections—(1) Sutta Vibhag, (2) Khandhak, (3) Pariwar.

● Suttpitak contains—Diggh Nikay, Majjhim Nikay, Anguttar Nikay and Khuddak Nikay.

● In Abhidhamma Pitak, philosophical and spiritual thoughts are contained.

● There are seven treatises of Abhidhamma Pitak —(1) Dhamma Sangeeti, (2) Vibhang, (3) Dhatu Katha,
(4) Puggal Panjati, (5) Katha Vastu, (6) Yamak, (7) Patthan.

● The eightfold paths are—(1) Right belief, (2) Right thought, (3) Right speech, (4) Right action, (5) Right
means of livelihood, (6) Right execution, (7) Right remembrance, (8) Right meditation.

● In Buddhism, the Astangikmarg (eight fold path) is classified as—(1) Praja Skandh, (2) Sheel Skandh,
(3) Samadhi Skandh.

● Under Praja Skandh come—Samyak Drishti, Samyak Sankalp and Samyak Vani (speech).

● Under Sheel Skandh come—Samyak Karmant, Samyak Aajeev.

● Under Samadhi Skandh come—Samyak Vyayam, Samyak Smriti and Samyak Samadhi.

● Mahatma Buddha was silent on the existence of God or otherwise but he did not believe in the
existence of soul.

● The first Buddhist Council was convened after a few years of Buddha’s death under the chairmanship of
Mahakassap in Saptparna caves near Rajgrih.

● The second Buddhist Council was organized at Vaisali.

● The third Buddhist Council was convened at Patliputra during the regime of Asoka.

● The fourth Buddhist Council was convened at Kashmir during the regime of Kanishka.

● Purans are said to be 18 in number of which Bhagwat Puran is very renowned.

● Bhagwatism is mentioned for the first time in the Bhishm Parva of Mahabarat.

● The Dravida Vaishnav devotees are known as the Alwars.

● A Brahman named Kautilya or Chanakya played a significant role in the establishment of the Mauryan
empire.

● In the Greek writings, Chandra Gupta Maurya is called Sandrocottus.

● Arien and Plutarch have called him Androcottus.

● In the Mudra Rakshas written by Vishakhdutt, Chandra Gupta Maurya is called Chandragiri
Chandrashree.
● In Buddhist literature, Mahavansh Tika is the book which throws ample light on the life of Chandra
Gupta Maurya.

● ‘Indika’ was written by Megasthenese.

● In the book Mahavansh, Chandra Gupta Maurya is said to be Kshatriya by caste.

● After being defeated in war with Chandra Gupta, Selukose offered him Gadrosia (Baluchistan), Acrosia
(Kandahar), Aria (Herat) and a part of Hindukush.
● Sudarshan Lake at Junagarh was built by Chandra Gupta Maurya.

● The Mahasthan inscription points out Chandra Gupta’s ascendancy over Bengal.

● The Rudradaman inscription of Girnar testifies to the suzerainty of Chandra Gupta over Saurashtra.

● According to Jain Texts, Chandra Gupta in the last years of his life, accepted Jainism and went to
Mysore with the Jain monk Bhadrabahu.

● The empire of Chandra Gupta spread from Himalaya in the north to Mysore in the south; and from
Bengal in the east to Baluchistan in the west. It covered Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, Doab of Ganga and
Yamuna, Magadh, Bengal, Malwa, Saurashtra and the region of Mysore.
● The administrative system of Chandra Gupta Maurya was Monarchy. In order to administer well,
Chandra Gupta Maurya appointed a Council of Ministers.
● In the Mauryan age, the officer who collected the trade taxes was called Shulkadhyaksha.
● The Chairman of the Government services was known as Sutradhyaksha in the Mauryan age.
● The officer-in-charge of Weight and Measures was known as Peetadhyaksha in the Mauryan age.
● In Mauryan age, the officer who controlled the manufacture of wine, its sale and purchase and its
consumption was Suradhyaksha.
● The chairman of the agricultural department was called Seetadhyaksha in Mauryan age.
● There were many officers such as Ganikadhyaksha,` Mudradhyaksha, Navadhyaksha, Ashwadhyaksha
and Devtadhyaksha etc. in the Mauryan Age.
● The officer who kept the details of total income and expenditure of the State and decided the economic
policy was called Sannidhata. Under him, worked officers like Treasurer and Shulkadhyaksha.
● In Mauryan age, the minister of factories and mines was called Karmantirak. His main task was to
excavate different metals from the mines and look after the factories.
● In Mauryan age the Amatya of Fauzdari (Criminal) Court was called Pradeshta.
● The Amatya of the Civil Court was known as Vyavaharik.
● The Greek scholars have described the Amatyas as the seventh caste.
● The successor of Chandra Gupta Maurya is called name Bindusara in majority of the Puranas.
Ceylonese works, Buddhist textsand in Deepvansh and Mahavansh. In Vayu Puran, his name is given as
Bhadrasaar. In some of the Purans he is called as Varisaar. In the Chinese text—Fa-Uen-Chu-Lin, he is
called as Bindupal. In another book Rajabalikatha, the successor and son of Chandra Gupta is called as
Sinhasen.
● Ptolemy, the ruler of Egypt sent Dioniyas as his ambassador to the Court of Bindusaar.
● In Chandra Gupta Maurya’s time, the chief of the city was called Nagaradhyaksha who worked like the
modern District Magistrate.
● The smallest unit of the administration was the village. Its chief officer was called Gramik or Gramani.
● Gramani was elected by the people of the village.
● In every village, there was an officer who was called Gram Bhojak.
● In the administration of Chandra Gupta Maurya the department of espionage was well organized.
According to Kautilya, there were two sections of the secret service—(1) Sansthan, (2) Sancharan.
● In the inscriptions, Asoka is called Devanampriya and Priyadarshi.
● The Ceylonese sources and Deepvansh, call him, Priyadarshan and Priyadarshi. Scholars think that
these were his titles.
● Asoka appointed an officer called Mahamatras in every city and district.
● In the 13th year of his reign, he appointed Dharma Mahamatra and Dharmayukta for the first time for
the happiness and peace of his people.
● Upagupta was a Bauddhist monk of Mathura under his influence, Asoka changed his religion and
accepted Buddhism.
● Asoka sent his daughter Sanghmitra and son Mahendra to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
● In the mini edicts Asoka calls himself a Buddha Shakya.
● Asoka sent Majjhantik to propogate Buddhism in Kashmir.
● In 1750, it was Teffenthaler who first explored the Asokan pillars.
● Asoka’s last edict was found by Beadon in 1915 at Maski.
● The small edicts of Asoka are of two types. According to Smith, they were written in 259-232 B.C.
● The first kind of Asokan small pillar edicts are available at Roopnath in Jabalpur district, Sahasaram in
Shahabad district of Bihar, Maski, in Raichoor district, and Vairat in Rajasthan.
● The second type of Asokan edicts have been found at Siddhpur (Chitralahug, Mysore) Jatig,
Rameshwar and Brahmagiri.

● The Bhabru edict was found at Bairath near Jaipur in Rajasthan. In this edict seven precepts of
Buddhism have been given which Asoka liked most and he desired that the people should read them and
make their conduct accordingly. This edict is preserved in Kolkata Museum.

● Two edicts about Kalinga have been found at Dhauli and Jaugarh. In these, the principles of behaviour
with he people of Kalinga and with the frontier people have been outlined.

● Asokan small edicts have been found at about 15 places.

● The Erangudi edict was found in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh at a place known as Erangudi.

● The Maski small edict was found from Maski village of Raichoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It contains
the name of Asoka.

● The Rajul Mandgiri edict was found on a mound 20 miles beyond Erangudi in Kurnool district of Andhra
Pradesh.

● The Gurjara edict has been found from a village named Gurjara in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. It
also mentions the name of Asoka.

● Ahraura edict was found from a hill of the village Ahraura in Mirzapur district of U.P.

● Palgoraria edict was found in 1975.

● The Sannati inscription (edict) has been found in the village Sannati in the district of Gulbarga of
Karnatic State.
● The cave inscription are three in number which have been found in the Barabar hills of Gaya city in
Bihar. These refer to the charity performed by the King to the Ajivaks.
● The language of the Kandahar edict is Greek and Aramaic.
● The Topara pillar edict has been found from a village named Topara in Haryana. In the course of time
Firoz Tughlaq brought it to Delhi where it is kept at Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
● Rumindei small pillar edict was found from the Tarai of Nepal.

● Most of Asokan edicts are written in Prakrit language.

● In Gupta age ships and boats were manufactured in large numbers. Gujarat, Bengal and Tamil Nadu
were the main centres of cotton industry.
● Trade between India and China was carried on before Gupta age, in 2nd century.
● India had trade relations with eastern, countries. They were called Swarnabhumi (land of gold).
● Peshawar, Bharaunch, Ujjaini, Varanasi, Prayag, Patliputra, Mathura, Vaishali and Tamralipti were
trade centres.
● In west Bharaunch and in east, Tamralipti were prominent ports.
● Gold, silver, bronze, tin, campher, dates and horses were imported.
● The collective unit of the people who worked in various industries, were known as ‘Kuliks’.
● ‘Kulik Nigam’ and ‘Shreshthi Nigam were the unions of wealthy traders. The Kulik Nigam had its own
seal which was used in commercial correspondence and the trade-goods.
● In the Gupta age, India maintained trade relations with Arabia. Horses were imported from Arabia and
Iran.
● The Seals of Kulik have been excavated from the town Meeta near Allahabad.
● From Vaishali 274 Seals of Sarthwah Kulik Nigam have been excavated prove that it was a great
institution of the Gupta age.
● Trade with China, Japan and Sumatra was carried from the port of Tamralipti.
● In Gupta age the land tax was known as ‘Udrang’.
● Kadur and Charpal were the ports situated in Andhra Pradesh.
● Kaveripattanam and Tondai were the ports of Chola State.
● Kokai and Saliyur were the ports of Pandya State.
● Kottayam and Mujris were the ports of Malwa State.
● Sindhu, Orhoth, Kalyan and Mibor were other main ports for trade.
● Hiranya was the tax realized in cash. Bhutavat Pratyaya was the tax levied upon the imports from other
countries.
● Haldand was the tax charged on the ploughed land.
● A definite portion of the produce from agricultural land was charged as the land tax by the State. It was
called Bhag tax. Generally it was charged in kind.
● In the Gupta age, the land was donated only to the Brahmans.
● The land donated to Brahmans was called Brahmdeya.
● The tax free villages of the Brahmans were called Agrahara.
● In the Gupta age, the Gram Parishads (village councils) were autonomous and free from the State
control.
● The uncultivated land was the property of the king.
● The women who remained unmarried throughout their life and passed their time in studies were called
Brahmavadinis.
● Taxila, Varanasi and Ujjaini were prominent centres of education.
● In the Gupta society, intercaste marriages were performed.
● The slave system was practised in the Gupta age.
● The joint family system was in vogue in Gupta society.
● In the women though not as much respected as in Vedic period, yet enjoyed important position in the
society of Gupta age.
● Sheelbhattarika was an educated and worthy woman of the Gupta age.
● Widow remarriages were performed in the Gupta age, But some works of the age speak against it.
Chandra Gupta II married the widow of Ramgupta, his brother. Her name was Dhruva Swamini.
● Prostitutes, expert in music and dance, and perfect in sexology were called ‘Ganikas’.
● The traders and commercial professionals had their ‘Shrenis’ in Gupta age. The Patkar, Tailik (oil
traders), Pashan Kottak (stone cutters) were important Shrenis.
● The author of ‘Swapnavasavaduttam’ was an eminent prose writer.
● The author of Bhattikavya or Ravan Vadh, was Bhatti, an eminent poet of Gupta age.
● Bhartahari worte ‘Niti Shatak’, Shringar Shatak and Vairagya Shatak which became very famous. Some
scholars believe that Bhartahari is another name for Bhatti.
● ‘Kuntleshwar Daityam’ is a drama that testifies to the fact that Kalidas belonged to the Gupta age.
● ‘Abhigyanshakuntalam’ ‘Meghdoot’ ‘Ritusanhar’ are some of the major works of Kalidas.
● Kamsutra is a famous book on Sexology written by Vatsyayan.
● Vaibhashik and Sanghbhadra were the two Acharyas (teachers) of the Gupta age who wrote the
literature of the Vaibhashik sect.
 Important Facts of Indian History
History of Medieval India
● Made in the times of Bhoj, an idol of ‘Vakdevi’ is at present preserved in the British Museum.
● The Jain temples of Dilwara were constructed during the period of Parmars.
● In Udaipur Prashasti, Munj is entitled ‘Kavi Vrish’ due to his literary attainments.
● Qutubuddin was purchased as a slave in his childhood by Qazi Fakruddin Abdul Aziz Koofi.
● Qutubuddin did not issue coins or got ‘Khutba’ read in his name after accession to Delhi throne.
● Qutubuddin Aibak was buried at Lahore after his death.
● Iltutmish established the Shamsi dynasty.
● Iltutmish organized the group of his 40 slaves which is famous in history as Turkan-i-Chahalgami.
● Yalduz and Nasiruddin Qubacha were prominent rivals of Iltutmish.
● Iltutmish organized the ‘Iqta army’.
● Iltutmish issued the coins—‘Taka’ of silver and ‘Jeetal’ of copper.
● Iltutmish was the first Sultan who issued pure Arabic coins.
● On 18th February, 1229, the representatives of the Caliph of Baghdad came to Delhi and they gave the
Investiture of the Caliph to Iltutmish. The Caliph thus accepted him as the Sultan of Delhi. Now Delhi
became a free state legitimately.
● According to Barni, Balban organized his Court on the Iranian pattern.
● Balban started the system of ‘Sijda’ and ‘Paibos’ during his reign.
● Balban’s theory of kingship was based upon—Power, Prestige and Justice. His main objective was to
maintain his control upon the administrative officials.
● The Mongol leader Changez Khan was known as the ‘Curse of God’.
● The coronation of Jalaluddin Feroz Shah was done in 1290 at the Kilokhari Apurna Palace built by
Kaikubad.
● At the time of his accession on the Delhi Sultanate, Alauddin Khalji assumed the title of Abul Mujaffar
Sultan Alauddinia and Deen Mohammad Shah Khalji.
● Jalaluddin Feroz Shah Khalji granted to Alauddin Khalji, the post of Amir-i-Tujuk.
● During Alauddin’s time approximately 75 to 80 per cent of the peasant’s produce was charged as tax.
● The main tasks of Diwan-i-Ariz were to recruit the soldiers, to disburse the salary, to well equip the
army, to make arrangements for inspection and to proceed with the Commander-in-Chief in times of war.
● The main tasks of the Diwan-i-Insha was to draft royal orders and letters and to maintain the govt.
records. He also conducted correspondence with the local officers.
● Alauddin Khalji introduced market reforms and fixed the prices of various items and goods.
● Munhiyan or detectives were appointed to keep a watch over the market and report the Sultan of the
same.
● Barid-i-Mandi was an employee who informed the Sultan of the quality of the material sold in the
market.
● ‘Khams’ was the war booty. The 4/5 of the loot was submitted to the royal treasury. Only 1/5 was
distributed among the soldiers.
● Alauddin Khalji established a new department Diwan-i-Mustakharaj in order to check the corruption of
Revenue department and to maintain control on the concerned officers.
● Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah rejected the rigid rules of Alauddin Khalji and pursued the policy of forgive
and forget.
● Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Ghazi was a Qaruna turk.
● Mohammad Tughlaq has been called, an unfortunate idealist
● Due to shortage of money in the treasury and to meet the expenses of Imperialist policy, Mohammad-
bin-Tughlaq issued token currency.
● Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq planned invasion of Khurasan and Iraq but did not carry it out.
● Diwan-i-Kohi was the name of agriculture department organized by Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.
● Elphinston was the first historian who believed that there was some signs of madness in Mohammad
Tughlaq.
● Feroz Shah abolished 24 taxes disliked by people.
● Feroz Shah Tughlaq following dictum of Quran. levied only 4 taxes named Kharaj, Khums, Zazia and
Zakat.
● Feroz Shah brought the two Asokan pillars from Khijrabad and Meerut to Delhi.
● During the period of Feroz Shah Tughlaq, the two books Fatwa-i-Jahandari and Tarikh-i-Feroz Shahi
were written by Barni.
● Feroz Shah Tughlaq wrote his autobiography entitled Futuhat-i-Firoz Shahi.
● Feroz Shah Tughlaq established a new department of charity at Delhi known as Diwan-i-Khairat.
● Feroz Shah’s book ‘Dalayat-i-Feroz Shahi’ was a work translated into Persian.
● Taimur invaded India in 1398.
● Sikandar Lodhi was the greatest of the Lodhi kings.
● In the Sultanate period, the Wazir was the Prime Minister of the Sultan.
● The department of the Wazir was known as the Diwan-i-Wizarat.
● In the Sultanate period, the Mushrif-i-Mumaliq maintained the account of the income and expenditure of
the provinces.
● In the Sultanate period, the Chief Auditor of Accounts was called Mustafa-i-Mamaliq. His main work was
to inspect the accounts prepared by Mushraf-i-Mamaliq.
● The Chief of military department was called, Ariz-i-Mamaliq who was not the Commander-in-Chief of
the army.
● Dabir-i-Khas was the chairman of the correspondence department.
● Department of Diwan-i-Insha worked under Dabir-i-Khas who issued the royal Firmans (orders).
● The Treasurer was called Khajij and the Chief Justice was called Qazi-i-Mamaliq.
● The Chief of the Construction department was called Mir-i-Imarat.
● The Public Hall of the Sultan was called Durbar-i-Azam.
● The Sultan divided the empire into Iqtas orprovinces.
● Iqta was divided into samll shiks or districts.
● Jakat was the tax which covered the taxes of ‘Sadpa’ and ‘Tith’.
● Qutubuddin Aibak had built the mosque known as Quwwattul-Islam near the Delhi Fort of Rai Pithora.
● The famous mosque at Ajmer known as Dhai Din Ka Jhopra was constructed by Qutubuddin Aibak.
● Dhai Din Ka Jhopra was earlier a Sanskrit school which was built by Vigrahraj Bisaldeo.
● Alai Darwaza which is considered to be the most precious jewel of Islamic architecture was built by
Alauddin Khalji.
● The new city of Siri and the Hazaar Situn palace in this city were built by Alauddin Khalji.
● In the period of Sikander Lodhi, his Wazir built the Moth mosque.
● The mosque of Attala is one of the best buildings of Sharqi style.
● The Jhajhanri mosque at Jaunpur was built by Ibrahim Sharqi in about 1430.
● The most important mosque at Jaunpur known as Jami mosque was built by Hussain Shah Sharqi.
● The mosque of Lal Darwaza at Jaunpur, was built in the middle of the 15th century.
● The Vijay Nagar kingdom was divided into 6 provinces. The chief of the province was known as
Prantpati or Nayak.
● The province was divided into Nadu or districts.
● The provincial rulers were allowed to issue their coins.
● In the Vijay Nagar empire Brahmans were the most respected. The criminal Brahman was exempled
from capital punishment.
● Women enjoyed honourable status. Many of them learnt the art of warfare. They were appointed as
bodyguards.
● Krishnadeo Ray is designated as the Andhra Pitamah.
● Gold coins were used and they were called ‘Barah’.
● Mixed metal coins were called Partab.
● Kabir who adopted the Gyanashrayi branch of the Nirgun sect, was the disciple of Ramanand.
● Namdeo was born in a small village of Satara district in 1220.
● Sabad refer to the composition related to Yog Sadhana.
● Guru Nanak was born in a small village Talwandi near Lahor.
● To reform a society ridden with ritualism and superstitious, he preached the Nirguna sect.
● The fifth Sikh Guru Arjundeo systematized the composition of Guru Nanak in ‘Guru Granth Sahib’.
● Malik Mohammad Jayasi earned great name and fame for his work Padmavat.
● The first invasion of Babar on India was conducted in 1519. During this invasion, he conquered Bajaur
and Bhera. He went back from here. When he left these two places were lost to the Moghuls.
● Babar again invaded India in 1526, for the fifth time and he did not go back this time. He founded the
Moghul empire in India.
● He defeated Ibrahim Lodhi by adopting his trusted war tactics of Tulughma.
● Babar used Artillery for the first time in the battle of Panipat.
● Babar defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar in the battle of Khanva in 1527. He scored a victory over
Afghans in battle of ‘Ghaghara’ in 1529.
● Babar declared the Chanderi war as Jehad and he constructed a minarate of the heads of the dead
Rajputs.
● Babar wrote his autobiography Tujuk-i-Babri in Turkish language.
● Mirza Haider Speaks about numerous qualities of Babar in his book—Tarikh-i-Rashidi.
● Babar’s daughter Gulbadan Begum enumerated the qualities of Babar in her book, Humayun Nama.
● Babar in his reign abolished the tax Tamagha.
● Babar wrote Risala-i-Validiya in Turkish poetry which was orginally the work of Khwaja Obei-dullah.
● Babar learnt the use of artillery from Ustad Ali and Mustafa—his two Turkish officers.
● The name of Humayun’s mother was Maham Sultana.
● In 1544 Humayun took shelter with Shah Tahmasp, the ruler of Iran.
● In July 1555, Humayun again occupied the throne of Delhi.
● Humayun died on 27 January, 1556 as a result of a sudden fall from the stairs of the Din-Panah Library.
● Shershah was a great conqueror. He fought and won a grim battle against Maldeo of Marwar.
● Shershah introduced currency reform, extanded transport system by building, roads, most famous
being present day G. T. Road and reformed revenue system by classifying agricultural land and
introducing measurement of land.
● During the administration of Shershah, the Diwan-i-Vizarat looked after the tax system and economy
and maintained the accounts of the income and expenditure of the State.
● The duty of Diwan-i-Ariz was to recruit the army, supply the food and look after education.
● The duty of Diwan-i-Rasalat was to conduct correspondence with other States and to maintain contact
with them.
● The duty of the Diwan-i-Insha was to write emperor’s orders and records of accounts.
● The credit to solve the early difficulties of Akbar and to safeguard the Mughal empire goes to Bairam
Khan.
● From 1556 to 1560 the reins of Mughal administration remained in the hands to Bairam Khan.
● At Tilwara, a war was fought between Bairam Khan and the army of Akbar. Bairam Khan was defeated.
● In early days of his rule Akbar was under the influence of Harem particularly his foster another Maham
Anga. This is why some historian call the early years of Akbar as ‘Purda-rule’ or Petticoat government.
● When Maham Anga died, the so-called short Petticoat government of Akbar’s time ended.
● In 1562 Akbar abolished the slavery system.
● Akbar was the first muslim ruler who got maximum success in Rajasthan.
● Akbar’s second attack on Gujarat is considered to be not only the fastest invasion of Akbar’s time but
the fastest in the history of the world of that age.
● In 1595 during Akbar’s time. Muzaffar Hussain was the Persian Governor of Qandahar.
● Akbar’s mother Hamida Bano Begum was a religious lady of a Sufi Shia family.
● Raja Birbal died fighting on the royal side in the Afghan-Baluchi rebellion during Akbar’s time.
● In 1571 was built an Ibadatkhana at Fatehpur Sikri where every Thrusday, religious deliberation were
held.
● Akbar was also impressed by Jainism. He invited the eminent Jain scholar Heer Vijay Suri from Tam
Gachh in Gujarat to know about this religion.
● Impressed by Zorastrianism, the holy fire was kept burning in Akbar’s palace.
● Following the tradition of Hindu kings, Akbar started appearing for Darshan of his people from the
Jharokha of his palace.
● In Akbar’s time, the Prime Minister was known Wazir or Vakil-i-Mutlaq.
● In Akbar’s time, the Finance Minister was called Wazir or Deewan.
● Mujaffar Khan was the first to be appointed as Wazir during Akbar’s time.
● The assistants of Deewan, known as Sahib-i-Taujeeh looked after the accounts of the Army.
● Another assistant of Deewan, Deewan-i-Bayutoot, looked after the Industries of different kinds.
● The officer who managed the royal treasury was known as Mushrif-i-Khazana.
● Meer Saman in Akbar’s time, managed the affairs of the royal palace, Haram and kitchen.
● In Akbar’s time, Amal Guzar was the officer who collected the revenue from the districts.
● Bitikchi prepared the data about the quality of land and its produce. On the same basis, the Amal Guzar
fixed the revenue. Bitikchi was the second important officer in the Revenue department.
● Amil collected the revenue from the Pargana.
● In Akbar’s time, the clerk was called Karkun. His main task was to record the cultivable land in the
Pargana and keep an account of the realized and unrealized revenue.
● Akabar introduced Mansabdari system with its ranks of Jat and Sawar based on decimal system.
● According to Blochman, Zat was the definite number of soldiers, the Mansabdars had to keep with
them.
● According to Blochman the Sawar meant the definite number of cavalry.
● In Akbar’s time, there were four kinds of land—Polaj, Chacher, Parauti and Banjar.
● In Akbar’s time, Ibrahim Sarhindi translated the Sanskrit text of Atharva Ved in Persian.
● Mulla Shah Mohammad translated in Persian Raj Tarangini of Kalhan.
● Maulana Sherry translated Hari Vansh Puran in Persian.
● Abul Fazal translated Panch Tantra in Persian.
● Faizi translated the story of Nal Damayanti in Persian.
● The history of Islam was compiled in Tarikh-i-Alfi. It is a famous book.
● Akbar established a separate department of Painting, the chairman of this department was the famous
painter Khwaja Abdus Samad.
● Abdussamad was an inhabitant of Persia who came to India from Shiraz. He was adorned with the title
of Shirin Qalam for his attainments.
● Mohammad Hussain, the famous author of Akbar’s Court was adorned with the title of Zari Qalam.
● Akbar built the Fort of Allahabad.
● The first building of Akbar’s time was Humayun’s tomb at Delhi built under the guidance of his step
mother Haji Begum.
● The main mason who built Humayun’s tomb belonged to Iran and his name was Mirza Meerak Ghyas.
● Akbar was born on Sunday. Hence Jahangir declared Sunday as a pious day.
● Nur Jahan was an educated lady. She was specially interested in music, painting and poetry. She
composed poetry in Persian.
● The first Englishman to come to the Mughal Court was captain Hawkins.
● Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana was the guardian and tutor of Jahangir.
● The English ambassador Sir Thomas Roe came to India during Jahangir’s time.
● The Jahangir’s autobiography is Tujuk-i-Jahangiri.
● Shahjahan was born on 5 January, 1592 at Lahore. The name of his mother was Jagat Gosain.
● Two big rebellions broke out during Shahjahan’s time. One was the revolt of the ruler of Bundelkhand
named Jujhar Singh and the other was the revolt in south under the leadership of Khan-i-Jahan Lodhi.
● The title of Malika-i-Zamani was conferred upon Arjumand Bano Begum.
● The first coronation of Aurangzeb was performed on 31 July, 1658 and the second coronation took
place on 15 June, 1659.
● Aurangzeb passed an order and prohibited the repairs of the temples by the Hindus.
● Aurangzeb appointed Subedars and Muhatsibs to check the spread of education and Hinduism.
● Aurangzeb again levied Zazia upon Hindus.
● Under Aurangzeb, the Hindu traders paid 5% tax on goods while the Muslim traders were free from this
tax.
● Aurangzeb issued orders to prohibit the celebration of Holi, Diwali and Basant etc. in the Mughal Court.
● Gokul and Raja Ram were the leaders of Jat revolt against Aurangzeb. After the death of Rajaram, his
brother’s son named Churaman continued the revolt. The Jat rebellion went on till the death of Aurangzeb
and the Jats succeeded in establishing a free Jat state of Bharatpur near Mathura.
● In 1681, Akbar, the son of Aurangzeb revolted against him.
● The 9th Guru of the Sikh order, Guru Tegh Bahadur openly protested against the religious policy of
Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb called him to Delhi and asked him to accept Islam. When he refused, he was
beheaded.
● Shivaji was the founder of Maratha State. He fought against the state of Deccan, as well as the mughal
empire. He was a great administrator.
● Shivaji was succeeded by Sambhaji who was captured and put to death by Aurangzeb.
● Rajaram ruled only as the representative of Shahu—the son of Shambhaji who was imprisoned by
Aurangzeb. Rajaram never occupied the Maratha throne.
● After the death of Raja Ram Maratha war of independence was carried on by his wife Tarabai.
● VascodeGama came to India as the representative of the ruler of Portugal. He met Zamorin of Calicut
and obtained trade facilities.
● In 1492 Pope Alexander VI granted the Portuguese the monopoly to trade with the east.
● From 1505 to 1509, Almeda remained in India as the first Portuguese Governor.
● Albukirk was the successor of Almeda in India. His objective was to establish a Portuguese colony in
India by intermarrying with Indians.
● After coming to India, the Dutch established their trade centres at Surat, Bharaunch, Cambay,
Ahmedabad, Chinsura, Kasim Bazar, Patna, Balasore, Nagapattanam, Kochin, Masulipattanam and Agra.
● The main aim of the Dutch was to trade with the Islands of south-east Asia. India was just a passage for
them. This is why the Dutch faced no rivalry with other European companies.
● In 1608, under the leadership of Captain Hawkins, the English fleet reached India.
● In 1717 the Mughal King Farrukh Siyar granted a Firman to the British giving them the trade rights.
● In 1692, the Nawab of Bengal issued an order to the French Company and they established a
commercial Factory at Chandranagar.

History of Modern India

● Muazzam occupied the Mughal throne as Bahadur Shah after his success in the war of succession.
● Muazzam, the son of Aurangzeb was called as the ‘Shah Bekhabar’.
● The Mughal King Farrukh Siyar gratned concession to the English men to trade in Bengal, Gujarat and
Hyderabad.
● In 1759 Ali Mohar, the son of Alamgir sat upon the Mughal throne as Shah Alam II.
● After the death of Maratha ruler Shahu, the real power of the State came in the hands of Peshwas.
● Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal transferred his capital to Murshidabad from Dacca.
● Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal transferred his capital to Moongher from Murshidabad.
● In the middle of the 18th century, the nominal ruler of Mysore was Chika Krishnaraj. The real power of
the State lied with the two brothers—Nand Raj and Dev Raj.
● In 1761 Hyder Ali captured Nandraj and became the master of Mysore.
● In the first Anglo-Mysore war, Hyder Ali badly defeated the English army.
● In 1781 Hyder Ali conqurered Arcot but in 1781 at Porn Novo Sir Eyerkoot defeated him.
● Ali Muhammad Khan established the State of Rohilkhand.
● The early capital of Rohilkhand was ‘Awala’ which later shifted to Rampur.
● Guru Har Gobind Singh constructed the Akaal Takht at Amritsar.
● Guru Gobind Singh converted the Sikhs into a warring and military group.
● In 1721, the two sects of Sikhism ‘Bandai’ and ‘Tatkhalsa’ merged in one sect ‘Khalsa’. This sect
became a headache for the Mughals.
● The Sikhs were organized in 12 unions or misls which grew in political significance. Later Ranjeet Singh
conquered these misls and organized them into Punjab State.
● The ruler of the Afghanistan conferred the title of Raja upon Ranjeet Singh and appointed him the
Subedar of Lahore.
● The treaty of Amritsar was signed between the English and Ranjeet Singh in 1809. As a result the
English checked the expansion of Ranjeet Singh towards the region of Sutluj.
● According to the treaty of Amritsar, the English accepted Ranjeet Singh as an independent ruler.
● During first Anglo-Sikh war, the Governor-General of India was Lord Hardinge.
● Punjab was ruled by Maharaja Dalip Singh when the Lahore Treaty was signed in 1846 between the
Sikhs and the English after the defeat of Sikhs in the first Anglo Sikh war.
● During Sirajudaulla’s time, the English settlement at Calcutta became a resort for the enemies of
Nawab and the traitors.
● On 4th June, 1756 Sirajudaulla invaded and captured the Qasim Bazar factory of English near
Murshidabad.
● The Black hole tragedy as it is known in history, came to light through the letter of Holvell. Some of the
historians consider it imaginery.
● In the contemporary historical works like Sher-a-Mutkherin and Royas-us-Salatin, there is no reference
to the Black hole tragedy.
● On 9th February, 1757, the Ali Nagar Treaty was signed between the English and the Nawab.
● After the war of Plassey, when Sirajudaulla was running away from Murshidabad towards Patna he was
captured and killed.
● On 28 June, 1757, the English declared Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal.
● After victory in Plassey war, the English Company obtained concessions to trade in Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa.
● On 25 November, 1759, the Bedara war was fought between the English and the Dutch and the Dutch
were defeated. The victory helped the English in consolidating their hold on Bengal.
● Mir Qasim planned friendship with Vansittart to become the Nawab of Bengal.
● Mir Qasim gave to East India Company, the districts of Vardhman, Midnapur and Chittgaon for the
expenditure of the English army.
● In 1764 the joint army of Mir Qasim, Shujauddaulla and Shah Alam fought with the English—the war of
Buxar, the English were victorious in this war.
● After the Buxar War, the Allahabad treaty was signed between English and the Mughal King Shah Alam
in 1765 AD.
● According to Allahabad Treaty, the districts of Kara and Allahabad were taken away from the Nawab of
Oudh and given to Mughal King. The East India Company agreed to pay to the king a pension of Rs. 26
lacs. In lieu the English got Diwani rights in Bengal.
● After the death of Mir Jafar, his son Nizamuddaula was enthroned as Nawab of Bengal.
● K. M. Panikkar holds that from 1765 to 1772, the rule of East India Company in Bengal was the ‘rule of
dacoits’.
● During Warren Hastings period, the Treasury was transferred by the East India Company to Calcutta
from Murshidabad and Calcutta was made the capital.
● During the Governorship of Warren Hastings, in every district of subjugated India one Civil and one
Criminal Court was opened.
● The cases upto to Rs. 500 were referred to the Civil Court and alone it, the appeal could be made to the
Sadar Diwani Adalat.
● The District Criminal Court was put in charge of an Indian Officer.
● The Regulating Act of 1773 established a Supreme Court at Calcutta.
● The Permanent settlement introduced by Cornwallis brought changes in the land system. Most of the
land came in the hands of commercial and rich classes of Calcutta.
● The Permanent settlement ensured the income of the Government. Besides the cooperation of the new
Zamindars was obtained.
● In the Mahalwari system, land revenues was fixed either through the local Zamindars or their hereditary
tax collectors or the Zamindars of the Mahal. Mahal was the collection of villages. The Mahalwari system
was known in Punjab as the village system.
● The Raiyyatwari system was introduced during early 19th century in some regions of Madras and
Bombay. The Govt. directly obtained a fixed amount from the peasants.
● In the Raiyyatwari system, the revenue rate was fixed 45% to 50% of the total produce separately.
● The Raiyyatwari system had many defects which the Govt. official accepted at the time of a
parliamentary inspection for the renewal of the Company’s Charter.
● In the Fifth and Sixth decades of 19 century, the English invested in large amount to control Indian
economy.
● The English invested their capital on roads and communications, Railway, Post and Telegraph, Banks
and tea gardens.
● In 1830 the Ahoms again rebelled against the English. This time, the English Company adopted a
peaceful policy and granted north Assam and some other region to King Purandar Singh.
● Raja Teerath Singh of Nanakkalo rebelled against the English with the help of Garo, Khampati and
Sinhopo tribes. Soon it took the shape of a mass-movement. In 1833, the English could crust it with
superior military force.
● In 1825, the Assam Rifles rebelled against the English.
● In 1838, the Indian troops stationed at Sholapur rebelled due to non-payment of the full allowances.
● In 1850 the Gobind Garh regiment rebelled.
● On 1 January, 1857, the use of British made Enfield Rifles was started in India. In the cartridges of this
Rifle, the fat of cows and pigs were used.
● In March 1857, the soldiers of Bairakpur Cantt refused to use the fat cartridges.
● On 2 May, 1857, the Oudh Regiment of Lucknow too refused to use these cartridges. As a result, the
Oudh regiment was disbanded.
● To the soldiers of Meerut who had refused to use the fat cartridges, an English military officer—Carr
Michael Smith issued the jail punishment of 5 years.
● On 10 May, 1857, a section of the infantry and cavalry of Merrut rebelled at about 5 P.M.
● The rebels marched to Delhi, captured the city and declared Bahadurshah the emperor of India.
Bahadurshah assumed the leadership of revolt in Delhi.
● During this rebellion, Nana Saheb established his suzeranity over Kanpur and declared himself the
Peshwa.
● In Bundelkhand Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi assumed the leadership of the revolt.
● In Bihar, the zamindar of Jagdishpur, named Kunwar Singh led the revolt.
● On 28 May, 1857, the soldiers of Nasirabad Cantt in Rajasthan, rebelled.
● Kota and Adva were the main centres of revolt in Rajasthan.
● The Central India, Tantya Tope led the revolt.
● In U.P. the importnat centres of revolution were Jhansi, Kanpur, Bareilly, Meerut, Lucknow, Aligarh,
Mathura and Agra.
● The Bareilly rebellion was led by Batakhs Khan.
● The Commissioner of Oudh, Henry Laurrence died of a blast on 4th July, 1857.
● While suppressing the revolt, the English officer Neil buried the dead Brahmans and burnt the dead
Muslims.
● In March 1858, under the leadership of Kunwar Singh, the rebels captured Azamgarh.
● While marching towards Benaras from Azamgarh, there was an encounter between Kunwar Singh and
the English officer Lord Mark in which Lord Mark had to run away to save his life.
● Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur was the only leader to have died under the banner of freedom.
● On 14 December, 1857, the English army blasted Kashmiri Gate of Delhi.
● In November 1857 the rebels defeated the English General Windaham near Kanpur.
● Vinayak Damodar Saverker was the first to name the rebellion of 1857 as the first war of Indian
independence.
● According to Sir Seeley, the rebellion of 1857 was fully a national revolt conducted by selfish soldiers.
● Sir John Lawrence, P. E. Roberts and V. A. Smith have called it a Sepoy Mutiny.
● According to V. A. Smith, the rebellion of 1857 was purely a sepoy mutiny which fully reflected the
indiscipline of Indian soldiers and the foolishness of English military officers.
● According to Sir James Outtram, the revolt of 1857 was the result of a conspiracy of the Muslims who
desired to fulfill their self-interest on the strength of the Hindus.
● Ashok Mehta in his book, ‘The Great Revolt’, has attempted to prove that it was a national revolt.
● Pattabhi Sita Ramaiyya takes it to be the first war of Indian independence.
● After crushing the revolt of 1857, they constituted an India Council and abolished the Board of
Directors. There were 15 members in the India Council and a Secretary of State for India.
● After the revolt, Lord Canning announced the Declaration of the Queen at a Durbar held at Allahabad.
He called it, ‘the Magna Carta of Indian people’.
● In the Declaration of the Queen, the policy of expansion of the political limits came to an end.
● The rebels responsible for the murder of Englishmen were punished. All others were pardoned.
● The objective of Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Ramkirshna Mission and the Theosophical society etc.
was to herald a renaissance in India.
● Brahmo Samaj was founded in Calcutta by Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August, 1828.
● Raja Ram Mohan Roy always advocated the appointment of Indians on high govt. posts. He played a
major role in the abolition of Sati system.
● After the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August, 1833, Devendara Nath Tagore assumed the
leadership of the Brahmo Samaj.
● Aadi Brahmo Samaj was established by Devendra Nath Thakur.
● Bhartiya Brahmo Samaj was founded by Keshav Chandra Sen.
● The principles of Brahmo Samaj helped immensely in the birth and Spread Indian nationalism.
● Raja Ram Mohan Roy established Vedant College, English School and Hindu College at Calcutta.
● Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the advocate of English Education and he thought English to be the vehicle
of progress.
● It was due to the effort of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, that the restriction upon the newspapers were lifted.
● In 1819, at Maharashtra, Prarthna Sabha was founded. It came to an end due to its limited scope.
● In 1867 Atma Ram Pandurang established Prarthna Samaj. M. G. Ranade, R. G. Bhandarkar and
Narayan Chandrawarkar were the prominent members of this Samaj.
● Dayanand Saraswati left his house at the age of 21. As a Brahmachari Sadhu, he travelled to different
places in India.
● Dayanand Saraswati started the propagation of his religion from Agra.
● In 1874, he wrote his famous book Satyarth Prakash.
● On 10 April, 1875 he founded Arya Samaj at Bombay.
● Totapuri, a Vedantic sadhu taught Vedant Sadhna to Dayananda.
● Ramkrishna Paramhans was born in 1836 in a poor Brahman family of Hoogly district of Bengal.
● Swami Vivekanand was the most devoted disciple of Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans.
● Ramkrishna Pramhans did not establish any Ashram or sect.
● In 1893 in the All Religion Conference at Chicago Vivekanand impressed everyone, and started a
Vedant Samaj there.
● In 1896 Vivekanand established Ramkrishna Mission.
● In the last years of the third decade of the 19th century, the young Bengal movement was led by an
Englishman named Henry William Derozio.
● On 7 September, 1875 in New York, U.S.A. Madame H.P. Blatavesky (Russian) and Col. H. S. Alcott
(American) founded the Theosophical Society.
● Mrs. Annie Besant, an Irish lady was a very active member of Theosophical Society in India.
● Due to the efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, in 1856, the Widow Remarriage Act was legislated.
● The slogan of ‘Inkalab Zindabad’ was given by Mohammad Iqbal.
● Sir Saiyyad Ahmad Khan founded the Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh in 1877 which later became
known as Aligarh Muslim University.
● Haji Shariatullah was the initiator of Faryaz movement.
● In Maharashtra the Bharat Sewak Samaj was started by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
● In 1922 Amrit Lal Viththal Das established the Bheel Sewa Mandal.
● Jyoti Ba Phule was the champion of widowremarriage in Maharashtra.
● In 1911 Narayan Maltar Joshi organised the Social Service League, a society to solve the social
problems. He was assisted by some educated Indians.
● Avanindra Nath Thakur founded the society known as—The Indian Society of Oriental Art.
● In the 19th century, the famous Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee composed the song—
Vande Matram.
● In 1875, Sisir Kumar Ghose founded the India League.
● The Indian Association founded by Surendra Nath Banerjee was replaced by the Indian League in
1876.
● The credit for founding the Indian National Congress in 1885 goes to an English officer, Allen Octavian
Hume.
● The first Conference of the Indian National Congress was held at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College,
Bombay under the chairmanship of W. C. Banerjee.
● Bal Gangadhar Tilak started Ganesh Mahotsav in 1893 and Shivaji Samaroh in 1895.
● Pandit Jugal Kishore published the first newspaper of India—Udant Martand. It was a paper which gave
top priority to Indian interests.
● During Lord Curzon’s time in 1905, Bengal was divided.
● In 1911, in Lord Hardinge’s time, the partition of Bengal was cancelled.
● Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajeet Singh were exiled to Burma in 1907.
● In 1911 the capital of India was shifted to Delhi from Calcutta.
● On Nov. 1913, the Ghadar Party was founded at Sanfransisco city of America by the great revolutionary
of Punjab named Lala Hardayal.
● Kashi Ram and Hardayal were the active members of the Ghadar Party.
● In 1906, Agha Khan founded the All India Muslim League.
● In 1916, a pact was signed between Muslim League and Congress which is known in history as the
Lucknow Pact.
● In 1916 Bal Gangadhar Tilak established the Home Rule League of India.
● After Lucknow Pact, Congress and League presented the plan of political reforms based on separate
electoral regions. This pact led to an increase in communalism.
● In 1914 Annie Besant brought out a newspaper in English named ‘New India’.
● Gandhiji established the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
● On 30 March, 1919, Satyagraha Day was observed in whole of India. The Satyagraha was peaceful at
all places except Punjab and Delhi.
● Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin, the leaders of the Punjab Satyagraha were imprisoned. In protest, a
meeting was organized at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar . The people who assembled here were gunned
down. This is known as ‘Jalhianwalla bagh Massacre’ of April 1919.
● After the world war I, the Indian Muslims were excited due to the treatment meted out to Caliph by the
British in Turkey. In 1919 they started the Khilafat movement under the leadership of Maulana Shaukat Ali
and Muhammad Ali.
● The Congress joined the Muslims in Khilafat movement. On 31 August, 1919, the Khilafat Day was
observed.
● Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-cooperation Mass Movement in 1920-21. But violence broke out at
Chauri Chaura then in Gorakhpur district which saddened Gandhiji. In February 1922 he announced the
closure of the movement.
● In March 1922 Motilal Nehru and Deshbandhu Chitranjan Das established the Swaraj Party.
● In the elections of 1923 the Swaraj Party scored 40 seats out of 148.
● In 1927 the Bardoli Satyagraha was conducted by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
● In 1928 under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon a Commission came to India to inspect the
administrative work. The Indians boycotted it as no Indian was a member of the Commission. In March
1928 the Commission went back.
● In the 1929 Lahore Congress session held under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru, the meaning of
Swaraj was declared as total independence.
● In 1930 Gandhiji broke the Salt laws by his Dandi March and he started the Civil Disobedience
movement.
● In 1930, the Congress boycotted the first Round Table Conference.
● In 1931, after Gandhi-Irwin pact Gandhiji went to attend the second Round Table Conference along with
the members of Muslim League.
● In the third Round table conference in 1932, Congress did not send any representative. Only 46
members went to participate under different categories.
● The meeting of the Executive of Congress held on 1 January, 1932 decided to again start the Civil
Disobedience Movement due to the completely negative attitude of the Government.
● The British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald declared the communal award on 16 August, 1932.
● On 25 September, 1932, the Poona Pact was signed. Common agreement was made on two conditions
for preparing the electoral regions. The representative of the Depressed classes was B.R. Ambedkar.
● In 1932 Gandhiji founded the Harijan Sewak Sangh for the uplift of the Harijans.
● On 8 May, 1933 Gandhiji declared the programme of 21 days fast for his self-purification.
● Gandhiji began ‘Individual Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience on 1 August, 1933.
● The Government of India Act of 1935 had 312 articles and 19 enclosures.
● In 1935, the British provinces were 11 e.g., Madras, Bombay, Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Orissa, Central
Provinces, Assam, North West Frontier Provinces, United Provinces and Sindh.
● The Government of India Act of 1935, the subjects were divided into three departments—Federal,
Provincial and Concurrent.
● This Act divided the British provinces of India in two categories. 11 were the provinces under the
Governor and 5 provinces were under Lieutenant Commissioners.
● The Govt. of India Act, 1935, proposed Federal system and Provincial autonomy. The plan of Federal
system could not be implemented. The elections for the Provincial legislative Councils were held in the
January-February of 1937.
● The Congress won majority in 5 provinces—Madras, United Provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar and
Orissa in the general election of 1937.
● In Punjab, the Unionist Party and Muslim League jointly formed the Government. This Government
worked without any obstruction till 1947.
● In Bengal the Krishak Praja Party and the Muslim League jointly formed the Government. Its Cabinet
worked till 14 August, 1947. Sikandar Hayaat Khan was the head of this Government.
● The Congress Cabinets worked from 1937 to 1939.
● In 1934, the members of Congress Executive, Acharya Narendra Dev, Jai Prakash and Achyut
Patvardhan organized the Congress Socialist Party.
● In the Haripura session of the Congress (1938), S. C. Bose was unanimously elected the President.
● Subhash Chandra Bose organized a National Planning Committee.
● In 1939 Bose was relected Congress President defeating Gandhi’s candidate P. Sitaramayya.
● In April 1939, Subhash Chandra Bose resigned from the post of the President and started a militant
party known as Forward Block.
● In 1939, Jawaharlal Nehru became the President of the Tribal Conference of Indian States.
● In 1933, a Muslim student named Choudhary Rahmat Ali studying in England proposed the formation of
a separate Muslim State and called it Pakistan.
● On 24th March, 1940, in the Lahore Conference of the Muslim League, the Pakistan proposal was
passed.
● Lord Linlithgo presented the August proposal before the Congress on 8 August, 1940 for getting
cooperation during the war.
● The Individual Satyagraha was started from 17 October, 1940. Acharya Vinoba Bhave was the first
Satyagrahi. Gandhiji postponed it on 17 December, 1940.
● It was restarted on 5 January, 1941. During this period more than 20 thousand people were arrested.
● Cripps Mission visited India in 1942. It was onemember Commission and only Sir Strafford Cripps was
the member.
● The Congress and the League, both rejected the Cripps Proposals.
● The Quit India movement resolution was passed on 14 July, 1942 in the Executive of the Congress
Session held at Wardha. It was reaffirmed on 8 August, 1942.
● The interim government of free India was organized on 21 October, 1943 by Subhash Chandra Bose in
Singapore.
● 21 Indian political leaders were invited to attend a Conference at Simla in June 1945. It ended in failure.
● In December 1945, the General Elections were held in India. The Congress received the majority in 6
provinces.
● On 18 February, 1946, the non Commissioned officers and Naval soldiers of the Royal Indian Navy who
were called Rattings, began a militant revolt at Bombay.
● In order to remove the Constitutional crisis the British Government sent the Cabinet Mission to India.
● It came on 29 March, 1946 to New Delhi and it declared its proposals.
● Muslim League observed the Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946.
● The Interim Government of India was organized under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Cabinet
took oath on 2nd September, 1946.
● The Constituent Assembly first met under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 6th December,
1946.
● Atlee declared on 20 February, 1947 that the English would leave India after transferring the power to
responsible people before June 1948.
● The Mountbatten Plan of 3 June, 1947 was mainly the Plan of partition. It was agreed upon by the
Executive of the Indian National Congress on 14-15 June in a meeting at Delhi.
● In July 1947, the Indian Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament.
● India became independent on 15 August, 1947.
● On 26 January, 1950, the state of Hyderabad merged in the Indian Federation.
● On 20 April 1954, the Panchsheel Pact was signed between India and China.
● On 20 October, 1962 China invaded upon India. Soon it occupied Assam Valley and Laddakh. On 21
November, 1962, China declared one sided ceasefire.

1. Which one of the following regions did not constitute a separate suba (province) under Akbar ?
(A) Orissa
(B) Bengal
(C) Bihar
(D) Awadh
Ans : (D)

2. Which of the following statements about Bukka I of the Vijayanagar empire is not correct ?
(A) He instilled new vigour into Hindu Society
(B) He renovated temples
(C) Under his fostering care Sayana wrote commentaries on Vedas
(D) He adopted measures to uplift the Shudras
Ans : (D)

3. Sayana is associated with—

(A) The Chola Kingdom
(B) Vijayanagar Kingdom
(C) Hoyasala Kingdom
(D) Bahmani Kingdom
Ans : (B)

4. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the codes given below—
List-I
(a) Accession of Aurangzeb
(b) Promulgation of Mahzar
(c) Battle of Khanva
(d) Accession of Akbar
List-II
1. 1527 A.D.
2. 1556 A.D.
3. 1579 A.D.
4. 1659 A.D.
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 1 2 3 4
(B) 4 3 1 2
(C) 3 1 4 2
(D) 2 1 3 4
Ans : (B)

5. Consider the following statements about Kabir and Nanak—

1. Their ideas were drawn both from Bhakti and Sufi traditions.
2. They expressed the sentiments of rural masses.
3. They made strong plea for Hindu-Muslim unity.
4. Their followers founded religious communities.
Select your answer from the codes given below—
Codes :
(A) 1 and 2 are correct
(B) 1, 2 and 3 are correct
(C) 1, 2, 3 and 4 are correct
(D) 1, 3 and 4 are correct
Ans : (D)

6. Arrange the following Chisti Saints in correct chronological order—

1. Sheikh Nizamuddin Aulia
2. Syed Muhammad Gesudaraz
3. Baba Farid Ganjshakar
4. Sheikh Nasiruddin Chirage-Delhi
Select the correct answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 2, 3, 4
(B) 4, 3, 2, 1
(C) 1, 3, 4, 2
(D) 3, 1, 4, 2
Ans : (D)

7. Which of the following Sultans assumed the title of Caliph himself ?

(A) Balban
(B) Alauddin Khalji
(C) Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji
(D) Mohammad bin Tughlaq
Ans : (C)

8. Which one of the following Sufi orders laid great stress on practicing mystic music ?
(A) Chisti
(B) Suharawardi
(C) Qadiri
(D) Naqshbandi
Ans : (A)

9. Who among the following Hindu Painters was sent by Jehangir to make a portrait of Shah Abbas I of
Persia ?
(A) Basawan
(B) Bishan Das
(C) Dasrath
(D) Manohar
Ans : (B)

10. Which one of the following is not correctly matched ?

(A) Akbar —Xerome Xavier
(B) Aurangzeb —Edward Terry
(C) Shahjahan —Peter Mundi
(D) Jehangir —Sir Thomas Roe
Ans : (B)

11. In which year was the decree called ‘Mahzar’ issued during Akbar’s reign ?
(A) 1560 A.D.
(B) 1572 A.D.
(C) 1576 A.D.
(D) 1579 A.D.
Ans : (D)

12. The ‘Razmanama’ which was compiled by several Persian scholars was a translation of—
(A) Panchatantra
(B) Ramayana
(C) Mahabharata
(D) Rigveda
Ans : (C)

13. During the Mughal rule the Qazi-ul-Quzat was—

(A) Head of the Finance department
(B) Censor of Public morals
(C) Chief judge of the empire
(D) Incharge of charities
Ans : (C)

14. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Akbar : Maan Bai
(B) Aurangzeb : Udaipuri Mahal
(C) Jehangir : Manmati
(D) Shahjahan : Jehan Ara
Ans : (A)

15. Which was the chief or main region of copper mines in Mughal period ?
(A) Bengal
(B) Rajasthan
(C) Agra
(D) Bihar
Ans : (B)

16. Which of the following statements is correct about Shivaji ?

(A) His movement was supported by all the Maratha Watandars
(B) The smaller Watandars formed the back bone of his movement
(C) He abolished the Watandari system
(D) He did not fight with bigger Maratha Watandars
Ans : (B)

17. Which one of the following was not included in the ‘Asta Pradhan’ of Shivaji ?
(A) Sumant
(B) Majmudar
(C) Vakiyanavis
(D) Vakeel
Ans : (D)

18. What was the rate of land revenue in the administration of Shivaji ?
(A) 2/5 portion of the yield
(B) 1/2 portion of the yield
(C) 1/3 portion of the yield
(D) 1/4 portion of the yield
Ans : (A)

19. Why did Shivaji decide to collect ‘Chauth’ and ‘Sardeshmukhi’ ?

(A) To increase the source of income
(B) To expand his territories
(C) To consolidate his political influence
(D) Because of the opposition of Muslim rulers
Ans : (A)

20. Consider the following statements.

Assertion (A) : Shivaji signed the Treaty of Purandar.
Reason (R) : He had lost all hopes of resistance to the Mughals.
Select the correct answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true
Ans : (C)

21. When was Bombay transferred to the East India Company by Charles II ?
(A) 1662 A.D.
(B) 1664 A.D.
(C) 1666 A.D.
(D) 1668 A.D.
Ans : (D)

22. Who of the following had said that Victory of Plassey was a victory of betrayal ?
(A) Orme
(B) H. H. Dodwell
(C) Lord Clive
(D) P. E. Roberts
Ans : (B)

23. Name the English man who tried to obtain from Akbar a Firman for trade in Gujarat ?
(A) Ralph Fitch
(B) John Mildenhall
(C) Sir Thomas Roe
(D) Thomas Stephens
Ans : (B)

24. The Dutch established their first settlement in Bengal at—

(A) Calcutta
(B) Chinsura
(C) Serampur
(D) Balasore
Ans : (D)

25. Who is credited with the following statement regarding the outbreak of the Revolt of 1857
“The Meerut outbreak was sudden and short-lived like a summer gale” ?
(A) S. N. Sen
(B) S. B. Chaudhari
(C) V. D. Savarkar
(D) R. C. Majumdar
Ans : (A)
26. When did the Marathas capture Salsette and Bassein from the Portuguese ?
(A) 1695 A.D.
(B) 1713 A.D.
(C) 1720 A.D.
(D) 1739 A.D.
Ans : (D)

27. The Diwani right of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was obtained by the English East India Company under
the treaty of—
(A) Alinagar
(B) Faizabad
(C) Allahabad
(D) Benaras
Ans : (C)

28. Find out the correct chronological order of the following events from the code given below—
1. Treaty of Amritsar
2. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
3. Treaty of Lahore
4. East India Company’s alliance with Mewar.
Codes :
(A) 4, 1, 3, 2
(B) 2, 1, 4, 3
(C) 1, 2, 3, 4
(D) 3, 4, 2, 1
Ans : (B)

29. By which of the following treaties did the Peshwa accept the Subsidiary Alliance with the British ?
(A) Treaty of Purandhar
(B) Treaty of Bassein
(C) Treaty of Salbai
(D) Treaty of Surji Arjungaon
Ans : (B)

30. Which of the following native states was first to conclude Subsidiary Alliance with East India Company
?
(A) Avadh
(B) Mewar
(C) Mysore
(D) Hyderabad
Ans : (D)

31. Who among the following historians has remarked that the Government of Bengal between the period
1765–1772 was a robber state ?
(A) G. W. Forrest
(B) Lord Macaulay
(C) K. M. Panikkar
(D) Nand Lal Chatterji
Ans : (C)

32. On what ground was Avadh annexed into British Empire ?

(A) Doctrine of Lapse
(B) Alleged misgovernment
(C) Failure to pay subsidy
(D) Maintenance of relations with foreign powers
Ans : (B)

33. Nearly one third of soldiers of the famous Bengal Army had their homes in—
(A) Punjab
(B) Avadh
(C) Bengal
(D) Maharashtra
Ans : (D)

34. Which one of the following native states was annexed by the British on the basis of the Doctrine of
Lapse ?
(A) Avadh
(B) Punjab
(C) Jhansi
(D) Mysore
Ans : (C)

35. Match List-I with List-II and find out the correct answer from the codes given below—
List-I
(a) Theosophical Society
(b) Prarthana Samaj
(c) Brahmo Samaj
(d) Ram Krishna Mission
List-II
1. Swami Vivekanand
2. Mrs. Annie Besant
3. M. G. Ranade
4. Ram Mohan Roy
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 2 3 4 1
(B) 1 2 3 4
(C) 4 3 2 1
(D) 3 2 4 1
Ans : (A)

36. Consider the following statements.

Assertion (A) : Tipu Sultan planted the tree of liberty at Seringapattam.
Reason (R) : The principles of French Revolution had made a deep impression on the mind of Tipu
Sultan.
Select the answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(C) (A) is true, but (R) is false
(D) (A) is false, but (R) is true
Ans : (A)

37. By the enactment of British Parliament when did the East India Company cease to be a trading
Company ?
(A) 1784 A.D.
(B) 1833 A.D.
(C) 1813 A.D.
(D) 1773 A.D.
Ans : (B)

38. What is the correct chronological order of setting up of the following Commissions ?
1. Macdonell Commission
2. First Industrial Commission
3. First Fiscal Commission
Select the correct answer from the code given below—
(A) 1, 2, 3
(B) 2, 3, 1
(C) 2, 1, 3
(D) 1, 3, 2
Ans : (A)

39. In which of the following regions Mahalwari System of Revenue Settlement was introduced ?
(A) Bengal
(B) Bombay
(C) Madras
(D) North Western Provinces
Ans : (D)

40. Consider the following statements.

Assertion (A) : Despite initial victory the Sepoy Mutiny could not succeed in overthrowing the Raj.
Reason (R) : The rising middle class sided with Raj.
Select your correct answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(C) (A) is true but (R) is false
(D) (A) is false but (R) is true
Ans : (C)

41. Which part of India was most affected by the Revolution of 1857 ?
(A) Punjab
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Avadh
(D) Madras
Ans : (C)
42. Which of the following pairs connected with the Revolution of 1857 is correctly matched ?
Place of Revolt : Leader of Revolt
(A) Kanpur : Rani Lakshmibai
(B) Jhansi : Nana Saheb
(C) Lucknow : Begum Hazrat Mahal
(D) Delhi : Tantiya Tope
Ans : (C)

43. Who among the following is remembered for the annulment of the Partition of Bengal ?
(A) Lord Curzon
(B) Lord Minto
(C) Lord Hardinge
(D) Lord Chelmsford
Ans : (C)

44. When did Babu Kunwar Singh fight his last battle against the British ?
(A) September 1857
(B) November 1857
(C) February 1858
(D) April 1858
Ans : (D)

45. Kumaran Asan is associated with the social renaissance of—

(A) Kerala
(B) Tamil Nadu
(C) Andhra Pradesh
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

46. In which of the following Sessions of the Indian National Congress the ‘drain theory’ was formally
accepted ?
(A) Benaras session, 1905
(B) Calcutta session, 1906
(C) Surat session, 1907
(D) None of the above
Ans : (D)

47. Who among the following was the President of All India Trade Union Congress held at Nagpur ?
(A) Chaman Lal
(B) Jawaharlal Nehru
(C) Krishna Menon
(D) N. M. Joshi
Ans : (D)

48. During which of the following period the Congress had best of relationship with the Muslim League ?
(A) 1906 – 1916
(B) 1916 – 1922
(C) 1922 – 1928
(D) 1928 – 1934
Ans : (B)

49. Who was the first Indian woman to preside over the Indian National Congress ?
(A) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
(B) Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
(C) Aruna Asaf Ali
(D) Sarojini Naidu
Ans : (D)

50. Which of the following American Journalists had criticized the state of women in British India and
advanced the logic that so long as cruelties on women continue, the Indian males have no right to take
and manage the governance of India in their hands ?
(A) Louis Fischer
(B) Webb Miller
(C) Catherine Mayo
(D) None of the above
Ans : (C)

51. Consider the following events of Indian National Movement—

1. Gandhi Irwin Pact
2. Poona Pact
3. Karachi Session of Indian National Congress.
4. Individual Satyagraha
Select the correct chronological order of the events from the codes given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 3, 2, 4
(B) 2, 3, 4, 1
(C) 3, 4, 2, 1
(D) 4, 3, 2, 1
Ans : (A)

52. The book entitled ‘Springing tiger’ is a biography of—

(A) Bhagat Singh
(B) Chandrashekhar Azad
(C) Subhas Chandra Bose
(D) Shyamji Krishna Verma
Ans : (B)

53. The venue of holding this Second Round Table Conference at London was—
(A) St. James Palace
(B) Kingsley Palace
(C) Buckingham Palace
(D) 10, Downing Street
Ans : (A)

54. Lord Mountbatten as a Viceroy had conversed with following Indian leaders regarding the transfer of
power—
1. Jawahar Lal Nehru
2. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
3. Mohammad Ali Jinnah
4. Mahatma Gandhi
Indicate the correct sequence of their conversation from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 4, 2, 3
(B) 2, 3, 4, 1
(C) 3, 2, 1, 4
(D) 4, 3, 2, 1
Ans : (A)

55. All the hymns related to one of the following Gods are in one separate mandala or book of the
Rigveda. Who is the God ?
(A) Agni
(B) Varuna
(C) Indra
(D) Soma
Ans : (D)

56. Match List-I with List-II and indicate the correct answer from the code given below—
List-I
(a) Mohenjodaro
(b) Lothal
(c) Surkotda
(d) Harappa
List-II
1. Pillared Hall
2. Bones of Horse
3. Cemetery R-37
4. Double Burial
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 3 4 1 2
(B) 4 3 2 1
(C) 1 4 2 3
(D) 2 1 3 4
Ans : (C)

57. The Harappan site, where the citadel and the lower town, both are fortified separately is—
(A) Harappa
(B) Mohenjodaro
(C) Kalibanga
(D) None of the above
Ans : (C)

58. From which country of the Asian Continent was Bogazkui inscription discovered ?
(A) India
(B) Iran
(C) Syria
(D) Turkey
Ans : (D)

59. The Rigvedic Bharatas are associated with—

(A) The Indus Valley
(B) The Saraswati Valley
(C) The Sutlej Valley
(D) The Parushni Valley
Ans : (D)

60. With which of the following vedic sacrifices was the drink of Sura associated ?
(A) Agnistoma
(B) Rajasuya
(C) Sautramani
(D) Vajapeya
Ans : (C)

61. The Abhidhamma treatise Kathavatthu was written by—

(A) Mah-a kassapa
(B) Mahinda
(C) Milinda
(D) Moggaliputta Tissa
Ans : (D)

62. In the Pasupata religion Siva is said to be Lord of Pasu. Which one among the following stands for
Pasu ?
(A) Lion
(B) Bull
(C) Parvati
(D) Jiva
Ans : (D)

63. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the codes given below—
List-I (Dhyani Buddhas)
(a) Aksobhya
(b) Vairochana
(c) Ratnasambhava
(d) Amoghasiddhi
List-II (Vehicles)
1. Elephant
2. Snake
3. Horse
4. Garuda
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 1 2 3 4
(B) 2 3 4 1
(C) 3 4 1 2
(D) 4 1 2 3
Ans : (A)

64. Which of the following is not a Buddhist Concept ?

(A) Astik-aya
(B) Dharmakaya
(C) Nirmanakaya
(D) Sambhogakaya
Ans : (A)

65. Who of the following is known as a Jain scholar ?

(A) Asvaghose
(B) Hemchandra
(C) Dharmakirti
(D) Diwakaramitra
Ans : (B)

66. How many modes of devotion (Bhakti) are mentioned in Bhagawatism ?

(A) Nine
(B) Ten
(C) Eleven
(D) Eight
Ans : (B)

67. In which of the following periods did ring wells come into prevalence for the first time ?
(A) Mauryan
(B) Sunga
(C) Kushan
(D) Gupta
Ans : (D)

68. Towards which of the following sects did Dasaratha had a leaning ?
(A) Buddhism
(B) Jainism
(C) Ajivakas
(D) Lokayata
Ans : (C)

69. Who among the following classical writers said that Chandragupta Maurya overran the whole of India
with an army of six lac soldiers ?
(A) Herodotus
(B) Pliny
(C) Plutarch
(D) Ptolemy
Ans : (C)

70. Who among the following Mauryan rulers was killed by his Commander-in-Chief ?
(A) Dasaratha
(B) Kun-ala
(C) Samprati
(D) Brihadratha
Ans : (D)

71. Who of the following was responsible for the collection of taxes at the intermediate level of
administration between the district and the village ?
(A) Gopa
(B) Pulisa
(C) Sthanika
(D) Prativedaka
Ans : (A)

72. The Kushans issued coins of—

(A) Gold only
(B) Gold and Silver
(C) Gold and Copper
(D) Gold, Silver and Copper
Ans : (D)

73. The gold coins of Gupta period were called—

1. Dinara
2. Dramma
3. Rupaka
4. Suvarna
Indicate the correct answer from the codes given below—
Codes :
(A) 4 only
(B) 2, 3
(C) 1, 4
(D) 1, 2, 3, 4
Ans : (C)

74. Who had expressed the view that the cotton cloth worn by Indians had a brighter white colour than
any cotton found elsewhere ?
(A) Alexander
(B) Megasthenese
(C) Nearchus
(D) Pliny
Ans : (B)

75. Which of the following ports were situated on the eastern coast of South India ?
1. Kaveripatnam
2. Korkai
3. Musiri
4. Tondi
Indicate the correct answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 2
(B) 1, 2, 3
(C) 2, 3, 4
(D) 3, 4
Ans : (B)

76. The Vallabhi era is identical with—

(A) The Vikrama era
(B) The Gupta era
(C) The Harsha era
(D) None of the above
Ans : (B)

77. Who among the following Dharmasastra writers disapproved the custom of Sati declaring it as an act
of suicide ?
(A) Angiras
(B) Medhatithi
(C) Usana
(D) Visnu
Ans : (B)

78. The rulers of which of the following dynasties were characterized by their metronymics ?
(A) Maurya
(B) Sunga
(C) Kanva
(D) Satavahana
Ans : (D)

79. According to Manu, a Brahamana was to be awarded higher punishment than the persons of other
varnas for the offence of—
(A) The use of abusive language for the persons of other varnas
(B) Murder
(C) Theft
(D) Treason
Ans : (C)

80. In which of the following ancient texts has it been said that the king was the ruler of all except Br-a
hamanas ?
(A) Manu-Smriti
(B) Yajnavalkya-Smriti
(C) Vishnu Smriti
(D) Gautama-dharmasutra
Ans : (D)

81. Which one of the following statements is not correct about the social and cultural conditions in the
post-Gupta period ?
(A) The number of land-grants increased
(B) The number of castes increased
(C) The Central control increased
(D) The tantric activities increased
Ans : (C)
82. The transformation of the ancient Indian Society into Medieval society was brought about mainly by—
(A) the system of land-grants
(B) the decline in the position of upper caste
(C) the increase in the religious activities
(D) the decrease in surplus food production
Ans : (A)

83. Which of the following towns were seen by Hiuen Tsang as almost deserted ?
1. Kapilvastu
2. Kusinagar
3. Sravasti
4. Tamralipti
Indicate the correct answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 4
(B) 3, 4
(C) 2, 3
(D) 1, 2, 3
Ans : (D)

84. Which one of the following statements is not correct about the members of the various bodies
responsible for Chola local selfgovernment ?
(A) They were elected by voting
(B) They were chosen by lot
(C) They must fulfil certain conditions to become members
(D) No person convicted for theft could become a member
Ans : (A)

85. Which one of the following assemblies protected the interests of traders under the Chola
administration ?
(A) Mahasabha
(B) Perunguri
(C) Kuri
(D) Nagaram
Ans : (D)

86. Who among the following authors is known for his satires exposing the evils of contemporary
society ?
(A) Ksemendra
(B) Pravarsena
(C) Sriharsa
(D) Visakhadutta
Ans : (A)

87. Which Chola king is credited with the first conquest of Maldives ?
(A) Rajaraja
(B) Rajendra I
(C) Rajadhiraja
(D) Rajendra II
Ans : (A)

88. Which of the following Indian Kings defeated Mohammad Ghori first ?
(A) Prithviraja Chauhan
(B) Jayachandra
(C) Vidyadhara Chandella
(D) Bhima II
Ans : (D)

89. The origin of which of the following ruling families has been described in the bardic literature from
Vasisthas sacrificial pit at mountain Abu ?
1. Chahamana
2. Chaulukya
3. Paramara
4. Pratihara
Indicate the correct answer from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 2
(B) 2, 3, 4
(C) 3, 4
(D) 1, 2, 3, 4
Ans : (D)

90. The coins with the figure of Laksmi were issued by—
(A) Mohammad Ghori
(B) Iltutmish
(C) Mohammad Tughlaq
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

91. The Rajatarangini of Kalhana was composed in—

(A) The eleventh century
(B) The twelfth century
(C) The thirteenth century
(D) The tenth century
Ans : (B)

92. Which of the following texts lays down rules for reconversion into Hindu fold of the Hindus forcibly
converted into Islam ?
(A) Devala Smriti
(B) Narada Smriti
(C) Visnu Smriti
(D) Yajnavalkya Smriti
Ans : (A)

93. Consider the following statements regarding the history of Kashmir in the tenth century—
1. There were two rival groups in the court.
2. Queen Sugandha was deposed in 914 A.D.
3. Queen Didda did not curb the powers of the feudal land owners.
Indicate the correct statements from the code given below—
Codes :
(A) 1, 2
(B) 2, 3
(C) 1, 3
(D) 1, 2, 3
Ans : (A)

94. Who among the following dharmasastra writers was a minister of the Gahadvala King
Govindachandra ?
(A) Apararka
(B) Chandesvara
(C) Lakshmidhara
(D) Vijnanesvara
Ans : (C)

95. Ibn Batuta was a traveller from—

(A) Africa
(B) Arab
(C) China
(D) Europe
Ans : (A)

96. What was the maximum permissible rate of land revenue collection according to Shariat in early
medieval India ?
(A) 20% of the produce
(B) 25% of the produce
(C) 33% of the produce
(D) 50% of the produce
Ans : (D)

97. Who was the commander of Alauddin Khilji’s forces during his Deccan Campaigns ?
(A) Malik Kafur
(B) Ainul Mulk Multani
(C) Nusrat Khan
(D) Ulugh Khan
Ans : (A)

98. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the code given below—
List-I
(a) Zia-uddin Barni
(b) Ibn Batuta
(c) Abul Fazal
(d) Nizamuddin Ahmad
List-II
1. Tabqat-i-Akbari
2. Akbarnama
3. Tarikh-i-Firozshahi
4. Rehla
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 1 2 3 4
(B) 4 3 2 1
(C) 3 4 2 1
(D) 2 1 3 4
Ans : (C)

99. Which of the Sultans of Delhi abolished the ‘Zakat’ on grain ?

(A) Alauddin Khilji
(B) Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq
(C) Firoz Shah Tughlaq
(D) Sikandar Lodi
Ans : (D)

100. Which Delhi Sultan levied the irrigation tax on the farmers for the first time ?
(A) Alauddin Khilji
(B) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
(C) Mohammad Tughlaq
(D) Firoz Tughlaq
Ans : (D)

1. Which among the following Vedas is partly in prose ?

(A) Rigveda
(B) Samaveda
(C) Yajurveda
(D) Atharvaveda
Ans : (C)

2. Which one among the following is a Tamil grammatical treatise ?

(A) Pattupattu
(B) Ettutogai
(C) Silappadikaram
(D) Tolkappiam
Ans : (D)

3. Who among the following has not quoted from the Indica of Megasthenese ?
(A) Pliny
(B) Strabo
(C) Diodorus
(D) Arrian
Ans : (C)

4. Who was the first to decipher the inscriptions of Ashoka and the Brahmi script ?
(A) Alexander Cunningham
(B) James Princep
(C) Max Muller
(D) Mortimer Wheeler
Ans : (B)
5. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer from the codes given below the lists—
List-I
(a) Stuart Piggot
(b) Subbarao
(c) B. and R. Alchin
(d) H. D. Sankalia
List-II
1. Personality of India
2. The Birth of Indian Civilization
3. Prehistoric India
4. Prehistory and Protohistory of India and Pakistan
Codes :
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(A) 1 2 4 3
(B) 3 1 2 4
(C) 1 2 3 4
(D) 3 1 4 2
Ans : (B)

6. Select the correct statement about the Nanaghat Inscription of the Satavahanas—
(A) It speaks about Shaka-Satavahana conflict
(B) It refers to the place of origin of Satavahanas
(C) It speaks about the navy of the Satavahanas
(D) It refers to one of the mother-queens of the Satavahanas
Ans : (B)

7. Which among the following excavated sites is related to Malwa culture ?

(A) Navadatoli
(B) Nagda
(C) Eran
(D) Azadnagar
Ans : (A)

8. In which one of the following regions the earliest evidence of rice cultivation has come ?
(A) Central Ganga Valley
(B) Belan Valley
(C) Gomal Valley
(D) Bolan Valley
Ans : (B)

9. Horse remains are found at which of the following Harappan sites ?

(A) Surkotada, Kalibangan and Dholavira
(B) Kalibangan, Manda and Surkotada
(C) Surkotada, Dholavira and Manda
(D) Surkotada and Kalibangan
Ans : (D)
10. Identify the incorrect combination among the following—
(A) Harappa and Grenary
(B) Mohen-jo-daro and the great bath
(C) Dholavira and single citadel
(D) Lothal and Dockyard
Ans : (C)

11. At which place among these the rows of distinctive fire altars with provision of ritual bathing have been
found ?
(A) Mohen-jo-daro
(B) Harappa
(C) Kalibangan
(D) Lothal
Ans : (C)

12. The main focus of the Rigvedic culture was—

(A) The Indo-Gangetic region
(B) The Punjab and Delhi region
(C) The Indus valley region
(D) The region between Swat and Indus
Ans : (A)

13. The Rigvedic king did not maintain an administrative machinery because—
(A) The king did not wish to have so
(B) The Rigvedic economy was not suitable to it
(C) The social structure was not in accordance
(D) The kingship was not hereditary
Ans : (B)

14. Which of the following statements regarding Vedic woman is not correct ?
(A) Woman attended assemblies
(B) Woman participated in sacrifices
(C) Woman was allowed to have Vedic education
(D) The family was matriarchal
Ans : (D)

15. For what reason the ganasamgha areas have been indicated as ‘mlechchhadesha’ in the post-Vedic
period ?
(A) Absence of ranking based on varna
(B) Rejection of Vedic rituals
(C) Killing of cows
(D) Speaking alien languages
Ans : (B)

16. With what name the Jainism referred to before the coming of Mahavir ?
(A) Jina
(B) Kevalin
(C) Nirgranthas
(D) Tirthankaras
Ans : (D)

17. Which tradition has most importance for deciding the dates of birth and death of lord Buddha ?
(A) Ceylones Tradition–Mahavansa and Deepavansa
(B) Chinese Tradition–Canton
(C) Indian Buddhist literature–Avadana literature
(D) Tibetan Tradition–Historian Taranath
Ans : (A)

18. Which one of the following ancient cities is not related to the life of Gautam Buddha ?
(A) Champa
(B) Saketa
(C) Pataliputra
(D) Kosambi
Ans : (C)

19. The term ‘Rupadarshaka’ denotes what ?

(A) The supervisor of prostitutes
(B) The supervisor of royal harem
(C) The supervisor of the quality of coins
(D) The supervisor of the folkdancers
Ans : (C)

20. Which one of the statements is controversial in the context of the treaty of 303 B.C. between
Chandragupta and Seleucus ?
(A) Seleucus surrendered his large territories to Chandragupta
(B) Chandragupta made a gift of 500 elephants to Seleucus
(C) Megasthenes was sent as a Greek envoy to the court of Chandragupta
(D) Seleucus gave his daughter in marriage to Chandragupta
Ans : (D)

21. In which year of Asoka’s coronation did the Kalinga war take place ?
(A) First
(B) Fifth
(C) Eighth
(D) Thirteenth
Ans : (C)

22. Which among the following combinations is correct ?

(A) Pushyamitra Shunga–Patanjali
(B) Kanishka–Thera Nagasena
(C) Menander–Ashvaghosh
(D) Chandragupta I–Harishena
Ans : (C)

23. Which Gupta emperor has been called ‘Lichchhavi-dauhitra’ ?

(A) Shrigupta
(B) Chandragupta I
(C) Chandragupta II
(D) Samudragupta
Ans : (B)

24. Which Kushana king adopted the epithet ‘dhrama-thida’ ?

(A) Vim Kadaphises
(B) Kuzul Kadaphises
(C) Kanishka the Great
(D) Huvishka
Ans : (B)

25. Which of the following inscriptions record the annihilation of Hunas ?

(A) Prayag-Prashasti
(B) Bhitari Inscription
(C) Junagarh Inscription
(D) Mandasor Inscription
Ans : (C)

26. Who impressed upon Harsha to incline towards Buddhism ?

(A) Bhikshu Mahakashyapa
(B) Hiuen-Tsang
(C) Thera Nagasen
(D) Diwakarmitra
Ans : (D)

27. Which king is called ‘Kaviraj’ in one of his inscriptions ?

(A) Pratihara king Mihirbhoja
(B) Paramara king Bhoja
(C) Pala king Dharmapala
(D) Chalukya king Kumarapala
Ans : (B)

28. Who among these is credited with the construction of ‘Pagodas’ at Mahabalipuram ?
(A) Cholas
(B) Chalukyas of Kalyani
(C) Pallavas
(D) Pandyas
Ans : (C)

29. The Office-in-charge of collection of revenue in the Mauryan administration was—

(A) Sannidhatri
(B) Pradeshta
(C) Yukta
(D) Samahatri
Ans : (D)

30. Which of the statements about the trade regulation in the Mauryan period is not correct ?
(A) The state exercised control over the trade process and profits
(B) A levy of 1/10th was fixed on merchandise
(C) The state kept strict vigil on the sale of merchandise
(D) The state employed a few of the artisans directly
Ans : (B)

31. Which one among the following statements about the land-system of post-Mauryan period is not
true ?
(A) The private individuals had absolute right over their land
(B) The private individuals had limited right to alienation of land
(C) There is no record to transfer of land non-religious purposes
(D) The person who brought the land under cultivation was the owner
Ans : (B)

32. Who among the following constituted the local town administration council during the Guptas ?
(A) Purupala, Sarthavaha, Pratham Kulika, Pratham Kayastha
(B) Purupala, Sarthavaha, Dvarapala, Karnika
(C) Sarthavaha, Pratham Kulika, Pratham Kayastha
(D) Purupala, Pratham Kulika, Pratham Kayastha
Ans : (C)

33. Who lamented upon the drain of gold from Rome to India ?
(A) Ptolemy
(B) Nero
(C) Strabo
(D) Pliny
Ans : (D)

34. Which of the following statements about the agrahara land grant is not correct ?
(A) The king could offer it to any one
(B) It was a village granted taxfree to Brahmanas
(C) The king could confiscate it on being displeased by the grantee
(D) It underlined the privileges of the Brahmanas
Ans : (A)

35. Debasement of the coins and gradual disappearance of goldcoins during the post-Gupta period
indicates—
(A) Cheapness of commodities, no need of gold-coins
(B) Non-availability of gold
(C) Decline of money economy
(D) Decline of Trade
Ans : (D)

36. Which new route was added for foreign trade during Gupta period ?
(A) Overseas route to South Africa
(B) Overseas route to Alexandria
(C) Overland route to China
(D) Overland route to North Russia
Ans : (C)

37. The most famous bronze image of the Chola period belongs to—
(A) Murugan
(B) Nataraja
(C) Venkateshwar
(D) Vishnu
Ans : (B)

38. Which one among these is not a work of Kalidasa ?

(A) Ritusamhara
(B) Meghaduta
(C) Dashakumarcharita
(D) Kumarashambhava
Ans : (C)

39. The most important feature of the Dravida style of temple architecture is—
(A) Shikhara
(B) Gopuram
(C) Vimana
(D) Mandapa
Ans : (C)

40. The earliest example of a ‘Panchayatana’ composition in temple is—

(A) Dashavatara temple–Deogarh
(B) Temple at Pathari
(C) Shatrughneshwara temple at Bhubaneshwar
(D) Lakshmana temple at Sirpur
Ans : (A)

41. Who is the writer of ‘Kitab-ur-Rehla’ ?

(A) Maulana Sharafuddin Ali Yazid
(B) Amir Timur
(C) Ibn-i-Batuta
(D) Khwaja Abdullah Malik Isami
Ans : (C)

42. Which of these books was authored by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq himself ?
(A) Fautuhat-i-Ferozshahi
(B) Fatawa-i-Jahandari
(C) Tarikh-i-Ferozshahi
(D) Tughlaqnama
Ans : (A)

43. Which of these books is not a composition of Amir Khusrau ?

(A) Qiran-u-Sadain
(B) Tahqiq-i-Hind
(C) Miftah-ul-Futuh
(D) Nur-i-Sipihar
Ans : (B)

44. Who among the following kings formed a confederacy of Hindu kings against Mahmud of Ghazni ?
(A) Jaipala
(B) Anandapala
(C) Both Jaipala and Anandpala
(D) Anangapala
Ans : (C)

45. When did the Mahmud of Ghazni attack last on India ?

(A) 1021–22 A.D.
(B) 1024 A.D.
(C) 1025 A.D.
(D) 1027 A.D.
Ans : (D)

46. Name the Arab astronomer who studied Sanskrit and astronomy for a decade at Varanasi ?
(A) Alberuni
(B) Amir Khusrau
(C) Al’bidari
(D) Al’Masher
Ans : (A)

47. Who among the following foreign travellers did not visit Vijayanagar during the time of Krishnadeo
Raya ?
(A) Nicolo Conti
(B) Fernao Nuniz
(C) Domingo Paes
(D) Duarte Barbosa
Ans : (A)

48. Which of these features of Indian art was adopted in the construction of Mosques in India ?
(A) Turned Lotus
(B) Kalash on the domes
(C) Ornamentation
(D) All of these
Ans : (D)

49. Who said, “God knows man’s virtues and inquires not his caste; in the next world there is no caste” ?
(A) Kabir
(B) Guru Nanak
(C) Chaitanya
(D) Ramananda
Ans : (A)

50. Who among these devotional saints was a cobler ?

(A) Tulsidas
(B) Surdas
(C) Raidas
(D) Malukdas
Ans : (C)

51. Who founded the Varkari sect in Maharashtra ?

(A) Tukaram
(B) Namdev
(C) Visoba Khechar
(D) Eknath
Ans : (C)

52. The Sufi concept of Anal Haq was inspired by the following concept of Vedanta—
(A) Tat Twam Asi (that thou art)
(B) Ekam Advaitam (one without the second)
(C) Aham Brahmasmi (I am the supreme spirit)
(D) All of the above
Ans : (C)

53. Which Muslim poet of Hindi literature in medieval period wrote poetry essentially on Hindu
mythological heroes ?
(A) Qutban
(B) Rasakhan
(C) Mulla Daud
(D) Amir Khusrau
Ans : (B)

54. Which of the following musical instruments is not composite or Indo-Islamic in origin ?
(A) Sitar
(B) Shehnai
(C) Tabla
(D) Sarangi
Ans : (B)

55. Which among the following wars Muhammad Ghori did not participate himself in India ?
(A) Battle of Tarain in 1191
(B) Battle against Kannauj in 1194
(C) Against Chalukyas of Anhilawada in 1197-98
(D) Against Khokharas in 1205
Ans : (C)

56. Who was the Turkish commander who conquered Bihar and Bengal ?
(A) Mohammad of Ghur
(B) Kutub ud-Din Aibak
(C) Ikhtiyar ud-Din-Muhammad
(D) Bakhtiyar Khalji
Ans : (D)

57. Where did Kutub ud-Din Aibak lay the foundation of ‘seven cities’ in medieval Delhi ?
(A) Siri
(B) Tughlaqabad
(C) Mehrauli
(D) Hauz Khas
Ans : (B)
58. Which Sultan called himself ‘Naib-i-Khudai’ ?
(A) Iltutmish
(B) Balban
(C) Alauddin Khalji
(D) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Ans : (B)

59. Which sultan of Delhi refused to read ‘Khutba’ in the name of Khalifa for the first time ?
(A) Alauddin Khalji
(B) Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq
(C) Sikandar Lodi
(D) Ibrahim Lodi
Ans : (A)

60. Which Delhi Sultan styled himself Sikandar-i-sani (the second Alexander) ?
(A) Balban
(B) Alauddin Khalji
(C) Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq
(D) Sikandar Lodi
Ans : (B)

61. The dynasty founded by Khizr Khan is known as Sayyid dynasty because—
(A) He and his successors adopted the title Sayyid
(B) Khizr Khan belonged to the Sayyid tribe of eastern Turkistan
(C) Khizr Khan was the descendant of the prophet Muhammad
(D) He was a scholar of Islamic theology
Ans : (C)

62. Who were called barids ?

(A) Craftsmen working in state workshops
(B) Bodyguards of the sultan
(C) Officer-in-charge of state exchequer
(D) The spy reporters
Ans : (D)

63. Who among the following officers held highest stature in the central government of the Sultanate ?
(A) Qazi-ul-Mulk
(B) Naib-i-Mulk
(C) Head of the Majlis-i-Khalawat
(D) Wazir
Ans : (B)

64. Who among the following did not act as a tax farmer ?
(A) Village headman
(B) Patwari
(C) Governor
(D) Tributary chief
Ans : (D)
65. In Early Medieval India “Dosi Hatt” was—
(A) Animal Market
(B) Meena Bazar
(C) Kapaas (Cotton) Market
(D) Slave Bazar
Ans : (C)

66. Who was the founder of independent kingdom of Gujarat ?

(A) Zafar Khan
(B) Tatar Khan
(C) Shama Khan
(D) Ahmad Shah
Ans : (A)

67. The single biggest item of import to the Vijayanagar empire was—
(A) Precious stones
(B) Horses
(C) Luxury goods
(D) Raw Silk
Ans : (B)

68. Which contemporary Mughal historian of the age of Akbar had prepared a list of charges calling him
an enemy of Islam ?
(A) Badauni
(B) Niamtullah
(C) Abbas Khan Sarwani
(D) Nizamuddin Ahmad
Ans : (A)

69. Who is the writer of ‘Tabqat-i-Akbari’ ?

(A) Badauni
(B) Khwaja Nizamuddin Ahmad
(C) Abul Fazl
(D) Khwand Mir
Ans : (B)

70. Which famous painter among the following did not remain in the court of Akbar ?
(A) Farrukh Beg
(B) Dasawanth
(C) Aga Reza
(D) Basawan
Ans : (A)

71. Who among the following Mughal princess produced a ‘diwan’ (collection of poems) with the name
‘Makhi’ ?
(A) Humayun’s sister Gulbadan Begum
(B) Shah Jahan’s daughter Jahanara
(C) Shah Jahan’s daughter Roshanara
(D) Aurangzeb’s daughter Zibunnisa
Ans : (D)

72. Which jeweller foreign traveller of the Mughal period has left a detailed account of Takht-i-Taus
(Peacock throne) ?
(A) Travernier
(B) Geronimo Verroneo
(C) ‘Omrah’ Danishmand Khan
(D) Austin of Bordeaux
Ans : (A)

73. Whom did Sher Shah appoint to provide bed and food to Hindu travellers staying at ‘Sarais’ (rest
houses) ?
(A) Afghan Muslims
(B) Muslims
(C) Brahmanas
(D) Low caste Hindus
Ans : (D)

74. Which one among the following statements is not correct about the agrarian policy of Sher Shah ?
(A) Sher Shah insisted upon measurement of the sown land
(B) Sher Shah drew up schedule of rates for state’s share of the different types of crops
(C) The amount each peasant had to pay was to be written down on a paper called ‘patta’
(D) The measuring part was allowed to fix fee at their will
Ans : (D)

75. When did Aurangzeb arrive in Deccan finally to quell the revolt of Marathas ?
(A) 1681
(B) 1682
(C) 1689
(D) 1700
Ans : (C)

76. Which among the following is the most important source of information about the agrarian conditions
during Mughals ?
(A) Ain-i-Akbari
(B) Akbarnama
(C) Muntakhab-ul-Lubab
(D) Tarikh-i-Ferishta
Ans : (B)

77. What portion of actual produce was fixed as the demand of the state under the ‘Zabit’ system ?
(A) One-half
(B) One-third
(C) One-fourth
(D) One-fifth
Ans : (B)

78. Which Maratha saint is most importantly known for social reform, national regeneration and the rise of
Maratha power ?
(A) Eknath
(B) Tukaram
(C) Samartha Ramdas
(D) Vaman Pandit
Ans : (C)

79. The chief gain to Shivaji from his raids of Surat in 1664 and 1670 was—
(A) Immense increase in his prestige
(B) Demoralisation of the Mughal forces
(C) Capture of the English factory
(D) A lot of booty
Ans : (D)

80. What was the unit of measurement of land in Maratha dominion ?

(A) Kathi
(B) Tanab
(C) Jarib
(D) Daftari bigha
Ans : (A)

81. How did Portuguese firstly affect Indian trade and industry ?
(A) By forcing Gujarat and Calicut to abandon construction of ships or even armed rowing boats
(B) By monopolising port-toport trade on the Malabar coast and the trade from Indian to Persian coast
(C) In both (A) and (B) ways above
(D) By dictating the prices of horses imported by native Indian powers after ousting Arabs
Ans : (B)

82. What was the occasion of handing over of Mumbai (Bombay) to Britishers by the Portuguese ?
(A) Freedom of Portuguese from the control of Spain
(B) Marriage of Charles II with the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza
(C) Crushing of Spanish Armada by British in 1588
(D) The Treaty of Madrid in 1630
Ans : (B)

83. What made Jahangir to issue a farman in 1613 A.D. to the English to establish a factory at Surat ?
(A) Reconciliation between the English and Portuguese
(B) A secret offer of naval help to the Mughal emperor to oust the Portuguese
(C) A heavy dose of bribe to Nur Jahan
(D) The defeat of Portuguese naval squadrons by the English
Ans : (D)

84. The Indian port(s) utilized by Dutch for their trade in India was/were—
(A) Pulicat
(B) Masulipattam
(C) Nagapattam
(D) All of these
Ans : (D)

85. The founder of French East India Company for trade in India was—
(A) Colbert
(B) Francois Martin
(C) Francois Caron
(D) De La Haye
Ans : (A)

86. Where was the first Presidency of English East India Company in India ?
(A) Chennai (Madras)
(B) Masulipattam
(C) Surat
(D) Hugli
Ans : (C)

87. Aurangzeb ordered the arrest of all Englishmen and the seizure of all English factories throughout his
dominion, because—
(A) The English had refused to pay local duties in Bengal
(B) The English had attacked the Mughal ships on the western coast
(C) The English were fortifying their trading stations
(D) All of the above
Ans : (D)

88. The English exported from Bengal—

(A) Sugar
(B) Saltpetre
(C) Silks
(D) All of these
Ans : (C)

89. The immediate cause of Siraj-uddaula’s campaign against the English in 1757 was—
(A) The refusal of the English to pay taxes on their goods
(B) The levying of heavy duties by the English on Indian goods entering Kolkata (Calcutta)
(C) Additional fortification of Kolkata (Calcutta) without the permission or even the knowledge of the
nawab
(D) The English taking up the cause of Shaukut Jang, a rival of Siraj-ud-daula
Ans : (A)

90. How was the control of company in Bengal legitimized ?

(A) The imperial grant of the ‘diwani’ of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by Shah Alam II
(B) The treaty with Mir Zafar after the battle of Plassey in 1757
(C) The treaty with Mir Zafar after the battle of Buxar in 1764
(D) The treaty of February 1765 with Nizam-ud-daula
Ans : (D)

91. The first serious blow inflicted by the English on India’s handloom industry was—
(A) Duty imposed on the looms
(B) Compulsion of weavers to sell their goods on dictated prices
(C) Shortage of cotton due to export of raw-cotton
(D) Infiltration of cash crops like indigo and opium in the cottongrowing area
Ans : (B)
92. Which of the following statements is not applicable to the Mahalwari settlement ?
(A) It was a permanant measure introduced as an improvement on the other two measures
(B) It was applied to each village and the estate separately
(C) The government instead of coming in contract with the cultivator made settlement with the village
community as a whole
(D) It was introduced in the Gangetic valley, the Punjab and the parts of Central India
Ans : (A)

93. Which of the following statements about the new landlords is not correct ?
(A) They were town dwelling merchants and moneyed classes with no roots in the village
(B) They were free to harass the cultivators
(C) They were mere rent collecting absentee businessmen
(D) They had converted the peasants to mere cultivators by taking away their traditional rights over their
land
Ans : (C)

94. Which of the following reasons is not correct with regard to the decline of economy of India during
English rule ?
(A) Lack of qualification and technical skill in the Indians
(B) Failure to get overseas market due to lack sea power
(C) Unprotected indigenous industry due to weak guild organizations
(D) Lack of the class of industrial enterprizers in India
Ans : (A)

95. Who first expounded the theory of ‘economic drain’ of India during the British rule ?
(A) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
(B) Ramesh Chanda Dutt
(C) Dadabhai Naoroji
(D) Surendra Nath Banerjee
Ans : (C)

96. What among the following factors was not applicable to the conditions of abject poverty in India during
the British rule ?
(A) Decay of Agricultural production and indigenuous industries
(B) Investment of foreign capital in India
(C) Insufficient growth of modern industries
(D) High taxation
Ans : (B)

97. Who among these was not a part of triple alliance on the eve of first Anglo-Mysore war of 1767-69 ?
(A) The English
(B) Nizam of Hyderabad
(C) The Marathas
(D) Raja of Travancore
Ans : (D)

98. Tipu Sultan was ahead of his contemporaries in many respect because—
(A) He understood the threat posed by English to the Indian powers
(B) He understood the importance of strong economic base for the military power
(C) He understood the importance of modern trade and industry
(D) All of the above
Ans : (D)

99. Who among the following Maratha chiefs was the last to enter into a subsidiary alliance with the
English ?
(A) The Peshwas
(B) Holkar
(C) Bhonsle
(D) Scindia
Ans : (B)

100. On what condition Wellesly agreed to help Peshwa Bajirao II ?

(A) His agreeing to the abolition of the office of the Peshwa after his death
(B) An underhand transaction of Rs. 15 lakh
(C) His consent to the subsidiary alliance
(D) His agreeing to dispossess Scindia from his fief
Ans : (C)

101. From whom did the English secure the rights of duty free trade after Bengal ?
(A) Nawab of Awadh
(B) Raja of Banaras
(C) The Nizam of Hyderabad
(D) The Jats of Bharatpur
Ans : (A)

102. With whom did Raja Ranjit Singh conclude the treaty of Lahore in 1806 which gave him freedom to
expand north of Sutlej ?
(A) Peshwa Bajirao II
(B) Holkar of Indore
(C) Scindia of Gwalior
(D) East India Company
Ans : (D)

103. Who among the following did not become a prey of Dalhousie’s policy of absorption ?
(A) Satara
(B) Nagpur
(C) Scindia
(D) Mysore
Ans : (D)

104. Why did Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras) not join the revolt of 1857 along with northern
provinces ?
(A) They failed to find necessary leadership due to ryotwari settlement
(B) They had remained comparatively free from annexations and confiscations
(C) They had more tolerant and enlightened administrators
(D) They were at a great distance from Kolkata (Calcutta), the seat of British administration
Ans : (D)
105. What was the grieviest cause of discontent among soldiers before the revolt of 1857 ?
(A) Question of promotion and pay
(B) Non-observance of caste distinctions
(C) Frequent campaigns in distant lands
(D) Absence of a proper and equitable procedure for discipline and control
Ans : (A)

106. Who led the revolt of 1857 in Lucknow ?

(A) Tatya Tope
(B) Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah
(C) Birjis Qadir
(D) Begum Hazrat Mahal
Ans : (D)

107. Who among the following said, “One religion, one caste and one God for mankind” ?
(A) Jyotiba Phule
(B) Vivekananda
(C) Sri Narayan Guru
(D) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
Ans : (C)

108. Which is called the ‘magna carta’ of western education system in India ?
(A) The report of the Committee of Public Instruction, 1823
(B) The Charter Act of 1833
(C) Report of the Hunter Commission, 1862
(D) Despatch of Sir Charles Wood, Secretary of State, 1854
Ans : (D)

109. Which of the following organizations did Raja Ram Mohan Roy conceive of ahead of his times ?
(A) World Court of Justice
(B) Economic Community
(C) League of Nations
(D) Common Market
Ans : (C)

110. Who guided the establishment of Prarthana Samaj in Maharashtra ?

(A) Keshub Chunder Sen
(B) Lokhitwadi
(C) Shibnath Shastri
(D) Debendranath Tagore
Ans : (A)

111. Which of the following books does not match with its author ?
(A) Dadabhai Naoroji—‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’
(B) R. C. Dutt—‘Economic History of India’
(C) Mahatma Gandhi—‘Hind Swaraj’
(D) D. R. Gadgil—‘Indian Industry, Today and Tomorrow’
Ans : (D)
112. In 1922 “Bhil Seva Mandal” was established by—
(A) Narain Malhar Joshi
(B) Amritlal Vitthaldas Thakkar
(C) Jyotiba Phule
(D) Baba Amte
Ans : (B)

113. On what ground the second split in Congress took place in 1918 ?
(A) Lucknow Pact
(B) Montague Declaration
(C) Election of Mrs. Annie Besant as the President of the Congress in 1917
(D) Both (B) and (C) above
Ans : (B)

114. By which Act the Public Service Commission was first established in India ?
(A) The Indian Council Act, 1892
(B) The Act of 1909
(C) The Government of India Act, 1919
(D) The Government of India Act, 1935
Ans : (C)

115. Who was the mastermind of bomb attack on Lord Hardinge at Chandani Chowk, Delhi in 1912 ?
(A) Rasbehari Bose
(B) Bhai Paramanand
(C) Sachindranath Sanyal
(D) Sohan Lal Pathak
Ans : (A)

116. Who was selected as the first satyagrahi by Mahatma Gandhi to begin the individual satyagraha in
1940 ?
(A) C. Rajagopalachari
(B) Vallabhbhai Patel
(C) J.B. Kripalani
(D) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Ans : (B)

117. Who was the founder president of Harijan Sevak Samgha founded by Mahatma Gandhi ?
(A) Mahadev Desai
(B) G. D. Birla
(C) Amrit Lal Thakkar
(D) B. R. Ambedkar
Ans : (C)

118. What was the provocation behind the damand of separate electorate etc. under fourteen points of
Jinnah ?
(A) Fear of the majority rule
(B) Communal politics of Hindu Mahasabha and Sikh League
(C) Disagreement with the proposals contained in the Nehru report
(D) The challenge of the British government for drawing up an agreed Constitution of India
Ans : (C)

119. What was the reason for the rejection of the Government of India Act, 1935 by the Congress ?
(A) The Indians were not consulted
(B) It was stalling the establishment of people’s government
(C) The provisions made in the name provincial autonomy were violative of democratic rights
(D) All of the above
Ans : (D)

120. When did Gandhiji go to fast unto death for the first time ?
(A) At the time of Communal award
(B) At the time of riots in Kolkatta (Calcutta)
(C) At the time of riots in Delhi
(D) At the time of Jallianwala Bagh tragedy
Ans : (D)

Indian History Questions

1. Which of the following was started first by Mahatma Gandhi ?
(A) Non-cooperation
(B) Civil Disobedience
(C) Quit India Movement
(D) Champaran
Ans : (D)

2. Mahatma Gandhi used for the first time hunger strike as a weapon during—
(A) Kheda Satyagraha
(B) Ahmedabad Strike
(C) Bardoli Satyagraha
(D) Champaran Satyagraha
Ans : (B)

3. The Dandi March is associated with—

(A) Partition of Bengal
(B) Khilafat Movement
(C) Non-cooperation Movement
(D) Civil Disobedience Movement
Ans : (D)

4. Which one of the following leaders did not support the ‘Khilafat Movement’ ?
(A) Swami Shraddhanand
(B) Madan Mohan Malviya
(C) Mohammad Ali Jinnah
(D) Jawahar Lal Nehru
Ans : (C)

5. Ali brothers are related to which of the following ?

(A) Khilafat Movement
(B) Quit India Movement
(C) Indian National Congress
(D) Fascism
Ans : (A)

6. The key leaders of Khilafat Movement were—

(A) Syed Ahmad Khan and Agha khan
(B) Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali
(C) Muhammad Iqbal and Salimullah Khan
(D) Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Sikandar Hayat Khan
Ans : (B)

7. At which place was the All India Khilafat Conference held in 1919 ?
(A) Lucknow
(B) Delhi
(C) Aligarh
(D) Porbandar
Ans : (B)

8. Who organized the Satyagraha Sabha whose members took a pledge to disobey the Rowlatt Acts ?
(A) Saifuddin Kitchlew
(B) Motilal Nehru
(C) Maulana Shaukat Ali
(D) Mahatma Gandhi
Ans : (D)

9. What prompted the British Government to arrest Gandhi and get him convicted after the suspension of
the Non-cooperation movement ?
(A) It wanted to create terror in the hearts of other nationalists
(B) It wanted to ensure that there was no resurgence of the movement
(C) It wanted to save Gandhi from public disgrace for suspending the movement
(D) It took advantage of the division among the nationalist forces caused by the suspension of the Non-
cooperation Movement.
Ans : (D)

10. The resolution for non-cooperation was passed by—

(A) By the Congress at the special session held in Calcutta in 1920
(B) By the Khilafat Committee
(C) By Gandhi immediately after the Jallianwalla Bagh Tragedy
(D) Simultaneously by the Congress and Khilafat Committee
Ans : (A)

11. The boycott of foreign cloth during the Non-cooperation Movement—

(A) Was not agreeable to the masses
(B) Caused a striking fall in the value of imports of foreign cloth in 1921-22
(C) Had little impact on the economy
(D) Made the government relax controls on exports of Indian goods
Ans : (B)

12. How did the Non-cooperation Movement affect the Congress?

(A) It became a more business like body with a Working Committee and Constitution
(B) Once again the control shifted from moderates to extremists
(C) From constitutional agitation it changed its method to passive resistance
(D) It became the leader of the masses in the nationalist struggle to win freedom from British rule
Ans : (D)

13. In which district is Dandi associated with the March of Gandhi, is located ?
(A) Mehsana
(B) Bhuj
(C) Nausari
(D) Dwarka
Ans : (C)

14. Which one of the following is not correct about Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March ?
(A) It was a pedestrian March
(B) It began with 8 Satyagrahis comprising Hindus, Muslims and Christians
(C) Its motive was to violate salt law
(D) Reaching the sea-shore Mahatma Gandhi did not manufacture the salt
Ans : (D)

15. What is the correct chronological order of Gandhian Movements ?

1. Rowlatt Acts Movement
2. Khera Movement
3. Champaran Movement
4. Ahmedabad Mill strike
(A) 3, 4, 2, 1
(B) 3, 2, 4, 1
(C) 2, 3, 4, 1
(D) 2, 3, 1, 4
Ans : (A)

16. With which event did the Civil Disobedience Movement started ?
(A) Prohibition of wine
(B) Breaking salt law
(C) Protesting high land Revenue
(D) Boycotting foreign clothes
Ans : (B)

17. On which occasion the slogan ‘Nagpur Chalo’ was raised ?

(A) Dandi March
(B) Non-cooperation Movement
(C) Quit India Movement
(D) Jhanda Satyagrah
Ans : (D)

18. When did Kasturba Gandhi die in prison ?

(A) 1905
(B) 1919
(C) 1934
(D) 1944
Ans : (D)

19. The main reason for criticizing the Gandhi-Irwin pact was—
(A) Communal electorate
(B) Banning of peaceful processions
(C) Lacked the provision of saving the hangings of freedom fighters
(D) Amnesty to the political prisoners
Ans : (C)

20. What was the immediate reaction of the government to the Salt Satyagraha and the Dandi March ?
(A) The government resorted to repressive measures
(B) It took measures to prevent the mischief from spreading
(C) It did not take it seriously
(D) The Congress was banned
Ans : (C)
1. Aurbindo Ghosh was defended in the Alipur conspiracy case by—
(A) Tej Bahadur Sapru
(B) Motilal Nehru
(C) Jawahar Lal Nehru
(D) Chitranjan Das
Ans : (D)

2. Who among the following founded the Hindustan Republican Army (or Association) in 1924 ?
(A) Surya Sen
(B) V. D. Savarkar
(C) Sachindra Nath Sanyal
(D) Batukeshwar Dutta
Ans : (C)

3. Who gave the title of Rani to the Naga woman leader Gaidinliu ?
(A) Jawahar Lal Nehru
(B) Sardar Patel
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) C. R. Das
Ans : (A)

4. Name the great Indian revolutionary who was a professor of Sanskrit and Philosophy and died as a
Sanyasi in Philadelphia ?
(A) Lala Hardayal
(B) Bhai Parmanand
(C) Madan Lal Dhingra
(D) Shyamji Krishna Varma
Ans : (A)

5. In which place February 21, 1915 was fixed as the date for an armed revolt by the Ghadarites ?
(A) Bombay
(B) Madras
(C) Punjab
(D) Bengal
Ans : (C)

6. The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was founded in—

(A) 1922
(B) 1924
(C) 1926
(D) 1928
Ans : (D)

7. Name the woman revolutionary who shot the Governor of Bengal while receiving her degree at the
convocation of the university of Calcutta ?
(A) Lila Datta
(B) Preeti Lata Wadekar
(C) Kalpana Ganguly
(D) Bina Das
Ans : (D)

8. The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Movement ended with the death of—
(A) Ramprasad Bismil
(B) Chandra Shekhar Azad
(C) Surya Sen
(D) Bhagat Singh
Ans : (B)

9. Which revolutionary said the following, ‘‘We shall be born again, shall meet again and shall jointly fight
once again for the cause of the motherland as comrades-in-arms’’ ?
(A) Chandra Shekhar Azad
(B) Ramprasad Bismil
(C) Rajendra Lahiri
(D) Ashfaquallah Khan
Ans : (B)

10. Which association sprang us in Bengal during the Swadeshi Movement ?

(A) Anushilan Samiti
(B) Swadeshi Samiti
(C) Krantikari Samiti
(D) Jugantar Samiti
Ans : (D)

11. Which of the following was not hanged in connection with the Kakori Conspiracy Case ?
(A) Bhagat Singh
(B) Ashfaqullah Khan
(C) Rajendra Lahiri
(D) Roshan Singh
Ans : (A)

12. The first tribal leader who was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and his ideology was—
(A) Alluri Sitaram Raju
(B) Jadonang
(C) Jhabkar Bapa
(D) Rani Gaidinliu
Ans : (B)

13. Which among the following was sentenced to death in the Hardinge Bomb Case ?
(A) Sohan Singh Bhakna
(B) Asutosh Choudhary
(C) Bhai Bal Mukund
(D) Ras Behari Bose
Ans : (C)

14. Who among the following was awarded the China Medal for taking part in China war of 1900 ?
(A) Maharaja Ganga Singh
(B) Maharaja Sumer Singh
(C) Maharaja Fateh Singh
(D) Maharaja Jai Singh
Ans : (A)

15. Mr. Philip Sprat, an English man was tried under which conspiracy case ?
(A) Lahore conspiracy case
(B) Kanpur conspiracy case
(C) Meerut conspiracy case
(D) Chittagong conspiracy case
Ans : (C)

16. Gadar-Dal was founded at—

(A) Berlin
(B) Tokyo
(C) Washington
(D) San Francisco
Ans : (D)

17. The differences between the Moderates and the Extremists led to a split in Congress at its session
held in 1907 at—
(A) Surat
(B) Calcutta
(C) Nagpur
(D) Madras
Ans : (A)

18. Who among the following was known as the Grand Old Man of Indian politics ?
(A) Bipin Chandra Pal
(B) Dadabhai Nauroji
(C) Surendra Nath Bannerjee
(D) Rasbehari Bose
Ans : (B)

19. The most revolutionary secret organization of Bengal was—

(A) Abhinava Bharat
(B) Mitra Mela
(C) Ghadar Party
(D) Anushilan Samiti
Ans : (A)

20. I.N.A. (Indian National Army) trial took place in the—

(A) Calcutta High Court
(B) Supreme Court
(C) Federal Court
(D) Red Fort
Ans : (D)

1. Who said the following ‘‘the British empire is rotten to the core, corrupt in every direction and tyrannical
and mean’’ ?
(A) Mrs. Annie Besant
(B) W. Digby
(C) Sister Nivedita
(D) William Wedderburn
Ans : (C)

2. Badruddin Taiyabji was an active member of—

(A) Communist Party of India
(B) Jansangh
(C) Indian National Congress
(D) Muslim League
Ans : (C)

3. Who founded Indian National Congress on 1885 ?

(A) A.O. Hume
(B) J. L. Nehru
(C) Willaim Wedderburn
(D) J.R.D. Tata
Ans : (A)

4. An association which merged with the Congress in 1886 was the—

(A) East Indian Association
(B) Indian National Conference
(C) British Indian Association
(D) Indian League
Ans : (B)

5. The term ‘Congress’ was derived from—

(A) Irish history
(B) British Commonwealth
(C) The name of the American Parliament
(D) The history of North America
Ans : (D)

6. Who among the following never became President of the Indian National Congress ?
(A) B. G. Tilak
(B) S.C. Bose
(C) G.K. Gokhale
(D) Annie Besant
Ans : (C)

7. Which of the following may be considered drawbacks of the early phase of the Congress activities ?
I. Preservation of caste and communal considerations presenting mass involvement.
II. It was confined to the educated middle class.
III. No proper understanding of the exploitative nature of British economic policies.
IV. Misplaced faith in the benevolence and fairmindedness of the British rulers.
(A) I and IV
(B) II and III
(C) I and II
(D) III and IV
Ans : (C)

8. Who was the first Englishmen to preside over a Congress session?

(A) George Yule
(B) Dufferin
(C) W. Wedderburn
(D) None of these
Ans : (A)

9. Who is known as the Father of Indian Unrest ?

(A) Dadabhai Nauroji
(B) G. K. Gokhale
(C) Mahatma Gandhi
(D) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Ans : (D)

10. The number of delegates who attended the first session of the Indian National Congress, was—
(A) 750
(B) 75
(C) 720
(D) 72
Ans : (D)

11. Arrange the following in chronological order—

I. Surat split
II. Partition of Bengal
III. Foundation of Muslim League
IV. Congress session drafts its constitution
(A) IV, II, III, I
(B) III, II, I, IV
(C) II, IV, III, I
(D) II, III, I, IV
Ans : (D)

12. Who attended the imperial durbar of 1877 dressed in hand-spun khadi ?
(A) M.G. Ranade
(B) Rabindra Nath Tagore
(C) Ganesh Vasudev Joshi
(D) Hakim Ajmal Khan
Ans : (C)

13. Who was the President of Indian National Congress at the time of independence ?
(A) J. B. Kripalani
(B) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
(C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad
(D) Jawahar Lal Nehru
Ans : (A)
14. In which of the following session of Indian National Congress the resolution of Swadeshi was
adopted ?
(A) Madras session of 1903
(B) Bombay session of 1904
(C) Benaras session of 1905
(D) Calcutta session of 1906
Ans : (D)

15. Arrange the following events in chronological order on the basis of codes given below :
1. The Surat Congress
2. March from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi.
3. Rowlatt Act
4. Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
Code :
(A) 3, 2, 1, 4
(B) 1, 3, 2, 4
(C) 2, 1, 3, 4
(D) 1, 2, 4, 3
Ans : (B)

16. When did the British pass a law making it an offence to preach nationalism ?
(A) 1892
(B) 1898
(C) 1900
(D) 1904
Ans : (B)

17. Mahatma Gandhi was the President of Indian National Congress only once at—
(A) Allahabad
(B) Guwahati
(C) Belgaun
(D) Kakinada
Ans : (C)

18. Which of the following events was the last in chronological order?
(A) Home Rule Movement
(B) Khilafat Movement
(C) Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre
(D) Mopala Revolt
Ans : (D)

19. Which of the following Muslim Leaders was not one of the founding fathers of the All India Muslim
League ?
(A) Nawab Moshin-ul-Mulk
(B) Maulana Abul KalamAzad
(C) Aga Khan
(D) Nawab Salimullah of Dacca
Ans : (B)
20. The first President of Muslim League was—
(A) Salimullah Khan
(B) Aga Khan
(C) Mustaq Hussain
(D) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Ans : (A)

1. The Father of Muslim Renaissance in Bengal was—

(A) Syed Ahmad Khan
(B) Ameer Ali
(C) Nawab Abdul Latif Khan
(D) Nawab Samiullah Khan
Ans : (B)

2. Who was the founder of ‘Satya Shodhak Samaj’ ?

(A) Atmaram Pandurang
(B) Gopal Hari Deshmukh
(C) M. G. Ranade
(D) Jyotiba Phule
Ans : (D)

3. Which of the following Socioreligious Movements raised the slogan : ‘India for Indians’ ?
(A) Prarthana Samaj
(B) Brahmo Samaj
(C) Arya Samaj
(D) Satya Shodhak Samaj
Ans : (C)

4. Who was the first President of the Indian Home Rule League established in April 1916 ?
(A) Joseph Bapista
(B) Annie Besant
(C) N.C. Kelkar
(D) B.G. Tilak
Ans : (A)

5. Which of the following did not contribute in a major way to the growth of a nationalist consciousness in
India ?
(A) Impact of western education
(B) Consistent economic exploitation of India by the British
(C) Revivalist Movements of the 19th century
(D) World public opinion
Ans : (D)

6. The ‘Bombay Triumvirate’ consisted of all the following except—

(A) Dadabhai Nauroji
(B) K.T. Telang
(C) Pherozeshah Mehta
(D) Badruddin Tyabji
Ans : (A)

7. The Theosophical Society was founded in the U.S.A. by—

(A) Dr. Annie Besant
(B) A. O. Hume
(C) Tilak and Gokhale
(D) Madam Blavatsky and Olcott
Ans : (D)

8. An important reason for social and religious reforms in nineteenth century was—
(A) Scientific inventions
(B) Industrial revolution
(C) Western education and awakening
(D) Influence of Newspapers
Ans : (C)

9. Which famous social reformer wrote the books ‘Jnana Yoga’, ‘Karma Yoga’ and ‘Raj Yoga’ ?
(A) M. G. Ranade
(B) Swami Vivekanand
(C) Ramkrishna Paramhansa
(D) Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Ans : (B)

10. Who was the Governor General of India when the Indian National Congress was formed ?
(A) Lord Chelmsford
(B) Lord Dalhousie
(C) Lord Dufferin
(D) None of these
Ans : (C)

11. Which of the following did not influence the growth of nationalist sentiments against the British rule in
the first few years of the twentieth century ?
(A) British reverses in the Boer War
(B) Italy’s defeat by Ethopia
(C) The establishment of the Kerensky Government in Russia
(D) Japanese defeat of Russia
Ans : (C)

12. Which of the following cannot be considered a cause for the rise of Extremism ?
(A) The reactionary policies of Lord Lytton
(B) The failure of the moderates to achieve anything significant through their methods
(C) Serious problem of unemployment among the educated Indians
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

13. Who said, ‘‘The Congress is in reality a civil war without arms’’?
(A) W. Wedderburn
(B) W. Digby
(C) D.W. Bethune
(D) Lord Dufferin
Ans : (B)

14. Which of the following was not a method adopted by the Extremists ?
(A) Promoting the use of Swadeshi
(B) Boycott of schools, courts and government service
(C) Burning down shops and godowns storing foreign clothes
(D) Launching national education schemes and building the national spirit
Ans : (C)

15. October 16, 1905, the date of partition of Bengal, was celebrated on the suggestion of Rabindra Nath
Tagore, as—
(A) Rakhi Bandhan Day
(B) Brotherhood Day
(C) Solidarity Day
(D) Black Day
Ans : (A)

16. After the Surat split, the Congress—

(A) Was temporarily disbanded
(B) Was banned by the British Government
(C) Went to the Extremists
(D) Remained under the control of the Moderates
Ans : (D)

17. The first Muslim President of Indian National Congress was—

(A) Hakim Azmal Khan
(B) Abul Kalam Azad
(C) Rafi Ahmad Kidwai
(D) Badruddin Taiyabji
Ans : (D)

18. Who was instrumental in bringing the Extremists and the Moderates together at Lucknow ?
(A) Gokhale
(B) Tilak
(C) Annie Besant
(D) None of these
Ans : (C)

19. In the beginning the political activities of the Muslim League were directed against—
(A) The liberal socio-religious reformers
(B) The Hindus and the Indian National Congress
(C) The British Government
(D) The landlords and the zamindars
Ans : (B)
20. The Red Crescent Society was concerned with—
(A) Communists
(B) Getting a separate state for Muslims even through blood shed
(C) Revolutionary activities in Punjab
(D) Providing medical help to the Turkish troops in the Balkan War
Ans : (D)

1. Which one of the following proved to be Dalhousie’s worst political blunder ?

(A) Annexation of Punjab
(B) Occupation of lower Burma
(C) Abolition of the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’
(D) Annexation of Oudh
Ans : (D)

2. The leader of the revolt of 1857 in Bihar was—

(A) Kunwar Singh
(B) Nana Saheb
(C) Tantia Tope
(D) Mangal Pandey
Ans : (A)

3. The writer of ‘‘Indian War of Independence, 1857’’ is—

(A) R.C Majumdar
(B) V.D. Savarkar
(C) S.B. Chaudhary
(D) S.N. Sen
Ans : (B)

4. Who called the 1857 revolt ‘‘a planned war of National Independence’’ ?
(A) Benjamin Disraeli
(B) Sir John Seeley
(C) V.D. Savarkar
(D) S.N. Sen
Ans : (C)

5. The leader of the 1857 Revolt in Delhi was—

(A) Bahadur Shah Zafar
(B) Bakht Khan
(C) Begum Zinat Mahal
(D) Khan Bahadur Khan
Ans : (A)

6. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Umaji Naik—Ramosi Rising
(B) Tipu—Pagal Panthi
(C) Haji Shariat—Deobond Movement
(D) Syed Ahmad Raibarelvi—Wahabi Movement
Ans : (C)
7. Which of the following was a precursor of the 1857 revolt ?
(A) Indigo revolt
(B) Sanyasi revolt
(C) Ulgulan
(D) Pabna rising
Ans : (B)

8. The play ‘Neeldarpan’ is associated with the—

(A) Santhal Revolt
(B) Pabna Riots
(C) Indigo Revolts
(D) Champaran Satyagraha
Ans : (C)

9. Which of the following is not correctly matched?

(A) Bhil revolt—1818–31
(B) Stara revolt—1814
(C) Kittur revolt—1824
(D) Gadkari revolt—1844
Ans : (B)

10. The tribal leader who was regarded as an incarnation of God and father of the world was—
(A) Nanak Bhil
(B) Jagia Bhagat
(C) Birsa Munda
(D) Siddhu Santha
Ans : (C)

11. According to which famous political leader of Britain the revolt of 1857 is described as a ‘National
Rising’ ?
(A) Canning
(B) Gladstone
(C) Palmerstone
(D) Disraeli
Ans : (D)

12. Who was the founder leader of ‘Muslim Faqirs’ ?

(A) Majnun Shah
(B) Dadu Mian
(C) Tipu
(D) Chirag Ali Shah
Ans : (A)

13. Who among the following is known as the ‘father of renaissance’ of Western India?
(A) B.M. Malabari
(B) M.G. Ranade
(C) R. G. Bhandarkar
(D) K.T. Telang
Ans : (B)

14. Who is known as the Hindu Luther of Northern India during 19th century was ?
(A) Dayanand Saraswati
(B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(C) Radhakant Dev
(D) Keshav Chandra Sen
Ans : (B)

15. Who inspired the young Bengal Movement in the 19th century ?
(A) Ram Tanu Lahiri
(B) Henry Vivian Dorozev
(C) Rasik Kumar Malik
(D) Piyare Chand Mitra
Ans : (B)

16. Who is regarded as the ‘Father of Modern India’ ?

(A) M. G. Ranade
(B) Mahatma Gandhi
(C) Keshav Chandra Sen
(D) Ram Mohan Roy
Ans : (D)

17. Who is known as ‘Mother of Indian Revolution’ ?

(A) Rama Bai
(B) Bhikaji Rustam Kama
(C) Annie Besant
(D) Sarojini Naidu
Ans : (B)

18. Who was the founder of Ramkrishna Mission ?

(A) Swami Dayanand Saraswati
(B) Keshav Chandra Sen
(C) Swami Vivekanand
(D) Ram Krishna Paramhansa
Ans : (C)

19. Who established the ‘Vedanta Society’?

(A) Keshav Chandra Sen
(B) Devendra Nath Tagore
(C) Vivekanand
(D) Ram Mohan Roy
Ans: (C)

20. Kumaran Asan is associated with the Social Renaissance of—

(A) Kerala
(B) Tamilnadu
(C) Andhra Pradesh
(D) None of the above
Ans : (A)

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Indian History Objective Questions

1. The statue of Gomateshwara at Sravanabelagola was built by—

(A) Chandragupta Maurya

(B) Kharvela

(C) Amoghavarsha

(D) Chamundaraya

Ans : (D)

2. ‘Live well, as long as you live. Live well even by borrowings, for once cremated,
there is no return’. The rejection of after life is an aphorism of the—

(A) Kapalika sect

(B) Sunyavada of Nagarjun

(C) Ajivikas

(D) Charvakas

Ans : (D)

3. Which one of the following usages was a post-Vedic development ?

(A) Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksha
(B) Brahmana-Kshatriya-Vaishya-Shudra

(C) Brahmacharya-Grihasthashrama-Vanaprastha-Sanyasa

(D) Indra-Surya-Rudra-Marut

Ans : (C)

4. The capital of the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was—

(A) Amritsar

(B) Patiala

(C) Lahore

(D) Kapurthala

Ans : (C)

5. In the Gandhara sculptures the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha's
First Sermon at Sarnath is—

(A) Abhaya

(B) Dhyana

(C) Dharmachakra

(D) Bhumisparsa

Ans : (C)

6. The name of the poet Kalidas is mentioned in the—

(A) Allahabad pillar inscription

(B) Aihole inscription

(C) Alapadu grant

(D) Hanumakonda inscription

Ans : (B)
7. Zero was invented by—

(A) Aryabhatta

(B) Varahamihira

(C) Bhaskara I

(D) An unknown Indian

Ans : (D)

8. Which one of the following important trade centres of ancient India was on the
trade route connecting Kalyana with Vengi ?

(A) Tagara

(B) Sripura

(C) Tripuri

(D) Tamralipti

Ans : (A)

9. The first Indian ruler who joined the subsidiary Alliance was—

(A) The Nawab of Oudh

(B) The Nizam of Hyderabad

(C) Peshwa Baji Rao II

(D) The king of Travancore

Ans : (B)

10. Vidhushaka, a common character in Sanskrit drama is invariably a—

(A) Brahmana

(B) Kshatriya

(C) Vaishya
(D) Shudra

Ans : (A)

11. Toramana belonged to the ethnic horde of the—

(A) Scythians

(B) Hunas

(C) Yue-chis

(D) Sakas

Ans : (B)

12. Who among the following is said to have witnessed the reigns of eight Delhi
Sultans ?

(A) Ziauddin Barani

(B) Shams-i-siraj Afif

(C) Minhaj-us-siraj

(D) Amir Khusrau

Ans : (D)

13. The first Indian ruler to organize Haj pilgrimage at the expense of the state was
—

(A) Alauddin Khilji

(B) Feroz Tughlaq

(C) Akbar

(D) Aurangzeb

Ans : (C)
14. Who among the following ladies wrote a historical account during the Mughal
period ?

(A) Gulbadan Begum

(B) Noorjahan Begum

(C) Jahanara Begum

(D) Zebun-nissah Begum

Ans : (A)

15. The first to start a joint stock company to trade with India were the—

(A) Portuguese

(B) Dutch

(C) French

(D) Danish

Ans : (B)

16. The caves and rock-cut temples at Ellora are—

(A) Buddhist

(B) Buddhist and Jain

(C) Hindu and Jain

(D) Hindu, Buddhist and Jain

Ans : (D)

17. The significance of the Bengal Regulation of 1793 lies in the fact that—

(A) It provided for the establishment of the Supreme court

(B) It restricted the application of English law to Englishmen only

(C) It accommodated the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims

(D) It provided for the appointment of the Indian Law Commission

Ans : (C)

18. The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was borrowed from the system
followed in—

(A) Afghanistan

(B) Turkey

(C) Mongolia

(D) Persia

Ans : (C)

19. Which one of the following monuments has a dome which is said to be one of
the largest in the world ?

(A) Tomb of Sher Shah, Sasaram

(B) Jama Masjid, Delhi

(C) Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tuglaq, Delhi

(D) Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur

Ans : (D)

20. Ashtapradhan was a Council of Ministers—

(A) In the Gupta administration

(B) In the Chola administration

(C) In the Vijaynagar administration

(D) In the Maratha administration

Ans : (D)

21. The concept of Anuvrata was advocated by—

(A) Mahayana Buddhism

(B) Hinayana Buddhism

(C) Jainism

(D) The Lokayata School

Ans : (C)

22. Which one of the following territories was not affected by the revolt of 1857 ?

(A) Jhansi

(B) Jagdishpur

(C) Lucknow

(D) Chittor

Ans : (D)

23. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?

(A) Battle of Buxar— Mir Jafar Vs Clive

(B) Battle of Wandiwash—French Vs East India Company

(C) Battle of Chelianwala—Dalhousie Vs Marathas

(D) Battle of Kharda—Nizam Vs East India Company

Ans : (B)

24. The word ‘Hindu’ as reference to the people of Hind (India) was first used by—

(A) The Greeks

(B) The Romans

(C) The Chinese

(D) The Arabs

Ans : (A)
25. Hughly was used as a base for piracy in the Bay of Bengal by—

(A) The Portuguese

(B) The French

(C) The Danish

(D) The British

Ans : (A)

1. The term ‘nishka’ which meant an ornament in the Vedic period was used in later times to denote a/an
—
(A) Weapon
(B) Agricultural implement
(C) Script
(D) Coin
Ans : (D)

2. Which one of the following pairs of kings of ancient and medieval periods of Indian history and the
works authored by them is correctly matched ?
(A) Krishnadevaraya : Samaranganasutradhra
(B) Mehendravarman : Mattavilasaprahasana
(C) Bhojadeva : Manasollasa
(D) Somesvara : Amuktamalyada
Ans : (B)

3. The founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides movement was—

(A) Charles Andrews
(B) Robert Montgomery
(C) Richard Temple
(D) Baden Powell
Ans : (D)

4. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Dharamsastra : Works on religion and philosophy
(B) Chaturvarnya : Four Ashrams
(C) Shudra : Service to three varnas
(D) Mahamatra : Superior Officials
Ans : (B)

5. Chanakya was known as—

(A) Bhattasvamin
(B) Rajasekhara
(C) Vishnugupta
(D) Visakhadatta
Ans : (C)
6. A lot of details regarding the village administration under the Cholas is provided by the inscriptions at—
(A) Thanjavur
(B) Uraiyur
(C) Kanchipuram
(D) Uttaramerur
Ans : (D)

7. In Jainism ‘perfect knowledge’ is referred to as—

(A) Jina
(B) Ratna
(C) Kaivalya
(D) Nirvanas
Ans : (C)

8. Who among the following is NOT associated with medicine in ancient India ?
(A) Dhanvantri
(B) Bhaskaracharya
(C) Charaka
(D) Susruta
Ans : (B)

9. In Mughal paintings one notices the adoption of the principles of foreshortening whereby near and
distant people and things could be placed in perspective. This was due to the influence of the—
(A) British
(B) Dutch
(C) Portuguese
(D) Danish
Ans : (C)

10. Ashokan inscriptions were first deciphered by—

(A) Buhler
(B) Robert Sewell
(C) James Prinsep
(D) Codrington
Ans : (C)

11. Among the four works mentioned below which one is encyclopaedic in nature ?
(A) Amarakosa
(B) Siddhantasiromani
(C) Brhat Samhita
(D) Ashtangahrdaya
Ans : (A)

12. Consider the following passage—

In the course of a career on the road spanning almost thirty years, he crossed the breadth of the Eastern
hemisphere, visited territories equivalent to about 44 modern countries and put behind him a total
distance of approximately 73000 miles.
The world's greatest traveller of pre-modern times to whom the above passage refers is—
(A) Megasthenes
(B) Fa Hien
(C) Marco Polo
(D) Ibn Battuta
Ans : (C)

13. The first political organisation established in India in 1838 was known as—
(A) British India Society
(B) Bengal British India Society
(C) Settlers Association
(D) Zamindary Association
Ans : (D)

14. The foundation of modern education system in India was laid by—
(A) The Charter Act of 1813
(B) Macaulay's Minutes of 1835
(C) The Hunter Commission of 1882
(D) Wood's Despatch of 1854
Ans : (B)

15. Uplift of the backward classes was the main programme of the—
(A) Prarthana Samaj
(B) Satya Shodhak Samaj
(C) Arya Samaj
(D) Ramakrishna Mission
Ans : (B)

16. The Ryotwari settlement was introduced by the British in the—

(A) Bengal Presidency
(B) Madras Presidency
(C) Bombay Presidency
(D) Madras and Bombay Presidencies
Ans : (D)

17. The Buddhist Sect Mahayana formally came into existence during the reign of—
(A) Ajatashatru
(B) Ashoka
(C) Dharmapala
(D) Kanishka
Ans : (D)

18. The last in succession of Jaina Tirthankaras was—

(A) Parsvanatha
(B) Rishabha
(C) Mahavira
(D) Manisubrata
Ans : (C)

19. The earliest rock cut caves in western India are those at—
(A) Nasik, Ellora and Ajanta
(B) Junnar, Kalyan and Pitalkhora
(C) Ajanta, Bhaja and Kondane
(D) Bhaja, Pitalkhora and Kondane
Ans : (A)

20. The name by which Ashoka is generally referred to in his inscriptions is—
(A) Chakravarti
(B) Dharmadeva
(C) Dharmakirti
(D) Priyadarsi
Ans : (D)

21. Which one of the following is a monument constructed by Sher Shah ?

(A) Kila-i-Kuhna mosque at Delhi
(B) Atala Masjid at Jaunpur
(C) Barasona Masjid at Gaur
(D) Quiwwat-al-Islam mosque at Delhi
Ans : (A)

22. Which among the following cities is considered as one of the oldest surviving cities in the world ?
(A) Mathura
(B) Varanasi
(C) Hardwar
(D) Ayodhya
Ans : (A)

23. The earliest evidence of silver in India is found in the—

(A) Harappan culture
(B) Chalcolithic cultures of Western India
(C) Vedic texts
(D) Silver punch marked coins
Ans : (A)

24. Which one of the following is a language of Baluchistan but linguistically Dravidian ?
(A) Brahui
(B) Kui
(C) Parji
(D) Pengo
Ans : (A)

25. Which one of the following is the most fundamental difference between Mahayana Buddhism and
Hinayana Buddhism ?
(A) Emphasis on ahimsa
(B) Casteless society
(C) Worship of gods and goddesses
(D) Worship of stupa
Ans : (C)
 QUESTION ↕ ANSWER ↕
Who was the first President of India? Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Who built the Grand Trunk Road? Sher Shah Suri
Who built the Agra Fort? Akbar
Who built the Red Fort in Delhi? Shah Jahan
Who built the Qutub Minar? Qutb-ud-din Aibak
In whose memory was the Taj Mahal built? Mumtaz Mahal
Name the Rajput princess whom Akbar married. Jodha Bai
Who was the last ruler of the Mughal dynasty? Bahadur Shah Zafar
Who defeated Sultan Ibrahim Lodi in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526? Babur
Name the famous battle that Rana Pratap fought against Akbar's forces. Haldighat
Who was the founder of Sikhism? Guru Nanak
Who was the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism? Vardhamana Mahavir
Name the holy book of the Parsis. Zend Avesta
Which religion has 24 great teachers called Tirthankaras? Jainism
Who built the famous Sanchi stupa? Ashoka
Where is the Deer Park where Buddha first preached his religion? Sarnath
Name the place where Buddha was born. Lumbini
Name the capital of King Vikramaditya. Ujjain
What was Patna known as in ancient times? Pataliputra
Which king had Chanakya as his minister? Chandragupta Maurya
Name Maharana Pratap's famous horse. Chetak
Who was the first Viceroy of India? Lord Canning
Who was the last Viceroy of India? Lord Mountbatten
Which of Akbar's uncles served as his guardian and won the Delhi throne
Bairam Khan
for Akbar?
In which century was Lord Buddha born? 6th century B.C.
When did Gandhiji launch the Quit India movement? 9th August 1942
When did Jawaharlal Nehru die? 27th May 1964
How many days did the battle of Mahabharata last? 18
How many times did Mahmud of Gazni invade India? 17
Indian Prehistory

• The fossils of the early human being have not been found in India. A hint of the
earliest human presence in India is indicated by stone tools of about 250,000 BC obtained
from the deposits.

However, recent reported artifacts from Bori in Maharashtra suggest the appearance of
human beings in India around 1.4 million years ago.

• From their first appearance to around 3000 BC humans used only stone tools for
different purposes.

This period is, therefore, known as the Stone Age, which has been divided into Paleolithic
(early or Old Stone) Age, Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, and Neolithic (New Stone) Age.

The Paleolithic Age in India (500,000 BC - 8000 BC) :

• In India it developed in the Pleistocene period or the Ice Age.b.

• The earliest traces of human existence in India go back to 500,000 BC.

• The Paleolithic sites are spread in practically all parts of India except the
alluvial plains of Indus and Ganga.

• The people of this age were food gathering people who lived on hunting and
gathering wild fruits and vegetables.

• Man during this period used tools of unpolished, undressed rough stones and
lived in cave and rock shelters. They had no knowledge of agriculture, fire or
pottery of any material.

• They mainly used hand axes, cleavers, choppers, blades, scrapers and burin.
Their tools were made of hard rock called 'quartzite'. Hence Paleolithic men
are also called 'Quartzite Men'.

• Homo sapiens first appeared in the last of this phase.

 • It has been pointed out that Paleolithic men belonged to the Negrito race.

• The Paleolithic Age in India has been divided into three phases according to
the nature of stone tools used by the people and also according to the nature
of change in the climate - Early or lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic and
Upper Paleolithic.

• The Early Paleolithic Age covers the greater part of the Ice Age. Its
characteristic tools are hand axes, cleavers and choppers. Such tools have
been found in Soan and Sohan river valley (now in Pakistan) and in the Belan
Valley in the Mirzapur district of UP In this period climate became less humid.

• Middle Paleolithic Phase is characterized by the use of stone tools made of

flakes mainly scrapers, borers and blade like tools. The sites are found in the
valleys of Soan, Narmada and Tungabhadra rivers.

• In the Upper Paleolithic Phase, the climate became warm and less humid.
This stage is marked by burins and scrapers. Such tools have been found in
AP Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bhopal and Chhota Nagpur plateau.

The Mesolithic Era History (8000 BC - 6000 BC) :

• In this age, climate became warm and dry. Climate changes brought about
changes in fauna and flora and made it possible for human beings to move to
new areas. Since then, there haven't been major changes in the climate.

• The characteristic tools of the Mesolithic Age are known as Microliths-pointed,

cresconic blades, scrapers, etc, all made of stone.

• The people lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering; at a later stage they
also domesticated animals.

• The last phase of this age saw the beginning of plane cultivation.
 • Various Mesolithic sites are found in the Chhotanagpur region, Central India
and also south of the Krishna River.

• In the Belan valley of Vindhyas, all the three phases of the Paleolithic
followed by the Mesolithic and then by the Neolithic have been found in
sequence. Similar is the case with the middle part of the Narmada valley.

The History of Neolithic Era (6000 BC - 1000 BC) :

• In India Neolithic Age is not earlier than 6000 BC and at some places in South
and Eastern India; it is as late as 1000 BC.

• During this phase people were again depending on stone implements. But
now they used stones other than quartzite for making tools, which were more
lethal, more finished and more polished.

• Neolithic men cultivated land and grew fruits and corn like ragi and horse
gram. They domesticated cattle, sheep and goat.

• They knew about making fire and making pottery, first by hand and then by
potters wheel. They also painted and decorated their pottery.

• They lived in caves and decorated their walls with hunting and dancing
scenes. They also knew the art of making boats. They could also weave
cotton and wool to make cloth.

• In the later phase of Neolithic phase people led a more settled life and lived
in circular and rectangular houses made of mud and reed.

• Important sites of this age are Burzahom and Gufkral in J&K (famous for pit
dwelling, stone tools and graveyard in house), Maski, Brahmagiri,
Tekkalakota in Karnataka, Paiyampatti in Tamil Nadu, Piklihal and Hallur in
AP, Garo hils in Meghalaya, Chirand and Senuwar in Bihar (known for
remarkable bone tools), Amri, Kotdiji, etc.
 • Koldihawa in UP revealed a three fold cultural sequence: Neolithic,
Chalcolithic and Iron Age.

Chalcolithic Period :

• The end of the Neolithic Period saw the use of metals of which copper was
the first. A culture based on the use of stone and copper arrived. Such a
culture is called Chalcolithic which means the stone-copper phase.

• Apart from stone tools, hand axes and other objects made of copperware also
used.

• The Chalcolithic people used different types of pottery of which black and red
pottery was most popular. It was wheel made and painted with white line
design.

• These people were not acquainted with burnt bricks. They generally lived in
thatched houses. It was a village economy.

• They venerated the mother goddess and worshiped the bull.

• Important sites of this phase are spread in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West

Bengal, Bihar, MP, etc.

Ancient Civilizations in India

• The Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization thriving along the Indus River
and the Ghaggar-Hakra River in what is now Pakistan and north-western India. Among other
names for this civilization is the Harappan Civilization, in reference to its first excavated city
of Harappa.

• An alternative term for the culture is Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization, based on the fact
that most of the Indus Valley sites have been found at the Halkra-Ghaggar River.
 • R.B. Dayaram Sahni first discovered Harappa (on Ravi) in 1921. R.D. Banerjee
discovered Mohenjodaro or 'Mound of the Dead' (on Indus) in 1922. Sir John Marshal played a
crucial role in both these.

• Harappan Civilization forms part of the proto history of India and belongs to the
Bronze Age.

• Mediterranean, Proto-Australoid, Mongoloids and Alpines formed the bulk of the population,
though the first two were more numerous.

• More than 100 sites belonging to this civilization have been excavated.

• According to radio-carbon dating, it spread from the year 2500 - 1750 BC.

• Copper, bronze, silver, gold were known but not iron.

Geographical Extent :

• Covered parts of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan and some parts of Western
UP. It extended from Manda in Jammu in the north to Daimabad in the south and from
Alamgirpur in W. UP to Sutkagendor in Baluchistan in the west.

• Major sites in Pakistan are Harappa (on Ravi in W Punjab), Mohenjodaro (on Indus), Chanhu-
Daro (Sindh), etc. In India, major sites are Lothal, Rangpur and Surkotda (Gujarat),
Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banwali (Hissar), and Alamgirpur (Western UP).

• Largest and the latest site in India is Dholavira in Gujarat. Dr. J.R Joshi and Dr. R.S. Bisht
were involved in it.

Indus Valley Civilization Town Planning :

• Elaborate town-planning. It followed the Grid System. Roads were well cut, dividing the town
into large rectangular or square blocks. Lamp posts at intervals indicate the existence of street
lightning. Flanking the streets, lanes and by-lanes were well-planned houses.

• Used burnt bricks of good quality as the building material. Elsewhere in the contemporary
world, mud-bricks were used.
 • Houses, often of two or more storey, varied in size, but were quite monotonous a square
courtyard, around which were a number of rooms. No window faced the streets. The houses
had tiled bathrooms.

• Good drainage system. Drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum and covered with large
brick slabs for easy cleaning. Shows developed sense of health and sanitation.

• The towns were divided into 2 parts: Upper part or Citadel and Lower Part. The Citadel was an
oblong artificial platform some 30-50 feet high and about 400-200 yards in area It was
enclosed by a thick (13 m at Harappa) crenelated mud-brick wall. In Citadel public buildings,
granaries, important workshops and religious buildings were there. In lower part people used
to live.

• In Mohanjodaro, a big public bath (Great Bath) measuring 12 m by 7 m and 2.4 m deep, has
been found. Steps led from either end to the surface, with changing rooms alongside. It was
probably used for ritual bathing.

Excavations & Excavators :

Chanhudaro (on Indus) 1931 M.G Majumdar

Sutkogendor (on Dasak) 1927 Sir Aurel Stein

Kotdip (on Indus) 1955 Fazl Ahmed Khan

Ropar (on Satluj) 1953 Y.D. Sharma

Banwaii (on Saraswati) 1973 R.S.Bisht

Lothal (on Bhogwa) 1954 S.R.Rao

Rangpur (on Mahar) 1931-53 M.S.Vats, B.B. Lal, S.R. Rao

Amri (on Indus) 1929 N.G. Majumdar

Kalibangan (on Ghaggar) 1961 B.B.Lai

Sorkotda - 1964 J. Joshi

Alamgirpur (on Hindon) 1958 Y.D. Sharma

Indus Valley Civilization Economic Life

Indus Valley Civilization Agriculture:

• The Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, when the flood water receded,
and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in Apr, before the advent of the next flood.
• Grew wheat, barley, rai, peas, sesamum, mustard, rice (in Lothal), cotton, dates, melon, etc.
The Indus people were the first to produce cotton.

• In Kalibangan, fields were ploughed with wooden ploughs.

• Domesticated animals on large scale. Besides the cattle, cats and dogs were domesticated.
Horse wasn't in regular use but elephant was. Remains of horse at Surkotda and dogs with
men in grave at Ropar have been discovered.

• Produced sufficient to feed themselves.

• Food grains were stored in granaries.

Trade and Commerce in Ancient India :

• Well-knit external and internal trade. There was no metallic money in circulation and trade
was carried through Barter System.

• Weights and measures of accuracy existed in Harappan culture (found at Lothal). The weights
were made of limestone, steatite, etc and were generally cubical in shape.

• 16 was the unit of measurement (16, 64,160, 320).

• Flint tool-work, shell-work, bangle making, pottery making, etc were practiced. Raw material
for these came from different sources: gold from N.Karnataka, silver and lapis lazuli from
Afghanistan and Iran, copper from Khetri and Baluchistan, etc.

• Bead making factory existed in Chanhudaro and Lothal. They were items of export.

• A dockyard has been discovered at Lothal. Rangpur, Somnath and Balakot functioned as
seaports. Sutkagendor and Sutkakoh functioned as outlets.
 • The inland transport was done with bullock carts.

• Every merchant or mercantile family probably had a seal bearing an emblem, often of a
religious character, and a name or brief description, on one side. The standard Harappa seal
was a square or oblong plaque made of steatite stone. The primary purpose of the seal was
probably to mark the ownership of property, but they may have also served as amulets.

• The Mesopotamian records from about 2350 BC onwards refer to trade relations with Meluha,
the ancient name of the Indus region. Harappan seals and other material has been found at
Mesopotamia. Also traded with Sumer.

Indus Valley Civilization Art and Craft :

• The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age.

• Bronze was made by mixing tin and copper. Tools were mostly made of copper and bronze.
For making bronze, copper was obtained from Khetri in Rajasthan and from Baluchistan, and
tin from Afghanistan.

• Cotton fabrics quite common. Woolen in winter.

• Very fond of ornaments (of gold, silver, ivory, copper, bronze, precious stones) and dressing
up. Ornaments were worn by both men and women. Women wore heavy bangles in profusion,
large necklaces, ear-rings, bracelets, fingure-rings, girdles, nose studs and anklets. The
Harappans were also an expert bead makers.

• Potter's wheel was in use. Their pottery was red or black pottery. Played dice games. Their
favourite pastime was Gambling.

• The Harappans most notable artistic achievement was their seal gravings, esp. those of
animals. The red sandstone torso of a man is particularly impressive for its realism. However,
the most impressive of the figurines is perhaps the bronze image of the famous dancing girl
(identified as devadasi), found at Mohenjodaro.
 • For their children, they made cattle-toys with movable heads, model monkeys which could
slide down a string, little toy-carts, and whistles shaped like birds, all of terracotta.

The Indus Valley Civilization Religious Life :

• Main object of worship was the Mother Goddess. But the upper classes preferred a god, nude
with two horns, much similar to Pasupati Siva. Represented on the seal is a figure with three
horned heads in a yogic posture. He is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger and a rhinoceros,
and below his throne is a buffalo. Near his feet are two deer. Pashupatinath represented male
deity.

• Phallus (lingam) and yoni worship was also prevalent.

• Many trees (pipal), animals (bull), birds (dove, pigeon) and stones were worshipped. Unicorn
was also worshipped. However, no temple has been found, though idolatry was practiced.

• At Kalibangan and Lothal fire altars have been found.

• Although no definite proof is available with regard to the disposal of the dead, a broad view is
that probably there were three methods of disposing the dead - complete burial, burial after
exposure of the body to birds and beasts, and cremation followed by burial of the ashes.

The discovery of cinerary urns and jars, goblets or vessels with ashes, bones and charcoal
may, however, suggest that during the flourishing period of the Indus Valley culture the third
method was generally practiced. In Harappa, there is one place where evidence of coffin burial
is there. The people probably believed in ghosts and evil spirits, as amulets were worn.

• Dead bodies were placed in the north-south orientation.

Indus Valley Civilization Script :

• The script is not alphabetical but pictographic (about 600 undeciphered pictographs).

• The script has not been deciphered so far, but overlaps of letters show that it was written from
right to left in the first line and left to right in the second line. This style is called
'Boustrophedon'.

Indus Valley Civilization Political Organization :

• There is no clear idea of the political organization of the Indus Valley people. Perhaps they
were more concerned with commerce and they were possibly ruled by a class of merchants.
 • Also, there was an organization like a municipal corporation to look after the civic amenities of
the people.

The Aryans History :

• Many historians have given various theories regarding the original place of
the Aryans.

However, the Central Asian theory, given by Max Muller, is the most accepted one.
It states that the Aryans were semi-nomadic pastoral people and originated from
area around the Caspian Sea in Central Asia.

• Entered India probably through the Khyber Pass (in Hindukush Mountains)
around 1500 BC.

• The holy book of Iran 'Zend Avesta' indicates entry of Aryans to India via Iran.

Early Vedic Or Rigvedic Period

Region : The early Aryans settled in Eastern Afghanistan,

modern Pakistan, Punjab and parts of western UP The whole
region in which the Aryans first settled in India is called the
'Land of Seven Rivers or Sapta Sindhava' (The Indus and its
five tributaries and the Saraswati).

Political Organisation :

• Monarchial form, tribe was known as Jan and its king as

RaJan He was the leader in battle and protector of tribe.
His office was not hereditary and was selected among
the clan's men. The rajan was not an absolute monarch,
for the government of the tribe was in part the
responsibility of the tribal councils like sabha, samiti,
gana and vidhata. Even women attended sabha and
vidhata.

• Many clans (Vish) formed a tribe. The basic social unit

was the Kula or the family and Kulapa was the head of
the family.

• The king was assisted by a number of officers of which

 purohita was the most important. Next important
functionary was the Senani (leader of the army),
although there was no regular or standing army. The
military technique of the early Aryans was much
advanced. The Aryans succeeded everywhere because
they possessed chariots driven by horses.

• There was no regular revenue system and the kingdom

was maintained by the voluntary tribute (Bali) of his
subjects and the booty won in battle.

• Villages were headed by Gramini who used to represent

village in sabha and samiti. Later, Gramini was handed
over the charge of Vrajapati also (an officer who
enjoyed authority over the pasture ground).

Social Life :

• When the Aryans entered India there was already a

class division in their tribal structure.

As they settled among the dark aboriginals, the Aryans seem

to have laid greater stress than before on purity of blood, and
class divisions hardened, to exclude those dasas who had
found a place in the Aryan society, and those Aryans who had
intermarried with the dasas and adopted their ways.

Gradually, the tribal society got divided into three groups

warriors, priests and commoners. Later, the fourth dasas or
shudra was also added.

• The term varna was used for color, the Aryans being
fair, the dasas dark.

• Family was the basic unit of society. The family was

patriarchal in nature. But women enjoyed equal power
with men. Marriage was usually monogamous and
indissoluble, but there are few instances of polyandry,
levirate and widow-marriage. There are no examples of
child-marriage. The marriageable age seems to have
been 16 to 17.
 • The word 'Arya' came to refer to any person who was
respected.

• Aryans were fond of soma, sura, food and dresses.

Soma was drunk at sacrifices and its use was sanctified
by religion. Sura was purely secular and more potent,
and was diapproved by the priestly poets.

• The Aryans loved music, and played the flute, lute and
harp. There are references to singing and dancing, and
to dancing girls. People also delighted in gambling. They
enjoyed chariot racing. Both men and women wore
ornaments.

Rivers in Rigveda :

Modern Names Rigvedic Names

Indus Sindhu

Jhelum Vitasta

Chenab Asikni

Ravi Purushni

Beas Vipasa

Sutlei Sutudri

Gomati Gumal

Kurram Krumu

Ghaggar Drisshadvati

Early Vedic Period Economy :

• Their bronze smiths were highly skilled, and produced

 tools and weapons much superior to those of Harappan
culture. There were artisans like carpenters, weavers,
cobblers, potters, etc.

• Aryans followed a mixed economy - pastoral and

agricultural - in which cattle played a predominant part.

• Most of their wars were foughtfor cow (most important

form of wealth). Cattle were in fact a sort of currency,
and values were reckoned in heads of cattle (man's life
was equivalent to that of 100 cows), but they were not
held sacred at this time. The horse was almost as
important as the cow.

• Standard unit of exchange was cow. At the same time

coins were also there (gold coins like Nishkq, Krishnal
and Satmana).

• Gavyuti was used as a measure of distance and Godhuli

as a measure of time.

• Lived in fortified mud settlements.

• Physicians were there called 'Bhishakas'.

• The staple crop was 'yava', which meant barley.

Vedic Period Religion :

• The Aryans personified the natural forces and looked

upon them as living beings.

• The most important divinity was Indra who played the

 role of warlord (breaker of forts - Purandar, also
associated with storm and thunder).

• The second position was held by Agni (fire-god). He is

considered as an intermediary between gods and men.

• Varuna occupied the third position. He personified water

and was supposed to uphold the natural order. He was
ethnically the highest of all Rigvedic gods.

• Soma was considered to be the god of plants. Maruts

personified the storms. Some female deities are also
mentioned, like Aditi and Usha, who represented the
appearance of dawn.

• Didn't believe in erecting temples or idol worship.

Worshipped in open air through yajnas.

The Mahajanpadas

S.No. Mahajanapadas Capital Present Day Location

1. Kashi Varanasi Around Varanasi

2. Kosala Shravasti Eastern UP

3. Anga Champanagri Bhagal and Munger distts

of Bihar

4. Magadh Girivraj or Rajgriha Patna and Gaya distt

5. Vajji Vaishali Vaishali distt of Bihar

6. Malla Kushinagar and Pavapuri South of Vaishali distt

7. Chedi Shuktimati Eastern parts of modern

Bundelkhand

8. Vatsa Koushambi Around modern Allahabad

9. Kuru Hastinapur, Indraprastha Around the Delhi-Meerut

and Isukara region

10. Panchal Ahichhatra and Kampilya Rohilkhand

11. Matsya Viratnagar Jaipur-Bharatpur-Alwar

 distts

12. Surasen Mathura Mathura region

13. Assaka Paudanya Near Paithan in

Maharashtra

14. Avanti Ujjaini Ujjain distt

15. Gandhara Taxila Between Kabul and

Rawalpindi

16. Kamboj Rajpur Punchh area in Kashmir

Ancient Buddhism in India

Buddhism stands for 3 pillars :

• Buddha : Its Founder.

• Dhamma : His Teachings.
• Sangha : Order of Buddhist monks and nuns.

The Buddha History :

• Also known as Sakyamuni or Tathagata.

• Born in 563 BC on the Vaishakha Poornima Day at Lumbini

(near Kapilavastu) in Nepal.

• His father Suddhodana was the Saka ruler.

• His mother (Mahamaya, of Kosala dynasty) died
after 7 days of his birth. Brought up by
stepmother Gautami.

• Married at 16 to Yoshodhara. Enjoyed the married

life for 13 years and had a son named Rahula.

• After seeing an old man, a sick man, a corpse and

an ascetic, he decided to become a wanderer.

• Left his palace at 29 (with Channa, the charioteer

 and his favourite horse, Kanthaka) in search of
truth (also called 'Mahabhinishkramana' or The
Great Renunciation) and wandered for 6 years.

• He first meditated with Alara Kalama. But he was

not convinced that man could obtain liberation
from sorrow by mental discipline and knowledge.
His next teacher was Udraka Ramputra. He then
joined forces with five ascetics- Kondana, Vappa,
Bhadiya, Mahanama and Assagi, who were
practicing the most rigorous self-mortification in
the hope of wearing away their karma and
obtaining final bliss.

• For six years he tortured himself until he was

nothing but a walking skeleton. But after six
years, he felt that his fasts and penance had been
useless. So he abandoned these things. The five
disciples also left him.

• Attained 'Nirvana' or 'Enlightenment' at 35 at

Gaya in Magadha (Bihar) under the Pipal tree.

• Delivered the first sermon at Sarnath where his

five disciples had settled. His first sermon is
called 'Dharmachakrapravartan' or 'Turning of the
Wheel of Law'.

• Attained Mahaparinirvana at Kushinagar

(identical with village Kasia in Deoria district of
UP) in 483 BC at the age of 80 in the Malla
republic.

The Dhamma Indian History :

1. The Four Great Truths :

 • The world is full of sorrow and misery.

• The cause of all pain and misery is desire.

• Pain and misery can be ended by killing or

controlling desire.

• Desire can be controlled by following the Eight

Fold Path.

2. The Eight Fold Path : It consists of Right Faith, Right

Thought, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Efforts,
Right Speech, Right Remembrance and Right
Concentration.

3. Belief in Nirvana :

• When desire ceases, rebirth ceases and nirvana is

attained i.e. freedom from the cycle of birth,
death and rebirth is gained by following the 8-
fold path.

• According to Buddha, soul is a myth.

4. Belief in Ahimsa : One should not cause injury to any

living being, animal or man.

5. Law of Karma : Man reaps the fruits of his past

deeds.

The Sangha History :

• Consists of monks (Bhikshus or Shramanas) and

nuns.

• Bhikshus acted as a torch bearer of the dhamma.

• Apart from Sangha, the worshippers were called

 Upasakas.

Buddhist Councils : The monks gathered 4 times after

the death of Buddha and the effect of these events had
their effect on Buddhism.

First Council : At Rajgriha, in 483 BC under the

chairman ship of Mehakassaapa (King was Ajatshatru).
Divided the teachings of Buddha into two Pitakas -
Vihaya Pitaka and Sutta Pitaka. Upali recited the
Vinaya Pitaka and Ananda recited the Sutta Pitaka.

Second Council : At Vaishali, in 383 BC under Sabakami

(King was Kalasoka). Followers divided into
Sthavirmadins and Mahasanghikas.

Third Council : At Pataliputra, in 250 BC under

Mogaliputta Tissa (King was Ashoka). In this, the third
part of the Tripitaka was coded in the Pali language.

Fourth Council : At Kashmir (Kundalvan), in 72 AD

under Vasumitra (King was Kanishka). Vice-Chairman
was Ashwaghosha). Divided Buddhism into Mahayana
and Hinayana sects.

Note:

In Mahayana, idol worship is there. It became popular

in China, Japan, Korea, Afghanistan, Turkey and other
SE countries.

Hinayana became popular in Magadha and SriLanka. It

believed in individual salvation and not in idol-worship.

Apart from these 2, there is a third vehicle, called

'Vajrayana', which appeared in 8th century and grew
rapidly in Bihar and Bengal. They did not treat meat,
fish, wine, etc, as a taboo in dietary habit and freely
consumed them.

Buddist Literature :

• In Pali language.

• Buddhist scriptures in Pali are commonly referred

to as Tripitakas, ie 'Threefold Basket'.

Vinaya Pitaka : Rules of discipline in Buddhist

monasteries.

Sutta Pitaka : Largest, contains collection of Buddha's

sermons.

Abhidhamma Pitaka : Explanation of the philosophical

principles of the Buddhist religion.

Note:

1. Mahavansh and Deepvansh are the other

Buddhist texts. They provide information about
the then SriLanka.

2. Jataks are the fables about the different births of

Buddha.

Growth of Buddhism :

Causes of New Movement :

1. The Vedic rituals were expensive & the sacrifices

prescribed were very complicated & had lost their
meaning.

2. The caste system had become rigid.

3. Supremacy of Brahmins created unrest.

4. All the religious text was in Sanskrit, which was

not understandable to the masses.

Causes of decline of buddhism :

1. It succumbed to the Brahmanic rituals and

ceremonies, such as idol worship, etc, which
Buddhism had earlier denounced.
 2. Revival of reformed Hinduism with the preaching
of Shankaracharya from ninth century onwards.

3. Use of Sanskrit, the language of intellectuals, in

place of Pali, the language of the common people.

4. Deterioration in the moral standards among the

monks living in Buddhist monasteries.

5. Entry of women into Buddhist monasteries.

6. Attacks of Huna king Mihirkula in the sixth

century and the Turkish invaders in the twelfth
century AD.

History of Jainism Religion

• Founded by Rishabhanath.
• There were 24 tirthankaras (Prophetsor Gurus), all
Kshatriyas.First was Rishabhanath (Emblem: Bull). His reference is
also 4n Rigveda. But there is no historical basis for the first 22
Tirthankaras. Only the last two Tirthankaras are historical
personalities.

• The 23rd Tirthankar Parshwanath (Emblem: Snake) was the

son of King Ashvasena of Banaras. His main teachings were: Non-
injury, Non-lying, Non-stealing, Non-possession.

• The 24th and the last Tirthankar was Vardhman Mahavira

(Emblem: Lion).

Vardhman Mahavira History :

• He was born in Kundagram (Distt Muzafffarpur,

Bihar) in 599 BC.
• His father Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrika
clan. His mother was Trishla, sister of Lichchavi
Prince Chetak of Vaishali.

• Mahavira was related to Bimbisara.

• Married to Yashoda, had a daughter named

Priyadarsena, whose husband Jamali became his
first disciple.

• At 30, after the death of his parents, he became

an ascetic.

• In the 13th year of his asceticism (on the 10th of

Vaishakha), outside the town of Jrimbhikgrama,
he attained supreme knowledge (Kaivalya).

• From now on he was called Jaina or Jitendriya and

Mahavira, and his followers were named Jains. He
also got the title of Arihant, i.e., worthy.

• At the age of 72, he attained death at Pava, near

Patna, in 527 BC.

• Mahavira preached almost the same message as

Parshvanath and added one more, Brahmcharya
(celibacy) to it.

• After the death of Mahavira, during the reign of

King Chandragupta Maurya, a severe famine led
to a great exodus of Jain monks from the Ganga
 valley to the Deccan, where they established
important centers of their faith.

This migration led to a great schism in Jainism.

Bhadrabahu, who led the emigrants, insisted on the
retention of the rule of nudity which Mahavira had
established.

Sthulabhadra, the leader of the monks who remained in

the north, allowed his followers to wear white
garments, owing to the hardships and confusions of the
famine. Hence arose the two sects of the Jains, the
Digambaras (sky-clad, i.e., naked) and the
Svetambaras (white-clad).

Teachings of Mahavira :

a. Rejected the authority of the Vedas and do not

attach any importance to the performance of
sacrifices.

b. He believed that every object, even the smallest

particle, possesses a soul and is endowed with
consciousness. That is why they observe strict
non-violence.

c. The Jains reject the concept of a Universal Soul or

a Supreme Power as the creator or Sustainer of
the universe.

d. Jainism does not deny the existence of gods but

refuses to give gods any important part in die
universe scheme. Gods are placed lower than the
Jina.

e. Attainment of salvation (moksha) by believing in

penance and dying of starvation (Main difference
between Jainism and Buddhism).
 f. Universal brotherhood (non-belief in caste
system).

Note: In Jainism, three Ratnas (Triratnas) are given and

they are called the way to Nirvana. They are Right
Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct.

History of Jain Councils :

• First Council : Held at Pataliputra by

Sthulabhadra in the beginning of third century
BC. It resulted in the compilation of 12 Angas to
replace 14 Purvas.

• Second Council : It was held at Vallabhi (Gujarat)

in the fifth century AD under the leadership of
Devridhigani. It resulted in final compilation of 12
Angas and 12 Upangas.

Growth of Jainism in India :

Causes of New Movement :

• The Vedic rituals were expensive & the sacrifices

prescribed were very complicated & had lost their
meaning.

• The caste system had become rigid.

• Supremacy of Brahmins created unrest.

• All the religious text was in Sanskrit, which was

not understandable to the masses.

Other Points:

• Jainism reached the highest point in

Chandragupta Maurya's time. In Kalinga, it was
greatly patronized by Kharavela in the first
 century AD.

• Various factors were responsible for the decline

of Jainism in India. They took the concept of
Ahimsa too far. They advised that one should not
take medicine when one fell sick because the
medicine killed germs.

They believed that there was life in trees and

vegetables and so refrained from harming them. Such
practices could not become popular with common man.
There was moreover no patronage from the later kings.

• Jain literature is in Ardh-Magadhi and Prakrit

dialects.

• Due to the influence of Jainism, many regional

languages emerged out, like Sauraseni, out of
which grew the Marathi, Gujarati, Rajasthani and
Kannada.