The correct answer is Pashupati.

Key Points

• The seals of the Harappan Civilization were mainly square-shaped and made from a stone called steatite from these seals we get an idea of the religious life of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• The chief male deity was Pashupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a yogic posture with three faces and two horns.
• He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo) and two deer appear on his feet.
• The Indus Valley Civilization was spread from present-day North-East Afghanistan to Pakistan and North-West India.

Additional Information

Important facts to be remembered.

• Social features:-
  • Indus valley civilization is the first urbanization in India.
  • It has a well-planned drainage system, grid pattern, and town planning.
  • They have possessed equality in society.
• Religious Facts:-
  • Matridevi or Shakti is the Mother goddess.
  • Yoni worship and Nature worship existed.
  • They worshipped trees like Peepal.
  • They also worshipped Fire worship called Havan Kund.
  • Pashupati Mahadeva is known as the lord of Animals.
  • The people of the Indus Valley Civilization worshipped Animal worship like unicorns and ox.
• Economic facts:-
  • Indus valley civilization is based on agriculture.
  • Trade and commerce flourished in this period.
  • A dockyard has been found at Lothal.
  • There were export and import.
  • Production of cotton was there.
  •  At Lothal, weights and measures of truth existed in Harappan culture was seen.
  • The weights and were usually cubical in shape. and were made of limestone, steatite, etc

The correct answer is Magadha.

Important Points Magadha became powerful because of its strategic location.

• The Ganga river flowing through it made the region fertile and improved transport.
• Its outlying forest areas also enabled it to capture and train elephants for its armies.
• Magadha was important for transport and trade, and its fertile regions made agriculture prosper.
• Parts of Magadha were forested and elephants from there were trained to fight for the army.
• Forests also provided the wood, and the iron mines in the region provided the metal to make strong weapons and tools.
• Magadha had many powerful rulers such as Bimbisara and Ajatsatru of the Haryanka dynasty, and Mahapadma Nanda of the Nanda dynasty.
  • Rajagriha was the capital of Magadha for many years, and later the capital was moved to Pataliputra.
  • In around 300 BCE, Alexander had conquered half of the known world and wanted to conquer India next.
  • But stories of the glorious army of Magadha instilled fear in his armies who were already exhausted, so he returned to Europe.

Additional Information

• Capital of Magadha was Rajagriha.
• Udayin of the Haryanka dynasty founded the new capital of Magadh i.e. Patliputra.
• The first Buddhist Council was held in 483 B.C in Rajagriha whose chairman was Mahakashyapa, and its Patron(sponsor) was Ajatshatru.
• There were a total of 16 Mahajanapadas i.e. there were 16 major kingdoms in ancient India.
• Mahajanapadas were in existence from 600 B.C to 345 B.C. are

The correct answer is Revenue from crown land.

Key Points

• Land Revenues from Rural Areas:
  • ​Land Revenues from Rural Areas Land revenues from the rural areas were appropriated in the form of crown lands (Sita), land revenue (Bhaga) from cultivators, taxes on orchards, ferry charges, etc.
• Different types of taxes imposed on the rural population are as follows:
  • Bhaga was the main item of revenue which was levied at the rate of one-fourth to one-sixth. Sharecroppers, who were given crown lands and other agricultural support by the state, had to pay half of the produce to the state.
  • Pindikara was a tax assessed on groups of villages and paid by husbandmen. This was customary in nature. Often the villages were supposed to supply provisions to the royal army when the latter passed through their respective territories.
  • Hiranya It was probably a tax paid in cash.
  • Bali is a levy known from the Vedic times, Bali continued under the Mauryas.
  • Pranaya literally meaning a gift of affection, pranaya was a levy imposed by the state during emergency periods. Though first mentioned by Panini, it was elaborated upon for the first time in Arthashastra. Pranaya amounted to one­third or one-fourth of the produce according to the nature of the soil.

The correct answer is a System of morals consistent with the tenets of most of the sects of the time.

Key Points

• Ashoka’s dhamma Policy
  • Ashoka made an example of himself for others by strictly following the principles of dhamma.
  • The Dhamma propagated by Ashoka was a system of morals consistent with the tenets of most of the sects of the time. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
  • He went to all the places associated with the life of Gautama Buddha.
  • He ordered the construction of a large number of Buddhist monasteries.
  • He dispatched Buddhist scholars to distant parts of the world to propagate the philosophy of Buddhism.
  • His son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra went to Sri Lanka to spread the message of dhamma.
  • Ashoka also appointed special officers known as Dhammamahamatras to spread and enforce the principles of Buddhism throughout the empire.
  • He got principles of dhamma engraved in Prakrit on rocks, pillars, and caves so that the masses could read and practice them.
  • He organized the third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra to discuss the ways and means of propagating Buddhism.
  • Ashoka established the idea of paternal kinship.
  • He regarded all his subjects as his children and believed it the king’s duty to look after the welfare of the subjects.
  • Through his edicts, he said everybody should serve parents, revere teachers, and practice ahimsa and truthfulness.
  • He asked everyone to avoid animal slaughter and sacrifice.
  • He expounded humane treatment of animals, servants, and prisoners.
  • He advocated tolerance towards all religions.
  • He sought conquest through Dhamma and not war.
  • Most of his edicts are written in Pali and Prakrit in Brahmi script.
  • Some are written in the Kharoshti and Aramaic scripts also.
  • There are some edicts written in Greek as well.
  • The language depends on the location of the pillar.

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 4 only.

Key Points

• Purohita - The word purohita refers to the priest. He used to assist the King or Rajan during the Early and Later Vedic period. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Senani - Senani was the commander of the army the administration of the king during the Early and Later Vedic period. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Rajukas - These were the provincial officials during the Mauryan administration. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Gramani - During the Vedic period, several families joined together on the basis of their kinship to form a village or grama. The leader of grama was known as gramani. Hence, statement 4 is correct.

Important Points

• Later Vedic period - 
  • It is estimated to be between 1000 B.C. to 600 B.C.
  • Iron was used extensively in this period and this enabled the people to clear forests and to bring more land under cultivation.
  • In the later Vedic period people moved further towards the east after clearing the dense forest in the Ganga river basin.
  • One important development during this period is the growth of large kingdoms. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Many Jana or tribes were amalgamated to form Janapadas or Rashtras in the later Vedic period.
  • The royal power had increased along with the increase in the size of the kingdom. Hence statement 2 is incorrect. 
  • The king performed various rituals and sacrifices to strengthen his position.
  • The later Vedic texts also refer to the three divisions of India – Aryavarta (northern India), Madhyadesa (central India), and Dakshinapatha (southern India).

The correct answer is Kushanas.

• The best known of the rulers who controlled the silk route was the Kushanas.
• The Kushana dynasty ruled over central Asia and northwest India about 2000 years ago.
• They had the best control over the ancient silk route, compared to any other ruler of that time.
• Their two major centres of power were
  • Peshawar and Mathura.
  • Taxila also came under their kingdom.
• During the Kushana rule, a branch of the silk route extended from central Asia to the seaports at the mouth of the Indus river.
• Silk was shipped towards the west to Rome from these ports.
• The Kushanas were one of the earliest rulers to issue gold coins.
• These gold coins were used by the traders along the silk route.
• Kanishka was also known as the second Ashoka and was the most famous Kushan ruler.

​Additional Information  

• Mughal dynasty, Mughal also spelt Mogul, Arabic Mongol, Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origin that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid-18th century.
  • The Mughal Dynasty was founded by a Chagatai Turkic prince named Babur.
  • Mughal empire classic period
    • 1526-1530 BABUR
    • 1530-1556 HUMAYUN
    • 1556-1605 AKBAR
    • 1605-1627 JAHANGIR
    • 1628-1658 SHAH JAHAN
    • 1659-1707 AURANGZEB
• The Satavahana dynasty was founded by Simuk in the third century. 
  • It is also known as Andhra.
  • Bramhi was the official language during this Satvahana period.
• Chandragupta Maurya laid the foundation of the Maurya dynasty by killing Ghannand with the help of Guru Chanakya.
  • Chandragupta Maurya defeated the commander of Alexander.

The Correct Answer is ​Gautamiputra Satakarni.

Key Points

• Satavahana Dynasty (60 BC - 225 AD): 
  • Simukha was the founder of the Satavahana dynasty.
  • Dharanikota near Amaravati in Guntur district was the first capital of Simukha.
  • Later he shifted his capital to Pratishtana.
• Hala:
  • He was the 17th ruler of the Satavahana dynasty. 
  • Hala was the author of Gathasaptasati or Sattasai in Prakrit.
  • The text contains love lures.
• Gautamiputra Satakarni:
  • He was the 23rd ruler of the Satavahana dynasty.
  • His achievements have been mentioned in the Nasik Inscription, by his mother Gautami.
  • He defeated the Saka King Nahapana and revived the Satavahana power. Hence, Option 2 is correct.
• Pulumavi-III:
  • He was the 30th and last ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty.
  • Satavahanas was finally succeeded by the Ikshvakus in the 3rd century AD.

The correct answer is Town planning.

Key Points

• Indus Valley Civilization was one of the first civilizations that flourished between 3,000 BC - 1,500 BC.
• It flourished in the Indus River Valley along with its tributaries in the Indian subcontinent.
• Some of the sites of the Indus Valley Civilization are Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Ropar, Lothal, Kalibangam, Banwali, etc.
• Its town planning was the most remarkable feature of the civilization.
• The roads divided the city into large blocks cutting each other at a right angle.
• Narrow lanes connected each block of the city and houses were constructed on both sides of the roads.
• A proper drainage system was laid along with the roads which were connected to the house's sewage system.
• The rich and poor had different living quarters with one or two rooms.
• Cities were divided into two parts, the citadel, and the lower town.
• The Citadel was situated in the western part of the city on a raised ground where public buildings like granaries and town halls were situated.
• The other part was laid lower to the east of the city.

Megasthenes, Deimachus and Dionysius were the Greek historians who served ambassadors in the Mauryan court.

• Megasthenes served as the ambassador the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
• Deimachus served as the ambassador in the court of emperor Bindusara.
• Dionysius served as the ambassador in the court of emperor Ashoka.
• The Mauryan Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE.
• Bindusara was the son of Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka was the son of Bindusara.

The correct answer is Both A and B.

Key Points

• Sources of 17th centuries depict that there were two kinds of peasants. These were the Khud Kashta and Pahi Kashta.
• Khud Kashta permanently lived in villages. They had their own land and practised agriculture over there Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
• Pahi Kashta cultivated land on a contractual basis, which originally belonged to someone else. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

Peasants and their lands

• The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami.
• Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants - khud-kashta and pahi-kashta. The former were residents of the village in which they held their lands.
• Cultivation was based on the principle of individual ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in the same way as the lands of other property owners.

The correct answer is ​Akbar

Key Points

Jharoka darshan 

• Jharoka darshan was introduced by Akbar with the objective of broadening the acceptance of the imperial authority as part of popular faith.
• Hence the correct answer is option 4.
• According to the emperor it began his day at sunrise with a few religious prayer and then used to appear in a small balcony, i.e. the Jharokha in East direction.
• Jharokha-i darshan was adopted by the 16th-century Mughal Emperor Akbar, even though it was contrary to Islamic injunctions.

The correct answer is Sanchi.

Important Points

• Ashokan Inscriptions (Rock Edicts):
  • James Prinsep, a British antiquary and colonial administrator was the first person to decipher Ashoka’s edicts.
  • These Ashoka’s inscriptions are the first tangible evidence of Buddhism.
  • They were kept in public places and along trade routes so that the maximum number of people would read them.
  • More than religious discourses, they talk about the moral duties of the people, how to conduct life, Ashoka’s desire to be a good and benevolent ruler, and Ashoka’s work towards this end.
  • There are 33 inscriptions in total and primarily classified into the following:

1. Major rock edicts
2. Minor rock edicts
3. Separate rock edicts
4. Major pillar edicts 
5. Minor pillar edicts

• Major rock edicts:
  • There are 14 major rock edicts.
• Minor rock edicts:
  • Minor rock edicts are found on 15 rocks across the country and in Afghanistan also.
    Ashoka uses his name only in four of these places namely: Maski, Brahmagiri (Karnataka), Gujjara (MP), and Nettur (AP).
• Pillar Edicts:
  • There are seven pillar edicts.
  • They have been found in different places like Kandahar (Afghanistan), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan), Delhi, Vaishali and Champaran (Bihar), Sarnath, and Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), and Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh).

Key Points 

• Other important inscriptions and edicts:

Additional Information

• Ashoka:
  • The great Emperor Ashoka, the third monarch of the Maurya dynasty converted to Buddhism after witnessing the horrific effects of war in Kalinga.
  • He became a champion and patron of Buddhism and strove to spread Dhamma throughout his empire and beyond.
  • He erected pillars and edicts all over the subcontinent and even in modern-day Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to spread the Buddha’s word.

Key Points

Ashvaghosa

• ​Ashvaghosa was a Sarvastivada Buddhist philosopher, dramatist, poet, and orator from India.
• He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit Dramatist and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kalidasa.
• He was the most famous in the group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the contemporary Ramayana.
• Most of the Buddhism literature prior to the time of Ashvaghosa had been composed in Pali and Prakrit.

Buddhacharita

• ​Buddhacharita (Acts of Buddha, Buddhacharitam) is an epic poem in the Sanskrit maha kavya style on the life of Gautam Buddha by Ashvaghosa, composed in the early second century CE.
• Of the poem's 28 cantos, the first 14 are extant in Sanskrit complete, and cantos 15 to 28 are in incomplete form.
• In 420 AD, Dharmaksema made a Chinese translation, and in the 7th or 8th century, a Tibetan version was made.

The correct answer is Extreme form of conduct and self-mortification.

 Key Points

• Buddhism and Jainism are ancient religions that developed during the days of Ancient India.
• Buddhism is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, while Jainism is based on the teachings of Mahavira

Additional Information

• Buddhism is centered upon the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, whereas Jainism is centered on the life and teachings of Mahavira.
• Jainism is also a polytheistic religion and its goals are based on non-violence and liberation of the soul.
• Mahavira was born a little before the Buddha.
• While the Buddha was the founder of Buddhism, Mahavira did not found Jainism.
• He is the 24th great teacher (Tirthankar) in the Jain tradition that was founded in the present era by Rishabh or Adinath, thousands of years before Mahavira

The correct answer is Tansen.

Key Points

• Tansen was born Hindu and spent much of his life composing devotional scores.
• He was ordered to join Mughal court at the age of sixty, one of the Navaratnas (nine jewels) of Emperor Akbar's court.
• The raga ‘Miya Malhar’ was created by Sangeet Samrat Miya Tansen and was created in the sixteenth-century.
  • Miyan Ki Malhar is a monsoon raga, popularly used for invoking and embracing rain to drench the earth and to welcome the monsoon.
• Tansen composed in his favorite ragas — Multani, Bhairavi, and Todi.
• He received the honorary Mian title and the MianTansen name there.

Additional Information

• Surdas was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer.
  • He was known for his lyrics written in praise of Krishna.
  • His literary works are Sur Sagar, Sur Saravali, Sahitya Lahari.
• Ramdas was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer, and spiritual master.
  • His literary works are Dasbodh, Manobodh, Aatmaram, Manache Shlok, etc.
• Baiju Bawra was a dhrupad musician from medieval India.
  • He was invited to the court of the Raja of Chanderi.

The Correct Answer is Personal lands of Zamindars.

Key Points

• The zamindars owned vast personal lands called property meaning Milkiyat.
• Milkiyat fields, mostly with the aid of hired or servile labor, were cultivated for the private use of zamindars.
• These lands may be leased, bequeathed, or mortgaged by zamindars on will.
• These lands may be sold or given to the zamindars at will.
• Even Zamindars inherited their control from the state; they were also able to raise revenue on behalf of the state.

The correct answer is option 1, i.e, Abul Fazl.

The author of Ain-I-Akbari was Abul Fazl.

• Ain-i-Akbari is a 16th century document.
• It was written in Persian language.
• It deals with the administration of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
• He worked on the "Akbar Nama" for 13 years.
• The Akbar Nama is divided into three books:

1. The first book dealt with Akbar's ancestors.
2. The second recorded the events of Akbar's reign.
3. The third book is the Ain-i Akbari.

• Ain-i-Akbari deals with Akbar's administration, household, army, the revenues, and geography of his empire.

The correct answer is 1784.

Key Points

• The Asiatic Society was established in Calcutta by Sir William Jones in the year 1784.
• It is located at Kolkata.
• It was a unique institution having served as a fountainhead of all literary and scientific activities.
• It was visualized as a centre for Asian studies including everything concerning man and nature within the geographical limits of the continent.
• Warren Hasting had set up the Bengal Asiatic Society.​

Additional Information

• Sir William Jones was a British Orientalist and jurist. He established the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.
• It was formed to encourage Oriental studies in India. The formation of the Asiatic Society was supported by the then governor-general of British India Warren Hastings.
• The headquarters of the Asiatic Society of Bengal was in Kolkata. Indians were first admitted as members of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1829.

Khots and Muqaddams according to Barani( Indo-Persian historians of medieval India) were large peasants with big landholdings. They had occupied the highest position during the medieval period.

Important Points

By the thirteenth century, the Rais, Rana, and Raut's of the pre-Sultanate aristocracy appear to represent ‘bigger’ chiefs in the rural hierarchy. Lets' look at some Rural Elites of the 13th century:

• Chaudhuri (headman of 100 villages)
• khots, and muqaddams (village headmen). 
  • 'Khots' are alleged to have claimed exemption from paying the three major taxes, viz. land revenue (kharaj-jizya), house tax (ghari), and the cattle tax (charai).
  • Furthermore they levied a cess of their own (qismat-khoti) on the villagers.
  • As a result, the 'khots' became prosperous enough to ride horses, were fine clothes, and even eat betel leaf.
  • The rank of Khots was hereditary.​

From the above, we can conclude that in medieval India 'Khots' were village headmen.

The correct answer is Akbar.

Key Points

Capital cities 

• The heart of the Mughal Empire was its capital city, where the court assembled.
• The capital cities of the Mughals frequently shifted during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
• Babur took over the Lodi capital of Agra, though during the four years of his reign the court was frequently on the move. 
• The Mughal emperors entered into a close relationship with Sufis of the Chishti silsila.
• Akbar commissioned the construction of a white marble tomb for Shaikh Salim Chishti next to the majestic Friday mosque at Sikri.
• Hence the correct answer is option 1.
• The enormous arched gateway (Buland Darwaza) was meant to remind visitors of the Mughal victory in Gujarat.

​Mughal Architecture is a blending of Persian and Indian styles.Key Points

• Mughal Architecture is the blend of Indian and Persian elements that makes Mughal architecture so unique.
• Typical features include huge, onion-shaped domes crowning commemorative monuments, with smaller domed buildings and minarets standing symmetrically on either side.
• There are impressive entrances and gateways, within tall turreted walls, water features, and quadrilateral gardens.
• White marble, red sandstone, and, less commonly, limestone, are typical construction materials as well as semi-precious stones and colored marble which are inlaid as decorations.
• Understated lattice work appears throughout as well as verses from the Quran inscribed on interior and exterior walls in Persian and Arabic.
• Royal palaces are often surrounded by symmetrical gardens featuring walkways and water channels. These stand in contrast to the stark courtyards within the mosques, which can hold enormous congregations. 

Additional Information

• The Mughal style of miniature painting was responsible for the amalgamation of indigenous themes and styles along with Persian and later European themes and styles. The arts of this period reflect a synthesis of foreign influences and indigenous flavor.
• The peak of Mughal painting presented a highly sophisticated blend of Islamic, Hindu, and European visual culture and aesthetics. 
• Akbar personally engaged with the artists, and supervised and evaluated the artworks. The Mughal painting under Akbar’s patronage depicted a variety of subjects, including, detailed political conquests, seminal court scenes, secular texts, portraits of important men along with Hindu mythologies, and Persian and Islamic themes.

Kabir, who might have lived within the fifteenth-sixteenth century, was one of the foremost influential saints.

• His ideas were collected in verses called Sakhis and pads which were composed by him and sung by wandering bhajan singers.
• Both Hindus and Muslims were his followers.

The verses and ideas of Kabir have been preserved in ‘Panchvani’ and ‘Bijak’

• Panchvani: 
  • It is the text is of the Hindu warrior-ascetic group Dadupanthis.
  • The Panchvani (the words of the five) were put together in Rajasthan by the followers of the Dadu Panth and brought together songs by five saints they venerated, among them Kabir.
  • It represents the western Kabirian corpus. 
• ​Bijak: 
  • It is written by Kabir and it is a holy scripture of Kabirpanthis.
  • The Kabir of the Bijak is an iconoclast, a revolutionary given to dramatic and violent pronouncements. 
  • This is the holy scripture for followers of the Kabirpanthi religion.
  • It is one of the earliest of the major texts in modern Hindi.
  • The main commentary on the Bijak is by Mahatma Puran Saheb.

Hence, it becomes clear that the verses and ideas of Kabir were preserved in Panch Vani and Bijak.

Key Points

In Kabir’s teaching, We Mainly See:

• Rejection of the major religious traditions. 
• Mocking of both Brahmanical Hinduism and Islam, the pre-greatness of the religious classes, and the rank framework(caste system).
• He believed that the path to salvation was through bhakti or devotion. 

Additional Information

• Mirabai was a Rajput princess and a disciple of Ravidas. She had composed numerous bhajans expressing her intense devotion to Lord Krishna. 
• Guru Nanak and his successors’ hymns were compiled and it is known as Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs. It also included the writings of other prominent figures like Shaikh Farid, Sant Kabir, Bhagat Namdev, and Guru Tegh Bahadur.
• Ravidas was a saint from a caste considered “untouchable”. He was a famous figure of the Bhakti movement. Guru Ravidas was against the caste division and spoke of removing them to promote unity. 

The correct answer is ​Paintings.

Key Points

The famous painters during the period of Jahangir are Aqa Riza, Abul Hasan, Mansur, Bishan Das, Manohar, Goverdhan, Balchand, Daulat, Mukhlis, Bhim and Inayat.

Mughal Paintings

• The origin of the Mughal School of Painting is considered to be a landmark in the history of painting in India.
• With the establishment of the Mughal empire, the Mughal School of painting originated in the reign of Akbar in 1560 CE who was keenly interested in the art of painting and architecture.
• At the beginning of his rule, a studio of painting was established under the supervision of two Persian masters, Mir Sayyed Ali and Abdul Samad Khan, who was originally employed by his father Humayun.
• The Mughal style evolved as a result of a happy synthesis of the indigenous Indian style of painting and the Safavid school of Persian painting.
• It is marked by supple naturalism based on close observation of nature and fine and delicate drawing and is primarily aristocratic and secular.
• An illustrated manuscript of Tuti-nama in the Cleveland Museum of Art (USA) appears to be the first work of the Mughal School.
• Some of the famous painters in Akbar’s court other than the two Persian masters already mentioned are Dasvanth, Miskina, Nanha, Kanha, Basawan, Manohar, Doulat, Mansur, Kesu, Bhim Gujarati, etc.
• Jahangir had a great fascination for nature and took delight in the portraiture of birds, animals and flowers.
• Some important manuscripts illustrated during his period are, an animal fable book called Ayar-i-Danish, and the Anwar-i-sunavli, another fable book.
• A series of the Razm-namadated 1616 CE, a series of the Rasikapriya (1610-1615) and a series of the Ramayana of circa 1610 CE are some other notable examples of the Mughal School.

The correct answer is It raised funds through public lotteries.

Key PointsLottery committee

• After Wellesley's departure, the work of town planning was carried on by the Lottery Committee (1817) with the help of the government.
• It was named the Lottery Committee because it raised funds through public lotteries. Hence the correct answer is option 3.
• Funds were used for the improvement of the town. 
• In the early decades of the nineteenth-century raising funds for the city was still thought to be the responsibility of public-minded citizens and not exclusively that of the government.
• The Lottery Committee commissioned a new map of the city so as to get a comprehensive picture of Calcutta.
• Among the Committee's major activities was road building in the Indian part of the city and clearing the riverbank of “encroachments”.
• In its drive to make the Indian areas of Calcutta cleaner, the committee removed many huts and displaced the labouring poor, who were now pushed to the outskirts of Calcutta.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• Jotedar are a group of rich peasants, who used to be the owner of enormous swaths of land.
• The Jotedars were stationed in the villages and had direct supervision over a large number of destitute villagers.
• Jotedars ruled over local trade and moneylending, wielding enormous authority over the region's impoverished cultivators.
• They were known in different areas as haoladars, gantidars, bargadars and mandals.​

Additional Information

• Zamindars often lived in urban areas not Jotedars.
• A landowner, particularly one who leases his property to tenant farmers, is known as a Zamindar.

The correct answer is The lowest category of peasants.

Important Points

• The lowest category of peasants who are forced to work on a plot of land, especially during the medieval period when Europe practiced feudalism is called Serfs.
• Serfs were close to slaves as they could be bought, sold, or traded. Serfs could be abused with no rights over their own bodies and could marry only with their lord's permission.
• Serfdom has some essential additional marks like the lack of many of the personal liberties that were held by freedmen.
  ​

Additional Information 

• Khots and Muqaddams were considered as the highest category of peasants during the Sultanate period.
• In 1846 Galician slaughter was a revolt against serfdom, directed against seignorial property and oppression.
• A person who rents a part from a property owner or landlord for a pre-determined rental period is known as tenants.

The correct answer is 1-b,2-a,3-c,4-d

Key Points

Villages in south

• There were at least three different kinds of people living in most villages in the southern and northern parts of the subcontinent.
• In the Tamil region, large landowners were known as vellalar,
• Ordinary ploughmen were known as uzhavar, and
• Landless labourers, including slaves, were known as kadaisiyar and adimai.

Villages in north

• In the northern part of the country, the village headman was known as the grama bhojaka. Usually, men from the same family held the position for generations. In other words, the post was hereditary. The grama bhojaka was often the largest landowner. Generally, he had slaves and hired workers to cultivate the land. Besides, as he was powerful, the king often used him to collect taxes from the village. He also functioned as a judge, and sometimes as a policeman. Apart from the gramabhojaka, there were other independent farmers, known as grihapatis, most of whom were smaller landowners.
• And then there were men and women such as the dasa karmakara, who did not own land, and had to earn a living working on the fields owned by others.
• In most villages there were also some crafts persons such as the blacksmith, potter, carpenter and weaver.

The correct answer is Fort Saint George.

Key Points

Fort William

• Fort William is situated in the city of Kolkata, on the eastern bank of the  Hooghly River.
• Built in the year 1696, the fort is named after King William III and was the first stronghold of the British in the country. 
• It comprised of wings and an inner bastion where prisoners were hauled which is why it was known as 'the black hole of Calcutta'.
• Today, Fort William is the property of the Indian Army and has a capacity of accommodating up to 10,000 army personnel.

Fort Saint George

• Fort Saint George was built by the British East India Company in Madras (now Chennai), India, later it becomes the British capital in south India.
• The fort was named in the honor of Britain’s patron saint. 
• The East India Company’s original trading station in south India was at Masulipatnam, established in 1611.
• It was moved to Madras, where permission to build a fort was obtained from the raja of Chandragiri in 1639. 
• It became the headquarters of the company in south India in 1641, and it was the first company settlement in India to be fortified.

Fort Augustus

• Fort Augustus was originally named after St. Cummein, who built a church here.
• The current name was an imposition that accompanied the building of a fort, Fort Augustus, after the defeat of the 1715 Jacobite uprising.
• The fort was then turned into a village and was named after King George II's younger son, Prince William Augustus.

The correct answer is 10th May 1857

Key PointsRevolt 1857

• The revolt started with an outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut on 10th May 1857.
• After taking over the local administration, Sepoy along with the people of the surrounding village marched to Delhi.
• They wanted the support of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah.
• Sepoy came to Red Fort and demanded that the emperor give them his blessings. Bahadur Shah had no option but to support them.
• Sepoy’started revolt by capturing the arms from stores and plundering the treasury, afterward they attacked and ransack all government offices like jail, treasury-, telegraph office, record room, bungalows, etc.
• Proclamations in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian were put up calling locals to join them and exterminate the foreign rule.
• When ordinary people joined Sepoy, mutiny changed to revolt, and the targets of attack widened.
• During the revolt in towns like Lucknow, Kanpur, and Bareilly, the rich people and moneylenders were also attacked and the property was looted, as they were seen as allies of the British, and they also oppressed the peasants in the recent past.

The correct answer is amlah.

Key Points

When it was time to collect the rent, a zamindar's officer, the amlah, came around to the village.

Jotedars:

• The Jotedars were a wealthy peasant family.
• Jotedars were landed peasantry who owned vast swaths of land.
• Haoladars, Gantidars, and Mandals were some of their other names.

Adhiyars:

• Adhiyars were sharecroppers who farmed the jotedars' land.
• They brought their own ploughs and worked in the fields, handing over half of the crop to the jotedars.

Dikus:

• Outsiders is the meaning of the word Dikus.
• The Dikus were the ones that forced the tribal people to rely on them, bringing them a great deal of sorrow and suffering.

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3.

Key Points

• Hence pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched.

Important Points

Sufism:

• The terms Sufi, Wali, Darvesh and Faqir are used for Muslim saints who attempted to achieve the development of their intuitive faculties through ascetic exercises, contemplation, renunciation and self-denial.
• By the 12th century A.D., Sufism had become a universal aspect of Islamic social life as its influence extended over almost the entire Muslim community. 
• Sufism represents the inward or esoteric side of Islam or the mystical dimension of the Muslim religion.
• However, the Sufi saints transcending all religious and communal distinctions worked for promoting the interest of humanity at large.
• The Sufis were a class of philosophers remarkable for their religious catholicity.
• Sufis regarded God as the supreme beauty and believed that one must admire it, take delight in His thought and concentrate his attention on Him only.
• They believed that God is 'Mashuq' and Sufis are the 'Ashiqs'.  Sufism crystallized itself into various 'Silsilahs' or orders.
• The 4 most popular among these were Chistis, Suhrawardis, Qadiriyahs and Naqshbandis.

The correct answer is Joseph Noel Paton.

Key Points

In Memoriam painting

• The painting ‘In Memoriam’ painted by Joseph Noel Paton in 1859 depicted the anxious moment in which women and children huddled in a circle looking helpless and innocent, seemingly waiting for the inevitable dishonor, violence, and death.
• Painting stirs up the imagination and seeks to provoke anger and fury. These paintings represent rebels as violent and brutish.
• The painting is an illustration of British Women/children attacked in the 1857 sepoy mutiny.
• Paton's famous painting was dedicated to the heroism shown by British women during the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857.
• Sir Joseph Noel Paton FRSA was a Scottish artist, illustrator, and sculptor.

The Correct Answer is Option (2) i.e Hampi.

• Virupaksha Temple in Hampi is a part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The temple was built by Deva Raya II of the Sangama dynasty (Vijaynagara kingdom).
• The temple is built on the banks of the river Tungabhadra and is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The correct option is 1878.

Key Points

• The Deccan Riots commission present a report to the British parliament in 1878.
• The Bombay government established a commission of inquiry to look into the causes of the riots. The Deccan Riots Report is the name given to this report.
• The commission conducted investigations in the districts affected by the riots, recording testimony from ryots, sahukars, and eyewitnesses, compiling statistical data on revenue rates, prices, and interest rates in various locations, and collating district collectors' reports.
• A result of this report, In 1879, the Agriculturists Relief Act was created, ensuring that farmers who were unable to pay their debts would not be prosecuted and imprisoned.

The correct answer is Abdul Hamid Lahori.

Key Points

The Badshah Nama 

• ​​Badshah Nama is a genre of works written as the official history of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan’s reign.

• The name of the author of Badshah Nama is Abdul Hamid Lahori.
• Abdul Hamid Lahori was a traveller and historian during the period of Shah Jahan who later became a court historian of Shah Jahan.
• He has described Shah Jahan's life and activities during the first twenty years of his reign in this book in great detail.

Additional Information

Sufism in Islam is characterized by values, ritual practices, doctrines, and institutions. It is variously defined as "Islamic mysticism", "the inward dimension of Islam" or "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam".

Key Points

Silsila is an Arabic word meaning chain, link, the connection often used in various senses of lineage.

• In particular, it may be translated as "religious order" or "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his khilafat to his spiritual descendant.
• Sillas originated with the initiation of Sufi orders which date back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
• One can only receive instruction in these practices from an authorized teacher of the tariqa, and only after pledging a vow of obedience to this shaikh.
• In this way, a hierarchically ordered network of teachers may emerge.
• Each shaikh can show a chain of authorities for the tarekat he teaches, his silsila, or spiritual genealogy.
• A Sufi's silsila is his badge of identity and source of legitimation.
• Silsila can be of partial knowledge or a book as well.
• Al-Hafiz (memorizers of Quran), Muhaddiths (narrators of Hadiths), Queries (reciters of Quran with correct accent and pronunciation) are given a chain of credible narrators linking to the Islamic prophet Mohammad.

Hence, the correct answer is All of the above.

The correct answer is Bakshi.

Key Points

• The head of the military department of the province under the Mughals was the Bakshi.
• The Bakshi was appointed by the imperial court at the recommendation of Mir Bakshi.
• He was responsible for checking horses and soldiers maintained by mansabdars.
• He also issued pay bills of soldiers and mansabdars.

 Thus, we can say that Bakshi was the head of the military department of the province under the Mughals.

Additional Information

• Diwan was the head of the revenue department of the province.
• Faujdar was the executive head of the sarkar at the district level.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

Following are the reason for the failure to pay revenue to the Britisher by Zamindars:

1. The initial demand was extremely high. This was done because it was thought that if demand was set in stone for the foreseeable future, the Company would never be able to claim a part of the rising land income as prices rose and cultivation grew.
2. This high demand was imposed during the 1790s, when agricultural commodity prices were low, making it impossible for the ryots to pay their zamindar dues.
3. Regardless of the crop, the revenue was fixed and had to be paid on time. In actuality, the Sunset Law stated that if payment was not received by the sunset of the given date, the zamindari would be auctioned.
4. The zamindar's ability to collect rent from the ryot and run his zamindari was initially constrained by the Permanent Settlement.

Permanent settlement - 

The East India Company, led by Governor-General Lord Cornwallis, implemented the Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793. This was a land revenue arrangement between the East India company and the Zamindars to fix the land revenue.

Option 2 is the correct answer.

Key Points

• According to the terms of this alliance, Indian rulers were not allowed to have their independent armed forces.
• They were to be protected by the Company, but had to pay for the 'subsidiary forces' that the Company was supposed to maintain for the purpose of this protection.
• If the Indian rulers failed to make the payment, then part of their territory was taken away as a penalty.
• For example, when Richard Wellesley was Governor-General (1798-1805), the Nawab of Awadh was forced to give over half of his territory to the Company in 1801, as he failed to pay for the 'subsidiary forces. So, option 2 is correct.

• India's first cotton mill was set up in Bombay.
• The first cotton mill to be established in Bombay was the Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company.
• Bombay Spinning and Weaving Company was the first cotton mill to be established in Bombay, India on 7 July 1854 at Tardeo by Cowasjee Nanabhoy Davar (1815-73) and his associates.
• Sir William Fairbairn designed this company and the production started in the year 1856.
• During the second half of the 19th century, the modern industry began to take root in India, but its progress remained very slow.
• The development was confined to the setting up of cotton and jute textile mills.
• The cotton textile mills were concentrated in the western parts of the country like Maharashtra and Gujarat, while the jute industries were concentrated in the Bengal.

As people were brought together through the growth of towns, trade, and empires, new ideas began to develop. The idea that all living things pass through countless cycles of birth and rebirth performing good deeds and bad came to be widely accepted.

Key Points

Veerashaiva Movement:

• The Tamil Bhakti movement and temple worship came together to create the Virashaiva movement. 
• The connection between the Tamil Bhakti movement and temple worship began in Karnataka in the mid-twelfth century.
• This in turn led to a reaction that is best represented in the Virashaiva movement initiated by Basavanna and his companions like Allama Prabhu and Akkamahadevi.
• The Virashaivas argued strongly for the equality of all human beings and against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.
• Virashaiva tradition is derived from vachanas (literally, sayings) composed in Kannada by women and men who joined the movement.
• They were also against all forms of ritual and idol worship.

Hence, the correct answer is It argued against Brahmanical ideas about caste and the treatment of women.

The correct answer is Land.

Key Points

• Damin-i-Koh is related to Land.
• The Santhals were convinced to dwell in the foothills of Rajmahal by the British, who provided them with the land.
• They were supposed to live in it, cultivate the land, and settle down as peasants.
• By 1832, a major portion of the area had been designated as Damin-i-Koh, or Santhal Land.
• Santhal settlements grew swiftly after the delineation of Damin-i-Koh. In 1838, there were 40 Santhal settlements in the area; by 1851, there were 1,473 communities. During this time, the Santhal population grew from 3,000 to nearly 82,000 people.
• Damin-i-koh was the name given to the forested steep portions of the Rajmahal Hills in the present-day districts of Sahebganj, Pakur, and Godda in Jharkhand, India.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key PointsNana Saheb’s joining the revolt of 1857

• According to doctrine of lapse ,the territory of Nana Saheb was under danger because he was adopted son of Baji Rao.
• Nana Saheb was not allowed the pensions that his father Peshwa Baji Rao II used to get. Hence, he joined the Revolt of 1857.
• Nana Saheb was an adopted child of Baji Rao II, a Maratha king.
• After the king died, the British stopped providing pensions and other grants to Nana Saheb on the grounds that Nana Saheb was not a natural-born heir to the king.
• Nana Saheb felt offended and decided to plead his case with the Queen of London by sending his envoy named Azimullah Khan.
• But his case was dismissed and Azimullah Khan returned from London.

The correct answer is Liaquat Ali Khan.

• In the context of the Interim Government (1946) of India Liaquat Ali Khan was holding the portfolio of 'Finance'.

Key Points

• Interim Government
  • The interim Government was headed by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
  • The Constituent Assembly began its session on 9th December 1946 AD.
  • Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected its President.

Additional Information

• The Cabinet of the Interim Government of India composed of the following members:
  • Commander-in-Chief was Sir Claude Auchinleck.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru was Vice President and also in charge of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations.
  • Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the Home Affairs, Information, and Broadcasting
  • Rajendra Prasad held the portfolio of Agriculture and Food
  • Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar held the portfolio of Commerce
  • Baldev Singh was the Defence Minister
  • Liaquat Ali Khan was the Finance Minister.
  • C Rajagopalachari was the Education and Arts Minister
  • Jagjivan Ram held the Labour Ministry
  • Jogendra Nath Mandal was the Law Minister
  • Abdur Rab Nishtar held the portfolio of Railways and Communications, Post and Air.
  • C H Bhabha held the portfolio of  Works, Mines, and Power.

The correct answer is ​​Quit India Movement.

Key Points

• In March 1942, a mission headed by Stafford Cripps was sent to India with constitutional proposals to seek Indian support for the war. Gandhi described the scheme as a post-dated cheque; Nehru pointed out that the existing structure and autocratic powers would remain and a few of us will become the viceroy’s liveried camp followers and look after canteens.
• After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch his third major movement against British rule. This was the “Quit India” campaign, which began in August 1942. Quit India was genuinely a mass movement, bringing into its ambit hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians. It especially energized the young who, in very large numbers, left their colleges to go to jail.

• On 8^th August 1942, Mahatma Gandhi gave a clarion call to end British rule and launched the Quit India Movement at the session of the All-India Congress Committee in Mumbai.
• Gandhiji gave the call Do or Die in his speech delivered at the Gowalia Tank Maidan, now popularly known as August Kranti Maidan.
• Aruna Asaf Ali popularly known as the 'Grand Old Lady' of the Independence Movement is known for hoisting the Indian flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai during the Quit India Movement.
• The slogan ‘Quit India’ was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Mumbai.
• Meherally had also coined the slogan Simon Go Back.

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

Rowlatt Act

• The Rowlatt Act was passed by the government under the period of Lord Chelmsford.
  • It was passed in February 1919.
  • Every single Indian member of the Central Legislative Council opposed it.
  • The act authorised the government to imprison any suspect without trial and conviction in the court of law.
  • It enables the government to suppress the habeas corpus.
  • They wanted to replace the provision of repression during wartime Defence of India Act 1915 with a permanent law.
  • It was based on the report of Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt’s Committee of 1918.
  • The act was resented by the Indian public and opposed by all Indian members of the Council.
  • Gandhi organised a protest movement that led to the Massacre of Amritsar (April 1919).
  • The act was never actually implemented.

Important Points

• This act was enacted on the recommendations of the Sedition committee under Sir Sydney Rawlaw.
• Dr Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew protested against this act in Punjab and got arrested and in response to this arrest mass gathered in Jalliawallah Bagh and Jalliawalah bagh massacre happened in April 1919.

The correct answer is 1946.

Key Points

• The Cabinet Mission was a high-powered mission sent to India in February 1946 by the Atlee Government who was the British Prime Minister.
• The mission had three British cabinet members – Pethick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps, & and A.V. Alexander.

Additional Information 

• The primary aim of the mission was to discuss the transfer of power from British to Indian leadership.
• The mission wanted to obtain an agreement with the Indian leaders as to the framing of a constitution for India.
• It wanted to establish an Executive Council with the support of the major Indian parties.
• It also aimed to formulate a constitution-making body.
• The mission proposed a complicated system for India with three tiers: the provinces, provincial groupings, and the center. 
• The plan by Cabinet Mission was not welcomed by INC and the Muslim League.
• The Congress Party wanted a strong center with minimum powers for the provinces whereas the Muslim League wanted strong political safeguards for the Muslims like parity in the legislatures.

The correct answer is Banaras Hindu University in 1916.

Key Points

• On 4 February 1916, Gandhiji’s made his first public appearance after returning from South Africa in BHU.
• He addressed the audience in BHU, mostly consisting of impressionable youths, princes, bedecked and bejeweled, etc.
• The Maharaja of Darbhanga was in the chair.

Additional Information

• Champaran Satyagraha
  • In the Champaran district of Bihar, the cultivators were forced by Europeans to grow indigo.
  • They could not grow the food they needed, nor did they receive adequate payment for the indigo. 
  • Gandhi went to Champaran with Rajkumar early in 1917 to launch satyagraha.
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike
  • In 1918, it was one of the initial movements led by Gandhi.
  • In March 1918, under the leadership of Gandhi, there was a strike in the cotton mills.
  • In this strike, Gandhi used the weapon of hunger strike. 

Poona Pact:

• During the first Round Table Conference, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar had asked separate electorates for the depressed classes.
• On 16 August 1932, the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald made a statement, which came to be as the Communal Award.
• According to this award, the depressed classes were considered as separate communities, and as such provisions were made for separate electorates for them.
• Mahatma Gandhi opposed the Communal Award and went on a fast unto death in the Yeravada jail on 20 September 1932.
• Finally, an agreement was made between Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhi. This agreement came to be called the Poona Pact.
• The British Government also allowed it.
• Accordingly, 148 seats in various Provincial Legislatures were reserved for the Depressed Classes in place of 71 as provided in the Communal Award.

• Non-cooperation movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920 after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre to drive the British out of the country.
• The non-cooperation movement was withdrawn because of the Chauri Chaura incident.
• The incident took place at Chauri Chaura in which a large group of protesters, participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police, who opened fire.