The correct answer is Deva Raya I.

Key PointsAbdur Razzaq 

• Abdur Razzak was born on 7 November 1413 in Herat  (presently in Afghanistan) to Jalal-ud-Din Ishaq.
• Jalal-ud-Din Ishaq, father of Abdur Razzak was the qazi and imam of the Shah Rukh’s court in Herat. Shah Rukh was the ruler of Persia, Timurid dynasty (Timur was succeeded by his son Shahrukh). 
• After the death of his father in 1437, Abdur was appointed the qazi of the Shah Rukh’s court. Under whom Razzak prospered as a legal courtier, trustee, and ambassador.
• From that time on he was a witness to political and military events at the capitals of Herat and Samarqand, as well as on diplomatic and military missions.
• Razzak’s ambassadorial missions took him to various places in Eurasia. His most important task was an official mission to India.
• Abdur Razzaq the great Iranian scholar came to India in the 15th century. He was born in 1413 and was appointed the Qazi of Samarqand under Shah Rokh Khan.
• Abdur Razzaq stayed in the court of the Vijayanagara empire Diva Raya II from 1442-to 1443 and gave a comprehensive description of the Vijayanagara kingdom.
• Duarte Barbosa was a Portuguese official in south India, who traveled Vijayanagara Empire during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya in 1518.
• The other essential travelers who came to India in the medieval period were Antonio Monserrate, Peter Mundy, Jean Baptisite Tavernier, Franciso Pelesart, and Nikolo Muncci.

The correct answer is Khwarizm

Key Points

Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind:

• Al-Biruni was born in 973 at Khwarizm in present day Uzbekistan.
• He was well-versed in different languages like Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit.
• In 1017 with the invasion of Khwarizm, he arrived in Ghazni as a hostage. But gradually developed a liking for the city and interest for India.
• When the Punjab became a part of the Ghaznavid empire, he travelled widely in the Punjab and other parts of Northern India.
• He spent years in the company of Brahmana priests and scholars by learning Sanskrit and studying religions and philosophical texts.
• Al-Biruni wrote ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ in Arabic, in a simple and lucid manner.
  • It is a voluminous text including 80 chapters covering subjects like religion, philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners and customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology.
• Al-Biruni was familiar with translations and adaptations of Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit texts into Arabic. 

The correct answer is ​Duarte Barbosa.

Key PointsDuarte Barbosa

• He was a Portuguese writer, scrivener, and explorer who had given a vivid account of Vijaynagara governance under Krishna Deva Raya in his book i.e. An Account of Countries Bordering the Indian Ocean and their Inhabitants.
• Among the best known of Portuguese writers is Duarte Barbosa, who wrote a detailed account of trade and society in south India.

The correct answer is Arabic

Key PointsIbn Battuta

• Ibn Battuta's book of travels, called Rihla, written in Arabic, provides extremely rich and interesting details about the social and cultural life in the subcontinent in the fourteenth century.
• This Moroccan traveller was born in Tangier into one of the most respectable and educated families known for their expertise in Islamic religious law or shari'a.
• Travelling overland through Central Asia, Ibn Battuta reached Sind in 1333.
• The Sultan was impressed by his scholarship, and appointed him the qazi or judge of Delhi.
• Some of the best examples of Ibn Battuta's strategies of representation are evident in the ways in which he described the coconut and the paan, two kinds of plant produce that were completely unfamiliar to his audience.
• Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a vast city, with a great population, the largest in India. Daulatabad (in Maharashtra) was no less, and easily rivalled Delhi in size.
• The state evidently took special measures to encourage merchants. Almost all trade routes were well supplied with inns and guest houses.
• Ibn Battuta was also amazed by the efficiency of the postal system which allowed merchants to not only send information and remit credit across long distances, but also to dispatch goods required at short notice.

The correct answer is Both 1 and 2.

Key Points

Battuta’s Description of Indian Society:

• Ibn Battuta was amazed by the efficiency of the postal system which was of two kinds, the horse-post called ‘uluq’ and the foot-post called ‘dawa’.
• Ibn Battuta found Indian agriculture very productive because of the fertility of the soil where farmers tend to cultivate two crops a year.
• The bazaars (markets) were the places of economic transactions and also the hub of social and cultural activities.
• There were masjids and temples to offer prayers and also some bazaars marked with spaces for public performances by dancers, musicians and singers.
• While describing Indian society, Ibn Battuta explained the unfamiliar things like coconut and paan in a unique way.
• Ibn Battuta found the cities of India densely populated and prosperous. According to him, Delhi was the largest city in India. He also had the same view for Daulatabad (in Maharashtra).

The correct answer is Francois Bernier

Key PointsFrancois Bernier

• Francois Bernier was a French traveller who came to India in 17th century.
• Francois Bernier, a Frenchman, was a doctor, political philosopher, and historian
• Bernier was closely associated with the Mughal court, as a physician to Prince Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, and later as an intellectual and scientist, with Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble at the Mughal court.
• Bernier's book 'Travels in the Mughal Empire is marked by detailed observations critical insights and reflection. His account contains discussions trying to place the history of the Mughals within some sort of a universal framework.
• He constantly compared Mughal India with contemporary Europe, generally emphasising the superiority of the latter. His representation of India works on the model of binary opposition, where India is presented as the inverse of Europe.
• He also ordered the perceived differences hierarchically, so that India appeared to be inferior to the Western world.
• This is perhaps one of the most poignant descriptions of Sati practice by Bernier: “At Lahore I saw a most beautiful young widow sacrificed, who could not have been more than twelve years of age.

The correct answer is None of the above

Key PointsAl-Biruni as a barrier

• Al Biruni, who was aware of the problems faced while understanding the Indian subcontinent and its people, discussed several barriers that obstructed the understanding of things in reality
• Firstly, he talked about the problem of language, as Sanskrit was different from Arabic and Persian, so ideas and concepts could not be translated easily from one language to another. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• Secondly, he told about the differences in religious beliefs and practices of Indians. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Thirdly and lastly, the self-absorption and consequent insularity of the local people was felt by Al-Biruni to be another barrier to understanding people of the Indian subcontinent. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The correct answer is Al-Biruni.

Key PointsAl-Biruni

• ​Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present-day Uzbekistan.
• Al-Biruni, a great scholar of Central Asia, came to India in the 11th century. He arrived in India during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni.
• Al-Biruni received the best education available at the time. He was well versed in several languages: Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit.
• In 1017, when Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarizm, he took several scholars and poets back to his capital, Ghazni; Al-Biruni was one of them. He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage.
• Al-Biruni's Kitab-ul-Hind, written in Arabic, is simple and lucid.
• Al-Biruni adopted a distinctive structure in each chapter, beginning with a question, following this up with a description based on Sanskritic traditions, and concluding with a comparison with other cultures.
• Al-Biruni depended almost exclusively on the works of Brahmanas, often citing passages from the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavad Gita, the works of Patanjali, the Manusmriti, etc., to provide an understanding of Indian society.
• Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for parallels in other societies.
• Al-Biruni's has given an account of the system of vamas.

The correct answer is Both 1and 3.

 Key Points

Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Battuta's full name Muhammad Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveler who left his home at the young age of 21 back in the 13th century to travel across the world.
• During his 30 years of traveling exploration, he visited around 44 countries, including India.
• His traveling accounts are published in the book ‘Rihla’ – My travels, a part of which is devoted to his experience in India. 

Al-Biruni

• Alberuni, short for, Abu al-Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni, was a renowned philosopher, mathematician, historian, and one of the jewels in the court of sultan of Mahmud of Ghazni.
• He traveled to the Indian subcontinent and authored a study of Indian culture Kitab-ul-hind or Tahqiq-i-Hind (History of India) after exploring the Hindu faith practiced in India.

Francois Bernier

• Francois Bernier, a French physician, political philosopher, traveler, and historian, lived in India for 12 years.

• He was associated with the Mughal Court as a personal physician of Dara Shikoh (eldest son of emperor Shah Jahan) and later as a scientist with Danishmand Khan (Nole at Mughal Court). 

• Francois Bernier’s travels to the middle east and the west coast of India are mentioned in the book ‘Travels in the Mugol Empire’.

The correct answer is Al-Biruni.

Key PointsAl-Biruni

• Al-Biruni, a great scholar of Central Asia, came to India in the 11th century. He arrived in India during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni.
• Al-Biruni was born on 4 Sept. 973 at Khwarizm in Uzbekistan.
• Al-Biruni was well-versed in many languages. Languages such as Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit were known to him.
• Al-Biruni’s most outstanding work ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ was written in Ghazni and was concerned with India. It was also known as Tarikh-ul-Hind and Tahqiq-ma-lil-Hind.
• Al-Biruni has thrown a light on the caste system prevailing in Hindu society.
• According to Al-Biruni’s description, India’s economic condition was very good.
• Al-Biruni’s real name was Abu-Abdullah Muhammad. He was fond of traveling and wanted to increase his knowledge by establishing contact with the people of different countries.