Question 1

Who was the founder of Mahakali Pathshala in Calcutta?

Accepted Answer

Mataji Maharani Tapaswini was one of the strongest proponents of female education in India. Her greatest contribution came in the form of the Mahakali Pathshala which she set up in Kolkata in 1893. The school was a completely indigenous affair which did not rely on either foreign aid or assistance. The education of girls was carried out on a strictly national basis in the hopes that they would be able to revive and regenerate Hindu society.

Question 2

Simla was founded as a hill station to use as strategic place for billeting troops, guarding frontier and launching campaign during the course of

Accepted Answer

History of Shimla goes back to the period of Anglo –Gurkha war in the year 1808-09. The British connection with the area developed only after this battle between the Sikh rulers of these hills and the Gurkhas from Nepal.

Question 3

Which politician in British India had opposed to a Pakistan that would mean "Muslim Raj here and Hindu Raj elsewhere"?

Accepted Answer

“Pakistan would mean a massacre,” the Premier of Punjab Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan predicted to the distinguished civilian Penderel Moon as early as in October 1938 ( Divide and Quit, page 20). That was well before the Muslim League adopted the Pakistan resolution on March 23, 1940, in Lahore, radically altering Sir Sikandar's draft just 24 hours before it was passed. He repudiated it because it dropped the organic linkbetween the two parts of India, which he had provided. He told the Punjab Legislative Assembly, on March 11, 1941, “We do not ask for freedom that there may be Muslim Raj here and Hindu Raj elsewhere. If that is what Pakistan means I will have nothing to do with it.”

Question 4

Which one of the following crops is not cultivated in Karewas, the lacustrine deposit's of sand, clay, loam, silt and boulders?

Accepted Answer

Karewa sediments are treasures of many human civilizations and habitations. In fact, the agriculture of the valley dominantly survives and sustains on Karewa soils. The world famous saffron from Pampore and apples from Shopian are best examples.The famous almond orchids are best grown in the soils of karewas. The karewas are mainly devoted to the cultivation of saffron, almond, walnut, apple and orchards.Ling nuts (singharas) grow throughout the East of India: West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar are examples of such regions.

Question 5

In October 2017, India sent its first shipment of wheat to Afghanistan as a j part of commitment made by the Government of India to supply 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to that country on grant basis. The shipment was sent through

Accepted Answer

October 2017: A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that the consignment would be the first to use the new route via Chabahar (Iran) to access Afghanistan, even as India plans similar transfers in the coming months.The shipment of wheat is a landmark moment as it will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an alternative, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan. It will open up new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan and enhance trade and commerce between the three countries (India, Iran and Afghanistan) and the wider region.

Question 6

Around twelfth century, Sufi Silsilas began to ciystgdlize in different parts of the Islamic world to signify 1.continuous link between the master and disciple 2. unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad 3. the transmission of spiritual …

Accepted Answer

Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century. The word silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuouslink between master and disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad. It was through this channel that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to devotees. Special rituals of initiation were developed in which initiates took an oath of allegiance, wore a patched garment, and shaved their hair. Thus, all statements are correct.

Question 7

In the 10th Mandala of the Rigveda, which one of the following hymns reflects upon the marriage ceremonies?

Accepted Answer

surya sukta--a hymn in the praise of the sun god •dana stuti--these are hymns in the praise of those who donate •urna sutra--is the dot/mark on the forehead that is put before performing rituals. •purusha sukta---contains hymns about marriage ceremonies

Question 8

Which of the following statements about the Non-Cooperation Movement is/are correct? 1. It was marked by significant participation of peasants from Karnataka. 2. It was marked by non-Brahmin lower caste participation in Madras and Maharashtra. 3. It…

Accepted Answer

Non-Brahmin lower caste movement took place in Madras and Maharashtra Karnataka was not affected by the NCM. There was labour unrest in Assam, Bengal and Madras Statement 4 is incorrect as after the Chauri-Chaura incident the movement was completely stopped.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about the usage of the term ‘barbarian’ is/are correct? 1. It is derived from the Greek word ‘barbaros’ which means anon-Greek. 2. Romans used the term for the Germanic tribes, the Gauls and the Huns. Select the cor…

Accepted Answer

The ancient Greek word “bárbaros,” from which it derives, meant “babbler,”.In the Greek ear, speakers of a foreign tongue made unintelligible sounds (“bar bar bar”). Similar words exist in other Indo-European languages, including the Sanskrit “barbara,” which means “stammering.”The word “barbarian” originated in ancient Greece and was initially used to describe all non-Greek-speaking peoples, including Persians, Egyptians, Medes and Phoenicians.

Question 10

Which one of the following statements is not correct?

Accepted Answer

According to al-Biruni, the sufi theories of the soul were similar to those in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. Like the Yoga Sutra, sufi works also stated that ‘the bodies are the snares of the souls for the purpose of acquiring recompense’. Al-Biruni also identifies the sufi doctrine of divine love as self-annihilation with parallel passages from the Bhagavad Gita. There was also much exchange of ideas between the Sufis and Indian yogis. In fact the hatha-yoga treatise Amrita Kunda was translated into Arabic and Persian, So C is right. Hujwiri was known as Datta Ganj Baksh. Hujwiri comments that before he settled in Lahore some sufis believed in theories that he calls brahmanical. According to Hujwiri they wrongly believed that ‘annihilation (fand’) signifies loss of essence and destruction of the personality, and that subsistence (baqa) indicates the subsistence of God in man.

Question 11

Consider the following statement :“So much is wrung from the peasants, that even dry bread is scarcely left to fill their stomachs.” Who among the following European travellers had made the above statement about the condition of peasantry in the Mug…

Accepted Answer

But while the average Mughal farmer produced more than in later times, he most probably produced less than in earlier times. On the whole, the Mughal period was marked by agricultural stagnation, if not slump. The per capita yield was declining, and the average man in Mughal India probably had less to eat than before. 'The surplus income left to the peasant was tending to decrease, where it had not already vanished,' says Moreland. 'The provinces,' says Pelsaert, 'are so impoverished that a jagir which is reckoned to be worth 50,000 rupees, may sometimes not yield even 25,000, although so much is wrung from the peasants, that even dry bread is scarcely left to fill their stomachs.'

Question 12

What is the name of the literary genre developed by the Khojas who are a branch of the Ismaili sect?

Accepted Answer

Ginans are devotional hymns or poems recited by Shia Ismaili Muslims.Although ginanscan be recited, studied, and listened to by non-Nizari Ismailis, ginans hold a special role in the cultural practice and rituals of Nizari Ismailis, specifically the community of Khojas, a caste of south asians of whom the majority now identify as Nizari Ismaili.

Question 13

Who was/were the 10th century composer(s) of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham?

Accepted Answer

The Nalayira Divya Prabandham is a collection of 4,000 Tamil verses composed by the 12 Alvars and was compiled in its present form by Nathamunigal during the 9th -10th centuries. These were sung by the Alwars indevotional estacy in varrious shirineas of Vishnu, made famous as Magalashasana sthalas.

Question 14

Which one of the following statements about Buddhist Stupas in India is not correct?

Accepted Answer

A stupa is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics that is used as a place of meditation.Buddhist sources claim that during the 3rd century BCE, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great ordered these eight stupas to be opened, further distributed the relics of the Buddha into 84,000 portions, and had stupas built over them all over the expanding Buddhist world.They were located on trade routes in order to propagate Buddhism.However, there were no evidence of them being located in rural areas.

Question 15

Consider the following statements about Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) : 1. ITBP was raised in 1962. 2. ITBP is basicsdly a mountain trained force. 3. ITBP replaced Assam Rifles in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in 2004-2005 for border gusirding du…

Accepted Answer

At present, the ITBP has 62 (including 4 service battalions) operational battalions which has close to 62,000 personnel and officers in them. So 4thstatement is incorrect.The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India, raised on 24 October 1962, under the CRPF Act, in the wake of the Sino-Indian War of 1962.

Indian History Questions