Indian History

Khusrau Khan  was an Indian  Sultan of Delhi  Sultanate for around two months in 1320.   Alauddin Khilji the second Sultan of Khilji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, died in 1316. His general Malik Kafur, who unleashed a reign of terror by  persecuting the sons and family members of the late Sultan , was in turn killed by another son of Alauddin Khilji, Mubarak Shah, who became the next Khilji sultan under the title of  Qutb ud din Mubarak Shah . Like his father, who was under the influence of Malik Kafur, Mubarak Shah was infatuated with Khusrav Khan, a low-caste (Hindu) Baradu convert from Gujarat who was made the wazir, malik naib   and Commander in Chief of the Khilji dynasty by the Sultan against the advice of his nobles. In April 1320, Mubarak Shah was murdered by Khusrav Khan bringing the Khilji dynasty to an end. Khusrav Khan ascended the throne of Delhi under the title of Nasir-ud-din Khusrav Shah and tried to strike a veritable reign of terro...

Adina Mosque Maldah / Image Credit Adina Mosque at Pandua (presently in Maldah district of West Bengal) was built by Sikandar Shah, the second ruler of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty, an independent Muslim kingdom of Bengal founded by his father Shamsuddin Iliyas Shah in about AD 1345.  Sikandar Shah ruled from 1357 to 1390 .  The long rule of Sikandar Shah provided him ample opportunity to build some magnificent mosques and buildings. Chief among them is Adina Mosque which was built in A.D. 1368.   Consisting of four hundred domes, this imposing mosque houses the tomb of Sikandar Shah. The pillars of the mosque were taken from Hindu temples and palaces in Lakhnauti in Maldah. 

Q.1. Which was the last dynasty that ruled the Vijayanagara Empire? (A) Sangama dynasty (B) Aravidu dynasty (C) Saluva dynasty (D) Tuluva dynasty Q.2. What was the capital of Aravidu dynasty?  (A) Hampi (B) Penagonda (C) Talikota (D) Vijayapura Q.3. Who was the ruler of Vijayanagar at the time of the Battle of Talikota in 1565?  (A) Tirumala Deva Raya (B) Achyuta Deva Raya (C) Sadasiva Raya (D) Venkata I Q.4. Who assumed the title of 'Yavanarajya Sthapanacharya' or restorer of the Yavana kingdom? (A) Devaraya II (B) Achyuta Deva Raya (C) Narasimha Raya II (D) Krishnadeva Raya  Q.5. Who among the following was the ruler of Delhi Sultanate when the Vijayanagar empire was founded? (A) Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (B) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (C) Firuz Shah Tughlaq (D) Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq Shah II  Q.6. Which among the following Vijayanagar rulers earned the title of Purvapaschima Samudradhishavara (“master of the eastern and western seas”)? (A) Bukka Raya I (B) Bukka Raya II (C) H...

Q.1. Which of the following was the much talked about river in the Rig Veda? (A) Sindhu (B) Ganga (C) Yamuna (D) Godavari Q.2. The early Vedic god Indra was the god of  (A) Fire  (B) Wind (C) Rain and Thunder (D) None of the above Q.3. Gayatri Mantra has been taken from which Veda? (A) Samveda (B) Rigveda (C) Atharva Veda (D) Yajur Veda Q.4. Mundaka Upanishad and Prashna Upanishad are part of which Veda? (A) Yajurveda (B) Samveda (C) Atharva Veda (D) Rig Veda Q.5. The term Gotra was first used  in_?  (A) Rig Veda (B) Sam Veda (C) Yajur Veda (D) Atharva Veda Q.6. Which was the oldest Veda?  (A) Rig Veda (B) Sam Veda (C) Yajur Veda (D) Atharva Veda Q.7. Who was the most important god during the later Vedic Period? (A) Agni (B) Prajapati (C) Varuna (D) Prithvi 8. Which of the following Rig Vedic gods acted as an intermediary between the gods and the humans? (A) Soma (B) Indra (C) Varuna (D) Agni Answers 1- A Sindhu river or Indus River has been mentioned in the...

Q. 1. Who among the following foreigners was not impressed with the state of public security in Mughal Empire during the reign of Shah Jahan? (a) Nicholas Withington (b) Peter Mundy (c) William Hawkins (d) William Finch Q. 2. Babur–namah or Tuzuk –i-Baburi is the Wakai or Memoirs (autobiography) of the first Mughal emperor Babur. In which language was it written? (a) Arabic (b) Persian (c) Turkish or Turki (d) Pushto Q. 3. Sir Thomas Roe was sent as accredited ambassador of the King of England, James I to the Mughal court of (a) Akbar (b) Jahangir (c) Shah Jahan (d) Aurangzeb Q. 4. Who among the following foreign traveler was eyewitness to the Dara Sikhoh’s public humiliation in Delhi by his brother Aurangzeb after war of succession? (a) Travernier (b) Munucci (c) Francois Bernier (d) Dr. Gemelli-Carreri Q. 5. Which of the following is not a historical work of the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar? (a) Akbarnamaha of Abul Fazal (b) Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh of Badauni (c) Padshahnama of Amin K...

Q.1. On the banks of which river was the battle between Harshavardhan and Chalukya king Pulakeshin II fought in 618 AD? (A) Krishna (B) Tungabhadra (C) Godavari (D) Narmada Q.2. What was the battle fought in 1565 between the Vijayanagar Empire and the Muslim Sultanates of Deccan resulting in the destruction of Hampi, the capital of Vijayanagar Empire? (A) Battle of Talikota (B) Battle of Pullalur (C) Battle of Raichur (D) Battle of Adoni Q.3. Which of these is another name for Battle of Talikota? (A) Battle of Rakkasa Tangadi (or Rakkasagi-Tangadagi), (B) Battle of Tungabhadra (C) Battle of Punnaikayal (D) Battle of Erode  Q.4. In what year was the Third Battle of Panipat fought? (A) 1526 (B) 1556 (C) 1739 (D) 1761 Q.5. Which battle marked the end of Delhi Sultanate? (A) Battle of Khanwa (B) First Battle of Panipat  (C) Battle of Ghaghra (D) Second Battle of Panipat Q.6. In which city the was the Battle of Tughlaqabad fought? (A) Delhi (B) Agra (C) Lahore (D) Ajmer Q.7. Which ...

Q.1. How were Chalukyan ruler Pulakeshin II and celebrated ancient Sanskrit poetess Shilabhattarika    related? (A) Pulakeshin II was Shilabhattarika's father (B) Pulakeshin II was Shilabhattarika's son (C) Pulakeshin II was Shilabhattarika's brother (D) Pulakeshin II was Shilabhattarika's uncle Q.2. Where was Akbar proclaimed king of the Mughal empire? (A) Agra (B) Kalanaur (C) Delhi (D) Panipat Q.1.   Answer: A Researchers at the Pune-based Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI)claim that Shilabhattarika— the celebrated Sanskrit poetess of Ancient India was a daughter of the famed Chalukyan Emperor, Pulakeshin II of Badami (in modern Karnataka). Pulakeshin II, who ruled from 610-642 CE , had famously defeated Harshavardhan of Kanauj in a battle near the banks of the Narmada River in 618 CE. Shilabhattarika was a famous poetess in the ancient Indian world in the male-dominated field of classical Sanskrit literature. Shilabhattarika  has been prised...

Ramappa Temple, Mulugu, Near Warangal in Telangana Q.1. Telangana's Ramappa Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is named after (A) A ruler of Kakatiya Kingdom (B) A general of Kakatiya Kingdom  (C) An architect of Kakatiya Kingdom (D) None of the above Answer: C Telangana's 13th-century Rudreswara temple, more famously known as Ramappa Temple, is named after its architect Ramappa who worked on the project for 40 years. The temple was built in 1213 AD during the reign of the greatest Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva (ruled 1199–1262) by his general Recharla Rudra. Located in a valley at the village of Palampet, approximately 77 km away from Warangal and 200km north-east of Hyderabad,  Ramappa Temple has became a world heritage site in 2021.  

 Q.1. Of the 14 Indian Prime Ministers, how many have lost the top job due to losing a general election? (A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6 Answer: D Six prime ministers had their prime ministerial careers cut short following the loss of a general election: Charan Singh (1980), Rajiv Gandhi (1989), Chandrasekhar (1991), Inder Kumar Gujral (1998), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2004), Manmohan Singh (2014) 

Identify the historical event the painting shows. (A) Mughal Emperor Shah Alam conveying the grant of the Diwani to Lord Clive (B) English diplomat Sir Thomas Roe being received by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir  (C) Jesuits at Akbar’s court. (D) None of the Above Answer : A The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II had granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa to the East India Company in 1765. The Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 16 August 1765 between Shah Alam II, and Robert Clive, of the East India Company, in the aftermath of the Battle of Buxar of 22 October 1764. 

 Can you  identify which historical event the painting shows? (A) First Anglo-Afghan War (B) Second Anglo-Afghan War (C) Third Anglo-Afghan War (D) Fourth Anglo-Afghan War Answer - A  Dr. William Brydon was the lone British survivor who rode into Jalalabad in Afghanistan in January 1842, bringing the first news of the devastating retreat from Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War.  Brydon was a British doctor who was assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army.  The First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42) was fought between the British East India Company (EIC) and, the Emirate of Afghanistan.  The war caused the greatest misfortune that ever befell the British army and dealt a severe blow to their prestige in India.