Ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur

Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Guru of the Sikh religion. He was beheaded on the orders of the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb on 24 November 1675 in Delhi.

Born to Guru Hargobind and Mata Nanaki on 1 April 1621 in Amritsar Guru Tegh Bahadur was named Tyaga Mal at birth. Guru Hargobind was the sixth Sikh Guru.

Guru Tegh Bahadur was trained in martial arts, swordsmanship and horse riding. He was married to Gujari in 1633.

Guru Tegh Bahadur travelled far and wide visiting many places in northern India and also Assam and Dhaka, preaching the word of Guru Nanak.

Guru Tegh Bahadur founded the city of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab in 1665.

Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib at Chandni Chowk in Delhi was built in 1783 at the place where he was beheaded.

Guru Tegh Bahadur’s young son Gobind, who was only nine when his father was killed, became the tenth and the last Sikh Guru.

 

Gujarat’s Garba dance Gets UNESCO heritage status

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) has added Gujarat's traditional Garba dance to its 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.'

The inclusion of Garba now makes it India’s 15th inscription on the List.

India had nominated Garba for inclusion in the list. Garba is performed across Gujarat and in many other parts of the country for nine days during the festival of Navaratri . The festival is dedicated to the worship of the feminine energy or Shakti. 

The inclusion was made under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 18th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage on Tuesday. The meeting is taking place began in Kasane, Botswana from 5 to 9 December 2023.

Apart from ‘Garba of Gujarat,’ some of the new inscriptions include Rickshaws and Rickshaw painting in Dhaka from Bangladesh, Songkran in Thailand, traditional Thai New Year festival from Thailand, Hiragasy, a performing art of the Central Highlands of Madagascar, Junkanoo from the Bahamas, and the Procession and celebrations of Prophet Mohammed's birthday in Sudan, among others. 

India now has 15 intangible cultural heritage elements on the UNESCO list. UNESCO has added Kolkata's Durga Puja to its 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. in 2021.  Other Indian entries that were previously inscribed include Ramlila (2008), Yoga (2016) and Kumbh Mela (2017).

In 2017, the Kumbh Mela was accorded this recognition. Yoga was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016, traditional brass and copper craft of Punjab in 2014, Manipur's Sankirtana ritual singing in 2013 and the dance forms of Chhau, Kalbelia and Mudiyettu in 2010.

525th birth anniversary of Mirabai, Great Vaishnavite Saint and Poetess

This year the 525th birth anniversary of Sant Mirabai is being celebrated. Mirabai (also spelt as Meerabai) was a Rajput princess who was one of the greatest saints of the Krishna cult of Vaishnavism in 16th century India. 

Mirabai was the only child of Ratna Singh Rathor of Merta in Rajasthan.  She was born at the village of Kudki (now in the Pali district) in AD 1498. In 1516, she was married to Bhoraj, eldest son of Rana Sanga, the ruler of Mewar with its capital at Chittor. Bhoraj was heir-apparent to Mewar but he died in 1526.  

Mirabai was highly religious from her childhood. Like her grandfather Dudaji and father she was a devotee of Krishna. After her husband’s death she completely addressed herself to the devotion of Krishna. She patronized learned men. Devotees who were drawn from both sexes making a beeline to Mirabai. Consequently, her fame spread far and wide.

However, Mirabai’s religious activities were resented by her in-laws who took exception to the fact that a royal princess would sing and dance before the image of Krishna in full glare of the public. Her choice of Raidas, a leather worker as her spiritual guru, did not go down well with them. Tradition has it that in-laws tried to poison her. As her relation with the Mewar rulers took a turn for the worse, she went to Merta to live with her uncle Biram Deva.

However, when Mal Deva (Maldeo) of Jodhpur seized Merta, Mira undertook a pilgrimage to the sacred city of Dwarka in Gujarat and spent rest of her life as a devotee of Krishna. She died in 1546. 

Mira’s greatness and popularity rest on her many devotional poems and lyrics. She wrote her works in Brajbhasha and partly in Rajasthani. She also wrote some of her verses in Gujarati.

Birsa Munda Birth Anniversary

Birsa Munda was born in Jharkhand on 15th November 1875 into a Munda family. His parents were Sugana Munda and Karmi Hatu. His place of birth is Ulihatu, a village in the Khunti district in Jharkhand.

Birsa converted into a Christian to receive education from the German Mission School .

In 1894, Birsa declared his opposition to the British and the Dikus (outsiders) and thus began the Munda Ulgulan. 

Birsa also started his own religion and proclaimed he was god’s messenger. Many tribal people Mundas, Kharias and Oraons accepted him as their leader. 

Birsa asked the tribal people to keep distance from the Christian missionaries and revert to their traditional ways. He also advocated for the non-payment of taxes.

Birsa was arrested in 1895. Afterv coming from the jail after two years he he resumed his armed struggle by razing police stations, churches, government property and houses of Zamindars.

He was arrested in  1900 from Jamkopai forest in Chakradharpur. He died on June 9th 1900 while lodged at the Ranchi jail. He was only 25. Authorities claimed he died of cholera although this claim is doubted.

After his death, his movement petered out. 

Kozhikode And Gwalior Earn Prestigious Unesco Cities of Literature And Music Status

Kozhikode in Kerala and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh have been awarded the status of UNESCO City of Literature and City of Music respectivley, joining a club of 350 such cities around the world. These cities in more than a 100 countries represent seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. 

On World Cities Day which falls on October 31, this year 55 cities have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). 

Launched in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a network of creative cities working together towards a mission for cultural diversity and sustainable urban development. 

Kozhikode is the first UNESCO City of Literature in India. Gwalior is the birthplace of great musician Tansen.

The newly designated Creative Cities are invited to participate in the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference (July 1-5, 2024) in Braga, Portugal, under the theme "Bringing Youth to the Table for the Next Decade,

Savitri, The Indian Alcestis

 

Savitri / Image Credit

Savitri was a legendry princess in Hinduism, renowned for the love she had for her husband. She was the daughter of the king of Madra, Ashvapati, and his wife Malati. As Savitri was very beautiful and radiant, this deterred prospective suitors from approaching her father and asking for her hands in marriage. 

As a result Ashvapati asked his daughter to choose a person of her liking so that he could fulfill his obligation to marry her off.  Hence, Savitri set out to tour the country in her golden chariot in search of a suitable mate. She went though forests and cities, until she found Satyavant, son of Dyumatsena, the blind King of Shalwa, then in exile, living in poverty. 

As luck would have it, Satyavant was destined to die after one year from the marriage date. Savitri followed him when he was being carried away by the death-god Yama, and so impressed the god with her loyalty that he released her husband. 

Moth ki Masjid (Mosque)

Moth ki Masjid / Image Credit

Located in the South Extension Part II area in Delhi, Moth ki Mosque is a Lodi era mosque commissioned by Miya Bhoiya, a minister during the reign of second Lodi Sultan Sikandar Lodi (ruled 1489–1517). 

The nomenclature of the mosque derives from an interesting story describing how this temple came into being. The mosque is named after moth (beans), the good harvest of which stood the builder in good stead in getting the requisite finances for the construction of the mosque. 

Sage Vaishampayana: Traditional Narrator of the Mahabharata

Traditionally Vaishampayana is the narrator of the Mahabharata, one of the two great Sanskrit epics of India (other being the Ramayana). Vaishampayana was the pupil of sage Vyasa who is said to have authored the Mahabharata. 

It was at a great sacrifice (sarpa satra or snake sacrifice ) held by the Kuru King Janamejaya that sage Vaishampayana recited the Mahabharata in public for the first time.  

Janamejaya was the great grandson of Arjuna of the Mahabharata fame. 

 

Raja Todar Mal, Finance Minister of Emperor Akbar

 

Raja Todar Mal, the finance Minister of Emperor Akbar / Image Credit

Todar Mal was a brilliant finance officer who was first in the service of Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri and afterwards in that of Mughal emperor Akbar. Known for introducing standard weights and measures, he was the main architect behind a brilliant land revenue system Zabti system which is also called as Todar Mal bandobast. Dahshala, a system of taxation, was also established by him. 

According to tradition he was one of Akbar’s ‘Navratnas (“Nine Jewels”). The Navratnas were nine individuals of extraordinary ability gracing the court of Akbar.

Todar Mal joined Akbar’s revenue department in 1560 by replacing Khawaja Malik Itimad Khan.

Another field in which Todar Mal excelled was architecture. In 1585 Todar Mal rebuilt the Kashi Vishwanath Temple which was later demolished by Aurangzeb, who had the Gyanvapi Mosque built on its ruins.

Qila Rohtas, near the city of Jhelum in Pakistan, was built by Raja Todar Mal for Sher Shah with a view to suppressing the tribes of the region and also to checking Humayun’s entry into India.  Humayun, father of Akbar, was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in the battle of Kannauj in 1540 and spent the next years of his life in exile in Persia. 

Ladli Begum

Mihr-un-nissa Begum, better known as Ladli Begum, was the daughter of Mughal empress Nur Jahan and her first husband, Ali Quli Khan Istajlu, more famously known as Sher Afgan Khan, who was killed fighting Kutubuddin, the governor of Bengal, in 1607. Nur Jahan had become the 20th wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1611.  

In 1621 Ladli Begum married Shaharyar, son of Jahangir. Naturally enough, Nur Jahan pushed Shaharyar's claim to the Mughal throne after the death of Jahangir on 27th October, 1627. This was resented by Asaf Khan who wanted his son-in-law Shah Jehan (another son of Jahangir) to be the next emperor.  All the competitors to the throne including Shaharyar were executed by Asaf Khan, father of Mumtaz Mahal (Shah Jahan’s wife in whose memory world renowned monument Taj Mahal in Agra was built). Nur Jehan and her daughter Ladli Begum were imprisoned for life. Shah Jahan ascended the throne on 19 January 1628. 

Nur Jahan died in 1645 and was buried in a tomb at Shahdara, Lahore, which she herself got built during her lifetime. Her  mausoleum is close to her husband Jahangir’s mausoleum. Ladli Begum was also buried beside her mother. 

 

Badoli Temples

Ghateshwar Mahadev, Badoli / Image Credit

Built in the tenth century AD by the Gurjara Pratihara rulers, Badoli Temples are nine temples located near Rawerbhata in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan. Of these eight temples is situated within a walled enclosure. The ninth temple is about 1 kilometre from the complex of eight temples. 

Four temples are dedicated to Shiva, two to Durga and one each to Shiva-Trimurti, Vishnu and Ganesha. Dedicated to Shiva, Ghateshwara Mahadeva Temple is the most prominent of the Badoli Temples. 

History MCQs – Set 12 - Modern India

Q.1. The idea of a separate homeland for Muslims found mention for the first time in the writings of:

A. Mohammed Iqbal

B. Liaqat Ali

C. M.A. Jinnah

D. Rahmat Ali

Q.2. The beginning of the British political sway over India can be traced to the battle of

A. Tai Khamti-British War of 1839

B. Plassey

C. Buxar

D. Wandiwash

Q.3. Who described Bal Gangadhar Tilak as the “Father of Indian unrest”?

A. Disraeli

B. Valentine Chirol

C. Minto

D. Chelmsford

Q.4. Who assassinated Sir Michael O`Dwyer, the British Lt. Governor of Punjab?

A. Udham Singh

B. Lala Lajpat Rai

C. Bhagat Singh

D. Vir Savarkar

Q.5.  The first Europeans to come to India were

A. French 

B. Dutch

C. Portuguese

D. British

Q.6. Who among the following did Lord Mountbatten replace as the viceroy of India in 1947?

A. Lord Curzon

B. Lord Chelmsford

C. Lord Wavell

D. Lord Linlithgow 

Q.7. The Communal Award was declared by Ramsay Macdonald in:

A. 1928

B. 1929

C. 1931

D. 1932

Q.8. Who declared, "The only hope for India is from the masses. The upper classes are physically and morally dead"?

A. Gopal Krishna Gokhale

B. Mahatma Gandhi

C. Swami Vivekananda

D. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Q.9. Where was the first Round Table Conference held?

A. New Delhi

B. London

C. Edinburg

D. Bombay

Q.10. In which year was the system of the competitive examination for civil service accepted?

A. 1833

B. 1853

C. 1858

D. 1882

Answers

1-A

Notes: Muhammad Iqbal was a great nationalist during early years of career writing the famous nationalist song: Sare Jahan se Accha, Hindositan hamara, but later on he voiced the idea of a separate Muslim state in the north-west India in his presidential address to the annual session of the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930.

It was this idea which later fructified and culminated in the creation of a separate Muslim state of Pakistan on August 14, 1947. Naturally enough, he is acclaimed as the father of the idea of Pakistan. 

Muhammad Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal, died in Lahore in 1938.

2-B

Notes: The battle of Plassey was fought between the army of Siraj-ud-Doula, the last independent Nawab of Bengal and the troops of the British East India Company under Robert Clive. 

The importance of the battle of Plassey was more than that of the some of the greatest battles of the world. It facilitated the British conquest of Bengal and subsequently the whole of India.

3-B

Notes: Bal Gangadhar Tilak was called "father of Indian unrest" by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol, a British journalist. 

4-A

Notes: Udham Singh was a great revolutionary who avenged the infamous Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar by murdering Michael O’Dwyer, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1919 when Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, the military commander of Amritsar had ordered the firing on the innocent people who have gathered here to protest the arrest of Congress leaders Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Pal under Rowlatt Act.

Udham Singh killed O’Dwyer in London on 13th March 1940. He was arrested on the spot and sentenced to death on 21st July in the same year.

5-C

Notes: Portugal was the first European power to establish factories and trading settlements in India in the early 16th century. Portuguese were followed by Dutch, British, Danes and French.

6-C

Notes: In 1947, Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill's successor as British prime minister, replaced Lord Wavell with Lord Mountbatten as the viceroy of India in 1947. 

7-D

Notes: On 16 August 1932 the British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award partitioning it into separate electorates for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Untouchables. The Communal Award was announced after the failure of the Second of the Round Table Conferences (India). The Communal Award later was incorporated into the Government of India Act, 1935.

8-C

Notes: Narendranath Dutta is better known as Swami Vivekananda, 

Swami Vivekananda was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886)

In 1983 Swami Vivekananda went to the US and attended the famous “Parliament of Religions” at Chicago. 

9-B

Notes: First Round Table Conference was held in 1930.

Second Round Table Conference took place in London from 7 September 1931 to 1 December 1931.  

The third Round Table Conference took place between 17 November 1932 and 24 December 1932. 

10-A

Notes: The Charter Act of 1853 introduced an open competition system of recruitment in Civil Service. Macaulay Committee was appointed for Civil Service in India in the year 1854.

Shyamji Krishna Varma

Indian revolutionary leader Shyamji Krishna Varma was born on 4th October, 1857 in Mandvi town of Kachchh district of Gujarat. He is known for founding the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London.

Shyamji Krishna Varma was impressed by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj .  He was an admirer of Herbert Spencer, a Victorian sociologist who coined the phrase "survival of the fittest". 

He worked as an assistant to Monier Williams, a professor of Sanskrit in the Oxford University.

In 1883 Shyamji Krishna Varma graduated from Balliol College in Oxford and was called to the Bar in 1884. In 1881, he attended the Berlin Congress of Orientalists.

In 1905, Krishnavarma founded the Indian Home Rule Society and India House.  India House became a meeting-place for Indian revolutionaries in London.

Krishna Varma shifted his base to Paris in 1907 to avoid arrest by the British Government due to the political activities of India House. He was also disbarred from practising law by the Inner Temple. He published the journal The Indian Sociologist where he wrote against the colonial government. He died in Geneva in 1930. 

History MCQs – Set 11 - Modern India

Q.1. The revolutionaries who were arrested in the Central Assembly Bombing Case were?

A. Bhagat Singh & Chandrashekar Azad

B. Bhagat Singh & Batukeshwar Dutt

C. Bhagat Singh & Sachindranath Sanyal

D. Jatindra Nath Das & Bhagat Singh

Q.2. Rani Gaidinliu was the fearless freedom fighter from:

A. Manipur 

B. Tripura

C. Mizoram

D. Nagaland 

Q.3. The treaty of Srirangapatnam was signed between Tipu Sultan and

A. Robert Clive

B. Cornwallis

C. Dalhousie

D. Warren Hastings

Q.4. Who among the following was the first English President of the Indian National Congress?

A. George Yule

B. Alfred Webb

C. Henry John Stedman Cotton

D. William Wedderburn

Q.5. Both the processes of transfer of power and the partition of India were hurried through in ____ days?

A. 72

B. 94

C. 86

D. 92

Q.6. Albuquerque captured Goa from the ruler of

A. Golconda

B. Vijaynagar

C. Ahmednagar

D. Bijapur 

Q.7. The two Home Rule Leagues in India were led by:

A. Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant.

B. Annie Besant and G.K. Gokhale

C. Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Pheroze Shah

D. Annie Besant and K.T. Telang.

Q.8. The East India Company received the zamindari of the 24 parganas from:

A. Siraj-ud-Daulah 

B. Mir Jafar

C. Mir Qasim

D. Chanda Sahib 

Q.9. The founders of Theosophical Society, Colonel Olcott and Madame H.P. Blavatsky set up their first office in India in:

A. Thiruvananthapurami

B. Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu

C. Cochin, Kerala

D. Adyar, Madras

Q.10. When the Simon Commission visited India, the Viceroy of India was ___.

A. Lord Irwin 

B. Lord Willingdon

C. Lord Linlithgow

D. Lord Reading

Answers

1-B

Notes: Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt had hurled bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi on April 8, 1929. 

Batukeshwar Dutt and Bhagat Singh were members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.

Among those present in the Central Legislative Assembly when the bombing took place were Motilal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya,  Sir John Allsebrook Simon (of the Simon Commission).

2-A

Notes: Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga woman revolutionary leader and successor to the political movement launched by the Naga leader Haipou Jadonang (1905-31) to derive away the British from Manipur. She was born in 1915. 

After the execution of Jadonang in 1931 by the British, Rani Gaidinliu led a popular rebellion against the British rule at the young age of sixteen.

Rani Gaidinliu was described by Jawaharlal Nehru as the Rani of the Nagas.

3-B

Notes: The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92) came to an end by the Treaty of Seringapatam (also called Srirangapatinam or Srirangapatna), signed 18 March 1792. Its signatories included Lord Cornwallis on behalf of the British East India Company, representatives of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha Empire, and Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore.

Under the terms of the treaty Tipu Sultan had to surrender of nearly half of Mysorean territory to the victorious allies. 

4-A

Notes: George Yule served as the fourth President of the Indian National Congress in 1888 at Allahabad.

5-A

Notes: On February 20, 1947 British Prime Minister Clement Attlee declared the British would quit India before 30th June 1948. The processes of transfer of power and the partition of India were hurried by 72 days. India was partitioned on the basis of the "Indian Independence Act". The Indian Independence bill was introduced on 4th July, 1947. It received Royal assent on 18th July, 1947 and came into force on 15th August, 1947.

Clement Attlee of Labour Party was the British Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951.

6-D

Notes: Yusuf Adil Khan of Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur  was succeeded by his 13-year old son Ismail Adil Khan. As soon as he took the reigns of the kingdom, he has to cede Goa in 1510 to the Portuguese under their governor Afonso de Albuquerque.

7-A

Notes: Home Rule League was led by Indian nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak and British social reformer and Indian independence leader Annie Besant. 

8-B

Notes: The name 24 Parganas is derived from the number of parganas or divisions contained in the Zamindari of Calcutta which was ceded to the East India Company by Mir Jafar in 1757.

9-D

Notes: Theosophical Society was founded in 1875 in New York in the USA by Madame H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel H. S. Olcott. They came to India in January 1879 and set up the headquarters of the society at Adyar, presently a suburb of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. 

10-A

Notes: Simon Commission , also known as the Indian Statutory Commission, came to India in 1928.

Vijnaneshwara : Medieval Indian Jurist

Smṛrti is a class of literature comprising law books. Many medieval Indian jurists wrote lengthy commentaries on the Smriti literature. Of these the most important was Vijnaneshwara who wrote at the court of great Western Chalukya emperor Vikramaditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE). Western Chalukyas are also known as the Chalukyas of Kalyani.  

Vijnaneshwara's treatise, Mitakshara played a very important part in forming the civil law of modern India. Mitakshara is a commentary on the law book of Yājñavalkya,

Nuakhai Juhar Festival

 Nuakhai Juhar Festival is an agricultural festival chiefly celebrated in Western Odisha. 

Celebrated primarily by tribal people, this festival falls on the day right after Ganesh Chaturthi.
Nuakhai Juhar is a celebration of the harvest, which is being celebrated on September 20 this year. 

The word ‘Nuakhai’ is translated into ‘Nua’ (i.e., new) and ‘Khai’ (i.e., eating).

Nuakhai Juhar is the most prominent harvest festival celebrated in Odisha. It is a festival of worship of food grain. As per the ritual, Nabanna or the newly harvested rice has been offered to the presiding deity of the presiding deity of western Odisha, the Goddess Samaleswari..

Though celebrated throughout Odisha, the districts of Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur, Boudh, and Nuapada are the places where people celebrate Nuakhai on grand scale. 

Karnataka's Hoysala Temples Now India's 42nd UNESCO's World Heritage site

'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala', the three Hoysala temples in Karnataka, have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

These temples are the Chennakeshava temple at Belur, Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu and The Keshava temple at Somnathapura. While the first two are in Hassan district, the third is in Mysuru district. 

All the three temples are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Nominations were entered as ‘’The Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas’’.

While the Chennakeshava temple and Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu were on the UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014, the Keshava temple at Somanathapur was appended to the other two monuments under the tentative list and all the three were officially nominated by the Centre as India’s entry for 2022-23 in February in 2022.

An expert from International Commission on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) concluded the site visits covering all the three temples in September 2022 and the monuments were officially inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia.

Chennakesava Temple, Belur

Chennakesava Temple at Belur / Image Source

Commissioned by Hoysala ruler Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD, the Chennakesava temple took 103 years to complete. This Vishnu temple has three entrances and is intricately carved with sculptures and pillars.

An absolute must see destination in any cultural tour of India, Belur, located on the banks of the river Yagachi in Hassan district, was the capital of the powerful south Indian dynasty of the Hoysalas. Belur is home to the awe-inspiring Chennakesava Temple, a fine specimen of Hoysala architecture. 

Hoysaleswara temple, Halebidu 

The-Hoysaleswara-Temple-in-Halebidu

17 km away from Belur is the 12th century Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu.  Hoysaleswara temple is a cultural extravaganza. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the temple was also built during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana. Its construction started around 1121 CE and was complete in 1160 CE.

Previously known as Dorasamudra or Dwarasamudra, Halebid was the Hoysala capital before Belur. 

Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura

Keshav-Temple-in-Somanathpur

The Chennakesava Temple, also referred to as Chennakeshava Temple and Keshava Temple, is a Vaishnava Hindu temple on the banks of River Kaveri at Somanathapura in the Mysuru district of Karnataka. 

The temple was consecrated in 1258 CE by Somanatha Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala King Narasimha III. 

Santiniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal  was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the 41st site. 

West Bengal’s Santiniketan Inscribed On UNESCO World Heritage List

Credit: Twitter/UNESCO

Santiniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal  has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO is an acronym for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that works for world peace through global cooperation in the fields of education, culture and the sciences. 

India has been striving for long to get a UNESCO tag for this cultural site located in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. 

It was at Santiniketan where poet Rabindranath Tagore built Visva-Bharati over a century ago. 

About Visva-Bharati University

Visva-Bharati is an university located in Shantiniketan in  West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva-Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India. 

Until independence it was a college. Soon after independence, the institution was given the status of a central university in 1951 by an act of the Parliament. 

When founded in 1921, it was named after Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore until Visva-Bharati Society was registered as an organization in May 1922.

Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European to win the Nobel literature prize, was proponent of open-air education and introduced that system at the university, which is still continuing.

Kalibangan : World’s first furrowed field

"Well-regulated streets (were) oriented almost invariably along with the cardinal directions, thus forming a grid-iron pattern. (At Kalibangan) even the widths of these streets were in a set ratio, i.e. if the narrowest lane was one unit in width, the other streets were twice, thrice and so on...Such a town-planning was unknown in contemporary West Asia." - B.B. Lal

The Indus Valley Civilization  site of Kalibangan is situated on the southern bank of the Ghaggar (Sarswati) river in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. Here we find evidence of the world’s first furrowed field. Traces of pre-Harappan culture have also been found.  The excavations at Kalibangan were conducted by BB Lal and BK Thapar from 1961-69.  

Fire worship was prevalent in Kalibangan where rows of distinctive fire alters with the provision of ritual bathing have been found. 

Like other Indus Valley towns Kalibangan was divided into two parts, fortified town and a lower town. The lower town at Kalibagnan was also fortified. 

Desiccation of Ghaggar

The decline of Kalibangan is attributed to the drying of the river Ghaggar (Sarsvati). The inhabitatnts of Kalibangan seem to have deserted the settlement around 1700 B.C. Unlike the other major Indus Valley Civilization cities located on the Indus river, Kalibangan was located on a different river. 

Thyagaraja: The Greatest Saint-composer of Carnatic Music

Thyagaraja is considered the greatest saint-composer of Carnatic music.  He was a Telugu who was born and brought up in present-day Tamil Nadu. 

He worshipped God in the form of Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu and Hero of Valmiki’s Ramayana.

Thyagaraja was born in Thiruvarur in Tanjore District of Tamil Nadu in 1767. 

Konark Sun Temple: Symbol of India

Built in the 13th century, the Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Known worldwide for its architectural grandeur, the temple was built by Eastern Ganga ruler Narasimha I. Eastern Ganga dynasty was a kingdom in India, ruling over an area corresponding to present day Odisha, the coastal plain between the Ganga and the Godavari.

The majestic Sun Temple at Konark is a symbol of India. Formerly called the Black Pagoda, this magnificent temple has been designed as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God. 

Eastern Gangas were great temple builders. The temples built by them survive to be awe-inspiring spectacles for the people who throng to them. 

Chief among them are Jagannatha temple of Puri and the Sun Temple (also known as Black Pagoda) at Konark. The dynasty is called Eastern Gangas to differentiate them from Western Gangas, a separate dynasty, ruling in Mysore. 

x

Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh

Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh is the finest Gupta temple that has come down to us in a relatively good state of preservation. 

The temple is known for the carvings depicting Hindu Gods and mythological figures.  It is known as the earliest example of Panchayatana style of temple. 

Dashavatara Temple was discovered by Captain Charles Strahan and was named so by Alexander Cunningham. It depicts the 10 avatara of Vishnu. 

Disappearance of Harappan Civilisation

The disappearance of the Harrapan Civilisation, also known as Indus Valley Civilisation, is still shrouded in mystery. Leading explanations include warfare with the Aryans, a nomadic, Indo-European tribe.  

While some say that frequent regular flood could have contributed to the civilisation’s collapse, another school of thought is of the opinion that an earthquake might be the real culprit.

According to one theory by British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, the Indus River Valley civilization was overthrown by the Aryans.  An Indo-Aryan Migration theory has found currency amongst various scholars who believe that the Harappan culture was assimilated during a widesperead migratorty movements of the Aryan people into northwest India.

Though it is still not known whether it was the Aryan invasion, natural catastrophes, or something else that destroyed the Harrapan culture, but whatever it was, the end of the Harrapan civilisation was the end of a glorious chapter in the Indian History as well the world.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

You will be confronted by a symbol of Hindu India in the spiritually important Vishwanath Temple, the number-one attraction of Varanasi that draws hordes of pilgrims daily. The temple is one of the Dwadasa Jyotirlinga shrines or the 12 shrines enshrining Shiva in the form of a Jyotirlingam in the country.

Built in 1776 Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, the wonderful Vishwanath Temple is a big attraction in Varanasi. This sacred Hindu shrine attracts pilgrims from all over the world who come here to offer their prayers to Lord Siva, one of the Hindu Trinity of Gods. One of the 12 jyotirlinga sites, Vishwanath Temple is a pilgrimage site that every Hindu cherishes to visit. 

In 1839, two domes of the Temple were covered by gold, donated by the great Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.

BRICS Expansion

The five-member BRICS have invited six more nations to join the alliance on Thursday (August 24),

The group owes its name to the initials of its five member states. They are Brazil, Russia, India, C hina, and South Africa. In its recent 15th summit at Johannesburg in South Africa, BRICS has invited Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Their membership will begin in January.

Approximately two dozen countries had formally applied to join the group, but there had to be consensus among its existing five members for candidate countries to be admitted.

BRICS currently represents around 40% of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the world’s GDP.

With the additions, it will represent almost half the world’s population, and will include three of the world’s biggest oil producers, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.

The formation of BRICS in 2009 was driven by the idea that the four emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, and China would be the future economic powerhouses of the world. South Africa was added a year later.

Jamat Khana Masjid : One of Delhi’s Early Mosques

Jamaat Khana Masjid, Nizamuddin Dargah, Delhi / Image Credit

 

Jamat Khana Masjid in the Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah complex in Delhi is said to be built by Khizr Khan, eldest son of Khilji Sultan Sultan Alauddin Khilji. Also known as Khilji mosque, this 14th century mosque is a living mosque still in use for prayers.

History MCQs – Set 10 - Modern India

Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut, May 20, 1498

Q.1. Renowned Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in  _____.

(a) 1490

(b) 1492

(c) 1496

(d) 1498

Q.2. To whom the statement “The soul of India lives in villages” has been attributed?

(a) Mahatma Gandhi

(b) Vinoba Bhave

(c) Gopalakrishna Gokhale

(d)     Lala Lajpat Rai

Q.3. Who was the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi?

(a) Gopal Krishna Gokhale

(b) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(c) Dadabhai Naoroji

(d) Pherozeshah Mehta

Q.4. The first Governor-General of Bengal was________.

(a) Warren Hastings

(b) Robert Clive

(c) Canning

(d) William Bentinck

Q.5. The last Governor-General and the first Viceroy of India under the British crown was

(a) Lord Canning

(b) Warren Hastings

(c) William Bentinck

(d) Lord Dalhousie

Q.6. On what pretext, Lord Dalhousie annexed the state of Oudh to the British Empire in India?

(a) Doctrine of Lapse

(b) Policy of Subsidiary Alliance

(c) Maladministation of the State

(d) Financial instability

Q.7. Who among the following abolished the Sati System in 1829 A.D. 

(a) Lord Curzon

(b) Lord Wellesley

(c) Lord Lytton

(d) Lord William Bentinck

Q. 8. Who led the revolt from Lucknow against the British during the mutiny of 1857?

(a) Begum Hazrat Mahal

(b) Kunwar Singh

(c) Tantia Tope

(d) Nana Saheb

Q.9. The first session of Indian National Congress was held at ________

(a) Calcutta

(b) Bombay

(c) Delhi

(d) Allahabad 

Q.10. The Bhoodan Movement was launched by

(a) Baba Amte

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(c) Vinoba Bhave

(d) Rammanohar Lohia 

Answers

1-d

Notes:On 24th December, 1524, Vasco da Gama died in Cochin (now Kochi), a major port in India.

2- a

Notes:Gandhiji had said that the soul of India resides in its villages.

3- a

Notes: Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Gokhale had described Jinnah as "an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity". Once Jinnah had expressed the desire to become "the Muslim Gokhale".

4- Warren Hastings

Notes:Due to the passing of Regulating Act 1773, the position of “Governor of Bengal” got converted into that of "Governor-General of Bengal". 

Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal.

By Charter Act of 1833, the post name of Governor-General of Bengal again converted into "Governor-General of India" 

First Governor-General of India was William Bentinck.

When the rule of the East India Company came to an end and authority passed to the British crown, Canning, the first governor-general of the imperial government, received also the title of viceroy.

5-a

Notes:Due to the passing of Regulating Act 1773, the position of “Governor of Bengal” got converted into that of "Governor-General of Bengal". 

Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal.

By Charter Act of 1833, the post name of Governor-General of Bengal again converted into "Governor-General of India" 

First Governor-General of British ruled India was William Bentinck.

When the rule of the East India Company came to an end and authority passed to the British crown, Canning, the first governor-general of the imperial government, received also the title of viceroy.

6-a

Notes:Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in 1848. This law banned an Indian prince without a natural heir from adopting a successor. Oudh was annexed to the British Empire in India in 1856.

7-d

Notes:The Bengal Sati Regulation which banned the Sati practice in all jurisdictions of British India was passed on December 4, 1829 by the then Governor-General of the British-ruled India Lord William Bentinck who also happened to be the first governor general. 

8-a

Notes:Begum Hazrat Mahal was one of the important leaders of the Revolt of 1857 which shook the very foundation of the British rule in India. 

She refused to accept the pension offered by the British and chose to die unknown in alien country in 1879. She is buried in a grave in Kathmandu. 

9-b

Notes:The first session of Indian National Congress was held at Mumbai in 1885 from 28 to 31 December. It was attended by 72 delegates. The first president of the Indian National Congress was Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee and the first General Secretary was A O Hume.

10-c

Notes:The Bhoodan Movement (Land Gift movement) was launched by freedom fighter and Gandhi disciple Vinoba Bhave. The Bhoodan movement was a voluntary land reform movement in India persuading rich people to give up a part of their land which could then be distributed among the landless poor.

History MCQs – Set 9 - Modern India

Q.1. Who passed the Indian Universities Act?

(a) Lord Dufferin

(b) Lord Curzon

(c) Lord Minto

(d) Lord Hardinge

Q.2. Who among the following is the founder of the “Azad Hind Fauj”?

(a) Ras Behari Bose

(b) Bhagat Singh

(c) Motilal Nehru

(d) Lala Har Dayal

Q.3. Who is known as the “Father of Indian Unrest”?

(a) Lala Lajpat Rai

(b) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(c) Aurobindo Ghosh

(d) Bipin Chandra pal

Q.4. Who were the first to discover the sea route to India?

(a) Portugal

(b) Dutch

(c) French

(d) Danes 

Q.5. The concept of Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution) was advocated by____. 

(a) Acharya Vinoba Bhave

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(c) Lokmanya tilak

(d) Jai Prakash Narayan

Q.6. When did the British Government set up Sadler University Commission for reforms in education?

(a) 1917

(b) 1919

(c) 1921

(d) 1918

Q.7. Which one of the following places was associated with Acharya Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan Movement at the beginning of the movement?

(a) Udaygiri

(b) Rapur 

(c) Pochampalli

(d) Venkatagiri

Q.8. Who among the following wrote the poem Subh-e-Azadi ( Dawn of Freedom)?

(a) Sahir Ludhiyanvi

(b) Faiz Ahmed Faiz

(c) Muhammad Iqbal

(d) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Q. 9. During the Viceroyalty of which of the following did White Mutiny take place?

(a) Lord Curzon

(b) Lord Minto

(c) Lord Ripon

(d) Lord Hardinge 

Q. 10. Vernacular Press Act was repealed by_________________. 

(a) Lord Dufferin

(b) Lord Ripon

(c) Lord Lytton 

(d) Lord Hardinge

Answers 

1 - b

Notes:The Indian Universities Act 1904 was introduced by Lord Curzon to improve the condition of university education in India. 

2 - a

3 - b

Notes: Tilak was called "Father of Indian unrest" by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol, a British journalist. 

4 - a

Notes: Portugal was the first European power to establish factories and trading settlements in India in the early 16th century. Portuguese were followed by Dutch, British, Danes and French.

Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese traveller, was the first to discover the sea route to India. 

5 - d

Notes:Popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak, Jayaprakash Narayan was an Indian political leader and theorist. He had led the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for whose overthrow he had called for a Sampoorna Kranti (total revolution). 

In 1999, Jayaprakash Narayan was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social service. 

6 - a

Notes: The Sadler Commission was a commission appointed by the British government in 1917 to inquire into the conditions and prospects of the University of Calcutta.

7 - c

Notes: The Bhoodan movement (Land Gift movement) was a voluntary land reform movement in India, initiated by Gandhian Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana).

8 - b

Notes: Subh-e-Azadi  is an Urdu language poem by a Pakistani poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz written in 1947. In the poem Faiz expresses disappointment and anguish of the Partition of India after the British rule came to an end in the Indian subcontinent. 

9 - c

Notes: Ilbert Bill was bill introduced in 1883 that sought to allow senior Indian magistrates to preside over cases involving British subjects in India. 

The introduction of the bill on 9 February 1883 during the Viceroyalty of Ripon led to intense opposition in Britain and from Britons living in India, creating a racially motivated movement that has been termed the White Mutiny. 

10 - b

Notes: Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 during the viceroyalty of Lord Lytton to curtail the freedom of the Indian-language press. Vernacular Press Act was also known also as the Gagging Act. The law was repealed in 1881 by Lytton’s successor as viceroy, Lord Ripon. 

History MCQs – Set 8 - Modern India

 Q.1. Mahatma Gandhi started his famous Salt March from his Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to.

(a) Dandi 

(b) Kheda

(c) Kuttch

(d) Somnath

Q.2. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?

(a) Warren Hastings-The Battle of Buxar 

(b) Lord Cornwallis-The Permanent Settlement of Bengal

(c) Lord Wellesley-The Prohibition of Sati

(d) Lord Dalhousie-Local Self- government

Q.3. Which one of the following is NOT correctly matched?

(a) Mohammad Ali Jinnah-Khilafat Movement

(b) Gopal Krishna Gokhle-Servants of India Society

(c) Syed Ahmed Khan-Mohammadam Anglo Oriental Defence Association

(d) Moti Lal Nehru-Nehru Report

Q.4. Who among the following was associated with the newspaper 'The Commonweal'?

(a) John Bright

(b) Raja Rammohan Roy 

(c) William Wedderburn

(d) Annie Besant

Q.5. Which of the following is the writer of Geeta Rahasya ?

(a) Mahatma Gandhi

(b) Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak

(c) Gopal Krishna Gokhle

(d) Aurobindo Ghosh

Q.6. Who was the founder of the 'Asiatic Society of Bengal'?

(a) Henry Thomas Colebrooke

(b) William Jones

(c) Charles Wilkins

(d) Nathaniel Brassey Halhed

Q.7. Which one of the following was an emigre communist journal of M.N. Roy? 

(a) The Worker

(b) Vanguard

(c) The Spark

(d) Anushilan

Q.8. Who among the following did not subscribe to Dadabhai Naoroji’s Drain Theory?

(a) M.G. Ranade

(b) B.G. Tilak

(c) R.C. Dutt

(d) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Q.9. Who was the founder of’ ‘Ghadar Party’?

(a) Madan Lal Dhingra

(b) Chandrashekhar Azad

(c) Lala Har Dayal

(d) Batukeshwar Dutt

Q.10.Socialism is essentially a movement of

(a) Intellectuals

(b) The poor people

(c) The middle classes

(d) The workers

Answers

1-a 

Notes: On 12 March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi started his famous salt march. This was a nearly 385 km march from his Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi, a coastal town in Gujarat. 

2-b 

Notes:The Permanent Settlement, also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal,  was introduced in 1793 under Lord Cornwallis as the Governor-General. 

3-a

Notes: Jinnah was opposed to non-cooperation movement (1920-22) started by Gandhi. 

4-d

Notes: In 1914 Annie Besant started the publication of the Commonweal and New India. These journals soon became her chief vehicle for propagating the beliefs of India’s freedom.

5-b

Notes:Shrimadh Bhagavad Gita Rahasya, commonly also known as Gita Rahasya, was written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a leading light of Indian freedom struggle. 

6-b

Notes: A celebrated orientalist William Jones was the president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal which he founded in 1784. 

7-b

Notes: M.N. Roy was the founder of the Mexican Communist Party and the Communist Party of India (Tashkent group). His own journal, the Vanguard, which was the organ of the emigre Communist Party of India, was first published in 1922. 

8-d

Notes: A critic of British economic policy in India, Naoroji is known for his enunciations of the Drain Theory in his long paper, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.

9-c

Notes:The Ghadar Movement was an effort by India expatriates to liberate India from colonial rule. Hardayal, Sohan Singh Bakhna and Pandit Kanshi Ram were among the  founders of the Ghadar Movement. 

10-d

Notes: Socialism is an idea that when a business does well the workers, not the owners, ought to receive the rewards. 

Socialism as an idea has been around since antiquities. Modern socialism originally acquired a concrete theory in 19th century originating from an intellectual and working class political movement that underscored the effects of industrialization and private property on society.

History MCQs – Set 7 - Modern India

 Q.1. “Only mad men outside lunatic asylums could think or talk of independence”. Who among the following had made this remark in the backdrop of nascent idea of Swarajya?

(a) Lord Hardinge

(b) Lord Curzon

(c) Gopal Krishan Gokhle

(d) Pheroz Shah Mehta 

Q.2. Who among the following was the only British king to visit India during the British Rule?  

(a) Edward VII

(b) George V

(c) James II

(d) Edward VI

Q.3. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood to protest which among the following?

(a) Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre 

(b) Partition of Bengal 

(c) Execution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev 

(d) Execution of Khudiram Bose

Q.4. Which one of the following Muslim leaders was not a part of the Non-cooperation movement started by Gandhiji?

(a) M.A.Jinnah

(b) M.A.Ansari

(c) Hakim Ajmal Khan

(d) Abul Kalam Azad

Q.5. Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on _______.

(a) 13 April 1919

(b) 13 April 1920

(c) 13 April 1921

(d) 13 April 1922

Q.6. Where did the Jalianwala Bagh massacre take place?

(a) Amritsar

(b) Lahore 

(c) Ludhiana

(d) Gujranwala

Q.7. The Non-Cooperation Movement was at its peak during the Viceroyalty of ___________.

(a) Lord Chelmsford

(b) Irwin

(c) Reading

(d) Hardinge 

Q.8. Which among the following is not written by Rabindra Nath Tagore ?

(a) Chitra

(b) Kapal Kundala

(c) Chandalika

(d) Chitrangada

Q.9. Which one of the following is not correctly matched?

(a) India wins Freedom-Surendra Nath Bannerjee

(b) Anand Math-Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

(c) Poverty and Un-British Rule in India-Dadabhai Naoroji

(d) Unhappy India-Lala Lajpat Rai

Q.10. Who is known as the father of the local self government in India?

(a) Lord Irwin

(b) Lord Ripon

(c) Lord Canning

(d) Lord Dufferin

Answers

1-c 

Ridiculing the idea of Swaraj in 1903, Gopal Krishna Gokhale had said "Only mad men outside lunatic asylums could think or talk of independence". 

2- b

George V is the only British king-emperor to travel to India. In 1911 during the Delhi durbar - or mass assembly George V was proclaimed Emperor of India.

3- a

Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest in protest for Jalianwalla Bagh mass killing that took place in Amritsar, Punjab 1919. He wrote a letter to Lord Chelmsford, the British viceroy, repudiating his Knighthood to protest the Jalianwalla Bagh mass killing.

To protest the massacre Mahatma Gandhi also gave up the title of Kaiser-i-Hind, bestowed by the British for his work during the Boer War.

4- a

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a vocal proponent of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) started by Gandhiji  and was actively involved in the  Non-cooperation Movement.. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was at the core of the political activities during the Non-Cooperation Movement (1921). 

Hakim Ajmal Khan was elected to the All India Khilafat Committee speareheain the Khilafat Movement that took place in concert non-cooperation movement

Jinnah was opposed to non-cooperation movement. 

5-a

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British colonial power under the command of General Dyer opened fire on thousands of people who had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh public gardens in Amritsar to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independence leaders of Amritsar, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.

On April 13, General Dyer opened fire on the public which had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar for the celebrations of Baisakhi Festival.

6-a 

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, when British troops opened fire on the public which had gathered to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independence leaders Barrister Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal.. 

7-c 

Lord Reading was the Viceroy of India during which the Non-cooperation Movement had reached its pinnacle and was abruptly withdrawn by Mahatma Gandhi in 1922.

8-b 

Kapalkundala is a Bengali romance novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who is also the writer of the National Song of India.

9-a 

India Wins Freedom was written by Maulana Azad, a prominent political leader of the Indian National Congress and was elected as the President of Indian National Congress President in 1923 and 1940.

Anandamath is a Bengali historical novel, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1882. It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 18th century. Vande Mataram, National Song of India,  was published in this novel.

A critic of British economic policy in India, Dadabhai Naoroji is known for his enunciations of the Drain Theory in his long paper, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.

Unhappy India is one of the works of Lala Lajpat Rai.

10-b 

Lord Ripon was known as the Father of Local self-government. He had introduced local self-governance in 1882. Lord Ripon's Resolution of 1882 is regarded as the "Magna Carta" of local self-government in India.