Indian History

Thursday, June 29, 2023

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.

Saturday, June 17, 2023

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

(d) 1498

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

(a) Mahatma Gandhi

(b) Vinoba Bhave

(d) Lala Lajpat Rai

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

(a) Gopal Krishna Gokhale

(b) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(d) Pherozeshah Mehta

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

(a) Warren Hastings

(b) Robert Clive

(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

(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

(d) Financial instability

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

(a) Lord Curzon

(b) Lord Wellesley

(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

(d) Nana Saheb

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

(a) Calcutta

(b) Bombay

(d) Allahabad

Q.10. The Bhoodan Movement was launched by

(a) Baba Amte

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(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

(d) Lord Hardinge

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

(a) Ras Behari Bose

(b) Bhagat Singh

(d) Lala Har Dayal

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

(a) Lala Lajpat Rai

(b) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

(d) Bipin Chandra pal

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

(a) Portugal

(b) Dutch

(d) Danes

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

(a) Acharya Vinoba Bhave

(b) Mahatma Gandhi

(d) Jai Prakash Narayan

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

(a) 1917

(b) 1919

(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

(d) Venkatagiri

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

(a) Sahir Ludhiyanvi

(b) Faiz Ahmed Faiz

(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

(d) Lord Hardinge

Q. 10. Vernacular Press Act was repealed by_________________.

(a) Lord Dufferin

(b) Lord Ripon

(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.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

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

(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

(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

(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

(d) Annie Besant

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

(a) Mahatma Gandhi

(b) Bal Ganga Dhar Tilak

(d) Aurobindo Ghosh

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

(a) Henry Thomas Colebrooke

(b) William Jones

(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

(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

(d) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

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

(a) Madan Lal Dhingra

(b) Chandrashekhar Azad

(d) Batukeshwar Dutt

Q.10.Socialism is essentially a movement of

(a) Intellectuals

(b) The poor people

(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

(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

(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

(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

(d) Abul Kalam Azad

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

(a) 13 April 1919

(b) 13 April 1920

(d) 13 April 1922

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

(a) Amritsar

(b) Lahore

(d) Gujranwala

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

(a) Lord Chelmsford

(b) Irwin

(d) Hardinge

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

(a) Chitra

(b) Kapal Kundala

(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

(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

(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.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Shivaji: Founder of the Great Maratha Empire

One of the most famous figures of Indian history, Shivaji was the founder of the Maratha kingdom. The rise of Marathas is considered to be a revival of Hinduism in the seventeenth century. A brilliant leader, Shivaji was a just ruler and a statesman of consummate craft. He always respected the religion of his adversaries.

Belonging to the Bhonsle clan, Shivaji was born in the hill-fort of Shivneri near Junnar (in the Pune district of Maharashtra) in 1630. According to one school of thought, he was born in 1627. His grandfather Maloji was employed with the Nizam Shahi rulers of Ahmednagar. Shahji, eldest son of Maloji and father of Shivaji, was initially in the service of the Ahmednagar kingdom as a trooper in the army.

Shahji was married to Jijabai, daughter of a noble in the service of Nizam Shahi Kingdom. Jijabai, who was a virtuous lady and had a profound impact on Shivaji, was the daughter of Lakhuji Jadav Rao, who claimed descent from the Yadavas of Devagiri.

Shahji was soon able to earn fame and occupied a place where he could play an important role in the political and military affairs of Nizam Shahi kingdom. He fought against the Mughals in 1336, the year Ahmednagar was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor. Shahji then entered the service of the Adil Shahi rulers of the Bijapur kingdom. Shahji moved to his new jagir with his second wife after entrusting his paternal jagir of Poona and the care of his young son Shivaji and his mother Jijabai to an able Brahmana, Dadaji Khonddev who was earlier employed in the service of the Adil Shahi rulers.

Shivaji directed his early military campaign against the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. He was wise enough not to offend the Mughals now as it would not be a viable proposition to fight on two fronts given his military strength at that time. In 1653 Shivaji captured Kalyan, an important and wealthy Adil Shahi city on the west coast. From 1657 to 1660, Shivaji became successful in plundering several territories belonging to the Bijapur kingdom. This earned the ire of the Adil Shahi ruler. Ali Adil Shah sent in 1659, Afzal Khan, one of the foremost nobles and generals of Adil Shahi, to bring Shivaji back to Bijapur dead or alive. In order to apprehend Shivaji, Afzal Khan proposed a meeting with Shivaji, promising him pardon and grant of territory. In the meeting that ensued Afzal Khan tried to attack Shivaji with a dagger while embracing him. But wily Shivaji was able to kill Afzal with gloves with steel claws (bahgh nakh).

Meanwhile when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb heard of Shivaji’s depredation, he deputed his maternal uncle Shayista Khan to the Deccan to crush the Maratha. Early in 1660, a joint attack by the Mughals and Adil Shahis was launched against Shivaji, who being a skillful strategist, embarked on a surprise attack at the well-guarded mansion of Shayista Khan in Poona in 1663. In the scuffle Shaista Khan lost his thumb and his son, Abul Fath, was killed. This incident served a body-blow to the Mughal prestige in the Deccan. Aurangzeb recalled Shayista Khan (Shaista Khan) and appointed his own son Shah Alam as Viceroy of the Deccan.

In the following year (1664) Shivaji sacked Surat, the richest port on the west, facing no opposition from the Mughal troops. Thus Shivaji continued to annoy Aurangzeb.

In 1665, Mirza Raja Jai Singh of Amber, Aurangzeb’s Hindu general, and Dilir Khan were entrusted by Aurangzeb with the task of suppressing Shivaji. Jai Singh was able to tactfully put Shivaji in the dock and concluded a treaty with him, known as the treaty of Purandar (1665). Under the terms of the treaty, Shivaji was allowed to retain 12 of his forts, including Raigarh while ceding 23 of his forts to the Mughals.

After the treaty of Purandar, Shivaji visited the Mughal court at Agra. He was humiliated by Aurangzeb there. His great escape from the Mughal court is a famous fact of history.

After returning to the Deccan in 1666 Shivaji for three years shied away from military campaigns and devoted his time reorganizing his internal administration. On the other hand, Shah Alam, the Mughal viceroy in the Deccan, also adopted a conciliatory policy and Aurangzeb granted Shivaji the title of ‘raja’ and his son Shambaji was granted a mansab and jagir in Berar. However, hostilities once again started when Aurangzeb attacked a part of the jagir in Berar. Shivaji sacked Surat for the second time in 1670. He was able to recover almost all the forts ceded to the Mughals.

Shivaji was at his zenith of power and on the 16th June, 1674, he arranged his grand coronation at Raigarh with great pomp and splendour, and assumed the title of Chhatrapati (Lord of the Umbrella, or king of kings). He also introduced a new era of his own, starting from his coronation.

Shivaji died a premature death at the age of fifty-three (or fifty, according to some) on the 14th April, 1680.

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Vaishali, Buddhist Pilgrimage Destination

Vaishali in Bihar attracts pilgrims who come here for a brush with divine. The Buddha passed through Vaishali on his last journey and spent the last rainy season (Vassa) of life here. Vaishali played host to the Second Buddhist Council which was held 100 years after Buddha’s death. It was at this council that Buddhism was divided into Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas.

During Buddha’s time Vaishali was the capital of the tribal confederation of Vijjis. One of the six chief cities of India at that period, Vaishali was annexed by Magadhan ruler Ajatashatru, son of Bimbisara. Its prosperity has been vividly described in Lalitavistara, one of the earliest texts on Mahayana Buddhism.

Hailed as the world's first republic, Vaishali is also known for its association with Ambapali, the beautiful courtesan, who is famous in the Buddhist legend. Her invitation for dinner was accepted by the Buddha. One of the most beautiful poems of the Pali canon is attributed to Ambapali who later became a Buddhist nun.

Places of interest in Vaishali

Buddha Stupa-I

The mortal remains of the Buddha are enshrined in this 5th century AD stupa. A stupa is a mound commemorating the Buddha’s death. The exterior of the stupa is now in ruins.

Ashokan Pillar

A trip to Vaishali is incomplete without having a glimpse of the Ashokan Pillar at Kolhua. Built by the greatest Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC, the 18.3 m high pillar is a fine specimen of the Indian architecture and art in ancient times.

Vishwa Shanti Stupa

The Vishwa Shanti Stupa or World Peace Pagoda is the latest addition to the Buddhist monuments in Vaishali. Built by the Nipponzan Myohoji sect of Japan, the Stupa is located next to the Abhishek Pushkarini (Coronation Tank).

Best time to visit Vaishali

The best time to visit Vaishali is during its winter season, which lasts from December through February.

How to reach Vaishali

Air: Air: The nearest airport to Vaishali is at Patna that is connected by flights to major cities in India. Patna is 55 km from Vaishali.

Rail: Hajipur, 35 Km from Vaishali, is the nearest railhead that is well connected by rail with major places and cities in the country. From the Indian capital you can board Lichchavi Express, Sadhbhawna Express, Garib Nawaj Express, Vaishali Express, Shaheed Express which will take you to Hakipur from where you can find several means to travel to Vaishali.

Road: Vaishali is connected by daily bus services with several cities and places in Bihar including Patna.