Mughal Empire Quiz

Q.1. Which of the following women authored the biography of Humayun during Mughal period? 

[A] Gulbadan Begum

[B] Jahanara Begum

[C] Zebun-nissah Begum

[D] Noorjahan Begum

Q.2. Who among the following Mughal emperors discontinued the practice of inscribing Islamic creed (Kalima) on coins? 

[A] Akbar

[B] Jahangir

[C] Shahjahan

[D] Aurangzeb

Q.3. Who among the following assumed the title of Islam Shah Suri?

[A] Jalal Khan

[B] Sikandar Shah Suri 

[C] Firuz Shah Suri

[D] Sher Shah Suri

Q.4. Who had introduced Ain-i-Dahsala system of land revenue assessment during the reign of Akbar?

[A] Raja Todar Mal

[B] Birbal

[C] Raja Man Singh

[D] Murshid Quili Khan

Q.5. Who among the following accepted Din-i-Ilahi?

[A] Raja Man Singh

[B] Birbal

[C] Raja Tansen

[D] Raja Todarmal

Answer: 

Q.1 (A) 

Ahval-i-Humayun Badshah or Humayun-Nama was written by Babur's daughter and Humayun’s half- sister, Gulbadan Begam, who stayed with Akbar, son and successor of Humayun, from 1556 to 1603 at Agra.  

Written at the instance of Akbar, Humayun-Nama, which contains Gulbadan’s personal reminiscences of her father and brother, was composed between 1580 and 1590 A. D.

Humayun-Nama was translated into English by Mrs. Beveridge.

Q.2 [D] 

Kalima is a sacred Islamic expression of faith .  

Q.3 [A]

After the death of Sher Shah Suri in 1545, he was succeeded on the throne by his second son Jalal Khan on 25th May 1545 AD. Jalal Khan ascended the throne with the title of Islam Shah though he is more popularly known as Salim Shah.  

Q.4 [A]

Raja Todar Mal had introduced the new system of revenue known as ‘zabt’ and the system of taxation called ‘dahshala’. 

Q.5 [B]

In 1582, the Mughal emperor Akbar created an order known as Din-I-Ilahi ("the religion of God") .

Today in Indian History (24th April)

Birth of Suraj Mahal, the ruler of the Rathore kingdom of Marwar, on 24 April in 1571. He was the brother of Jagat Gosain, the consort of Mughal emperor Jahangir. Jagat Gosain was the mother of Shah Jahan, the successor of Jahangir. 

Tabaqat-i-Akbari of Nizamuddin Ahmad

Khwajah Nizamuddin Ahmad was a medieval writer who has written Tabaqat-i-Akbari, dealing with the event from early Muslim invasions to the 38th year of the reign of Akbar (1593-4). He held the military title of Mir Bakhshi during Akbar's region.

Tabaqat-i-Akbari was translated into English by Dr.Brajendranath De (1852-1932). 

Udupi

Some 60km from Mangalore in Karnataka is the Vaishnavite pilgrimage town of Udupi, a sanctum of Madhvacharya, founder of Dvaita school of philosophy. A 13^th century Sanskrit philosopher, Madhvacharya called his philosophy Tattvavāda meaning "arguments from a realist viewpoint". He had authored several texts including Tantrasara Sangraha. 

Also known as Rajata Peetha (silver seat) and Shivalli, Udupi is famous for its Krishna Temple.

The main attraction at this temple is the 'Kanakana Kindi (Kanaka's window),' - a small window through which Krishna is believed to have given darshan to his ardent devotee, Kanakadasa, the sixteenth century Bhakti saint and philosopher. Kanakadasa belonged to Kuruba (shepherd) community.

Today In Indian History (19th April)

Execution of young Indian revolutionary Anant Laxman Kanhere on 19th April in 1910 by the British colonial government for shooting Nashik district collector Arthur Mason Tippetts Jackson on 21 December 1909.

Born on 7 January 1892 in a Chitpavan Brahmin family in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, Anant Laxman Kanhere or Anantrao was 18 years old when he was executed. 

B. R. Ambedkar's Birth Anniversary

Today is the birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar who was a leader of the depressed classes throughout his life. He worked for the moral and material progress of the 'untouchables'.

B. R. Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in Mhow (now officially known as Dr Ambedkar Nagar) in Madhya Pradesh. He belonged to the 'untouchable' Mahar caste.

Ambedkar was a great scholar who studied economics at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. 

In 1924 Ambedkar founded the Depressed Classes Institute (Bahishkrit Hitkarni Sabha) in Bombay. Three years later in 1927 he established the Samaj Samta Sangh to propagate the gospel of social equality between caste Hindus and worked for the uplift of the 'untouchables'.

In December 1927, he led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for the rights of the 'untouchables' to draw water from public wells and tanks.

In 1928 he organized temple entry movement named  Parvati temple satyagraha. He started Kalasam temple satyagraha during 1930 and 1935. 

In 1936, Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party for protecting the interest of the labour classes. That year he wrote seminal work Annihilation of Caste which strongly criticizes the caste system. 

In 1942 he founded Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community.

Ambedkar was one of the chief authors of the Indian Constitution which came into effect on January 26, 1950. He resigned from government in 1951. In 1956 he converted to Buddhism, and he died later that year.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Jallianwala Bagh / Amritsar

The infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British colonial power under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald 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. Passed in 1919, the Rowlatt Act was a repressive law passed by the British colonial government in India which gave the police sweeping powers to arrest and detain people without trial.

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.

1919 soldiers of the British Army in India had opened fire on the crowd in a walled public garden and killed over 1,000 of them. This became known variously as the Amritsar Massacre or the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The bloodbath was endorsed by Michael O’Dwyer who had called it “correct action”. Michael O’Dwyer was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1919 when Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place. 

On 13 March 1940, Udham Singh shot O’Dwyer at London's Caxton Hall where he was attending a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society. O’Dwyer was killed instantly.