Day-738 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The popular subjects of Kangra painting were the Gita Govinda, Bhagwata Purana, Satsai of Biharilal and Nal Damayanti. Love scenes of Krishna were a very prominent theme. All the paintings had another worldly feel about them.
● Another very famous group of paintings is the ‘Twelve months’ where the artist tried to bring forth the effect of the 12 months on the emotions of human beings. This emotive style was popular till the 19th century. The Kangra school became the parent school to the other ateliers which developed in the region of Kullu, Chamba and Mandi.
● After the decline of the Mughal empire, many artists trained in the Mughal style migrated to the Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh as they got patronage from the Rajput Kingdom. It led to the birth of Guler-Kangra School of paintings. It first evolved in Guler then came to Kangra.
● This school reached its zenith under the patronage of Raja Sansar Chand. His paintings were marked with a sensuality and intelligence that the other schools lack.
Additional information:
KISHANGARH SCHOOL OF PAINTING (17th-18th Century AD)
● Paintings at Kishangarh are associated with the most romantic legends –Sawant Singh and his beloved Bani Thani, and intertwining of lives and myths, romance and bhakti. After surveying earlier developments in Kishangarh, the focus is on the interplay between Sawant Singh (the prince and lover), Nagari Das (the poet), and Nihal Chand (the painter) who created some of the most legendary paintings under this school.
● It is sometimes argued that the women in ‘bani thani’ are said to resemble the character of Radha. She has a distinctive profile and has lotus-like elongated eyes, thin lips and a pointed chin. Her ‘odhni’ or headgear defines her side profile. This became the unique painting associated with the Kishangarh School. They also made many paintings on the devotional and amorous relations between Radha and Krishna.
BUNDI SCHOOL OF PAINTING (17th–19th Century AD)
● The twin kingdoms of Bundi and Kota are collectively known as Hadoti. The sister States, formed by splitting the older Bundi kingdom between two brothers, have closely intertwined histories and artistic traditions.
● Most of the focus is on the art of Kota, the younger of the two kingdoms, and home to some remarkable art and some remarkably eccentric patrons.
● Bundi and Kota’s kings were devotees of Krishna and in the 18th century, they declared themselves to be mere regents, ruling on behalf of the god who was the true king (similar patterns of worship are seen in several other centres, including Udaipur and Jaipur). Their Krishna-bhakti plays a role in painting or perhaps painting plays a role in their Krishna bhakti.
Basholi School (from 17th century)
● Paintings of Pahari school in the 17th century were from Basholi of Jammu and Kashmir. They were Miniature Paintings. This was the early phase and expressive faces with a receding hairline and big eyes that are shaped like lotus petals characterised it.
● These paintings use a lot of primary colours, i.e. red, yellow and green. They used the Mughal technique of painting on clothing but developed their own styles and techniques. The first patron of this school was Raja Kirpal Pal who ordered the illustration of Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari, Gita Govinda and the Ramayana drawings.
● The most famous painter of this school was Devi Das who was famous for his depiction of Radha Krishna and the portrait of kings in their livery and in white garments. The use of contrasting colours is associated with this school and they are borrowed from the Malwa paintings.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement 1 is correct: Shah Jahan introduced Month-ratio or Month-scale system, a new scaling device under which the salaries of mansabdars were put on a month scale: ten months, eight months, six months or even less. The obligations of the mansabdars for maintaining a quota of sawars were brought down accordingly. The month-scale system was applied to both jagirs and those who were paid in cash.
Statement 2 is correct: It was noticed that the actual revenue collection (hasil) always fell short of the estimated income. In such a situation, the mansabdar’s salaries were fixed by a method called month-scale to bridge the gap between the estimated income and actual income (net realisation of revenue) of the mansabdar.
Additional information:
● Mughal emperor Akbar instituted the Mansabdari System as new administrative machinery and a revenue system.
● Mansabdari system was a grading system used by Mughal rulers to determine a Mansabdar’s rank and salary.
● They were nobles who held various positions in the Mughal Empire’s administration and the Mughal Emperor appointed and dismissed them.’
Mansabdari System – Nature
● The mansabdars were the imperial structure’s ruling section. Mansabdars were said to be the pillars of Mughal administration; in fact, the entire nobility belonged to mansabs; among them, one or more held a mansab.
● The Mansabdari system was nothing more than a noble or mansabdar system in which a mansabdar or noble was granted the rights to hold a jaguar, which meant revenue assignments (not the land itself) for services rendered.
● The authority bestowed upon them was not unbridled, but with direct control of these nobles in the hands of the king.

Answer: C
Explanation:
Ain-i-Akbari contains information on Akbar’s reign in the form of administrative reports. It is divided into five books (daftars), of which the first three books describe the administration.
● The first book, called manzil-abadi, concerns the imperial household and its maintenance.
● The second book, sipah-abadi, covers the military and civil administration and the establishment of servants. This book includes notices and short biographical sketches of imperial officials (mansabdars), learned men, poets and artists.
● The third book, mulk-abadi, is the one which deals with the fiscal side of the empire and provides rich quantitative information on revenue rates, followed by the “Account of the Twelve Provinces”. This section has detailed statistical information, which includes the geographic, topographic and economic profile of all subas and their administrative and fiscal divisions (sarkars, parganas and mahals), total measured area, and assessed revenue (jama).
● The fourth and fifth books (daftars) deal with the religious, literary and cultural traditions of the people of India and also contain a collection of Akbar’s “auspicious sayings”

Answer: D
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: It represents the late medieval (13th-19th century CE) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahom community in Assam. It enshrines the mortal remains of the members of the Ahom royalty, who used to be buried with their paraphernalia (items he needed for the “afterlife”), as well as servants, horses, livestock and even their wives. However, Unlike Hindus who cremate their dead, the predominant funerary method of the Ahoms, originating from the Tai people, was the burial.
Statement 2 is incorrect: A typical moidam at Charaideo contains one or more chambers in a vault. On top of these is a hemispherical earthen mound, rising high above the ground, covered in grass. On top of this mound, there is a pavilion, known as the chow chali. A low octagonal wall surrounds the mound with one entrance.

Statement 3 is correct: The height of a moidam is typically indicative of the power and stature of the person buried inside.
Additional information:
● Ahoms were one of India’s longest-reigning ruling dynasties. At their peak, their kingdom stretched from modern-day Bangladesh to deep inside Burma. Known to be able administrators and valiant warriors, the Ahom dynasty has enduring cultural appeal in Assam.
● The word Charaideo has been derived from three Tai Ahom words, Che-Rai-Doi. “Che” means city or town, “Rai” means “to shine” and “Doi” means hill. In short, Charaideo means, “a shining town situated on a hilltop.”
● While the Ahoms shifted capitals multiple times over their 600-year history, Charaideo is considered to be their first capital city established in 1253 AD by king Sukaphaa.
● Throughout the Ahom rule, it remained a symbolic and ritual centre of power, due to its salience in the dynasty’s founding. After Sukaphaa was laid to rest in Charaideo in 1856, subsequent royals also chose it as their own resting place.

Answer: B
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: The term ‘Sarvodaya’ was first coined in 1908 by Gandhi ji as the title of his translation of John Ruskin’s tract on political economy, “Unto This Last”. Sarvodaya is a term meaning ‘Universal Uplift’ or ‘Progress of All’.
Statement 2 is correct: He propounded trusteeship, a socio-economic philosophy which means wealthy people would be the trustees of trusts that looked after the welfare of the people in general.
Statement 3 is correct: He elucidated his ideas of swaraj in an essay published in Navjivan during Non-cooperation movement in twelve points. It calls for freedom for the weakest person in the society and provides for basic necessities of life for all and not as the prerogative of few.
Additional information:
Major Gandhian Ideologies
▪ Truth and nonviolence: They are the twin cardinal principles of Gandhian thoughts.
o For Gandhi ji, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth – the ultimate reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality – the moral laws and code – its basis.
o Nonviolence, far from meaning mere peacefulness or the absence of overt violence, is understood by Mahatma Gandhi to denote active love – the pole opposite of violence, in every sense. Nonviolence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.
▪ Satyagraha: Gandhi ji called his overall method of nonviolent action Satyagraha. It means the exercise of the purest soul-force against all injustice, oppression and exploitation.
o It is a method of securing rights by personal suffering and not inflicting injury on others.
o The origin of Satyagraha can be found in the Upanishads, and in the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira and a number of other greats including Tolstoy and Ruskin.
▪ Swaraj- Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhi ji gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life.
o For Gandhi ji, swaraj of people meant the sum total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals and so he clarified that for him swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his countrymen. And in its fullest sense, swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule, self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation.
▪ Trusteeship- Trusteeship is a socio-economic philosophy that was propounded by Gandhi ji.
o This principle reflects Gandhi ‘s spiritual development, which he owed partly to his deep involvement with and the study of theosophical literature and the Bhagavad Gita.
▪ Swadeshi The word swadeshi derives from Sanskrit and is a conjunction of two Sanskrit words. ‘Swa’ means self or own and ‘desh’ means country. So swadesh means one’s own country. Swadeshi, the adjectival form, means of one’s own country, but can be loosely translated in most contexts as self-sufficiency.
o Swadeshi is the focus on acting within and from one’s own community, both politically and economically.
o It is the interdependence of community and self-sufficiency.
o Gandhi ji believed this would lead to independence (swaraj), as British control of India was rooted in control of her indigenous industries. Swadeshi was the key to the independence of India, and was represented by the charkha or the spinning wheel, the “center of the solar system” of Mahatma Gandhi’s constructive program.