Day-748 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: C
Explanation:
The Indus Valley Civilisation also known as the Harappan Civilisation or the Harappan Culture, is named after the site of Harappa, where for the first time this culture was discovered. This culture is understood and studied by scholars in three phases- early, mature and late phases.
The early Harappan phase was the formative and proto-urban phase of this culture. The above-mentioned sites are examples of the early Harappan phase.
● Their sequence from east to west are: Siswal (Haryana), Kot Diji (Sindh), Amri (Sindh) and Damb Sadaat (Balochistan)
Refer to the map given below:

Answer: C
Explanation:
● The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami.
● Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and pahi-kashta. The former were residents of the village in which they held their lands. The latter were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Ashoka’s Dhamma did not involve worship of a god, or worship of king, or performance of a sacrifice. He felt that just as a father tries to teach his children, he had a duty to instruct his subjects. He was also inspired by the teachings of the Buddha.
● The principles of Dhamma were so formulated as to be acceptable to people belonging to different communities and followers of any religious sect. Dhamma was not given any formal definition or structure. It emphasised on toleration and general behaviour. Dhamma stressed on dual toleration; it emphasised on toleration of people themselves and also toleration of their various beliefs and ideas. There is a stress on the notion of showing consideration towards slaves and servants; there is also stress on obedience to elders; generosity towards the needy, brahmanas and sramanas, etc. Ashoka also pleaded for tolerance of different religious sects in an attempt to create a sense of harmony.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● There were at least three different kinds of people living in most villages in the southern and northern parts of the subcontinent. In the Tamil region, large landowners were known as vellalar, ordinary ploughmen were known as uzhavar, and landless labourers, including slaves, were known as kadaisiyar and adimai.
● The Tamil terms mentioned above are found in Sangam literature.
● The Sangam literature is a collection of long and short poems composed by various poets in praise of numerous heroes and heroines. They are secular in nature and of a very high quality. Three such sangams were held. Poets, bards and writers, authors came from various parts of South India to Madurai. Such assemblies were called “Sangamas”, and the literature produced in these assemblies was called “Sangam literature”.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● Gajapati literally means lord of elephants. This was the name of a ruling lineage that was very powerful in Orissa in the fifteenth century.
● In the popular traditions of Vijayanagara, the Deccan Sultans were termed as ashvapati or lord of horses.
● The rayas (rulers of Vijaynagar) were called narapati or lord of men.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● The Maratha kingdom was a powerful regional kingdom to arise out of a sustained opposition to Mughal rule. Shivaji (1627–1680) carved out a stable kingdom with the support of powerful warrior families (deshmukhs). Groups of highly mobile, peasant pastoralists (kunbis) provided the backbone of the Maratha army. Shivaji used these forces to challenge the Mughals in the peninsula.
● After Shivaji’s death, effective power in the Maratha state was wielded by a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas who served Shivaji’s successors as Peshwa (or principal minister). Poona became the capital of the Maratha kingdom.

Answer: D
Explanation:
All the statements given above are incorrect.
● An agrahara was land granted to a Brahmana, who was usually exempted from paying land revenue and other dues to the King, and was often given the right to collect these dues from the local people.
● The earliest inscriptions recording royal land grants, as well as land grants associated with privileges and exemptions, are found at Naneghat and Nashik in the western Deccan. There was an increase in grants from the 4th century. From the 5th/6th century, Kings virtually all over the Indian subcontinent were making such gifts, the details of which were generally inscribed on copper plates.
● Villages granted to Brahmanas were known as agraharas, brahmadeyas, or shasanas. A more neutral term for a Brahmana village, and one that does not indicate whether or not it was the result of a royal endowment, is bhatta-grama. Although there are records of royal grants to other sorts of beneficiaries, including Buddhist and Jaina monasteries, Vaishnava and Shaiva temples, and a much smaller number of ‘secular grants’, until about the 10th century CE, the majority of royal land grants were made to Brahmanas.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Sovanika is a Prakrit term which refers to a goldsmith. The term was prevalent during the Gupta period.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● The Girnar inscription provides information about the construction of Sudarshana lake, an artificial reservoir. We know about it from a rock inscription (c. second century CE) in Sanskrit, composed to record the achievements of the Shaka ruler Rudradaman.
● The inscription mentions that the lake, with embankments and water channels, was built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas.
● Another inscription on the same rock (c. fifth century) mentions how one of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty got the lake repaired once again.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Samantas were not hereditary servants of Gupta rulers. Rather they were small landed magnets (small rajas) who were defeated by the Gupta rulers and were allowed to rule, when they accepted the overlordship of Gupta rulers and agreed to provide military support to Gupta rulers as when demanded. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● By the fourth century, there was emergence of larger states, including the Gupta Empire. Many of these depended on samantas, men who maintained themselves through local resources including control over land. They offered homage and provided military support to rulers. Hence, statements 2 and 3 are correct.

Answer: C
Explanation:
All the above given factors contributed to the success of Magadha over all the other Janapadas.
● Magadha enjoyed an advantageous geographical position in the age of iron, because the richest iron deposits were situated not far away from Rajgir, the earliest capital of Magadha. The ready availability of the rich iron ores in the neighbourhood enabled the Magadhan princes to equip themselves with effective weapons, which were not easily available to their rivals.
● The two capitals of Magadha, the first at Rajgir and the second at Pataliputra, were situated at very strategic points. Rajgir was surrounded by a group of five hills, and so it was rendered impregnable in those days when there were no easy means of storming citadels such as cannons which came to be invented much later. In the fifth century, the Magadhan princes shifted their capital from Rajgir to Pataliputra, which occupied a pivotal position commanding communications on all sides. Pataliputra was situated at the confluence of the Ganga, the Gandak and the Son, and a fourth river called the Sarayu joined the Ganga not far from Pataliputra. It was therefore a true water-fort (jaladurga), and it was not easy to capture this town in those days.
● The princes of Magadha also benefited from the rise of towns and use of coins. On account of trade and commerce in north-east India, the princes could levy tolls on the sale of commodities and accumulate wealth to pay and maintain their army.
● Magadha was inhabited by Kiratas and Magadhas who were held in low esteem by the orthodox brahmanas. But it underwent a happy racial admixture on account of the advent of the Vedic people. Since it was recently aryanized it showed more enthusiasm for expansion than the kingdoms which had been brought under the Vedic influence earlier.
On account of all these, Magadha succeeded in defeating the other kingdoms and in founding the first empire in India.

Answer: D
Explanation:
Archaeologists have identified common features associated with Megaliths. They are:
● The dead were buried with distinctive pots, which are called Black and Red Ware.
● Tools and Weapons of iron.
● Skeletons of horses.
● Horse equipment.
● Ornaments of stone and gold.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Most Ashokan inscriptions were in the Prakrit language while those in the northwest of the subcontinent were in Aramaic and Greek.
● Most Prakrit inscriptions were written in the Brahmi script; however, in the northwest, were written in Kharosthi.
● The Aramaic and Greek were not scripts but languages which were used for inscriptions in Afghanistan.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The administrative system of the Chola’s was one of the wonders of the time. It was a three-tier system. At the top was the imperial administration, provincial administration and village level administration.
● Settlements of peasants were known as Ur. Groups of such villages formed larger units called nadu. Each village had a village council to perform several administrative functions including dispensing justice and collecting taxes. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are incorrect.
● Rich peasants exercised considerable control over the affairs of the nadu under the supervision of the central Chola government. The Chola kings gave some rich landowners titles like muvendavelan (a velan or peasant serving three kings), araiyar (chief), etc., as markers of respect, and entrusted them with important offices of the state at the centre.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the Tomara Rajputs, who were defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans (also referred to as Chahamanas) of Ajmer. The transformation of Delhi into a capital that controlled vast areas of the subcontinent started with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning of the thirteenth century.
The correct chronological order is:
● Tomara- Chauhan- Khalji- Tughluq
Refer to the chart given below:

Answer: B
Explanation:
The Delhi Sultanate in order to maintain its administration and security, introduced the Iqtadari system. The Delhi Sultans appointed military commanders as governors of territories of varying sizes. These lands were called iqta and their holder was called iqtadar or muqti.
● The duty of the muqtis was to lead military campaigns and maintain law and order in their iqtas. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● In exchange for their military services, the muqtis collected the revenues of their assignments as salary. They also paid their soldiers from these revenues. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
● When the Delhi Sultans established themselves in a foreign land, there was a constant challenge from the indigenous rulers. In order to make the iqtadari system effective, a strict policy was followed. It was based on personal whims and wishes of the Sultans. It can be given and taken away any time and no rule of heredity existed. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● The Mughals were descendants of two great lineages of rulers. From their mother’s side they were descendants of Genghis Khan (died 1227), the Mongol ruler who ruled over parts of China and Central Asia. From their father’s side, they were the successors of Timur (died 1404), the ruler of Iran, Iraq and modern-day Turkey. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● In 1526 he defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat and captured Delhi and Agra. (First Battle of Panipat). Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● The Mughals did not believe in the rule of primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited his father’s estate. Instead they followed the Mughal and Timurid custom of coparcenary inheritance, or a division of the inheritance amongst all the sons. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● From Banawali in Haryana, terracotta models of plough have been found. Hence, this pair is correctly matched.
● From Kalibangan archaeologists have found evidence of ploughed fields, associated with early Harappan levels. The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting cropping of two different crops together. Hence, this pair is incorrectly matched.
● Most of the Harappan sites are located in semi-arid and arid regions which required the use of irrigation for agriculture. Traces of canals have been found at Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan. Hence, this pair is correctly matched.
● The evidence of Saddle quern has been found from Mohenjodaro for the purpose of grinding cereals. Hence, this pair is incorrectly matched.

Answer: B
Explanation:
There are many factors responsible for the migration of hunter-gatherers. They are:
● First: Staying at one place for a longer period would have depleted all the resources available at that place. They would have eaten all the plants and animal resources. This would force them to move from one place to another. So, scarcity of resources, not availability of resources would be the factor for migration.
● Second: Animals move from one place to another. Those who hunted them had to follow them and can be one of the causes of migration.
● Third: Plants and trees bear fruits in different seasons. So, people would have moved from season to season in search of different kinds of plants. Also, as some lakes and rivers are seasonal, people living in the banks would have to go in search of water during the dry seasons.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The earliest evidence for the farming communities comes from the Neolithic period. Out of the given sites, Daojali Hading located in the north Garo hills, Meghalaya is a Neolithic site providing evidence of early farming and herding communities.
Rest all are Palaeolithic sites in India. For more information refer to the map given below:
All the sites shown through the blue box provide evidence of early farming and herding.