Vijayanagara, Bahmani, Marathas, Sikhs & Bengal: previous-year questions

Answer: (B) Alauddin Hussain Shah

Rupa and Sanatana were high officials of Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah of Bengal (1493-1519), founder of the Husain Shahi dynasty: Sanatana bore the title Sakar Mallik and Rupa was Dabir-i-Khas (private secretary). After meeting Sri Chaitanya at Ramkeli near Gaur (Malda) they gave up office and became leaders of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, who shaped Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. Husain Shah's reign is regarded as a golden age of the Bengal Sultanate, tolerant in religion and a patron of Bengali literature (the Mahabharata was rendered into Bengali under his officers Paragal Khan and Chhuti Khan). Ilyas Shah founded the Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1342), and his son Sikandar Shah built the Adina Mosque at Pandua.

Answer: (A) Sivaji and Jay Singh.

In 1665 Shivaji, besieged at Purandar, signed a treaty with Raja Jai Singh of Amber, Aurangzeb's commander, surrendering 23 forts. The 1776 Treaty of Purandar between the Company and the Marathas is a different treaty, and Tipu and Ranjit Singh signed no treaty at Purandar.

Answer: (A) 1761

The Third Battle of Panipat was fought on 14 January 1761 between the Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali, who won decisively. 1707 is the death of Aurangzeb, and 1740 and 1770 are unrelated.

Answer: (C) Guru Govind

Guru Gobind Singh (born at Patna in 1666, Guru from 1675 to 1708) was the tenth and last human Guru. He founded the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib on Baisakhi day in 1699, introduced the five Ks and, before his death at Nanded in 1708, declared the Guru Granth Sahib to be the eternal Guru. Of the other options, Guru Ram Das (4th) founded Amritsar, Guru Hargobind (6th) built the Akal Takht and adopted the miri-piri doctrine, and Guru Tegh Bahadur (9th), his father, was executed in Delhi on Aurangzeb's orders in 1675. Guru Nanak was the first Guru and Guru Arjan Dev (5th) compiled the Adi Granth.

Answer: (B) Siraj ud Daulah

Siraj-ud-Daulah was the son of Alivardi Khan's daughter Amina Begum and succeeded his grandfather as Nawab of Bengal in 1756. Shuja-ud-Daulah was the Nawab of Awadh who fought the British at Buxar in 1764. Sarfaraz Khan was the Nawab of Bengal whom Alivardi defeated and killed at the Battle of Giria in 1740 to seize power. Mir Qasim was Mir Jafar's son-in-law, who moved the capital to Munger and also fought at Buxar.

Answer: (B) Nusrat Shah

The Bara Sona Masjid at Gaur in Malda district, the largest monument of Gaur, was completed in 1526 by Sultan Nusrat Shah. Alauddin Husain Shah is the tempting option, as the mosque is said to have been begun in his reign; he is also remembered as a patron of Bengali literature in the time of Chaitanya. Shah Shuja, Shah Jahan's son, was the Mughal governor of Bengal who granted the English trading rights in 1651. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal, not this mosque.

Answer: (B) Zain ul Abedin

Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir (1420–1470), called Budshah (the great king), is known as the Akbar of Kashmir for his religious tolerance: he abolished the jizya and allowed Hindus who had left to return. Sikandar Shah of Kashmir, his father, was known as Butshikan (idol-breaker), the opposite of this reputation. Akbar himself was the Mughal emperor the title refers to, not the person who held it. Muhammad Shah 'Rangila' was the Mughal emperor during Nadir Shah's invasion of 1739.

Answer: (A) Harihara and Bukka

Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty founded the Vijayanagara kingdom in 1336 on the Tungabhadra, with Hampi as the capital. Allasani Peddana was a Telugu poet, one of the Ashtadiggajas at the court of Krishnadevaraya. Tiruvalluvar was the Tamil poet who wrote the Tirukkural. Malik Ambar was the Abyssinian minister of Ahmadnagar, famous for his guerrilla resistance to the Mughals and his land-revenue system.

Answer: (C) Ahmednagar

PSC's official answer is Ahmednagar. Chand Bibi, daughter of Hussain Nizam Shah I of Ahmednagar, is famous for defending Ahmednagar fort as regent against Akbar's Mughal army led by Prince Murad in 1595-96; she was killed in 1599-1600 and the fort fell. She was married to Ali Adil Shah I of Bijapur and had earlier acted as regent there too (1580-90), which is why Bijapur is a tempting option. The five Deccan Sultanates that grew out of the Bahmani kingdom: Ahmednagar (Nizam Shahi), Bijapur (Adil Shahi), Golkonda (Qutb Shahi), Berar (Imad Shahi) and Bidar (Barid Shahi).

Answer: (D) Alauddin Hussein Shah

Sri Chaitanya (1486-1534) preached Vaishnavism during the reign of Alauddin Hussain Shah (1494-1519), founder of the Hussain Shahi dynasty and the most celebrated Sultan of Bengal; his officers Rupa and Sanatana Goswami became Chaitanya's disciples. Nusrat Shah (1519-32) was his son and successor. Jalaluddin Fateh Shah was an earlier Ilyas Shahi ruler, and Hussain Shah Sharqi was the last Sultan of Jaunpur, not of Bengal.

Answer: (D) Krishnadeva Raya

Amuktamalyada, a Telugu epic poem on the Tamil Alvar saint Andal (Goda Devi) and Periyalvar, was written by Krishnadeva Raya (1509-29) of the Tuluva dynasty of Vijayanagara, himself styled 'Andhra Bhoja'; his court had the Ashtadiggajas (eight Telugu poets), including Allasani Peddana and Tenali Ramakrishna. Rajaraja Chola I built the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur; Harshavardhana wrote the Sanskrit plays Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarshika; Deva Raya I and II were earlier Sangama rulers of Vijayanagara.

Answer: (D) The Vijayanagara Empire

Under the Nayankara system of the Vijayanagara empire, military chiefs called nayakas (amaranayakas) were granted territories (amaram) in return for maintaining a fixed contingent of troops, paying tribute and attending court - comparable to the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate. Village administration ran on the Ayagar system of twelve hereditary functionaries. The Bahmani kingdom was divided into tarafs under tarafdars; the Cholas are known for village self-government (ur, sabha, nadu - the Uttaramerur inscriptions); the Marathas had the Ashtapradhan council and the chauth and sardeshmukhi levies.

Answer: (C) Horses

Since good war-horses could not be bred adequately in south India, horses were imported in large numbers (mainly via Arab traders) to supply the Vijayanagara cavalry.

Answer: (B) Shivaji

At his coronation at Raigad in 1674 Shivaji took the titles Chhatrapati, Haindava Dharmoddharak (protector of the Hindu faith), Gobrahmana Pratipalak and Kshatriya Kulavatamsa. His administration rested on the Ashtapradhan (council of eight ministers). Samarth Ramdas was Shivaji's spiritual guide; Peshwa Baji Rao I expanded Maratha power in the north (Palkhed, 1728), and Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Saheb) was Peshwa at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761).

Answer: (C) Guru Govind Singh

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, founded the Khalsa on Baisakhi day of 1699 at Anandpur Sahib by baptising the Panj Pyare and prescribing the five K's. Guru Nanak (born 1469 at Talwandi) founded Sikhism; Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, built the Akal Takht and adopted the idea of miri and piri; Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, was executed by Aurangzeb in 1675. Guru Arjan Dev compiled the Adi Granth and completed the Harmandir Sahib.

Answer: (A) Tegh Bahadur

Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed on Aurangzeb's orders in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islam. This is worth distinguishing from Guru Arjun Dev, who was executed earlier, under Emperor Jahangir, not Aurangzeb — a common point of confusion in this exact question type.

Answer: (C) Hampi.

Hampi (in modern Karnataka) was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Its magnificent ruins — temples, market streets, royal enclosures — are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bijapur and Golconda were capitals of the Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi Sultanates respectively.

Answer: (D) Nana Phadnavis

Nana Phadnavis (Nana Fadnavis), the shrewd Peshwa administrator, organised the Council of Barabhais ('Twelve Chiefs') after the death of Narayan Rao Peshwa in 1773. This council governed in the name of the infant Sawai Madhav Rao and represented the collective leadership of the Maratha confederacy.

Answer: (A) Sukerchakia misl.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh belonged to the Sukerchakia Misl, one of the twelve Sikh Misls (confederacies). He became its chief at age 12 in 1792 and expanded his territory to eventually found the Sikh Empire in 1799, capturing Lahore and unifying the Punjab.