14 questionswith explanationsfor RAS, Patwari, VDO and other Rajasthan exams
The name 'Mohenjo-daro', a major Harappan site, means in the Sindhi language:
Answer: (1) Mound of the Dead
Explanation
Mohenjo-daro ('Mound of the Dead'), in Larkana district of Sindh, was found by R. D. Banerji in 1922; its best-known structure is the Great Bath. 'Mound of the Granary' is wrong: the so-called granary is only one structure at the site.
Match List-I (dynasty) with List-II (royal emblem): List-I: A. Cheras B. Cholas C. Pandyas D. Chalukyas of Badami List-II: i. Tiger ii. Bow iii. Fish iv. Boar
Answer: (2) A-ii, B-i, C-iii, D-iv
Explanation
The Cheras used the bow, the Cholas the tiger and the Pandyas the fish (carp); the Chalukyas of Badami took the boar (Varaha). Swapping the Chola tiger with the Chera bow gives the commonest wrong match.
'Ratnavali', a Sanskrit play, was composed by which ruler of ancient India?
Answer: (1) Harshavardhana
Explanation
Harshavardhana of Kannauj wrote three Sanskrit plays: Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda. Shudraka is the author of Mrichchhakatika; Mahendravarman I wrote the farce Mattavilasa Prahasana.
Which Mauryan emperor bore the title 'Amitraghata' (slayer of enemies), the 'Amitrochates' of Greek writers?
Answer: (2) Bindusara
Explanation
Bindusara, son of Chandragupta Maurya and father of Ashoka, was called Amitrochates by Greek writers, from the Sanskrit title Amitraghata, 'slayer of enemies'; the Seleucid king Antiochus I sent the envoy Deimachus to his court. Ashoka called himself 'Devanampiya Piyadasi', and Brihadratha was the last Mauryan ruler.
The present Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi was built in 1780 by which Maratha queen?
Answer: (2) Ahilyabai Holkar
Explanation
Ahilyabai Holkar (ruled 1767-1795) governed the Holkar state of Malwa from Maheshwar and rebuilt the temple next to the site of the shrine destroyed in 1669; she also built ghats and temples across India. Tarabai led the Maratha fight against Aurangzeb after Rajaram's death in 1700, and Jijabai was Shivaji's mother.
In 1659 Shivaji killed which general of the Bijapur Sultanate during a meeting below Pratapgad fort?
Answer: (3) Afzal Khan
Explanation
Afzal Khan, sent by Adil Shah of Bijapur, was killed by Shivaji in November 1659. Shaista Khan was the Mughal governor of the Deccan whom Shivaji attacked in 1663, and Jai Singh negotiated the Treaty of Purandar (1665).
Which of the following was NOT a dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire?
Answer: (4) Hoysala
Explanation
Vijayanagara was ruled in turn by the Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu dynasties. The Hoysalas, who ruled from Dwarasamudra (Halebidu) in Karnataka, were an earlier dynasty that declined in the early 14th century.
Consider the following statements about the Battle of Buxar: 1. It was fought near the Ganga in present-day Bihar. 2. The Company's army was commanded by Robert Clive. 3. Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II fought together against the Company. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (2) 1 and 3 only
Explanation
Buxar (October 1764) was won by the Company under Hector Munro, not Clive, who was away in England and returned in 1765 as Governor. The allies were Mir Qasim of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II.
Who gave the call 'Delhi Chalo' to the soldiers of the Indian National Army at Singapore in July 1943?
Answer: (4) Subhas Chandra Bose
Explanation
Subhas Chandra Bose took charge of the Indian Independence League at Singapore on 4 July 1943 and, addressing the INA there, raised the war cry 'Delhi Chalo' for a march on British India. Rash Behari Bose, the strongest wrong option, had founded that League and handed the movement over to him; Captain Mohan Singh had raised the first INA in 1942, which broke up by the end of that year.
Who was the first Indian to hold the office of Governor-General of India (1948-50)?
Answer: (3) C. Rajagopalachari
Explanation
Rajagopalachari succeeded Lord Mountbatten on 21 June 1948 and was the last Governor-General; the office ended on 26 January 1950. Rajendra Prasad then became the first President.
Rani Chennamma, who led an armed revolt against the British in 1824, was the ruler of which state?
Answer: (4) Kittur
Explanation
Rani Chennamma of Kittur (in present-day Karnataka) resisted the British after they refused to recognise her adopted heir, defeated them at first in October 1824 and was later captured and died in prison in 1829. Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi fought in 1857.
Punjab was annexed to the British territories in 1849, after the Second Anglo-Sikh War, by:
Answer: (2) Lord Dalhousie
Explanation
Dalhousie (Governor-General 1848-56) annexed Punjab after the Battle of Gujrat (in Punjab, now in Pakistan; February 1849), the last major battle of the war; the young Maharaja Duleep Singh was pensioned off and the Koh-i-Noor was taken. Hardinge was Governor-General during the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46).
The Paika Rebellion of 1817 against the East India Company in Odisha was led by:
Answer: (1) Bakshi Jagabandhu
Explanation
Bakshi Jagabandhu, commander of the forces of the Raja of Khurda, led the Paikas (the traditional militia) after the Company took away their rent-free lands; the revolt was crushed by 1818. U Tirot Singh fought the British in the Khasi hills (1829-33), and Sidhu Murmu led the Santhal Hul of 1855.
Which of the following pairs (newspaper - person associated with it) is correctly matched?
Answer: (3) Bengal Gazette - J. A. Hicky
Explanation
James Augustus Hicky started the Bengal Gazette (Hicky's Bengal Gazette) at Calcutta in January 1780, India's first printed newspaper. Al-Hilal (1912) was Abul Kalam Azad's paper and Comrade (1911) Muhammad Ali Jauhar's, so those two pairs are swapped; Tilak ran Kesari and Mahratta, while Navajivan was edited by Gandhiji.