Insights Prelims Revision 2017 Test – 35

Consider the following statements about the Harappan Civilization:

1. The Harappan seals which contained animal motifs and signs, most of them, were made of fine quality metals.

2. The evidences show that Rice was the main food grain consumed by the people.

Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?

Consider the following statements about Jainism:

1. Vardhamana, who came to be known as Mahavira, founded Jainism in the sixth century BCE.

2. According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma.

3. Jaina scholars produced a wealth of literature in a variety of languages including Tamil.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements about Purusha sukta:

1.Purushasukta is a hymn in the Yajur veda

2.The Brahmanas cited Purushasukta to justify their dominance and superiority in the society

Which of the above is/are correct?

Perhaps the most unique feature of the Harappan civilisation was the development of urban centres. Consider the following statements about Mohenjodaro, the most wellknown site:

1. The settlement is divided into two sections, one smaller but higher and the other much larger but lower.

2. The upper section (citadel) was walled but the lower section was not walled.

3. The bricks used for construction were either sun-dried or baked and were of a standardized ratio where the length, breadth and height were in the ratio 4:2:1 respectively.

Which of the above statement/s is/are correct?

Tamil Nadu witnessed some of the earliest Bhakti movements (c. sixth century) which were led by the Alvars and Nayanars. Consider the following in relation to the Bakti movements in the Tamil region:

1. Alvars were the devotees of Shiva while Nayanars were the devotees of Vishnu.

2. The Alvars and Nayanars protested against the caste system and the dominance of Brahmanas and attempted to reform the system.

3. The Tamil bhakti poets were opposed to Buddhism and Jainism.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Consider the following features of the urban settlements in India before the 20th century.

1. Money was raised for administering towns through the systematic annual collection of municipal taxes.

2. Surveys, gathering of statistical data, and publishing of various official reports was done regularly.

3. Towns dominated over the rural population, thriving on the surplus and taxes derived from agriculture.

Which of the above is/are the features were non-existant in the pre-colonial India?

An insight into the social, economic, cultural and political conditions of the past are provided by the descriptions and accounts of a number of travelers who visited the subcontinent. Consider the following statements about some of the travelers to India:

1. Al-Biruni who came from Uzbekistan in the eleventh century, called Rihla in Arabic.

2. Ibn Battuta who came from Morocco in the fourteenth century, wrote Kitab-ul-Hind in Arabic.

3. François Bernier came from France in the seventeenth century wrote accounts of what he saw, frequently comparing what he saw in India with the situation in Europe.

Which of the above is/are incorrect?

Consider the following statement regarding the agricultural technologies of the Harappan settlers:

1. Evidences suggest that different crops were grown together.

2. Oxen were not used for ploughing as the bull was not known to them.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements about Baba Guru Nanak:

1. Baba Guru Nanak did not believe in Hinduism and Islam and so he wished to establish a new religion, which he named as Sikhism

2. He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures.

3. He defined five symbols: uncut hair, a dagger, a pair of shorts, a comb and a steel bangle which need to be worn by his followers.

Which of the above is/are correct?

The Sufis were a group of religious minded people turned to asceticism and mysticism in protest against the growing materialism of the Caliphate as a religious and political institution. Which of the following about Sufism is incorrect?

Consider the following:

1. Most Ashokan inscriptions were in the Pali language while those in the northwest of the subcontinet were in Aramaic and Greek.

2. Most Ashokan inscriptions were written in the Brahmi script; however, some, in the northwest, were written in Kharosthi.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Arya Samaj was a North Indian Hindu reform organisation of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly active in the Punjab. Consider the following statements about Arya Samaj:

1. Arya Samaj was founded by M G Ranade in 1875.

2. It sought to revive Vedic learning and combine it with modern education in the sciences.

3. It regards the Vedas as infallible

4. Arya Samaj professed “Shuddhi” to bring back to the Hindu fold those who had recently converted to Islam.

Which of the above is/are incorrect?

Consider the following statements about the Sufi saints:

1. The Dargah of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya is located in Delhi.

2. The famous Dargah of Ajmer is the tomb of Shaikh Muinuddin Sijzi.

3. Both Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya and Shaikh Muinuddin Sijzi belong to the Chisti silsila.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Lord Dalhousie is one of the famous Governers-General in India. Consider the following statements about Dalhousie:

1. Lord Dalhousie’s policy of “refrain from annexations” creation affection towards him among the people.

2. Dalhousie was a progressive Governer-General, he was responsible for the introduction of post and telegraph system in India.

3. Dalhousie introduced many administrative as well as educational reforms during his period in office in India as the Governer-General.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Histories of the Gupta rulers have been reconstructed from literature, coins and inscriptions. Consider the following statements about the Gupta rule in India:

1. The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed by Banabhatta.

2. Banabhatta, was the court poet of Samudragupta.

3. The Prayaga Prashasti was composed in praise of SamudraGupta in Prakrit language.

Which of the above is/are incorrect?

Consider the following about the The Khilafat Movement, (1919-1920) :

1. The Khilafat Movement was a movement of Indian Muslims, led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.

2. It demanded that the Turkish Sultan or Khalifa must retain control over the Muslim sacred places in the erstwhile Ottoman Empire.

3. Mahatma Gandhi supported the movement but the congress didn’t support it.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements and choose the appropriate option:

1. Purusha sukta, describes the sacrifice of Purusha, the primeval man. It says that all the elements of the universe, were supposed to have emanated from his body.

2. Purusha sukta is a part of Rigveda.

3. The rule that Kshatriyas were supposed to engage in warfare, protect people and administer justice, study the Vedas, get sacrifices performed, and make gifts is given in the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras.

Which of the above is/are correct?

Subsidiary Alliance was a system devised by Lord Wellesley in 1798. Consider the following terms and conditions of the system:

1. The British would be responsible for protecting their ally from both the external as well as internal threats to their power.

2. The ally could not enter into agreements with other rulers or engage in warfare.

3. The British would assist the ally in maintaining an armed contingent.

Which of the above is/are incorrect?

Consider the following about Virashaivism in Karnataka:

1. Basavanna founded Virashaivism as a separate caste within Hinduism.

2. Virashaivism allowed widow remarriage.

3. Lingayats believe in rebirth after death. So they practise funerary rites such as cremation

Which of the above is/are correct?

Three Round Table Conferences held between 1930-32. Consider the following in this regard:

1. Mahatma Gandhi attended the first Round table conference.

2. He attended only one Round table conference out of the three Round table conferences held.

3. He opposed the separate electorates for the “Untouchables” in the Round table conference he attended.

Which of the above is/are correct ?