Insights Prelims Revision 2017 Test – 36

Solution: d)
At one level, colonialism simply means the establishment of rule by one country over
another. In the modern period western colonialism has had the greatest impact. Every policy
of the British was geared towards the strengthening and expansion of British capitalism. For
instance it changed the very laws of the land. It changed not just land ownership laws but
decided even what crops ought to be grown and what ought not to be.
It meddled with the manufacturing sector. It altered the way production and distribution of
goods took place. It entered into the forests. It cleared trees and started tea plantations. It
brought in Forest Acts that changed the lives of pastoralists. They were prevented from
entering many forests that had earlier provided valuable forage for their cattle.
Moreover, the Indian police was established to suppress popular revolts via the Indian
Police Act 1861 which is in force even till date.
On the positive front, the British rule also inculcated a spirit of rationality and scientific
temper in the masses by their education, literature etc

Solution: d)
Within India, social reformers from Punjab and Bengal exchanged ideas with reformers from Madras and Maharashtra. Keshav Chandra Sen of Bengal visited Madras in 1864. Pandita Ramabai travelled to different corners of the country. Some of them went to other countries. Modern social organisations like the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal and Arya Samaj in Punjab were set up. The All-India Muslim Ladies Conference (Anjuman-E-Khawatn-E-Islam) was founded in 1914. Indian reformers debated not just in public meetings but through public media like newspapers and journals. Translations of writings of social reformers from one Indian language to another took place.

Solution: c)
Even as India fought for its independence from British colonialism a vision of what Indian democracy ought to look like emerged. As far back as in 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a constitution for India. In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress dwelt on how independent India‟s constitution should look like. The Karachi Resolution reflects a vision of democracy that meant not just formal holding of elections but a substantive reworking of the Indian social structure in order to have a genuine democratic society.
The Karachi Resolution clearly spells out the vision of democracy that the nationalist movement in India had. It articulates the values that were further given full expression in the Indian Constitution.
Cabinet mission plan was about the post-independent political and territorial reorganization of India.

Solution: c)
Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Unlike most other members of his class, Ibn Battuta considered experience gained through
travels to be a more important source of knowledge than books. He just loved travelling,
and went to far-off places, exploring new worlds and peoples. Before he set off for India in
1332-33, he had made pilgrimage trips to Mecca, and had already travelled extensively in
Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman and a few trading ports on the coast of East Africa.

Travelling overland through Central Asia, Ibn Battuta reached Sind in 1333. He had heard
about Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Sultan of Delhi, and lured by his reputation as a
generous patron of arts and letters, set off for Delhi, passing through Multan and Uch. The
Sultan was impressed by his scholarship, and appointed him the qazi or judge of Delhi. He
remained in that position for several years, until he fell out of favour and was thrown into
prison. Once the misunderstanding between him and the Sultan was cleared, he was
restored to imperial service, and was ordered in 1342 to proceed to China as the Sultan‟s
envoy to the Mongol ruler.

Solution (d)

Once the Portuguese arrived in India in about 1500, a number of them wrote detailed
accounts regarding Indian social customs and religious practices. A few of them, such as the
Jesuit Roberto Nobili, even translated Indian texts into European languages. Among the best
known of the Portuguese writers is Duarte Barbosa, who wrote a detailed account of trade
and society in south India.
Later, after 1600, we find growing numbers of Dutch, English and French travellers coming
to India. One of the most famous was the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who
travelled to India at least six times. He was particularly fascinated with the trading
conditions in India, and compared India to Iran and the Ottoman empire. Some of these
travellers, like the Italian doctor Manucci, never returned to Europe, and settled down in
India.
François Bernier, a Frenchman, was a doctor, political philosopher and historian. Like many
others, he came to the Mughal Empire in search of opportunities. He was in India for twelve
years, from 1656 to 1668, and was closely associated with the Mughal court, as a physician to
Prince Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, and later as an intellectual and
scientist, with Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble at the Mughal court.

Solution: d)

About Madan Mohan Malviya
 He was born on December 25, 1861 and was an educationist and politician notable
for his role in India‟s freedom struggle. He was popularly known „Mahaman‟.
 He is founder of Asia‟s largest residential university – Banaras Hindu University.
 He was President of Indian National Congress in 1909 and 1918.
 He is also remembered for his stellar role in the Independence movement and his
espousal of Hindu nationalism.
 He is considered as one of the initial leaders of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha and
died in 1946.

Solution: c)
At a different level, historians of religion often classify bhakti traditions into two broad
categories: saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes). The former included
traditions that focused on the worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his
avatars (incarnations) and forms of the goddess or Devi, all often conceptualised in
anthropomorphic forms. Nirguna bhakti on the other hand was worship of an abstract form
of god.

Solution: c)
In 1565 Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagara, led the army into battle at RakshasiTangadi
(also known as Talikota), where his forces were routed by the combined armies of
Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda. The victorious armies sacked the city of Vijayanagara.
The city was totally abandoned within a few years. Now the focus of the empire shifted to
the east where the Aravidu dynasty ruled from Penukonda and later from Chandragiri (near
Tirupati).
Although the armies of the Sultans were responsible for the destruction of the city of
Vijayanagara, relations between the Sultans and the rayas were not always or inevitably
hostile, in spite of religious differences. Krishnadeva Raya, for example, supported some
claimants to power in the Sultanates and took pride in the title “establisher of the Yavana
kingdom”. Similarly, the Sultan of Bijapur intervened to resolve succession disputes in
Vijayanagara following the death of Krishnadeva Raya. In fact the Vijayanagara kings were
keen to ensure the stability of the Sultanates and vice versa. It was the adventurous policy of Rama Raya who tried to play off one Sultan against another that led the Sultans to combine
together and decisively defeat him.

Solution: d)
The Emperor Akbar classified the lands and fixed a different revenue to be paid by each.
Polaj is land which is annually cultivated for each crop in succession and is never allowed to
lie fallow. Parauti is land left out of cultivation for a time that it may recover its strength.
Chachar is land that has lain fallow for three or four years. Banjar is land uncultivated for
five years and more. Of the first two kinds of land, there are three classes, good, middling,
and bad. They add together the produce of each sort, and the third of this represents the
medium produce, one-third part of which is exacted as the Royal dues.

Solution: d)
The Harappan men and women decorated themselves with a large variety of ornaments
produced from every conceivable material ranging from precious metals and gemstones to
bone and baked clay. While necklaces, fillets, armlets and finger-rings were commonly worn
by both sexes.
From archaeological finds it appears that the people of the Indus Valley were conscious of
fashion. Different hairstyles were in vogue and wearing of a beard was popular among all.
Cinnabar was used as a cosmetic and facepaint, lipstick and collyrium (eyeliner) were also
known to them. Many stone structural remains are also found at Dholavira which show how
the Indus Valley people used stone in construction.

Solution: c)
India‘s policy of non-alignment was criticised on a number of counts. Here we may refer to
only two criticisms:
First, India‘s non-alignment was said to be ‗unprincipled‘. In the name of pursuing its
national interest, India, it was said, often refused to take a firm stand on crucial international
issues.
Second, it is suggested that India was inconsistent and took contradictory postures.
Having criticised others for joining alliances, India signed the Treaty of Friendship in
August 1971 with the USSR for 20 years. This was regarded, particularly by outside
observers, as virtually joining the Soviet alliance system. The Indian government‘s view was
that India needed diplomatic and possibly military support during the Bangladesh crisis and
that in any case the treaty did not stop India from having good relations with other countries
including the US.

Solution: d)
The Sri Lankan problem involves people of Indian origin, and there is considerable pressure
from the Tamil people in India to the effect that the Indian government should protect the
interests of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The government of India has from time to time tried to
negotiate with the Sri Lankan government on the Tamil question.
But in 1987, the government of India for the first time got directly involved in the Sri Lankan
Tamil question. India signed an accord with Sri Lanka and sent troops to stabilise relations
between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamils. Eventually, the Indian Army got into a
fight with the LTTE. The presence of Indian troops was also not liked much by the Sri
Lankans. They saw this as an attempt by India to interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka.

In 1989, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) pulled out of Sri Lanka without attaining its
objective.

Solution: d)
The rock-cut cave carved at Barabar hills near Gaya in Bihar is known as the Lomus Rishi
cave. The facade of the cave is decorated with the semicircular chaitya arch as the entrance.
The elephant frieze carved in high relief on the chaitya arch shows considerable movement.
The interior hall of this cave is rectangular with a circular chamber at the back. The entrance
is located on the side wall of the hall. The cave was patronised by Ashoka for the Ajivika
sect. The Lomus Rishi cave is an isolated example of this period. But many Buddhist caves of
the subsequent periods were excavated in eastern and western India

Solution: a)
The first century CE onwards, Gandhara (now in Pakistan), Mathura in northern India and Vengi in Andhra Pradesh emerged as important centres of art production. Buddha in the symbolic form got a human form in Mathura and Gandhara. The sculptural tradition in Gandhara had the confluence of Bactria, Parthia and the local Gandhara tradition. The local sculptural tradition at Mathura became so strong that the tradition spread to other parts of northern India. The best example in this regard is the stupa sculptures found at Sanghol in the Punjab.

Solution: c)
In introducing the Permanent Settlement, British officials hoped to resolve the problems
they had been facing since the conquest of Bengal. By the 1770s, the rural economy in Bengal
was in crisis, with recurrent famines and declining agricultural output. Officials felt that
agriculture, trade and the revenue resources of the state could all be developed by
encouraging investment in agriculture. This could be done by securing rights of property
and permanently fixing the rates of revenue demand. If the revenue demand of the state was

permanently fixed, then the Company could look forward to a regular flow of revenue,
while entrepreneurs could feel sure of earning a profit from their investment, since the state
would not siphon it off by increasing its claim. The process, officials hoped, would lead to
the emergence of a class of yeomen farmers and rich landowners who would have the
capital and enterprise to improve agriculture. Nurtured by the British, this class would also
be loyal to the Company.

Solution: d)
Paharis lived around the Rajmahal hills, subsisting on forest produce and practising shifting
cultivation.
With their base in the hills, the Paharias regularly raided the plains where settled
agriculturists lived. These raids were necessary for survival, particularly in years of scarcity;
they were a way of asserting power over settled communities; and they were a means of
negotiating political relations with outsiders. The zamindars on the plains had to often
purchase peace by paying a regular tribute to the hill chiefs. Traders similarly gave a small
amount to the hill folk for permission to use the passes controlled by them.

Solution: b)
The insurrection of the Santhals was mainly against the British and their supporters like
moneylenders, bangali zamindars and their operatives. Before the advent of the British in
India the Santhals resided peacefully in the hilly districts of Mayurbhanj Chhotanagpur,
Palamau, Hazaribagh, Midnapur, Bankura and Birbhum. Their agrarian way of life was
based on clearing the forest; they also engaged themselves in hunting for subsistence. But, as
the agents of the new colonial rule claimed their rights on the lands of the Santhals, they
peacefully went to reside in the hills of Rajmahal. After a brief period of peace the British
operatives with their native counterparts jointly started claiming their rights in this new
land as well. The simple and honest Santhals were cheated and turned into slaves by
thezamindars and the money lenders who first appeared to them as business men and lured
them into debt, first by goods lent to them on loans. However hard the Santhals tried to
repay these loans, they never ended. Through corrupt measures of the money lenders, the
debts multiplied to an amount for which a generation of the Santhal family had to work as
slaves. Furthermore, the Santhal women who worked under labour contractors were
disgraced and abused.

Solution: d)
To fight the British, leadership and organisation were required. For these the rebels
sometimes turned to those who had been leaders before the British conquest. One of the first
acts of the sepoys of Meerut, as we saw, was to rush to Delhi and appeal to the old Mughal
emperor to accept the leadership of the revolt. This acceptance of leadership took its time in
coming.
Bahadur Shah‘s first reaction was one of horror and rejection. It was only when some sepoys
had moved into the Mughal court within the Red Fort, in defiance of normal court etiquette,
that the old emperor, realising he had very few options, agreed to be the nominal leader of
the rebellion. Elsewhere, similar scenes were enacted though on a minor scale. In Kanpur,
the sepoys and the people of the town gave Nana Sahib, the successor to Peshwa Baji Rao II,
no choice save to join the revolt as their leader. In Jhansi, the rani was forced by the popular
pressure around her to assume the leadership of the uprising.
So was Kunwar Singh, a local zamindar in Arrah in Bihar. In Awadh, where the
displacement of the popular Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the annexation of the state were still
very fresh in the memory of the people, the populace in Lucknow celebrated the fall of
British rule by hailing Birjis Qadr, the young son of the Nawab, as their leader. Not
everywhere were the leaders people of the court – ranis, rajas, nawabs and taluqdars.
Often the message of rebellion was carried by ordinary men and women and in places by
religious men too. From Meerut, there were reports that a fakir had appeared riding on an
elephant and that the sepoys were visiting him frequently. In Lucknow, after the annexation
of Awadh, there were many religious leaders and self-styled prophets who preached the
destruction of British rule.
Elsewhere, local leaders emerged, urging peasants, zamindars and tribals to revolt. Shah
Mal mobilised the villagers of pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh; Gonoo, a tribal cultivator of
Singhbhum in Chotanagpur, became a rebel leader of the Kol tribals of the region.

Solution: b
On Gokhale‘s advice, Gandhiji spent a year travelling around British India, getting to know
the land and its peoples. His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras
Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916. Among the invitees to this event were the
princes and philanthropists whose donations had contributed to the founding of the BHU.
Also present were important leaders of the Congress, such as Annie Besant. Compared to
these dignitaries, Gandhiji was relatively unknown. He had been invited on account of his
work in South Africa, rather than his status within India. When his turn came to speak,
Gandhiji charged the Indian elite with a lack of concern for the labouring poor.
The opening of the BHU, he said, was ―certainly a most gorgeous show‖. But he worried
about the contrast between the ―richly bedecked noblemen‖ present and ―millions of the
poor‖ Indians who were absent. Gandhiji told the privileged invitees that ―there is no
salvation for India unless you strip yourself of this jewellery and hold it in trust for your
countrymen in India‖. ―There can be no spirit of selfgovernment about us,‖ he went on, ―if
we take away or allow others to take away from the peasants almost the whole of the results
of their labour. Our salvation can only come through the farmer. Neither the lawyers, nor
the doctors, nor the rich landlords are going to secure it.‖ The opening of the BHU was an
occasion for celebration, marking as it did the opening of a nationalist university, sustained
by Indian money and Indian initiative. But rather than adopt a tone of self-congratulation,

Gandhiji chose instead to remind those present of the peasants and workers who constituted
a majority of the Indian population, yet were unrepresented in the audience.

Solution: d