DAY – 55 ( INSTA REVISION TEST – 55)INSTA REVISION PLAN 3.0, 2021

Solution: A

Under Bahman Shah and his son Muhammmad Shah, the administrative system was well organised. The kingdom was divided into four administrative units called ‘taraf’ or provinces. These provinces were Daultabad, Bidar, Berar and Gulbarga. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Muhammad I defeated the Vijayanagar kingdom and consequently Golconda was annexed to Bahamani kingdom. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Every province was under a tarafdar who was also called a subedar. Some land was converted into Khalisa land from the jurisdiction of the tarafdar. Khalisa land was that piece of land which was used to run expenses of the king and the royal household. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Solution: C
Silsila is an Arabic word meaning chain, link, connection often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as “(religious) order” or “spiritual genealogy” where one Sufi Master transfers his khilfat to his spiritual descendant.

Hence, option (c) is correct.

Solution: A

The Rashtrakuta Empire was divided into several provinces called rashtras under the control of rashtrapatis. They were further divided into vishayas or districts governed by vishayapatis.

The next subdivision was bhukti consisting of 50 to 70 villages under the control of bhogapatis.

Hence, option (a) is correct.

Solution: D

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. People became pahi-kashta either out of choice – for example, when terms of revenue in a distant village were more favourable – or out of compulsion – for example, forced by economic distress after a famine.

Solution: D

Alauddin Khalji maintained a large permanent standing army and paid them in cash from the royal treasury. According the Ferishta, he recruited 4,75,000 cavalrymen. He introduced the system of dagh (branding of horses) and prepared huliya (descriptive list of soldiers). In order to ensure maximum efficiency, a strict review of army from time to time was carried out.

The introduction of paying salaries in cash to the soldiers led to price regulations popularly called as Market Reforms. Alauddin Khalji established four separate markets in Delhi, one for grain; another for cloth, sugar, dried fruits, butter and oil; a third for horses, slaves and cattle; and a fourth for miscellaneous commodities. Each market was under the control of a high officer called Shahna-i-Mandi.

Solution: C

The Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq was assisted by a number of departments and officials in his administration. The post of Naib was the most powerful one. The Naib practically enjoyed all the powers of the Sultan and exercised general control over all the departments. Next to him was the Wazir who was heading the finance department called Diwani Wizarat.

The military department was called Diwani Ariz. It was headed by Ariz-i-mumalik. Diwani Rasalat was the department of religious affairs. It was headed by chief Sadr.

The department of correspondence was called Diwani Insha. All the correspondence between the ruler and the officials was dealt with by this department.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq created a separate agricultural department, Diwani Kohi.

Solution: C

Buddhist Viharas are permanent shelters or monasteries for dwelling and rest. Hence Statement 1 is correct.

The Karla Caves, Karli Caves, Karle Caves or Karla Cells, are a complex of ancient Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves at Karli near Lonavala, Maharashtra. It was constructed during Satavahanas. Hence Statement 2 is incorrect.

The Kailasha temple is one of the largest Indian rock-cut ancient Hindu temples located in the Ellora Caves, Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved out of one single rock, it is considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment. Hence Statement 3 is incorrect.

Solution: A

Time rolls along in eternal cycles of rise and decline. Utsarpini is a “rising” era in which human morale and natural conditions improve over time.

At the end of Utsarpini, begins Avasarpini, a “declining” era of the same length, in which human morale and virtues deteriorate.

During the middle of every rising and declining era twenty-four souls become Tirthankaras.

Solution: C

The administration under the Vijayanagar Empire was well organized. The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial and legislative matters. He was the highest court of appeal. The succession to the throne was on the principle of hereditary. Sometimes usurpation to the throne took place as Saluva Narasimha came to power by ending the Sangama dynasty. The king was assisted by a council of ministers in his day to day administration.

The Empire was divided into different administrative units called Mandalams, Nadus, sthalas and finally into gramas. The governor of Mandalam was called Mandaleswara or Nayak. Vijayanagar rulers gave full powers to the local authorities in the administration.

Besides land revenue, tributes and gifts from vassals and feudal chiefs, customs collected at the ports, taxes on various professions were other sources of income to the government. Land revenue was fixed generally one sixth of the produce. The expenditure of the government includes personal expenses of king and the charities given by him and military expenditure. In the matter of justice, harsh punishments such as mutilation and throwing to elephants were followed.

The Vijayanagar army was well-organized and efficient. It consisted of the cavalry, infantry, artillery and elephants. High-breed horses were procured from foreign traders. The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayaks or Poligars. They were granted land in lieu of their services. These lands were called amaram. Soldiers were usually paid in cash.

Solution: C

The Nayaka system was the system of civil servants. The king was considered the owner of the soil and thus distributed soil to his Nayakas. Each Nayaka was in charge of a district. Nayaka enjoyed greater freedom in his district and there existed not a system of transfer from one district to another. It was a requirement that Nayakas maintain a sufficient number of troops for the king and serve them in his war. It was compulsory for Nayakas to pay fixed annual financial contribution to the imperial exchequer which in accordance to the chronicle of Naniz was generally half revenue. Hence, option (c) is correct.

Solution: A

The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by an engineer and antiquarian named Colonel Colin Mackenzie. An employee of the English East India Company, he prepared the first survey map of the site. Much of the initial information he received was based on the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and the shrine of Pampadevi. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

Hence, statement 2 is incorrect

Solution: D

The Battle of Haldighati was a battle fought on 18 June 1576 between cavalry and archers supporting the Rana of Mewar, Maharana Pratap; and the Mughal emperor Akbar’s forces, led by Man Singh I of Amber.

Solution: C

The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix (1) rank, (2) salary and (3) military responsibilities. Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat.

The higher the zat, the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger his salary.

The mansabdar’s military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horses branded and then received money to pay them as salary. Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs which were somewhat like iqtas. But unlike muqtis, most mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs. They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for them by their servants while the mansabdars themselves served in some other part of the country.

Solution: B

Philosophy and Bhakti

Shankara, one of the most influential philosophers of India, was born in Kerala in the eighth century. He was an advocate of Advaita or the doctrine of the oneness of the individual soul and the Supreme God which is the Ultimate Reality.

He taught that Brahman, the only or Ultimate Reality, was formless and without any attributes. He considered the world around us to be an illusion or maya, and preached renunciation of the world and adoption of the path of knowledge to understand the true nature of Brahman and attain salvation.

Ramanuja, born in Tamil Nadu in the eleventh century, was deeply influenced by the Alvars. According to him the best means of attaining salvation was through intense devotion to Vishnu. Vishnu in His grace helps the devotee to attain the bliss of union with Him. He propounded the doctrine of Vishishtadvaita or qualified oneness in that the soul even when united with the Supreme God remained distinct. Ramanuja’s doctrine greatly inspired the new strand of bhakti which developed in north India subsequently.

Solution: C

Virashaivism movement was started in 12^th century by Basavanna. It propagated inter-caste and widow re-marriage.

Virashaivism completely rejected the Vedas. In opposite to that, it started to spread message through Vachanas.

Solution: B

Krishna Deva Raya, though a Vaishnavaite, he respected all religions. He was a great patron of literature and art and he was known as Andhra Bhoja.

Eight eminent scholars known as Ashtadiggajas were at his royal court. Allasani Peddanna was the greatest and he was called Andhrakavita Pitamaga. His important works include Manucharitam and Harikathasaram.

Pingali Suranna and Tenali Ramakrishna were other important scholars. Krishna Deva Raya himself authored a Telugu work, Amukthamalyadha and Sanskrit works, Jambavati Kalyanam and Ushaparinayam.

Solution: A

The Indian princes who accepted the subsidiary system were: the Nizam of Hyderabad (1798 and 1800), the ruler of Mysore(1799), the ruler of Tanjore(1799), the Nawab of Awadh etc. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct. Punjab was annexed by Dalhousie by means of war. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Solution: C

Learning: In Sanskrit sources, the usage of the words “Yona”, “Yauna”, “Yonaka”, “Yavana” or “Javana” appears repeatedly, and particularly in relation to the Greek kingdoms which neighboured or sometimes occupied the Punjab region over a period of several centuries from the 4th century BCE to the first century CE.

Examples are the Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

The Yavanas are mentioned in detail in Sangam literature epics such as Pattinappalai, describing their brisk trade with the Early Cholas in the Sangam period.

Solution: B

The primary deity of the Sangam period was Seyon or Murugan, who is hailed as Tamil God. The worship of Murugan was having an ancient origin and the festivals relating to God Murugan was mentioned in the Sangam literature

Love marriage was a common practice. Women were allowed to choose their life partners. However, the life of widows was miserable.

The Hero Stone or Nadu Kal worship was significant in the Sangam period. The Hero Stone was erected in memory of the bravery shown by the warrior in battle. Many hero stones with legends inscribed on them were found in different parts of Southern India.

Solution: D

Muhammad bin Tughlaq wanted to make Devagiri his second capital so that he might be able to control South India better. In 1327 he made extensive preparations for the transfer of royal household and the ulemas and Sufis from Delhi to Devagiri, which was renamed as Daulatabad.

In 1329-30 Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduced a token currency. There was a shortage of silver throughout the world in the fourteenth century. Kublai Khan issued paper money in China. In the same manner, Muhammad bin Tughlaq issued copper coins at par with the value of the silver tanka coins

He launched a scheme by which takkavi loans (loans for cultivation) were given to the farmers to buy seed and to extend cultivation. A separate department for agriculture, Diwan- i- Kohi was established.

Solution: D

The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic state with its religion Islam. The Sultans considered themselves as representatives of the Caliph.
They included the name of the Caliph in the khutba or prayer and inscribed it on their coins.

There was no clear law of succession during this period. All the sons had equal claim to the throne.

After consolidating their position in India, the Delhi Sultans introduced reforms in the land revenue administration. The lands
were classified into three categories:

1. iqta land – lands assigned to officials as iqtas instead of payment for their services.
   2. khalisa land – land under the direct control of the Sultan and the revenues collected were spent for the maintenance of royal
   court and royal household.
   3. inam land – land assigned or granted to religious leaders or religious institutions

Solution: D

The inter-creditor agreement is aimed at the resolution of loan accounts with a size of ₹50 crore and above that are under the control of a group of lenders. It is part of the “Sashakt” plan approved by the government to address the problem of resolving bad loans.

Answer: C

The e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 recognises producers’ liability for recycling and reducing e-waste in the country.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has been given the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) authorisation under the new e-waste rules

Solution: A

Finance commission and NITI Aayog are of advisory nature, they do not review the functioning of any regulator. So, 3 and 5 are clearly wrong. FSLRC was setup once to review financial legislations, and not regulators in the country. So, 4 is also wrong.

The Parliamentary Departmental related standing Committees may do such work, and the ad hoc committees sometimes setup to review the working of regulators specific to their respective departments.

Solution: D

Both the SC and HCs can question the validity of a constitutional amendment or a central law.

Solution: A

Explanation:

Ram said, “He is the husband of daughter of my father’s only son”.

Now, this can be rewritten as:

“He is the husband of daughter of Ram’s father’s only son” or “He is the husband of daughter of Ram”.

Therefore, it’s evident that the concerned person in the photograph is the son-in-law of Ram.

Diagram shown below clearly depicts Ram is father-in-law of that man.

Solution: C

Explanation:

Let the two-digit number be ab, i.e., 10a + b.

Based on the information provided, we get the following equation:

10a + b = K (a + b) ……… (1)

(as the two-digit number is K times the sum of its two digits)

Now, let the number formed by interchanging the digits is M times the sum of the digits, i.e.

10b + a = M (b + a) ……… (2)

Adding the two equations, we get:

10a + b + 10b + a = K (a + b) + M (b + a)

or 11a + 11b= (K + M) (a + b)

or 11 (a + b) = (K + M) (a + b)

Therefore, K + M = 11

or M = 11 – K.

Solution: B

In a race of 1,200 m, A beats B by 200 m. Thus, when A runs 1,200 m, B runs 1,000 m.

Hence, when A runs 800 m, the distance ran by B = (1000/1200) x 800 = 666.67 m

Now, in a race of 600 m B beats C by 60 m, i.e. when B runs 600 m, C runs only 540 m.

So, when B runs 666.67 m, the distance ran by C = (540/600) x 666.67 m = 600m

Therefore, when A runs 800 m, B runs 666.67 m and C runs 600 m.

The distance by which A will beat C = 800 – 600 = 200 m.

Solution: C

Let there be ‘n’ input pipes attached to the tank. Therefore, there will be (12–n) output pipes attached to the tank.

Each input pipe fills the tank in 8 hours. Therefore, each of the input pipes will fill 1/8thof the tank in an hour.

Hence, part of the tank filled by n input pipes in an hour = n × 1/8 = n/8th

Similarly, each output pipe will drain the tank in 24 hours. Therefore, each of the output pipes will drain 1/24th of the tank in an hour.

Hence, part of the tank drained by (12−n) output pipes in an hour = (12−n) × (1/24) = (12 – n)/24th

When all these 12 pipes are kept open, it takes 6 hours for an empty tank to get filled. Therefore, in an hour 1/6th of the tank gets filled.

Hence, Part of the tank filled per hour = Part of the tank filled by n input pipes in an hour – Part of the tank drained by (12−n) output pipes in an hour= [(n/8) – (12 – n)/24)] = 1/6

or 3n – 12 + n = 4

4n = 16

n = 4

Solution: A

Let us assume the usual speed of athlete be v units/minute, and usual time to be t minutes.

As, distance = speed1 x time1 = speed2 x time2

Putting values, we get,

So, v x t = (3v/4) × (t+5)

or 4t = 3t + 15

or t = 15 minutes