DAY – 33 (InstaTest-33): Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2023: Topic – ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL INDIA, Subject-wise Test – 1, 18, Text Book based Test – 30, February 2023 CA

Solution: B

The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People is an intergovernmental group of more than 100 countries co-chaired by Costa Rica and France and by the United Kingdom as Ocean co-chair, championing a global deal for nature and people with the central goal of protecting at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. The 30×30 target is a global target which aims to halt the accelerating loss of species, and protect vital ecosystems that are the source of our economic security. India is a member of HAC.

30 by 30 (or 30×30) is a worldwide initiative for governments to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030.

• Launched by the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People in 2020, more than 50 nations had agreed to the initiative by January 2021, which has increased to more than 100 countries by October 2022.

Solution: B

Anubhuti Inclusive Park

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways laid the Foundation Stone of the world’s largest and unique Divyang Park – Anubhuti Inclusive Park in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Features of the park: Facilities for all 21 types of disabilities, such as a touch and smell garden, hydrotherapy unit, water therapy, and independent room for mentally challenged children, and mothers.

Vision: To build an inclusive society, with the aim of showing empathy instead of sympathy towards persons with disabilities. to give the disabled the right to live with dignity.

Usage: This can be used as an example in social justice, Indian society and Ethics paper. The park aims to set an example of empathy, respect and dignity towards people with disabilities, while also catering to the needs of the general public and different age groups.

Solution: D

The Vedic Heritage Portal of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been launched finally.

“The portal is an effort to map the vedic heritage of the country. It is a one-stop solution for researchers and others who would like to search any information regarding the Vedic heritage,” says an IGNCA official, adding that the it gives detailed information about oral traditions, textual tradition in form of published books/manuscripts, or implements (yajna-related objects).

The aim is to collate information for making Vedas accessible to people and provide a forum for further dialogue. The Vedic Heritage Portal is available in a mix of English and Hindi, besides audio content in Sanskrit. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Solution:  D

• CISF is an armed force of the Union established under an Act of Parliament, “Central Industrial Security Force Act, 1968 (50 of 1968)”.
• In the year 1969, the strength of the force established with the help of 3129 personnel, was increased to 1,63,613 as of 01.06.2021.
• CISF has 74 other formations including 12 reserve battalions and 08 training institutes.
• According to the mandate, CISF provides security to the premises staff along with the security of property and establishments.
• CISF is providing security to the strategic establishment, including the Department of Space, the Department of Atomic Energy, the Airports, the Delhi Metro, the ports, the historical monuments and the basic areas of Indian economy such as petroleum and natural gas, electricity, coal, steel and mining.
• CISF is providing protection to some private sector units and important government buildings in Delhi.
• Presently, CISF is also providing security to the protected persons classified as Z Plus, Z, X, Y.
• CISF is the only force with a customized and dedicated fire wing.
• CISF is a compensatory cost force.

Solution: A

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has registered 10 new breeds of livestock species, including cattle, buffalo, goat and pig. This has taken the total number of indigenous breeds to 212 as of January 4, 2023.

The registration was done by ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR). The registration process involves identification and surveying of these breeds through visits to the native areas.

The 10 new breeds included three new cattle breeds (Kathani, Sanchori, Masilum), one buffalo breed (Purnathadi), three goat breeds (Sojat, Karauli, Gujari) and three pig breeds (Banda, Manipuri Black, Wak Chambil).

Purnathadi buffalo is found in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The population of Kathani, a dual purpose cattle, is also distributed in the region. It possesses good draft ability and is suited to marshy land for paddy cultivation.

Masilum is a small-sized but well-built and sturdy cattle of Meghalaya. Well adapted to the hill ecosystem, it is reared by the Khasi and Jaintia communities for sports, manure and socio-cultural festivals.

Sanchori is found in the Jalore district of Rajasthan.

Among goats, all the three new breeds are from different regions of Rajasthan. Of the new pig breeds, Manipuri Black is a native of Manipur, Banda is from Jharkhand and Wak Chambil is from the Garo hills of Meghalaya.

In the 20th Livestock Census, while the population of exotic / crossbred cattle increased by 29.3 per cent, compared to the 2012 Census, the population of indigenous cattle declined by six per cent.

Solution: C

Vinyl Chloride is a chlorinated hydrocarbon occurring as a colorless, highly flammable gas with a mild, sweet odor that may emit toxic fumes of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride and phosgene when heated to decomposition. Vinyl chloride is primarily used to make polyvinyl chloride to manufacture plastics. Exposure to this substance affects the central and peripheral nervous system and causes liver damage.

Solution: B

The seventh to ninth centuries saw the emergence of new religious movements, led by the Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (saints devoted to Vishnu) who came from all castes including those considered “untouchable” like the Pulaiyar and the Panars.

There were 63 Nayanars, who belonged to different caste backgrounds such as potters, “untouchable” workers, peasants, hunters, soldiers, Brahmanas and chiefs. The best known among them were Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar. There are two sets of compilations of their songs – Tevaram and Tiruvacakam.

Solution: B

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

Sufis were Muslim mystics. They rejected outward religiosity and emphasised love and devotion to God and compassion towards all fellow human beings.

The Sufis often rejected the elaborate rituals and codes of behaviour demanded by Muslim religious scholars. They sought union with God much as a lover seeks his beloved with a disregard for the world. Like the saint-poets, the Sufis too composed poems expressing their feelings, and a rich literature in prose, including anecdotes and fables, developed around them.

Like the Nathpanthis, Siddhas and Yogis, the Sufis too believed that the heart can be trained to look at the world in a different way. They developed elaborate methods of training using zikr (chanting of a name or sacred formula), contemplation, sama (singing), raqs (dancing), discussion of parables, breath control, etc. under the guidance of a master or pir. Thus emerged the silsilas, a spiritual genealogy of Sufi teachers, each following a slightly different method (tariqa) of instruction and ritual practice.

Solution: A

A large number of Sufis from Central Asia settled in Hindustan from the eleventh century onwards. This process was strengthened with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, when several major Sufi centres developed all over the subcontinent. The Chishti silsila was among the most influential orders. It had a long line of teachers like Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki of Delhi, Baba Farid of Punjab, Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Bandanawaz Gisudaraz of Gulbarga.

Solution: D

Ibn Battuta’s book of travels, called Rihla, written in Arabic, provides extremely rich and interesting details about the social and cultural life in the subcontinent in the fourteenth century. This Moroccan traveller was born in Tangier into one of the most respectable and educated families known for their expertise in Islamic religious law or shari‘a. True to the tradition of his family, Ibn Battuta received literary and scholastic education when he was quite young.

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.

Solution: B

The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate. The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya. They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders in the area. They retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants. These contingents provided the Vijayanagara kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control. Some of the revenue was also used for the maintenance of temples and irrigation works.

The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty. Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another. However, during the course of the seventeenth century, many of these nayakas established independent kingdoms. This hastened the collapse of the central imperial structure.

Solution: A

A pupil of Abu’l Fazl, Abdul Hamid Lahori is known as the author of the Badshah Nama. Emperor Shah Jahan, hearing of his talents, commissioned him to write a history of his reign modelled on the Akbar Nama. The Badshah Nama is this official history in three volumes (daftars) of ten lunar years each. Lahori wrote the first and second daftars comprising the first two decades of the emperor’s rule (1627-47); these volumes were later revised by Sadullah Khan, Shah Jahan’s wazir. Infirmities of old age prevented Lahori from proceeding with the third decade which was then chronicled by the historian Waris.

Solution: B

Iltutmish (1211-1236)

Iltutmish belonged to the Ilbari tribe and hence his dynasty was named as Ilbari dynasty. His half brothers sold him as a slave to Aibak, who made him his-son-in law by giving his daughter in marriage to him. Later Aibak appointed him as iqtadar of Gwalior. In 1211 Iltutmish defeated Aram Baksh and became Sultan. He shifted his capital from Lahore to Delhi. During the first ten years of his reign he concentrated on securing his throne from his rivals. In the meantime, Temujin popularly known as Chengiz Khan, the leader of the Mongols, started invading Central Asia.

Iltutmish was a great statesman. He received the mansur, the letter of recognition, from the Abbasid Caliph in 1229 by which he became the legal sovereign ruler of India. Later he nominated his daughter Raziya as his successor. Thus the hereditary succession to Delhi Sultanate was initiated by Iltutmish. He patronized many scholars and a number Sufi saints came to India during his reign. Minhaj-us-Siraj, Taj-ud-din., Nizam-ul-mulk Muhammad Janaidi, Malik Qutb-ud-din Hasan and Fakhrul-Mulk Isami were his contemporary scholars who added grandeur to his court. Apart from completing the construction of Qutb Minar at Delhi, the tallest stone tower in India (238 ft.), he built a magnificent mosque at Ajmir. Iltutmish introduced the Arabic coinage into India and the silver tanka weighing 175 grams became a standard coin in medieval India.

Solution: B

Administration during Delhi sultanate

The Sultan 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. He was responsible for recruiting the soldiers and administering the military department. He was not the commander-in-chief of the army. The Sultan himself was the commander-in-chief of the army. The military department was first set up by Balban and it was further improved by Alauddin Khalji under whom the strength of the army crossed three lakh soldiers. Alauddin introduced the system of branding of the horses and payment of salary in cash. Cavalry was given importance under the Delhi Sultanate.

Diwani Rasalat was the department of religious affairs. It was headed by chief Sadr. Grants were made by this department for the construction and maintenance of mosques, tombs and

madrasas. The head of the judicial department was the chief Qazi. Other judges or qazis were appointed in various parts of the Sultanate. Muslim personal law or sharia was followed in civil matters. The Hindus were governed by their own personal law and their cases were dispensed by the village panchayats. The criminal law was based on the rules and regulations made by the Sultans. The department of correspondence was called Diwani Insha. All the correspondence between the ruler and the officials was dealt with by this department.

Solution: D

Many foreign travelers visited the Vijayanagar Empire and their accounts are also valuable. The Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, Venetian traveler Nicolo de Conti, Persian traveler Abdur Razzak and the Portuguese traveler Domingo Paes were among them who left valuable accounts on the socio-economic conditions of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Solution: B

Krishna Deva Raya (1509 – 1530)

The Tuluva dynasty was founded by Vira Narasimha. The greatest of the Vijayanagar rulers, Krishna Deva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. He possessed great military ability. His imposing personality was accompanied by high intellectual quality.

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

Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire in India. His original name was Zahiruddin Muhammad. He was related to Timur from his father’s side and to Chengiz Khan through his mother. Babur succeeded his father Umar Shaikh Mirza as the ruler of Farghana.

Babur was a great statesman and a man of solid achievements. He was also a great scholar in Arabic and Persian languages. Turki was his mother tongue. He wrote his memoirs, Tuzuk-i-Baburi in Turki language. It provides a vivid account of India. He frankly confesses his own failures without suppressing any facts. He was also a naturalist and described the flora and fauna of India.

Solution: B

Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545)

The founder of the Sur dynasty was Sher Shah, whose original name was Farid. He was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar. Later, Farid served under the Afghan ruler of Bihar, who gave him the title Sher Khan for his bravery.

Sher Shah waged extensive wars with the Rajputs and expanded his empire. His conquests include Punjab, Malwa, Sind, Multan and Bundelkhand. His empire consisted of the whole of North India except Assam, Nepal, Kashmir and Gujarat.

Sher Shah also patronized the learned men. Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote the famous Hindi work Padmavat during his reign.

Solution: D

Land Revenue Administration

Akbar made some experiments in the land revenue administration with the help of Raja Todar Mal. The land revenue system of Akbar was called Zabti or Bandobast system. It was further improved by Raja Todar Mal. It was known as Dahsala System which was completed in 1580. By this system, Todar Mal introduced a uniform system of land measurement. The revenue was fixed on the average yield of land assessed on the basis of past ten years. The land was also divided into four categories – Polaj (cultivated every year), Parauti (once in two years), Chachar (once in three or four years) and Banjar (once in five or more years). Payment of revenue was made generally in cash.

Solution: C

August Offer: The August Offer was made by the British government in August 1940, in response to the demands of the Indian National Congress for self-rule. The offer proposed a framework for a post-war Indian government that would include Indian representation and participation in the British war effort. However, the offer was rejected by the Indian National Congress.

Cripps Mission: The Cripps Mission was sent to India in 1942 by the British government, led by Sir Stafford Cripps. The mission proposed a plan for a post-war Indian government that included the formation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution for India. However, the mission failed to reach an agreement with the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League.

Simla Conference: The Simla Conference was held in 1945 between the representatives of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, with the Viceroy of India as the mediator. The conference failed to reach an agreement on the formation of a post-war Indian government.

Cabinet Mission Plan: The Cabinet Mission Plan was sent to India in 1946 by the British government, led by Sir Pethick-Lawrence. The plan proposed a framework for a post-war Indian government that included the formation of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution for India. The plan was accepted by the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, and it paved the way for the eventual independence of India in 1947.

Solution: B

The writ that is issued by a High Court to a lower court or a quasi-judicial body to stop proceedings in a particular case where it has no jurisdiction is Prohibition.

Prohibition is a writ issued by a higher court to a lower court or a quasi-judicial body to prevent it from exceeding its jurisdiction or acting contrary to the rules of natural justice. This writ is issued when a court or a body acts without jurisdiction or exceeds its jurisdiction, or when it fails to exercise its jurisdiction in accordance with the principles of natural justice. The writ of prohibition is issued to stop proceedings in a particular case where a lower court or a quasi-judicial body has no jurisdiction or has exceeded its jurisdiction.

Habeas Corpus: A writ of habeas corpus is issued to produce a person who is under detention before a court and to ensure that the detention is legal. This writ is used to protect an individual’s liberty and to prevent illegal detention.

Quo Warranto: A writ of quo warranto is issued to inquire into the authority by which a person holds a public office. This writ is used to prevent a person from holding a public office to which he or she is not entitled.

Certiorari: A writ of certiorari is issued to a lower court or a quasi-judicial body to quash its decision and to order it to reconsider the case. This writ is used when a lower court or a quasi-judicial body acts in excess of its jurisdiction or fails to exercise its jurisdiction.

Solution: C

Calling Attention Motion:

• It is an Indian innovation in the Parliamentary procedure: Calling attention is an innovation in the Indian parliamentary procedure.
• It was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 1954, and later in the Rajya Sabha in 1962. It is not found in the parliamentary procedure of other countries.

• It is introduced in the Parliament by a Member of Parliament to call attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance and to seek an authoritative statement from him on that matter: Calling attention is a procedure used by Members of Parliament to draw the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance.
• It is used to seek an authoritative statement from the minister on that matter. The matter raised by the member must be of sufficient public importance and must be urgent in nature.
• . Calling attention does not involve any censure against the government.
• It is merely a procedure to seek an authoritative statement from a minister on a matter of public importance.
• Unlike Zero Hour which finds no mention in the Rules of Procedure, the calling attention is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure: This statement is correct. Calling attention is a well-defined parliamentary procedure that is mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Zero Hour, on the other hand, is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.

Solution: A

The Battle of Talikota was fought in 1565 between the Deccan Sultanates (Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Golconda, Berar, and Bidar) and the Vijayanagar Empire. The Vijayanagar Empire was a Hindu empire that ruled over South India from 1336 to 1646.

The Deccan Sultanates combined their forces to attack the Vijayanagar Empire, which was at the height of its power. In the Battle of Talikota, the Vijayanagar army suffered a crushing defeat, and the capital city of Hampi was sacked and looted.

Rama Raya was the king of Vijayanagar at that time. He was a member of the powerful Tuluva dynasty and had come to power in 1552. Rama Raya was known for his military prowess and his patronage of the arts and literature. However, he was also known for his arrogance and his lack of political acumen.

After the defeat at Talikota, Rama Raya was captured by the Deccan Sultanates and was executed

Solution: D

The pardoning power of the President of India is enshrined in Article 72 of the Indian Constitution. This power allows the President to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishment in certain cases.

• He has the pardoning power in respect of a sentence by a court martial: The President has the power to pardon, commute, or remit a sentence awarded by a court martial.
• He can grant reprieve and respite in case of punishment for an offence against any law of the land, Union or State: The President can grant reprieve, which means the postponement of the carrying out of a sentence, or respite, which means the reduction of the quantum of the sentence.
• He alone can pardon a sentence of death: The President has the power to grant pardon, which means the complete remission of the sentence, only in the case of a death sentence.
• In addition to these powers, the President can also grant a pardon, reprieve, respite, or remission of punishment in cases where the sentence is for an offence against a Union law, a concurrent law, or a law relating to a matter on which the executive power of the Union extends. The President can also grant a pardon in cases where the sentence is for contempt of court or for an offence pardoned by the Governor of a State.

Correct Answer: C) 1/12

Solution:

Probability of getting head in a coin = ½

Probability of getting 3 in a dice = 1/6

Probability of getting head and 3 = ½ * 1/6 = 1/12.

Correct Answer: B) 16

Solution:

There are 8 green balls and 7 white balls.

Now, if we pick 8 + 7 = 15 balls. There remains a chance that 8/8 are green and 7/7 are white, that is all 15 are green and white.

Now, if we pick 15+1 = 16 balls,

There cannot be more than 15 balls that are green and white.

So we will get at least 1 red ball.

So, 16 is the answer.

Solution: D) 3/4

Explanation:

When a coin is tossed and a dice is rolled, the possible 12 outcomes are as follows.

{(H,1),(H,2),(H,3),(H,4),(H,5),(H,6),(T,1),(T,2),(T,3),(T,4),(T,5),(T,6)}

The following 9 outcomes are the desired outcomes

{(H,1),(H,2),(H,3),(H,4),(H,5),(H,6),(T,1),(T,3),(T,5)}

Therefore, the probability = 9/12 = ¾.

Ans. B)

Statement I is wrong as the passage does not say that secondary and tertiary healthcare is not important. B is correct as the passage states that countries with better health outcomes have better primary healthcare and thus investing in primary healthcare would seem prudent from the point of view of having better health outcomes. Hence B.

Ans. B.

Statement a is more of a corollary than inference. Statement C is not true as the passage talks about how in general we do not pay heed to the needs of those with hidden disabilities. Statement d is out rightly wrong Hence B.