DAY – 60 : Insta 75 Days Revision Plan-2026 : ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL INDIA

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

Pair I is correctly matched. In the Delhi Sultanate’s Iqta system, the Muqti or Iqtadar collected revenue from the assigned territory to maintain troops and administration. The surplus amount remitted to the central treasury after expenses was called Fawazil.

Pair II is also correct. Hasil referred to the actual amount of revenue collected from a land revenue unit, in contrast to the assessed demand known as Jama.

Pair III is correctly matched. Paibaqi denoted lands whose revenues were reserved for future assignment as Jagirs but had not yet been assigned to any official or noble.

Pair IV is incorrect. The Dahsala system, introduced by Raja Todar Mal under Akbar, was not a crop-sharing system. It was a revenue assessment system based on the average produce and prices of the previous ten years to determine state demand. Crop-sharing systems were known separately as Batai or Galla Bakshi.

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Statement I is incorrect. The Shattari Silsila was introduced in India by Shah Abdullah Shattari during the 15th century, not by Sheikh Sirajuddin Junaidi. The order later gained influence in regions such as Malwa and Gujarat rather than primarily in the Deccan.

Statement II is correct. The followers of the Shattari order believed in attaining spiritual realization through the “shortest path” to God. The order is also known for incorporating certain Yogic practices and breathing exercises into Sufi discipline, reflecting interaction between Islamic mysticism and Indian spiritual traditions.

Statement III is correct. The Shattari order enjoyed patronage during the Mughal period. Humayun was associated with the order, and Tansen is also linked in historical accounts with the Shattari tradition and its cultural milieu.

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement I is correct. Under the Vijayanagara administrative system, the Amara-Nayakas were military chiefs who were assigned territories called Amaram. They collected revenue from these territories, maintained troops for the king, and provided military service when required.

Statement II is also correct. The Vijayanagara Empire depended heavily on the import of high-quality Arabian horses for its cavalry. Ports such as Bhatkal on the western coast played an important role in this horse trade, and the state exercised considerable control over this commerce due to its military importance.

Statement III is incorrect. There is no evidence of a department called Kutal-Vichari created by Krishnadeva Raya for managing diamond mines in Kurnool.

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

Statement I is incorrect. The arrival of the Mughals did not lead to the immediate or total replacement of the Persian Wheel by the Araghatta. In fact, the Persian Wheel itself became more widely used during the medieval period in North India. Different irrigation devices coexisted depending on regional conditions, water availability, and local agricultural practices.

Statement II is correct. The Persian Wheel used the gearing principle, which enabled water to be lifted continuously from deeper wells with greater efficiency. This expansion of irrigation supported the cultivation of water-intensive crops and contributed to changes in agricultural productivity and cropping patterns during the 16th century.

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

Statement I is correct. Muhammad bin Tughlaq considered Daulatabad strategically suitable because it was located more centrally in relation to the expanding Delhi Sultanate, especially after the incorporation of large territories in the Deccan.

Statement II is also correct. Delhi frequently faced the threat of Mongol invasions from the north-western frontier. Shifting the capital to Daulatabad was partly intended to place the administrative centre farther away from these attacks.

Statement III is correct as well. The transfer was also associated with Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s attempt to strengthen Islamic political and cultural influence in the Deccan and integrate the southern regions more closely with the Sultanate administration.

Statement IV is incorrect. There is no reliable historical evidence that the capital shift was motivated by recurring bubonic plague outbreaks in the Yamuna region.

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

Pair I is correct. Nicolo Conti visited the Vijayanagara Empire around 1420–1421 CE during the reign of Deva Raya I of the Sangama dynasty. He provided valuable descriptions of the city’s vast size, strong fortifications, markets, population, and festive life. His account is regarded as one of the important early European descriptions of Vijayanagara.

Pair II is correct. Abdur Razzaq came to Vijayanagara in 1443 CE as an ambassador from the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh during the reign of Deva Raya II. He gave a highly detailed account of the capital, praising its prosperity, military strength, urban planning, and commercial activity. His famous observation was that no city in the world matched Vijayanagara in grandeur.

Pair III is incorrect. Francois Bernier arrived in India during the Mughal war of succession in 1658 CE, toward the end of the reign of Shah Jahan. However, he is historically associated mainly with the reign of Aurangzeb because most of his observations in Travels in the Mughal Empire concern Aurangzeb’s administration, Mughal politics, land revenue system, and conditions in late 17th-century India. Therefore, pairing him with Shah Jahan is considered incorrect in standard historical treatment.

Pair IV is incorrect. William Hawkins reached the Mughal court in 1609 CE carrying a letter from King James I of England. At that time, the Mughal ruler was Jahangir, not Akbar. Hawkins stayed at Jahangir’s court and attempted to secure trading privileges for the English East India Company.

Pair V is correct. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier made several voyages to India during the 17th century. Although his travels began during Shah Jahan’s reign, he also visited India during the reign of Aurangzeb and recorded important details about Mughal wealth, the Peacock Throne, the diamond trade, and the Golconda mines. Standard historical references therefore accept this pairing as correct.

Answer : (b)

Explanation

Statement I is correct. The Pushti Marg was founded by Vallabhacharya. The term “Pushti” means divine grace or nourishment. The school emphasized that salvation could be attained through the grace of God rather than through severe asceticism or ritual practices.

Statement II is also correct. The followers of the Pushti Marg worshipped Lord Krishna, especially in the form of Shrinathji, a manifestation associated with Govardhan. Devotional singing, seva (service), and loving devotion toward Krishna formed central aspects of the tradition.

Statement III is incorrect. The Pushti Marg belonged to the Saguna Bhakti tradition, which worshipped God in a personal and embodied form. It did not reject Saguna worship in favour of Nirguna Brahman. Instead, it strongly emphasized devotion to Krishna as a manifest deity.

Answer: (b)

Explanation

In the medieval agrarian administration of South India, especially under the Chola dynasty, Veli was a commonly used unit of land measurement. It was extensively employed in land surveys, revenue assessment, and temple land records, particularly in the fertile Kaveri delta region.

The exact size of a Veli could vary regionally, but it generally denoted a large measure of cultivable land. Chola inscriptions frequently mention land grants, irrigation arrangements, and taxation in terms of Veli.

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

Statement I is correct. In the Mughal agrarian system, Nankar referred to revenue-free land or an allowance granted to the Zamindar in return for services such as revenue collection and local administration. It functioned as a form of remuneration for the intermediary role performed by the Zamindar.

Statement II is incorrect. Malikana was not a payment made by the Zamindar to the state. Rather, it was an allowance or proprietary claim received by the Zamindar from the cultivators or from revenue arrangements as recognition of his traditional rights over the land, even in cases where he did not directly collect revenue.

Statement III is correct. The rights associated with both Nankar and Malikana gradually acquired proprietary characteristics and, in many cases, could be transferred, sold, or mortgaged by Zamindars.

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

Statement I is correct. Ganj-i-Sawai was a large and heavily armed Mughal merchant ship carrying pilgrims and valuable cargo. In 1695, it was attacked and looted by the English pirate Henry Every near the western coast of India. The incident created a major diplomatic crisis between the Mughal Empire and the English East India Company because the ship was associated with wealthy Mughal subjects and pilgrims returning from Mecca.

Statement II is incorrect. The Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb did not possess a technologically superior navy compared to the European East India Companies. The Mughals were primarily a land-based empire and lacked a strong blue-water naval tradition. European companies, especially the English and the Portuguese, generally possessed superior naval technology, artillery, and maritime organization. Consequently, there was no total naval blockade of British ports by the Mughal navy.

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:

• Q is the son of P and is male.
• U is the wife of Q; therefore, P is the mother-in-law of U.
• S is the daughter of Q, and T is the brother of S; hence T and S are children of Q and U.
• V is the grandson of P and belongs to the third generation.
• Thus:
  • First generation: P and R
  • Second generation: Q and U
  • Third generation: S, T, and V
• The only remaining member, R, must be the spouse of P.

Therefore, R is the husband of P.

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:

• C is not the mother of B, so C is the father.
• A is married to C, so A is female.
• B is male.
• E is the brother of C, so E is male.
• D is female.
• F is the brother of B, so F is male.

Male members: C, B, E, and F = 4.

Correct Answer: (c)

Explanation:

• G sits fourth to the left of A.
• Valid placement: G at position 3 and A at position 7.
• B sits second to the right of G, so B is at position 5.
• Only two people sit between B and E, so E is at position 2.
• H sits immediately left of E, so H is at position 1.
• D sits immediately left of A, so D is at position 6.
• F is not an immediate neighbor of G, so F cannot be at position 4.

Final arrangement:

Third to the left of D (position 6) is G (position 3)

Correct Answer: (a)

Explanation:

• Place U at a reference position.
• R is second to the right of U.
• T sits immediately to the left of R.
• S is seated between P and Q.

One valid arrangement is:

Clockwise: U – P – S – Q – R – T

In a circle of six persons, opposite seats are three places apart.

Therefore, S sits opposite U

Correct Answer: (b)

Explanation:

The passage identifies a contrast between “formal architecture” (institutions like elections and parliaments) and the “substantive quality” of a functioning democracy.

It argues that institutions can exist while the democracy remains a “hollow shell” if there is no active citizen participation or accountability.

Option (a) suggests a chronological priority (economy first) which is a recommendation not explicitly demanded by the text.

Option (c) incorrectly identifies a consequence (populism) as the primary cause of constitutional failure.

Option (d) uses the extreme and restrictive word “only,” whereas the text mentions multiple factors including economic security and civil society.

Option (b) directly summarizes the core theme: institutional existence does not automatically equate to functional success.