History (Part-4) (CDS-Solved Paper)

Total Questions: 44

1. Which empire did Nicolo de Conti, Abdur Razzaq, Afanasy Nikitin and Fernao Nuniz visit? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

Correct Answer: (b) Vijayanagara empire
Solution:

Famous Travellers to Vijayanagara Kingdom were Nicolo de Conti, Abdur Razzaq, Afanasy Nikitin and Fernao Nuniz visited the Vijayanagara Empire. Nicolo Conti was an Italian traveller.

He visited Vijayanagara empire during the reign of Devaraya-I (theTuluva dynasty ruler). He gave a comprehensive account of the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara. Abdur Razzaq was a Persian, timurid chronicler and a scholar who visited the Vijayanagara Kingdom at the time of Dev Raya II.

Afanasy Nikitin was a first Russian traveller and merchant who visited India. He described the conditions of the Bahamani kingdom under Muhammad III in his Voyage to India.
Fernao Nuniz was a Portuguese traveller, chronicler and horse trader who visited India during reign of Achyutaraya and spent three years in Vijayanagara.

2. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists: [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

Correct Answer: (a)
Solution:

Option (a) is the correct match. SA Dange was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and leader of Indian Trade Union Movement. He was the founder of ‘socialist’, the 1st socialist weekly in India.
Muzaffar Ahmed noted Bengali politician, journalist and communist activist, popularly known as 'Kakababu’. In 1920, along with Kazi Nazrul Islam he started ‘Navayug’. Ghulam Hussain editor of Urdu weekly ‘Inquilab’ (Revolution).
M. Singaravelu Communist leader and editor of Labour-Kisan Gazette.

3. Which of the following was/were connected primarily to the communist ideology? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

1. Kirti Kisan Party
2. Labour Swaraj Party
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
Solution:

The Ghadar Party in 1925 established a Workers and Peasant Party (Kirti Kisan Party) in the Punjab. Its organ, the Kirti, a purely communistic production, was subsidised by the Ghadar Party in America. The Kirti Kisan Party was a counter part in India of the Ghadar Party organisation in America and it professed communist creed.

Labour Swaraj Party of the Indian National Congress was founded in Bengal on 1st November, 1925. The founding leaders of the party were Kazi Nazrul Islam, Hemanta Kumar Sarkar, Qutubuddin Ahmed and Shamsuddin Hussain.

At the All Bengal Praja Conference, held at Krishnagar on 6th February, 1926. A resolution was moved by Faizuddin Hussain Sahib of Mymensingh for the creation of a workers-peasants party. All open communist activities were carried out through Workers and Peasants Parties.
Hence, both the statements are correct.

4. The interest of the British Government of India in Afghanistan in the 19th century came about in order to [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

Correct Answer: (b) ensure that the Russian empire did not have an influence over Afghanistan
Solution:

In the 1830s, the British Empire was firmly entrenched in India, but by 1837 Lord Palmerston and John Hobhouse, fearing the instability of Afghanistan, Sindh. And the increasing power of the Sikh kingdom to the North-West, raised the spectre of a possible Russian invasion of India through Afghanistan.

The Russian empire was slowly extending its domain into Central Asia, and this was seen as an encroachment to South that might prove fatal for the British Company Rule in India.

5. Which of the following features of the State of Arcot in 18th century South India are correct? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

1. The founders of the dynasty that ruled Arcot were Daud Khan Panni and Saadatullah Khan.
2. Arcot became the site of a protracted struggle between the English and Dutch East India Companies from the 1740s.
3. Decentralisation was a key feature of the State of Arcot in the 18th century.
4. The other major State to emerge in South India at this time was Mysore.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 4
Solution:

Daud Khan Panni, a Mughal Commander and Saadatullah Khan were the founder of dynasty that ruled Arcot in 18th century. During this time, Mysore also emerged as a major state under Haider Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan. From 1740s onward Arcot became the site of protracted rivalry between the English and Dutch East India companies. State of Arcot was a monarchy that was highly centralised. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

6. Which of the following statement(s) about the musical culture in 18th and 19th centuries North India is/are not correct? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

1. The period was marked by the growing eminence of Sadarang Neamat Khan who introduced the khyal form.
2. A large number of musicians move out of regional centres to Delhi where they hoped they would receive more employment and patronage.
3. The period was marked by the formation of specific region based gharanas.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: (c) Only 2
Solution:

With decline in material fortune of Mughal empire in 18th and 19th century, a huge number of musicians migrated towards the regional courts in search of Patronage. In the context of vocal music, Khayal gayaki of Sadarang Niamat Khan flourished in the regional courts. Migration and movement of artistes between courts allows musicians to interact across family lineages which get formalised in different gharanas. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

7. Which of the following statement(s) about the musical culture in 18th and 19th centuries South India is/are correct? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

1. Musical developments were spearheaded by the Arcot court.
2. Tanjavur replaced Madras as the cultural capital of classical music in the second half of the 19th century.
3. Three great composers, Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri experimented with the kriti from to set the foundations for modern Carnatic music.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: (c) Only 3
Solution:

Musical developments were not spearheaded by Arcot Court. The city of Madras was founded in 1639, Madras replaced Thanjavur as the cultural capital of South India. The contemporaries Tyagaraja (1759-1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar, (1776-1827). And Syama Sastri, (1762-1827) are regarded as the Trinity of Carnatic music because of the quality of Syama Sastri’s compositions, the varieties of compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Tyagaraja’s prolific output in composing kritis.

8. Which of the following statement(s) about visual culture in 18th and early 19th century North India is/are correct? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

1. Painters from Patna and Murshidabad flocked to Calcutta and produced water colours in the English mode.
2. Landscape and portraiture became extremely important at this time.
3. The artists Zayan-al-Din, Bhawani Das and Ram Das were adopted by the English East India Company to produce albums of India birds and animals.
4. While Indians were influenced by European artistic styles, Europeans artists did not visit regional courts.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3
Solution:

Company Painting water colours were prominent, painters from Patna, Murshidabad and from other places flocked to Calcutta. Landscape and portraiture became extremely important at that time.

The three Indian artist Zayan-al-Din, Bhawani Das and Ram Das came from Patna, where they had been trained in the Mughal painting technique. They produced album of Indian birds and mammals painted on large sheet of European. Hence, statements 1, 2 and 3 are incorrect.

9. Which of the following statements about the social reformer, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, is false? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

Correct Answer: (a) Ram Mohan Roy belonged to the gentry class whose power has been diminished because of the imposition of the Permanent Settlement
Solution:

Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as the ‘Maker of Modern India’. He was the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, one of the first Indian socio-religious reform movements. He played a major role in abolishing the role of Sati. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a great scholar and an independent thinker.

He advocated the study of English, Science, Western Medicine and Technology. He was given the title ‘Raja’ by the Mughal Emperor, Akbar II. By the age of fifteen, Raja Ram Mohan Roy had learnt Bangla, Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit and Vedas. His first organisation was the Atmiya Sabha, founded in Calcutta in 1815.

He was also a great scholar who translated many books, religious and philosophical work and scriptures into Bengali and also translated Vedic scriptures into English.

10. Which of the following characteristic(s) about the state of Travancore in 18th century Kerala is/are correct? [Morning Shift-2015 (I)]

1. Travancore was ruled by Martanda Varma from 1729 to 1758.
2. Travancore built a strong army and defeated the Dutch in 1741.
3. Travancore was an important centre of learning.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: (d) All of these
Solution:

Travancore was ruled by Martanda Varma from 1729 to 1758. He was the only Indian king to beat the European armed force at the 1741 Battle of Colachel against the Dutch.

He then adopted a European mode of discipline in his army and expanded the Venad domain into adjoining regions.

He organised a substantial standing army, reduced the power of the Nair aristocracy (on which rulers of Kerala had been dependent militarily) and fortified the northern limits of his kingdom at the Travancore line.

Travancore under Maharaja Martanda Varma was one of the few kingdoms in India determined to consolidate their power by the use of maritime means. Travancore was an important centre of learning. Hence, all the above statements are true.