Indian History Objective Questions

1. The statue of Gomateshwara at Sravanabelagola was built by—

(A) Chandragupta Maurya

(B) Kharvela

(C) Amoghavarsha

(D) Chamundaraya

Ans : (D)

2. 'Live well, as long as you live. Live well even by borrowings, for once cremated, there is no return'. The rejection of after life is an aphorism of the—

(A) Kapalika sect

(B) Sunyavada of Nagarjun

(C) Ajivikas

(D) Charvakas

Ans : (D)

3. Which one of the following usages was a post-Vedic development ?

(A) Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksha

(B) Brahmana-Kshatriya-Vaishya-Shudra

(C) Brahmacharya-Grihasthashrama-Vanaprastha-Sanyasa

(D) Indra-Surya-Rudra-Marut

Ans : (C)

4. The capital of the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was—

(A) Amritsar

(B) Patiala

(C) Lahore

(D) Kapurthala

Ans : (C)

5. In the Gandhara sculptures the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath is—

(A) Abhaya

(B) Dhyana

(C) Dharmachakra

(D) Bhumisparsa

Ans : (C)

6. The name of the poet Kalidas is mentioned in the—

(A) Allahabad pillar inscription

(B) Aihole inscription

(C) Alapadu grant

(D) Hanumakonda inscription

Ans : (B)

7. Zero was invented by—

(A) Aryabhatta

(B) Varahamihira

(C) Bhaskara I

(D) An unknown Indian

Ans : (D)

8. Which one of the following important trade centres of ancient India was on the trade route connecting Kalyana with Vengi ?

(A) Tagara

(B) Sripura

(C) Tripuri

(D) Tamralipti

Ans : (A)

9. The first Indian ruler who joined the subsidiary Alliance was—

(A) The Nawab of Oudh

(B) The Nizam of Hyderabad

(C) Peshwa Baji Rao II

(D) The king of Travancore

Ans : (B)

10. Vidhushaka, a common character in Sanskrit drama is invariably a—

(A) Brahmana

(B) Kshatriya

(C) Vaishya

(D) Shudra

Ans : (A)

11. Toramana belonged to the ethnic horde of the—

(A) Scythians

(B) Hunas

(C) Yue-chis

(D) Sakas

Ans : (B)

12. Who among the following is said to have witnessed the reigns of eight Delhi Sultans ?

(A) Ziauddin Barani

(B) Shams-i-siraj Afif

(C) Minhaj-us-siraj

(D) Amir Khusrau

Ans : (D)

13. The first Indian ruler to organize Haj pilgrimage at the expense of the state was—

(A) Alauddin Khilji

(B) Feroz Tughlaq

(C) Akbar

(D) Aurangzeb

Ans : (C)

14. Who among the following ladies wrote a historical account during the Mughal period ?

(A) Gulbadan Begum

(B) Noorjahan Begum

(C) Jahanara Begum

(D) Zebun-nissah Begum

Ans : (A)

15. The first to start a joint stock company to trade with India were the—

(A) Portuguese

(B) Dutch

(C) French

(D) Danish

Ans : (B)

16. The caves and rock-cut temples at Ellora are—

(A) Buddhist

(B) Buddhist and Jain

(C) Hindu and Jain

(D) Hindu, Buddhist and Jain

Ans : (D)

17. The significance of the Bengal Regulation of 1793 lies in the fact that—

(A) It provided for the establishment of the Supreme court

(B) It restricted the application of English law to Englishmen only

(C) It accommodated the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims

(D) It provided for the appointment of the Indian Law Commission

Ans : (C)

18. The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was borrowed from the system followed in—

(A) Afghanistan

(B) Turkey

(C) Mongolia

(D) Persia

Ans : (C)

19. Which one of the following monuments has a dome which is said to be one of the largest in the world ?

(A) Tomb of Sher Shah, Sasaram

(B) Jama Masjid, Delhi

(C) Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tuglaq, Delhi

(D) Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur

Ans : (D)

20. Ashtapradhan was a Council of Ministers—

(A) In the Gupta administration

(B) In the Chola administration

(C) In the Vijaynagar administration

(D) In the Maratha administration

Ans : (D)

21. The concept of Anuvrata was advocated by—

(A) Mahayana Buddhism

(B) Hinayana Buddhism

(C) Jainism

(D) The Lokayata School

Ans : (C)

22. Which one of the following territories was not affected by the revolt of 1857 ?

(A) Jhansi

(B) Jagdishpur

(C) Lucknow

(D) Chittor

Ans : (D)

23. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?

(A) Battle of Buxar— Mir Jafar Vs Clive

(B) Battle of Wandiwash—French Vs East India Company

(C) Battle of Chelianwala—Dalhousie Vs Marathas

(D) Battle of Kharda—Nizam Vs East India Company

Ans : (B)

24. The word 'Hindu' as reference to the people of Hind (India) was first used by—

(A) The Greeks

(B) The Romans

(C) The Chinese

(D) The Arabs

Ans : (A)

25. Hughly was used as a base for piracy in the Bay of Bengal by—

(A) The Portuguese

(B) The French

(C) The Danish

(D) The British

Ans : (A)

1. The term 'nishka' which meant an ornament in the Vedic period was used in later times to denote a/an—

(A) Weapon

(B) Agricultural implement

(C) Script

(D) Coin

Ans : (D)

2. Which one of the following pairs of kings of ancient and medieval periods of Indian history and the works authored by them is correctly matched ?

(A) Krishnadevaraya : Samaranganasutradhra

(B) Mehendravarman : Mattavilasaprahasana

(C) Bhojadeva : Manasollasa

(D) Somesvara : Amuktamalyada

Ans : (B)

3. The founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides movement was—

(A) Charles Andrews

(B) Robert Montgomery

(C) Richard Temple

(D) Baden Powell

Ans : (D)

4. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?

(A) Dharamsastra : Works on religion and philosophy

(B) Chaturvarnya : Four Ashrams

(C) Shudra : Service to three varnas

(D) Mahamatra : Superior Officials

Ans : (B)

5. Chanakya was known as—

(A) Bhattasvamin

(B) Rajasekhara

(C) Vishnugupta

(D) Visakhadatta

Ans : (C)

6. A lot of details regarding the village administration under the Cholas is provided by the inscriptions at—

(A) Thanjavur

(B) Uraiyur

(C) Kanchipuram

(D) Uttaramerur

Ans : (D)

7. In Jainism 'perfect knowledge' is referred to as—

(A) Jina

(B) Ratna

(C) Kaivalya

(D) Nirvanas

Ans : (C)

8. Who among the following is NOT associated with medicine in ancient India ?

(A) Dhanvantri

(B) Bhaskaracharya

(C) Charaka

(D) Susruta

Ans : (B)

9. In Mughal paintings one notices the adoption of the principles of foreshortening whereby near and distant people and things could be placed in perspective. This was due to the influence of the—

(A) British

(B) Dutch

(C) Portuguese

(D) Danish

Ans : (C)

10. Ashokan inscriptions were first deciphered by—

(A) Buhler

(B) Robert Sewell

(C) James Prinsep

(D) Codrington

Ans : (C)

11. Among the four works mentioned below which one is encyclopaedic in nature ?

(A) Amarakosa

(B) Siddhantasiromani

(C) Brhat Samhita

(D) Ashtangahrdaya

Ans : (A)

12. Consider the following passage—

In the course of a career on the road spanning almost thirty years, he crossed the breadth of the Eastern hemisphere, visited territories equivalent to about 44 modern countries and put behind him a total distance of approximately 73000 miles.

The world's greatest traveller of pre-modern times to whom the above passage refers is—

(A) Megasthenes

(B) Fa Hien

(C) Marco Polo

(D) Ibn Battuta

Ans : (C)

13. The first political organisation established in India in 1838 was known as—

(A) British India Society

(B) Bengal British India Society

(C) Settlers Association

(D) Zamindary Association

Ans : (D)

14. The foundation of modern education system in India was laid by—

(A) The Charter Act of 1813

(B) Macaulay's Minutes of 1835

(C) The Hunter Commission of 1882

(D) Wood's Despatch of 1854

Ans : (B)

15. Uplift of the backward classes was the main programme of the—

(A) Prarthana Samaj

(B) Satya Shodhak Samaj

(C) Arya Samaj

(D) Ramakrishna Mission

Ans : (B)

16. The Ryotwari settlement was introduced by the British in the—

(A) Bengal Presidency

(B) Madras Presidency

(C) Bombay Presidency

(D) Madras and Bombay Presidencies

Ans : (D)

17. The Buddhist Sect Mahayana formally came into existence during the reign of—

(A) Ajatashatru

(B) Ashoka

(C) Dharmapala

(D) Kanishka

Ans : (D)

18. The last in succession of Jaina Tirthankaras was—

(A) Parsvanatha

(B) Rishabha

(C) Mahavira

(D) Manisubrata

Ans : (C)

19. The earliest rock cut caves in western India are those at—

(A) Nasik, Ellora and Ajanta

(B) Junnar, Kalyan and Pitalkhora

(C) Ajanta, Bhaja and Kondane

(D) Bhaja, Pitalkhora and Kondane

Ans : (A)

20. The name by which Ashoka is generally referred to in his inscriptions is—

(A) Chakravarti

(B) Dharmadeva

(C) Dharmakirti

(D) Priyadarsi

Ans : (D)

21. Which one of the following is a monument constructed by Sher Shah ?

(A) Kila-i-Kuhna mosque at Delhi

(B) Atala Masjid at Jaunpur

(C) Barasona Masjid at Gaur

(D) Quiwwat-al-Islam mosque at Delhi

Ans : (A)

22. Which among the following cities is considered as one of the oldest surviving cities in the world ?

(A) Mathura

(B) Varanasi

(C) Hardwar

(D) Ayodhya

Ans : (A)

23. The earliest evidence of silver in India is found in the—

(A) Harappan culture

(B) Chalcolithic cultures of Western India

(C) Vedic texts

(D) Silver punch marked coins

Ans : (A)

24. Which one of the following is a language of Baluchistan but linguistically Dravidian ?

(A) Brahui

(B) Kui

(C) Parji

(D) Pengo

Ans : (A)

25. Which one of the following is the most fundamental difference between Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism ?

(A) Emphasis on ahimsa

(B) Casteless society

(C) Worship of gods and goddesses

(D) Worship of stupa

Ans : (C)