21 very important short questions on Indian History for IAS aspirants

1. To which country Nicolo Conti and Abdur Razzaq belonged? In which period did they visit India?

Nicolo Conti and Abdur Razzaq was Italian and Persian traveller respectively. Nicolo Conti visited Vijaynagar in 1420 and Abdur Razzaq in 1443.

2. Which were the first territorial conquests of the Muslim in India? Who were the Moplas?

The conquest of Sind in 712 was the first territorial conquest of the Muslim Arabs in India.

Moplas are the descendants of the Muslim Arabs settled along the Malabar Coast or the west coast of India.

3. Essays on two sources for the reconstruction of the history of the Mughals in India?

Accounts of the foreign travelers who visited India during the Mughal period is an important historical source.

Besides coins and monumental evidences speak volumes about Mughal activities.

4. People of which area in India first got introduced to Islam? By what name the people came to be known?

The Indian people living in the Malabar coast were the first to be introduced with Islam. The introduction was due to the coming of the Muslim Arab merchants in the Malabar Coast.

The Muslims of the Malabar Coast or the west coast of India came to be known as the Moplas.

5. When did sultan Mahmud of Ghazni invade India first? What was the aim of his invasion?

In 1000, Sultan Mahmud invaded India for the first time out of his invasion for seventeen times.

The two primary motives behind his raids in India were: (a) to take possession of the wealth and (b) to earn fame in the Islamic world as ghazi, that is, defender of faith.

6. When did the second battle of Tarain take place? Who was defeated in the battle?

The second battle of Tarain was fought in 1192.

Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer (Rajputana) was defeated in the battle.

7. Who was the founder of the Delhi Sultanate? By what name were the sultans of Delhi till 1290 known?

It was Mahmud of Ghaur who cleared the way for the foundation of Delhi Sultanate by winning the second battle of Tarain.

The sultans of Delhi till 1290 came to be known as the Mameluks.

8. Who was the last of the Mameluk sultans? By who was he killed?

Kaimurs was the last of the Mameluk sultans of Delhi.

He was killed by Jalaluddin Firuz Khilji in 1290.

9. What was the Khilji Revolution? Who seized power through the Khilji Revolution?

Practically the end of the monopoly of the Mameluk sultans was affected by the Khilji Revolution.

It was Jalaluddin Firuj Khilji who became the founder of the Khilji dynasty and himself became the Sultan of Delhi in 1290.

10. Who came to be known as ‘the forty’ or ‘chihalgani’? Whom did they assassinate?

A caucus of forty Turkish Nobles who conspired against sultan Raziya came to be known as ‘the forty’.

In fact, it was ‘this forty’ who was instrumental in bringing the life of Raziya to an end.

11. What was the Iqta system? Who introduced it?

Iqta was basically land system. Distant areas of the newly Treated Delhi Sultanate were brought in control of a central power by the distribution of Iqta.

It was Iltutmish who introduced the Iqta system.

12. Why did Muhammad-bin Tughluq transfer his capital? Where was the capital transferred?

Muhammad-bin Tughluq wanted to shift his capital from Delhi to a place that would be centrally located. Of course, there is a second opinion that he wanted to establish a second capital.

Devagiri or Daulatabad was the place where Muhammad-bin Tughluq sought to transfer his capital.

13. Which sultan of Delhi called himself the ‘Second Alexander’ in his coins? He was famous for reforms in which branch of administration?

Alauddin Khilji wanted to be a world conqueror. In his coins he depicted himself as Sikaiidar-i Sam, meaning Second Alexander.

Alauddin Khilji is famous for introducing the market and price control regulations.

14. Who was the founder of the Lodi dynasty? By whom was the last Lodi sultan defeated?

Bahlul Lodi was the founder of the Lodi dynasty.

Ibrahim Lodi was the last Lodi sultan. He was defeated by Babur in the first battle of Panipat.

15. Who was Sher Shah? Why was he famous?

Sher Shah, an Afghan, was a man of outstanding merits. Within a short period of five years he gave proof of his organizing capabilities and liberal attitude.

He was famous for introducing a system that clearly defined the relationship between the state and the riots (peasants).

16. When was the battle of Tukaroi fought? What was its importance?

In 1575 the battle of Tukaroi was fought.

The importance lay in the fact that with the defeat of Daudkhan of Bengal his autonomy of the Sultanate days came to an end.

17. Essays on the Mughal Emperor Qandahar was lost to the Mughal Empire. What was its implication?

It was in the reign of Jahangir that Qandahar was lost to the Mughal Empire.

As a result of the loss of Qandahar the influence of the Mughal Emperor was considerably reduced in the north-west frontier region.

18. Who was Todarmal? Why he is famous?

Todarmal, a Rajput, was the revenue minister under Akbar.

He was famous for his bandobast (Todarmal’s bandobast) which was the basis of the revenue policy throughout the Mughal period.

19. What was meant by mansab? Who was a mansabdar?

The word mansab literary means a position or status.

The holder of this status came to be called mansabdar. Akbar initiated the mansabdari system in 1577.

20. Who was a Jagirtlar? What was the jagirdari system?

The mansabdars who were assigned jagirs (a portion of land) in lieu of salary were known as Jagirdars.

In the jagirdari system jagirdar used to collect revenue from the cultivators, from the land assigned to him. The jagirdars were under the fullest control of the emperor.

21. between who was fought the battle Haldighat? Who was defeated in the battle of Haldighat and by whom?

The battle of Haiuighat was fought between the Ranas of Mewar (Rajputana).

Ranapratap Singh was defeated by the Mughal army in the battle held in 1576. Of course this defeat did not bring to an end the anti- Mughal stance of Mewar.