Frequently Asked Questions - History

1. Ashvaghosha, who composed Buddhacharita, lived in which ruler's court?

2. In which book were the rules written for the Buddhist Sangha?

3. Who is considered the author of Abhinaya Darpanam?

4. Who is considered the author of Natyashastra?

5. In which Upanishad is mention of musical notes Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni found?

6. Which Brahmana text is related to the Atharvaveda?

7. The words Taittiriya, Brihadaranyaka and Mundaka are related to?

8. Aitareya Upanishad belongs to which Veda?

9. Uttara Ramcharit was written by which poet?

10. Tripitaka is related to which religion?

11. The Pali Canon or Tipitaka is the basic text of which religion?

12. On what were manuscripts usually written in ancient India?

13. Which book was written by Panini?

14. In which state is the prehistoric site of Daimabad located?

15. Where is the archaeological site Inamgaon located?

16. Burzahom, the Neolithic site, is located in which present-day region?

17. With what material were the Harappan seals made?

18. Which is the only Harappan city where radial roads have been found?

19. From which Harappan site have evidence of ploughed fields, terracotta carts and symbolic toys been found?

20. Which Harappan site lacked a fortification wall?

21. In which year was the Harappan Civilization discovered?

22. From which excavation site of the Harappan Civilization were terracotta models of the plough discovered?

23. According to archaeologists, what was the smaller and higher western part of Harappan cities called?

24. Which Harappan city was located on the island of Khadir Bet in the Rann of Kutch and was divided into three parts?

25. In which direction were the forts built in the Harappan cities?

26. Which city served as a port of the Indus Valley Civilization?

27. What was the shape of the Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro?

28. Which archaeological site of the Harappan Civilization is located near Bolan Pass?

29. Who was the last (24th) Tirthankara of Jains?

30. Who was the first Tirthankara?

31. According to Jain philosophy, what is the meaning of the word 'Jina'?

32. Lord Mahavira was known as Niganthanathaputta in Pali literature. Which religion did he found?

33. In which present-day state was Lord Mahavira born?

34. At which place did Lord Mahavira attain salvation?

35. Who was the first woman to become a nun in Buddhism?

36. Which is the famous holy place of Buddhism where Buddha gave his first sermon?

37. What is the circumambulation path in the structure of a stupa called?

38. What are the Buddhist stupas built to bury the remains of the body known as?

39. What is Harmika in the structure of a stupa?

40. Stupas are related to which religion?

41. Tripitaka is related to which religion?

42. In which cave was the painting named Padmapani Bodhisattva found?

43. At which place did Lord Buddha attain enlightenment?

44. Mahaprajapati Gautami was the first woman to be chosen as a nun (Bhikkhuni). Whose foster mother was she?

45. The birthplace of Gautam Buddha was a forest. By what name was it known?

46. What was the capital of Avanti Mahajanapada?

47. The ancient Champa city is considered the capital of which Mahajanapada?

48. What was the capital of Mahajanapada Gandhara in the 6th century BCE?

49. Rajgir was the first capital of which Mahajanapada?

50. In which state are the Maski Rocks currently located?

51. By what name was the region/territory south of the Ganges known in ancient times?

52. Ashoka waged a war to conquer Kalinga. What is the present-day name of Kalinga?

53. What was the purpose behind the pillars of Ashoka?

54. How much tax was collected during the Mahajanapadas period?

55. Who, with the help of Kautilya, overthrew the last Nanda ruler Dhanananda?

56. After which war did Ashoka abandon the policy of territorial occupation?

57. Who was the first scholar to decipher and read Ashoka's edicts?

58. How many years after becoming king did Ashoka fight the war with Kalinga?

59. Who was the last Mauryan ruler to be killed by Pushyamitra Shunga?

60. Whose praise is engraved on the Pillar of Ashoka in Allahabad (Prayagraj Prashasti)?

61. Which animal is depicted on the top of the Ashoka Pillar of Rampurwa?

62. In which place are pillars containing inscriptions from the Maurya, Gupta and Mughal periods located?

63. To which dynasty did the famous ruler Kanishka belong?

64. According to the Rabatak inscription, who was the ruler of the Kushan dynasty?

65. Which sect did Kanishka follow?

66. Which Maukhari king assumed the title Maharajadhiraja?

67. Which Gupta ruler was known as the 'Indian Napoleon' because of his military achievements?

68. Which ruler built the famous Iron Pillar of Delhi?

69. Which king was depicted as a Veena player on his coins?

70. Which Gupta ruler succeeded Ghatotkacha?

71. Who wrote the play Mrichchhakatikam?

72. Who wrote Harshacharita, the biography of Harshavardhana?

73. Which poet of ancient India composed Meghdootam?

74. Ritusamhara or Six Seasons is a classic of Sanskrit literature, written by which poet?

75. Who wrote the great work Meghdoot and Abhijnanashakuntalam?

76. Who wrote Brihat Samhita, a collection of scientific information on various subjects?

77. The famous Battle of Rakkasagi-Tangadagi fought in 1565 AD is also known as which battle?

78. After which war did Sher Shah Suri establish the second Afghan Empire in India in 1540 AD?

79. Who defeated Maharana Pratap in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576 AD?

80. Which ruler defeated Humayun in the Battles of Chausa (1539) and Kannauj (1540)?

81. In which year did Babur defeat Rana Sanga in the Battle of Khanwa?

82. In which year did Sher Khan/Sher Shah defeat Humayun in Kannauj?

83. Who was defeated in the Battle of Kannauj in 1540?

84. Where did Muhammad bin Tughlaq shift the capital from Delhi?

85. Which Delhi Sultan introduced the practice of Sijda in the Delhi Sultanate?

86. Whom did Alauddin Khilji send to attack Gujarat?

87. Who aspired to become the second Alexander of the Delhi Sultanate?

88. Which Delhi Sultan issued copper coins as token currency?

89. What was the reign of Khizr Khan?

90. Who was the last effective monarch of the Ghulam/Slave dynasty after the death of Razia Sultan?

91. Which Sultan established a powerful and great army to protect and conquer the Mongol invasion?

92. In which century did Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq establish the Tughlaq dynasty?

93. What was the real name of the Lodi ruler (1489–1517 AD) known as Sikandar Lodi?

94. Who ascended the throne after the death of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq?

95. During the Delhi Sultanate, the term 'Ulema' was associated with whom?

96. Who was the only female Muslim ruler during the Sultanate period?

97. Hauz-e-Sultani was built by whom?

98. In which year was Razia removed from the throne of Delhi?

99. What is the correct chronological order of the rulers of the Tughlaq dynasty?

100. What title did Ghiyasuddin Balban (1265–1286 AD) hold?

101. Razia Sultan was the daughter of whom?

102. Who was the first ruler of the Ilbari dynasty of Delhi Sultanate?

103. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq was the governor of which province?

104. Who organized his trusted nobles into groups of forty as Turkan-i-Chahalgani?

105. What was the tenure of the most powerful ruler of Vijayanagara, Krishnadevaraya?

106. Which Vijayanagara ruler married the daughter of Firoz Shah Bahmani?

107. The founders of the Vijayanagara Empire were feudatories of which dynasty?

108. Krishnadevaraya, the most famous ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, belonged to which dynasty?

109. Which dynasty was the last dynasty to rule the Vijayanagara Empire?

110. Who was called 'Narapati' or 'lord of men' in the Vijayanagara Empire?

111. Which dynasty established the Vijayanagara state?

112. Harihara and Bukka established an independent kingdom in Karnataka with the capital Vijayanagara on the banks of which river?

113. Who was the Sultan of Delhi at the time of the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire?

114. Which system of administration of the Vijayanagara Empire was a major political innovation?

115. The Vijayanagara Empire was founded by the military commander Narasimha under which dynasty?

116. Who among the rulers of the Tuluva dynasty was the author of Amuktamalyada?

117. What type of piece of land was used for the palaces of the king and royal house in the Bahmani Empire?

118. The Imadshahi dynasty was known for the establishment of which state?

119. What was the main capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty in Hyderabad?

120. In which city is the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti located?

121. In which place was the poet-saint Kabir born in the 15th century?

122. From where did Qawwali come to India?

123. In which century did the contacts of Quran/Islam first reach India through traders and immigrants?

124. Whose descendants were the Mughals from their father's side?

125. The grading system used by the Mughals to determine rank, pay and military responsibilities was called what?

126. Which Mughal emperor tried to destroy the Kailash temple of Ellora?

127. In which year did the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb die?

128. Babur defeated Mahmud Lodi and Sultan Nusrat Shah in which battle?

129. Which Mughal emperor assumed the title of 'Badshah'?

130. Aurangzeb was the son of which Mughal emperor?

131. Who was considered the last powerful Mughal ruler of India?

132. Which Mughal emperor assumed the title 'Alamgir' and 'world conqueror'?

133. What was the first name of Mughal emperor Babur?

134. How old was Babur when he ascended the throne of Fargana in 1494 AD?

135. When did Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar die?

136. In which year did Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II grant the East India Company the Diwani of Bengal?

137. Which Mughal prince translated the Upanishads into Persian in 1657 AD?

138. Hamida Banu and Mariam Makani were wives of which Mughal emperor?

139. What is the correct description of the place named Naubat Khana during the Mughal period?

140. Which Mughal ruler is believed to have ruled under the influence of his wife and father-in-law?

141. By 1592 AD, which Mughal Mansabdar brought the entire Odisha under Mughal rule?

142. Which Mughal prince rebelled against his father and became a friend of Malik Ambar?

143. Which singer was one of the Navratnas in the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar?

144. Who introduced the Mansabdari system in the administration under the Mughals?

145. Akbar's Zabti revenue system was developed by whom?

146. Which city was the first planned city of the Mughals?

147. After the death of Babur, into how many parts did Humayun divide his empire?

148. Who composed Shahnameh?

149. Who was the first to record Jaunpur in Persian?

150. In which language were the histories of the Mughal court written?

151. Who wrote Humayun Nama?

152. Who wrote Babur's memoirs or Baburnama, also known as Tuzuk-e-Baburi?

153. Who among the historians wrote about Razia and confirmed that she was more capable than all her brothers?

154. Who is known as the 'Parrot of India' (Tuti-e-Hind)?

155. Who was the author of the medieval epic Padmavat?

156. Who was the author of Badshahnama?

157. Which book was translated as the Razmnama (Book of War) during the reign of Akbar?

158. Which Sikh Guru laid the foundation of the Khalsa sect?

159. By which Guru was the script Gurmukhi invented for the Punjabi language?

160. What was the birthplace of Guru Nanak, now known as Nankana Sahib, earlier called?

161. Kartarpur Sahib Corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak Tirtha in Gurdaspur, India, with Kartarpur Gurdwara in Pakistan, located on the banks of which river?

162. Which Sikh Guru guided the construction of the Golden Temple?

163. In which year was the first English factory established in Bengal on the banks of the Hooghly River?

164. In which year was Sri Lanka discovered by the Portuguese?

165. Who built the first European fort in India in 1503?

166. Where did the Portuguese Vasco da Gama die in 1524 AD?

167. Which Peshwa signed the Treaty of Bassein with the English East India Company?

168. The Second Anglo-Mysore War ended with the signing of which treaty?

169. By which treaty did the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16) end?

170. In which year was the Treaty of Gandamak, which resulted in the end of the Second Afghan War, signed?

171. The Treaty of Lahore was signed between the British Empire and which ruler in 1846?

172. Who signed the Treaty of Alinagar with the British (Robert Clive)?

173. When was the Treaty of Amritsar signed?

174. The Treaty of Surat (1775) was signed between the British and whom?

175. Name the Bengali reformer and author of Hindu Widow Marriage who supported widow remarriage.

176. In which year was the practice of Sati banned in India?

177. Alluri Sitarama Raju is known for his contribution to which rebellion?

178. Which rebellion is also known as the 'Ulgulan Rebellion'?

179. Who started the Kuka Rebellion?

180. Who was the leader of the Santhal rebellion?

181. Which rebellion was led by Kanhu and Sidhu?

182. Among Durgawati Devi, Matangini Hazra, Prafulla Chaki and Rani Gaidinliu, which leader led the rebellion against British rule from North-East India?

183. Who led the famous Indigo Revolt in West Bengal?

184. In which year did the rebellion take place in the rural areas of Bombay Deccan?

185. When did the Indigo Rebellion, a peasant movement, begin in India?

186. In which year did Mahatma Gandhi lead the Champaran movement against the indigo planters?

187. When did Bardoli Satyagraha start?

188. In which year did Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly?

189. Who led the Chittagong Armoury Raid?

190. Who were the main accused in the 1929 Delhi Assembly bomb incident?

191. Among Bhagat Singh, Aurobindo Ghosh, Madan Lal Dhingra and Basant Kumar, who was accused of the murder of Saunders in 1928?

192. Among Kanailal Dutta, Rajendra Lahiri and Ashfaqulla Khan, which revolutionary was arrested by the British as an accused in the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy Case?

193. Which freedom fighter gave the slogan 'Do or Die'?

194. Who gave the slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it'?

195. Which freedom fighter of India composed the song 'Sare Jahan Se Achha'?

196. Who coined the slogan 'One Caste, One Religion, One God for All'?

197. The famous scientist Albert Einstein was inspired by whose idea of non-violence?

198. When did Mahatma Gandhi establish the All India Harijan Sevak Sangh?

199. At what age did Gandhiji return to India from South Africa in 1915?

200. Who proposed the Wardha Plan on Basic Education in 1937?

201. Who is called the 'Iron Lady of India'?

202. Which leader is also known as 'Punjab Kesari' or 'Lion of Punjab'?

203. Which Indian freedom fighter is also called the 'Bismarck of India'?

204. Whose political guru was Gopal Krishna Gokhale?

205. Who were the Lal-Bal-Pal trio in the Indian independence movement?

206. Who gave the title 'Father of the Nation' to Mahatma Gandhi?

207. To whom did Rabindranath Tagore give the title 'Mahatma'?

208. Who is known as 'Bihar Kesari'?

209. To whom did Mahatma Gandhi give the title 'Nightingale of India'?

210. Who gave the title 'Deen Bandhu' to C.F. Andrews?

211. Who is famous as 'Frontier Gandhi'?

212. In which session of the All India Congress Committee was the Quit India resolution accepted?

213. Under whose chairmanship did the Indian National Congress pass the Purna Swaraj resolution in 1929?

214. At which place was the second annual session of the Indian National Congress held?

215. In which year did the Congress split take place?

216. Who was the President of the first session of Congress held in 1885?

217. Who was the first Muslim woman to sing Vande Mataram in a Congress session?

218. When the Indian National Congress was established, how many representatives met in Bombay in December 1885?

219. Who presided over the Congress session of 1938–1939?

220. Who presided over the Lahore session of 1929?

221. Which session of the Indian National Congress was the first session to be presided over by a woman?

222. Between whom was the Lucknow Pact signed?

223. At which session was Sarojini Naidu elected the first Indian woman President of Congress?

224. How many delegates participated in the second session of the Indian National Congress?

225. Who addressed the Indian National Congress as its President in 1887?

226. India's national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' was sung for the first time in which session of the Indian National Congress?

227. Who was the President of the Indian National Congress at the time of India's independence in 1947?

228. Who was the leader of the Young Bengal Movement?

229. Who was the founder of the Tiger Legion / Free India Legion?

230. Who established the Mohammedan Anglo Literary Society in Calcutta in 1863?

231. In which year was the All India Muslim League founded?

232. In which year was the Rahnumai Mazdayasna Sabha founded?

233. Where was Paramhansa Mandali established in 1840?

234. Who established Shantiniketan near Bolpur on December 22, 1901?

235. Where was Hindu College established in 1791?

236. Who was the President of the Swaraj Party formed in 1923?

237. Who established India House in London in 1905?

238. Which freedom fighters were among the founders of Fergusson College in Pune in 1885?

239. Whose death anniversary is observed on 27 February 1931?

240. Who founded Visva-Bharati, which later became a central university?

241. Who was one of the founders of the Deccan Education Society (1884 AD) in Pune?

242. Who founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College?

243. Who wrote the famous novel Durgeshnandini?

244. Who is the author of the novel Gora?

245. Who is the author of the book The Buddha and His Dhamma, published after the author's death in 1957?

246. Who wrote about the injustice of the caste system in his book Gulamgiri (1871)?

247. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's work Gift to Monotheists (1809) was originally written in which language?

248. Who wrote the book Jinnah: His Cause, Failure and Role in History?

249. The famous novel Anandamath was originally written in which language?

250. Who is the author of the book Ethical Religion?

251. Who published the first newspaper in India, Bengal Gazette, in 1780?

252. Who is the author of the book The Arctic Home in the Vedas?

253. Charles Wood's Dispatch (1854) is also called the Magna Carta of Indian education.

254. Dadabhai Naoroji strongly criticised the economic impact of British rule through which book?

255. On which day did Mahatma Gandhi's famous Salt Satyagraha and Dandi March end by breaking the salt law?

256. Who started celebrating Ganpati and Shivaji festivals in Bombay to attract people towards the freedom struggle?

257. Where was the Khilafat Committee formed in 1919?

258. In which year did the Partition of Bengal take place?

259. In which year did Alluri Sitarama Raju arrest two-year-long armed tribal struggle?

260. Identify the freedom fighter who hated going to school in his childhood and found it suffocating and oppressive.

261. Where did Subhas Chandra Bose announce the formation of an interim government on 21 October 1943?

262. In which year was the Rowlatt Act passed?

263. Who revived the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) in 1942 after Captain General Mohan Singh formed it?

264. In which year was the Indian flag first hoisted in the Great Green Park, Kolkata?

265. Who led the Khilafat Movement?

266. In which country was the Second Round Table Conference held in 1931?

267. From which place did Mahatma Gandhi start the Quit India Movement in 1942?

268. Which movement was started by Mahatma Gandhi in the year 1930?

269. The Poona Pact was signed between whom?

270. When was the Third Round Table Conference held?

271. When was the Congress Socialist Party formed?

272. When was the Forward Bloc formed?

273. What was the Day of Deliverance?

274. When was the demand for Pakistan made by the Muslim League?

275. When was the August Offer announced?

276. When was the Cripps Mission sent to India?

277. When was the Quit India Movement launched?

278. When was the Shimla Conference held?

279. When did the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny begin?

280. When did British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announce the end of British rule in India?

281. When was the Cabinet Mission sent to India?

282. When was Direct Action Day observed?

283. When was the Interim Government formed?

284. When was the Mountbatten Plan announced?

285. In 1877, which Viceroy organised a Durbar to proclaim Queen Victoria as the Empress of India?

286. Who was the Governor-General of British India during the First Anglo-Bhutan War?

287. Who introduced the resolution to include English as the official language of India for higher education?

288. Where did Lord Cornwallis start the Permanent Settlement system?

289. In which year was the Permanent Settlement implemented in Bengal?

290. Who was the Governor-General when the Permanent Settlement was introduced?

291. In which year did Lord Curzon announce the partition of Bengal?

292. Who was the first Governor-General of Bengal?

293. Who adopted the policy known as the Doctrine of Lapse?

294. Who signed the Amritsar Treaty with Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1809?

295. Who was the Viceroy of India at the time of introduction of the Morley-Minto Reforms?

296. Who was the last Indian Viceroy to delay the creation of independent states of India and Pakistan?

297. Who was the social reformer and political leader who advocated women's rights and played an important role in the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856?

298. In which year did the Partition of Bengal take place?

299. In December 1885, how many representatives from different parts of India established the Indian National Congress?

300. The oldest Veda is Rigveda, which was composed about how many years ago?

301. From the point of view of history, the Prehistoric Period has been divided into how many eras?

302. When and where was the Ved Samaj, inspired by the Brahmo Samaj, established?

303. Who was the ruler of the Garhwal dynasty defeated by Muhammad Ghori in the Battle of Chandawar in 1194?

304. In which year did the first major freedom struggle take place in India?

305. Who was the founder of the Widow Remarriage Association (1861)?

306. When did the Indigo Rebellion of Bengal happen?

307. Who founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth Seekers Society) in 1873?

308. What is the modern name of the capital city of the Mauryan Empire?

309. Which princely state was annexed by the East India Company under its annexation policy in 1852?

310. In which year was the Vernacular Press Act passed in India?

311. Who was the British Viceroy of India at the time of the Rowlatt Act of 1919?

312. Who was the Viceroy of India at the time when the Interim Government was formed in 1946?

313. In which year did Alexander attack India?

314. Which period is associated with the Iron Age of India, which lasted from about 1500 to 500 BC?

315. During which years did the Khilji dynasty rule Delhi?

316. In which year did the Cripps Mission come to India?

317. On which date did the military mutiny take place in Meerut cantonment during the Revolt of 1857?