Free Practice Questions for History in General-studies

Delhi became the capital for the first time  under the Tomara Rajputs.

Important Points:

• The Tomaras were defeated by the Chauhan rulers of Ajmer (also known as the Chahamanas) in the middle of the twelfth century. Delhi became an important center of commerce during the reign of Tomaras and Chauhans. 
• Many prosperous Jain merchants lived in the city of Delhi, who built many temples. Coins called Dehliwal were also minted here, which were very popular.
• Tomara Rajput (8th century–12th century) Anangpal is considered the founder of this dynasty.

Option Explanation:

Chauhans of Ajmer:- 

• The chief Chauhan ruler Ajayraj was the son of Prithviraj I. And he had settled the city of Ajaymeru (Ajmer) in 1113 AD. And later made this city the capital and got a fort named Taragarh built in it.

Iltutmish Dynasty:   

• Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a prominent ruler of the Shamsi dynasty (slave dynasty) after Qutb-ud-Din  Aibak, the founder of the Turkic state in the Delhi Sultanate. He was also the son-in-law of Aibak. He ruled from 1211 AD to 1236 AD.

Khilji Dynasty :

• The Khilji dynasty was founded by Jalal-ud-Din Khilji in 1290 AD, who ruled from 1290 to 1296. The Khilji dynasty was followed by the Mamluk dynasty or the Slave dynasty (1206–1290).

The Battle of the Hydaspes took place on the banks of the Jhelum River in (326 BC) between Alexander and Porus (King of Punjab). 

Important Points -

• In this war, Alexander defeated Porus and was impressed by his bravery and courage.
• This was the fourth and last battle fought by Alexander the Great during his campaign of conquest in Asia.
• Alexander was born in July around 356 BC. Alexander's full name was Alexander III and Alexander the Macedonian.
  
• Alexander's father's name was Philip and mother's name was Olympia. Year  323 BC  He died in Babylon.

Khudiram Bose ( along with fellow revolutionary Prafulla Chaki ) was hanged in Muzaffarpur Jail on  August 11, 1908, at the age of 18, on charges of conspiracy to kill H. Kingsford (District Magistrate of Bengal).

After throwing the bomb, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla thought that they had killed Kingsford, but the wife and daughter of Pringle Kennedy, a British barrister, were sitting in that wagon instead. Due to which both of them died in this attack. 

 This incident is also known as  Muzaffarpur Conspiracy .

 Khudiram Bose

• Khudiram Bose was born in the year 1889 in a village in  Medinipur district of West Bengal.
• In the year 1905, when the partition of Bengal took place, he actively opposed British rule. 
• At the age of 15, Khudiram Bose joined the  Anushilan Samiti .
• Anushilan Samiti was one of the early organizations of the 20th century, which promoted revolutionary activities in Bengal. 
• He was the youngest person to be hanged in the Indian independence movement.

Chandragupta Maurya fought against Seleucus in the Seleucid-Mauryan War.

Important Points

• Seleucus Nicator became king of Persia , Syria and Bactria  and proclaimed himself as the founder of the Seleucid dynasty.
• During that time, after the death of Alexander, another great emperor  (324–301 BCE)  Chandragupta Maurya established a strong empire called the "Maurya Dynasty" in India.
• Seleucus Nicator extended his rule westwards to present-day southern Afghanistan and ousted the Greeks from the Indian lands. 
• Therefore, Seleucus wanted to move east of the Indus to recover these territories.

Chandra Gupta Maurya 

• Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire in 322 BC at the age of 25 by defeating Dhanananda, the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty, with the help of his guru Chanakya   .
• Chandragupta Maurya has been described as a Vrishal dynasty in the Mudrarakshasa written by Vishakhadatta  .

Varahamihira, born in  Ujjain in 505 AD , was  an ancient Indian mathematician-astronomer contemporary to Aryabhata.

Important Points

It was Varahamihira who   first told about  the gravitational power of the earth .

• His books are  Panch Siddhantika, Vrihajjatak and Vrihat Samhita  .
• He gave the trigonometric formula  in mathematics  – sin2x + cos2x = 1  . 
• Varahamihira also composed a mathematical treatise named Sankhya Siddhanta.

Option Explanation 

• Banabhatta  was the court poet of King Harshavardhana. He was the most important of the great patrons of Sanskrit literature. 
• Nagarjuna   was an outstanding poet of Hindi and Maithili. The great philosopher Nagarjuna has discussed the theory of relativity in Ratnavali. Nagarjuna is called the Einstein of India. 
• Amalanand Ghosh  was an archaeologist of India. He got the archaeological excavations done at many places in India (Harappan site Kalibanga) in the 20th century. He was the author and editor of several books on the ancient civilization of India and the former Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Kushal Konwar was an Assamese freedom fighter who was hanged in Jorhat Central Jail during the Quit India Movement .

Important Points: 

Quit India Movement 

• The "Quit India Movement" was Started by Mahatma Gandhi in the Bombay session on 8 August 1942.  It is also known as the August Revolution.
•  This movement demanded the end of British rule in India. ,
• The main reason for starting the Quit India Movement was that the British were planning to drag the country into World War II without the consent of the United Kingdom (UK) to fight the country.
• Usha Mehta operated Intelligence Radio during the Quit India Movement.
•  The iconic 'Quit India' slogan was coined in 1942 by Yusuf Mehar Ali, the founder of the Congress Socialist Party. 
•  During this, Gandhiji said "Do or die", and "I will create a bigger movement than the Congress from the sand of the country." gave the slogan.
•  The 'Grand Old Lady' Aruna Asaf Ali hoisted the Indian flag at the Gwalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai during the Quit India Movement.

Ardhendu Dastidar was related to the Chittagong armory raid.

Important Points

Chittagong Armory Raid

• On 18 April 1930, under the leadership of India's great revolutionary Surya Sen, armed Indian freedom fighters raided and looted the armory of police and auxiliary forces in Chittagong (now in Bangladesh).
• Suryasen had prepared his own army 'Indian Republic Army' against the British rule from Chittagong. 
•  This event is also called the Chittagong Rebellion.
• In this incident, the main plan was to rob the two main armories, destroy the telegraph and telephone office, and take members of the European Club hostage. 
• Revolutionaries of this incident  Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, Anand Gupta and Anant Singh were sent to Andaman as punishment.

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire in India around 322 BC by uprooting the Nanda Empire with the help of his Guru Chanakya.

important point

• During the reign of Chandragupta Maurya, the Mauryan Empire extended from Bengal and Assam in the east, Afghanistan and Baluchistan in the west, Kashmir and Nepal in the north and the Deccan Plateau in the south.
• Chandragupta married Helena, daughter of Seleucus Nicator.
• Chandragupta Maurya renounced worldly pleasures and gave up his life by 'Sallekhana'after ruling for 23 years in Shravanabelagola, Karnataka.
• Chanakya's book  Arthashastrareveals the governance system of the Maurya Empire.
• Bindusara was the son of Chandragupta Maurya.
• Bindusara's son was Ashoka, during whose time the Kalinga War was fought between the Maurya Empire and the Kalinga Kingdom in 261 BCE.
• Ashoka converted to Buddhism after the Kalinga war, and the Stupa of Sanchiwas built by Emperor Ashoka.
• In 180 BCE, Brihadratha Maurya was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga, establishing the Shunga Empire.

The people of Mesopotamia used to write on tablets made of clay. Writing on a wet clay tablet with a reed was used to dry it.

About Mesopotamia 

• Urban life first started in Mesopotamia (3200-600 BC).
•  This civilization was located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in what is now part of the Republic of Iraq. 
• The civilization of Mesopotamia is famous for its prosperity, urban life, vast and rich literature, mathematics and astronomy .
• Its urbanized southern part was called  Sumer and Akkad . 
• 2000 BC After that the southern region of the civilization came to be known  as Babylonia .
• The main languages of Mesopotamia were  Sumerian and Akkadian .  

Nalanda and Vikramshila universities were established during the Pala dynasty.

Vikramshila University

• It is an ancient center of education located in   Bhagapalur district of  Bihar state .
• The Mahavihara of Vikramshila was established by King Dharmapala (775-800 AD) . 
• Dharmapala granted them a grant by building a temple and a monastery here. 
• Acharya Dipankar Srigyan was the head of Vikramshila University. He was a great writer of Hinayana, Mahayana, Vaisheshika, logician and Tibetan Buddhism.  

Nalanda University

• Kumaragupta founded the Nalanda University in the 5th century AD.
• It  was used to study Mahayana Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism as well as students from other religions and many countries.
• It is located 88.5 km south-east of Patna and  Rajgir in   present-day Bihar state
•   Chinese travelers Hiuen Tsang and Etsing came to study in this university. 
•  The famous 'Buddhist Sariputra' was born here.
• 1199 AD Turkish ruler Bakhtiyar Khilji set fire to Nalanda University.

On October 1, 1943 , Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose formed a temporary government of independent India in Singapore , which was called ' Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind '. 

Important Points:  

• After the formation of this government, he again set up the Azad Hind Fauj  afresh .
• INA was first formed by Mohan Singh and Japanese Major Iwaichi Fujiwa Ra.

Subhash Chandra Bose

• Bose passed the Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination in the year 1919 . And later resigned.
•  "You give me blood, I will give you freedom" and gave the famous slogan of Delhi Chalo.
• Its birthday is celebrated on 23 January   as Bravery Day .
• In 1921 , Subhash Chandra Bose started a newspaper named Swaraj .

'Jana Gana Mana' was first sung on December 27, 1911, at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. 

Important Points:

• 'Jana Gana Mana' was written by Rabindranath Tagore in the Bengali language. 
• The duration of singing the National Anthem is 52 seconds. 
• The Constituent Assembly adopted Jana-Gana-Mana as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. 
• Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay composed Vande Mataram, the national song of India.

Dadabhai Naoroji is called the 'Grand Old Man of India'. 

Important Points- 

• The East India Association was founded in London in 1867 by Dadabhai Naoroji. 
• In 1892, he was the first Indian to win election to the British Parliament as a Liberal Party candidate. 
• Dadabhai Naoroji also presented the theory of drain of wealth in England's Debt to India. 
• Dadabhai Naoroji became the President of the Indian National Congress three times in 1886 Calcutta, 1893 Lahore and 1906 Calcutta.

Option Explanation -

• Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was the first education minister  of independent India.
• Every year on 11 November, the birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is celebrated as  National Education Day.
• He started Al-Hilal magazine in Urdu  and  was the President of Congress from 1940 to 1946. 
•  Bal Gangadhar Tilak started  two newspapers,  Kesari in Marathi and Maratha in English.
• Tilak  established  Fergusson College in 1885  under  the Deccan Education Society.
• Established the Indian Home Rule League in 1916 and signed the Lucknow Pact with Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
• Lala Lajpat Rai is called Punjab Case Ri.
• In 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai was injured in a lathi-charge by the police during a protest against the Simon Commission and eventually died.  

In 1906, the Calcutta session was presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji. 

Important Points:

• In this session, the differences between the moderate party and the extremist party emerged.
• Due to these differences, the Congress was divided into two parts in the Surat session of 1907.
• Dadabhai Naoroji first presented the demand for independence in the Congress session of Calcutta.

Four resolutions were passed in this convention-

• Attainment of Swaraj  
• Adoption of education 
• Encouragement of Swadeshi movement 
• Boycott of foreign clothes.

In1920, the program of non-cooperation was approved in the Nagpur session of the Indian National Congress. 

Important Points-

• The goal of the Congress was to achieve self-rule through peaceful and legitimate means and a 15-member Congress Working Committee was formed on linguistic basis to lead the Congress. 
• The job of the Congress was to look after the day-to-day work. The president of this session was C. Vijayraghavacharya. And the non-cooperation movement under the leadership of Gandhiji was started from August 1, 1920.

Important session of congress-

The Surat session took place in Gujarat in 1907 on the banks of the Tapti river. 

Important  Points -

• There was already a difference between the moderate party and the hot party for the movement for the attainment of independence and the election of the post of president. 
• The Extremist party wanted to make Lokmanya Tilak the president of the Surat Congress first and later Lala Lajpat Rai, but the moderate party made Rasbihari Ghosh the president of the convention.
• After the Surat partition, the leadership of the Garam Dal was led by Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal. 
• The moderate party was led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. 
• In 1916, the two parties again merged in the Lucknow session of the Congress.

In the Surat session, the Indian National Congress was divided into extremists and moderates. After partition, a conference of nationalist delegates was held in Surat in December 1907 under the chairmanship of Sri Aurobindo.

Important Points:

• Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, poet, and nationalist. 
• He was imprisoned in the 1908 Alipore Bomb Case. 
• Sri Aurobindo was the editor of an English newspaper named Bande Mataram.
• Pherozeshah Mehta was the founder of the English newspaper Bombay Chronicle.
• Dadabhai Naoroji is called the Grand Old Man of India. He founded the East India Association in London in 1867. 
•  In 1892, he was the first Indian to win an election to the British House of Commons as a candidate for the Liberal Party.
• Dadabhai Naoroji, in the book England's Debt to India, presented the theory of the drain of wealth.

In 1929, at the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress, the demand for complete Swaraj was accepted. 

Important Points -

• Jawaharlal Nehru was the president of this session. In this convention, Purna Swaraj was declared the main goal of the Congress. 
• The objective of Purna Swaraj was a pledge to struggle to build a kingdom completely independent of the British Empire. 
• Hasrat Mohani was the first person to demand Poorna Swaraj. In this convention, it was decided to celebrate 26 January 1930 as the Independence Day.
• In 1931, the Karachi session of Congress  was held under the chairmanship of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. 
• The Gandhi-Irwin Pact  was accepted in this convention.
• For the first time in this convention, the resolution of fundamental rights and economic policy  was passed.
• The Kanpur session of 1925  was presided over by Mrs. Sarojini Naidu.

Gandhiji presided over the Belgaum session of the Congress, 

Important Point: 

• This session was held in Belgaum, Karnataka in the year 1924. 
• Through this session, Gandhi provided new energy to the countrymen which was dormant due to the sudden termination of the non-cooperation movement.  
• Through this convention, he inspired the feelings of nationalism among the farmers in South India.
• Charu Mazumdar was a leader of the Communist Party of India in West Bengal and started a Naxalite movement against the regime in 1967.
• Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India.

 Mohan Lal Ghosh was the President of the 19th session of the Indian National Congress. This session was held in Madras in December 1903.

Important Points- 

• The Indian National Congress was founded in Bombay in December 1885.
• A.O. Hume was the founder of the Indian National Congress and the first president W.C. Banerjee was 
• The Indian National Congress was formed with a view to promote the process of nation building.  

Option Explanation -

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale  was a member of the moderate wing of the Indian National Congress. 
• He established the Servants of India Society in 1905 for the expansion of Indian education. He was the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Sir Henry Cotton, an officer of the Bengal Civil Service, presided over the 20th session of the Indian National Congress in Bombay in 1904.
• Surendranath Banerjee is called the Maker of Bengal in 1905. Surendranath Banerjee  is called the king without crown of Bengal.
• Surendra Nath Banerjee was the second Indian to be selected in the Indian Civil Service.