Indian History Mixed Quiz 3: Ancient to Constitution, WBPSC Clerkship GK

The Rigveda has 10 mandalas. Mandalas 2 to 7 are regarded as the oldest, and the 10th contains the Purusha Sukta, the earliest mention of the four varnas.

Jainism has 24 Tirthankaras. The first was Rishabhanatha (Adinath), the 23rd Parshvanatha and the 24th and last Mahavira. So Mahavira is the last, not the first.

After enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, the Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath (Isipatana, near Varanasi). Lumbini is his birthplace, Bodh Gaya the place of enlightenment and Kushinagar the place of his mahaparinirvana.

The Prayag Prashasti was composed by Harishena, court poet of Samudragupta. It is engraved on an Ashokan pillar. Banabhatta served Harsha, Ravikirti wrote the Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II, and Kalidasa was a poet and dramatist.

Fa-Hien came in the early 5th century CE, under the Gupta king Chandragupta II. Hiuen Tsang came in the 7th century under Harsha, and I-Tsing was also a 7th-century traveller. Megasthenes was a Greek envoy, not Chinese, at the Mauryan court.

The Harshacharita was written by Banabhatta, court poet of Harshavardhana. Kalhana wrote the Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir, Vishakhadatta the play Mudrarakshasa, and Bilhana the Vikramankadevacharita.

Rajendra I built Gangaikonda Cholapuram as his new capital to mark his Ganga campaign. His father Rajaraja I built the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur. Vijayalaya founded the medieval Chola line.

The rathas and Shore Temple of Mamallapuram were built by the Pallavas; the town is linked with Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla). The Chalukyas are known for Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal, the Rashtrakutas for the Kailasa temple at Ellora.

At Khanwa Babur defeated the Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga of Mewar. Ibrahim Lodi lost to him in 1526 at the First Battle of Panipat, and Hemu lost to Akbar in 1556 at the Second.

The Dahsala or Zabt system is linked with Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's revenue minister. Revenue was fixed on the average produce and prices of the previous ten years. Abul Fazl wrote the Ain-i-Akbari and Man Singh was a general.

Shivaji was crowned at Raigad fort in 1674 and took the title Chhatrapati. Raigad was the capital of the Maratha state. The Treaty of Purandar with the Mughals was signed in 1665.

After winning at Buxar (1764), Robert Clive obtained the diwani from Mughal emperor Shah Alam II by the Treaty of Allahabad (1765). The right to collect revenue passed to the Company, which began dual government in Bengal.

The Subsidiary Alliance was introduced by Lord Wellesley (1798–1805). A native state kept Company troops, paid for them and employed no other Europeans. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to accept. Dalhousie used the Doctrine of Lapse.

In 1793 Lord Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Zamindars became owners of land and paid a fixed revenue for ever; land was auctioned if they failed to pay. Thomas Munro introduced the Ryotwari system in Madras.

Lord William Bentinck banned Sati by Regulation XVII of 1829. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's long campaign played a big part. Dalhousie, Canning and Ripon ruled later.

Vidyasagar's campaign led to the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act in 1856. 1829 was the year Sati was banned, 1872 brought the Native Marriage Act, and 1891 the Age of Consent Act.

On 29 March 1857 Mangal Pandey of the 34th Native Infantry attacked British officers at Barrackpore and was later hanged. The Revolt spread widely from Meerut on 10 May. Tantia Tope, Nana Sahib and Bakht Khan were other rebel leaders.

Lord Curzon was Viceroy when the partition of Bengal took effect on 16 October 1905; it led to the Swadeshi and boycott movements. It was annulled in 1911 under Lord Hardinge. The Morley-Minto Reforms came in 1909.

The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946. The Drafting Committee, set up in August 1947, was chaired by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the Assembly's permanent president. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.