History : Compendium 1

1. What was ” Bhottavisti” in Ancient Times?
Ans. Bhottavisiti was a special kind of forced labor imposed on peasants from the laborers of Tibet.

2. Who was jall-ud-din Firoz?
Ans. He was uncle of Alaud-din-khilji whom he murdered treacherously in 1296 and became Sultan of Delhi.

3. What is most appreciated thing about Indians (Hindus particularly ) by Alberuni in his book Kitab-ul-Hind?
Ans. He has appreciated a very high degree of proficiency of Indians in construction of Tanks and reservoirs at holy places.

4. Albuqurque acquired Goa in which year and from whom?
Ans. In 1510 from Bijapur.
In February 1510, Albuquerque sailed up the Mandovi to the city of Goa with a force of some two thousands and defeating its garrison, seizes the city. The news angered Yusuf Adil Shah I, who assembled an army of 50,000 and attacked the Portuguese in Goa. Albuquerque was forced to evacuate the city of Goa, but he sought to fight by holding to the fortress at the mouth of the river, at the present site of Ponjhe (Pangim, later Nova Goa). After several months of fighting, aided by the Goan Hindus, Albuquerque evacuated the estuary in August 1510, and withdrew to the isle of Anjediva which he made into his new base, and calling for reinforcements from across the Indian Ocean, he began preparations for a second attempt. In the meantime, under his directions, the Goans kept up guerrilla warfare against the forces of Bijapur, spreading it out thin.

In November 1510, his forces augmented to some eight thousands men, the majority being native recruits from the Malabar Coast and Goa, Albuquerque sailed once again to the City of Goa and after a day’s intense fighting, overwhelmed the Bijapur garrison. Before this second conquest, or Reconquista of November 21, 1510, the Goan Hindus had negotiated a treaty with Albuquerque under which the Portuguese were to entirely exterminate the hated Mahomettan settlers in Goa, but not molest any of the Hindus. This was an assignment not far from the heart of the Portuguese, and they fell to the work with a gusto. The Portuguese only spared some of the captured Moro womenfolk, whom Albuquerque had had baptized and given in marriage to Portuguese officers on condition that they settle down in the city. This procedure was objected to by the Catholic priests, who doubted the sincerity of these women’s conversions. However, Albuquerque overruled them. A short time later, the priests were proven right when some of these women were discovered to have conspired to subvert and overthrow the Portuguese in coordination with the Bijapur armies.

5. Ali Brothers were associated with which movement?
Ans. Ali brothers were Maulana Mohammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali — two brothers who were at the helm of affairs during the Khilafat Movement in India.

6. Who among Ajatshatru, Anirudha, Bimbisara & Munda killed their father (patricides)?
Ans. Bimbisara, because he was father of Ajatshatru and he was himself murdered by Ajatshatru. Rest both had killed their fathers.

7. Name some Muslim scholars who rendered Mahabharata in Persian?
Ans. Abdul kadir Badayuni, Naqib Khan & Shaikh Sultan of Thaneshwar

8. Which rajput ruler didn’t acknowledge the Mughal sway in second half of 16th century?
Ans. Maharana Pratap of Mewar

9. Among Razia, Balban, Iltutmish and Qutubuddin aibak who were the purchased slaves?
all except Razia. Razia was daughter of Iltutmish. Qutubuddin was slave of Mohd. Ghauri. Balban was a slave of Iltutmish, who at the orders of his own master, Qutbuddin Aibak, released him from slavery and brought him up in a manner befitting a prince

10. Devendra nath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen and Akshaya Kumar Datta were related to which samaj?
Ans. Brahm Samaj

11. Who were the other great kings of the world contemporary of Akbar the Great ?
Ans. Abbas the Great of Persia, Elizabeth-I of England and Henery-IV of France.

12. Among Bharhut, Mathura, Sanchi , and Amravati in which sculptural evidence regarding the first representation of the Budhdha in human form has come ?
Ans. Mathura
The standing Mathura Buddha is a colossal statue wearing monastic robes. The transparent robes which is carved with circular lines once again points at his masculine body. The right shoulder is bare as the left shoulder is draped elegantly. Apart from the standing posture another Mathura Buddha sculpture represents Buddha in his Yogic posture.
Representation of Buddha`s human form amidst the lines and curves of Indian sculptures appeared much later than the construction of stupas. His presence was originally depicted by footprints, his birth was depicted by a standing woman, a tree was initially the symbol of his enlightenment and the stupa represented his death. It was in Gandhara and Mathura in the midst of the art of lines, carves and colours of Indian sculpture Buddha as human was depicted. The Mathura Buddha is therefore just not a diachronic sculpture but a medieval Indian sculptural descriptor where Buddha is depicted as just not a historical figure but a figure worthy of bowing down. Putting a date to the origin of this standing Mathura Buddha sculpture is almost impossible however; historians believe that it was in the last century BCE – about 500 years after the Buddha`s death Mathura Buddha was sculpted in the Mathura style at the central India

13. One of the sons of Shanhjahan translated Atharvaveda. What was his name?
Ans. Shahjahan had Four Sons. Shuja, Murad, Aurangzeb & Dara Shikoh.
Dara Shikoh wrote in his Persian translation of the Upanishads.”After gradual research; I have come to the conclusion that long before all heavenly books, God had revealed to the Hindus, through the Rishis of yore, of whom Brahma was the Chief, His four books of knowledge, the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda.” Dara Shikoh

14. A group of Industrialist had started anti-non-cooperation association in 1920. Who were main industrialists in that group?
Ans. Purshottam Das Thakur Das was prominent. Others were Jamunadas Dwarkadas and Setalved.


1 Comment

  1. Anonymous

    December 4, 2009 at 2:25 am

    very nice collection

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