[DAY 52] 60 DAY RAPID REVISION (RaRe) SERIES for UPSC Prelims 2023 – HISTORY, CURRENT AFFAIRS & CSAT TEST SERIES!

Solution (c)

Explanation:

• Towns of Harappa and Mohenjodaro were divided into parts namely citadel and lower town. Citadels were occupied by members of the ruling class and the lower town was inhabited by the common people. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• Practically every house had a bathroom which, was on the side of the street for the convenient disposal of water. In the number of cases, latrines have been found which were placed between the bathroom and the street wall. The bathrooms and latrines were sometimes found on the ground floor and sometimes on the first floor. There was an arrangement of wastewater to run through brick channel in the thickness of the wall, which was received below in a cess pit. Pottery pipes were used for the drainage system. These were fitted both vertical and horizontally. They were so laid that the end of the fitted into socket of another. A brick-lined channel flowed down every street, sometimes even in small lanes, into the tributary drains from the houses on either side. (Hence statement 2 is correct)

Solution (c)

Explanation

• Chandra Gupta 1 was the first important King of Gupta Dynasty; laid down the foundations of Gupta Empire and claimed the title of Majarajadhiraja. (King of Kings)
• His empire included modern day Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal with capital at Patalipura.
• He enhanced his power my marrying Kumara Devi of Lichchaavi clan of Nepal. In fact, Samudragupta was referred to as Lichchhavi-dauhitra (grandson of the Lichchhavis) in the famous Allahabad prashasti. (Hence option (c) is correct answer).

Solution (d)

Explanation:

• Bhakti movement disregarded the austerities preached by the Jains and the Buddhists along with rejecting their fatalistic and atheistic traditions and preached personal devotion to God as a means of Salvation. (Hence statement 1 is incorrect)
• The Bhakti saints usually emerged from lower castes, preached a religion which was non-ritualistic and open to all without any distinction of caste or creed, taught in the local vernacular language. The Bhakti Movement was a significant factor in the development of regional literature in languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, and Tamil. Many of the great works of Indian literature were also translated into regional languages during this time. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• The Bhakti Movement led to the development of different philosophies within the Vedanta school. The Bhakti Movement played an important role in the development of different philosophical schools of thought within the Vedanta tradition. These included the Advaita Vedanta of Shankaracharya and the Vishishtadvaita Vedanta of Ramanujacharya. (Hence statement 3 is correct)
• The Bhakti Movement led to the emergence of a new class of spiritual leaders, known as bhaktas or saints, who were not bound by caste or social status. These saints, such as Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, were seen as intermediaries between the individual and the divine and played an important role in spreading the message of the Bhakti Movement. (Hence statement 4 is correct)

Solution (d)

Explanation:

• Chauth and Sardeshmukhi were two major source of revenue and it is interesting to note that these taxes were collected not in the Maratha Kingdom but in the neighbouring territories of the Mughal Empire or Deccan sultanates. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• Chauth: One fourth (1/4^th of the land revenue) paid to the Marathas in order to avoid the Marathas raids.
• Sardesmukhi: It was an additional levy of ten percent that is, 1/10 of standard land revenue on those lands on which the Marathas claimed hereditary rights.
• The king was the pivot of the government, who was assisted by the Council of Ministers called the Ashta Pradhan. Each one headed a department and was directly responsible to Shivaji. It is also pertinent to note that under Shivaji, these offices where neither hereditary nor permanent and were also frequently transferred. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• Shivaji was a military genius and his army was very well organized. The Marathas were pioneers of commando actions. The regular starting army known as Paga consisted of about 30,000 to 40,000 cavalry supervised by the Hawaldar, who better given fixed salaries. The Marathas were famous for guerrilla warfare, along with the use of innovative weapon the Bagh naka, meaning tiger claw. The infantry was highly mobile and light and the Mavli foot soldiers played an important role in the infantry. Interestingly, at the time of exigencies, presents also functioned as part time soldiers. Shivaji also build a powerful navy for the purpose of guarding the Maratha ports. (Hence statement 3 is correct)

Solution (b)

Explanation:

• Iltutmish was the first to introduce Arabic coinage in India, called silver Tanka weighing 175 grams, which remains the basis of the modern rupee and copper Jital. (Hence statement 1 is incorrect)
• Alauddin Khalji was the sultan to have a large permanent standing army and introduced the system of paying salaries in cash to the soldiers from the royal treasury. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• Alauddin Khalji was the first Sultan of Delhi who ordered for the measurement of land. Even the big landlords could not escape from paying land tax. Land revenue was collected in cash in order to enable the Sultan to pay the soldiers in cash. The state official measured the cultivated land and fixed land revenue Biswa was this standard unit of measurement. (Hence statement 3 is correct)

Solution (c)

Explanation:

• The land revenue system of Akbar was called as Dahsala system, under which revenue was fixed on average yield of land assessed on the basis of past ten years (dah years) (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• It had a uniform system of land measurement, which was based on the Gaz-I-Ilahi or the divine yard. This ensured that the land measurements were standardized across the empire and there was no room for manipulation or discrepancies. (Hence statement 2 is correct)

Solution (c)

Explanation:

• Brahmanical literature was particularly severe in the treatment of women and assigned to them a very low status in the society. Buddhist texts, on the other hand, were much more considerate in treating them.
• Megasthenes testifies to the growing practice of polygamy; employment of women as palace guards, bodyguards to the king, spies, etc; permission of widow remarriage and divorce. (Hence both the statements are correct)
• Thus, the position of women, though inferior to that of men and witnessing a downtrend, was not as bad as it came to be in the later periods such as the Gupta period.

Solution (c)

Explanation:

• Digambara tradition holds that a woman lacks the body and rigid will necessary to attain moksha, i.e., liberation, hence she has to be reborn as a man before such an attainment is possible. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• Shvetambaras acknowledge the possibility of women attaining Jina-hood and maintain that women are capable in the present lifetime of the same spiritual accomplishments as men. (Hence statement 2 is correct)

Solution (a)

Explanation:

Buddha is represented in five forms:

• Lotus and Bull – Birth
• Horse – Renunciation
• Bodhi Tree – Mahabodhi
• Dhammachakra Pravartana – First Sermon
• Footprints – Nirvana

Solution (b)

Explanation:

• Al-Biruni was a traveller from Uzbekistan who visited in 11th century in Punjab and Northern part of India. In his book Kitab-Ul-Hind, he adopted a distinctive structure in his book to describe India. He started each chapter with a question, following up with a description based on Sanskritic traditions, and concluding with a comparison with other cultures. (Ibn Battuta was a Moroccon traveller who visited India when Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the Sultan of Delhi. He wrote his travelogue known as Rihla). (Hence statement 1 and 2 are incorrect)
• He noted that the four social categories of society was not unique to India, however, criticized the notion of pollution in social strata. . (Hence statement 3 is correct)

Solution (b)

Explanation:

• Megaliths, as the name suggests, are large stone forms a prehistoric monument. Megaliths are associated with Neolithic-Chalcolithic age. The huge stones are used to construct monuments for various purposed including religious reasons also. (Hence option (b) is correct answer)

Solution (a)

Explanation:

• Ibn Battutah from Morocco travelling overland through Central Asia reached Sind in 1333 during which Sultan of Delhi was Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• Marco Polo who visited China and also India from his home base in Venice in the late Thirteenth century. He landed in Pandya kingdom impressed by the wealth and magnificence of the King, Prince as well as people, tagged it as the richest kingdom in existence. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• Abdur Razzaq, an ambassador sent by the ruler of Persia to Calicut in the fifteenth century who had travelled widely in and outside India, visited Vijayanagara in the reign of Deva Raya II. (Hence statement 3 is incorrect)

Solution (d)

Explanation:

• Farman: Order of the emperor.
• Nishan: Order of a member of the royal family.
• Yaddasht-i-ahkam-i-muqaddas: Memorandum containing imperial orders.
• Parwana: Orders issued by higher authorities. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• Siyaha huzur: Proceedings of the provincial court. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• Roznamcha-i-waqai: Daily news report.
• Qabzul wasil: Bill paymants.
• Andarz-o-chihra: Documents on personnel and horses. (Hence statement 3 is correct)

Solution (b)

Explanation:

On June 3, 1947 Lord Mountbatten published a statement outlining his solution of India’s political problem.

• The Mountbatten Plan, as the 3rd June, 1947 Plan came to be known, sought to effect an early transfer of power on the basis of Dominion Status to two successor states, India and Pakistan. (Hence statement 1 is correct)
• Since Congress was asked to concede to Mountbatten plan, their main point i.e. a unified India, all their other points would be met. Whether it was ruling out independence for the princes or unity for Bengal or Hyderabad’s joining up with Pakistan instead of India, Mountbatten firmly supported Congress on these issues. (Hence statement 2 is incorrect)
• Both congress and Muslim League accepted the proposal. Mountbatten’s formula was to divide India but retain maximum unity. The country would be partitioned but so would Punjab and Bengal, so that the limited Pakistan that emerged would meet both the Congress and League’s positions to some extent. The League’s position on Pakistan was conceded to the extent that it would be created, but the Congress position on unity would be taken into account to make Pakistan as small as possible. (Hence statement 3 is incorrect)

Solution (c)

Explanation:

The resolution affirming complete independence as the goal by the congress was moved by Gandhiji himself and passed in 1929. He put forward his famous 11 points demand before the Viceroy Lord Irwin on 30th January 1930.

Gandhi’s 11 points:

1. Prohibit intoxicants.
2. Change the ratio between the rupee and the sterling pound.
3. Reduce the rate of land revenue.
4. Abolition of salt tax. (Its abolition of salt tax and not the reduction) (Hence statement 1 is incorrect)
5. Reduce the military expenditure.
6. Reduce expenditure on civil administration.
7. Impose custom duty on foreign cloth.
8. Accept the Postal Reservation Bill.
9. Abolish the CID department. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
10. Release all political prisoners.
11. Issue licenses of arms to citizens for self- protection. (Hence statement 3 is correct)

Solution (c)

Explanation:

• Lucknow session of Congress was presided by a moderate Ambika Charan Majumdar. Madan Mohan Malviya presided 1909 session of congress held at Lahore. (Hence statement 1 is incorrect)
• Muslim league dominated by younger revolutionaries were influenced by Congress and both these organisations were fighting imperialist oppressions so the choice of both organisations saw obvious convergence. Congress accepted League’s demand of separate electorate and League agreed to present joint constitutional demand with the Congress. Both the moderates and the extremists realised that the split had led to political inactivity. Annie Besant and Tilak had had made vigorous efforts for their reunion. So, A C Majumdar readmitted extremists to Congress fold. (Hence statements 2 and 3 are correct)

Solution (b)

Explanation:

• The Bardoli Satyagraha was organized to reduce the sufferings of Kali Paraj peasants. The Hali system, though was prevalent in south Gujarat, was a specialty of Bardoli. This system is based on the tribal agricultural laborers and the high caste landlords, that is, Patidars. The Hali system was largely responsible for Bardoli satyagraha. (Hence statement 1 is incorrect)
• The movement was led by Vallabhbhai Patel, and its success gave rise to Patel becoming one of the main leaders of the independence movement. It was a major episode of civil disobedience. (Hence statement 2 is correct)

Solution (a)

Explanation:

• Francisco de Almeida was a Portuguese explorer and the first Portuguese governor of India. In 1503 Francisco de Almeida was appointed the First Governor and Viceroy of the Portuguese India. He was able to erect some fortresses at Cochin, Cannanore, Kilwa and Anjadiva
• One of Almeida’s main objectives was to control the lucrative spice trade that was dominated by Muslim traders. He launched a series of attacks on Muslim ships and ports along the Indian coast to establish Portuguese dominance. The fierce competition for dominance in trade culminated in a battle of the Portuguese with the confederacy of the Egypt, Turkey and Gujarat and in this battle with the Muslims his son’s life was at the Harbour of Chaul in India in 1508. He was able to defeat the trio a year later, but before could do any more wonders here, died in 1510. (Hence statement 1 is correct).
• Almeida is credited with adopting the “blue water policy” which involved the use of a powerful navy to control the seas rather than establishing colonies on land. This policy allowed the Portuguese to dominate the Indian Ocean trade and establish a trading network that extended from Europe to Asia. (Hence statement 2 is correct).
• Almeida had hostile relations with the Indian ruler Zamorin (Samoothiri) of Calicut (Kozhikode), who was a major player in the spice trade. Almeida attacked and sacked the port city of Calicut, which led to a long-standing rivalry between the Portuguese and the Samoothiri. Additionally, there is no record of Almeida and Zamorin jointly defeating Egyptian forces in the Indian Ocean. (Hence statement 3 is incorrect)

Solution (a)

Explanation:

• Vijayanagara School of Architecture was predominantly influenced by the Indo-Islamic style of Bijapur, which in turn was reflected in the temples built during this period. (Hence statement 1 is correct.)
• It introduced the concept of secular buildings inside the temple premises which was introduced during this period. (Hence statement 2 is correct)
• Gopurams, which were previously present on the front side, were now built on all the sides. (Hence statement 3 is incorrect)

The features of the Vijayanagara School of architecture were:

• The walls of the temples were highly decorated with carvings and geometrical patterns.
• The temples were built with monolithic rock pillars.
• Generally, temple pillars have a mythical creature, Yali (Horse), engraved with them.
• The enclosing walls of temples were larger.
• More than one mandaps were built in each temple. The Central mandap came to be known as Kalyan Mandap.
• The temple complex is enclosed by boundaries.
• Vittalaswami temple, Lotus Mahal, Virupaksha temple in hampi, Raghunatha temple in Hampi etc. Rock-cut idol of Narasimha on Shesha (snake) near Hampi is a marval in itself.

Solution (a)

Explanation:

• Fatehpur Sikri is a place where Mughal architecture, an example of Indo-Islamic architecture can be seen with urban planning, and urban design principles. It was the capital city under the Reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. It has been described as the ‘frozen moment of Indian history’ as the buildings here represent a unique blend of Hindu and Persian styles.
• Some of the important buildings inside the city are: Buland Darwaza, Salim Chisti’s Tomb, Panch Mahal, Jodha Bai’s Palace or Mariam-Uz-Zamani’s Palace, Ibadat Khana, Pachisi Court, Hiran Minar etc.(Hence option (a) is correct answer).

Solution (d)

Explanation:

• National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released the Landslide Atlas of India, a detailed guide identifying Landslide Hotspots in the country. Statement 1 is incorrect
• Uttarakhand, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh reported the highest number of landslides during 1998 – 2022. Mizoram topped the list, recording 12,385 landslide events in the past 25 years, of which 8,926 were recorded in 2017 alone. Mizoram is followed by Uttarakhand (11,219) and Kerala. Statement 2 is incorrect

 Source: CLICK HERE

Solution (d)

Explanation:

• India’s Antiquities and Art Treasures Act (AATA), 1972, defines “antiquity” as any coin, sculpture, painting, epigraph or other work of art or craftsmanship that has been in existence for not less than 100 years. For a manuscript, record or other documents which are of scientific, historical, literary or aesthetic value, this duration is not less than 75 years. Statement 1 is incorrect
• All the Union, State and Concurrent Lists of the Schedule VII of the Indian Constitution deal with the country’s heritage. Item-67 of the Union List, Item-12 of the State List, and Item-40 of the Concurrent List of the Constitution deal with the country’s heritage. Statement 2 is incorrect
• India is a signatory to the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. But, not a founding signatory. The convention came into force on 24 April 1972. India ratified it on 24 January 1977. Statement 3 is incorrect

Source: CLICK HERE

Solution (b)

Bumchu Festival is the Tashiding holy water vase ritual which is a unique and important occasion that draws travellers from all over the world. In Sikkim, the Bumchu festival is a time of intense delight and celebration. At the event, pilgrims travel to Tashiding from all around India as well as from close by nations like Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Source: CLICK HERE

Solution (c)

Explanation:

• The ‘Learning Science via Standards’ initiative focuses on a series of lesson plans aimed to use scientific concepts, principles and laws to help students understand their practical applications in manufacturing, functioning and testing of quality characteristics of different products as stated in the relevant Indian Standards. Statement 1 is correct
• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India has announced the launch of ‘Learning Science via Standards’, a unique initiative for students for learning science via standards. Statement 2 is correct

Source: CLICK HERE

Solution (a)

Explanation:

• The Ministry of Textiles has launched (2021) the scheme to strengthen the Indian textile industry to develop an integrated large scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility (parks) for total value-chain (spinning, weaving, processing, printing, etc) of the textile industry. The scheme envisages to leverage the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for fast paced implementation in a time-bound manner. Statement 1 is correct
• The selection of PM MITRA Park sites will be done in a two stage (Selection of Sites, Development of the Park) selection process on Challenge Method. The “Challenge Method” is a type of selection process that is often used in competitions and challenges to determine the best candidate or solution. Statement 2 is correct
• These parks will be set up on the basis of proposals received from State Governments having ready availability of contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcels of minimum 1000 acres. The State Government will transfer land to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will be a legal entity (with 51% equity shareholding of State and 49% of Central Government). Statement 3 is incorrect

Source: CLICK HERE

Solution (a)

Ratio of profit = capital of Sudarma *time/ capital of Bhavya *time

Let Bhavya’s investment be for x months.

Then, 8/3 = (36,000*12) / (27,000*x)

On solving x = 6 months

Solution (b)

Let the moneylender has Rs 100 initially.

1st year — > 100 + 50 (interest) — > 150 – 20% bribe — > 120

2nd year — > 120 + 60 (interest) — > 180 – 20% bribe — > 144

3rd year — > 144 + 72 (interest) — > 216 – 20% bribe — > 172.8 (This is the capital he will

have at the beginning of 4th year)

So, if 172.8 — > 25,000

=> 36 (bribe given in 2nd year) = (25000/172.8) ∗ 36 which on simplifying becomes

25000/4.8. Thus greater than 5000 but less than 6000 so,

Note – Never go for solving the entire calculation in such type of questions. Most of them

can be managed using the options. Saves a lot of precious time

Solution (b)

Let the C.P. be x and S.P. be y.

∴ Given,

3(y-x) = 2y – x

=> 3y – 3x = 2y – x

=> y = 2x

Original profit = Rs y – x

= Rs 2x – x (Since, y = 2x)

= Rs x

∴ Original profit % = x/x ∗ 100

= 100 %

Solution (b)

An article is sold at 45% profit.

Let the C.P. of the article be Rs x and the S.P. be Rs y.

Now, C.P. is increased by Rs. 80

So, the new C.P. will be x+80

Now, S.P. is also increased by Rs. 70

So, the new S.P. will be y+70

The profit percentage is 30%

Profit% = Profit/C.P × 100 = (S.P.− C.P.)/C.P. × 100

Therefore, we have (y – x)/x * 100 = 45 -> (1)

(y + 70 – x – 80)/(x + 80) * 100 = 30 -> (2)

Solving for x we get from (1) and (2)

3x = 680

x = 680/3 = 226 (2/3)

Solution (c)

From the passage we can infer that Mary Wollencraft ridicules Edmund Burke because he

supports the American Revolution but does so from the white man’s perspective. Burke is not

concerned with the slaves according to Wollencraft, who states that we need to move away

from positional prejudice or preconception and sectional favoritism towards trans-positional

understanding. Hence option a, b and d can take the place of Universalist Perspective. Omnipotent is all powerful and there is no mention of a powerful belief or attitude. It’s more like a superior belief or attitude.