Q.1 With reference to the Prathna Samaj consider the following statements :
1. Prathna Samaj was a movement for religious & social reforms
2. Prathna Samaj was founded in 1863 by the Dadoba Pandurang & his brother Atmaram Pandurang
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A)Only 1
B) Only 2
C) Both are correct
D) Both are incorrect
Ans. C
It was a movement for religious and social reform in Bombay, India based on earlier reform movements. Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in 31 March 1867 when Keshub Chandra Sen visited Maharashtra, with an aim to make people believe in one God and worship only one God. It became popular after Mahadev Govind Ranade joined. The main reformers were the intellectuals who advocated reforms of the social system of the Hindus. It was spread to southern India by noted Telugu reformer and writer, Kandukuri Veeresalingam.
Q.2 Which of the following sites is the world’s oldest ancient Indus Valley Civilization site ?
A) Petwad
B) Sisai kali Rawan
C) Rakhigarhi
D) Bass
Ans. C
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Harappan Civilisation, was a major early civilisation, existing from 3300–1300 BCE. It covered much of modern-day Pakistan and northwest India, as well as possessing at least one trading colony in northeast Afghanistan. Over 1400 Indus Valley civilisation sites have been discovered, of which 925 sites are in India and 475 in Pakistan.Only 40 sites on the Indus valley had been discovered in the pre-Partition era by archaeologists.
The most widely known Indus Valley sites are Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; Mohenjo-daro is located in modern-day Sindh, while Harappa is in Pakistani Punjab. in British India, around 1,100 (80%) sites are located on the plains between the rivers Ganges and Indus.The oldest-known site of the Indus Valley Civilization, Bhirrana, and the largest site, Rakhigarhi, are located in the Indian state of Haryana. More than 90% of the inscribed objects and seals that were discovered were found at ancient urban centres along the Indus river in Pakistan, mainly in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. More than 50 IVC burial sites have been found, including at Rakhigarhi (first site with genetic testing), Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Farmana, Kalibangan, Lothal, Dholavira, Mehrgarh, Banawali, Alamgirpur and Chanhudaro
Q.3 The inscription of Hathigumpha is the source of information about which king ?
A) Kharvela
B) Ashok
C) Harshavardhan
D) Kanishka
Ans. A
The Hathigumpha Inscription is a seventeen line inscription in a Prakrit language incised in Brahmi script in a cavern called Hathigumpha in Udayagiri hills, near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. Dated between the second century BCE and the first century CE, it was inscribed by the Jain king Kharavela of the Kalinga kingdom
Q. 4 Consider the following statements :
1. The Cabinet Mission upheld the unity of India & rejected the idea of independent Pakistan
2. Muslim league withdrew its acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
A)Only 1
B) Only 2
C) Both are correct
D) Both are incorrect
Ans. C
A cabinet mission went to India on 24 March 1946 to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership with the aim of preserving India’s unity and granting its independence. Formed at the initiative of British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, the mission contained as its members, Lord Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State for India), Sir Stafford Cripps (President of the Board of Trade), and A. V. Alexander (First Lord of the Admiralty). The Viceroy of India Lord Wavell participated in some of the discussions.
The Cabinet Mission Plan, formulated by the group, proposed a three-tier administrative structure for British India, with the Federal Union at the top tier, individual provinces at the bottom tier and Groups of provinces as a middle tier. Three Groups were proposed, called Groups A, B and C, respectively, for Northwest India, eastern India and the remaining central portions of India
The Cabinet Mission’s plan failed because of the distrust between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, and the British government replaced Lord Wavell with a new viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, to find new solutions.
Q. 5 Who started the Mahad Satyagraha in Maharashtra in 1927 /
A) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
B) Jyotiba Phule
C) Sardar Vallabhai Patel
D) Mahatma Gandhi
Ans. A
Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was a satyagraha led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad. The day (20 March) is observed as Social Empowerment day in India.
Q.6 Mahatma Gandhi advocated the establishment of which among the following in India where the people could pursue the ideal of simple living & high thinking ?
A) Ideal Villages
B) Ideal spiritual centres
C) Ideal Towns
D) Smart villages
Ans. A
Q.7 Which animal is engraved on Harappan seals ?
A) Cow
B) Goat
C) Unicorn
D) Horse
Ans. C
The Pashupati seal is a steatite seal which was uncovered in Mohenjo-daro, now in modern day Pakistan, a major urban site of the Indus Valley civilisation (“IVC”), during excavations in 1928–29, when the region was under British rule. The excavations were carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India, the official body responsible for preservation and excavation. The seal depicts a seated figure that is possibly tricephalic (having three heads). The seated figure has been thought to be ithyphallic (having an erect penis), an interpretation that has been questioned by many, but was still held by the IVC specialist Jonathan Mark Kenoyer in a publication of 2003. The man has a horned headdress and is surrounded by animals. He may represent a horned.
Q.8 Which of the following items have not been found from the Harappan Graves ?
A) Ornaments
B) Pottery
C) Cotton clothes
D) Copper Mirror
Ans. C
Cotton clothes have not been found from the Harappan graves .