Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Kota.

• At the time of the formation of Rajasthan, in the second phase, Kota was the capital of the Union.

• Formation of Rajasthan​

• Formation of Rajasthan
  • The state was formed on 30 March 1949 when Rajputana – the name adopted by the British Raj for its dependencies in the region was merged into the Dominion of India.
  • Its capital and largest city is Jaipur.

The correct answer is Lala Hansraj.

Key Points

• Anglo Vedic college or schools are also known as Dayanand Anglo Vedic schools.
• Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) Schools were founded in 1886 at Lahore by the efforts of Mahatma Hansraj.

Confusion Points

• It was not founded by Swamy Dayanand Saraswati
• In the name and memory of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Lala Hans Raj established it.
• The schools were run by the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College Trust & Management Society, also known as the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic Education Society.
• DAV institutions are the best place to study and work together.
• Under the DAV family, there are 900 schools, 75 colleges, and a university.
• “DAV Movement” founded in 1886 by Lala Lajpat Rai(Father of DAV Movement) picked up momentum due to the arduous efforts of Mahatma Hans Raj, Pandit Gurudutt Vidyarthi and may other dedicated as the Arya Samaj activist. 

The correct answer is Mauryan Empire.

Key Points

• In the Mauryan empire Kautilya refers to two types of courts :
  • Dharmasthiyas (dealt with civil matters).
  • Kantakasodhana(dealt with criminal matters).

Additional Information

• Mauryan Empire (321 BCE - 185 BCE):
  • Chandragupta Maurya (321 BCE - 297 BCE):
    • Founder of the Maurya Dynasty and credited with the setting up of the first (nearly) pan-Indian empire.
    • Known as Sandrakottos to the Greeks and Androkottus by Aerian and Plutark. 
    • William Jones was the 1st scholar who recognized Sandrokottos as Chandragupta Maurya.
    • Kautilya mentored Chandragupta and prepared him for a takeover of Magadha.
    • Set up a vast centralized empire (details of whose functioning, society, military, and economy are well preserved in Kautilya's Arthashastra).
    • Defeated the invading army of the Eastern part of Alexander's empire Seleucus (305 BCE).​
    • Megasthenese was a Greek ambassador sent to the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
    • Chandragupta in his later years accepted Jainism.
      • Accompanied Bhadrabahu to Karnataka and later died by following the ritual of sallekhana, i.e., fasting till death. 
  • Bindusara (297 BCE - 273 BCE):
    • 2nd Mauryan Emperor of India and he was the son of Chandragupta Maurya.
    • Known as Amitrochates to the Greeks. In Jain texts, he was known as Simhasena.
    • Antiochus sent Deimachus as an ambassador to Bindusara's court.
    • Chanakya also remained the chief advisor of Bindusara.
    • Bindusara was an able monarch who was successful in consolidating the empire established by his father.
    • Bindusara patronized the Ajivikas.
  •  Ashoka the Great (268 BCE - 232 BCE):
    • 3rd king of the Mauryan Empire.
    • He was known for:
      • Renunciation of war after the Kalinga war.
      • Development of the concept of Dhamma (pious social conduct, welfare of humanity).
      • Promotion of Buddhism. 
      • Effective reign of a nearly pan-Indian political entity.
    • Under Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire stretched from modern-day Iran through almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent.
    • Ashoka initially rules this vast empire through the political treatise's precepts known as the Arthashastra.
    • In his inscriptions, he was called Devanampriya or Devanapiyadasi.​
    • Most of the inscriptions were written in Prakrit language in Brahmi script except only two which were in Kharoshti script.
    • In 1837, James Prinsep become the 1st scholar who deciphered Ashoka's inscription.
  • Brihadratha:
    • Last Mauryan ruler.
    • Assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga and established his own Sunga dynasty.

• The book “Arthashashtra” is based on the ‘Political thoughts Military Strategy, Economic Policy of Kautilya’.
• It was a book written by Kautilya, also known as Chanakya.
• It was written in Sanskrit language and deals with matters like state affairs, economic policy, and military strategy.

The correct answer is ​Widespread discontentment among peasants against oppressive practices of Zamindars.

Key Points

• The Bengal Tenancy Act 1885 was an enactment of the Bengal British government that defined the rights of zamindars lords and their tenants in response to a widespread peasant revolt.
• It was mainly in response to widespread peasant discontent against oppressive practices of Zamindars emerging from Act X of 1859.
  • The zamindars resorted to enhanced rents beyond legal limits and prevented the tenants from acquiring occupancy rights under Act X of 1859.  
• During the 1870s and 1880s, large parts of Eastern Bengal witnessed agrarian unrest caused by oppressive practices of the zamindars, popularly referred to as Pabna Agrarian Revolt.
• To achieve their ends, the zamindars resorted to forcible evictions, seizure of cattle and crops and prolonged, costly litigation in courts where the poor peasant found himself at a disadvantage.  
• Having had enough of the oppressive regime, the peasants of Yusufshahi Pargana in Patna district formed an agrarian league or combination to resist the demands of the zamindars.  
• The League organised a rent strike where the ryots refused to pay the enhanced rents, challenging the zamindars in the courts.
• Funds were raised by ryots to fight the court cases.
• The struggles spread throughout Patna and to other districts of then East Bengal. 
• The main form of struggle was that of legal resistance; there was very little violence.
• Though the peasant discontent continued to linger on till 1885, most of the cases had been solved, partially through official persuasion and partially because of zamindars' fears.
• Many peasants were able to acquire occupancy rights and resist enhanced rents. The Government also passed the Bengal Tenancy Act in 1885.
• A number of young Indian intellectuals including Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, R.C. Dutt and the Indian Association under Surendranath Banerjee supported the peasants' cause.