Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Mundaka Upanishad.

Important Points

‘Satyameva Jayate’:

• These words are taken from the Mundaka Upanishad which is an Indian ancient scripture.
• It was adopted on 26 January 1950 as the national motto of India.
• The base of the National Emblem has ‘Satyameva Jayate’ inscribed there and these words are also found on one side of all the Indian currency notes.

Additional Information

The Upanishads are the philosophical-religious texts of Hinduism (also known as Sanatan Dharma meaning “Eternal Order” or “Eternal Path”) which develop and explain the fundamental tenets of the religion. 

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.

🔑 Key Points

• The Vijay Stambh (Tower of Victory) is located within the Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan.
• It was constructed by Maharana Kumbha between 1440 and 1448 AD.
• The tower commemorates his victory over the combined armies of Mahmud Khalji I of Malwa and Sultan Qutbuddin Ahmad Shah II of Gujarat in 1440 AD.

The correct answer is Western India and Pakistan.

• The history of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization, known more specifically as the Harappan Civilization.
  • It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, that is Pakistan and Western India.
  • The Indus Valley was home to the majority of the four ancient urban civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.
  • Nothing had been known about this civilization until the 1920s, when the Indian Archeological Department carried out excavations in the Indus Valley, in the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were discovered.
  • The ruins of buildings and other items, such as household goods, weapons of war, gold and silver ornaments, seals, toys, pottery, etc., show that some four to five thousand years ago a highly developed civilization flourished in this area.

Additional Information

• The Indus Valley Civilization was primarily an urban civilization, and people lived in well-planned and well-built cities, which were also centres of commerce.
• The highly civilised Harappans learned the art of grain production, and their staple food was wheat and barley.
• They also consumed vegetables and fruit and ate mutton, pork and eggs. Proof also indicates that they wore cotton and woollen clothing.
• By 1500 BC, the Harappan culture had come to an end. Recurrent floods and other natural causes, such as earthquakes, etc., are among the numerous causes due to the decay of Indus Valley Civilization.

The correct answer is Shri Ram Bajpai.

Key Points

• Shri Ram Bajpai founded the Sava Samiti Boy Scouts Association in the year 1914 in Bombay.
• On the lines of the worldwide Baden-Powell Organisations, which at that time banned Indians from joining it.
• Though later Baden-Powell, after a private visit to India, lifted the colour bar, Bajpai's organization continued its separate existence, for it had the aim of bringing about the complete Indianisation of the Boy Scout movement in India.  
• About Lord Baden-Powell
  • He was a British general and founder of the modern Scouting movement.
    Baden-Powell became a national hero during the Boer war of 1899-1900 when, with a small garrison, he commanded the defence of Mafeking.
  • During the Boer War, Baden-Powell wrote a book "A Guide to Scout". This was published in 1903 and was a best-seller.
  • Initially meant for military purposes, after the war, he felt it could be used as a focus for young boys to give them more meaning in life.
  • This led to the creation of the Scout Movements. During his lifetime it grew to be a respected international organisation.

Additional Information

• Seva Samiti
  • It was another organization founded by a prominent member of the Servants of India Society, Hridayanath Kunzru.
  • Founded in 1914 at Allahabad, the Seva Samiti had as its objective to organize social service during natural disasters like floods and epidemics, to promote the spread of education, cooperation, sanitation, uplift depressed classes, reform criminals and rescue the fallen.
• ​Hridya Nath Kunzru-
  • He was an Indian freedom fighter and public figure. He was a long-time Parliamentarian, serving in various legislative bodies at the Provincial and Central levels for nearly four decades.
  • He was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India that drew up the Constitution of India. 
  • He was one of the members of the Servants of India Society, founded in 1914 the Seva Samiti at Allahabad.
  • In addition to the promotion of education, sanitation, physical culture, etc., it organises social service during fairs, famines, floods, epidemics, and especially on the occasion of religious festivals like the Kumbha Mela.
• Annie Besant
  • She was a prominent British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of Irish and Indian self-rule.
  • She became a prominent speaker for the National Secular Society (NSS) and writer and a close friend of Charles Bradlaugh.
  • In 1877 they were prosecuted for publishing a book by birth control campaigner Charles Knowlton. The scandal made them famous, and Bradlaugh was elected M.P. for Northampton in 1880.
  • She became involved with union actions including the Bloody Sunday demonstration and the London matchgirls strike of 1888.
  • She was a leading speaker for the Fabian Society and the Marxist Social Democratic Federation (SDF).
  • In 1890 Besant met Helena Blavatsky and over the next few years, her interest in theosophy grew while her interest in secular matters waned.
  • She became a member of the Theosophical Society and a prominent lecturer on the subject.