Daily Quiz #4 UPSC Prelims Marathon – August 5, 2019

Explanation: A follower of Gokhale, Narayan Malhar Joshi founded the Social Service League in Bombay with an aim to secure for the masses better and reasonable conditions of life and work.
They organised many schools, libraries, reading rooms, day nurseries and cooperative societies. Their activities also included police court agents’ work, legal aid and advice to the poor and illiterate, excursions for slum dwellers, facilities for gymnasia and theatrical performances, sanitary work, medical relief and boys’ clubs and scout corps.

Explanation: The first of the revolutionary activities in Maharashtra was the organisation of the Ramosi Peasant Force by Vasudev Balwant Phadke in 1879, which aimed to rid the country of
the British by instigating an armed revolt by disrupting communication lines. It hoped to raise funds for its activities through dacoities. It was suppressed prematurely. During the 1890s, Tilak propagated a spirit of militant nationalism, including use of violence, through Ganapati and Shivaji festivals and his journals Kesari and Maharatta. Two of his disciples—the Chapekar brothers, Damodar and Balkrishna-murdered the Plague Commissioner of Poona, Rand, and one Lt. Ayerst in 1897. Savarkar and his brother organised Mitra Mela, a secret society, in 1899 which merged with Abhinav Bharat (after Mazzinni’s ‘Young Italy’) in 1904. Soon Nasik, Poona and Bombay emerged as centres of bomb manufacture. In 1909, A.M.T. Jackson, the Collector of Nasik, who was also a well-known indologist, was killed by Anant Lakshman
Kanhere, a member of Abhinav Bharat.

Explanation: Both Tilak and Besant realised that the sanction of a Moderate-dominated Congress as well as full cooperation of the Extremists was essential for the movement to succeed. Having failed at the 1914 session of the Congress to reach a Moderate-Extremist rapprochement, Tilak and Besant decided to revive political activity on their own. By early 1915, Annie Besant had launched a campaign to demand self-government for India after the war on the lines of white colonies. She campaigned through her newspapers, New India and Commonweal, and through public meetings and conferences. At the annual session of the Congress in 1915, the efforts of Tilak and Besant met with some success. It was decided that the Extremists be admitted to the
Congress. Although Besant failed to get the Congress to approve her scheme of Home Rule Leagues, the Congress did commit itself to a programme of educative propaganda and to a revival of local-level Congress committees. Not willing to wait for too long, Besant laid the condition that if the Congress did not implement its commitments, she would be free to set up her own league—which she finally had to, as there was no response from the Congress. Tilak and Besant set up their separate leagues to avoid any friction.

Explanation: Kuchipudi, a pre-eminent Indian classical dance form counted among ten leading classical dance forms of India, is a dance-drama performance art that originated in a village of Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, India. Similar to all leading Indian classical dance forms, Kuchipudi too evolved as a religious art rooting back to the age-old Hindu Sanskrit text ‘Natya Shastra’ and connects traditionally with temples, spiritual faiths and travelling bards. This ancient dance form finds place in the 10th century copper inscriptions and in 15th century texts like ‘Machupalli Kaifat’. Traditionally it is regarded that the sanyassin of Advaita Vedanta sect, Tirtha Narayana Yati, and his disciple Siddhendra Yogi initiated, methodized and arranged the present day version of the dance form in 17th century. Usually performance repertoire of Kuchipudi that is broadly oriented on Lord Krishna and the tradition of Vaishnavism include an invocation, dharavu – short dance, nritta – pure dance and nritya – expressive dance respectively.

Explanation: Muhammad of Ghur after winning the second battle of Tarain with Prithviraj Chauhan started his exploitation in India. However, soon after that, he returned to his kingdom and left his trusted lieutenant and former slave Qutbuddin Aybak behind to rule on his behalf. These marked the beginnings of the Slave or the Mamluk dynasty in north India.
•Slave Dynasty: Qutubuddin Aibak, born as a slave in then Turkistan and as he grew up he became the trusted lieutenant of Muhammad Ghur; is regarded as the founder and the first ruler of the slave dynasty or then called as the ‘Mamluk Dynasty’. It was Qutub-ud-din Aibak who laid the foundation for Qutub Minar in Delhi which was finished by Iltutmish. However, under his reign, there were no major territorial expansions of the dynasty under his rule.
•Khiliji Dynasty: Jalaluddin Khilji was the founder and the first ruler of the Khilji dynasty, after the Slave dynasty. He got the throne of the Khilji dynasty after killing Kaikubad, the last ruler of the slave dynasty. Jalaluddin Khalji was a nobleman of the Turkish origins who had settled in Afghanistan. The Delhi Sultanate rapidly expanded under the Khalji dynasty.
•Tughluq Dynasty: The Tughluq dynasty was established by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq who expanded his kingdom after the Khalji dynasty collapsed. Muhammad bin Tughluq and Feroze Tughluq were the well- known rulers among the Tughluqs. However, Muhammad bin Tughluq was considered a prominent ruler who was scholarly and well-read in many subjects.
•Sayyed Dynasty: The Tughluq dynasty had come to an end by the 14th century due to the invasion by the Turkish ruler Timur. However, Timur soon left and when he left, a local governor of Multan named Khizr Khan replaced him and announced himself as the ruler of Delhi and established the Sayyid dynasty.