Daily Quiz #90 UPSC Prelims Marathon – February 17, 2020

Explanation: The Pithora paintings are done by some tribal communities of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and is said to serve religious and spiritual purpose. They are painted in the walls of the houses to bring peace and prosperity. They are drawn on special family-occasions as a ritual. Depiction of animals are common especially horses.

Explanation: Navayana School is considered to be a new branch of Buddhism propounded by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. It is different from the traditionally recognized branches of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana and rejects them. It discards the practices and precepts such as renouncing monk and monastism, karma, rebirth in afterlife, samsara, meditation, enlightenment and Four Noble Truths considered to be the foundation in the Buddhist traditions. It radically re-interprets Buddhism by revising the original teachings of Buddha to be about class struggle and social equality.

Explanation: The Arya Samaj Movement, revivalist in form though not in content, was the result of a reaction to Western influences. Its founder, Dayananda Saraswati or Mulshankar (1824-1883) was born in the old Morvi state in Gujarat in a brahmin family. He wandered as an ascetic for fifteen years (1845-60) in search of truth. The first Arya Samaj unit was formally set up by him at Bombay in 1875 and later the headquarters of the Samaj were established at Lahore. The Arya Samaj fixed the minimum marriageable age at twenty-five years for boys and sixteen years for girls. Swami Dayananda once lamented the Hindu race as “the children of children”. Intercaste marriages and widow remarriages were also encouraged. Equal status for women was the demand of the Samaj, both in letter and in spirit.

Explanation: The Faraizi movement, also called the Fara’idi Movement because of its emphasis on the Islamic pillars of faith, was founded by Haji Shariatullah in 1818. Its scene of action was East Bengal, and it aimed at the eradication of social innovations or un-Islamic practices current among the Muslims of the region and draws their attention to their duties as Muslims. Under the leadership of Haji’s son, Dudu Mian, the movement became revolutionary from 1840 onwards. He gave the movement an organisational system from the village to the provincial level with a khalifa or authorised deputy at every level. The Fara’idis organised a paramilitary force armed with clubs to fight the zamindars who were mostly Hindu, though there were some Muslim landlords too, besides the indigo planters. Dudu Mian asked his followers not to pay rent. The organisation even established its own Law courts. Dudu Mian was arrested several times, and his arrest in 1847 finally weakened the movement. The movement survived merely as a religious movement without political overtones after the death of Dudu Mian in 1862.

Explanation: The Communal Award, based on the findings of the Indian Franchise Committee (also called the Lothian Committee), established separate electorates and reserved seats for minorities, including the depressed classes which were granted seventy-eight reserved seats.