Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – February 26, 2018

Statement 1 is correct. Fa-Hien was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India. Fa-Hien came to India to collect Buddhist texts and relics, during the reign of Chandragupta II, known as Vikramaditya.

Statement 2 is correct. Hiuen-Tsang is a Foreign Envoy who visited India during the time of Harshavardhana. He wrote his experiences in his book Si-yu-ki or the ‘Records of Western World.

Statement 1 is correct.  The Palas had close trade contacts and cultural links with South East Asia and China. The trade with south East Asia and China was very profitable and added greatly to the prosperity of the Pala Empire. Dharmapala revived the Nalanda University. He also founded the famous Buddhist monastery at Vikramasila.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Pala kings patronized Hinduism too. They gave donations for learning and educational purposes. Vinayakapala built one thousand temples in honour of the Shiva deity. They gave donations to Brahmans to settle in their country and run gurukulas.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The session was presided over by Ambika Charan Majumdar.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Lucknow Congress was significant also for the famous Congress League Pact, popularly known as the Lucknow Pact. Both Tilak and Annie Besant had played a leading role in bringing about this agreement between the Congress and the League, much against the wishes of many important leaders, including Madan Mohan Malaviya. The pact accepted the principle of separate electorates for the Muslims.

Statement 3 is correct. The extremists including were welcomed back into the Congress by the Moderate president, Ambika Charan Mazumdar at this session.

Pair 3 is correctly matched.

1. The Leader(Hindi newspaper):   M.M. Malviya
2. Bombay Chronicle(English-language newspaper): Firoze Shah Mehta
3. Amrita Bazar Patrika(Newspaper) Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Motilal Ghosh
4. Indian Mirror(Newspaper): Devendra Nath Tagore

Gandhiji formed Satyagraha Sabha, a campaign against the Rowlatt act.

When the nationalists were expecting post-War constitutional concessions, the Government came out with the repressive Rowlatt Act which the nationalists took as an insult.

Gandhi thought that the only possible step against the government’s proposal would be to start the Satyagraha movement in right earnest. A meeting of some of the leaders was called at the ashram and a Satyagraha pledge was drafted. It was signed by all those present there.

Gandhi did not believe that the existing institutions could handle such a noble weapon. So a separate institution named Satyagraha Sabha was formed, its headquarters were in Bombay.

Statement 1 is correct. Bhakti Movement rejected the austerities preached by the Jains and the Buddhists. The Bhakti movement gave to the people a simple religion, without complicated rituals and severity practiced by the Jains and the Buddhists.

Statement 2, 3 and 4 are correct.

As per the Jain philosophy, the world is not created, maintained or destroyed by a God but functions through a universal or eternal law. The universe is eternal. It’s existence is divided into cycles of progress (utsarpni) and declines (avasarpini). The universe functions through the interaction of living souls (jiva) and everything in the universe has a soul. The purification of the souls is the purpose of living, for it is only the pure soul after being released from the body that resides in bliss. The souls are found not only in the living beings like animals and plants but also in stones, rocks, water etc.

Please be informed that the Jains did not deny the existence of God, they simply ignored him.