Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon- September 11

First Buddhist Council – Held soon after the mahaparinirvana of the Buddha, around 400 BC under the patronage of king Ajatshatru with the monk Mahakasyapa presiding, at Rajgriha, in the Sattapani Cave. The idea was to preserve Buddha’s teachings (Sutta) and rules for disciples (Vinaya). Ananda, one of the great disciples of Buddha recited Suttas and Upali, another disciple recited Vinaya. AbhidhammaPitaka was also included.

Second Buddhist Council- It was held in 383 BC. This idea of this council was to settle a dispute on VinayaPitaka, the code of discipline. The dispute was on 10 Points such as storing salt in horn, eating after midday, eating once and going to villages for alms, eating sour milk after one’s meal etc. It was not settles and Buddhism sects appeared for the first time. The subgroups were Sthaviravada, Mahasanghika and Sarvastivada. It was held at Vaishali under the patronage of King Kalasoka and the presidency of Sabakami. Sthaviravada followed the teachings of the elders and Mahasanghika became extinct later. Sthaviravada later continued till 3rd Buddhist council.

Third Buddhist Council- Held in 250 BC at Pataliputra under the patronage of King Asoka and under the presidency of MoggaliputtaTissa.The teachings of Buddha which were under two baskets were now classified in 3 baskets as AbhidhammaPitaka was established in this council, and they were known as “Tripitaka”. It also tried to settle all the disputes of VinayaPitaka.

The Fourth Buddhist Council was held at Kundalvana, Kashmir in 72 AD under the patronage of Kushan king Kanishka and the president of this council was Vasumitra, with Aśvaghosa as his deputy. This council distinctly divided the Buddhism into 2 sects Mahayan&Hinayan.

Two of the words we often use for our country are India and Bharat. The word India comes from the Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit.The Iranians and the Greeks who came through the northwest about 2500 years ago and were familiar with the Indus, called it the Hindos or the Indos, and the land to the east of the river was called India. The name Bharata was used for a group of people who lived in the northwest, and who are mentioned in the Rigveda, the earliest composition in Sanskrit (dated to about 3500 years ago). Later it was used for the country.

Statement 1 is Incorrect:

The Portuguese had introduced opium into China in the early sixteenth century. Opium was known for its medicinal purposes.

Statement 2 is Correct:

Tea became extremely popular in England and by 1830, over 30 million pounds of tea was being imported from China. The British had to pay the entire amount in money as there was nothing the British could offer in exchange for tea. Opium was used in Chinese medicines but it was banned for its addictive qualities. The British started an illegal trade and by 1839 there were an estimated 12 million smokers in China. All supplied came from India and it started an easy, cheap way to pay for the tea and silk imported from china.

All statements are correct:

Delhi first became the capital of a kingdom under the TomaraRajputs, who were defeated in the middle of the twelfth century by the Chauhans (also referred to as Chahamanas) of Ajmer. It was under the Tomaras and Chauhans that Delhi became an important commercial centre.

The transformation of Delhi into a capital that controlled vast areas of the subcontinent started with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

New Delhi, the capital city, had its foundation stone laid by George V, the then Emperor of India. The event took place in the Delhi Durbar of 1911. The city’s architecture and planning were done by two British architects, namely Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Edwin Lutyens. It was on 13 February 1931 that Lord Irwin, India’s Viceroy, inaugurated New Delhi as the new capital of the country. Since then, New Delhi has become the center of government, with all the branches (legislative, judiciary and executive) needed to run the country.

After India gained independencein 1947, a limited autonomy was conferred to New Delhi and was administered by a Chief Commissioner appointed by the Government of India. In 1956, Delhi was converted into a union territoryand eventually the Chief Commissioner was replaced by a Lieutenant Governor. The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Statement 1 and 4 are Incorrect:

Balban ruled with an iron fist. He broke up the ‘Chahalgani’, a group of the forty most important nobles in the court which was introduced by Iltumish.

Razia Sultana was the daughter of Iltumishwho died in 1236A.D. He was disappointed with his sons incapability, so he nominated his daughter Razia Sultana as his heiress.

Balban also introduced the Persian festival of Nauroz and Persian practices of sijda and paibos.

Explanation:

Statement 2 and 3 are Incorrect:

1526 – defeated Ibrahim Lodi and his Afghan supporters at Panipat.

1527 – defeatedRanaSanga, Rajput rulers and allies at Khanua(Khanwa).

1528 – defeated the Rajputs atChanderi. Established control over Agra and Delhi before his death.

All statements are correct

As the empire expanded to encompass different regions the Mughals recruited diverse bodies of people. From a small nucleus of Turkish nobles (Turanis) they expanded to include Iranians, Indian Muslims, Afghans, Rajputs, Marathas and other groups. Those who joined Mughal service were enrolled as mansabdars .

The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab , meaning a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix (1) rank, (2) salary and (3) military responsibilities. Rank and salary were determined by a numerical value called zat . The higher the zat , the more prestigious was the noble’s position in court and the larger his salary.

The mansabdar’s military responsibilities required him to maintain a specified number of sawar or cavalrymen. The mansabdar brought his cavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horses branded and then received money to pay them as salary.

Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs which were somewhat like iqtas . But unlike muqtis , most mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs . They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for them by their servants while themansabdarsthemselves served in some other part of the country.