Satish Chandra Test: The Delhi Sultanate- 1 - UPSC MCQ

The correct answer is Allaudin Khilji.
Key Points

• The Mongols attacked Delhi twice during the reign of Allaudin Khilji.
• The first was in the year 1299 and then in 1302-03.
• Allaudin Khilji constructed a new garrison town called Siri for his soldiers.
• Muhammad Tughlaq's administrative measures were a failure.
• His campaign into Kashmir was a disaster.
• Alauddin Khilji was a powerful ruler of the Delhi Sultanate who ruled from 1296 to 1316.
• He was the second ruler of the Khilji dynasty and is known for his military conquests and administrative reforms.

Balban adopted a policy of consolidation rather than expansion. He was the 1st sultan who strive to make monarchy hereditary. Balban provided the Sultanate with an iron-willed ruler who aimed at consolidating the hinterlands.

The correct option is D.
All the following are correct.

The correct option is D.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq pursued a harsh taxation policy at the start as a result of which agricultural production suffered. To increase production and bring more land under cultivation, he appointed an official called Diwan-i-amir-i-Koh and tasked him to bring under cultivation a 100*100 sq km area. The scheme failed due to low fertility of soil, corruption, embezzlement of funds, bad management and lack of attention from the Sultan.
 

The correct option is A.
In 1327, Tughluq ordered to move his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (in present-day Maharashtra) in the Deccan region of India. Muhammad bin Tughlaq himself had spent a number of years as a prince on campaign in the southern states during the reign of his father. Daulatabad was also situated at a central place so the administration of both the north and the south could be possible.

Ghiasuddin Tughlaq issued the ordinance, “There should be left only so much to the Hindus that neither on the one hand should they become intoxicated on account of their wealth, nor on the other should they become so destitute as to leave their lands and cultivation in despair”.

Muhammad Tughluq believed that he was the shadow of God. Some of the inscriptions on his coins read as “Sovereignty is not conferred upon every man, but is placed on the elect.” “He who obeys the Sultan truly obeys God.” “The Sultan is the shadow of God” and “God is the supporter of the Sultan.” He dropped all references to the Khalifa.

Firoz Shah Tughlaq took a number of significant steps during his reign. He set up employment bureau, marriage bureau, built public hospitals. He also set up a department of public works which repaired old monuments and build new ones. Many new cities like Firozpur, Hissar-i-Firoza among others were built during his reign. He also established a charity department called Diwan-i-Khairat. A water clock and a sun clock were also constructed during his reigon.

D is the correct option.Firuz Tughlaq prosecuted the Shias and their religious books were publicly burnt- A repressive policy was initiated towards Shia Muslims during the reign of Firoz Tughlaq. 27 Their religious texts were burnt publicly and their recruitment in government jobs was debarred. A number of Shia leaders were put to death. He prosecuted the Mahdis. He also prosecuted the Karmathians and Islamic Shias.

A is the correct option. Muhammad Tughlaq
Only one instance is reported regarding the record of population. When Muhammad Tughlaq decided to give relief to the people of Delhi, he ordered the judicial functionaries to compile census registers of the various quarters of the capital city.

The correct answer is B as the DEVAGIRI is one of the  south Indian states Ala-ud-din Khalji annexed to his north Indian empire.

The correct answer is B as Mongol leader Genghis Khan rose from humble beginnings to establish the largest land empire in history. He was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. The Mongol Empire launched several invasions into the Indian subcontinent from 1221 to 1327. 

The correct option is B.
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. In 1330, after his failed expedition to Deogiri, he issued token currency, that is coins of brass and copper were minted whose value was equal to that of gold and silver coins.

Tanka was a silver coin. Tanka
Shashgani was a silver coin 
 Jital was a copper coin.
Hence the correct answer is option (A)

C is the correct option.Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas -ud -Din -Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughluq dynasty. He received an embassy from the Mongol monarch of China, for seeking his permission to visit certain Buddhist temples.

The correct option is A.
After his demise the nobles and specialists at the court chose Muhammad's cousin Firoz ShahTughlaq as the following Sultan, in 1351. He wrote his autobiography called Futuhat-e-firozshahi.

D is the correct option.Balban was the first to order a huge bell to be hung at the gate of his palace so that an aggrieved person could ring it at any time.

The correct option is D.

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq  put the Ulema on the same footing as other employees of the state.

The correct answer is Balban.

• Ghiyas-ud-din Balban was the first Muslim ruler to formulate the ‘theory of kingship’ similar to the ‘theory of the divine right of the kings'.
   

• Balban lived and ruled from 1266 AD to 1287 AD.
• Balban himself was a member of Chalisa or Chahalgani but he broke the power of Chahalgani and restored the prestige of the crown. 
• He created a strong centralized army and established the military department Diwan-i-Arz.
• He ordered the separation of military affairs from the finance department (Diwan‑i‑Wazarat).
• He declared the sultan as representative of God on Earth. Persian court model influenced Balban’s conception of kingship. He took up the title of Zil-i-Ilahi (a shadow of God) and impressed upon the people that the king was the deputy of God (Niyabat-i-Khudai).
• He insisted on the Iranian ceremonies of sijda and paibos.
• He was a patron of Persian literature and showed special favor to Amir Khusro.

• Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq: He was the king who remodelled the coinage and issued new coins during his reign.


• New Coins: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq introduced a new gold coin called 'Dinar' weighing 200 grains and a silver coin called 'Adali' with a weight of 140 grains.


• Equal Value: These new coins were designed to be equal to the altered values of the precious metals in circulation at that time.


• Significance: The issuance of new coins with altered values was a significant move to stabilize the currency and economy during his rule.

C is the correct option.Nauroz is the Iranian and Persian New Year; it is the first day of spring, this festival was introduced by Ghiyas ud din Balban. Later on, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb abolished the celebration of Nauroz.

The correct answer is D as Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq

• Ibn Batuta: Ibn Batuta was appointed as the envoy of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq in the court of the Chinese emperor. He was a famous Moroccan explorer and traveler who visited various countries during his lifetime.

A is the correct option.Al-beruni
Abu Rayhan al-Biruni was an Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been variously called as the "founder of Indology", "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern geodesy", and the first anthropologist. 

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq ordered his name to be removed from the Khutba and the coins, in the later part of his reign, and instead inscribed that of Khalifa.

The correct option is B.
The Delhi Sultanate – The Khilji Dynasty: Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah Khilji was the third and last ruler of the Khilji dynasty . He was the only ruler who assumed the title of Caliph himself.

It was Firuz Tughlaq who gave up the earlier policy of maintaining a standing army and later organised his army on feudal basis reviving the system of Jagirs.

• Who said it: The quote was said by Al-Beruni.


• Context: Al-Beruni was a Persian scholar and polymath who lived during the 11th century. He was known for his works in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences.


• Observation: Al-Beruni made this observation about the Hindus in his book "Kitab al-Hind" (Book of India) where he discussed various aspects of Indian society and culture.


• Explanation: Al-Beruni noted that the Hindus did not pay much attention to the historical order of things and were careless in relating the chronological succession of events. When pressed for information, they would often resort to tale-telling instead of providing factual information.


• Importance: This observation highlights the importance of critical thinking and historical accuracy in understanding different cultures and societies.

Ala-ud-Din  had a theory on kingship. 
Ala-ud-Din maintained that the Sultan was God’s representative on earth. Ala-ud-Din’s theory of kingship may be explained in the words of historian, Ashraf,

“The Sultan of Delhi was in theory an unlimited despot, bound by no law, subject to no material check, and guided by no will except his own.”

Ala-ud-Din used to say, “I do not know whether this is lawful or unlawful, whatever I think to be for the good of the state or suitable for the emergency, that I decree and as for what may happen to me on the approaching Day of Judgement that 1 know not.”

Tamerlane (Timur) invaded India and sacked Delhi during the reign of Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq in 1398.