JKPSC Prelims Paper 1 Mock Test - 2 - JKPSC KAS (Jammu and Kashmir) MCQ

• Special features of Mahajanpadas Administration Forts were probably built because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection.

• Some rulers wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building really large,

• tall and impressive walls around their cities.

• The land and the people living inside the fortified area could be controlled more easily by the king by building forts.

• Building such huge walls required a great deal of planning including resources, labours etc. The new rajas now began maintaining armies.

• Soldiers were paid regular salaries and maintained by the king throughout the year.

• The Mahajanapadas started to collect regular taxes.

• Changes took place in agriculture like the use of iron ploughshares and transplanting paddy.

• Generally, slave men and women, (dasas and dasis) and landless agricultural labourers (kammakaras) had to do agricultural work.

Ishwari Prasad Namboodiri received the 'Shankar Smriti Award' for his contributions, highlighting the importance of recognizing individuals for their impact in various fields. This award serves to encourage others to contribute positively to society.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles discovered Singapore on February 6, 1819, marking the beginning of Singapore's transformation into a major trading hub. This event is pivotal in Singapore's history, leading to its strategic importance in maritime trade.

The Eratosthenes canyon, discovered by scientists in Israel, is a geological feature that provides insights into ancient geological events. Its study can further our understanding of the Mediterranean Sea's historical changes and their effects on the region's ecology.

Upendra Dwivedi is taking on the role of vice chief of the Indian Army, which is significant as it impacts military strategy and leadership within the force. Leadership changes at this level can influence defense policy and operational readiness.

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation aims to raise awareness and promote actions to eradicate this harmful practice by 2030. The day underscores the importance of gender equality and the protection of women's rights globally.

REC Limited earned the Best Green Bond - Corporate Award for its issuance of $750 million in Green Bonds. This recognition highlights the growing importance of sustainable finance and corporate responsibility in addressing environmental challenges.

Oleg Kononenko set a world record for the most time spent in space, surpassing 878 days. This milestone reflects advances in human spaceflight and the importance of long-duration missions for future exploration endeavors.

The ULLAS Mela is set to occur on February 6-7, 2024. This event, organized by the Ministry of Education, aims to showcase various educational activities and programs, promoting literacy and learning across India.

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024, aims to strengthen existing regulations to prevent and control water pollution. This legislation is crucial for protecting water resources and ensuring sustainable environmental practices.

February 6 is recognized as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The observance calls for global action to end this harmful practice and promote the health and rights of women and girls.

Vivek Kumar Dewangan is the chairman and managing director of REC Limited. His leadership has been instrumental in driving the company's initiatives in sustainable finance and green bonds, reflecting a commitment to environmental responsibility.

Anna Chandy was appointed as the first woman judge of the Kerala High Court in 1959. Her appointment was a significant milestone in the history of women's participation in the Indian judiciary, paving the way for future female judges.

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation was first introduced in 2003. This annual observance aims to raise awareness and advocate for the elimination of this harmful practice globally.

The Eratosthenes canyon offers insights into the Messinian Event, a significant geological occurrence that affected the Mediterranean region around 5.5 million years ago. Understanding such events helps scientists learn about historical climate changes and geological formations.

Shakti won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album for their work 'This Moment.' This recognition underscores the global appeal and influence of fusion music, blending traditional and contemporary musical elements.

The term, which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant, was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, the terms kisan or asami were also used. Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and pahi-kashta.

Khud-kashta were residents of the village in which they held their lands. Pahi- Kashta were non-resident cultivators who belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis. People became pahi-kashta either out of choice, for example, when terms of revenue in a distant village were more favourable or out of compulsion, for example, forced by economic distress after a famine.

• Statement 1 is correct: Magadha was one of the most important ahajanapada. Magadha was a monarchy as there was rule of one person. Vajji was under a different form of government, known as gana or sangha. This was different from Magadha as here there were not one but many rulers, sometimes thousands of men ruled together and each one was called as raja. Vajji was a united republic of eight smaller kingdoms including Lichhavis, Janatriks and Videhas.

• Statement 2 is correct: Both the Buddha and Mahavira belonged to ganas or sanghas. The Buddha belonged to the Sakya gana and Mahavira belonged to Jantrica clan which belonged to Vajji Sangha.

Trabeate style was used in the construction of temples, mosques, tombs and in buildings attached to large stepped-wells (baolis) between the eighth and thirteenth centuries in India.

Trabeate style of architecture refers to where the roofs, doors and windows are made by placing a horizontal beam across two vertical columns”.

Statement 2 is correct. There are two technological and stylistic developments are noticeable from the twelfth century (since the medieval age) -

• Limestone cement was increasingly used in construction. This was very high-quality cement, which, when mixed with stone chips hardened into concrete. This made construction of large structures easier and faster.

Arcuate style of architecture- In this type of architecture, the weight of the superstructure above the doors and windows was carried by arches.

• Satavahanas became prominent in the Indian political scene sometime in the middle of the first century BC. Gautamiputra Satakarni (first century AD) is considered to be the greatest of the Satavahana rulers.
• He is credited with the extension of Satavahana dominions by defeating Nahapana, the Shaka ruler of
• Western India. Simuka was the founder of the Satavahana Dynasty. Hence, statement 3 is not correct
• His kingdom is said to have extended from river Krishna in the south to river the Godavari in the north. The Satavahanas had their capital at Pratishthana (modern Paithan) near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The Satavahana kingdom was wiped out in the first quarter of the third century AD and the Satavahanas kings were succeeded by the Kings of the lkshvaku dynasty.
• Satavahana Society:
  • The Satavahanas originally seems to have been a Deccan tribe. They however were so brahmanized that they claimed to be Brahmanas. Their most famous king, Gautamiputra Satakarni, described himself as a brahmana and claimed to have established the fourfold varna system which had fallen into disorder. He boasted that he had put an end to the intermixture between the people of different social orders. He considered it their primary duty to uphold the varna system i.e. the fourfold division of social structure. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • Indigenous tribal people were increasingly acculturated by the Buddhist monks who were induced by land grants to settle in western Deccan. It is suggested that traders too supported the Buddhist monks, for the earliest caves seem to have been located on the trade routes.
  • Satavahanas kings were the first in Indian history to make tax-free land grants to Buddhists and Brahmanas to gain religious merit. This practice became more prominent in succeeding periods. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• During the second millennium B.C. several regional cultures sprang up in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. These were non-urban, non-Harappan and were characterized by the use of stone and copper tools. Hence, these cultures are termed chalcolithic cultures. The chalcolithic cultures are identified on the basis of their geographical location.
  • The Jorwe culture is the most important and characteristic chalcolithic culture of Maharashtra, extending almost all over the present state, excepting the coastal strip on the west and Vidarbha in the northeast. The culture is named after the type site of Jorwe in the Ahmednagar district, of Maharashtra. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
  • Kayatha culture was named after the type site Kayatha, in the Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh. Over forty settlements of the Kayatha culture have been so far discovered in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, most of them being located on the tributaries of the Chambal River.
  • The Ahar culture is among the earliest Chalcolithic cultures of India. This is seen from the calibrated radio-carbon dates available from many of the sites. The culture has been named after the type site Ahar, in District Udaipur, Rajasthan.
     

• Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (1266 to 1287 AD), the ninth Sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi, was one of the most powerful Sultans. He was a member of Iltutmish's famed group of 40 Turkic slaves. He adopted a policy of consolidation rather than expansion. So, Statement 1 is not correct.
• The silver and copper coins were mainly in circulation for cash transactions during the period of the Delhi Sultanate. Iltutmish and not Balban introduced the two coins, the Tanka (silver coin) and the Jital (copper coin), which became the basis for the subsequent coinage of the Delhi Sultanate. The value of coinage fluctuated with the change in the prices of metals. So, Statement 2 is not correct.
• Qutub-ud-din Aibak and not Balbun was referred to as Lakh Baksh. Lakh Baksh is usually referred to as those who give away property and wealth to the needy and poor. Because of his generosity and gave liberal donations, Qutub-ud-din Aibak was called Lakh Baksh. So, Statement 3 is not correct.
• Balban ruled in an autocratic manner and worked hard to elevate the position of the Sultan. He introduced a new theory of kingship and redefined the relations between the Sultan and nobility. He did not allow any noble to assume great power. So, Statement 4 is correct.

• Statement 1 is not correct: Balban stood forth as the champion of Turkish nobility. He refused to entertain for important government posts anyone who did not belong to a noble family. He excluded Indian Muslims from all positions of power and authority.
  • To emphasise that the nobles were not his equals, he insisted on the ceremony of sijada and paibos. These ceremonies were Iranian in origin and were considered un-Islamic.
• Statement 2 is correct: To keep himself well informed, Balban appointed spies in every department. He also organized a strong centralized army, both to deal with internal disturbances, and to repel the Mongols who had entrenched themselves in Punjab and posed a serious danger to the Delhi Sultanat.
• Statement 3 is not correct: Muhammad bin Tughlaq launched a scheme to extend and improve cultivation in the doab. He set up a separate department called diwan-i-amir-i-kohi. The area was divided into development blocs headed by an official whose job was to extend cultivation by giving loans to the cultivators and to induce them to cultivate superior crops—wheat in place of barley, sugarcane in place of wheat, grapes and dates in place of sugarcane,etc.
  • Balban organised a strong centralized army, both to deal with internal disturbances and to repel the Mongols. For this purpose, he reorganized the military department (diwan-i-arz) and pensioned off those soldiers who were no longer fit for service.

Jagannath Puri Temple:

• Devasnana Purnima – The annual bathing ritual, where the holy trinity is brought out from their sanctum seated in a raised platform and bathed with purified water drawn from a well within thetemple premises.

• Chariot Festival – This happens during the month of June/July. During the festival, the Lord comes out to the street to greet his devotees, people irrespective of caste, creed & colour can seek his blessings.

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy established the “Atmiya Sabha” a precursor organization in the socio-religious reforms in Bengal in the year 1814 in Kolkata.

• It was a philosophical discussion circle where debates and discussions were held leading to the ideas for social reforms.

Statement 3 is Correct. The 1853 Charter Act ended the Company’s patronage, enjoining recruitment to be through an open competition henceforth. But the examination was held in England in English language, based on classical learning of Greek and Latin. The maximum permissible age was gradually reduced from 23 (in 1859) to 22 (in 1860) to 21 (in 1866) and to 19 (1878).

• Treaty of Ryswick: In July 1697 the treaty brought to an end the Nine Years War, in which Louis XIV's France faced a grand coalition of England, the Dutch, and Spain. Louis agreed to return most of his territorial acquisitions or réunions made since Nijmegen, but retained the important fortress town of Strasbourg.

  • The Dutch were allowed to garrison barrier fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands. In India Pondicherry was restored to French by Dutch.

  • The treaty, negotiated with much difficulty, lasted only four years before the War of the Spanish Succession broke out.

• Treaty of Aix-La Chapelle: It was signed between British and French in 1748 after first Carnatic war. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 1748 was negotiated largely by Britain and France with the other powers following their lead, ending the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48).

  • The treaty was marked by the mutual restitution of conquests, including the fortress of Louisburg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to France; Madras in India, to England.

• Treaty of peace of Paris: The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies.

  • In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. In India Pondicherry, Karaikal and other French possessions were returned to the French on condition that they should not fortify them and it ended the third Carnatic war in 1763.

• In November 1927, the British Government appointed the Indian Statutory Commission, known popularly after the name of its Chairman as the Simon Commission, to go into the question of further constitutional reform. It was formed by the Conservative Government of Britain. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• All the members of the Commission were Englishmen. This announcement was greeted by a chorus of protest from all Indians. What angered them most was the exclusion of Indians from the Commission and the basic notion behind this exclusion that foreigners would discuss and decide upon India's fitness for Self government. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• At its Madras Session in 1927, presided over by Dr. Ansari, the National Congress decided to boycott the Commission 'at every stage and in every form.' The Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha decided to support the Congress decision.

• The action began as soon as Simon Commission landed at Bombay on 3 February 1928. That day, people were out on the streets participating in black-flag demonstrations. In Madras, T. Prakasam symbolized the defiant spirit of the occasion by baring his chest before the armed policemen. In Lucknow, Khaliquzzaman executed the brilliant idea of floating kites and balloons imprinted with the popular slogan ‘Go Back Simon’ over the reception organized in Kaiserbagh by the taluqdars for members of the Commission.

• In Lucknow, Jawaharlal and Govind Ballabh Pant were beaten up by the police. But the worst incident happened in Lahore where Lala Lajpat Rai, the hero of the Extremist days and the most revered leader of Punjab, was hit on the chest by lathis on 30 October and succumbed to the injuries on 17 November 1928. It was his death that Bhagat Singh and his comrades were seeking to avenge when they killed the white police official, Saunders, in December 1928.

• The Simon Commission report contained no mention of the Dominion Status and was in other ways also a regressive document. It disappointed national leaders including moderates.

Hence statement 3 is not correct.

In 1898, Annie Besant established a Central Hindu College near Town Hall, Varanasi, to impart religious, moral instructions and secular education. In 1910, she was supposed to set up a university and while this did not happen, in 1911, in collaboration with Madan Mohan Malviya and others, the Central Hindu College became the nucleus of Banares Hindu University. So, Pair 1 is correct.
The 'Bharat Mata Mandir, or Bharat Mata temple, is dedicated to Mother India and was constructed by Babu Shiv Prasad Gupta between 1918 and 1924. It is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated the 'Bharat Mata Mandir temple on October 25, 1936. Hence, the temple is not located in Mathura. So, Pair 2 is not correct.
The Non - Cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi was an expression of the growing resentment of all classes of the Indian people against oppressive British rule. Gandhi took up three specific points on which the movement was initiated:

• the Khilafat wrong,
• the Punjab wrong,
• Swaraj.

On February 04, 1922, The volunteers marched through the streets of Chauri Chaura village of Gorakhpur district of the United Provinces, shouting slogans of Gandhi and the Khilafat. As the crowd grew larger and fiercer, the cops retreated inside the police station. The protestors doused the building in kerosene and set it on fire. Twenty-three policemen were killed, and 228 people were brought to trial in the incident, out of which 19 were sentenced to death. This event marked the end of the non-cooperation movement. The Congress Working Committee met at Bardoli in February 1922 and resolved to stop all activity that led to breaking of the law and to get down to constructive work, instead, which was to include popularisation of khadi, national schools, and campaigning for temperance, for Hindu-Muslim unity and against untouchability. So, Pair 3 is correct.
The Hindustan Republic Association (HRA) was founded in October 1924 in Kanpur by Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, and Sachin Sanyal to organize an armed revolution to overthrow the colonial  Government and establish in its place the Federal Republic of United States of India.
Under the leadership of Chandra Shekhar Azad, the name of the Hindustan Republic Association (HRA) was changed to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), an Indian revolutionary organization.
Kakori Conspiracy, also called Kakori Conspiracy Case or Kakori Train Robbery, was a train robbery at Kakori, a village near Lucknow, in 1925. An armed robbery was organized by ten revolutionaries of the Hindustan Republic Association, an organization that aimed to achieve independence through revolution.
So, Pair 4 is correct.