JKPSC Prelims Paper 1 Mock Test - 10 - JKPSC KAS (Jammu and Kashmir) MCQ

The Aranyakas are called forest books and they deal with mysticism, rites, rituals and sacrifices.

Option d is correct: The national motto of India, Satyameva Jayate' inscribed below the Emblem of India is taken from Mundaka Upanishad. This motto means Truth Alone Triumphs". It is written in Devanagari script.

• Statement 1 is correct: Mauryan Empire maintained large standing army of Cavalry, Army, elephants, chariots, navy and transport.

• Statement 2 is correct: Administration of important cities were carried out by six boards, each consist of 5 members.

• Statement 3 is correct: Administration of army was carried by a board of 30 members divided into 6, each having 5 members- Army, Navy, Elephant, cavalry, chariots and transport.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Harappan seals are not the only items where we find Harappan writing. Harappan writing has been found on the variety of objects such as seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods, even an ancient signboard. Harappan seals usually have a line of writing, probably containing the name and title of the owner. Most inscriptions are short, the longest containing about 26 signs.

• Statement 2 is correct: Although the Harappan script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as it has just too many signs – somewhere between 375 and 400. It is apparent that the script was written from right to left as some seals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left, as if the engraver began working from the right and then ran out of space.

Nathpanthis, Siddhacharas and Yogis

• They advocated renunciation of the world. Hence, option (a) is correct.
• To them the path to salvation lay in meditation on the formless Ultimate Reality and the realisation of oneness with it.
• To achieve this they advocated intense training of the mind and body through practices like yogasanas, breathing exercises and meditation.
• These groups became particularly popular among “low” castes.
• Their criticism of conventional religion created the ground for devotional religion to become a popular force in northern India.

• Although a substantial number of non-producing people concentrated in the cities, the age of the Shakas, Kushans, Satavahanas (200 BC-AD 250), and the first Tamil states was the most flourishing period in the history of crafts and commerce in ancient India. Arts and crafts in particular witnessed remarkable growth.
  • We do not hear of so many kinds of artisans in the earlier texts as are mentioned in the writings of the period. The Digha Nikaya, which relates to pre-Maurya times, mentions nearly two dozen occupations, but the Mahavastu, which relates to this period, catalogs thirty-six kinds of workers living in the town of Rajgir, and the list is not exhaustive.
  • The Milinda Panho or the Questions of Milinda enumerates as many as seventy-five occupations, sixty of which are connected with various crafts. A Tamil text known in English as The Garland of Madurai supplements the information supplied by the two Buddhist texts on crafts and craftsmen.
• This text does not distinguish between craftsmen and shopkeepers.
• Types of Merchants: The Buddhist texts mention the sresthi, who was the chief merchant of the nigama, and the sarthavaha, the caravan leader who was the head of the corporation of merchants (vanijgramo). It also speaks of nearly half a dozen petty merchants called vanija.
• To them we can add perfumers or all-purpose merchants called gandhika. Various types of oilmen, some of them dealing in perfumed oils, are covered by the term. The term vyavahari, that is, one who transacts business, is also used, but the term vyapari or trader seems to be missing.
• The term agrivanija seems to be obscure, but these merchants may have been the predecessors of the agrawalas if we allow for some linguistic change. Whatever may be the meaning of this term, there were certainly wholesale merchants who conducted both internal and external trade. Hence option (d) is the correct answer.

The fortified Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, who ruled the Sultanate of Delhi from 1320 to 1325, stands in the vicinity of the massive Tughlaqabad Fort in southern Delhi. The massive sandstone and marble tomb stands in the middle of a pentagonal fortified complex complete with bastions and battlements. In appearance, it resembles a fort more than a burial complex. The tomb was commissioned by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq himself, unbeknownst to the unfortunate death that awaited him. Tughlaq faced a sudden death on his way back to Delhi after the annexation of Bengal in 1325. He attended a reception given by his eldest son, Muhammad bin Tughlaq in Afghanpur (present- day Bihar) when the stage collapsed, killing the ruler and his second son. The tomb is built in the typical Tughlaq-style of architecture. The single-domed tomb has a square base with slanting walls made of sandstone. The massive white marble dome rests on an octagonal drum and is crowned with a unique lotus finial. Though free of any ornamentation, the white marble inlay on the red sandstone makes for a striking feature. So, Option (d) is correct.

• The administrative structure of the Mauryan Empire involved a division of the empire into provinces, each under the direct governance of a prince (kumara) or a member of the royal family. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• The inscriptions suggest four such provinces – a southern one with its center at Survarnagiri, a northern province with a capital at Taxila, a western one with its capital at Ujjayini, and an eastern one with its capital at Tosali. Ashokan inscriptions also referred to these governors as kumara, suggesting a continuation of the tradition of appointing royal princes to these important posts.
• Senior officers called pradeshikas were tasked with touring the empire every five years and performing an audit as well as keeping a check on the provincial administration. In addition, there were judicial officers, rajukas, in both urban and rural areas, whose judicial functions often combined with the assessment of revenue. A well-organized administration was needed for a variety of tasks such as surplus production, extraction of surplus, distribution or expenditure, a strong army to conquer areas, tax collection from traders and agriculturalists, etc.
• The Arthashastra and even Ashokan edicts mention a Mantri Parishad (council of ministers). It is mentioned in the Arthashastra that the state cannot function without the assistance of ministers. Yet the Council had to report its opinion to the king immediately. The primary role of the Council was advisory in nature. The king’s decision was final in all respects. Hence statement 3 is not correct.
• As per Megasthanese's Indica, there are numerous references to different committees in the district councils. Panyadhyaksha was responsible to look after trade and commerce and inspect weights and measures. The collection of taxes was the responsibility of Sulkahyaksha and the registration of births and deaths was the work of Gopa. The head of the urban administration was called Nagarika. He was assisted by two subordinate officials-Gopa and Sthanika. Other officials are also mentioned such as Bandhanagaradhyaksha (looked after the jail); Rakshi (i.e. the police; looked after the security of the people); Lohadhyaksha, Sauvarnika (officials who looked after goods that were manufactured in the centers). Hence statement 2 is not correct.

The Viharas found in western India were found to be dug out in hills.

Enrich Your Learning: Viharas The monasteries build as a permanent shelter for monks (they used to travel for teachings) were known as Viharas. Many supporters of the monks and nuns, and monk themselves felt the need for more permanent shelters and so monasteries were built. The earliest Viharas were made of wood, and then of brick. Some of the Viharas were even in caves that were dug out in hills, especially in western India. The land on which the vihara was built was donated by a rich merchant or a landowner, or the king. The local people came with gifts of food, clothing and medicines for the monks and nuns. In return, they taught the people.

Example: Cave in Karle present in Maharashtra.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The rules made for the Buddhist sangha were written down in a book called the Vinaya Pitaka. All men, women and children could join the sangha. However, children had to take the permission of their parents and slaves of their masters. Those who worked for the king had to take his permission and debtors that of creditors. Women had to take their husbands’ permission.

Statement 2 is correct. The Puranas contain stories about gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga or Parvati. They also contain details on how they were to be worshipped. Besides, there are accounts about the creation of the world, and about kings. The Puranas were written in simple Sanskrit verse, and were meant to be heard by everybody, including women and shudras, who were not allowed to study the Vedas.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Most Upanishadic thinkers were men, especially brahmins and raja. But there is mention of women thinkers, such as Gargi, who was famous for her learning, and participated in debates held in royal courts.

• British Government passed the Limitation Law in 1859, to control the debts mounting on ryots in Deccan. In 1832, a large area of land was demarcated as Damin-i-Koh, on the slopes of Rajmahal hills and was given to the Santhals. But with time they found that their land was slipping away from their hands as state was levying heavy taxes and moneylenders were charging high rates of interest on them. Hence, Santhal Rebellion happened in 1855-56.

• Deccan Riot Commission was assigned to make a report on the revolt by ryots in Deccan. The report was presented in British Parliament in 1878.

• The first revenue settlement system in Bombay, Deccan was made in the 1820s. It was known as ‘Ryotwari settlement, where the revenue was directly settled with the ‘ryots’ (peasants).

• Statement 1 is correct: All restrictions on European immigration and acquisition of property in India were lifted. It opened the way for wholesale colonisation of India.

• Statement 2 is correct: A law member was added to the governor-general’s council. It was added for professional advice on law making. Later, the law member was made the full member of the governor-general’s executive council by the Charter Act of 1853.

• Statement 3 is correct: The administration was urged to take steps to improve the conditions of the slaves and to abolish slavery. Slavery was abolished in 1843.

Lord Linlithgow Viceroy of India announced the August Offer (August 1940) which proposed:

• Dominion status as the objective for India. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• Expansion of Viceroy’s executive council which would have a majority of Indians (who would be drawn from major political parties). Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• Setting up of a constituent assembly after the war where Indians would decide the Constitution according to their social, economic, and political conceptions, subject to fulfilment of the obligation of the government regarding defence, minority rights, treaties with States, all Indian services. No future constitution to be adopted without the consent of minorities. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Satyagraha was to be launched on April 6, 1919, but before it could be launched, there were large-scale violent, anti-British demonstrations in Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Ahmedabad, etc. Especially in Punjab, the situation became so very explosive due to wartime repression, forcible recruitments, and ravages of disease that the Army had to be called in. April 1919 saw the biggest and the most violent anti-British upsurge since 1857. So, Statement 1 is not correct.
• The entire agitation against the Rowlatt act proved its unorganized nature whereby the Satyagraha Sabha of Mahatma Gandhi concentrated mainly on publishing propaganda literature and collecting signatures on the Satyagraha pledge. So, Statement 2 is correct.
• Mahatma Gandhi left Bombay on April 8 to promote the Satyagraha agitation in Delhi and Punjab. But, as his entry into Punjab was considered dangerous by the government, Gandhi was removed from the train he was traveling at Palwal near Delhi and taken back to Bombay. The news of Gandhi’s arrest precipitated the crisis. The situation became tense in Bombay, and violence broke out in Ahmedabad and Virangam. In Ahmedabad, the government enforced martial law. In particular, the Punjab region and Amritsar witnessed the worst scenes of violence. So, Statement 3 is correct.
   

• The Treaty of Amritsar (1809) was signed on April 25, 1809, between Maharaja Ranjit Singh ( (1780 – 1839) and the British East India Company. It was a pact between Charles T. Metcalfe and Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire. He was the son of Mahan Singh, the leader of the Sukarchakiya misl. Ranjit Singh brought under control the area extending from the Sutlej to the Jhelum. He conquered Lahore in 1799 and Amritsar in 1802. Ranjit Singh proved to be an efficient administrator. He greatly modernised his army with the help of Europeans. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• Ranjit Singh died in 1839. His successors could not keep the state intact and, soon enough, the British took control over it. Maharaja Daleep Singh was the son and successor of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who came to the throne in 1843. 
• As per the provisions of the Treaty of Amritsar (1809), the river Sutlej was the boundary between the British and the state of Punjab. The treaty settled Indo-Sikh relations for a generation. The immediate occasion was the French threat to northwestern India, following Napoleon’s Treaty of Tilsit with Russia (1807) and Ranjit’s attempt to bring the area around Sutlej states under his control. Hence statement 2 is correct. 
• The treaty of Amritsar did not have any provision regarding the British resident at the royal court of Punjab. The treaty of Lahore (1846) signed after the first Anglo- Sikh War (1845-46), provided for the stationing of a British resident at Lahore. The state of Punjab was annexed by Lord Dalhousie in 1849 after the Second Anglo- Sikh War (1848-49) and the eleven-year-old Maharaja, Daleep Singh was pensioned off to England. Hence statement 3 is not correct.

• The education imparted in 18th-century India was still traditional which could not match with the rapid developments in the West. The knowledge was confined to literature, law, religion, philosophy, and logic and excluded the study of physical and natural sciences, technology and geography.
• Elementary education among the Hindus and the Muslims was quite widespread. The Hindu and Muslim elementary schools were called pathshalas and maktabs respectively. The education was confined to reading, writing, and arithmetic. Children from the lower caste sometimes attended the schools, but female presence was rare.
• Chatuspathis or Tols, as they were called in Bihar and Bengal, were the centres of higher education. Some of the famous centres for Sanskrit education were Kasi (Varanasi), Tirhut (Mithila), Nadia and Utkala. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.
• Madrasahs were the institutions of higher learning for Persian and Arabic, Persian being the court language and learnt by the Muslims as well as the Hindus. Azimabad (Patna) was a famous centre for Persian education.

The formation of the above Congress Ministries (in the Provinces) and the vast extension of civil liberties unleashed popular energies everywhere. The Kisan Sabhas sprang up in every part of the country and there was an immense growth in trade union activities and membership. Student and Youth Movements revived and burgeoned. A powerful fillip was given to the State Peoples‘ Movement. The Left parties were able to expand manifold. Even though it was under a Central Government ban, the Communist Party was able to bring out its weekly organ, The National Front, from Bombay. The Congress Socialist Party brought out The Congress Socialist and several other journals in Indian languages. Of particular interest is the example of Kirti Lehar, which the Kirti Communists of Punjab brought out from Meerut, U.P., because they could not do so in Unionist-ruled Punjab. Note: In early 1915, Annie Besant launched a campaign through her two papers, New India and Commonweal, and organized public meetings and conferences to demand that India be granted self-government on the lines of the White Colonies after the War.

Major/Minor Parties in India –
(1) The Indian National Liberal Federation (in Bengal, the Moderate Party) was founded by Tej Bahadur Sapru and M. R. Jayakar.
(2) The Jamiat ul Ulama-i-Hind was founded by Maulana Mahmudal Hasan Shaikh-ul-Hind, of the Deoband School, a nationalist Muslim clergy.
(3) The Radical Democratic Party was founded by M. N. Roy. 

Main Provisions of the Pitt’s India Act, 1784 – A Board of Control, consisting of 6 members, was created. They were appointed by the Crown. The Court of Directors was retained without any alteration in its composition.

• Statement 1 is correct. Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched an ambitious program to encourage the deployment of Energy Efficient chiller systems in the country. The Chiller Star Labelling Program has been formulated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The program envisages providing star rating in terms of its energy performance

• . Statement 2 is correct. Chillers are used extensively for space conditioning of buildings and for industrial process cooling applications. Statement 3 is correct. Chillers, being energy intensive system, contribute more than 40 per cent of the total energy consumption in commercial buildings. Therefore, it is important to optimize energy performance of chillers and create awareness amongst the end users to adopt transition towards energy efficient chillers.

Option (c) is the correct answer.

• Hawaii Islands - in Pacific Ocean is a volcanic archipelago

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  Galapagos Islands - in South Pacific Ocean is a volcanic archipelago

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  Reunion Islands - in Indian Ocean has a volcanic origin.

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  Maldives is a series of coral atolls.

• A Shield volcano is characterized by gentle upper slopes and somewhat steeper lower slopes. Shield volcanoes are composed almost entirely of relatively thin lava flows built up over a central vent. They are formed by low viscosity basaltic magma that flows easily down slope away from the summit vent. Hence statement 1 is correct.

• The low viscosity of the magma allows the lava to travel down slope on a gentle slope, but as it cools and its viscosity increases, its thickness builds up on the lower slopes giving a somewhat steeper lower slope. Most shield volcanoes have a roughly circular or oval shape in map view. Calderas are a common feature on shield volcanoes. Hence statement 2 is correct.

• Very little pyroclastic material is found within a shield volcano, except near the eruptive vents, where small amounts of pyroclastic material accumulate as a result of fire fountaining events.

• The best known shield volcanoes are the ones that make up the Hawaiian Islands, especially Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Hence statement 3 is correct.

• The Pygmies:

  • They are the extremely short-statured people of the Congo Basin in Africa.

  • They are scattered across equatorial Africa, where they speak various languages, inhabit different types of forests, and hunt and gather food in diverse ways.

  • They inhabit a narrow band of tropical rain forest about four degrees above and four degrees below the Equator, stretching from Cameroon's Atlantic coast eastward to Lake Victoria in Uganda.

  • They are the largest group of hunter-gatherers left on earth. But they are under serious threat.

• The Eskimos:

  • Greenland, northern Canada and Alaska are their lands.

  • They used to live as hunters, fishers and food-gatherers but in recent years more and more of them are settling in permanent huts.

  • The Polar Eskimos, living around Thule in north-west Greenland still lead an uncertain life, not very much different from their forefathers.

  • During winter they live in compact igloos and in summer when they move out to hunt they pitch portable tents of skins by the side of streams

• The Lapps:

  • The Lapps are vigorous people of obscure origin who have managed until now to preserve their race, language, and elements of their culture on the northern fringe of European civilisation.

  • The Samis, normally known as Lapps, live in a very wide territory stretching from the coasts of Norway to the peninsula of Kola, in Russia.

  • The Samis are nomadic shepherds and their economy is based on reindeer rearing. Their nomadic life is due to the reindeers’ dietary needs. These big herbivores mainly feed on slowly-growing lichens, so they need very large areas to survive.

  • The Lapps follow their animals, as they move in search of new pastures. The nomadic groups of Lapps still live in reindeer skin tents that look like those of native Americans. Traditional Sami dishes are mainly made of reindeer meat and fish.

• The Masai:

  • In the land of the lions, the proud Masai still live the way they did for centuries, with a few significant changes in their lifestyle.

  • They are a nomadic tribe who once wandered with their herds of cattle in the central highlands of East Africa. But now mainly confined to the few square miles of Masai reserves in Kenya and Tanzania.

  • They build circular huts with sticks, bushes and mud for temporary shelter.

  • The cattle kept by the Masai are the zebu cattle with humps and long horns. They are treated with great respect and affection and are never slaughtered for food or for sale.

  • Cattle are kept by every Masai family and are symbols of wealth.

  • They drink the blood as well as the milk.

Both the statements are incorrect.

• Suriname is a small country on the northern coast of South America
• Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, by French Guiana to the east, by Brazil to the south, and by Guyana to the west.
• Capital: Paramaribo 

In News : A study just published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science reported a sharp change in the potential for cyclones to form over the Arabian Sea during the late 1990s.

• The word Cyclone is derived from the Greek word Cyclos meaning the coils of a snake.
• It was coined by Henry Peddington because the tropical storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea appear like coiled serpents of the sea
• The air circulates inward in an anticlockwise direction in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern hemisphere.
• Cyclones are given many names in different regions of the world – They are known as typhoons in the China Sea and Pacific Ocean; hurricanes in the West Indian islands in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean; tornados in the Guinea lands of West Africa and southern USA.; willy willies in north-western Australia and tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean.

• All the statements are correct: Minerals found in India are unevenly distributed. Broadly, peninsular rocks contain most of the reserves of coal, metallic minerals, mica and many other non-metallic minerals. Sedimentary rocks on the western and eastern flanks of the peninsula, in Gujarat and Assam have most of the petroleum deposits. Rajasthan with the rock systems of the peninsula, has reserves of many non-ferrous minerals. The vast alluvial plains of north India are almost devoid of economic minerals. These variations exist largely because of the differences in the geological structure, processes and time involved in the formation of minerals. India is critically deficient in the reserve and production of copper. The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh produce 52 per cent of India’s copper. The Singhbhum district of Jharkhand is also a leading producer of copper. The Khetri mines in Rajasthan are also famous.

Dunes are the feature of Wind Deposition. They are the Hills of Sand formed by the accumulation of sand and shaped by the movement of winds. The dunes are of two types

Active dunes- also known as Live Dunes, are constantly on the move.

Inactive dunes- They are fixed in nature and rooted with Vegetation.

Dunes are easily seen in Erg Desert which is a Sea of Sand. Dunes have been given a long list of fanciful names because of their great contrast in shape, size and alignment. For e.g. Head dune, tail dune, advance dune, lateral dune, wake dune, star dune, pyramidal dune, sword dune etc.

Statement 1 is correct. Dunes are formed by the accumulation of Sand.

Statement 2 is correct. Dunes are shaped by the movements of Wind.

Statement 3 is correct. Live dunes are Constantly on the move.

• Earthquakes are tremors which are produced by the passage of vibratory waves through the rocks of the earth. The severity of an earthquake can be expressed in terms of both intensity and magnitude. Intensity is based on the observed effects of ground shaking on people, buildings, and natural features. It varies from place to place within the disturbed region depending on the location of the observer with respect to the earthquake epicenter. Magnitude is related to the amount of seismic energy released at the hypocenter of the earthquake. It is based on the amplitude of the earthquake waves recorded on instruments which have a common calibration.

• Both statements are correct: Mercalli scale is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. It measures the intensity of an earthquake by observing its effect on people, the environment and the earth’s surface. It is a linear measurement.

• Richter scale is a quantitative measure of an earthquake’s magnitude (size). The earthquake’s magnitude is determined using the logarithm of the amplitude (height) of the largest seismic wave calibrated to a scale by a seismograph. The Richter Scale measures the energy released by an earthquake using a seismograph.

• Demographic Transition Theory tells us that the population of any region changes from high births and high deaths to low births and low deaths as society progresses from rural agrarian and illiterate to urban industrial and literate society.

• It has four stages:

  • The first stage has high fertility and high mortality because people reproduce more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply. The population growth is slow and most of the people are engaged in agriculture where large families are an asset. Life expectancy is low, people are mostly illiterate and have low levels of technology.

    • Thus though the fertility rate is high mortality rate is also high and there is no scope for population expansion in this stage. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

  • In the second stage, fertility remains high but mortality falls rapidly due to improvements in health facilities and other socio-economic improvements. As a result, there is an expansion of the population.

  • In the third stage, fertility falls rapidly but mortality falls slowly which leads to slow population growth compared to the second stage. In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The population is either stable or grows slowly or may even decline. The population becomes urbanized, literate and has high technical know-how, and deliberately controls the family size. Hence statement 2 is correct.

  • Developed countries like the USA, Canada, western European nations are believed to be in the last stage.