Where is Muslim mosque situated where a hair of pagamber Mohammad Saheb has been preserved?
(a) Ajmer
(b) Ahmedabad
(c) Srinagar
(d) Mecca
Solution: (d)
Although the proceedings in the Supreme Court arise out of the judgments or orders made by the Subordinate Courts including the High Courts, but of late the Supreme Court has started entertaining matters in which interest of the public at large is involved and the Court can be moved by any individual or group of persons either by filing a Writ Petition at the Filing Counter of the Court or by addressing a letter to the Chief Justice of India highlighting the question of public importance for invoking this jurisdiction. Such concept is popularly known as ‘Public Interest Litigation’ and several matters of public importance have become landmark cases. This concept is unique to the Supreme Court of India only and perhaps no other Court in the world has been exercising this extraordinary jurisdiction.
The capital city ‘Daydo’ established by Kublai Khan is situated at—
(a) Samar qand
(b) Beijing
(c) Ulan Battor
(d) Alma Atta
Solution: (b)
The Constitution was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949, and came into effect on 26 January, 1950. As originally enacted the preamble described the state as a “sovereign democratic republic”. In 1976 the Forty-second Amendment changed this to read “sovereign socialist secular democratic republic”.
The capital of the Yadava rulers was :
(a) Dwarasamudra
(b) Warangal
(c) Kalyani
(d) Devagiri
Solution: (c)
Independence of judiciary means a fair and neutral judicial system of a country. Article 50 in the Constitution Of India, belonging to the Directive Principles of State Policy, deals with separation of judiciary from executive. It says that the State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.
The Dilwara temple at Mount Abu in Rajasthan were built by the followers of
(a) Buddhism
(b) Jainism
(c) Hinduism
(d) Sikhism
Solution: (d)
The principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ has an important place in India. It is read with Article 39(d) and Article 14 of the Constitution of India. During the 1970s and the 1980s, the Supreme Court applied this principle liberally, without demanding clear proof in the pleadings. It is not a fundamental right.
Which of the following is in the World Heritage list?
(a) Khajuraho
(b) Nalanda ruins
(c) Hampi ruins
(d) Tajmahal
Solution: (c)
Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.
The ‘Kirti Stambha’ (Tower of Victory) at Chittor was built by—
(a) Rana Pratap
(b) Rana Kumbha
(c) Rana Sanga
(d) Bappa Raval
Solution: (b)
Kirti Stambh is situated at Chittorgarh fort in Rajasthan, India. The 22 metre high tower was built by a Rana Kumbha to commemorate his victory against Mahmud Khilji of Malwa. The tower is built in the Solanki style. It is 30 feet at the base and narrows down to 15 feet at the top . It is dated approximately around the 12th century AD. Kirti Stambh is older than another tower in the same fort, known as the Vijay Stambh (Tower of Victory).
Where was saint Kabir born?
(a) Delhi
(b) Varanasi
(c) Mathura
(d) Hyderabad
Solution: (b)
Not much is known of Kabir’s birth parents, but it is known that he was brought up in a family of Muslim weavers. He was found by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife, Nima, in Lehartara, situated in Varanasi. Kabir’s family is believed to have lived in the locality of Kabir Chaura in Varanasi. Kabir ma?ha, located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times.
Which Sufi’s dargah is at Ajmer?
(a) Baba Farid
(b) Qutb-din Bakhtiyar Kaki
(c) Moinuddin Chisti
(d) Khwaja Bahuddin
Solution: (c)
Moinuddin Chishti, also known as Gharib Nawaz “Benefactor of the Poor” was the most famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order of the Indian Subcontinent who introduced and established the order in South Asia. Dargah Sharif or Ajmer Sharif is a sufi shrine of sufi saint, Moinuddin Chishti located at Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The shrine has the grave (Maqbara) of the revered saint, Moinuddin Chisti. It is said that the brass candlesticks taken from the Kalika temple after its destruction were given to the Dargah Sharif shrine of Moinuddin Chishti is in Ajmer, a shrine that Akbar vowed to rebuild after his victory.
Shah Jahan built the Moti Masjid at
(a) Delhi
(b) Jaipur
(c) Agra
(d) Amarkot
Solution: (c)
The Moti Masjid in Agra was built by Shah Jahan. During the rule of Shah Jahan the Mughal emperor, numerous architectural wonders were built. Most famous of them is the Taj Mahal. Moti Masjid earned the epithet Pearl Mosque for it shined like a pearl. It is held that this mosque was constructed by Shah Jahan for his members of royal court. The Moti Masjid boasts of extensive white marble facing, a typical stylistic feature of architecture during the reign of Shah Jahan.
What do you mean by Mughal Zagir?
(a) providing rent-free land
(b) zamindar’s property
(c) giving officers a right to revenue
(d) giving cash salary to Mansabdar
Solution: (c)
Zagir was a piece of land held by the mansabdar which was granted by the Sultan. Mansabdars were given control over an area of land, a ‘Zagir’ whose revenue was to be used for maintaining troops; if not given a ‘Zagir’ they were paid in cash through a complicated accounting system, with deductions for various things including ‘the rising of the moon’; it was a normal practice to pay for only eight or ten months in the year. The Mansabdars were allowed to keep five percent of the income of the ‘Zagir’ or five per cent of the salaries received. In Mughal period, zagir was the practice giving officer a right to revenue.
