Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in Current Affairs.

Option - (A). I & II

Correct option - (B) 5

a.  Indus valley has been regarded as the cradle of civilization in the Indian subcontinent. 

b. It flourished around the Indus river basin which provided it for fertile areas for farming.

c.The civilization had a vast geographical region . 

d. Its important cities like Mohenjadaro, Harrapa and other smaller towns developed along important trade routes and emerged a trade centers. 

e. The Indus Valley civilization included the first known urban sanitation systems in the world. Their society included dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls. 

f. Houses had similar access to water and drainage. 

g. If we look into the present system of town planning, it is true that planers have a lot to learn from the great indus valley civilization. 

h. The civilization is primarily noted for its urban style of planning using baked bricks . 

i. The town palnners laernt about the wall orientation, about making walls stronger by laying them in interlocking pattern. 

j. Presently, the town planners followed system of  having a well drainage system, water supply system. 

k. Town planners also follow the system of having a separate bathing area, having covered drains.

Correct option- (C) O (n log n) 

Correct option -(B) creating generic pointers

Explanation:-

The void type is used to create generic pointers.

1) The first farmers liked living near the river because it kept the land green and fertile for growing crops. 2) These farmers lived together in villages which grew over time into large ancient cities, like Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. 3)The Indus people needed river water to drink, wash and to irrigate their fields.

Vishwavara, Ghosha, Apala, and others were the learned women of the Vedic Age.

Maski is located in Raichur district. This edict which refers to ‘Devanampriya Ashokasa’ confirms that Ashoka had the titles ‘Devanampriya’ and ‘Priyadarshi Raja’.

Prabhakara Vardhana and Yashomathi were the parents of Harshavardhana.

The four Vedas are, 

1. Rig Veda 

2. Yajur Veda 

3. Sama Veda 

4. Atharvana Veda.

Gargi, Vishwavara, Ghosha, Apala, and others were some of the learned women of Vedic period.

Kanishka gave royal patronage to Buddhism. A large number of missionaries were sent to foreign countries. He conducted the 4^th Buddhist Council in Kashmir. These measures were taken by Kanishka for the spread of Buddhism.

Ashokan inscriptions have been found at Maski, Gavimatha, Palkigonda, Brahmagiri, Siddapura, Jatingarameshwara, Nittur, Udayagollam and Sannathi in Karnataka.

Tirukural, Silappadigaram, Manimekhalai are the famous works of the Sangam age.

Mahmud Gawan built the Madarasa at Bidar.

The greatness of Ashoka is not only due to his territorial expansion, but for his moral greatness and the practical ethics which he propagated. The Kalinga war was a turning point in the life of Ashoka. Seeing the extent of the loss of human life and bloodshed, Ashoka was filled with sorrow and vowed to stop ‘Digvijaya or Bheri Ghosha (Beating of war drums) and to take up ‘Dharmavijaya’ (Winning the hearts of the people).

He declared “The Chief conquest is the conquest by right path and love and not by might and sin”. The Bhabru edict clearly indicates Ashoka’s faith in Buddha, Sangha, and Dharmas.

The intention of Ashoka was to spread Buddhism not only in India but also outside India. 

He took many measures for the same. They were :

1. He visited the holy places from the life of Buddha such as Lumbini, Kapilavastu. Gaya, Saranath and arranged discourses on religion. 

2. He constructed a large number of monasteries all over the Empire and gave liberal grants for such institutions. 

3. He spread the doctrines of Buddha by engraving them on rocks, pillars and on the walls of the caves throughout his Empire. 

4. Ashoka appointed officers called Dharmamahamathras, Yukthas, and Rajjukas to spread Buddhism among people. He also appointed Sthree Adhyaksha Mahamatras to take care of women and bring religious awareness among them.

5. He organised the 3^rd Buddhist Council at Pataliputra which was presided by Moggaliputra Tissa in 250 BCE. The purpose. was to settle the differences among the Buddhists.

6. Ashoka sent missionaries to preach Buddhism in Afghanisthan, Burma, Srilanka, and Europe. He deputed his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamithra to Srilanka with a Bodhi Sapling as a symbol of peace.

7. He undertook many welfare activities like digging of wells, building rest houses, planting of fruit bearing trees, etc., He constructed hospitals for men and animals. He made arrangements to feed the poor and physically disabled persons. His aim was “Service and Sacrifice”.

Ashoka believed that a moral life was the pre-requisite for a happy life. He laid emphasis on simple living, high thinking and a good moral life. On account of his extensive propagation, Buddism became a religion of the masses in India and it also spread to Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan, Burma, and many Southeast Asian countries and thus became a world religion during his period.

Thomas Paine – Common Sense 

Thomas Jefferson – Declaration of Independence 

Louis XVI – Bourbon rule 

Philosphes – Encyclopaedia

• Quit India struggle began in August 1942.
• Gandhiji gave the slogan ’Do or Die’.

Gandhiji was aware of the miseries Indians had with the British while he was in South Africa. Sathyagraha was his principle. He demanded the people to withdraw from wars. He informed the people that sathyagraha stays in “Ahimsa and Truth”.

The methods of agitation made changes in the people. The movements which was concentrated in towns were expanded to villages. His ideologies were attracted by many people and the common people too joined his principle. Thus Gandhiji become a savior to all.

• The main god of the Harappans was the unicorn. 
• The people in the Indus Valley spoke Tamil. 
• As a result, the Indus Valley deities were of Dravidian origin. 

• Ahmedabad Cotton Mi 11 strike (1918) 
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919) 
• Non Co-operation Movement (1921) 
• Formation of Swaraj Party (1923) 
• Bombay Naval Mutiny (1946)

Correct option is (i) 1942 

1. Vardhaman Mahaveer: (599-527 B.C.E.) Life of Mahaveera: He was the 24^th Thirthankara and . the real founder of Jainism. He was born in Kundagrama near Vaishali in 599 BCE in a kshatriya family. Eli’s parents were Siddhartha and Trishala. Siddhartha was the head of a kshatriya clan called Janatrika. Vardhaman had a very comfortable early life. At the age of 18, he married Yashoda and subsequently a daughter was born.

Her name was Anojja or Priyadarshini. Mahaveera was inclined towards spiritual life and renounced worldly life. He left home and wandered naked in search of the truth and the real meaning of life. He lived the life of self-mortification (renunciation) and deep meditation. Finally one day in Vaishaka, he attained Supreme Knowledge (Enlightenment) of Kaivalya (Jnana) and became Kevalin (omniscient) at Jrimbhikagrama in Bihar.

Later he became also known as Jina, which means conqueror of all likings and dislikings. His followers came to be known as Jains. Vardhaman was hailed as Mahaveer or the Great Conqueror.

2. Propagation of the Religion: Mahaveera spent the rest of his life in preaching his doctrines to the people of Magadha, Anga, Mithila, Kosala and only parts of India. His religion attracted a large number of followers and also Kings like Bindusara and Ajatashatru. He accepted the teachings of Parshwanatha as the basis of Jainism. He lived till the age of 72 years and passed away at Pavapuri near Patna, in 527 BCE.

3. Teachings of Mahaveera: The main basis of Jainism is the belief in soul and karma. The main objective of Jainism is the attainment of salvation by freeing the soul from the earthly pleasures. Mahaveera preached five vows and three jewels for the attainment of salvation.

Three jewels or thiratnas:

• Right, Knowledge is understanding the doctrines of Jainism. 
• Right Faith is the firm belief in the omniscience of Mahaveera. 
• Right action or conduct is the fulfilment of the five great vows.

The main teaching of Mahaveera was “Ahimsa Paramodharma”, He paid great importance to non-violence and rejected the authority of the vedas and the supremacy of the brahmins. He believed in establishing an order which would lead the people to the path of truth and salvation. To liberate the soul from the bondage of karma, it is necessary to destroy the latter. This can be achieved by an individual by practising the five vows or principles.

4. Five vows (principles) or avoidance of the five evil karmas: Mahaveera preached the ethical code and insisted that the following five should be practiced. They are:

a. Non-violence (Ahimsa): Jainism believed in an extreme form of non-violence. Ahimsa means that violence should not be caused by words, thoughts, and actions. There should be no harm or ill-treatment to any living being.

b. Truth (Satya): One should not speak untruth, and should also avoid speaking a bitter truth.

c. Non-stealing (Asteya): One should never steal or pick up things that do not belong to them either directly or indirectly.

d. Non-possession (Aparigraha): Aparigraha means one is to avoid the longing for worldly things, possession of wealth and property.

e. Chastity (Brahmacharya): Chastity means control of passions, emotions, and desires. Purity of thought, words and deed are to be cultivated.

All these five principles will lead to the path of salvation. Mahaveera did not believe that the universe was created by God nor did he make any reference to Him. He preached that change was a natural phenomenon. Birth and death were natural and applicable to men and matter. He condemned the caste system and the sacrificial rituals. Nirvana should be the ultimate aim of a soul.

(d) To treat the communal problem as a national issue

Correct option is (ii) Jawaharlal Nehru 

Goa (Capital), Diu, Daman, Salsette, Bassein, Bombay, Calicut, Cochin, Machalipattanam, Santhome, etc., were the trading centers of the Portuguese in India.

The Lahore session of the Indian National Congress held in 1929 under the chairmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru was a turning point in the history of freedom movement in India.

• The session declared that the ultimate aim of Indian freedom struggle was to attain freedom (Pooma Swaraj) for the country.
• It also resolved to start the civil disobedience movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Kautilya was a statesman, scholar, and teacher of Chandragupta Maurya. He is famous for his work Arthashastra which explains the art of governance of a country.

1. Right knowledge 

2. Right faith 

3. Right conduct are the trirathnas of Mahaveera.

Gandhiji entered Indian national movement with his rich experience and knowledge of regional struggle in various parts of the country. His protest against the Rowlatt Actencated by the British paved the way for it.

In the pretext of preventing extremist activities, the British Parliament passed the Rowlatt Act in 1919 limiting the civil rights. The committee which recommended this Act was led by Sir Sydney Rowlatt. Hence, the act was known as Rowlatt Act. As per this act any person could brarrested and imprisoned without trial.

When the protests against this Act failed. Gandhiji suggested starting Sathygraha Vigorously reacting to his proposal, people in various part of the country went to the streets anosiarteo demonstration and strikes. But the government resorted to oppressive measures towards the public protest.

The worst example of the British approach to public protest was the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. The masscare at Jalianwala Bagh intensified the protests at the natio nal level. Gandhiji said: If the battle of Plassey laid the foundation for the British rule, Jallianwala Bagh shook the foundation.

Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529 C.E.): Krishnadevaraya of the Tuluva dynasty was the greatest Ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was the son of Tuluva Narasanayaka and Nagaladevi. He came to the throne in 1509 G.E. The glory and prestige of the Kingdom reached its zenith during the rule of Krishnadevaraya. He got a good training under his Prime minister Timmarasa whom he called as Appaji.

Military achievements of Krishnadeva- Raya:

1. The war of 1510 C.E. : Krishna- devaraya had to fight a war against Mohammed Shah of Bidar and Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur whose combined army attacked Vijayanagara. A battle took place in 1510 C.E. near Doni, in which the Muslim army was routed and it ran away from the battle field. Krishnadevaraya pursued the enemy forces up to Govilkonda and once again defeated them. He then occupied the Fort of Raichur and the Krishna- Tungabhadra doab area.

2. Siege of Ummatturu – 1513 C.E.: Krishnadevaraya marched against the rebellious chief, Gangaraja of Ummatturu. Gangaraja was defeated and the forts of Shivanasamudra and Srirangapattana were captured. Krishnadevaraya created a. new province with its headquarters at Srirangapattana.

3. Kalinga (Orissa) expedition- 1513 – 1518 C.E.: Krishnadevaraya took an expedition to Kalinga to defeat the Gajapathi Ruler, Prataparudra, which was achieved in stages. Udayagiri Fort was captured first. Next, he seiged the Fort of Kondavidu and defeated the Reddies. The administration of the Krishna region of Andhra was entrusted to Salva Thimma.

Then he captured the Forts of Vijayawada and Kondapalli. Later, the rest of the Telangana region came under his rule. When the Vijayanagara army reached Cuttack, the capital of the Gajapathigg King Pratlaparudtadeva capitulated and settled for peace in 1518 C.E.

4. Battle of Raichur-1520C. E.: When Krishnadevaraya was busily engaged in his Orissa campaign, Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapura recaptured the fort of Raichur. In 1520, Krishna-devaraya marched against the Sultan, defeated him and took back the Fort of Raichur. In this battle, the Portuguese musketeers helped the Vijayanagara army.

5. Captured the Fort of Gulbarga – 1523: Krishnadevaraya went as far as Bijapura, From here, he went to Gulbarga and defeated Amir Barid. Then he went upto Bidar and released the Bahamani Sultan, who had been imprisoned by his own subordinates and placed him on the throne of Gulbarga and took the title ‘Yavanarajya Pratishtapanacharya’.

6. Relation with the Portuguese: Krishnadevaraya maintained friendly relations with the Portuguese at Goa. He did not give help to Albuquerque to conquer Goa from the Bijapur Sultan in 1510 C.E. He gave permission to the Portuguese to build a Fort at Bhatkal. Durate Barbosa (1514-1515 C.E.) and Domingo Paes (1520 C.E.) visited the court of Krishnadevaraya. They have given information about the Vijayanagara trade and the personality of Krishnadevaraya.

7. Peace in Ceylon: There was political instability in Ceylon (Srilanka) There were revolts against King Vijayabahu. Krishnadevaraya intervened in its political affairs and peace was established. Bhuvanaikyabahu, the son of Vijayabahu was brought to power.

8. Extend of his Empire: The Empire extended from river Krishna and Godavari in the North, to Kanyakumari in the South and from the Arabian Sea – in the West to the Bay of Bengal in the East.

9. Patronage to Literature: Krishnadeva- Raya was not only a great Ruler but also a great scholar in Sanskrit and Telugu. He wrote ‘Amukta Malyada’ in Telugu. Jambavathi Kalyanam, Ushaparinayam, Madalasa Chari the and Rasamanjari in Sanskrit. He patronized eight Telugu poets popularly called as the ‘Ashtadiggajas’. He honoured the great scholar Vyasateertha and Allasani Peddanna was conferred with the title ‘Andra Kavi Pitamaha’. Krishna- devaraya is often described as ‘Andhra Bhoja’.

He abolished the marriage tax. In memory of his mother Nagaladevi, he built a new city called Nagalapura and he built Purandara Mantapa at Hampi. He built many tanks and canals for both drinking water and irrigation purposes. He was a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati.

He had many titles like Kannadarajya Ramaramana, Kavipungava, Karnatakan dhrabhoja, Yavanarajya Pratishtha panacharya, etc., The last days of Krishnadevaraya were unhappy. Due to his only son Tirumala’s death under mysterious circumstances in 1524C. E., Krishnadeva- Raya was much grieved and died in 1529 C.E.

Sri Vaishnava or Vishistadvaitha Philosophy was expounded by Ramanujacharya.

Gandhiji an Era-1920 to 1947: The Montague – Chelmsford reforms (1919) and subsequent events like the Rowlatt Act, the Jalian Walabagh tragedy made Gandhiji to plunge into the National movement. He advocated the policy of Satyagraha which was Non-violent and Non-Cooperation to the British Government.

1. Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) : A special session of the Congress was held at Calcutta in September 1920. Gandhiji proposed the Non-Cooperation Movement. His plan of launching a nationwide Non-Cooperation Movement was accepted by the session. The response of the people to the cal I was unprecedented. Students and teachers came out of Schools and Colleges and national Institutions like Kashi Vidyapeetlia, Jamiya Miliya Islamiya, etc., also joined the movement.

Members of the council tendered their resignations. Congress took some constructive measures and Hindu – Muslim unity was stressed. Foreign goods were boycotted and were collected and burnt at public places. This created nationalistic awareness among people, who began, to use ‘Swadeshi’ and wearing khadi became a symbol of national pride.

2. The Chowri – Chowra incident: 5^th February 1922: Non-Cooperation Movement shook the foundation of the British Empire in India. Gandhiji toured the whole country to motivate people. The Viceroy, Lord Curzon took steps to curb the movement. NonCooperation participants along with Gandhiji were sent to prison.

A violent mob at Ghowri Chowra (U.P.) set fire to the police station on 5th Feb 1922. In this incident, 22 policemen were killed. Immediately Gandhiji called off the movement.

3. The Swaraj Party – 1923: Congress leaders like C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru were dissatisfied about the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement and they wanted to end the boycott to the legislature and wanted to contest elections. But Congress rejected the proposal to contest elections So, C. R. Das and Motilal Nehru founded the ‘Swaraj Party’. Their aim was to achieve Independence by radical but constitutional methods.

4. Simon Commission in 1927: The British Government appointed the Simon Commission to placate the agitating Indians and make recommendations for further reforms. As the Commission did not have any Indian representative in it, it was boycotted by the Congress. The Congress organised a black flag demonstration with the slogan ‘Simon go back’.

5. Nehru Report and Poorna Swaraj (1929): The British challenged the Indians to provide an alternative proposal acceptable to all the & political parties. The All Parties Conference took up the challenge and appointed a committee under Motilal Nehru. The Committee submitted its report in 1928.

Differences arose with regard to the communal representation between parties like the Muslim League, the Hindu Maha Sabha, and the Sikhs. Communalists also were unhappy with the Nehru report, and the British ignored the same.

At the Indian National Congress session held at Lahore in December 1929 presided by Jawaharlal Nehru, a resolution of complete Independence of India as its goal (Poorna Swaraj) was adopted. It announced the celebration of 26th January 1930 as the Independence day and authorised Gandhiji to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement

6. Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930: In the 1929 Lahore Congress session, it was – decided to start the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930. In order to overthrow the British, many methods were adopted. Gandhiji placed 11 demands before the British and set 31^st January 1930 as the deadline to accept or reject the demands. Without any positive response, the British nationalised the production of Salt. Gandhiji started the Civil Disobedience Movement through the ‘Salt March or Dandi March’ on 12^th March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram and reached Dandi on 5^th April 1930. On 6^th April 1930, Gandhiji and his followers made salt from the sea water, violating the salt laws.

The salt satyagraha was carried out throughout India. The Government took repressive measures. Gandhiji and many other leaders were put behind bars. Salt became a symbol of our National Pride.

7. The first Round Table Conference 1930-31: Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha, Liberals and the Princes of various States attended it. The conference could not achieve much without the participation of the Indian National Congress which had boycotted it. The British unconditionally released Gandhiji and the other members of the Congress working committee (CEC) from prison.

A pact was made between Gandhiji and Viceroy Lord Irwin. Irwin agreed to withdraw all repressive measures relating to the Civil Disobedience Movement. Gandhiji demanded the formation of a responsible Government. The signing of the Gandhi – Irwin Pact also known as the ‘Delhi Pact’ was done on 14^th February 1931. Gandhiji on behalf of the Congress withdrew the Civil Disobedience Movement.

8. Second Round Table Conference 1931: Gandhiji attended the second Round Table Conference at London as the sole representative of the Congress. The session soon got deadlocked on the question of the minorities. Separate electorates were being demanded by the Muslims and the oppressed classes. Gandhiji claimed the untouchables to be Hindus and not to be treated an minorities and no special electorates to be provided to them or to the Muslims.

The British P.M. Ramsay Macdonald announced separate electorates to the Muslims and the untouchables, which was called as the ‘Communal Award’. This resulted in serious differences between Gandhiji and Ambedkar This issue was finally settled amicably with the ‘Poona Pact’ signed between the two stalwarts in 1932.

9. 3^rd Round Table Conference 1932: This conference was held at London in 1932. Congress refused to participate in it and the conference failed. The only important result of the discussions of the Conference was the passing of the Government of India Act 1935. This Act provided for All India Federation and Provincial Govemements. Gandhiji launched a movement with Ambedkar to eradicate untouchability from India. 

10. Second World War and National Movement in 1939: The second world war broke out in 1939. India was dragged into the war without any consultation. The Congress refused any kind of cooperation. All the Congress Ministries resigned in 1939. Gandhiji launced individual Satyagraha against the British. The British tried to enlist the Indian support by creating differences between the Muslim League and the Congress.

Muslim League adopted the Pakistan resolution in 1940. Viceroy Linlithgow announced that India would get Dominion status and establishment of constitiuent Assembly after the war and requested the Indian public to support the British in the war.

The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent Sir Stafford Cripps to India to negotiate with the Indian leaders. He proposed that Dominion status and an Interim Government of Indians to administer on all matters except defence, to be granted to India after the war. Gandhiji described Cripps’ offer as “a post-dated cheque of a drowning Bank”.

12. Quit India Movement in 1942: The All India Congress Committee met in Bombay and passed the Quit India resolution on 8^th August 1942. It was declared that the immediate ending of the British rule in India was an urgent necessity. Gandhiji gave the call of ‘Do or Die’ to Indians. The British Government arrested the Congress leaders including Gandhiji and people were stunned.

They did not know what to do next. As a result people took to violence. They attacked Police stations, Post offices, Railway stations, etc., They cut off telegraph and telephone wires and railway lines. They burnt Government buildings and Railway carriages were put on fire. The Government adopted strong measures of repression and more than 60,000 people were arrested. More than 1000 people died in the police and military firing.

13. The Cabinet Mission 1946: During his Prime Minister ship, Clement Atlee deputed a Commission to India in 1946. (Cripps, Lawrence and A.V. Alexander were its members) Its objective was to concede independence to India and transfer powers. The Cabinet Mission held discussions and rejected the creation of Pakistan.

The Muslim League rejected it and Jinnali called for ‘Direct Action Day and insisted upon having Pakistan (Lekar rahenge Pakistan). This resulted in communal violences at many places, bloodshed, and killings. Aconstituent Assembly was constituted under the Chairmanship of Babu Rajendra Prasad on 9th December 1946. The Congress under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru formed an interim Government.

14. Independence and Partition: (June 1947)British Prime Minister Clement Atlee entrusted to Lord Mountbatten (Viceroy) the job of transferring power. He tried to resolve the deadlock which existed between the Congress and the Muslim League. When he realised that it was impossible to patch up the differences, he made an announcement on 3^rd June 1947 regarding the partition of the country.

On the basis of Mountbatten’s declaration, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act on 18^th July 1947. This Act came into effect on 15^th August 1947. This act divided the country into India and Pakistan. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of Independent India and Lord Mountbatten who was the last Viceroy became Independent India’s first Governor-General. Sardar Vailababhai Patel was instrumental in reorganizing and merging the Princely Indian States into the Indian Federation. The constitution was brought into effect on 26^th January 1950 and India became a Republic.

Mayuravarma was the founder of the Kadamba dynasty.

In 1674 raigadh.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

‘Natural Historia’ was the famous work of Pliny.

1. Art and Architecture: The Chalukyas of Badami, have given some noteworthy contributions to the Indian art and architecture. Building of Sthambha, Navaranga, and Sukhanasi along With the Garbhagruha (Sanctum) were the unique contributions of the Chalukyas in temple architecture.

The Chalukyas developed their own style of architecture known as Vesara or new style or Chalukyan style of architecture, which was a combination of the Nagara style and Dravidian style. They built many temples. The chalukyan art took its birth at Aihole and developed in Badami and Pattadakallu.

The great art critic Percy Brown remarked that Aihole was “The cradle of Indian temple Architecture” and Dr. Shivarama Karanth has commented about Chalukyan period as the “Golden age of Karnataka Art”.

Important Characteristics of Chalukyan Architecture:

Chalukyas adopted the following features in their constrution of temples. They are :

• Small base design 
• Horse shoe base 
• Square sanctum (Garbhagruha) 
• Inner pradakshanapatha 
• Mukhamantapa, Navaranga, Sukhanasi and Pyramidical Tower on the Sanctum 
• Ekakuta, (one cell) Dwikuta and Trikuta temples.

The Chalukyan monuments could be broadly classified into two major categories viz.,

1. Rock – cut (Cave) temples 

2. The structural temples.

1. Rock-cut (cave) temples : Mangalesha and Kirthivarma built the 4 rock-cut temples on the hill at Badami. Two of them are dedicated to Vishnu, one to Shiva and the other is a Jain temple. These are connected to one another by a causeway. These caves contain a varanda with stone pillars, a hall with columns and small deeply cut garbhagrihas. 

These temples have gigantic images of Ardhanarishwara, Harihara, Mahishasuramardhini, Vishnu seated on the serpent, Narasimha, Trivikrama and Nataraja.

The Jain cave has the sculptures of Mahaveera and the 23^rd Jain Thirthanakara. Probably, the ceillings of the caves had paintings, which have faded away over time. In fact, the Chalukyas were the first to construct rock-cut temples in south India.

Rock-cut temples at Aihole: There are two rock-cut temples at Aihole. One is for Shiva and other is a Jain one. These rock-cut temples have a square mantapa and have a special plan of their own.

2. The structural temples: The Chalukyas have built more than 100 temples. Badami, Aihole, Pattadakallu, Mahakuta, etc, are religious as well as architectural centres of the Badami Chalukyas. The Shiva temple at Gokak, Mahalakshmi temple at Kollapura are examples of early Chalukyan architecture.

The Chalukyan temples, in the beginning, had flat or slightly inclined roof tops. Later, tower-like structural levels appeared. A big prayer hall, sanctum and an intervening room (Sukanasi) were included in the temple structure.

a. Aihole : Aihole contains over 70 temples. The structural temples of Aihole, represent the best of Chalukyan temple architecture. Thus Percy Brown rightly called Aihole as the cardie of Indian temple architecture.

b. Lankan temple : Among the most important temples, Ladhkhan Temple is one of the earliest. A muslim saint by name Ladhkhan lived here for a long time and so people started calling it as Ladhkhan temple. It contains a Mukhamantapa, and a Garbhagruha with a Nandi idol. The tower lies not above the Sanctum, but over the centre of the temple.

c. The Durga temple: This temple is designed like a horse shoe and a Buddhist Chaityalaya. There is a Rangamantapa with two rows of pillars and the verandas on the two sides go till the Garbhagruha and merge in a semicircle. The temple is surrounded by a fort wall and so it is called the fort (Durga) temple. The back view of the temple resembles the posterior view of an elephant. The Shikara resembles the Shikara of the Orissa temples.

d. The Huchimalli temple : This temple contains the Shikara (Tower) of the Nagara style, It has square pillars and simple construction details. This is a very special feature of Chalukyan architecture.

e. Meguthi Jain temple: Built by Ravikirthi near Aihole, has a sanctum and two platforms built in the Dravidian style. The other important temples of Aihole are Jyothirlinga, Mallikarjuna, and Siddheswara, etc.,

f. Pattadakallu : The ancient name of Pattadakallu was ‘Kisuvolalu’. 10 temples of Badami Chalukyas are here. The Virupaksha or Lokeshwara temple is quite a famous one. This was built by Lokamadevi. (Queen of Vikramaditya – II). The architect of this temple was Anirvathachari Gunda.

It contains two main entrances at the east and west. In front of the Nandi mantapa, on either side of the big platform, there are two Sanctums. Next is the main garbhagruha, where a Shivalinga is installed with a pradakshanapatha. Above these, there is a tower built in the Dravidian style. The temple is 224 ft long and 150 ft broad.

g. Mallikarjuna or TVilokeshwara Temple: was built by Trilokamadevi, the other queen of Vikramaditya – II.’ Papanatha, Karisiddeshwara, and Jambulingeshwara temples are in the Nagar style. Sangameshwara, Virupaksha, and Mallikarjuna temples are in the Dravidian (Pallava) style.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Iron was the first metal used by humans in South India.

The correct answer is Russia - GRU.

• Russia’s military intelligence service is commonly known by the Russian acronym GRU, which stands for the Main Intelligence Directorate.
• Its aim is to supply military intelligence to the Russian president and government.
• Its additional aims include ensuring Russia’s military, economic and technological security.
• Russia’s two other main intelligence and security services were both created from the Soviet-era KGB: the Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB.

Shahaji Bhonsle and Jijabai were the parents of Shivaji.

1. Akbar’s policy towards the Rajputs: Rajputs were the powerful enemies of the Mughals. Akbar was a farsighted statesman and the realised the value of Rajput alliances in his task of building an Empire in India for setting up his dynasty.

He adopted a very liberal As he was born had a sense of gratitude and feeling of affection towards them. He tried to win their support by adapting measures like friendly relations,cooperation, matrimonial alliances and appointing many Rajputs as Mansabdars.

At the same time he did not show any weakness towards the Rajputs and never hesitated from taking armed action against them. Akbar settled for friendly alliances, with the Rajput states of Amber, Bikaner, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer as those rulers accepted, unconditional submission to the Emperor.

He married Jodha Bai, daughter of Biharimal of Amber (Jaipur). RajaSurjan Rai of Ranathambore voluntarily accepted the overlordship of Akbar. Ramachandra, the ruler of Kalinjar surrendered to Akbar in 1569 C.E.

Some of the Rajputs were not willing to accept the sovereignty of Akbar. He attacked Chittor (Mewar) and defeated its ruler Uday Singh in 1568. Uday Singh and his son Rana Pratap Singh continued to fight the Mughals till their death. The important battle fought between the Mughals and Rana Pratap Singh was the battle of Haidighat in 1576.

Mewar was completely occupied by Akbar after the death of Rana Pratap Singh. Akbar freely admitted Rajputs in the royal service. Some of the important persons who held positions of trust and responsibility were Raja Todarmal, Raja Bhagwan Das, Raja Mansingh, and others.

Akbar’s Rajput policy drew the Rajputs closer to the muslims and helped in the growth of an Indo-muslim culture which represented the best elements of both.

2. Religious Policy of Akbar: Akbar was the most enlightened ruler among the Muehals. He was liberal minded and tolerant of other religions. His aim was to wipe out the differences that kept people apart, and bring about unity amongst them.

He openly pronounced his faith in the principle of universal toleration (Sulah-i-Kul) and tried to eliminate the deep rooted antagonism of Muslims towards Hindus.

He permitted Hindus to worship their Gods and he did not compel them to convert to Islam. Akbar abolished the Pilgrimage tax in 1563 and the Jeziya in 1564, a tax imposed on non- muslims. He appointed Hindus to high administrative posts on the basis of merit.

For example, RajaTodarmal was appointed as the revenue minister and several other Hindus were appointed as Governors and mansabdars. He disestablished Islam as the state religion. He respected the sentiments of Hindus and banned cow slaughter. He also participated in Hindu festivals like Rakhi, Holi, Diwali, and Shivaratri.

Akbar established the Ibadat Khana (Prayer Hall) at Fatehpur Sikri and held religious discussions. In 1582 C.E., he invited the different religious leaders for discussions, to understand the essence of their religions, like Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, and Zorastrian.

He tried to minimise the influence of the Ulemas. Akbar issued the infallibility decree in 1579 C.E. (Mehazar). According to it, Akbar became the supreme arbiter of Justice in civil and religious matters. He collected and codified the essences of all religions and openly declared his idea of a universal religion called Din-iIlahi (Tauhid-i-Ilahi) in 1581 C.E.

It was an eclectic creed containing the good points of many of the religions. This religion was based on divine monotheism. It was an honest attempt to unite people of different faiths into a brotherhood based on generally accepted concepts. The Din-iIlahi was not a religion in the real sense, it was a socio-religious order.

Akbar’s concept of monotheism and divine religion can be described as “There is no God but Allah and Akbar is his Khalifa”. Its followers were awarded four grades. determined by sacrifice of property, life, honour and being religious, in the service of the Emperor.

Din-i-Ilahi was a national religion, but it did not become popular, because Akbar never forced anybody to join it. He encouraged intercaste marriages, he acted as a national ruler and not as the King of the Muslims. The followers of Ilahi were very small in numbers and after the death of Akbar, it vanished completely.

Sala was the founder of Hoysala Kingdom.

The sub-continent is called by different names such as Bharatavarsha, Bharatakhanda, Bharata, Jambudweepa, India, and Hindustan.

Talakadugonda, Kadanaprachanda, Kanchigonda, Viraganga,Maleperulganda, Mahamandaleshwara, Satyaratnakara, Veeranarayana were the titles of Vishnuvardhana.

Din-e-Ilahi was the religion introduced by Akbar in 1581 C.E.