Daily GK Challenge

More practice: Indian History

5 more SSC / Banking questions from the same chapter, with step-by-step solutions. Try each one, then reveal the answer.

1. Q1easy

   The dockyard of the Harappan (Indus Valley) civilisation has been found at:

   • AHarappa
   • BMohenjo-daro
   • CLothal
   • DKalibangan
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (C) Lothal

   Lothal, in present-day Gujarat near the Gulf of Khambhat, has a large brick-lined basin that is identified as a dockyard. Mohenjo-daro is known for the Great Bath, and Kalibangan for a ploughed field and fire altars. So the dockyard site is Lothal.

2. Q2easy

   Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon at:

   • ABodh Gaya
   • BSarnath
   • CKushinagar
   • DLumbini
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (B) Sarnath

   The four key places in Buddha's life are Lumbini (birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon) and Kushinagar (death, or mahaparinirvana). The first sermon at the Deer Park in Sarnath is called Dharmachakra Pravartana, 'turning the wheel of law'. So the answer is Sarnath.

3. Q3easy

   The Brahmo Samaj (started as the Brahmo Sabha in 1828) was founded by:

   • ARaja Ram Mohan Roy
   • BSwami Dayanand Saraswati
   • CSwami Vivekananda
   • DJyotiba Phule
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (A) Raja Ram Mohan Roy

   Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in Calcutta in 1828, and it later became the Brahmo Samaj. Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj (1875), Vivekananda the Ramakrishna Mission (1897) and Jyotiba Phule the Satyashodhak Samaj (1873). So the answer is Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

4. Q4medium

   Megasthenes, the Greek author of 'Indica', came to India as the ambassador of Seleucus Nicator to the court of:

   • AAshoka
   • BBindusara
   • CSamudragupta
   • DChandragupta Maurya
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   Correct answer: (D) Chandragupta Maurya

   Chandragupta Maurya defeated Seleucus Nicator, and the treaty that followed brought Megasthenes as the Greek envoy to Pataliputra. His book Indica describes Mauryan administration and society. Bindusara and Ashoka ruled after Chandragupta, and Samudragupta belonged to the later Gupta dynasty. So the answer is Chandragupta Maurya.

5. Q5medium

   Which Sultan of Delhi introduced market control measures that fixed the prices of grain, cloth and horses in Delhi?

   • AIltutmish
   • BBalban
   • CAlauddin Khilji
   • DMuhammad bin Tughlaq
   Show answer & solution

   Correct answer: (C) Alauddin Khilji

   Alauddin Khilji fixed prices and set up separate markets, with officers (shahna-i-mandi) to enforce them, so that he could keep a large army on modest salaries. He also introduced dagh (branding of horses) and chehra (descriptive rolls of soldiers). Muhammad bin Tughlaq is known for token currency, not price control. So the answer is Alauddin Khilji.