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NEXUS / 2022 / GS1
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UPSC 2022: Nexus 51—60

Colonial Diarchy, Medieval Coins, Mongol Sieges & Mauryan Slavery. [Set A]

Question 51

Colonial Constitution

In the Government of India Act 1919, the functions of Provincial Government were divided into "Reserved" and "Transferred" subjects. Which of the following were treated as "Reserved" subjects?

  1. Administration of Justice
  2. Local Self-Government
  3. Land Revenue
  4. Police

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Official Verdict: (c) 1, 3 and 4

The Core Concept: The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919) introduced Dyarchy at the provincial level. The British were shrewd: they kept all the core levers of power and money—Police, Justice, Land Revenue, and Finance—as "Reserved" subjects under the direct control of the British Governor. They handed over the underfunded, blame-heavy portfolios like Education, Health, and Local Self-Government (2) to the elected Indian ministers as "Transferred" subjects.

Tethered to: REALM 34: Major Acts (1858-1919)

RESERVED Police, Tax, Law (1,3,4) TRANSFERRED Local Govt (2) 1919 DYARCHY
Clothing Weapons SOUTH INDIAN COINAGE

Question 52

Numismatic History

In medieval India, the term "Fanam" referred to:

  • (a) Clothing
  • (b) Coins
  • (c) Ornaments
  • (d) Weapons

Official Verdict: (b) Coins

The Core Concept: The Fanam (derived from the Sanskrit 'Panam' meaning wealth) was a highly popular, small, and lightweight gold or silver coin widely circulated in medieval South India. It was famously minted by the Vijayanagara Empire, the Marathas in Tanjore, and the Kingdom of Travancore. It served as a critical unit of everyday commercial transaction along the Malabar and Coromandel coasts.

Tethered to: REALM 42: Society, Economy & Culture (Vijayanagara)

Question 53

Revolutionary Phase

Consider the following freedom fighters:

  1. Barindra Kumar Ghosh
  2. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee
  3. Rash Behari Bose

Who of the above was/were actively associated with the Ghadar Party?

Official Verdict: (d) 3 only

The Core Concept: Know your revolutionary societies. Barindra Kumar Ghosh was a core founder of the Jugantar group (Anushilan Samiti) in Bengal. Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee was a founding member of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) in the 1920s. Only Rash Behari Bose was intimately connected with the North American-based Ghadar Party; he was the key organizer tasked with leading the pan-India Ghadar Mutiny in February 1915 before it was betrayed.

Tethered to: REALM 27: Revolutionary Phase I

Rash Behari Bose (3) 1915 Planned Mutiny Barindra (Jugantar) Jogesh (HRA)
CRIPPS 1942 Province Opt-Out ✅ Provinces = ELECTED Princes = Nominated ❌ (St. 1)

Question 54

WWII Negotiations

With reference to the proposals of Cripps Mission, consider the following statements:

  1. The Constituent Assembly would have members nominated by the Provincial Assemblies as well as the Princely States.
  2. Any Province, which is not prepared to accept the new Constitution would have the right to sign a separate agreement with Britain regarding its future status.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: Statement 1 is false due to a precise technicality: The Cripps proposal stated that members from the Provincial Assemblies would be elected (via proportional representation), while members from the Princely States would be nominated by the rulers. Statement 2 is true: Cripps notoriously included a highly controversial "opt-out" clause allowing any province unwilling to join the Indian Union to form a separate dominion, implicitly providing a blueprint for the partition of India.

Tethered to: REALM 43: WWII & Nationalist Response

Question 55

Ancient Literature

With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts:

  1. Nettipakarana
  2. Parishishtaparvan
  3. Avadanashataka
  4. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana

Which of the above are Jaina texts?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 and 4 only

The Core Concept: Sort the literature by religion. Parishishtaparvan is a famous 12th-century Jain text written by Hemachandra detailing the history of early Jain teachers. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana is a monumental Jain epic by Jinasena and Gunabhadra detailing the lives of the 63 illustrious persons (Tirthankaras, Chakravartins). Conversely, the Nettipakarana is a Pali Buddhist text (a guide to interpreting the Dhamma), and the Avadanashataka is a Sanskrit anthology of 100 Buddhist legends.

Tethered to: REALM 30: Literature & Education

JAIN Parishishtaparvan (2) Mahapurana (4) BUDDHIST Nettipakarana (1) Avadanashataka (3)
Aryadeva Buddhist ❌ (Not Jain) Dignaga Buddhist Logic ✅ Nathamuni Vaishnava ✅

Question 56

Philosophy & Religion

With reference to Indian history, consider the following pairs:

  • 1. Aryadeva: Jaina scholar
  • 2. Dignaga: Buddhist scholar
  • 3. Nathamuni: Vaishnava scholar

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

Official Verdict: (c) Only two pairs

The Core Concept: Aryadeva was an eminent 3rd-century Buddhist monk and philosopher, a chief disciple of Nagarjuna and a master of the Madhyamaka school (Pair 1 is false). Dignaga (5th century CE) was indeed a massive figure in Buddhist philosophy, considered one of the founders of Indian logic (Pramana) (Pair 2 is true). Nathamuni (9th-10th century) was a foundational Vaishnava theologian who compiled the Alvar hymns into the Nalayira Divya Prabandham (Pair 3 is true).

Tethered to: REALM 32: Philosophy & Religion

Question 57

Delhi Sultanate Defences

With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements:

  1. The first Mongol invasion of India happened during the reign of Jalal-ud-din Khalji.
  2. During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji, one Mongol assault marched up to Delhi and besieged the city.
  3. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq temporarily lost portions of north-west of his kingdom to Mongols.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: The Mongols first reached India's borders in 1221 under Chengiz Khan during the reign of Iltutmish, not Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1 is false). Alauddin Khalji faced the most severe Mongol invasions; in 1303, a Mongol army under Targhi bypassed frontier forts, marched straight to Delhi, and besieged the city while Alauddin took shelter in Siri Fort (2 is true). Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq successfully repelled/bribed the Mongols under Tarmashirin and launched his own counter-offensives (like the Khurasan expedition), he did not lose the north-west to them (3 is false).

Tethered to: REALM 35: Mongol Invasions & Defence

SIRI FORT (DELHI) Alauddin Khalji (1303) Mongol Siege ✅
SAYYIDS Kulah (Pointed Cap) Wearers

Question 58

Sultanate Etymology

With reference to Indian history, who of the following were known as "Kulah-Daran"?

  • (a) Arab merchants
  • (b) Qalandars
  • (c) Persian calligraphists
  • (d) Sayyids

Official Verdict: (d) Sayyids

The Core Concept: In the socio-cultural hierarchy of the Delhi Sultanate, the Sayyids—who claimed direct descent from the Prophet Muhammad—occupied the highest echelon of the Muslim scholarly and theological class. As a distinct mark of their prestigious identity and piety, they wore a specialized pointed cap known as the Kulah, earning them the Persian moniker "Kulah-daran" (wearers of the pointed cap).

Tethered to: REALM 38: Sultanate Administration

Question 59

Colonial Settlements

With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements:

  1. The Dutch established their factories/warehouses on the east coast on lands granted to them by Gajapati rulers.
  2. Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate.
  3. The English East India Company established a factory at Madras on a plot of land leased from a representative of the Vijayanagara empire.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 and 3 only

The Core Concept: Statement 1 is chronologically impossible: The powerful Gajapati dynasty of Odisha collapsed in the mid-16th century (1541), decades before the Dutch East India Company (VOC) even arrived in India to establish their first east coast factory at Masulipatnam in 1605. Statement 2 is true: In 1510, Albuquerque exploited local rivalries to capture Goa from the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur. Statement 3 is true: In 1639, Francis Day of the EIC leased a sandy strip of land (Madrasapatnam) to build Fort St. George from Damarla Venkatapathy Nayaka, a local chieftain serving the Aravidu dynasty (the final phase of the Vijayanagara Empire).

Tethered to: REALM 04: Advent of Europeans

GOA (1510) ✅ From Bijapur MADRAS (1639) ✅ From Vijayanagara Dutch from Gajapatis ❌ (Gajapatis fell 1541)
ARTHASHASTRA Legal Rights of Slaves 1. Judicial Punishment ✅ 2. Mother free if bears son ✅ 3. Son gets legal status ✅ x

Question 60

Mauryan Legal Code

According to Kautilya's Arthashastra, which of the following are correct?

  1. A person could be a slave as a result of a judicial punishment.
  2. If a female slave bore her master a son, she was legally free.
  3. If a son born to a female slave was fathered by her master, the son was entitled to the legal status of the master's son.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Official Verdict: (d) 1, 2 and 3

The Core Concept: Kautilya's Arthashastra reveals that slavery in Mauryan India was not the absolute, permanent chattel slavery seen in the West; it was heavily regulated by state law. Individuals could be enslaved for defaulting on debts, captured in war, or as a direct judicial punishment for crimes (1 is true). Protecting female slaves (dasas) was a priority: the law explicitly mandated that if a female slave bore a child to her master, both she and her mother were immediately emancipated (2 is true), and the resulting child was legally recognized as the legitimate heir of the master (3 is true).

Tethered to: REALM 17: The Mauryan State