Indian History

Indian History

361 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 361 questions

  1. Complete the sentence about Mohenjo-daro with the correct year: When the Indus civilisation went into sudden decline c. ______ BCE, Mohenjo-daro was abandoned.
  2. Complete the sentence about Mohenjo-daro with the correct year: Further excavations were carried out in ______ by Mortimer Wheeler and his trainee, Ahmad Dani and F.
  3. Complete the sentence about Harappa with the correct year: In ______, the site was added to the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
  4. Complete the sentence about Rigveda with the correct year: Being composed in an early Indo-Aryan language, the hymns must post-date the Indo-Iranian separation, dated to roughly ______ BCE.
  5. Complete the sentence about Rigveda with the correct year: Asko Parpola argues that the Rigveda was systematized around ______ BCE, at the time of the Kuru kingdom.
  6. Complete the sentence about Chanakya with the correct year: Astonished by the boy's miraculous powers, Chanakya paid ______ gold coins to his foster-father, and took Chandragupta away, promising to te…
  7. Complete the sentence about Rajaraja I with the correct year: Rajaraja died in ______, and was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola I.
  8. Complete the sentence about Krishnadevaraya with the correct year: In ______, Krishnadevaraya's armies clashed with them and Sultan Mahmud was severely injured and defeated.
  9. Complete the sentence about Krishnadevaraya with the correct year: In ______, Krishnadevaraya personally engaged in battle with Golconda Sultan Quli Qutb Shah at Pangal.
  10. Complete the sentence with the correct year: The Vijayanagara army laid siege to the Udayagiri fort in ______.
  11. Complete the sentence about Delhi Sultanate with the correct year: In ______, Timurid ruler Babur invaded northern India and conquered the sultanate, leading to its succession by the Mughal Empire.
  12. Complete the sentence about Alauddin Khalji with the correct year: In ______, Alauddin raided Devagiri, and used the acquired loot to stage a successful revolt against Jalaluddin.
  13. Complete the sentence about Alauddin Khalji with the correct year: In ______, his forces achieved a decisive victory against the Mongols near the Ravi riverbank, and later ransacked the Mongol territo…
  14. Complete the sentence about Alauddin Khalji with the correct year: After his death in ______, Malik Kafur appointed Shihabuddin, son of Alauddin and his Hindu wife Jhatyapali, as a puppet monarch.
  15. Complete the sentence about Alauddin Khalji with the correct year: Alauddin married Jalaluddin's daughter, Malika-i-Jahan, long before the Khalji revolution of ______.
  16. Complete the sentence about Muhammad bin Tughluq with the correct year: In ______, the young Muhammad was sent by his father to the Deccan Plateau to fight a military campaign against the Kakatiya dyn…
  17. Complete the sentence about Muhammad bin Tughluq with the correct year: In ______, the future sultan successfully laid siege upon the Kakatiya capital in Warangal.
  18. Complete the sentence about Muhammad bin Tughluq with the correct year: Named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, Muhammad ascended the throne of Delhi upon his father's death in ______.
  19. Complete the sentence about Muhammad bin Tughluq with the correct year: Three days after the death of his father Ghiyasuddin-Din Tughlaq, Muhammad bin Tughlaq ascended the throne of Tughlaq dynasty of…
  20. Complete the sentence about Mughal Empire with the correct year: The Mughal imperial structure, however, is sometimes dated to ______, during the rule of Babur's grandson, Akbar.
  21. Complete the sentence about Mughal Empire with the correct year: Babur's forces defeated Ibrahim Lodi, Sultan of Delhi, in the First Battle of Panipat in ______.
  22. Complete the sentence about Mughal Empire with the correct year: Humayun's triumphant return from Persia in ______ restored Mughal rule in some parts of India, but he died in an accident the next year…
  23. Complete the sentence about Babur with the correct year: In ______, he briefly recaptured both areas but his attempt failed when the Uzbek prince Muhammad Shaybani defeated him and founded the Khanate…
  24. Complete the sentence about Babur with the correct year: In ______, the exiled Babur conquered Kabul, which was under the putative rule of Abd ur-Razaq Mirza, the infant heir of his uncle Ulugh Beg II…
  25. Complete the sentence about Babur with the correct year: Babur was born on 14 February ______ in the city of Andijan, Fergana Valley, contemporary Uzbekistan.
  26. Complete the sentence about Humayun with the correct year: On 26 December ______, Humayun succeeded his father Babur to the throne of Delhi as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinen…
  27. Complete the sentence about Humayun with the correct year: Humayun was born as Nasir al-Din Muhammad to Babur's favourite wife Māham Begum on Tuesday 6 March ______.
  28. Complete the sentence about Humayun with the correct year: In ______ Humayun was made aware that the Sultan of Gujarat was planning an assault on the Mughal territories in Bayana with Portuguese aid.
  29. Complete the sentence about Humayun with the correct year: In a popular revolt Bahadur Shah recaptured all of Gujarat in ______ and began an attack on Malwa.
  30. Complete the sentence about Akbar with the correct year: On 20 November ______, Humayun's youngest brother, Hindal Mirza, died in a battle against Kamran Mirza's forces.
  31. Complete the sentence about Akbar with the correct year: Following chaos over the succession of Sher Shah Suri's son Islam Shah, Humayun reconquered Delhi in ______, leading an army partly provided by…
  32. Complete the sentence about Akbar with the correct year: Akbar succeeded Humayun on 14 February ______, while in the midst of a war against Sikandar Shah to reclaim the Mughal throne.
  33. Complete the sentence about Akbar with the correct year: In ______, Akbar took possession of Ajmer, the aperture to Rajputana, after the defeat and flight of its Muslim ruler.
  34. Complete the sentence about Jahangir with the correct year: Following Akbar's death, Jahangir succeeded him on 3 November ______.
  35. Complete the sentence about Jahangir with the correct year: Prince Nur al-Din Muhammad Salim was the third son born to Akbar and Mariam-uz-Zamani in the capital city of Fatehpur Sikri on 31 August ___…
  36. Complete the sentence about Aurangzeb with the correct year: In April ______, Aurangzeb defeated the allied army of Shikoh and the Kingdom of Marwar at the Battle of Dharmat.
  37. Complete the sentence about Aurangzeb with the correct year: Aurangzeb's decisive victory at the Battle of Samugarh in May ______ cemented his sovereignty and his suzerainty was acknowledged throughou…
  38. Complete the sentence about Aurangzeb with the correct year: After Shah Jahan recovered from illness in July ______, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and imprisoned his father in the Agra Fo…
  39. Complete the sentence about Aurangzeb with the correct year: After Jahangir died in ______, Shah Jahan emerged victorious in the ensuing war of succession to the Mughal throne.
  40. Complete the sentence about First Battle of Panipat with the correct year: The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April ______ was fought between the invading forces of Babur against Ibrahim Khan Lodi, th…
  41. Complete the sentence about First Battle of Panipat with the correct year: In ______, Babur succeeded his late uncle Ulugh Beg II by force of arms, taking control of the latter's kingdom based around…
  42. Complete the sentence about First Battle of Panipat with the correct year: Babur started for Lahore, in ______ but found that Daulat had been driven out by forces sent by Ibrahim.
  43. Complete the sentence about First Battle of Panipat with the correct year: At the end of ______, Babur was to return to northern India, crossing the Indus in December.
  44. Complete the sentence about Battle of Plassey with the correct year: The battle helped the British East India Company take complete control of Bengal in ______.
  45. Complete the sentence about Battle of Plassey with the correct year: Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah at Plassey in ______ and captured Calcutta.
  46. Complete the sentence about Battle of Plassey with the correct year: In September ______, Mahé de La Bourdonnais landed off Madras with a naval squadron and laid siege to the port city.
  47. Complete the sentence about Shivaji with the correct year: In ______, he was formally crowned the Chhatrapati of his realm at Raigad Fort.
  48. Complete the sentence about Shivaji with the correct year: In ______, Shivaji was crowned as the king despite opposition from local Brahmins.
  49. Complete the sentence about Shivaji with the correct year: In ______, the Sultanate of Bijapur invaded the kingdoms to its south.
  50. Complete the sentence about Shivaji with the correct year: In ______, Shahaji joined the service of Bijapur and obtained Poona as a grant.
  51. Complete the sentence about Shivaji with the correct year: Kondadeo died in ______ and Shivaji took over its administration.
  52. Complete the sentence about Shivaji with the correct year: On 25 July ______, Shahaji was imprisoned by a fellow Maratha sardar called Baji Ghorpade, under the orders of the Bijapur government, in a b…
  53. Complete the sentence about Peshwa with the correct year: As early as ______, the Bahmani Sultanate designated its prime minister as "peshwa".
  54. Complete the sentence about Peshwa with the correct year: After the coronation of Shivaji in ______, he appointed Moropant Trimbak Pingle as his first Peshwa.
  55. Complete the sentence about Peshwa with the correct year: Shivaji renamed this designation as Pantpradhan in ______ but this term was less commonly used.
  56. Complete the sentence about Peshwa with the correct year: Moropant Trimbak Pingale's son, Nilopant Moreshvar Pingale, succeeded him during Sambhaji's rule after Moropant Pingle's death in ______.
  57. Complete the sentence about Third Battle of Panipat with the correct year: The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January ______ between the Maratha Empire and the invading army of the Durrani E…
  58. Complete the sentence about Third Battle of Panipat with the correct year: In ______, Ahmad Shah Durrani appointed his son, Timur Shah, as the governor of Punjab.
  59. Complete the sentence about Third Battle of Panipat with the correct year: By March ______, Adina Beg Khan became uneasy with the growing influence of the Sikhs.
  60. Complete the sentence about Third Battle of Panipat with the correct year: The Punjab now came under Maratha rule, with Adina appointed subahdar of the Punjab in ______ in return for a yearly tribute…
  61. Complete the sentence about Sikh Empire with the correct year: By ______ Ladakh and Baltistan had been brought under Sikh suzerainty by Gulab Singh.
  62. Complete the sentence about Sikh Empire with the correct year: After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in ______, the empire was weakened by the British East India Company stoking internal divisions…
  63. Complete the sentence about Sikh Empire with the correct year: Finally, in ______, the state was dissolved after its defeat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.
  64. Complete the sentence about Ranjit Singh with the correct year: Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son Kharak Singh after his death in ______.
  65. Complete the sentence about Ranjit Singh with the correct year: In ______ at age 12, his father died and Ranjit Singh became the minor head of the Sukerchakia Misl.
  66. Complete the sentence about Guru Nanak with the correct year: As late as ______, during the reign of Ranjit Singh, the festival commemorating Nanak's birthday was held in April at the place of his bir…
  67. Complete the sentence about Guru Nanak with the correct year: The earliest record of such a celebration in Nankana Sahib is from ______ CE.
  68. Complete the sentence about Guru Nanak with the correct year: For one, it may have been the date of Nanak's enlightenment or "spiritual birth" in ______, as suggested by the Dabestan-e Mazaheb.
  69. Complete the sentence about Tipu Sultan with the correct year: Tipu became the ruler of Mysore upon his father's death from cancer in ______ during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
  70. Complete the sentence about Tipu Sultan with the correct year: At age 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the First Anglo-Mysore War in ______.
  71. Complete the sentence about Hyder Ali with the correct year: In ______, Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I, the longtime Nizam of Hyderabad, died.
  72. Complete the sentence about Hyder Ali with the correct year: Devaraja had started vesting more military authority in his brother, and in ______ Nanjaraja marched the Mysorean army in support of Nasir…
  73. Complete the sentence about Anglo-Mysore Wars with the correct year: Finally, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Mangalore on 11 March ______, which restored the status quo ante bellum.
  74. Complete the sentence about Anglo-Mysore Wars with the correct year: The Treaty of Gajendraghad in April ______ ended the conflict with the Marathas.
  75. Complete the sentence about Anglo-Mysore Wars with the correct year: The Wodeyars ruled the remnant Kingdom of Mysore until ______, when it joined the Dominion of India.
  76. Complete the sentence about East India Company with the correct year: The company gained control of large parts of the Indian subcontinent and Saint Helena prior to ______.
  77. Complete the sentence about East India Company with the correct year: In ______, Francis Drake set out on an expedition from England to plunder Spanish settlements in South America in search of gold a…
  78. Complete the sentence about East India Company with the correct year: Sailing in the Golden Hind, he achieved this, and then sailed across the Pacific Ocean in ______, known then only to the Spanish a…
  79. Complete the sentence about East India Company with the correct year: With England at war with Spain and Portugal in ______, trade was now cut off, and Queen Elizabeth I resorted to privateering.
  80. Complete the sentence about East India Company with the correct year: Having sailed around Cape Comorin to the Malay Peninsula, they preyed on Spanish and Portuguese ships there before returning to En…
  81. Complete the sentence about British Raj with the correct year: As India, it was a founding member of the League of Nations and a founding member of the United Nations in San Francisco in ______.
  82. Complete the sentence about British Raj with the correct year: The Kingdom of Sikkim was established as a princely state after the Anglo-Sikkimese Treaty of ______; however, the issue of sovereignty w…
  83. Complete the sentence about Indian Rebellion of 1857 with the correct year: The rebellion posed a military threat to British power in that region, and was contained only with the rebels' defeat in Gwa…
  84. Complete the sentence about Indian Rebellion of 1857 with the correct year: With help from reinforcements, Kanpur was retaken by mid-July ______, and Delhi by the end of September.
  85. Complete the sentence about Rani of Jhansi with the correct year: The couple had one son but he died young, and so when Gangadhar Rao was on his deathbed in ______, he adopted Damodar Rao, a young rel…
  86. Complete the sentence about Mangal Pandey with the correct year: In ______, the Republic of India issued a postage stamp in his memory.
  87. Complete the sentence about Government of India Act 1858 with the correct year: The Indian Rebellion of ______ compelled the British government to pass the act.
  88. Complete the sentence about Indian National Congress with the correct year: Since the late 19th century, and more specifically since ______, under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became t…
  89. Complete the sentence with the correct year: The party held its first meeting in Bombay in ______, where W.
  90. Complete the sentence about Indian National Congress with the correct year: After India's independence in ______, Congress became a catch-all, Indian nationalist and secular party.
  91. Complete the sentence about Partition of Bengal with the correct year: To appease Bengali sentiment and in response to the Swadeshi movement's riots in protest against the policy, Bengal was reunited…
  92. Complete the sentence about Partition of Bengal with the correct year: Government schools were spurned, and on 16 October ______, the day of partition, schools and shops were blockaded.
  93. Complete the sentence about Swadeshi movement with the correct year: After the British government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in December ______, there was a lot of growing…
  94. Complete the sentence about Swadeshi movement with the correct year: In response the Swadeshi movement was formally started from Town Hall at Calcutta on 7 August ______ to curb foreign goods by relyi…
  95. Complete the sentence about Swadeshi movement with the correct year: The British Raj's decision to partition Bengal was made in December ______.
  96. Complete the sentence about Swadeshi movement with the correct year: Curzon, typically, had dismissed the Congress in ______ as 'tottering to its fall'.
  97. Complete the sentence about Swadeshi movement with the correct year: The British reunited Bengal in ______ and shifted the capital to New Delhi.
  98. Complete the sentence about Salt March with the correct year: When Gandhi broke the British Raj salt laws at 8:30 am on 6 April ______, it sparked large-scale acts of civil disobedience against the sa…
  99. Complete the sentence about Salt March with the correct year: Gandhi chose the ______ British Salt Act as the first target of satyagraha.
  100. Complete the sentence about Mahatma Gandhi with the correct year: In ______, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against discr…

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