History (इतिहास) | Set A1 • Code 71/SS/315

1st Blank: Rudradaman I (reigned c. \(130 - 150\text{ A.D.}\))

2nd Blank: Western (including modern-day Gujarat, Malwa, Saurashtra, Kathiawar, and Lower Indus)

Historical Annotation: Rudradaman I of the Western Kshatrapas is renowned for his Sanskrit Junagadh rock inscription detailing the repair of Lake Sudarshana, which was originally built during Chandragupta Maurya's reign.

1st Blank: Chandragupta I (ascended the throne in \(319 - 320\text{ A.D.}\), founding the Gupta Era)

2nd Blank: Maharajadhiraja (महाराजाधिराज — 'King of Kings')

1st Blank: Prophet Muhammad (born in Mecca c. 570 A.D., died in Medina 632 A.D.)

2nd Blank: 5 (five) (referring to the five daily prayers: Salah / Namaz)

1st Blank: Kanauj (or Bilgram, May 1540)

2nd Blank: independent (or imperial / Afghan / sovereign / emperor of Delhi)

1st Blank: Nirguna (worship of the formless, transcendental Supreme Divine without attributes)

2nd Blank: Saguna (devotion to the personal manifestations and physical avatars of God, specifically Lord Rama)

1st Blank: 1773

2nd Blank: Warren Hastings

1st Blank: Charter (Charter Act of 1813)

2nd Blank: one lakh (₹1,00,000)

1st Blank: Lord Dalhousie (Governor-General 1848–1856)

2nd Blank: annex (or incorporate / absorb / seize)

1st Blank: aggression (or the Second World War / international conflicts)

2nd Blank: Manchuria (northeastern province of China)

1st Blank: United States of America (USA / Western bloc)

2nd Blank: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR / Soviet bloc)

1st Blank: Spanish

2nd Blank: Cubism (an avant-garde movement deconstructing reality into geometric shapes)

• Location: The Fourth Buddhist Council took place at Kundalvana in Kashmir (c. \(72\text{ A.D.}\)).

• Patronage: It was convened under the imperial patronage of King Kanishka of the Kushana dynasty.

Additional Significance: It was presided over by Vasumitra with Asvaghosha as deputy, resulting in the formal schism of Buddhism into two major branches: Hinayana and Mahayana.

1. Establishment of a Department of Agriculture (Diwan-i-Amir-i-Kohi): He created a separate dedicated ministry to bring barren and uncultivated land under direct cultivation and supervise state agricultural planning.

2. Introduction of Agricultural Loans (Takkavi / Sondhar): The state advanced direct financial loans to peasants to purchase seeds, bullocks, dig irrigation wells, and promote crop rotation (shifting from inferior crops like barley to cash-yielding crops like wheat and sugarcane).

1. Devotion over Ritualism & Priestcraft: The Bhakti movement preached intense, personal love, surrender, and devotion (Bhakti) to God as the sole means of salvation, discarding complicated Brahminical rituals, sacrificial ceremonies, and caste distinctions.

2. Use of Vernacular Local Languages: Bhakti saints rejected formal Sanskrit and composed poetry and devotional songs in regional vernaculars (e.g. Kabir in Hindi, Chaitanya in Bengali, Mirabai in Rajasthani, Tukaram in Marathi), making spiritual philosophy accessible to the masses.

1. Pioneering Female Education: As Inspector of Schools, Vidyasagar established over 35 dedicated schools for girls across Bengal at his own expense and served as the honorary secretary of Bethune School (Calcutta), spearheading modern higher education for women.

2. Championing the Legalization of Hindu Widow Remarriage: He cited Vedic scriptures to prove that Hindu religion did not prohibit widow remarriage. His tireless public crusade led the government to pass the landmark Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act (Act XV of 1856), providing legal dignity to child widows.

1. Cubism: Pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, deconstructing subjects into fragmented, multi-angled geometric planes and abstract forms.

2. Surrealism: Championed by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and André Breton, depicting dream-like imagery and exploring the unconscious human psyche influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis.

• Concept of Globalisation: Globalisation refers to the accelerated integration and interconnectedness of countries worldwide through the rapid cross-border flow of goods, services, capital, technology, cultural ideas, and human labor.

• Impact & Examination: Enabled by modern telecommunications, the internet, and liberalized trade policies, it has compressed geographical distance, transforming national economies into a unified global market while creating intercultural cultural exchange (and challenges of cultural homogenization).

• Primary Occupation — Pastoralism: The early Vedic (Rigvedic) economy was predominantly pastoral and semi-nomadic. Cattle-rearing was the chief occupation; cows (*Gau*) represented the principal standard of wealth, medium of trade, and prestige. Many Rigvedic terms stem from cattle—for example, warfare was called Gavishti (search for cows) and wealth was measured in herds.

• Knowledge of Agriculture: Yes, early Vedic Aryans knew about agriculture, but it occupied a secondary position compared to cattle-rearing. The Rigveda mentions cultivating barley (Yava). Farmers utilized wooden ploughs (Langala or Sira) drawn by oxen, reaped ripe grain with sickles (Datra), and engaged in winnowing and threshing. Agriculture expanded significantly only in the later Vedic period with iron plowshares.

1. Champaran Satyagraha (1917, Bihar): Gandhiji's first civil disobedience movement in India, waged against European planters to liberate oppressed indigo peasants from the exploitative Tinkathia system.

2. Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918, Gujarat): Gandhiji's first hunger strike, supporting cotton textile workers demanding a 35% wage increase (plague bonus), resulting in a peaceful arbitration victory.

3. Kheda Satyagraha (1918, Gujarat): Gandhiji's first non-cooperation movement, advising peasants to withhold payment of land revenue after severe crop failure and famine.

1. The Arcuate Style (Arch and True Dome): Introduction of the true arch (with central keystone) and vaulted domes, replacing the traditional ancient Indian trabeate (beam-and-lintel) technique.

2. Use of Superior Mortar and Cementing Material: Builders adopted high-grade lime mortar (chunam) as a binding agent, enabling the erection of soaring multi-storied monuments, vast clear-span assembly halls, and massive fortifications.

3. Introduction of Minarets & Geometric Calligraphy: Mosques and tombs incorporated tall, tapering minarets and geometric ornamentation, replacing figurative animal and human sculptures with intricate Arabic Quranic calligraphy, arabesque floral traceries, and Pietra dura inlay work.

1. Provisional Government of Free India (1943): Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose reorganized the INA in Singapore, establishing the Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind, setting up the pioneering women's combat unit (Rani of Jhansi Regiment under Captain Lakshmi Sahgal), and raising the patriotic call "Give me blood, and I shall give you freedom!"

2. Direct Military Offensive: The INA marched alongside Japanese forces across Burma, planting the Indian tricolor on liberated Indian soil in Moirang (Manipur) and advancing to Kohima, posing a direct armed challenge to British colonial military supremacy.

3. Catalyst for Nationwide Rebellion (INA Red Fort Trials): Post-war British court-martials of INA officers (Prem Sahgal, Gurbaksh Dhillon, Shah Nawaz Khan) at Delhi's Red Fort provoked unprecedented mass demonstrations, unified Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, and directly incited the 1946 Royal Indian Navy (RIN) Mutiny, convincing the British that holding India by force was no longer viable.