Challenge Prelims V1.0 – Day 36 – GS Paper (Medieval History)

1. Consider the following statements regarding a Sufi saint:

1. He was Baba Farid’s most famous disciple.
2. He was responsible for making Delhi an important center of the Chishti silsilah.
3. He preferred to shun the company of rulers and nobles and kept aloof from the state.

Which one of the following Sufi saints have been described in the statements given above?

2. With reference to the Chishti order of Sufi saints in India, which 0f the following statements is not correct?

3. With reference to the Virashaiva tradition, consider the following statements:

1. Its founder Basavanna was a contemporary of the Sufi saint Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya.
2. The tradition believes that every devotee has to go through multiple cycles of rebirth before he/she is united with Lord Shiva.
3. Virashaivism did not advocate the worship of idols.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

4. With reference to ziyarat in Sufism, consider the following statements:

1. It refers to the practice of pilgrimage to the dargah of the Sufi saint on his death anniversary.
2. The practice started during the times of Mughal rule in India.
3. The practice has direct relevance to the evolution of Qawwali.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

5. With reference to Sufism, consider the following pairs:

Terms: Description/Meaning

1. Haidaris: Community Kitchens
2. Khalifa: Successor of a Sufi saint
3. Masnavis: Sufi poems

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

6. Consider the following statements with respect to women Sufi saints:

1. Rabia was a contemporary of Nizamuddin Auliya and is regarded as the first female Sufi saint of India.
2. The monotheistic approach of the Sufi saints led them into conflict with the orthodox elements of Sufism.

Which of the following statements is/are not correct?

7. With reference to Bhakti movement, consider the following pairs:

Saint: Associated events

1. Basavanna: Minister under the reign of King Bijala II
2. Ramananda: Substituted the worship of Rama in place of Vishnu
3. Guru Nanak: Advocated a form of nirguna bhakti
4. Tulsidas: Emphasised the need for naam kirtan

How many pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

8. With reference to the Chishti silsila, consider the following statements:

1. The Chishti saints did not believe in leading a life of austerity and accepted the service of the state.
2. Activities of the Chishti order were confined largely to the Punjab and Multan.
3. Hamid-ud-Din Nagori was a well-known saint of the Chisti order.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

9. With reference to Sufism and its related practices, consider the following statements:

1. Sufis are the saints who travelled all over the world to spread the prowess of the Caliphate.
2. They established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the masters in Sufi khanqahs.
3. Qalandars, madaris, malangs, haidaris are some of the Sufis who compiled all the shari‘a laws and propagated the same to their followers.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

10. With reference to the Bhakti movement in medieval India, consider the following statements:

1. Vallabhacharya propounded the Pushtimarg sect based on the worship of Lord Shiva.
2. Dadu Dayal propagated the Nirguna Saint tradition in present-day Gujarat and Rajasthan.
3. Surdas was a sixteenth-century saint who composed songs centered around Krishna.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

11. With respect to Sufism, consider the following pairs:

Term: Meaning

1. Tawakkhul: To observe the contentment
2. Sama: Religious music led to ecstasy
3. Shukr: Acceptance of the obligation
4. Murid: Community hospice

How many of the pairs given above is/are not correctly matched?

12. With reference to the Bhakti movement in South India, consider the following statements

1. Nayanars were leaders who were devotees of Shiva.
2. Nalayira Divyaprabandham was one of the major anthologies of compositions by the Alvars.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

13. With reference to Sufism, consider the following statements:

1. Bashara silsilahs were those orders that followed the Islamic Law and its directives.
2. Be-shara silsilahs were not bound by the Sharia.
3. Chishti silsilahs belonged to the Beshara silsilah.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

14. With reference to the Bhakti saint Lal Ded, consider the following statements:

1. She belonged to the Vaishnavite school of bhakti.
2. Her verses are known as Vakhs, which are in the Kashmiri language.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

15. Consider the following statements with reference to Bhakti movement in south India:

1. The earliest bhakti movements in southern India were led by the Alvars and Nayanars.
2. Opposition to Buddhism and Jainism is one of the major themes in Tamil bhakti hymns.
3. Bhakti movement in south India failed to attract tribals.

How many of the statements given above is/are not correct?