Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in Current Affairs.

Correct option is (a) story

Correct option is (c) composed

Ramayana and Mahabharata are the two ‘Arsha’ epics of ancient India.

Correct option is (a) sculpture

Ancient Indian literature was written in Sanskrit, Ardhamagadhi, Pali and Tamil languages.

(i) The disintegration of Soviet Union meant the end of Cold War confrontations which demanded the end of armed race and restoration of possible peace. 

(ii) This disintegration created the possibility to bring in a ‘multi polar system’ where no power could dominate. 

(iii) The US became the sole superpower and the ‘capitalist economy’ was now dominant economic system at international level. 

(iv) This disintegration emerged in many new countries dividing Soviet Union into 15 independent countries along with their own aspirations and choices.

Correct option is (c) Panchatantra

Ancient Indian literature included varieties like religious literature, treatises on grammar, epics, plays, stories, etc.

The Preamble to the Constitution of India declares India a Sovereign Secular Socialist Democratic Republic. Secular means all religions are equal in the eyes of law. A secular state has no religion of its own. No discrimination is made on the basis of religion. Every citizen is free to adopt any religion of his / her own choice. By a Democratic State, we mean that state in which all the citizens enjoy equal rights. They elect their representatives to run the government. By a Republican State, we mean that the head of the state is elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period. The President of India is an elected head, having no hereditary right.

(a) Sovereign State:

Sovereign State. By a sovereign state we mean a state which is completely independent, both in its internal and external affairs.

(b) Socialist State:

Socialist State. By socialist state we mean a state in which all the citizens enjoy equality in social and economic fields. In it, there is no concentration of wealth and resources in a few hands. The state makes efforts to decrease economic inequalities.

(c) Secular State:

Secular State. A secular state has no religion of its own. No discrimination is made on the basis of religion. Every citizen is free to adopt and worship the religion of his / her own choice.

(d) Democratic State:

Democratic State. By a Democratic State, we mean a state in which all the citizens enjoy equal rights. They elect their own representatives who form the government.

(e) Republican State:

Republican State. By Republic, we mean that the Head of the state is ‘elected directly or indirectly for a fixed period. The President of India is elected for a fixed period.

The state does not favour any particular religion.

• In India, all religions are considered as equal.
• No one religion is considered to be a state religion. The citizens are free to follow their own religion. So, India is a secular state.

Panchatantra composed by Pandit Vishnusharma is an excellent example of narrative literature.

The Mahabharata has been composed by sage Vyas.

Rishi Valmiki composed the Ramayana.

Organisations of traders and artisans are called shrenis.

Arsha means composed by rishis or sages.

The famous Chinese Bauddha bhikkhu, Fa-hien visited the Takshashila University.

A famous vaidya, Jeevaka, Chandragupta Maurya, the grammarian Panini and vaidya Charaka are some of the students of the Takshashila University.

The stone pillars erected by Emperor Ashoka at various places are excellent examples of Indian sculptures.

Sometimes there is such a period in the history of language, literature and art and that its glory remains undiminished even later on such a period is said to be classical.

The Charaka Samhita contains detailed information about clinical diagnosis and pharmacy.

After abandoning the Ajanta caves in 490 BC, the Buddhist community established its new centre in Ellora (Vellur in local language).

Jumna is the world famous Taj Mahal side of the river.

Famous Kailash temple is situated in cave No. 16 of Ellora cave. The temple is 50 m long, 33 m wide and 30 m high. This temple is carved out of a single massive rock. It is adorned with beautiful doors, balconies and series of pillars. The beauty of temple is indescribable in words.

Two factors responsible for Humayun’s failure against Sher Shah Suri were:

1. Humayun was far less able soldier and general than his father.

2. He seemed incapable of a sustained and continued policy.

The famous monument of Sher Shah’s reign was his mausoleum built at Sasaram in Bihar.

Junagadh district has quite a lot of historical sites and architecture such as stone inscriptions of Ashoka, Buddhisfcaves of Khapra Kodiya, Vav (step-well), old Raj Mahal, Navghan well, tomb of Bahauddin Vazir, etc. Junagadh is also famous for Bhavnath fair held during Mahashivratri on the foothills of Gimar.

Two prominent buildings at Fatehpuri Sikri are:

1. The Palace of Jodha Bhai, Akbar’s Rajput wife.

2. Buland Darwaza.

Red Fort: It is located in Delhi. It was built by Shahajahan in 1638 A.D. This fort is made of redstone and hence is called Red Fort. In this fort, Shahajahan, founded the city called Shahajanabad on his name. The Red Fort includes Diwan-e-Aam, Diwan-e- Khas, Rang Mahal, etc. Diwan-e-Khas is more magnificently decorated than other buildings. It is decorated with gold and silver and embedded with precious stones.

The other important buildings in Red Fort which catches the attraction are Rang Mahal, Mirror Palace (Aaina Mahal) of Mumtaz, Lahori Gate, Meena Bazar, Mughal Garden, etc. Shahajahan also got build a beautiful peacock throne for himself. However, Nadir Shah took it to Iran. Red Fort is one of the finest buildings among the Mughal architecture. Every year, during national festivals India hoists its National Flag on Red Fort.

(a) 600 AD to 1000 AD

Agra Fort was built on the banks of the Yamuna river at Agra by Akbar during the period from 1565 to 1573.

Humayun’s Tomb is located at Delhi under the instructions of his wife, Hamida Banu Begum. The monument rests on a high square platform and has archways on each side. Each archway opens into a room. The monument has a bulbous marble dome with slightly curved outlines arising from a narrower “neck”.

1. Ajanta

2. Dharapuri

3. Chandel

4. Chola

5. Dravidian

(b) Maharashtra

(c) Caves related to Dhaakgiri

Ahmedabad can be considered as one of the historical cities of Gujarat. It has a rich ancient heritage consisting of Bhadra Fort, Jama Masjid, Mosque of Queen Sipri, Roza of Sarkhej, Kankaria Lake, Shaking Minaret (Jhulta-Minara), Sidi Saiyad Jali (Grill), Temples of Hutheesing, Mosque of Queen Roopmati, etc. The shaking minarets outside Sarangpur Darwaza in Raipur-Gomtipur shakes when they are pushed. Still no one is able to find how they shake and even then do not break and stand still. The Sidi Saiyad Jali (Grill) is famous for its vegetational-geometrical minute carving.

Vav is a well with steps (i.e. step-well) having one, two, three or four opening and three, six, nine or twelve floors. Nanda, Bhadra, Jaya and Vijaya are the main types of vav. Step-well of Adalaj near Gandhinagar, Step-well of Queen of Patan (Rani-ki-vav), Adi-Kadi step-well at Junagadh are quite famous vavs of Gujarat. Vavs at Nadiad, Mehmedabad, Umrath, Kapadwarij, Vadhwan and Kaleshwari (Mahisagar district) etc. are also beautiful examples of vav architecture.

India is a treasure house of rich cultural heritage. A number of rulers belonging to India and several parts of the world ruled various parts of India. These rulers constructed a very large number of monuments, palaces; forts, temples and mosques across India. Moreover, India also has several natural heritage sites.

Looking at the rich cultural and natural heritage of India, UNESCO which is a world-level organization has declared 32 monuments of India as world heritage sites. For example, Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Elephanta caves of Maharashtra, Champaner of Gujarat, Raniki-Vav, etc. are all considered the parts of world heritage sites. Thus, UNESCO strongly believes that India’s culture and heritage is very rich.

Ajanta caves are situated near Ajanta village in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra. These caves are magnificent example of initials Buddhist art of vastu, art of paintings and sculpture. Ajanta is among the finest examples of some of the earliest Buddhist architecture, cave paintings v, v. ..and sculptures.
These caves have two types of structures namely:

1. Chaitya halls or shrines, dedicated to Lord Buddha, and
2. Viharas or monasteries, used by Buddhist monks for meditation and the study of Buddhist teachings.

Cave No. 9, 10, 19, 26 and 29 are Chaityas, whereas the remaining Caves are viharas. Based on the work done in than, caves can be divided in two types i.e. (1) Caves NO. 1, 2, 10, 16 and 17 have excellent wall Paintings depicting Buddhist religion. These caves have attained the highest rank in wall painting. With time, people had forgotten Ajanta caves. In 1819 A.D. John Smith, a British officer, rediscovered these caves. Human interference and time have greatly damaged them. Ajanta caves are world-famous for their extremely rich blending of art, paintings; sculpture and architecture.

Patan is rich in its architecture. Sahastralinga lake, step-well of Queen (Rani-ni-vav) and Rudra Mahalaya temple of Siddhapur are worth seeing architecture’s of Patan. The ruins of Rudra Mahalaya temple in Siddhpur depicts the grandeur of Siddhpur which is located 26 km away from Patan. Rani-ki-vav was built by Udaymati, the queen of Bhimdev-I so that people of the kingdom can get clean drinking water. UNESCO declared Rani-ki-vav as a world heritage monument in 2014. This vav is a proof of innovative and excellent water harvesting system that existed in ancient Gujarat. Siddhraj Jayasingh built Shahastraling lake in 1140 AD.

Humayun Tomb: It is the tomb of Mughal Emperor Humayun located in Delhi. It is one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture. When Humayun died, his queen Hameeda begum built his tomb (maqbara). This tomb was made in Iranian style of architecture using red and white stones.

Agra Fort: It is located on the bank of river Yamuna in Agfa city of Uttar Pradesh. This fort is made up red stones. Hence, it is also known as Red Fort of Agra. It was built by Akbar in 1565 AD. He also built Jahangir Palace for his son Jahangir in this fort. One can see the reflection of Hindu and Iranian style of architecture in Agra Fort, whereas Bengal and Gujarat style of architecture in Jahangir Palace. Agra Fort is 70 feet high and has circumference of 1.5 mile (2.41 km). The walls of the fort are embedded with red stones so skillfully that none of the stone joints are visible. Jahangir’s son Shahjahana had spent the last days of his life in Agra Fort.

Functional Foremanship.

Qutub Minar: It is a minerate in Qutub complex. It is located in Delhi. Qutub Minar was built in the 12th century by Qutubbudin Aibak, the founder of Ghulam dynasty. He died before completing this monument. Hence, after his death the remaining work was completed by his son-in-law Iltutmish. The minaret is a 72.5 m tall skyscraper made out of round red stones and marbles. Its circumference is 13.75m at its base and it gets reduced to 2.75 m at the top. Verses of Quran have been engraved on the minaret. It is the tallest stone minaret of India.

(a) Vimalshah

We have a system of government in which the Prime Minister is the most important person in the government of the country, the President is only a nominal Head. If the President was to be elected then he too would be equally important was powerful. Then there would be a clash of powers. So, in my opinion it is preferable that the President should not be directly elected by the people.

1. False

2. True

3. True

4. True

5. False

Correct option is (b) Prime Minister