Medieval and Islamic History

After Timur's invasion sacked Delhi in 1398, Khizr Khan (who had supported Timur) was appointed governor and founded the Sayyid dynasty (1414-1451). The Sayyids ruled for about 37 years before being overthrown by Bahlul Lodi, who established the Lodi dynasty. The Mughals arrived much later (1526), and the Tughluqs were the dynasty Timur had destroyed.

Mahmud of Ghazni raided North India from 1000-1027 CE, while Rajendra Chola I reigned from 1014-1044 CE, making them contemporaries. Rajendra Chola's naval expedition to the Ganges (c. 1022-1023 CE) was during Mahmud's lifetime, but they operated in different regions - Mahmud in the northwest and Rajendra in the south/east, never meeting. Muhammad Ghori invaded much later (late 12th century), and Raja Raja Chola I preceded both.

Jantar Mantar observatories were built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in the early 18th century (between 1724-1735). He constructed five observatories in different cities including Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Ujjain, and Mathura to compile astronomical tables. Prithvi Raj, Akbar, and Shah Jahan ruled in different time periods.

Shahrukh Khan's father was Taj Mohammed Khan, who was a lawyer and activist. He passed away when Shahrukh was young, in 1981. The other options are names of other famous Khans but not related to SRK's father.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi inherited the title to the princely state of Pataudi from his father, Iftikhar Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi. From his mother Sajida Sultan, he inherited claims to Bhopal. The Pataudi princely state was located in present-day Haryana and was ruled by the Pataudi family until Indian independence. Kutch, Lucknow, and Awadh were different princely states not connected to the Pataudi family.

Mir Sultan Khan (1905-1966) was a chess prodigy from British India (present-day Pakistan). He learned chess in India and dominated European chess in the early 1930s, winning the British Championship three times and beating champions like Capablanca and Tartakower. Despite having no access to chess books in his youth, he reached world-class strength.

Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984 by two of her bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, who were both Sikhs. This assassination was in retaliation for Operation Blue Star, the military operation ordered by Indira Gandhi to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Therefore, option D (Sikh) is correct.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the 14th-century Delhi Sultan, adopted the title 'Zill Allah' meaning 'Shadow of God' to project his authority. This reflected the Islamic tradition of rulers styling themselves as God's representatives on Earth, similar to 'Shadow of God' being used for caliphs and sultans.

Razia Sultan (also known as Razia al-Din) was the daughter of Iltutmish (Iltumish), the third Sultan of Delhi. She ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1236 to 1240. Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan were later Mughal emperors, while Akbar was also a Mughal ruler - none were her father.

Gol Gumbaz (the 'circular dome') in Bijapur was built by Mohammed Adil Shah in 1656 as his mausoleum. It houses the world's second-largest dome and is famous for its 'whispering gallery' acoustic feature.

All six options were part of Akbar's nine jewels (Navratnas): Raja Todar Mal (finance minister), Abul-Fazel (chief advisor and historian), Fakir Aziao-Din (physician), Miyan Tansen (musician), Mullah Do Piaza (astronomer/astrologer), and Raja Man Singh (military commander). This was Akbar's inner council of nine experts.

Raja Todar Mal was Akbar's Finance Minister who overhauled the revenue system. He was from the Khatri community of Punjab and had developed his expertise under Sher Shah Suri before joining Akbar's court. Birbal was known for wit, Man Singh was a military commander, and Abul-Fazel was a historian.

In the 1975 classic film 'Deewar,' the character Iftekhar (played by actor Iftekhar) had the full name Mulkraj Debar, serving as a police officer. This was one of many memorable characters in this Amitabh Bachchan-Shashi Kapoor starrer about morality and choices. The other options are not correct character names from the film.