Medieval and Modern Indian History

Land revenue was the principle source of income of a state in Mughal India.

The Rayatwari settlement was indeed introduced in both the Madras and Bombay presidencies. This system, developed by Thomas Munro and later elaborated by Elphinstone, established direct relations between the government and individual cultivators (ryots). It contrasted with the Zamindari system of Bengal and the Mahalwari system of North India.

Introduction of a swiftly moving artillery was not a constituent of the army reforms of Sher Shah.

The Battle of Ten Kings (Dasharajnya) described in Rigveda (Book 7) was fought between King Sudas of the Bharata tribe and a confederation of ten tribes. The battle took place on the banks of the Parushni River, which is the modern Ravi River in Punjab. The Asikini is Chenab and Vipas is Beas.

The question asks which statement is INCORRECT. The Battle of Buxar was fought on October 22, 1764, NOT 1864. Option A correctly identifies the false statement. The battle did result in British takeover of Bengal administration (Option B is true), and Mir Kasim was indeed defeated (Option C is true). Therefore, Option A is the correct answer because it states an incorrect date.

The Durand Line is the 2,640 km international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, established in 1896 through an agreement between Sir Mortimer Durand (British India) and Amir Abdur Rahman Khan (Afghanistan).

Kesari and Mahratta are the newspapers published by Tilak.

Asoka expressed his remorse over the Kalinga War's violence in Rock Edict XIII. This edict describes his conversion to Buddhism and his renunciation of war after witnessing the massive loss of life.

According to the accounts of Megasthenes, Chandragupta Maurya's military administration was managed by a committee of six members. This committee was responsible for various aspects of military organization and logistics.

Akbar organized his empire into 15 subas (provinces) for efficient administration. Each suba was governed by a subedar (governor) appointed by the emperor. This administrative structure helped maintain control over the vast territory.

Mahmud of Ghazni's primary aim was indeed plundering India's wealth - he conducted 17 raids between 1000-1027 CE specifically to loot the rich temples and cities of northern India. While he did spread Islam incidentally and gained fame, and his expeditions did weaken rulers which facilitated later empire-building, these were not his main motivations. His focus was consistently on acquiring wealth through plunder, not territorial conquest or religious conversion.

Sher Shah Sur's military reforms included: maintaining a large central army (A), cash payments to soldiers replacing the jagir system (B), and introducing detailed descriptive rolls (huliya) for soldiers and branding of horses (C). However, swiftly moving artillery (D) was not characteristic of 16th century armies - artillery was cumbersome and slow. Option D is indeed the correct answer as it did NOT constitute part of his reforms.

Guru Arjun Dev (1563-1606) was the fifth Sikh Guru who compiled the Adi Granth, but he did NOT develop the Gurumukhi script. The Gurumukhi script was standardized earlier, during the time of Guru Angad Dev (second Guru, 1504-1552), who refined and promoted it for recording Sikh scriptures. This makes statement C factually incorrect, while the other statements are historically accurate.

The annexation of Oudh (Awadh) in 1856 under the Doctrine of Lapse was Dalhousie's worst political blunder. Oudh's nawab was loyal to the British, and the annexation was seen as unjust and dishonorable. It alienated the Muslim aristocracy and sepoys from Oudh, becoming a major immediate cause of the 1857 Revolt. Other annexations (Punjab, lower Burma) had strategic or economic justifications, but Oudh's annexation was politically disastrous.