Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Din-i-Ilahi was not a mass religion but a personal spiritual order restricted to a small circle of courtiers, emphasising sulh-i-kul (universal peace), rationalism, and personal devotion to Akbar — with reportedly only 18 formal disciples. Option (a) is wrong — Akbar never replaced Islam as the state religion. Option (b) is wrong — despite drawing from multiple faiths, it had no large following. Option (d) is a classic reversal trap — Abul Fazl was one of its strongest supporters; it was the orthodox Ulema who opposed it.
Option (d) is incorrectly matched — the Ain-i-Akbari was compiled by Abul Fazl, court historian of Akbar, not Aurangzeb; it forms the third volume of the Akbarnama and documents Akbar's administration, revenue system, and court in detail. The other three pairs are correct: the Mansabdari system was Akbar's innovation; Nur Jahan wielded vast political influence during Jahangir's reign and Jahangir was a notable patron of miniature painting; Shah Jahan built both the Taj Mahal (Agra) and the Red Fort (Delhi).
- Aurangzeb reimposed Jaziya on non-Muslims in 1679, reversing Akbar's policy of abolition.
- Aurangzeb banned music, dance and fine arts at the Mughal court as part of his orthodox Islamic policies.
- The Deccan campaigns of Aurangzeb ultimately strengthened the Mughal Empire by eliminating the Maratha threat entirely.
- Aurangzeb destroyed the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and built a mosque on its site.
Statements 1, 2, and 4 are correct — Aurangzeb reimposed Jaziya in 1679 reversing over a century of Mughal policy; he banned music and dance from the imperial court in sharp contrast to his predecessors; and he demolished the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi (1669), constructing the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. Statement 3 is incorrect — the Deccan campaigns were a catastrophic drain on resources; Aurangzeb spent 26 years bogged down there, the Marathas emerged stronger, and this exhaustion is considered a primary cause of Mughal decline.
Option (d) is correct — Shivaji was crowned at Raigad fort in 1674 and assumed the title of Chhatrapati, marking the formal establishment of the Maratha Kingdom with Hindu political legitimacy. Option (a) is wrong — Shivaji's council was called the Ashtapradhan (council of eight ministers); the Diwan-i-Khas was a Mughal institution, a deliberate terminology trap. Option (b) is wrong — Chauth and Sardeshmukhi were collected from non-Maratha territories broadly, not exclusively from Mughal lands. Option (c) is a deliberate cross-period trap — Todar Mal was Akbar's revenue minister, not associated with Shivaji at all.
- The War of Succession after Aurangzeb's death in 1707 weakened central authority significantly.
- The Sayyid Brothers, known as "kingmakers," placed and removed Mughal emperors at will in the early 18th century.
- Nadir Shah's invasion of 1739 resulted in the massacre of Delhi's population and the carrying away of the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
All three statements are correct. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, a bitter War of Succession crippled Mughal central authority and set a pattern of instability for decades. The Sayyid Brothers — Abdullah Khan and Hussain Ali Khan — became notorious kingmakers between 1713–1720, installing and deposing at least four emperors and reducing the throne to a puppet institution. Nadir Shah's invasion of 1739 culminated in the massacre of Delhi (Qatl-i-aam) and the looting of the Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor diamond, a catastrophic blow from which the Mughal Empire never recovered.
