Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect:  Jalaluddin Khalji laid the foundation of the Khalji dynasty. He ascended the throne at the age of 70 years. Allauddin Khalji was Jalaluddin’s ambitious nephew and son-in-law. He had helped his uncle in his struggle for power and was appointed as Amir-i-Tuzuk (Master of Ceremonies).

Statement 2 is correct: Allauddin’s measures to control the markets were one of the most important policy initiatives. Since Allauddin wanted to maintain a large army, he, therefore, lowered and fixed the price of the commodities of daily use. To control the prices, Allauddin set up three different markets for different commodities in Delhi. These markets were the grain market (Mandi), cloth market (Sarai Adl) and the market for horses, slaves, cattle, etc.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Since its inception, the major threat to the sultanate came in the form of Mongol invasions.  From the 13th century onwards, they repeatedly attacked the Delhi Sultanate. Allauddin Khalji confronted Mongols with full military might. During Khalji’s time, Mongols under Qultlug Khwaja even besieged Delhi and caused a lot of damage. 

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: Information on the music of the sultanate period is limited. The important phase in the development of music during this period belongs to the time of Amir Khusrau. He is credited with the creation of a new musical instrument, the sitar, which was a combination of the Indian vina and the Iranian tambura. 

Statement 2 is incorrect: It was during the period of Amir Khusrau that the qawwali style is said to have developed. He is also credited for the development of many modern ragas like aiman, gora and sanam. Minhaj-i Siraj was a 13th-century Persian historian born in 1193 in Ghor region in modern Afghanistan. Tabaqat-i Nasiri, named for Sultan Nasir-ud-Din, is an elaborate history of the Islamic world written in Persian by Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani and completed in 1260. It consists of 23 volumes and is written in a blunt straightforward style.

Statement 3 is correct: The Turks are credited with bringing musical instruments like rabab and sarangi into South Asia.

Rabab

The rabab is a stringed instrument with a skin-covered resonator that can be bowed or plucked depending on performance tradition. It is found in various forms throughout North Africa, the Near East, South Asia, and Central Asia. Similar to the way the setar and the vina were adapted to eventually become what is known today as the sitar, the rabab was adapted to become the sarod.

Fig: Some musical instruments of India

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: Before his departure from India, Timur appointed Khizr Khan as the governor of Multan. He captured Delhi and founded the Sayyid dynasty in c.1414 CE. Khizr Khan was said to be a descendant of the prophet by the author of the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi, Yahya Sirhindi. He was succeeded by his son, Mubarak Shah. 

Statement 2  is incorrect: Alauddin Alam Shah (Reign: 1443–51 CE) proved to be an incompetent Sultan and the weakest of the Sayyid princes. Alam Shah’s Wazir, Hamid Khan, invited Bahlol Lodhi to take charge of the army, and after realising that it would be difficult to continue as Sultan, Alam Shah left for Badaun. The Lodis were the last ruling family of the Sultanate period and the first to be headed by the Afghans, who were ruling over Sirhind when the Sayyids were in India. 

Ans: D

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Sultan Bahlol Lodi was a capable general and was well aware of the fact that to establish his control over Sultanate, he would require help and support of Afghan nobles. Bahlol Lodi publicly declared that he considered himself one of the Afghan peers and not the king. He did not sit on the throne nor did he insist on his nobles standing in his court. This policy worked well throughout his long reign and he did not face any trouble from his powerful Afghan nobles. Ghiyasuddin Balban was the first Sultan of Delhi to introduce the practice of ‘Sijda’.

Statement 2 is correct: Sikandar Lodi showed little tolerance towards the non-Muslims. He re-imposed jaziya on non-Muslims and believed in the superior position of the Sultan vis-a-vis the nobles. He compelled nobles and amirs to show formal respect to the Sultan in darbar and outside and treated them harshly.

Statement 3 is correct: Ibrahim Lodi was defeated by Babur in the battle of Panipat in AD 1526. This marked the end of the Delhi Sultanate and the beginning of the Mughal Empire in India. Babur was not only able to take control of Delhi and Agra but also got the rich treasure of Lodhis. Babur occupied Delhi and sent his son Humayun to seize Agra. Babur proclaimed himself as the “Emperor of Hindustan”. 

Ans: B

Exp:

Jalaluddin Khalji (c.1290–1296 CE): He laid the foundation of the Khalji dynasty. He ascended the throne at the age of 70 years. Although Jalaluddin retained the earlier nobility in his administration, but the rise of Khaljis to power ended the monopoly of nobility of slaves to high offices. Jalaluddin ruled only for a short span of six years. He tried to mitigate some of the harsh aspects of Balban’s rule. He was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate to clearly put forward the view that the state should be based on the willing support of the governed, and that since the large majority of the people in India were Hindus, the state in India could not be a truly Islamic state. Jalaluddin tried to win the goodwill of the nobility by a policy of tolerance. He avoided harsh punishments, even to those who revolted against him. He not only forgave them but at times even rewarded them to win their support.