Indian History – General Knowledge – 70 Important MCQs

Indian History General Knowledge is an essential subject for students, aspirants, and history enthusiasts who wish to understand the rich heritage and evolution of the Indian subcontinent. Covering thousands of years, Indian history begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, moves through the Vedic age, the rise of great empires like the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, the arrival of Islam, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, and finally the British colonial period leading up to India’s independence in 1947. This vast timeline not only highlights political events but also reflects the growth of art, architecture, science, religion, and socio-economic systems that shaped modern India.

General Knowledge about Indian History equips learners with a strong foundation to answer competitive exam questions in UPSC, SSC, APSC, State PSCs, Railways, Defence, and other recruitment tests. Topics usually include ancient Indian history, medieval Indian history, and modern Indian history, along with important dates, personalities, movements, and cultural achievements. Knowing these facts enhances one’s understanding of the nation’s past and its influence on present-day society.

Whether you are preparing for exams or simply curious about India’s rich past, Indian History General Knowledge offers a comprehensive way to explore key events, turning points, and contributions that have defined India’s legacy. From the teachings of Ashoka to the policies of Akbar and from the Revolt of 1857 to the Freedom Struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi, this subject covers everything you need to know to gain an in-depth appreciation of India’s journey through time.

1. The trident-shaped symbol of Buddhism does not represent.

A. Nirvana
B. Sangha
C. Buddha
D. Dhamma

Correct Answer:A. Nirvana

2. Tripitakas are sacred books of.

A. Buddhists
B. Hindus
C. Jains
D. None of the above

Correct Answer:A.Buddhists

3. Under Akbar, the Mir Bakshi was required to look after.

A. Military affairs
B. The state treasury
C. The royal household
D. The land revenue system

Correct Answer:A.Military affairs
Answer Explanation: The head of the military was called the Mir Bakshi, appointed from among the leading nobles of the court. The Mir Bakshi was in charge of intelligence gathering, and also made recommendations to the emperor for military appointments and promotions.

4. The territory of Porus who offered strong resistance to Alexander was situated between the rivers of.

A. Sutlej and Beas
B. Jhelum and Chenab
C. Ravi and Chenab
D. Ganga and Yamuna

Correct Answer:B.Jhelum and Chenab

5. The Battle of Plassey was fought in.

A. 1757
B. 1782
C. 1748
D. 1764

Correct Answer:A.1757
Answer Explanation: The Battle of Plassey, 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next 190 years. The battle took place at Palashi, Bengal, on the river banks of the Bhagirathi River, about 150 km north of Calcutta, near Murshidabad, then capital of undivided Bengal. The belligerents were Siraj-ud-daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and the British East India Company.

6. The Vijayanagara ruler, Kirshnadev Raya's work Amuktamalyada, was in.

A. Telugu
B. Sanskrit
C. Tamil
D. Kannada

Correct Answer:A.Telugu

7. Through which one of the following, the king exercised his control over villages in the Vijayanagar Empire?

A. Dannayaka
B. Sumanta
C. Nayaka
D. Mahanayakacharya

Correct Answer:D. Mahanayakacharya

8. The system of competitive examination for civil service was accepted in principle in the year

A. 1833
B. 1853
C. 1858
D. 1882

Correct Answer:B.1853

9. The treaty of Srirangapatna was signed between Tipu Sultan and

A. Robert Clive
B. Cornwallis
C. Dalhousie
D. Warren Hastings

Correct Answer:B.Cornwallis

10. The theory of economic drain of India during British imperialism was propounded by

A. Jawaharlal Nehru
B. Dadabhai Naoroji
C. R.C. Dutt
D. M.K. Gandhi

Correct Answer:B.Dadabhai Naoroji

11. Under an agreement with which of the following countries did Subhas Chandra Bose organize the Indian soldiers, taken as prisoners by the Axis Powers, into the Azad Hind Fauj?

A. China
B. Germany
C. Italy
D. Japan

Correct Answer:D. Japan

12. We hear of two envoys being sent to the Roman kings, one in 27-28 AD to the court of Augustus and the other in 110-20 AD to the court of

A. Cartius
B. Trajan
C. Nero
D. Brutus

Correct Answer:B. Trajan

13. The use of Kharoshti in ancient Indian architecture is the result of India's contact with

A. Central Asia
B. Iran
C. Greece
D. China

Correct Answer:C. Greece

14. Vaikhanasa the five-fold conception of Vishnu consists of

I. brahman
II. purusha
III. prakriti
IV. satya
V. achyuta
VI. aniruddha

A. I, II, III, IV and V
B. II, III, IV, V and VI
C. I, II, IV, V and VI
D. I, III, IV, V and VI

Correct Answer:D. I, III, IV, V and VI

15. The troops raised by the emperor but not paid directly the state and place under the charge of mansabadars were know as

A. Walashahi
B. Barawardi
C.JCumaki
D. Dakhili

Correct Answer:D. Dakhili

16. The treaty of Mangalore was signed between

A. the English East India Company and Haidar Ali
B. the English East India Company and Tipu Sultan
C. Haidar Ali and the Zamorin of Calicut
D. the French East India Company and Tipu Sultan

Correct Answer: B. the English East India Company and Tipu Sultan

17. To conquer and annex Peshawar and Punjab, Mahmud of Ghazni defeated

A. Ghurids
B. Arabs
C. Karkotakas
D.Hindushahis

Correct Answer: D.Hindushahis

18. To which professions earlier leaders who struggled for freedom of India mainly belonged?

A. Lawyers
B. Teachers
C. Journalists
D. All of the above

Correct Answer: D. All of the above

19. The victories of Karikala are well portrayed in

A. Palamoli
B. Aruvanad
C. Pattinappalai
D. Padirrupattu

Correct Answer: C. Pattinappalai

20. Todar Mal was associated with

A. music
B. literature
C. finance
D. law

Correct Answer: C. finance

21. The title of 'Viceroy' was added to the office of the Governor-General of India for the first time in

A. 1848 AD
B. 1856 AD
C. 1858 AD
D. 1862 AD

Correct Answer: C. 1858 AD

22. To which of the following dynasties did King Bhoja, a great patron of literature and art, belong?

A. Karkota
B. Utpala
C. Paramara
D. Gurjara Pratihara

Correct Answer: C. Paramara

23. Vikramaditya, a king of Ujjain, started the Vikrama samvat in 58 BC in commemoration of his victory over

A. Indo-Greeks
B. Sakas
C.Parthians
D. Kushanas

Correct Answer: B. Sakas

24. Two of the great Mughals wrote their own memories. There were

A. Babar and Humayun
B. Humayun and Jahangir
C. Babar and Jahangir
D. Jahangir and Shahjahan

Correct Answer: C. Babar and Jahangir

25. To which king belongs the Lion capital at Sarnath?

A. Chandragupta
B. Ashoka
C. Kanishka
D. Harsha

Correct Answer: B. Ashoka

26. The use of the spinning wheel (Charkha) became common during the

A. 9th Century AD
B. 10th Century AD
C. 12th Century AD
D. 14th Century AD

Correct Answer: D. 14th Century AD

27. The language of discourses of Gautama Buddha was

A. Bhojpuri
B. Magadhi
C. Pali
D. Sanskrit

Correct Answer: C. Pali

28. There were widespread risings against the British in the 1820s. Which one of the following did not revolt in the 1820s?

A. Santhals
B. Ahoms
C. Pagal Panthis
D.Ramosi

Correct Answer: A. Santhals

29. Velu Thampi led a revolt against the British in state of

A. Travancore
B. Baroda
C. Hyderabad
D. Mysore

Correct Answer: A. Travancore

30. Under the Mountbatten Plan of 1947, the people of ___ were given the right to decide through a plebiscite whether they wished to join Pakistan or India.

A. Assam
B. Punjab
C. Bengal
D. N.W.F.P and the Sylhet district of Assam

Correct Answer: D. N.W.F.P and the Sylhet district of Assam

31. Three major powers that emerged in southern India in the 7th century AD were

I. Cheras
II. Cholas
III. Chalukyas
IV. Pallavas
V. Pandyas

A. I, II, V
B. II, III, IV
C. III, IV, V
D. I, II, IV

Correct Answer: A. I, II, V

32. The term 'Yavanapriya' mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts denoted

A. ivory
B. pepper
C. a fine variety of Indian muslin
D. damsels sent to the Greek court for dance performance

Correct Answer: B. pepper

33. The Timariots Governors and the Revenue Contractors, on their part reason in this manner: "Why should the neglected state of this land create uneasiness in our minds and why should we expend our money and time to render it fruitful? We may be deprived of it in a single moment, and our exertions would benefit neither ourselves nor our children." This statement was made by

A. Monserrate
B. Tavernier
C. Manrique
D. Bernier

Correct Answer: D. Bernier

34. The ultimate ownership of land during the post-Gupta period lay with

A. the cultivator
B. the village community
C. the king
D. the joint family

Correct Answer: C. the king

35. To which of the Republic of Buddha belong?

A. Licchavis
B. Sakyas
C. Mallas
D. None of the above

Correct Answer: B. Sakyas

36. There was a sharp class division at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. This is clear from the

A. Indus seals excavated
B. religious beliefs of the Harappans
C. tools and implements used by the Harappans
D. different types of dwellings excavated

Correct Answer: D. different types of dwellings excavated

37. The title given by the British Government to Mahatma Gandhi which he surrendered during the noncooperation movement was

A.Hind Kesari
B.Kaiser-e-Hind
C.Rai Bahadur
D.Rt. Honorable

Correct Answer: B.Kaiser-e-Hind

38. Tipu Sultan was the ruler of

A. Hyderabad
B. Madurai
C. Mysore
D. Vijayanagar

Correct Answer: C. Mysore

39. The term yavanika meant

A. foreign goods
B. dancer
C. curtain
D. theatre

Correct Answer: C. curtain

40. The term Khalisa in Mughal administration signified the

A. entire Imperial establishment
B. land owned by the emperor himself
C. religious land grants
D. land from where revenue was collected for the Imperial Treasury

Correct Answer: B. land owned by the emperor himself

41. Visakhadatta sketches the event after the death of Samudragupta in his work

A. Mudrarakasam
B. Devi Chand Gupta
C. Mrichekakatika
D. Malavikagnimitra

Correct Answer: A. Mudrarakasam

42. The system of Dual Government during the latter half of the 18th century AD is associated with the name of

A. Clive
B.Cornwallis
C.Warren Hastings
D. William Bentinck

Correct Answer: A. Clive

43. 'The Vedas contain all the truth was interpreted by

A. Swami Vivekananda
B. Swami Dayananda
C. Raja Rammohan Roy
D. None of the above

Correct Answer: B. Swami Dayananda

44. The term Samanta, meaning a feudatory from the sixth century AD, originally meant a

A. slave
B. cultivator
C. neighbor
D. foreigner

Correct Answer: C. neighbor

45. To evolve a peaceful settlement of the conflict between India and China, which of the following non-aligned Afro-Asian nations participated in a conference held in December 1962?

A.Burma (now Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia and UAR
B.Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Indonesia
C.Burma, Indonesia, Ghana and Sri Lanka
D.All of the above

Correct Answer: D.All of the above

46. The text of the document called Mahzar, by which Akbar assumed the role of supreme arbiter in the matters of religion is found in

A. Nizamuddin's Tabaqat-I-Akbari
B. Arif Quandahari's Tarikh-I-Alfi
C. Abul Fazl's Akbarnama
D. Badauni's Muntakahab-ut-Tawarikh

Correct Answer: C. Abul Fazl's Akbarnama

47. Tulsidas, the author of Ramcharitmanas, was a contemporary of which of the following rulers?

A. Akbar
B. Humayun
C. Shahjahan
D. Sher Shah Suri

Correct Answer: A. Akbar

48. To meet the educational needs of the people, the Madarasa-I Nasiri was built in the region of

A. Qutub-ud-din Aibak
B. Iltutmish
C. Ruknuddin Firoz Shah
D. Jalal-id-din Khilji

Correct Answer: B. Iltutmish

49. The weekly Commonweal was founded by

A. Annie Besant
B. Bipan Chandra Pal
C. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
D. Sarojini Naidu

Correct Answer: A. Annie Besant

50. Ustad Mansur was a famous painter in the region of

A. Shajahan
B. Akbar
C. Humayun
D. Jahangir

Correct Answer: D. Jahangir

51. The Vedic deity Indra was the Goddess of

A. wind
B. eternity
C. rain and thunder
D. fire

Correct Answer: C. rain and thunder

52. Tolkappiyam is associated with the

A. first Sangam period
B. second Sangam period
C. third Sangam period
D. post-third Sangam period

Correct Answer: B. second Sangam period

53. Pulakesin II was the most famous ruler of

A. Chalukyas
B. Cholas
C. Pallavas
D. Satavahanas

Correct Answer: A. Chalukyas

54. The term Brahmadeya occurs for the first time in

A. early Vedic texts
B. early Buddhist texts
C. pre-Gupta inscriptions
D. post-Gupta inscriptions

Correct Answer: C. pre-Gupta inscriptions

55. Under whose leadership was the all India Muslim League set up?

A. Mohammed Ali Jinnah
B. Sayyid Ahmed Khan
C. Aga Khan
D. All of the above
E. None of the above

Correct Answer: C. Aga Khan

56. Though Ashoka had many sons, the inscriptions mentioned only one who is not mentioned in any other source. He is

A. Kunala
B. Tivara
C. Mahendra
D. Jalauka

Correct Answer: B. Tivara

57. We can know about the early Vedic period from

A. archaeological excavations
B. the Rig Veda
C. Jatak Katha
D. contemporary culture

Correct Answer: B. the Rig Veda

58. The Upanishads are

A. a source of Hindu philosophy
B. books of ancient Hindu laws
C. books on the social behavior of man
D. prayers to God

Correct Answer: A. a source of Hindu philosophy

59. Universities in the Presidency towns in India were established in

A. 1857
B. 1858
C. 1900
D. 1909

Correct Answer: A. 1857

60. The Vijayanagara king who employed skilled archers of the Turkish clan and raised the fighting capacity of his bowmen was

A. Bukka I
B. Devaraya I
C. Krishnadevaraya
D. Ramaraya

Correct Answer: B. Devaraya I

61. Under the Guptas in eastern India, there was probably an intermediate level of administration between vishayas (districts) and villages. Identify it.

A. Bhukit
B.Pradesa
C. Vithi
D. Ahara

Correct Answer: C. Vithi

62. The two principles monuments of Alauddin Khilji's reign - the Jama at Kana Masjid and Alai Darwaza -
were constructed at

A. Agra
B. Delhi
C. Dhar
D. Gulbarga

Correct Answer: B. Delhi

63. The term Nirgrantha is associated with

A. Ajivikas
B. Charvakas
C. Jainas
D. Pasupatas

Correct Answer: C. Jainas

64. The Kalinga was fought in

A. 321 BC
B. 301 BC
C. 261 BC
D. 241 BC

Correct Answer: C. 261 BC

65. Under the Government of India, Provincial Legislatures consisted of two chambers, except in the case of

A. Assam
B. Bihar
C. Madras
D. Punjab

Correct Answer: D. Punjab

66. The Venetian traveler who traveled with his wife and reached Vijayanagar around 1420 was

A. Athanasius Nikitin
B. Nicolo de Conti
C. Ibn Batuta
D. Ferishta

Correct Answer: B. Nicolo de Conti

67. The year 788 AD was a good one for Hinduism. Why?

A. Shankaracharyawas born that year.
B. Harsha Vardhana, the last Buddhist king, died.
C. Samudragupta converted to Hinduism.
D. All Muslim invaders were defeated.

Correct Answer: A. Shankaracharyawas born that year.

68. The Uprising of 1857 was described as the first Indian war of Independence by

A. S.N. Sen
B. R.C. Mazumdar
C. B.G. Tilak
D. V.D. Savarkar

Correct Answer: D. V.D. Savarkar

69. The twenty-third Jaina teacher, Parsva, the immediate predecessor of Mahavira enjoined on his disciples four great vows. To these Mahavira added which of the followings as the fifth vow?

A. Abstention from stealing
B. Non-injury
C. Brahmacharya or continence
D. Non-attachment

Correct Answer: C. Brahmacharya or continence

70. The Turko-Afghan rule in India lasted for about

A. two centuries
B. three centuries
C. four centuries
D. a little over one century

Correct Answer: B. three centuries