Socio-Religious and Political Reform Movements-Part2

 

Previous year paper ssc questions  GK Questions| Modern History of India| Socio-Religious and Political Reform Movements  | 

Daily Online General Knowledge Quiz: Previous year paper gk questions with answers and explanation in English on Socio-Religious and Political Reform Movements of Modern History of India.

1. The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh was founded by?
A. Muhammad Ali Jinnah
B. Muhammad Ali
C. Saukat Ali
D. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan

Note: With full support from government, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded Aligarh school in 1875, which upgraded as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, which become nucleus for formation of Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) college in 1875 marks one of the most important events in the educational and social history of modern India. Its establishment is considered as the first significant response of the Indian Muslims to the challenges of post 1875 era.

It was an important catalyst in a process of social change among Muslims. Lord Lytton laid the foundation stone of the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College on 8th January, 1877. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan stressed on the need for Hindu-Muslim unity.

2. Who was the greatest bhakti poet of Maharashtra?
A. Ramdas
B. Tukaram
C. Namdeva
D. Eknath

Tukaram

Note: Saint Tukaram (1608-45) was a prominent Varkari saint and spiritual poet during Bhakti Movement in India. Dilip Purushottam Chitre, a well known Marathi scholar, identifies Tukaram as the first modern poet of Marathi.

Chirte believes that Tukaram was the second saint after Saint Dnyaneshwar who denied caste hierarchy in Hindu religion and questioned rituals present in Hindu Dharma.

Tukaram was the greatest bhakti poet from Maharashtra, wrote devotional songs/poems known as Abhangas and community-oriented worship with spiritual songs known as kirtans.

3. Which of the following aspects is not common to both Bhakti Movement and Sufi Movement?
A. Personal love for God
B. Worship of idols
C. Mysticism
D. Visit to holy shrines

Worship of idols

Note: The Bhakti Movement was based on the doctrine that the relationship between God and man is through love and worship rather than through performing any ritual or religious ceremonies. There were two schools, one believed in idol worship, while the other discarded it.

Sufism is the mystical movement in Islam. The Sufis while accepting the Sharia, did not confine their religious practice to formal adherence and stressed cultivation of religious experience aimed at direct perception of God.

4. The most important Sufi shrine in India is at?
A. Pandua
B. Bidar
C. Ajmer
D. Shahjahanabad

Ajmer

Note: Ajmer is famous for the Dargah Sharif of Khwaja Min-Ud-Din Chishti which is situated at the foot of the Taragarh hill. It contains the domed tomb of the saint. Akbar and his queen used to come here by foot on pilgrimage from Agra every year in observance of a vow when he prayed for a son.

5. The 19th century reawakening in India was confined to the?
A. Priestly class
B. Upper middle class
C. Rich peasantry
D. Urban landlords

Upper middle class

Note: The 19th century awakening in India was led by the presence of the British rule in India and the education of the middle classes. The soil for the growth of Indian nationalism and political awakening was prepared by the socio-religious reform movements of the 19th century.

Although, the English educated class was a minority of the whole population of India, but its influence and leadership could mould public opinion as the newspapers, educational institutions and the advocates of the legal courts were all great influenced by the opinion of this group.

6. The original name of Swami Dayananda Saraswati was?
A. Abhi Shankar
B. Gauri Shankar
C. Daya Shankar
D. Mula Shankar

Mula Shankar

Note: Swami Dayananda Saraswati was born as Mula Shankar in 1824, in Gujarat. He received education from Swami Virajonanda at Mathura.

He was known as the earliest neo-nationalist. Arya Samaj, a revivalist reform movement was founded by him, in 1875 at Bombay. Headquarters of Arya Samaj was established at Lahore in 1877. Dayananda attacked idolatry, polytheism, religious rites and superstitious practices.

7. Where was Saint Kabir born?
A. Delhi
B. Varanasi
C. Mathura
D. Hyderabad

Varanasi

Note: Not much is known of Kabir's parents, but it is known that he was brought up in a family of Muslim weavers. He was found by a Muslim weaver named Niru and his wife, Nima in Lehartara, situated in Varanasi.

Kabir was against caste creed, idol worship and he propagated Hindu Muslim unity. His important works are Sabad Doha, Holi, Rekhatal etc. Some of the verses of Kabir are included in Adi Granth.

8. The original name of Swami Vivekananda was?
A. Narendranath Dutta
B. Batukeshwara Dutta
C. Krishna Dutta
D. Surendra Dutta

Narendranath Dutta

Note: Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendra Nath Dutta. Vivekananda established the monastic order after name of his Guru Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who believed in universalism in religion and whose main concern was religious salvation.

Vivekananda established Belur Math near Calcutta in 1899. He was a vedantist and he interpreted Vedanta in the light of modern age and this finally came to be known as neo-vedantism.

9. The Sufi saint who maintained that devotional music was one way of moving closer to God was?
A. Muin-ud-din Chisti
B. Baba Farid
C. Syed Muhammad
D. Shah Alam Bukhari

Baba Farid

Note: Sheikh Farid or Baba Farid is one of the most revered and distinguished Sufi mystics. He found music as a way of reaching God. Baba Farid's mystic songs were intended to break the strain of his emotions, to quicken his emotional response and to attune his heart to the infinite and the eternal.

10. The Bhakti cult spread in Maharashtra with the teaching of?
A. Saint Tukaram
B. Saint Jnaneshvara
C. Samarrth Guru Ramdas
D. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Saint Jnaneshvara

Note: Saint Jnaneshvara, introduced Varkari movement (Vitthala Sampradaya) of Pandherpur. He was associated with Krishna Margi Sect.

He was the founder of Marathi Language and literature, also wrote commentaries on Bhagavad Gita called Gyaneshwari or Bhavarthadipka. Saint Jnaneshwar was a 3rd century Maharashtrian Hindu Saint, Poet, philosopher and Yadi of the Nath Tradition.

11. Swami Dayananda Saraswati established the first Arya Samaj in 1875 at?
A. Bombay
B. Lahore
C. Nagpur
D. Ahmednagar

Bombay

Note: Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda in Bombay on 7th April, 1875. The membership amounted to 100 persons, including Swami Dayananda. On 24th June, 1877, the second major Arya Samaj was established at Lahore.

Dayananda regarded Vedas as infallible and fountain head of knowledge and gave the popular call 'Go back to Vedas'

12. Who among the following was the pioneer of Social Reform Movement in 19th century India?
A. Aurobindo Ghosh
B. Raja Rammohan Roy
C. Devendranath Tagore
D. Keshav Chandra Sen

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Note: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is also called the 'Maker of Modern India' and 'Father of Modern India'.

He was a great scholar and had good knowledge of Greek, Latin and Hebrew. In order to learn good English, he joined the East India Company as Diwan (Revenue Officer) in 1803.

Writings of Raja Ram Mohan Roy were direct reflection of his thoughts and opinion about socio-religious issues and problems of the period and it generally contained the solution for those problems.

13. In which region did Birsa Munda operate against the British?
A. Punjab
B. Chota Nagpur
C. Tarai
D. Manipur

Chota Nagpur

Note: Birsa Munda was a tribal leader and a folk hero, belonging to the Munda tribe who was behind the movement that rose in the tribal belt of Jharkhand during the British rule in the late 19th century. In March 1879, the Mundas claimed that Chota Nagpur belonged to them.

The Ulgulan (meaning 'Great Tumult') of Birsa Munda in the region South of Ranchi in 1899-1900 is the best known tribal rebellion of this period.

14. What was not true about Sir Syed Ahmed Khan?
A. He founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh
B. He was a leader of the Aligarh Movement
C. He opposed the Indian National Congress
D. He was a leader of the Muslim League

He was a leader of the Muslim League

Note: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 with the aim of promoting social and economic development of Indian Muslims.

He denounced nationalist organisations such as the Indian National Congress, promote Muslim unity and pro-British attitudes and activities

His educational proposes and political activism inspired Muslim elites to support the AIML. Ahmed Khan originally founded the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1886 in order to uplift Western education, especially Science and Literature among India's Muslims. The conference is known as the Aligarh Movement.

So, it can be said that, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was not a leader of the Muslim League.