UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 41 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Babur Arrival Timurid Dynasty
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectMedieval History
- TopicMughal Period
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
Consider the following: The arrival of Babur into India led to the
1. introduction of gunpowder in the subcontinent
2. introduction of the arch and dome in the region's architecture
3. establishment of Timurid dynasty in the region
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
Show answer
Answer: B. 3 only
Verdict
The answer is 3 only. Babur's arrival established the Timurid dynasty in India, but neither gunpowder nor the arch and dome came with him.
Analysis
Statement 3 is CORRECT. Babur was a descendant of Timur through his father and of Chingiz Khan through his mother, and his victory at Panipat in 1526 established Timurid rule in the subcontinent. Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Gunpowder was known in India before Babur; what he brought was the effective battlefield use of field artillery and matchlocks in the Ottoman manner. Statement 2 is INCORRECT by a much wider margin. The true arch and the dome entered Indian architecture with the Delhi Sultanate from the late twelfth century, more than three hundred years before Babur.
Source
Satish Chandra, Medieval India, NCERT Class XI, page 174.
How to crack it
Two of the three statements fail on chronology, so date the technology rather than the ruler. Ask when the Delhi Sultanate began and what it introduced, because anything architectural credited to the Mughals that actually belongs to the Sultanate is a standard trap. For gunpowder, keep the distinction between knowing a technology and deploying it decisively, since UPSC uses introduction where the accurate word would be application.