Marathas MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Marathas - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is 'Jaswant Rao Holkar'

Key Points

• Jaswant Rao Holkar:
  • During the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-05), Amir Khan of Bundelkhand allied with Jaswant Rao Holkar.
  • Jaswant Rao Holkar was one of the prominent Maratha leaders and played a significant role in resisting British expansion in India.
  • The alliance was part of a broader strategy to consolidate power and resist British forces.

Additional Information

• Daulat Rao Scindhia:
  • Daulat Rao Scindhia was another significant Maratha leader during the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
  • However, Amir Khan did not ally with him; Scindhia had his own conflicts and engagements with the British forces.
• The Bhonsale of Nagpur:
  • The Bhonsale family ruled Nagpur and was another powerful Maratha faction.
  • They fought against the British but were not directly allied with Amir Khan of Bundelkhand.
• Raja of Bharatpur:
  • The Raja of Bharatpur was a regional ruler in northern India.
  • While he was a significant figure, he did not have an alliance with Amir Khan during the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

The correct answer is - Sambhaji

Key Points

• Sambhaji
  • Sambhaji was the eldest son of the Maratha ruler Shivaji and succeeded him after his death.
  • Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, perceived Sambhaji as a significant threat to his empire due to the latter's continued resistance against Mughal expansion.
  • In 1689, Aurangzeb sent Mukarrab Khan to capture Sambhaji, who was eventually captured, tortured, and executed by the Mughals.
  • Sambhaji's death was a turning point in the Maratha struggle against the Mughal Empire, galvanizing the Marathas to continue their resistance.

Additional Information

• Shivaji
  • Shivaji was the founder of the Maratha Empire and a key figure in Indian history known for his guerrilla warfare tactics and establishing a competent and progressive civil administration.
  • He was an important figure in resisting Mughal rule and had several confrontations with Aurangzeb during his lifetime.
• Shahuji
  • Shahuji was a later ruler of the Maratha Empire and is also known as Shahu Maharaj.
  • He played a significant role in the expansion and consolidation of the Maratha Empire after the death of Aurangzeb.
• Shahji Bhonsle
  • Shahji Bhonsle was the father of Shivaji and served as a military commander under the Sultanates of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar.
  • His legacy includes laying the groundwork for the rise of his son Shivaji and the establishment of the Maratha Empire.

• The Treaty of Purandar was signed between Mughals and Marathas.
• The treaty was signed on 11th June 1665.
• It was signed between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Raja Jai Singh.
• Raja Jai Singh was signed on behalf of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

The main highlights of the Purandar treaty are:

• Many forts were relinquished to the Mughals
• Agreed that Shivaji would meet Aurangzeb at Agra.
• Shivaji agreed to send his son Sambhaji as well.
• Shivaji was required to help the Mughals in any situation.

Key Points

Treaty of Purandar - [March 1, 1776] 

• In 1772, the Maratha Peshwa Madhavrao died and he was succeeded by his brother Narayanrao as the Peshwa.
• But Narayanrao’s uncle Raghunathrao wanted to usurp power and got his nephew assassinated. Meanwhile, Narayanrao’s wife delivered a posthumous son who was the legitimate heir. So, 12 Maratha chiefs led by Nana Phadnavis wanted to crown the baby boy Peshwa and rule as regents in his name.
• Reluctant to give up control, Raghunath Rao sought the help of the British stationed at Bombay and agreed with them called the Treaty of Surat.
  • According to the treaty, the British got Salsette and Bassein (Vasai) and also part revenues from Baruch and Surat.
  • In return, Raghunath Rao got 2500 soldiers.
• However, the Calcutta Council of the East India Company annulled the Surat Treaty and sent an officer, Colonel Upton to make a new agreement with Pune.
• This new treaty was the Treaty of Purandar signed by the British Calcutta Council with Nana Phadnavis representing the Peshwa.
  • This was signed on 1 March 1776.
• As per this treaty, Raghunathrao was only given a pension and was not promised any support for his claim to the Peshwa seat. But the British did retain Baruch and Salsette.
• However, the Bombay Council rejected the Purandar Treaty and offered protection to Raghunathrao.
• Again, in 1777 the French were granted a port on the western coast by Nana Phadnavis thus angering the Calcutta Council as this went against a treaty he had with them.
• They sent a force towards Pune.
  • The Battle of Wadgaon was fought in which the British forces were defeated by Mahadaji Shinde’s Maratha force.
  • After this battle, all territories acquired by the Bombay office since 1773 were given back to the Marathas.
• Further, the British authorities in London supported the Bombay Council in this matter and complicated things.
• Peace was restored only in 1782 when the Treaty of Salbai was signed.

The correct answer is Balaji Vishwanath, Bajirao 1, Balaji Bajirao, Nanasaheb.

Key Points

• Peshwas
  • They were the appointed and later Prime Minister of the Maratha Empire.
  • They were head of the Ashta Pradhan ( council of ministers).
  • First Peshwas: Moropant Trimbak Pingle
  • Last Peshwas: Baji Rao II

Additional Information

• Balaji Vishwanath
  • He was the sixth appointed Peshwas.
  • He assisted the Syed Brothers in deposing Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar in 1719.
• Baji Rao I
  • He was acknowledged as the most influential of the nine Peshwas.
  • Marathas under Bajirao I raided the outskirts of Delhi in the Battle of Delhi in 1737.
• Balaji Bajirao
  • He was known as Nanasaheb Peshwa.
  • Under his leadership, the Maratha Empire reached its peak and the Third Battle Panipat was fought during his reign against Ahmad Shah Abdali.
• Nana Saheb
  • He was a leader during the 1857 Revolt who led the rebellion in Kanpur.
  • He was the last Peshwas.

The correct answer is Afghans.

Key Points

• Third Battle of Panipat:
  • It took place in 1761 between the Maratha Empire and the invading Afghan Army (Ahmad Shah Abdali).
  • The result was Marathas lost suzerainty over Punjab above the north of Sutlej river to the Abdali.
• The First Battle of Panipat 1526 was fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi and laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire.
• The Second Battle of Panipat 1556 was fought between Mughal king Akbar and Hindu King Hemu and Hemu lost it.
• Afghans:
  • The Afghan army supported by four Indian allies, the Rohillas under the command of Najib-Ud-Daulah, Afghans of the Doab region, and the Nawab of Awadh, Shuja-Ud-Daula.
  • Afghans and Rohillas led by Abdali and Najib-Ud-Daulah both ethnic Afghans.
  • Afghan garrison was killed or enslaved.

Additional Information

• Rohillas
  • Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
  • The Rohilla military chiefs settled in the Hindu-majority region of northern India in the 1720s.
  • The Rohillas are found all over Uttar Pradesh.
  • After the 1947 Partition of India, some of the Rohillas migrated to Karachi, Pakistan.
• Britishers
  • The British were defeated at Wadgaon in January 1779, but they continued to fight the Marathas until the conclusion of the Treaty of Sabai.
  • The sole British gain was the island of Salsette adjacent to Bombay.
  • The Anglo-Maratha War was three wars fought in the Indian sub-continent between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company over territory.
• Mughals
  • The Mughal - Maratha Wars, also called The Deccan War of The Maratha War of Independence were fought between the Maratha Empire and the Mughal Empire from 1680 to 1707.
  • The war was begun in 1680 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's invasion of the Maratha Enclave in Bijapur, which was established by the Maratha leader Shivaji.
  • After the death of Aurangzeb  Marathas defeated the Mughals in Delhi and Bhopal.

The correct answer is Third.Key Points

• The Anglo-Maratha War that resulted in merging the Peshwas' territories with the Bombay Presidency was the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
• This war took place between 1817 and 1819 and was fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire.
• The British won the war and as a result, the Peshwas' territories, which included Pune, were annexed by the British and merged with the Bombay Presidency.
• This war was significant in the history of India as it marked the end of the Maratha Empire's power and paved the way for British dominance in India.

Additional Information

• The First Anglo-Maratha War took place between 1775 and 1782 and was fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire.
  • The British were unable to defeat the Marathas and the war ended with the Treaty of Salbai.
• The Second Anglo-Maratha War took place between 1803 and 1805 and was fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire.
  • The British won the war and as a result, the Marathas lost a significant amount of territory.
• The third Anglo-Maratha War took place between 1817 and 1819 and was fought between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire.
  • The British were successful in defeating the Marathas and the war ended with the Treaty of Mandsaur.

The correct answer is 1674 AD:

Key Points

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj:
  • He was the second son of Shahaji, was the creator of the Maratha nation.
  • He united the Maratha Chiefs from Malwa, Konkan, and Desh regions to carve out a small kingdom.
  • He took control of the hereditary Jagir after the death of his guardian Konadev in 1647.
  • He was born in the hill fort of Shivner in 1627.
  • He began his military career at a young age. He captured the fort of Toran in 1656.
  • From 1656, he started capturing many other forts from the local officers of Bijapur.
  • Shivaji was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati (Monarch) of his realm at Raigad in 1674.

The correct answer is Bhonsle.

Key Points

• The title "Chhatrapati" was created by Shivaji upon his coronation which means a protector than merely using the term "Raja" or "Maharaja" meaning just a "king".
• The Bhonsle originated among the populations of the Deccani tiller-plainsmen who were known by the names Kunbi and Maratha.
• The Bhonsle is a prominent group within the Maratha clan system
• Chattrapati Sivaji was born on 19 February 1630.

Additional Information

• The immediate successors of Shivaji are -  Sambhaji, Rajaram, and Shahu.
• After the death of Shahu, the Peshwas and Marathas increased their power.

'Sardeshmukhi' in the Maratha regime was a tax levied on revenue.

• The Maratha kingdom was another powerful regional kingdom to arise out of sustained opposition to the Mughal rule.
• Poona became the capital of the Maratha kingdom.
• Chauth was a tax or tribute imposed, from the early eighteenth century, by the Maratha Empire in India.
• It was nomi­nally levied at 25% on revenue or produce.

The correct answer is Peshwa.

Key Points

• The peshwa, also known as the Mukhya pradhan, originally headed the advisory council of the Raja Shivaji.
• After Shivaji’s death the council broke up and the office lost its primacy, but it was revived when Shivaji’s grandson Shahu appointed Balaji Vishvanath Bhat, a Chitpavan Brahman, as peshwa in 1714.
• Balaji’s son Baji Rao I secured the hereditary succession to the peshwa ship.
• Peshwas were the loyal ministers of Marathas state who were appointed to assist the king in different administrative as well as political affairs.
• The Peshwas named their secretariat as Huzur Daftar which was situated in Poona.

Additional Information

• List of Peshwas Loyal Minister of Marathas.

Option 4 is not correct.

Key Points

• We do find inscriptions for the period after 700 AD. An old inscription was found in Kandahar, present-day Afghanistan, dated about 2250 years ago. Hence, option 1 is correct.
• Historians rely on coins, inscriptions, architecture, and textual records for information for the study of the period from 700 to 1750.
• We do find inscriptions for the period after 700 AD. Some examples include:
  • A Sanskrit prashasti describing the achievements of Nagabhatta, a Pratihara king has been found in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
  • Copper plates have been recovered describing land grants made by kings to their subjects.
  • A Chola king, Rajaraja I inscribed his military achievements on the walls of the Brihadeswara temple in Thanjavur, which was constructed during his rule.
• Inscriptions have been discovered from Uttaramerur in Chinglepur, Tamil Nadu, they give information about the Chola assemblies.
• The Marathas asserted their political importance during the 700 and 1750 CE periods. Chatrapati Shivaji directly challenged Mughal supremacy.
• Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, the term was applied more generally to a group of warriors who claimed Kshatriya caste status. The term included not just rulers and chieftains but also soldiers and commanders who served in the armies of different monarchs all over the subcontinent.
• A chivalric code of conduct – extreme valor and a great sense of loyalty – were the qualities attributed to Rajputs by their poets and bards. Other groups of people such as the Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, Ahoms, and Kayasthas (a caste of scribes and secretaries) also used the opportunities of the age to become politically important. Hence, Option 2 is correct.
• Forest-dwellers were sometimes pushed out of their lands with the spread of agricultural settlements. Hence, Option 3 is correct.
• Throughout the period of 600-1750, there was a gradual clearing of forests and the extension of agriculture, a change faster and more complete in some areas than in others. Changes in their habitat forced many forest-dwellers to migrate.
• Delhi Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban (1266-1287) explained that he was the ruler of a vast empire that stretched from Bengal (Gauda) in the east to Ghazni (Gajjana) in Afghanistan in the west and included all of south India (Dravida). People of different regions – Gauda, Andhra, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat – apparently fled before his armies. Hence, Option 4 is incorrect.

The correct answer is Tanaji Malusare.

• Tanaji Malusare was a military assistant of Maratha King Shivaji.
• The Sinhagad fort also known as the Kondhana fort.
• The battle was fought between Tanaji Malusare, from the Shivaji side, and UdayBhan Singh Rathore, from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb side.
• The battle of Kondhana was fought on 04 Feb 1670 on the fort of Sinhabad.

Additional Information

• A local poet Tulsidas wrote a powada describing Tanaji's heroics and sacrifice of life in the Battle of Sinhagad.
• Gad ala pan sinh gela, a Marathi novel by Hari Narayan Apte was written in 1903, based on his life.

Bargir infantry is the Maratha equivalent of European line infantry.

• They possess slightly superior base statistics; however, in the early game they are no match for the specialized melee infantry and they cannot utilize Fire by Rank, putting them at a disadvantage when compared to European line infantry in the late game.
• However, Bargir Infantry is one of the strongest line infantry in the Indian subcontinent.​

Thus, we can conclude that the royal cavalry of Shivaji was called Bargir.

Important Points

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha empire, raised a small yet effective land army.
• For better administration, Shivaji abolished the land-grants or jagir for military officers and instituted a system of salary or cash payment for their services.

The correct answer is Treaty of Mandeshwar.

Key Points

• Treaty of Mandeshwar was signed as a result of the Third Anglo-Maratha War between the British and the Holkar chief in 1818.
• The Treaty of Mandeswar brings an end to the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
• This ended  the dominance of Marathas, and enhancing the power of the British East India Company, which controls territory occupied by 180 million Indians.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Raigad.

• The Maratha empire dominated a large area of India in the 18th century.

Key Points

• Shivaji was named Chhatrapati in 1674 and the Maratha empire came to an end in 1818 after the defeat of Peshwa Bajirao II by the British East India company.
• This initially began by freeing the people from the Sultanate of Bijapur when he won Fort Torna in 1645 and after this, it continued by winning other forts.
• His aim was to establish an empire of self-rule of the Hindu people.
• He kept Raigad as his capital and they gave tough fights to Mughals to defend his kingdom.