Prelims 2002 · archive
MediumWith reference to Sufism in Indian history, consider the following statements:
- 1.Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi was a contemporary of Ibrahim Lodi
- 2.Sheikh Nasiruddin Chirag-I-Dehlavi was a disciple of Sheikh Nizamuddin Auliya
- 3.Aurangzeb was a contemporary of Sheikh Salim Chisti
- 4.Qadiri order of Sufis was first introduced in India by Sheikh Niamutullah and Makhdum Muhammad Jilani.
Which of these statements are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) 2 and 4
Statements 1 and 3 fail on dates: Sirhindi belongs to the early 1600s and Salim Chishti to Akbar's reign, while Ibrahim Lodi (ruled to 1526) and Aurangzeb (ruled from 1658) fall outside those lives. That leaves 2 and 4.
- ✗ 1. Ahmad Sirhindi died in 1624 and is placed in c.1600-1700. Ibrahim Lodi was defeated at Panipat in 1526, so they were not contemporaries.
- ✓ 2. Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli (d. 1356) is listed among the Chishti teachers after Nizamuddin Auliya (d. 1325) and was his disciple and successor.
- ✗ 3. Salim Chishti was the saint of Akbar's time; his tomb at Fatehpur Sikri was completed in 1580-81, long before Aurangzeb's reign (1658-1707).
- ✓ 4. The Qadiri order, named after Shaikh Abd'ul Qadir Jilani, came to India in the 15th century through Shaikh Niamatullah and Makhdum Muhammad Jilani.
Remember · Sirhindi (d. 1624) and Salim Chishti are Akbar-Jahangir era figures; Chiragh-i Dehli was Nizamuddin Auliya's disciple.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 2 “The letters, known as Maktubat-i Imam Rabbani, of the noted seventeenth-century Naqshbandi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624), whose ideology is often contrasted with the liberal and non-sectarian views of Akbar”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 2 “Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya 1325 Delhi Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli 1356 Delhi”
- UNESCO World Heritage: Fatehpur Sikri ↗ “This mosque incorporates the tomb of Saikh Salim Chisti, an extraordinary masterpiece of sculpted decoration completed in 1580-81”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2002, General Studies paper. UPSC did not publish an answer key for 2002: the answer shown is the one the sources above support. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 24 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·