Who among the following rulers of medieval Gujarat surrendered Diu to Portuguese?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Bahadur Shah
Bahadur Shah, Sultan of Gujarat, is the ruler who let the Portuguese into Diu. Squeezed between the Mughal emperor Humayun and the Portuguese, he signed a treaty with the Portuguese governor Nuno da Cunha on 25 October 1535 and allowed them to build a fortress at Diu.
- ✓ (c) Bahadur Shah made the 1535 treaty with Nuno da Cunha, which gave the Portuguese permission to build a fort in Diu harbour. He later regretted it, but the Portuguese kept Diu and took full control in 1546.
- ✗ (b) Mahmud Begarha's long reign ended by the early 1510s, more than twenty years before the 1535 treaty. The Diu concession came in Bahadur Shah's reign.
- ✗ (a) The 1535 treaty was made by the reigning Sultan, Bahadur Shah, not by any ruler named Ahmad Shah.
Remember · Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, pressed by Humayun, gave the Portuguese a fort at Diu in 1535; Diu passed fully to them in 1546 and stayed Portuguese until 1961.
Sources
- History, Diu District Website (District Administration, Diu; UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) ↗ “Bahadur Shah entered into a treaty with Nuno De Cunha on October 25, 1535 who agreed to assist Bahadur Shah against his enemy by land and sea. In turn he received permission to construct a fortress at Diu”
- Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Thana District: Bassein (Government of Maharashtra Gazetteers) ↗ “There is no certain notice till 1507, when Mahmud Begada of Gujarat (1459-1513) is said to have effected his designs against the towns of Bassein and Bombay.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·