Prelims · Medieval India · 12 questions

Vijayanagara, Bahmani & regional kingdoms

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Prelims 2023 · Q48

Medium

Who among the following rulers of Vijayanagara Empire constructed a large dam across Tungabhadra River and a canal-cum-aqueduct several kilometres long from the river to the capital city?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) Devaraya I

Devaraya I of the Sangama dynasty built the great dam on the Tungabhadra and the long aqueduct that carried its water to Vijayanagara, according to the Portuguese chronicler Nuniz. NCERT confirms that the Hiriya canal drawing water from a dam across the river was built by Sangama kings.

✓ (a) Nuniz's account, as summarised by Robert Sewell, credits the ruler of this time, identified as Deva Raya I, with a huge dam on the Tungabhadra and an aqueduct fifteen miles long into the city.
✗ (b) Mallikarjuna was also a Sangama king, but Nuniz's account, as read by Sewell, names the ruler identified as Deva Raya I, not Mallikarjuna, as the builder.
✗ (c) Vira Vijaya is not the king named in Nuniz's account of the dam and aqueduct.
✗ (d) Virupaksha is likewise not named in that account; several of these kings were Sangamas, so the dynasty alone cannot pick the answer.

Remember · Devaraya I (Sangama): dam on the Tungabhadra and a long canal-aqueduct to Vijayanagara; the Hiriya canal is one of the surviving waterworks.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 3 “One of the most prominent waterworks to be seen among the ruins is the Hiriya canal. This canal drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra”
Robert Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar), 1900: Nuniz's account of the successor of Harihara II (Project Gutenberg ebook 3310) ↗ · reference work “But his great work was the construction of a huge dam in the Tungabhadra river, and the formation of an aqueduct fifteen miles long from the river into the city.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q49

Medium

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). Permalink ·

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