Read the passage and answer the questions.
Shah Jahan pursued sound fiscal policies and accumulated enough money to indulge his passion for building. Building activity in the monarchical cultures, as in the case of earlier rulers, was the most visible and tangible sign of dynastic power, wealth and prestige. In the case of Muslim rulers, it was also considered an act of piety. In 1648, the court, army and household moved from Agra to the newly completed imperial capital, Shahjahanabad. It was a new addition to the old residential city of Delhi, with the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, a tree-lined esplanade with Chandni Chowk.
Building activity in case of Muslim rulers was also considered an act of __________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Piety
The passage says that building was the most visible sign of the ruler’s power, wealth and prestige, and adds that in the case of Muslim rulers it was also considered an act of piety, that is, an act of religious devotion.
Note: This passage is taken almost word for word from the section ‘Capital cities’ of the chapter ‘Kings and Chronicles’, which was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT and has been deleted from subsequent editions of NCERT. The Mughal court had left the book, yet NTA kept a seat for it in the paper: one old page here gave five questions.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “6.1 Capital cities … Shah Jahan pursued sound fiscal policies and accumulated enough money to indulge his passion for building. Building activity in monarchical cultures, as you have seen in the case of earlier rulers, was the most visible and tangible sign of dynastic power, wealth and prestige. In the case of Muslim rulers it was also considered an act of piety. In 1648 the court, army and household moved from Agra to the newly completed imperial capital, Shahjahanabad. It was a new addition to the old residential city of Delhi, with the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, a tree-lined esplanade with bazaars (Chandni Chowk) and spacious homes for the nobility. Shah Jahan’s new city was appropriate to a more formal vision of a grand monarchy.…” |