Travellers

PYQs (1–20)

Who was the Chinese traveler who visited India during Harsha’s reign?
a) Fa-Hien
b) Hiuen Tsang
c) I-Tsing
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: b) Hiuen Tsang
👉 (BPSC 2018) Visited during 630–644 CE; wrote about Harsha’s court.
Who among the following visited India during Chandragupta II's reign?
a) Hiuen Tsang
b) Fa-Hien
c) Megasthenes
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: b) Fa-Hien
👉 (UPPSC 2014) A Buddhist monk who visited India in 5th century CE.
Who was the Greek ambassador at the court of Chandragupta Maurya?
a) Ptolemy
b) Megasthenes
c) Seleucus
d) Pliny
✅ Answer: b) Megasthenes
👉 (BPSC 2015) Author of Indica, he lived at Pataliputra.
Which Arab scholar visited India during Mahmud of Ghazni’s time?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Al-Biruni
c) Firdausi
d) Al-Masudi
✅ Answer: b) Al-Biruni
👉 (BPSC 2016) Wrote Kitab-ul-Hind, a detailed account of Indian society.
Who wrote Indica?
a) Fa-Hien
b) Megasthenes
c) Ibn Battuta
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: b) Megasthenes
👉 (UPPSC 2012) Greek ambassador in Chandragupta Maurya's court.
Which Chinese traveler visited India during the rule of Kumaragupta?
a) Hiuen Tsang
b) I-Tsing
c) Fa-Hien
d) Xuanzang
✅ Answer: c) Fa-Hien
👉 (BPSC 2011) Visited during Gupta period (399–414 CE).
Who was the Moroccan traveler to India during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Al-Biruni
c) Marco Polo
d) Barbosa
✅ Answer: a) Ibn Battuta
👉 (BPSC 2016) Appointed Qazi of Delhi by Tughlaq; wrote Rihla.
Who described India in his work Rihla?
a) Al-Biruni
b) Ibn Battuta
c) Fa-Hien
d) Abdur Razzaq
✅ Answer: b) Ibn Battuta
👉 (UPPSC 2013) Wrote about his journey in Tughlaq's India.
Which Persian traveler visited the court of Deva Raya II of Vijayanagara?
a) Abdur Razzaq
b) Niccolò Conti
c) Barbosa
d) Ibn Battuta
✅ Answer: a) Abdur Razzaq
👉 (BPSC 2019) Gave detailed descriptions of Vijayanagara.
Which traveler praised the city of Hampi?
a) Barbosa
b) Marco Polo
c) Abdur Razzaq
d) Al-Masudi
✅ Answer: c) Abdur Razzaq
👉 (BPSC 2014) Described Hampi as a rich and grand city.
Who visited India from Italy in the 15th century?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Barbosa
c) Niccolò Conti
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: c) Niccolò Conti
👉 (UPPSC 2010) Gave an account of South Indian polity and society.
Who was the Portuguese traveler during Krishnadeva Raya’s rule?
a) Barbosa
b) Al-Biruni
c) Duarte Barbosa
d) Domingo Paes
✅ Answer: d) Domingo Paes
👉 (BPSC 2020) Wrote about Vijayanagara’s administration and prosperity.
Which traveler was a Venetian who visited India in the 13th century?
a) Marco Polo
b) Barbosa
c) Paes
d) Conti
✅ Answer: a) Marco Polo
👉 (BPSC 2018) Visited southern India during Yadava rule.
Which traveler visited India during the Delhi Sultanate and was impressed by Indian wealth?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Barbosa
c) Al-Biruni
d) Fa-Hien
✅ Answer: a) Ibn Battuta
👉 (UPPSC 2011) Recorded Indian customs, trade, and cities.
Who called India the “Land of Brahmins”?
a) Megasthenes
b) Hiuen Tsang
c) Al-Biruni
d) Ibn Battuta
✅ Answer: c) Al-Biruni
👉 (BPSC 2013) Noted Brahmins' social and religious roles.
Which traveler called Indian society highly stratified?
a) Fa-Hien
b) Al-Biruni
c) Marco Polo
d) Paes
✅ Answer: b) Al-Biruni
👉 (UPPSC 2016) Criticized caste system but admired Indian knowledge.
Who was the first Chinese Buddhist pilgrim to visit India?
a) I-Tsing
b) Fa-Hien
c) Hiuen Tsang
d) Xuanzang
✅ Answer: b) Fa-Hien
👉 (BPSC 2011) Came for Buddhist texts during Gupta rule.
Which traveler mentioned Sati in his account?
a) Fa-Hien
b) Al-Biruni
c) Ibn Battuta
d) Marco Polo
✅ Answer: c) Ibn Battuta
👉 (BPSC 2015) Described the burning of widows in certain regions.
Which Chinese traveler studied Nalanda University?
a) Hiuen Tsang
b) Fa-Hien
c) I-Tsing
d) Wang Hiuen
✅ Answer: a) Hiuen Tsang
👉 (UPPSC 2012) Studied and taught at Nalanda.
The work ‘Siyur-ul-Mulook’ was written by:
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Al-Biruni
c) Sulaiman
d) Marco Polo
✅ Answer: c) Sulaiman
👉 (BPSC 2012) 9th-century Arab merchant who visited western India.

NCERT-Based MCQs (21–35)

Who visited India during the time of Harshavardhana and praised Indian tolerance?
a) Fa-Hien
b) Hiuen Tsang
c) Marco Polo
d) Barbosa
✅ Answer: b) Hiuen Tsang
👉 (NCERT Class 6) Stayed at Harsha’s court and documented Buddhist practices.
Which Chinese monk visited India in 671 CE?
a) Fa-Hien
b) Hiuen Tsang
c) I-Tsing
d) Wang Hiuen
✅ Answer: c) I-Tsing
👉 (NCERT Class 6) Stayed at Nalanda and recorded Buddhist rituals.
Fa-Hien’s main focus in India was on:
a) Hindu kings
b) Buddhist institutions
c) Administration
d) Architecture
✅ Answer: b) Buddhist institutions
👉 (NCERT Class 6) Described monasteries, monks, and Buddhist life.
Megasthenes’ account focused on:
a) Economy
b) Military
c) Society and polity
d) Religion only
✅ Answer: c) Society and polity
👉 (NCERT Class 6) Gave a Greek outsider’s view of Mauryan administration.
Hiuen Tsang documented life under which Indian king?
a) Chandragupta I
b) Harshavardhana
c) Ashoka
d) Pulakeshin II
✅ Answer: b) Harshavardhana
👉 (NCERT Class 6) Stayed in his court for several years.
What was Ibn Battuta’s profession in India?
a) Trader
b) Diplomat
c) Judge (Qazi)
d) Teacher
✅ Answer: c) Judge (Qazi)
👉 (NCERT Class 7) Appointed by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Al-Biruni's travel to India coincided with:
a) Delhi Sultanate
b) Ghaznavid invasion
c) Mughal rule
d) Maratha period
✅ Answer: b) Ghaznavid invasion
👉 (NCERT Class 7) Came with Mahmud of Ghazni.
Which traveler gave details of Hindu society and religion?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Hiuen Tsang
c) Al-Biruni
d) Barbosa
✅ Answer: c) Al-Biruni
👉 (NCERT Class 7) Wrote in-depth on Indian philosophy and rituals.
What is the title of Hiuen Tsang’s book?
a) Kitab-ul-Hind
b) Rihla
c) Si-yu-ki
d) Indica
✅ Answer: c) Si-yu-ki
👉 (NCERT Class 6) "Records of the Western World" in Chinese.
Fa-Hien traveled mostly by:
a) Horse
b) Boat
c) On foot
d) Camel
✅ Answer: c) On foot
👉 (NCERT Class 6) Journeyed across North India from Patliputra to Mathura.
Abdur Razzaq’s account refers to which kingdom?
a) Delhi Sultanate
b) Mughal Empire
c) Vijayanagara
d) Bengal
✅ Answer: c) Vijayanagara
👉 (NCERT Class 7) Describes the court of Deva Raya II.
Barbosa visited India during:
a) Portuguese colonial rule
b) Mughal Empire
c) Vijayanagara Empire
d) Sultanate rule
✅ Answer: c) Vijayanagara Empire
👉 (NCERT Class 7) He praised South Indian trade and cities.
Which traveler gave details about horses in India?
a) Marco Polo
b) Barbosa
c) Ibn Battuta
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: b) Barbosa
👉 (NCERT Class 7) Commented on horse import and use in war.
Who among the following wrote about Sati system in India?
a) Hiuen Tsang
b) Ibn Battuta
c) Al-Biruni
d) All of the above
✅ Answer: d) All of the above
👉 (NCERT Class 7) All made observations about the practice.
Which traveler highlighted the grandeur of South Indian temples?
a) Marco Polo
b) Al-Biruni
c) Niccolò Conti
d) Ibn Battuta
✅ Answer: c) Niccolò Conti
👉 (NCERT Class 7) Praised temple architecture and rituals.

Predicted (36–50)

Who among the following was not a traveler but a court historian?
a) Al-Biruni
b) Ziauddin Barani
c) Ibn Battuta
d) Domingo Paes
✅ Answer: b) Ziauddin Barani
👉 (Lucent) He lived in Delhi and did not travel.
Who visited India from China in the 7th century CE?
a) I-Tsing
b) Xuanzang
c) Fa-Hien
d) Both a and b
✅ Answer: d) Both a and b
👉 (Drishti) Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) and I-Tsing came in 600s CE.
Which traveler described Deccan as rich in diamonds?
a) Barbosa
b) Ibn Battuta
c) Marco Polo
d) Abdur Razzaq
✅ Answer: a) Barbosa
👉 (Drishti) Mentioned diamond mines in South India.
Domingo Paes wrote about which city’s markets and forts?
a) Delhi
b) Agra
c) Hampi
d) Bijapur
✅ Answer: c) Hampi
👉 (Drishti) Described Hampi’s wealth and architecture.
Which traveler mentioned customs duty in Vijayanagara?
a) Barbosa
b) Paes
c) Ibn Battuta
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: a) Barbosa
👉 (Spectrum) Noted Vijayanagara’s flourishing trade system.
Which traveler mentioned caste discrimination in India?
a) Al-Biruni
b) Fa-Hien
c) Paes
d) Ibn Battuta
✅ Answer: a) Al-Biruni
👉 (Lucent) Detailed observations of Brahmin dominance.
Which traveler came during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Al-Biruni
c) Barbosa
d) Marco Polo
✅ Answer: a) Ibn Battuta
👉 (Lucent) Stayed 8 years in India.
Which Greek ambassador wrote Indica?
a) Diodorus
b) Ptolemy
c) Megasthenes
d) Pliny
✅ Answer: c) Megasthenes
👉 (Drishti) Sent by Seleucus I to Chandragupta Maurya.
What did Hiuen Tsang call Nalanda University?
a) City of temples
b) Monastery of knowledge
c) Magnificent center
d) All of the above
✅ Answer: d) All of the above
👉 (Drishti) Admired its libraries and scholars.
Which traveler gave a list of castes in India?
a) Barbosa
b) Hiuen Tsang
c) Al-Biruni
d) Marco Polo
✅ Answer: c) Al-Biruni
👉 (Spectrum) Explained four varnas and sub-castes.
The term ‘Western Regions’ in Chinese texts refers to:
a) Rome
b) India
c) Arabia
d) Africa
✅ Answer: b) India
👉 (NCERT) Xuanzang used this term for India.
Which of these travelers never visited North India?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Marco Polo
c) Fa-Hien
d) Hiuen Tsang
✅ Answer: b) Marco Polo
👉 (Drishti) Visited only southern coasts.
Which traveler saw famine during his visit to India?
a) Barbosa
b) Ibn Battuta
c) Al-Biruni
d) Marco Polo
✅ Answer: b) Ibn Battuta
👉 (Drishti) Witnessed drought and disease under Tughlaq.
Which of these travelers came before 1000 CE?
a) Ibn Battuta
b) Al-Biruni
c) Fa-Hien
d) Barbosa
✅ Answer: c) Fa-Hien
👉 (Lucent) 5th-century CE traveler.
Which traveler’s account is considered most scientific?
a) Al-Biruni
b) Ibn Battuta
c) Hiuen Tsang
d) Barbosa
✅ Answer: a) Al-Biruni
👉 (Drishti) Used analytical methods to describe Indian society.

PYQs on Modern Travellers (1–15)

Who was the French traveler who visited India during Aurangzeb’s reign?
a) Bernier
b) Tavernier
c) Voltaire
d) De Laet
✅ Answer: a) Bernier
👉 (BPSC 2014) François Bernier described Mughal administration and land revenue system.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier visited India during the reign of:
a) Akbar
b) Jahangir
c) Shah Jahan
d) Aurangzeb
✅ Answer: c) Shah Jahan
👉 (BPSC 2015) A French gem merchant who visited the Mughal court.
Which traveler gave a detailed account of the peasantry in Mughal India?
a) Marco Polo
b) Tavernier
c) Bernier
d) Barbosa
✅ Answer: c) Bernier
👉 (UPPSC 2012) He criticized the lack of private property in India.
The account ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’ was written by:
a) Niccolò Conti
b) Bernier
c) Ibn Battuta
d) Paes
✅ Answer: b) Bernier
👉 (BPSC 2016) His book is an important source on 17th-century India.
Alexander Cunningham is known for:
a) Trading
b) Architecture
c) Archaeological Survey
d) Translation of Upanishads
✅ Answer: c) Archaeological Survey
👉 (BPSC 2018) Founder of ASI, surveyed ancient Indian monuments.
William Jones founded:
a) Asiatic Society of Bombay
b) Indian National Congress
c) Asiatic Society of Bengal
d) Archaeological Survey
✅ Answer: c) Asiatic Society of Bengal
👉 (UPPSC 2015) In 1784, to study Indian languages and culture.
James Mill is known for his book:
a) India and the World
b) Discovery of India
c) History of British India
d) India’s Freedom
✅ Answer: c) History of British India
👉 (BPSC 2017) Divided Indian history into Hindu, Muslim, British periods.
The first detailed map survey of India was done by:
a) Bernier
b) William Lambton
c) Macaulay
d) Warren Hastings
✅ Answer: b) William Lambton
👉 (BPSC 2016) Led the Great Trigonometrical Survey from 1802.
Max Müller translated which ancient Indian text?
a) Arthashastra
b) Manusmriti
c) Vedas
d) Mahabharata
✅ Answer: c) Vedas
👉 (BPSC 2015) German scholar who introduced Indian texts to the West.
Who was the German indologist who admired Indian philosophy?
a) Friedrich Schlegel
b) Max Müller
c) Hegel
d) Karl Marx
✅ Answer: b) Max Müller
👉 (BPSC 2019) Advocated for preservation of Indian languages and traditions.
Who introduced the English Education Act of 1835?
a) Warren Hastings
b) Lord Macaulay
c) Wellesley
d) Cornwallis
✅ Answer: b) Lord Macaulay
👉 (UPPSC 2011) Advocated English over vernacular education.
Which traveler saw the Great Famine of 1876?
a) Vincent Smith
b) Valentine Chirol
c) William Digby
d) Bernier
✅ Answer: c) William Digby
👉 (BPSC 2012) Wrote critically on British famine policy.
Who authored 'India: What Can It Teach Us?'
a) Macaulay
b) Max Müller
c) Hegel
d) James Mill
✅ Answer: b) Max Müller
👉 (UPPSC 2013) Defended the study of Indian literature in Europe.
Alexander Burnes was known for his travels to:
a) Central India
b) Tibet
c) Punjab and Sindh
d) Assam
✅ Answer: c) Punjab and Sindh
👉 (BPSC 2013) Early British explorer in northwest India.
The first modern census of India was conducted in:
a) 1858
b) 1861
c) 1871
d) 1881
✅ Answer: c) 1871
👉 (UPPSC 2012) Initiated by British administration to collect demographic data.

NCERT-Based MCQs (16–30)

The Asiatic Society of Bengal was set up by:
a) James Mill
b) Warren Hastings
c) William Jones
d) Charles Wilkins
✅ Answer: c) William Jones
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Helped promote oriental studies in India.
James Rennell contributed to:
a) Literature
b) Trade
c) Geography
d) Law
✅ Answer: c) Geography
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Known as the first mapmaker of India.
Who was the first Surveyor General of India?
a) William Jones
b) James Rennell
c) Mountstuart Elphinstone
d) Francis Buchanan
✅ Answer: b) James Rennell
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Led surveys during East India Company's rule.
Francis Buchanan conducted surveys on:
a) Forests
b) Agriculture
c) Topography
d) All of the above
✅ Answer: d) All of the above
👉 (NCERT Class 8) His journals recorded India's natural and economic life.
Macaulay’s Minute on Education was written in:
a) 1833
b) 1835
c) 1840
d) 1854
✅ Answer: b) 1835
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Advocated English education and Western science.
Who edited the English translation of Rigveda?
a) Charles Wilkins
b) Max Müller
c) William Jones
d) Burnes
✅ Answer: b) Max Müller
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Made Vedic texts accessible to the West.
Vincent Smith was a:
a) Colonial administrator
b) Historian
c) Education officer
d) Missionary
✅ Answer: b) Historian
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Wrote biased accounts glorifying British rule.
Colonial surveys focused on:
a) Mapping
b) Resource control
c) Cultural domination
d) All of the above
✅ Answer: d) All of the above
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Helped the British govern and extract resources.
Which British officer recorded tribal life in central India?
a) Elphinstone
b) Dalton
c) Buchanan
d) Vincent Smith
✅ Answer: b) Dalton
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Wrote ethnographic studies on tribes.
The term 'Orientalists' refers to scholars who:
a) Opposed Indian studies
b) Promoted European culture
c) Studied Eastern civilizations
d) Ignored Indian texts
✅ Answer: c) Studied Eastern civilizations
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Believed Indian texts held valuable knowledge.
Who established Sanskrit College in Calcutta?
a) Hastings
b) Macaulay
c) Jonathan Duncan
d) William Jones
✅ Answer: c) Jonathan Duncan
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Aimed to promote Sanskrit learning in British India.
Who translated the Bhagavad Gita into English first?
a) William Jones
b) Charles Wilkins
c) Max Müller
d) Vincent Smith
✅ Answer: b) Charles Wilkins
👉 (NCERT Class 8) Published in 1785.
Which term describes the British need to “civilize” Indians?
a) Orientalism
b) Utilitarianism
c) White Man’s Burden
d) Humanism
✅ Answer: c) White Man’s Burden
👉 (NCERT Class 8) British claimed moral responsibility to reform India.
Who was sent to survey South India in early 19th century?
a) Alexander Cunningham
b) Francis Buchanan
c) Elphinstone
d) John Marshall
✅ Answer: b) Francis Buchanan
👉 (NCERT Class 8) His notes are primary sources for agrarian life.
Which modern European traveler described India as a “textbook of degeneration”?
a) James Mill
b) Bernier
c) Vincent Smith
d) Macaulay
✅ Answer: a) James Mill
👉 (NCERT Class 8) His History of British India was critical of pre-British rule.

Predicted MCQs (31–50)

Who led the Great Trigonometrical Survey after Lambton?
a) Vincent Smith
b) Andrew Waugh
c) George Everest
d) William Jones
✅ Answer: c) George Everest
👉 (Lucent GK) The famous Mt. Everest is named after him.
What was William Digby known for?
a) Surveying rivers
b) Chronicling famines
c) Sanskrit grammar
d) Translation
✅ Answer: b) Chronicling famines
👉 (Drishti) Wrote on British mismanagement during famines.
The title ‘Father of Indian Archaeology’ goes to:
a) James Mill
b) Alexander Cunningham
c) John Marshall
d) Charles Wilkins
✅ Answer: b) Alexander Cunningham
👉 (Drishti) Initiated systematic excavations of Buddhist sites.
The first complete census of British India was conducted in:
a) 1865
b) 1871
c) 1881
d) 1891
✅ Answer: c) 1881
👉 (Lucent) Standardized questions and demographic categories.
‘A History of British India’ criticized Indian culture as:
a) Barbaric
b) Childish
c) Civilized
d) Superior
✅ Answer: b) Childish
👉 (Drishti) James Mill justified British rule as reformative.
Which orientalist believed Sanskrit to be older than Latin or Greek?
a) Max Müller
b) Charles Wilkins
c) William Jones
d) Francis Buchanan
✅ Answer: c) William Jones
👉 (Spectrum) Advocated comparative linguistics.
Valentine Chirol visited India as a:
a) Journalist
b) Soldier
c) Missionary
d) Governor
✅ Answer: a) Journalist
👉 (Drishti) Known for anti-nationalist editorials in early 1900s.
George Everest's contribution was mainly in:
a) Ethnography
b) Linguistics
c) Cartography
d) Journalism
✅ Answer: c) Cartography
👉 (Lucent) Carried forward Indian topographical surveys.
The first European to translate Bhagavad Gita into Latin:
a) William Jones
b) Wilkins
c) Charles Schlegel
d) August Wilhelm
✅ Answer: c) Charles Schlegel
👉 (Predicted) Pioneered comparative religious studies.
Which traveler criticized caste rigidity in 19th-century India?
a) James Mill
b) Max Müller
c) Vincent Smith
d) Al-Biruni
✅ Answer: a) James Mill
👉 (Lucent) Used caste as justification for British reforms.
Who among these was not a traveler but an administrator-scholar?
a) William Jones
b) Alexander Cunningham
c) Bernier
d) James Mill
✅ Answer: d) James Mill
👉 (Spectrum) Wrote from England, never visited India.
‘The Discovery of India’ was a reply to which colonial narrative?
a) Macaulay's Minute
b) James Mill’s history
c) Vincent Smith’s book
d) Colonial census
✅ Answer: b) James Mill’s history
👉 (Predicted) Nehru countered the imperial interpretation.
Which colonial scholar classified Indian society for administrative ease?
a) Macaulay
b) Buchanan
c) Risley
d) Cunningham
✅ Answer: c) Risley
👉 (Drishti) Proposed racial classification in census.
Who prepared first comprehensive gazetteers of India?
a) Buchanan
b) James Tod
c) W.W. Hunter
d) Vincent Smith
✅ Answer: c) W.W. Hunter
👉 (Lucent) Edited Imperial Gazetteer (1881–87).
Bernier compared Indian revenue system with:
a) Roman
b) Ottoman
c) Russian
d) French
✅ Answer: b) Ottoman
👉 (Predicted) Used comparisons to critique Mughal rule.
Which modern visitor admired Indian architecture most?
a) Bernier
b) Paes
c) Tavernier
d) Fergusson
✅ Answer: d) Fergusson
👉 (Drishti) Wrote a history of Indian architecture.
Which traveler documented Sikhism in the 19th century?
a) Cunningham
b) William Moorcroft
c) Macaulay
d) Buchanan
✅ Answer: b) William Moorcroft
👉 (Lucent) Wrote about Sikh power in Punjab.
Macaulay’s reforms were opposed by:
a) Ram Mohan Roy
b) William Jones
c) Orientalists
d) Charles Wilkins
✅ Answer: c) Orientalists
👉 (Drishti) Favored Indian knowledge over English education.
Which traveler came to India after Battle of Plassey?
a) William Jones
b) James Mill
c) Robert Orme
d) Max Müller
✅ Answer: c) Robert Orme
👉 (Predicted) Wrote on Anglo-French conflicts in India.
Which European traveler predicted British rule would decline?
a) Chirol
b) Digby
c) Orme
d) Bernier
✅ Answer: b) William Digby
👉 (Drishti) Warned that British injustice would lead to revolt.