CAPF AC 2021 Q86: Medieval History – Mughal Empire
- (a) 1, 2 and 4
- (b) 1, 2 and 3
- (c) 2, 3 and 4
- (d) 3 and 4 only
Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 3
Explanation
Akbar's capitals
How to think: follow the capital as it moves: Agra → Fatehpur Sikri → Lahore → Agra.
The trap is the year 1585.
In 1585 the capital went to Lahore, not back to Agra.
| Statement | Verdict | Fact (NCERT) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. In the 1560s Akbar had the Fort of Agra constructed | Correct | Built of red sandstone from 1565 |
| 2. In the 1570s he decided to build a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri | Correct | Sikri lay on the road to Ajmer |
| 3. He commissioned a white marble tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti at Sikri | Correct | Next to the Friday mosque |
| 4. In 1585 he shifted the capital back to Agra | Wrong | In 1585 the capital was transferred to Lahore to control the north-west |
So statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct.
Note: the bank earlier carried key (c); statement 4 is false, so the key is corrected to (b).
Answer: (b) 1, 2 and 3.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. It includes 4; in 1585 the capital moved to Lahore.
- (b) CORRECT. Statements 1, 2 and 3 are true; only 4 is false.
- (c) Incorrect. It includes 4 and leaves out 1, the building of Agra Fort.
- (d) Incorrect. It includes 4 and leaves out two true statements.
Key point
Akbar's capitals: Agra (fort built in the 1560s) → Fatehpur Sikri (1570s; Buland Darwaza, tomb of Salim Chishti) → Lahore (1585, to watch the north-west) → Agra (1598). Shah Jahan later moved it to Shahjahanabad in 1648.
Remember
1585: Akbar's capital moved to Lahore.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the capital went straight back to Agra when Sikri was given up.
- Thinking the marble tomb of Salim Chishti was built by Jahangir or Shah Jahan.
- Dating Agra Fort to Shah Jahan, who only added the marble buildings inside it.
Exam tip
Educated guess: statements 1, 2 and 3 are plain building facts. Statement 4 gives an exact year and a direction (back to Agra), the kind of detail an examiner changes.
Sources
- NCERT Class XII History — Themes in Indian History Part II, Chapter 9: Kings and Chronicles (capitals and courts)
- NCERT Class VII History — Our Pasts II, Chapter 5: Rulers and Buildings