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'Maasir-i-Alamgiri', a Persian history of the reign of Aurangzeb, was written by:
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Answer: Option B — Saqi Mustaid Khan
Detailed Solution
"Maasir-i-Alamgiri", a Persian history of the reign of Aurangzeb (Alamgir), was written by Saqi Mustaid Khan in 1710, shortly after the emperor's death.
About the Maasir-i-Alamgiri:
- It covers the whole reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707).
- It was written at the request of Inayatullah Khan, a former secretary of Aurangzeb, who gave the author access to official records.
- It is based on official documents and the author's own experience at the court.
- It gives the events of the reign year by year, including wars, appointments and orders.
- It describes Aurangzeb's religious policy, including orders for the destruction of temples and the reimposition of the jizya.
- It is regarded as one of the most important sources for Aurangzeb's reign.
- It was translated into English by Jadunath Sarkar.
About the author:
- He served at the court of Aurangzeb for many years as a clerk and secretary.
- Why was it needed?
- Aurangzeb stopped the official history of his reign after the first ten years, as he did not want his deeds to be recorded in this way.
- So, Maasir-i-Alamgiri filled the gap for the later years of his reign.
Other sources on Aurangzeb's reign:
- "Alamgirnama": by Muhammad Kazim, covering the first ten years.
- "Muntakhab-ul-Lubab": by Khafi Khan, written secretly, as history writing was discouraged.
- "Futuhat-i-Alamgiri": by Ishwardas Nagar, a Hindu writer of Gujarat.
- Accounts by European travellers, such as Bernier and Manucci.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Khafi Khan, Bhimsen Saxena and Ishwardas Nagar wrote other works.
Quick tip
Remember: Maasir-i-Alamgiri = Saqi Mustaid Khan (1710; whole reign of Aurangzeb; translated by Jadunath Sarkar); Alamgirnama = Muhammad Kazim (first ten years).
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.