SSC
'My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan' was written by:
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Answer: Option A — Sir Mortimer Wheeler
Detailed Solution
"My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan" was written by the British archaeologist Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler (R. E. M. Wheeler) and published in 1976.
About the book:
- It describes Wheeler's years in South Asia, when he served as Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1944 to 1948, and his later work as archaeological adviser to the Government of Pakistan.
- It covers his excavations and his efforts to train Indian archaeologists in modern scientific methods.
About Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1890-1976):
He introduced the "Wheeler method" (or grid method) of excavation, which uses square trenches separated by unexcavated baulks to record soil layers (stratigraphy) carefully.
In India and Pakistan, he excavated important sites such as:
- Arikamedu (near Puducherry): an Indo-Roman trading port, where he found Roman pottery.
- Taxila: an ancient city in present-day Pakistan.
- Harappa (1946): where he excavated the fortification and the "granary".
- Brahmagiri (Karnataka): a megalithic site.
- Mohenjo-daro (1950): where he excavated the citadel.
- He proposed the theory that the Indus Valley Civilisation was destroyed by invading Aryans ("Indra stands accused"), a view later rejected by most historians.
- He wrote "The Indus Civilization" (1953), "Still Digging" (his autobiography, 1955) and "Civilizations of the Indus Valley and Beyond".
- He became famous in Britain through the television quiz programme "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?"
Other archaeologists linked to India:
- Alexander Cunningham: first Director-General of the ASI (founded 1861); "Father of Indian Archaeology".
- Sir John Marshall: Director-General of the ASI (1902-1928) who announced the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation in 1924.
- Daya Ram Sahni: excavated Harappa (1921).
- D. Banerji: excavated Mohenjo-daro (1922).
Why not the other options?
- ✗John Marshall announced the Indus Valley discovery in 1924.
- ✗Alexander Cunningham was the first Director-General of the ASI.
- ✗D. Banerji excavated Mohenjo-daro in 1922.
Quick tip
Remember: Mortimer Wheeler = DG of ASI 1944-48; excavated Arikamedu, Taxila, Harappa, Brahmagiri; Wheeler grid method; "My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan" and "Still Digging".
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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.