UPSC Prelims 1999 · General Studies
Question 27: History and Culture
Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?
AnswerThe answer is (b).
Sir Thomas Roe was the English ambassador at the court of Jahangir (1615-18), not Akbar's. So Akbar-Roe is the wrongly matched pair. The other pairs are right: William Hawkins came to Jahangir's court in 1608, Tavernier was a French traveller who visited India in the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, and Manucci, an Italian, served at the Mughal court under Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. Remember: Hawkins and Roe were both Jahangir's English visitors.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) A correct pair as printed: Hawkins reached Jahangir's court in 1608. It does not fit a 'not correctly matched' stem.
- (b) The mismatched pair: Roe was at Jahangir's court, not Akbar's.
- (c) A correct pair as printed: Tavernier travelled in India in Shah Jahan's time, among others.
- (d) A correct pair as printed: Manucci served under Dara Shikoh and later at Aurangzeb's court.
Worth knowing: As worded the question asks for the correctly matched pair, but only (b) is wrongly matched, so the question was probably meant as 'not correctly matched', which fits (b).
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1999, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.