Question

Match List-I with List-II:

List-I (Incident/ Characteristics)	List-II (Traveller)
(A) He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage, but gradually developed a liking for this city	(I) Al-Biruni
(B) He reached Sind in 1333 and was later appointed as the qazi of Delhi	(II) François Bernier
(C) Physician to Prince Dara Shukoh	(III) Ibn Battuta
(D) Wrote a detailed account of trade and society in South India	(IV) Duarte Barbosa

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• (A) - (I), (B) - (II), (C) - (III), (D) - (IV)
• (A) - (I), (B) - (III), (C) - (II), (D) - (IV)
• (A) - (I), (B) - (II), (C) - (IV), (D) - (III)
• (A) - (III), (B) - (IV), (C) - (I), (D) - (II)

Hint:

Associate each traveler with their patron or the ruler of their time: Al-Biruni with Mahmud of Ghazni, Ibn Battuta with Muhammad bin Tughlaq, and Bernier with the later Mughals (Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question requires matching prominent foreign travelers to medieval India with key events or characteristics associated with their lives and writings.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation and Matching:

(A) He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage...: When his homeland of Khwarizm was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017, (I) Al-Biruni was taken to Ghazni as a hostage. It was from there that he developed his interest in India and accompanied Mahmud's raids.
(B) He reached Sind in 1333 and was later appointed as the qazi of Delhi: The Moroccan traveler (III) Ibn Battuta reached Sind in 1333. He traveled to Delhi where the Sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, was impressed by his scholarship and appointed him the \textit{qazi} (judge) of Delhi.
(C) Physician to Prince Dara Shukoh: The French traveler (II) François Bernier came to India in the mid-17th century and worked for several years as a physician to Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
(D) Wrote a detailed account of trade and society in South India: The Portuguese writer and official (IV) Duarte Barbosa traveled to India in the early 16th century. He wrote a detailed account of the trade, social customs, and political systems of South India, including a valuable description of the Vijayanagara Empire.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct pairings are: A-I, B-III, C-II, and D-IV. This corresponds to option (2).