UPSC Prelims 2023 GS Paper I · Q49 of 98 History medium

Who among the following rulers of medieval Gujarat surrendered Diu to Portuguese?

  1. (a) Ahmad Shah
  2. (b) Mahmud Begarha
  3. (c) Bahadur Shah ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) Muhammad Shah

Why the answer is (c)

• Bahadur Shah of Gujarat (1526–1537), hard pressed by Humayun's invasion in 1535, sought Portuguese help and by the Treaty of Bassein ceded the island of Diu, allowing them to build a fort there — option (c).

• He later tried to recover Diu and was killed aboard a Portuguese ship in 1537 during negotiations.

• Ahmad Shah founded Ahmedabad (1411); Mahmud Begarha (1458–1511) fought the Portuguese at Chaul and Diu in alliance with Egypt; Muhammad Shah was an earlier sultan.

• Diu remained Portuguese until 1961.

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Ahmad Shah
Ahmad Shah ruled a century before the Portuguese arrived.
(b) Mahmud Begarha
Mahmud Begarha fought the Portuguese; he did not cede Diu.
(d) Muhammad Shah
Muhammad Shah was not the ruler who surrendered Diu.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023, held on 28 May 2023. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free