Maharashtra History GK Questions and Answers

Q1:  In which year was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj crowned as king at Raigad Fort?
Answer: 1674

Q2:  Which fort is the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?
Answer: Shivneri Fort

Q3:  Maharashtra state was formed as a separate state on which date?
Answer: 1 May 1960

Q4:  Who was the first Peshwa (Prime Minister) appointed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?
Answer: Moropant Trimbak Pingle

Q5:  In which battle did Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj defeat Afzal Khan?
Answer: Battle of Pratapgad

Q6:  The Third Battle of Panipat, in which the Marathas suffered a major defeat, was fought in which year?
Answer: 1761

Q7:  In which year did Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj pass away?
Answer: 1680

Q8:  The famous Kailasa Temple at Ellora Caves was built under the patronage of which dynasty?
Answer: Rashtrakuta dynasty

Q9:  The later phase of the Ajanta Caves is primarily associated with which dynasty?
Answer: Vakataka dynasty

Q10:  Pratishthan (present-day Paithan) served as the capital of which ancient dynasty?
Answer: Satavahana dynasty

Q11:  Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad) was the capital of which medieval dynasty?
Answer: Yadava dynasty

Q12:  The Bahamani Sultanate, which included parts of present-day Maharashtra, was founded by whom?
Answer: Ala-ud-Din Hasan Bahman Shah

Q13:  Peshwa Bajirao I is historically noted for which achievement?
Answer: Never losing a battle in his lifetime

Q14:  Vasudev Balwant Phadke is regarded as the father of which movement in India?
Answer: Indian Armed Rebellion

Q15:  Which famous slogan is associated with Bal Gangadhar Tilak?
Answer: Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it

Q16:  Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a prominent leader from Maharashtra, founded which organization?
Answer: Servants of India Society

Q17:  The Samyukta Maharashtra Movement primarily demanded which of the following?
Answer: A separate Marathi-speaking state

Q18:  Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Shivaji Maharaj, was executed on the orders of which Mughal emperor?
Answer: Aurangzeb

Q19:  After Sambhaji Maharaj's execution, Rajaram Chhatrapati shifted his base to which fort to continue the resistance against the Mughals?
Answer: Jinji Fort

Q20:  The Treaty of Bassein, signed between Peshwa Baji Rao II and the British East India Company, took place in which year?
Answer: 1802

Q21:  Which Maratha ruler is credited with laying the foundation of the Hindavi Swarajya (self-rule)?
Answer: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Q22:  The Ashtapradhan was a council of how many ministers established by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?
Answer: Eight

Q23:  Which naval chief (Sarkhel) is credited with strengthening the Maratha navy along the Konkan coast?
Answer: Kanhoji Angre

Q24:  Tanaji Malusare is remembered for his heroic role in which battle?
Answer: Battle of Sinhagad

Q25:  The Treaty of Purandar in 1665 was signed between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and which Mughal general?
Answer: Jai Singh I

Q26:  Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's famous escape from Agra, where he had been held by Aurangzeb, took place in which year?
Answer: 1666

Q27:  Which historical fort served as the site of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's coronation as Chhatrapati?
Answer: Raigad Fort

Q28:  Malik Ambar, known for his guerrilla warfare tactics against the Mughals, was a regent of which sultanate?
Answer: Ahmadnagar Sultanate

Q29:  Ahilyabai Holkar, known for her welfare administration, ruled which Maratha princely state?
Answer: Indore State

Q30:  The Battle of Khadki (Kirkee) in 1817, part of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, was fought near which present-day Maharashtra city?
Answer: Pune

Q31:  Peshwa Baji Rao II's defeat in 1818 marked the end of which office/institution?
Answer: The Peshwaship

Q32:  Jyotirao Phule, a social reformer from Maharashtra, founded which organization in 1873?
Answer: Satyashodhak Samaj

Q33:  Which social reformer from Maharashtra is known as the founder of the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay?
Answer: Atmaram Pandurang

Q34:  Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade was closely associated with and served as a major guide to which socio-political organization in Pune?
Answer: Poona Sarvajanik Sabha

Q35:  Bal Gangadhar Tilak started which two newspapers to spread nationalist ideas?
Answer: Kesari and Maratha

Q36:  Bal Gangadhar Tilak began observing which Hindu festival publicly to unite people against British rule?
Answer: Ganesh Chaturthi

Q37:  Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur is widely known for promoting which social cause?
Answer: Reservation for backward classes

Q38:  The Chapekar brothers, revolutionaries from Maharashtra, were executed for the assassination of which British official?
Answer: W.C. Rand

Q39:  The state of Bombay was bifurcated to form Maharashtra and Gujarat under which Act?
Answer: Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960

Q40:  Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, a social reformer and educationist, co-founded which institution along with Tilak?
Answer: Deccan Education Society

Q41:  Bombay was transferred to the British Crown in 1661 as part of the dowry for the marriage of Catherine of Braganza to which English king?
Answer: Charles II

Q42:  Who commanded the Maratha army as commander-in-chief at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761?
Answer: Sadashivrao Bhau

Q43:  The Treaty of Salbai (1782), which ended the First Anglo-Maratha War, was largely negotiated through the efforts of which Maratha chief?
Answer: Mahadji Scindia

Q44:  The Battle of Assaye (1803), where Arthur Wellesley defeated Maratha forces, was part of which conflict?
Answer: Second Anglo-Maratha War

Q45:  After the death of Chhatrapati Rajaram, who acted as regent and continued the resistance against Aurangzeb on behalf of her minor son?
Answer: Tarabai

Q46:  Malhar Rao Holkar is known as the founder of which Maratha dynasty, later ruled by Ahilyabai Holkar?
Answer: Holkar dynasty

Q47:  Pandita Ramabai founded the Sharada Sadan in Pune/Bombay as a residential institution mainly to support which section of society?
Answer: Widows

Q48:  Savitribai Phule is recognized as India's first female teacher, having opened a school for girls in Pune in which year?
Answer: 1848

Q49:  Mountstuart Elphinstone, as Governor of Bombay, is best remembered for his role in which of the following?
Answer: Promoting education

Q50:  Chimaji Appa, brother of Peshwa Bajirao I, led the Maratha campaign that captured Vasai (Bassein) from which colonial power in 1739?
Answer: Portuguese

Q51:  The Peshwas made which city their capital, where they built the famous Shaniwar Wada?
Answer: Pune

Q52:  Shaniwar Wada, the historic seat of the Peshwas in Pune, was built by which Peshwa?
Answer: Bajirao I

Q53:  The Battle of Palkhed (1728), a major victory for Peshwa Bajirao I, was fought against which ruler?
Answer: Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad

Q54:  Nana Fadnavis served as the chief administrator of the Maratha confederacy during the minority of which Peshwa?
Answer: Sawai Madhavrao (Madhavrao II)

Q55:  Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's famous escape from the siege of Panhala Fort in 1660 was made possible with the help of a lookalike named:
Answer: Shiva Kashid

Q56:  Elphinstone College, one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai, was established in which year?
Answer: 1856

Q57:  Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, regarded as the father of modern Marathi prose, is best known for publishing which influential periodical?
Answer: Nibandhamala

Q58:  Bal Gangadhar Tilak was imprisoned for six years (1908-1914) on charges of sedition and sent to which distant jail?
Answer: Mandalay Jail

Q59:  Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded the Indian Home Rule League in which year?
Answer: 1916

Q60:  Gopal Krishna Gokhale was regarded by Mahatma Gandhi as his:
Answer: Political guru

Q61:  The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded in Nagpur in 1925 by whom?
Answer: K. B. Hedgewar

Q62:  Vinayak Damodar Savarkar spent many years of internal exile under British surveillance in which coastal Maharashtra town?
Answer: Ratnagiri

Q63:  Who is regarded as the last Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, deposed by the British in 1818?
Answer: Baji Rao II

Q64:  The Koregaon Bhima memorial (Jaystambh), built by the British, commemorates a battle fought on which date?
Answer: 1 January 1818

Q65:  Which coastal territory in present-day western India remained under Portuguese colonial control for over four centuries, distinct from most of Maharashtra?
Answer: Goa

Q66:  Most of present-day Maharashtra was administered under which major British colonial division before independence?
Answer: Bombay Presidency

Q67:  Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's mother, who played an important role in his upbringing, was named:
Answer: Jijabai

Q68:  Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is traditionally said to have received spiritual guidance from which saint, popularly regarded (though historically debated) as his guru?
Answer: Samarth Ramdas

Q69:  The Treaty of Wadgaon (1779) was signed after Maratha forces defeated British troops during which conflict?
Answer: First Anglo-Maratha War

Q70:  Which Peshwa is credited with expanding Maratha power to its greatest extent through victories such as Palkhed and Bhopal?
Answer: Bajirao I

Q71:  Which hereditary landholding system was prevalent in parts of the Deccan and involved hereditary rights to land?
Answer: Mirasdari system

Q72:  Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's administration collected two main taxes from neighbouring territories known as Chauth and which other levy?
Answer: Sardeshmukhi

Q73:  Baji Prabhu Deshpande is remembered for sacrificing his life while defending the retreat of Shivaji Maharaj at which mountain pass?
Answer: Pawan Khind

Q74:  Sant Tukaram, a revered Bhakti-era poet-saint from Maharashtra, is best known for composing devotional verses called:
Answer: Abhang

Q75:  Sant Dnyaneshwar is best known for authoring which influential commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, written in Marathi?
Answer: Dnyaneshwari

Q76:  The Warkari sect, a devotional Bhakti tradition centered on Lord Vitthal, holds its major pilgrimage annually to which town?
Answer: Pandharpur

Q77:  Which medieval saint, associated with Paithan, is remembered for writing the Eknathi Bhagwat and for promoting social reform against untouchability?
Answer: Sant Eknath

Q78:  The Deccan Riots of 1875, an agrarian uprising in Maharashtra, were directed mainly against which group of creditors?
Answer: Moneylenders (Sahukars)

Q79:  The Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act, aimed at protecting indebted farmers, was enacted by the British in which year?
Answer: 1879

Q80:  Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar led the Mahad Satyagraha in 1927 in Maharashtra to assert the right of Dalits to do what?
Answer: Draw water from a public tank

Q81:  Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar led the Kalaram Temple Satyagraha in 1930 in which Maharashtra city to demand temple entry for Dalits?
Answer: Nashik

Q82:  Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar founded which political party in 1936 to represent labour and depressed classes?
Answer: Independent Labour Party

Q83:  Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, along with thousands of followers, converted to Buddhism in Nagpur in which year?
Answer: 1956

Q84:  The Quit India Movement of 1942 was formally launched by the Indian National Congress in which city, now in Maharashtra?
Answer: Bombay (Mumbai)

Q85:  The Quit India Movement of 1942 was launched from which historic ground in Bombay, now known as August Kranti Maidan?
Answer: Gowalia Tank Maidan

Q86:  The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 1946, which began in Bombay, was a significant event contributing to which broader development?
Answer: Indian independence movement's final phase

Q87:  Senapati Bapat, a freedom fighter from Maharashtra, is remembered for leading the movement against which dam project?
Answer: Mulshi dam

Q88:  The Samyukta Maharashtra Movement led to the formation of the state of Maharashtra on which date?
Answer: 1 May 1960

Q89:  Who served as the first Chief Minister of the newly formed state of Maharashtra in 1960?
Answer: Yashwantrao Chavan

Q90:  The historic Panipat campaigns aside, which Maratha general is credited with extending Maratha influence into Bengal through repeated invasions known as the Bargi raids?
Answer: Raghuji Bhonsle I

Q91:  Raghuji Bhonsle I founded which Maratha princely state centered around Nagpur?
Answer: Nagpur State

Q92:  Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj commissioned the Rajyavyavahar Kosh to replace which language's administrative terminology with Sanskrit-derived Marathi equivalents?
Answer: Persian

Q93:  Netaji Palkar, a trusted general of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, held the position of Senapati (Sarnaubat) — the commander-in-chief responsible for which of the following?
Answer: Overall command of the Maratha army

Q94:  Vijaydurg Fort, an important stronghold of the Maratha navy on the Konkan coast, is also historically known by which alternate name given by the British?
Answer: Gheria

Q95:  Sindhudurg Fort, built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a key naval base, is located on the coast of which present-day Maharashtra district?
Answer: Sindhudurg district

Q96:  Murud-Janjira Fort, an island fortress that remained unconquered by both the Marathas and Portuguese, was ruled by which dynasty?
Answer: Siddi dynasty

Q97:  The Maratha campaign led by Chimaji Appa that captured the fort of Vasai (Bassein) from the Portuguese concluded in which year?
Answer: 1739

Q98:  Vithoba (Vitthal) temple worship, central to the Warkari tradition, is most closely linked with the pilgrim town of Pandharpur located on the banks of which river?
Answer: Bhima River

Q99:  The princely state of Kolhapur, ruled by a separate branch of the Bhosale dynasty, was established under Shivaji II following a succession struggle with which Satara ruler?
Answer: Shahu I

Q100:  Acharya Vinoba Bhave, born in Maharashtra and known as the spiritual successor of Gandhi, launched which land-reform movement?
Answer: Bhoodan Movement