Question

Which Mughal emperor was a great musician, a great patron of Hindustani music and was popularly known as Rangila?
A. Bahadur Shah I
B. Bahadur Shah II
C. Muhammad Shah
D. Ahmad Shah

Answer 1

Hint: He is the ruler who ascended the throne at the age of 17 with the support of the Sayyid brothers. He was imprisoned by his uncle Jahandar Shah when he was 12 after his father passed away in the war. It is said he fostered culture almost at the cost of his administrative duties.

Complete answer: Option A. He was the $7^{th}$ Mughal emperor and was the son of Aurangzeb. He was also known as Shah Alam. He is the only Mughal ruler who used the title, Sayyid, which was usually used by the descendants of the Prophet.
Option B. Popularly known as Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862)he was the last Mughal ruler who was reduced to a puppet during the independence struggle. He was exiled to Burma, known as Myanmar in the present day.
Option C. He was sometimes called Bahadur Shah Rangeela (1702-1748) after his grandfather, Bahadur Shah I. His birth name was Roshan Akhtar. While he was a great patron of the arts, his reign saw the Empire decline irreversibly. He reintroduced Qawwali.
Option D. Ahamd Shah (1389-1442) ruled over Gujarat and was a part of the Muzaffarid dynasty (founded by Zafar Khan) for a year before his demise. He founded the city of Ahmedabad.
Therefore, option C is correct.

Note: He employed revered artists such as Chitarman and Nidha Mal. It was during his reign that the court language shifted from Persian to Urdu. Even the Quran was translated for the first time.