Question

Which of the given statements is/are correct?
A) During the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq, Timur( Timurlang ) , a central Asian Turk, invaded India and sacked Delhi.
B) The dynasty founded by Khizr Khan, Timur’s nominee, is known as the Sayyid dynasty because Khizr Khan was a descendant of the prophet.
C) Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
D) Neither ‘A’ nor ‘B’

Answer 1

Hint: Timur was a devout muslim who alleged Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud of Delhi, his co-religionist of being too lenient toward the Hindu subjects of his state. Sayyid is an honorific title identifying the people accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through the sons of Muhammad's daughter Fatimah- Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) In 1398 Timur, the Mongol-Turkish ruler of Central Asia, found a pretext to strike south into India from his capital at Samarkand. Timur unleashed his ferocious warriors upon Delhi in a spree of massacre from which the city took a century to recover. Hence, this statement is correct.

Option B) A 15th Century Indian chronicler, Yahya Sirhindi mentions in his book Takhrikh-i-Mubarak Shahi that Khizr Khan was a descendant of prophet Muhammad. Members of the dynasty derived their title, Sayyid based on a claim that they belonged to the lineage of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad through his daughter Fatima. Hence, this statement is correct.

Option C) It is true as both statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ are correct.

Option D) This option is incorrect because one of the options above is correct.

Thus, the correct answer is Option C.

Note: Khizr Khan established the Sayyid dynasty by capturing Delhi in 1414. Out of respect, Khizr Khan did not take up the title of Sultan and continued to rule on behalf of Timur, and later his son Shah Rukh. The basis of Yahya Sirhindi’s conclusions are considered insubstantial, the first being a casual recognition by Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari, a famous saint of Uch Sharif and secondly the noble character of Khizr Khan which distinguished him as a descendant of the Prophet.