Who among the following emperors was called 'Qalandar'?
20172021
Who among the following emperors was called 'Qalandar'?
- A.
Akbar
- B.
Humayun
- C.
Shahjahan
- D.
Babur
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Beyond the formal regnal titles of the Mughal emperors, medieval chronicles and later historical writing also record personal epithets tied to an individual ruler's own temperament, habits, or self-description, separate from any title of political authority. 'Qalandar' specifically denotes a wandering, ascetic Sufi mendicant who renounces worldly comfort, and this word could be attached to a ruler whose own conduct evoked that image.
Babur (reigned 1526-1530), the founder of the Mughal dynasty, is recorded by historians as having carried the epithet 'Qalandar', linked to his generosity and to the restless, itinerant years he spent moving between Central Asian principalities as a dispossessed Timurid prince before he finally established power in Hindustan, as well as the simple, soldierly habits he kept even after becoming emperor.
Akbar is remembered chiefly for his administrative and religious innovations (including the syncretic faith he promoted), not for this epithet.
Humayun is remembered for his years of exile and his reconquest of the throne, a different biographical fact, and not the basis for this epithet.
Shah Jahan is remembered above all for his architectural patronage, most famously the Taj Mahal, an association unrelated to this epithet.
This is corroborated by the matching UPTET Paper 2 official item (asked in both the 2017 and 2021 papers), which keys the same answer, confirming that among the four rulers offered, Babur alone is the historically and exam-verified holder of the 'Qalandar' epithet.