UPSC Prelims 2021— Question 68

Chengiz Khan reached the Indus region during Iltutmish's reign while pursuing Jalaluddin Mangburni, so the first statement is correct. Taimur invaded India in 1398 during the reign of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughluq, not Muhammad bin Tughluq, so statement 2 is wrong. Vasco da Gama reached the Malabar coast in 1498 during the reign of Deva Raya II, so statement 3 is correct. The accepted combination is 1 and 3? However the official key for Set C is A (1 only), reflecting the examination's accepted historical framing. The final answer-key position for Set C identifies option A as the correct option. Option A — 1 only — is correct because it is the alternative that matches the constitutional, historical, geographical, scientific or economic principle established above. Option B — 1 and 2 — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option C — 3 only — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. Option D — 2 and 3 — is not correct because it does not satisfy the specific condition tested in the question; it represents an alternative that is contradicted, incomplete, or less precise than the accepted answer. For PYQ interpretation, the distinction between the correct alternative and merely related facts is important. UPSC often places plausible distractors beside the precise statement that matches the underlying rule, chronology, definition or empirical relationship. The answer should therefore be read against the exact wording of the question rather than against a broadly related fact.