RAS question
The Diwan-i-Khas at the Red Fort, Delhi, had the famous inscription:
Correct answer: (B) 'If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this'.
The Diwan-i-Khas at the Red Fort, Delhi, is associated with the famous line attributed to Amir Khusrau: "If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this."
Explanation
The answer is the famous Persian couplet attributed to Amir Khusrau, which means in English: "If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this." The Diwan-i-Khas was the Red Fort's Hall of Private Audience, where Shahjahan met courtiers and state guests. The Archaeological Survey of India describes it as a highly ornamented pillared hall, with a flat ceiling resting on engrailed arches, floral pietra dura panels on the lower piers, and upper portions that were originally gilded and painted. The line is inscribed below the cornice on arches at the ends of the northern and southern walls. The hall's rich decoration shows why the paradise couplet became associated with it: the building represented the refined courtly architecture of Shahjahan's reign. It is not a general religious, administrative, moral, justice-related, or knowledge-related maxim; therefore, option B is correct.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) "God is great" is a generic religious formula, whereas the arches of the Diwan-i-Khas bear the specific paradise couplet attributed to Amir Khusrau.
- (C) "Justice is the foundation of kingship" is a general statement about kingship and justice, whereas the question asks for the famous paradise couplet inscribed in the Diwan-i-Khas.
- (D) "Knowledge is power" is a modern aphorism and is not the line associated with the Diwan-i-Khas; the hall is linked to the paradise couplet.
Concept
This question tests Mughal architecture and court culture, especially the identification of Shahjahan's royal buildings, their inscriptions, and their symbolic language. RAS repeatedly asks monument-ruler-inscription matches because they connect art history and political authority with facts recorded in historical sources.