Which of the following is not correctly matched?
- (a)Gulbadan Begum – Daughter of Babur
- (b)Iltutmish – Father of Razia
- (c)Hamida Banu Begum – Wife of Allaudin Khilji
- (d)Shah Turkan – Wife of Iltutmish
Correct — C is the wrong (mismatched) pair. Hamida Banu Begum was the wife of the Mughal emperor Humayun and the mother of Akbar — she has no connection with Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate (who ruled 1296-1316, more than two centuries earlier). The pairing 'Hamida Banu Begum – Wife of Alauddin Khilji' is therefore incorrect, which is exactly what the question asks for.
- (a)Gulbadan Begum – Daughter of Babur — Correctly matched, so not the answer. Gulbadan Begum was a daughter of Babur and author of the Humayun-Nama, an account of Humayun's reign.
- (b)Iltutmish – Father of Razia — Correctly matched, so not the answer. Iltutmish (Slave/Mamluk dynasty) nominated his daughter Razia as his successor; she became Razia Sultan.
- (d)Shah Turkan – Wife of Iltutmish — Correctly matched, so not the answer. Shah Turkan was a wife of Iltutmish and mother of Ruknuddin Firuz, who briefly succeeded Iltutmish.
This 'odd pair out' question mixes two different eras: the Delhi Sultanate (Iltutmish and his family; Alauddin Khilji) and the Mughals (Babur's and Humayun's households). Fixing each woman to the right ruler is the whole task. Hamida Banu Begum belongs firmly to the Mughal household — Humayun's wife and Akbar's mother — not to the Khilji Sultanate.
The trap is that all four names are genuine historical figures, so a shared 'Begum'/Sultanate flavour can mislead. Anchor Hamida Banu Begum to Humayun/Akbar and the Khilji clue immediately looks wrong; the other three (Gulbadan–Babur, Iltutmish–Razia, Shah Turkan–Iltutmish) are standard textbook pairings.
- Hamida Banu Begum = wife of Humayun and mother of Akbar (NOT linked to Alauddin Khilji).
- Gulbadan Begum = daughter of Babur; author of the Humayun-Nama.
- Iltutmish (Slave/Mamluk dynasty) nominated his daughter Razia as successor.
- Shah Turkan = a wife of Iltutmish and mother of Ruknuddin Firuz.
- Confusing the Delhi Sultanate era (Iltutmish, Khiljis) with the Mughal era (Babur, Humayun, Akbar).
- Assuming any 'Begum' belongs to whichever ruler is named nearby.
UPPSC/UPSC set 'which pair is NOT correctly matched' or 'match the ruler with his queen/relative' — memorise the family links: Babur-Gulbadan, Humayun-Hamida Banu, Iltutmish-Razia/Shah Turkan.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The author of the Humayun-Nama, a biography of Emperor Humayun, was:
- (a)Gulbadan Begum
- (b)Hamida Banu Begum
- (c)Nur Jahan
- (d)Jahanara Begum
Answer(a) Gulbadan Begum — Babur's daughter, who wrote the Humayun-Nama.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was the mother of the Mughal emperor Akbar?
- (a)Ruqaiya Sultan Begum
- (b)Hamida Banu Begum
- (c)Maham Anga
- (d)Mariam-uz-Zamani
Answer(b) Hamida Banu Begum — wife of Humayun and mother of Akbar.