With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements: 1. The first Mongol invasion of India happened during the reign of Jalal-ud-din Khalji. 2. During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji, one Mongol assault marched up to Delhi and besieged the city. 3. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq temporarily lost portions of north-west of his kingdom to Mongols. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: B. Only Statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is WRONG. The FIRST MONGOL INVASION of India happened during the reign of BALBAN (Mamluk Sultan, 1266-1287 CE), NOT Jalal-ud-din Khalji. Mongols raided Punjab during Balban's reign multiple times; Balban built a chain of forts along the northwest frontier to counter them. Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1290-1296) reigned later and also faced Mongol incursions but was not the first to. Statement 2 is CORRECT. During Ala-ud-din Khalji's reign (1296-1316), the Mongol assault under TARGHI (1303) marched all the way to DELHI and besieged the city. Ala-ud-din was trapped inside the Siri Fort and stayed there. The Mongols eventually withdrew due to logistical pressures. Ala-ud-din thereafter built strong defences and military commanders like Zafar Khan defeated subsequent Mongol incursions. Statement 3 is WRONG. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325-1351) did NOT lose territories to the Mongols. The Mongol threat by his time had subsided. His difficulties were internal (currency, Deccan policy, Daulatabad shift). Some northwest territories were lost but not to Mongols in the classical sense. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part II.