UPSC Prelims 2018 History and Culture questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2018 asked 22 history questions in GS Paper I, spread over 6 topics. See the history weightage for 2018 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
History and Culture 2018: questions by topic
- Buddhism, Jainism and other sects2
- Medieval India: Sultanate, Vijayanagara, Mughals, Marathas; Bhakti and Sufi1
- Reform movements, 1857, tribal and peasant revolts, early nationalism (to 1919)9
- Gandhian era to Independence; constitutional development5
- Architecture and sculpture1
- Painting, performing arts, crafts, literature, philosophy and festivals4
Counted from the 22 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 22 History and Culture questions spread over 6 topics can feel overwhelming. That's exactly why the Battle IAS PYQ Book maps every question topic by topic, so you know what to study first. Download free sample
Buddhism, Jainism and other sects 2
With reference to the religious practices in India, the “Sthanakvasi” sect belongs to
Answer (b) & explanation
The Sthanakvasis belong to Jainism (b). They are a Shvetambara Jain sect that rejects idol worship. They pray in simple halls called sthanakas, not temples, and their monks wear a cloth over the mouth (muhpatti). They grew out of the reform of Lonka Shah in the 15th century, who argued that idol worship was not in the scriptures. The Terapanthis, founded by Acharya Bhikshu in 1760, later split from them. The sect has no link to Buddhism (a), Vaishnavism (c) or Shaivism (d).
Notice the main divide: Digambaras (sky-clad monks) and Shvetambaras (white-clad) split after the Council of Vallabhi fixed the canon. Shvetambara murtipujakas do worship images.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Indian history, who among the following is a future Buddha, yet to come to save the world ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Maitreya is the future Buddha (c). In Buddhist belief, Maitreya is the bodhisattva now living in the Tushita heaven. He will come down to Earth and teach the dharma afresh when Gautama's teaching has been forgotten. Avalokiteshvara (a) is the bodhisattva of compassion. Lokeshvara (b), "lord of the world", is another name for him. Padmapani (d), "lotus in hand", is his form holding a lotus, as in the famous Ajanta Cave 1 painting. None of them is the future Buddha.
Notice the context: bodhisattvas are central to Mahayana Buddhism, which grew under the Kushanas. Other key figures are Manjushri (wisdom) and Vajrapani (power). The Dalai Lama is seen as a form of Avalokiteshvara.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Medieval India: Sultanate, Vijayanagara, Mughals, Marathas; Bhakti and Sufi 1
Which one of the following foreign travellers elaborately discussed about diamonds and diamond mines of India ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier wrote about diamonds (b). Tavernier was a French jewel merchant who made six trips to India between 1640 and 1667. In his Travels, he described the Golconda diamond mines, such as Kollur on the Krishna, along with how they were mined and traded. He sold the large blue "Tavernier Blue" to Louis XIV; it was later recut into the Hope Diamond. Bernier (a) was a doctor who wrote on Mughal politics and argued there was no private land ownership. Thevenot (c) wrote about western and southern India. Carré (d) wrote on politics and French trade.
Notice the famous Golconda diamonds: the Koh-i-Noor and the Daria-i-Noor.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Reform movements, 1857, tribal and peasant revolts, early nationalism (to 1919) 9
He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna; stayed in America for some time; and was also elected to the Central Assembly. He was
Answer (c) & explanation
The person is Lala Lajpat Rai (c). Lala Lajpat Rai wrote Urdu biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna to inspire nationalism. He lived in the USA from 1914 to 1919, where he founded the Indian Home Rule League of America and wrote Young India and Unhappy India. He was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1926. Aurobindo (a) turned to spirituality at Pondicherry. Bipin Chandra Pal (b) went to England, not America. Motilal Nehru (d) led the Swaraj Party in the Assembly but wrote no such biographies.
He was one of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio. He died after a police lathi-charge during the Simon Commission protest in Lahore (1928). Notice his other legacies: Punjab National Bank and the Servants of the People Society.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Regarding Wood’s Dispatch, which of the following statements are true ?
- 1. Grants-in-Aid system was introduced.
- 2. Establishment of universities was recommended.
- 3. English as a medium of instruction at all levels of education was recommended.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 2 are correct (a). Wood's Despatch (1854), sent by Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control, is called the "Magna Carta of English education in India". It introduced grants-in-aid to help private schools (1). It proposed universities on the model of London University (2), and Calcutta, Bombay and Madras universities followed in 1857. Statement 3 is wrong because it wanted English for higher education, but vernacular languages at the school level.
It also set up a separate education department in each province and called for teacher training and women's education. Notice the earlier step, Macaulay's Minute (1835) and the "downward filtration" idea, and the later Hunter Commission (1882) on primary education.
"At all levels" is the trap. Wood's Despatch gave primary education to the vernaculars.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
After the Santhal Uprising subsided, what was/were the measure/measures taken by the colonial government ?
- 1. The territories called ‘Santhal Paraganas’ were created.
- 2. It became illegal for a Santhal to transfer land to a non-Santhal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Both measures followed the revolt (c). The Santhal Hul of 1855–56, led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu (with Chand, Bhairav, Phulo and Jhano), rose against dikus: moneylenders, zamindars and police who grabbed tribal land. After crushing it, the British carved out a separate Santhal Parganas district (1855) under non-regulation rule, with simpler administration through village headmen (1). Later tenancy laws, finally the Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, 1949, made it illegal to transfer Santhal land to non-Santhals (2). So neither "1 only" nor "2 only" is complete.
Notice the pattern: tribal revolts led to protective land laws, like the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act (1908) after Birsa Munda. 30 June is still marked as Hul Diwas in Jharkhand.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Economically, one of the results of the British rule in India in the 19th century was the
Answer (c) & explanation
Commercialisation of agriculture was the key result (c). The British demanded land revenue in cash, and world markets wanted raw materials. So peasants shifted to cash crops such as cotton, jute, indigo, opium, sugarcane and tea. This tied them to market prices, traders and moneylenders, and food crops lost ground, worsening famines. Option (a) is wrong: cheap British machine-made goods ruined Indian handicraft exports (deindustrialisation). Option (b) is wrong: Indian-owned factories were few until late in the century. Option (d) is wrong: old craft towns such as Dhaka and Murshidabad declined, and the urban share of population barely grew.
Notice the link to the Drain of Wealth theory of Dadabhai Naoroji and R.C. Dutt, a favourite Mains theme.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were
Answer (d) & explanation
Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium were the staples (d). In the mid-18th century the Company bought fine cotton cloth (muslins from Dhaka) and raw silk from Bengal. Saltpetre, used for gunpowder, and opium came mainly from Bihar. Opium was later shipped to China to pay for tea, leading to the Opium Wars. Option (a) is wrong because raw cotton and oilseeds became big exports only in the 19th century, when Britain's mills needed raw materials. Option (b) is wrong, as salt was a local monopoly, not an export staple. Option (c) is wrong because the Company brought silver and gold into India to pay for goods, and spices came mainly from the south and Southeast Asia.
Notice the shift: from exporting finished cloth to exporting raw materials.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Option (c) does not apply. Under Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance (from 1798), an Indian ruler had to keep a British force in his state and pay for it, often by giving up territory. This let the Company keep a large army at others' expense (a). He could not employ other Europeans, which shut out the French under Napoleon (b). He had to accept a British Resident and give up his foreign relations, which built British paramountcy (d). A fixed income for the Company was not its stated aim, so (c) is the answer.
Hyderabad (1798) was the first state to sign. Mysore, Awadh and the Peshwa (Treaty of Bassein, 1802) followed. Notice the later tool of expansion, Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following led to the introduction of English Education in India ?
- 1. Charter Act of 1813
- 2. General Committee of Public Instruction, 1823
- 3. Orientalist and Anglicist Controversy
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
All three led to English education (d). The Charter Act of 1813 first made the Company set aside ₹1 lakh a year for education and for promoting knowledge among Indians (1). The General Committee of Public Instruction, set up in 1823, was formed to manage this money (2). Its members split into Orientalists, who wanted Sanskrit and Persian learning, and Anglicists, who wanted Western learning in English (3). The dispute ended with Macaulay's Minute (1835) and Bentinck's resolution making English the medium of higher education. So no option that leaves out a step is complete.
Notice what came next: Wood's Despatch (1854), the "Magna Carta" of Indian education, and the first universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which among the following events happened earliest ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Nil Darpan came first (b). Dinabandhu Mitra wrote the Bengali play Nil Darpan in 1860, exposing the cruelty of indigo planters during the Indigo Revolt (1859–60). Rev. James Long published its English translation and was jailed for it. Satyendranath Tagore (d) became the first Indian to pass the ICS in 1863. Swami Dayanand Saraswati (a) founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875, with the call "Back to the Vedas". Bankim Chandra (c) published Anandamath in 1882, and its song Vande Mataram became the anthem of the freedom struggle. So the order is 1860, 1863, 1875, 1882.
Notice the anniversary: India marked 150 years of Vande Mataram in 2025, since Bankim composed it in 1875.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to educational institutions during colonial rule in India, consider the following pairs :
| Institution | Founder
| 1. Sanskrit College at Benaras | William Jones
| 2. Calcutta Madarsa | Warren Hastings
| 3. Fort William College | Arthur Wellesley
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only pair 2 is correct (b). Pair 1 is wrong because the Sanskrit College at Benares was founded in 1791 by Jonathan Duncan, the British Resident. William Jones founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784). Pair 2 is right because Warren Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781 to study Islamic law and Persian. Pair 3 is wrong because Fort William College (1800) was founded by Governor-General Richard Wellesley to train British officials in Indian languages. Arthur Wellesley, his brother, later became the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon.
These institutions reflect the early Orientalist approach of the Company. Notice how Fort William College helped modern prose in Hindustani and Bengali, through scholars such as John Gilchrist.
Arthur Wellesley was Richard's brother, the later Duke of Wellington. The surname alone does not make pair 3 right.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Gandhian era to Independence; constitutional development 5
In the Federation established by The Government of India Act of 1935, residuary powers were given to the
Answer (b) & explanation
The Governor-General held the residuary powers (b). The Government of India Act, 1935 split subjects into three lists: Federal (59 items), Provincial (54) and Concurrent (36). Residuary powers, covering subjects in none of the lists, went to neither the Federal Legislature (a) nor the Provincial Legislature (c). The Governor-General decided, at his discretion, which level could legislate on them, under Section 104. Provincial Governors (d) did not hold them.
Under today's Constitution, residuary power lies with Parliament (Article 248 and Entry 97 of the Union List), following the Canadian model. Notice the 1935 Act's other features: provincial autonomy, dyarchy at the Centre, a Federal Court (1937), and the RBI (1935).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following is a very significant aspect of the Champaran Satyagraha ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Champaran joined peasant unrest to the national movement (c). In 1917, at the request of Raj Kumar Shukla, Gandhi went to Champaran in Bihar, where European planters forced peasants under the tinkathia system to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land. His inquiry led to the Champaran Agrarian Act (1918), which ended the system. It was his first civil disobedience in India. Option (a) is wrong because it was a local struggle, not an all-India movement. Option (b) is wrong because Dalits and tribals were not its focus. Option (d) is wrong because it caused no drastic fall in commercial crops; synthetic dyes had already weakened indigo.
Notice who joined Gandhi: Rajendra Prasad, J.B. Kripalani, Mazharul Haq and Anugraha Narayan Sinha.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following were the founders of the “Hind Mazdoor Sabha” established in 1948 ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Option (d) names the founders. The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was founded in 1948 by socialists who would not join the communist-led AITUC or the Congress-backed INTUC (1947). Its founders included Ashok Mehta, T.S. Ramanujam, G.G. Mehta, Basawan Singh and R.S. Ruikar, its first president. Option (a) lists Kerala communist leaders. Option (b) wrongly includes Deen Dayal Upadhyay, of the Jana Sangh, and M.N. Roy, a radical humanist. Option (c) mixes C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer (Dewan of Travancore), K. Kamaraj (Congress) and Veeresalingam, a 19th-century social reformer.
Notice the timeline: AITUC (1920), with Lala Lajpat Rai as first president, came first. The BMS (1955) of the RSS family is now India's largest union.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In 1920, which of the following changed its name to “Swarajya Sabha” ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The All India Home Rule League became the Swarajya Sabha (a). Annie Besant founded the All India Home Rule League in September 1916, a few months after Tilak's league in Belgaum. In 1920 the league elected Gandhi as president, and he renamed it the Swarajya Sabha and merged it into the Congress for Non-Cooperation. Moderates such as Jinnah left in protest. The Hindu Mahasabha (b) kept its name. The South Indian Liberal Federation (c), or Justice Party, later became the Dravidar Kazhagam (1944). Gokhale's Servants of India Society (d) of 1905 never changed its name.
Do not confuse it with the Swaraj Party of C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru (1923), which contested council elections.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following events :
- 1. The first democratically elected communist party government formed in a State in India.
- 2. India’s then largest bank, ‘Imperial Bank of India’, was renamed ‘State Bank of India’.
- 3. Air India was nationalised and became the national carrier.
- 4. Goa became a part of independent India.
Which of the following is the correct chronological sequence of the above events ?
Answer (b) & explanation
The order is 3-2-1-4 (b). Air India was nationalised under the Air Corporations Act, 1953, which created Air India International and Indian Airlines. The Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India on 1 July 1955, following the Gorwala Committee (All-India Rural Credit Survey). India's first elected communist government came to power in Kerala in 1957, under E.M.S. Namboodiripad. Goa was freed from Portugal by Operation Vijay in December 1961. So 1953, 1955, 1957, 1961.
The Kerala ministry was dismissed under Article 356 in 1959, after the "Liberation Struggle". Notice the reversal of history: Air India was sold back to the Tata group in 2022, and it later merged with Vistara (2024).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Architecture and sculpture 1
With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following statements :
- 1. White marble was used in making Buland Darwaza and Khankah at Fatehpur Sikri.
- 2. Red sandstone and marble were used in making Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza at Lucknow.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong because Akbar's Fatehpur Sikri is built of red sandstone. The Buland Darwaza (1575–76), built to celebrate his Gujarat victory, uses white marble only as inlay and trim. Only Salim Chishti's tomb inside the complex is of white marble, added later. Statement 2 is wrong because Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula's Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza (1784) at Lucknow were built of lakhori brick and lime plaster, with no sandstone or marble. It was built as a famine-relief project, and the Imambara's hall has a vast arched roof without beams, plus the Bhulbhulaiya maze.
Notice the trend: Akbar used red sandstone, while Shah Jahan made white marble the Mughal hallmark.
The marble trim on the Buland Darwaza and Salim Chishti's white tomb make statement 1 look true. The key says neither.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Painting, performing arts, crafts, literature, philosophy and festivals 4
Consider the following pairs :
| Tradition | State
| 1. Chapchar Kut festival | Mizoram
| 2. Khongjom Parba ballad | Manipur
| 3. Thang-Ta dance | Sikkim
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Pairs 1 and 2 are correct (b). Chapchar Kut (1) is Mizoram's spring festival, held in March after the bamboo forests are cleared for jhum (shifting) cultivation, with the Cheraw bamboo dance. Khongjom Parba (2) is a Manipuri ballad about the Battle of Khongjom in the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, sung to the dholak. Pair 3 is wrong because Thang-Ta, the art of sword (thang) and spear (ta), is a Manipuri martial art. It is not from Sikkim.
Khongjom Day is marked on 23 April. Notice other northeastern traditions often asked: Hornbill Festival (Nagaland), Sangai Festival (Manipur), Losar (Sikkim/Arunachal), and the Manipuri dance Ras Lila.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The well-known painting “Bani Thani” belongs to the
Answer (d) & explanation
Bani Thani belongs to the Kishangarh school (d). It was painted around 1750 by Nihal Chand at the court of Raja Sawant Singh of Kishangarh, who wrote poetry as Nagari Das. The model is said to have been his beloved, the singer Bani Thani. Her long face, arched brows, lotus eyes and pointed chin became the hallmark of the Kishangarh style, and it is often called "India's Mona Lisa." India put it on a postage stamp in 1973. Bundi (a), Jaipur (b) and Kangra (c) are other schools of Rajasthani and Pahari painting.
Kishangarh's paintings often show Radha–Krishna themes. Notice the main Rajasthani schools: Mewar, Bundi–Kota, Kishangarh, Marwar and Jaipur. The Pahari schools are Basohli, Guler and Kangra.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to cultural history of India, consider the following statements :
- 1. Most of the Tyagaraja Kritis are devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna.
- 2. Tyagaraja created several new ragas.
- 3. Annamacharya and Tyagaraja are contemporaries.
- 4. Annamacharya kirtanas are devotional songs in praise of Lord Venkateshwara.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 4 are correct (b). Tyagaraja (1767–1847), one of the Carnatic trinity with Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, wrote mostly in Telugu and sang mainly to Rama, not Krishna, so statement 1 is wrong. He brought new ragas into use (2). Annamacharya (15th century), the Tirupati poet, wrote thousands of sankirtanas in praise of Lord Venkateshwara (4). Statement 3 is wrong because about three centuries separate them.
The Tyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru is held every year. Notice the related figures: Purandara Dasa (16th century) is called the father of Carnatic music, and Annamacharya is known as the "Pada-kavita Pitamaha."
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Craft | Heritage of
| 1. Puthukkuli shawls | Tamil Nadu
| 2. Sujni embroidery | Maharashtra
| 3. Uppada Jamdani saris | Karnataka
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only pair 1 is correct (a). Puthukkuli shawls, with red and black embroidery on white cloth, are made by Toda women of the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, and carry a GI tag. Pair 2 is wrong because Sujni is quilted embroidery from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, where women stitch old saris into quilts showing scenes of daily life. Pair 3 is wrong because Uppada Jamdani saris are woven in Uppada, near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, and are famous for being light and fine.
UPSC likes to test crafts with GI tags. Notice other examples: Kani shawl (Kashmir), Kasuti embroidery (Karnataka), Chikankari (Lucknow), and Phulkari (Punjab). The Todas are also a PVTG, known for their barrel-shaped huts.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
All years by topic
Every question from 2011 to 2026, grouped by syllabus topic, with year-wise trends.