UPSC Prelims 2024 History and Culture questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2024 asked 10 history questions in GS Paper I, spread over 6 topics. See the history weightage for 2024 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
History and Culture 2024: questions by topic
- Buddhism, Jainism and other sects2
- Mauryas to Guptas: Sangam age and early medieval kingdoms1
- Medieval India: Sultanate, Vijayanagara, Mughals, Marathas; Bhakti and Sufi1
- Reform movements, 1857, tribal and peasant revolts, early nationalism (to 1919)1
- Gandhian era to Independence; constitutional development1
- Painting, performing arts, crafts, literature, philosophy and festivals4
Counted from the 10 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 10 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 ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets ?
- 1. Nayaputta
- 2. Shakyamuni
- 3. Tathagata
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only Shakyamuni and Tathagata are Buddha's epithets (b). Item 2 is right: Shakyamuni means "sage of the Shakyas", the Buddha's clan at Kapilavastu. Item 3 is right: Tathagata means "one who has thus gone" (or thus come), the name the Buddha uses for himself in the suttas. Item 1 is wrong: Nayaputta (Nataputta), "son of the Natas (Jnatrikas)", is the name of Mahavira in the Pali texts, where he appears as Nigantha Nataputta. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice other names of the Buddha: Siddhartha (birth name), Gautama (clan name), Sugata and Bhagavat. Mahavira, in turn, is called Vardhamana, Jina ("conqueror") and Nirgrantha. UPSC likes such swaps between the two teachers, who were contemporaries.
Nigantha Nataputta in the Pali canon is Mahavira, the Buddha's rival teacher.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Sanghabhuti, an Indian Buddhist monk, who travelled to China at the end of the fourth century AD, was the author of a commentary on :
Answer (c) & explanation
Sanghabhuti wrote a commentary on the Sarvastivada Vinaya (c). Sanghabhuti, a monk from Kashmir, reached Chang'an around 381 AD and helped translate texts of the Sarvastivada school, including a commentary on its Vinaya, the rules of monastic life. Option (a) is wrong: the Prajnaparamita sutras are Mahayana texts, later translated by others such as Kumarajiva. Option (b) is wrong: the Visuddhimagga is Buddhaghosa's Theravada manual, written in Sri Lanka in the 5th century. Option (d) is wrong: the Lalitavistara is a biography of the Buddha.
Notice the flow of monks between India and China: Fa-Hien came under Chandragupta II, Xuanzang under Harsha, and Kumarajiva translated in China. Kashmir was a big Sarvastivada centre.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Mauryas to Guptas: Sangam age and early medieval kingdoms 1
Consider the following information :
| Archaeological Site | State | Description
| 1. Chandraketugarh | Odisha | Trading Port town
| 2. Inamgaon | Maharashtra | Chalcolithic site
| 3. Mangadu | Kerala | Megalithic site
| 4. Salihundam | Andhra Pradesh | Rock-cut cave shrines
In which of the above rows is the given information correctly matched ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Rows 2 and 3 are correctly matched (b). Row 2 is right: Inamgaon, in Pune district of Maharashtra, is a large Chalcolithic village of the Jorwe culture. Row 3 is right: Mangadu, in Kollam district of Kerala, has megalithic urn burials. Row 1 is wrong: Chandraketugarh is in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, not Odisha, though it was indeed a port town known for fine terracottas. Row 4 is wrong: Salihundam, in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, is known for brick stupas and monasteries, not rock-cut caves.
Notice the trick: UPSC often gets one column right and one wrong in a row. Check each detail. For rock-cut Buddhist caves, think of Ajanta, Karla and Bhaja in Maharashtra, or Guntupalli in Andhra.
The descriptions in rows 1 and 4 fit. Check the state and the type of monument separately.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Medieval India: Sultanate, Vijayanagara, Mughals, Marathas; Bhakti and Sufi 1
Who of the following rulers of medieval India gave permission to the Portuguese to build a fort at Bhatkal ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Krishnadevaraya let the Portuguese build a fort at Bhatkal (a). Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara (1509–29) was friendly with the Portuguese. They were enemies of Bijapur, his rival, and they supplied the Arabian and Persian war horses his cavalry needed. He let them build a fort at Bhatkal, a port on the Karnataka coast. Option (b) is wrong: Narasimha Saluva ruled before the Portuguese arrived in strength. Option (c) is wrong: Muhammad Shah III was a Bahmani sultan. Option (d) is wrong: Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur was their enemy; he lost Goa to Albuquerque in 1510.
Notice the visitors who described Vijayanagara's wealth: the Portuguese Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz. Krishnadevaraya also wrote the Telugu poem Amuktamalyada.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Reform movements, 1857, tribal and peasant revolts, early nationalism (to 1919) 1
With reference to revenue collection by Cornwallis, consider the following statements :
- 1. Under the Ryotwari Settlement of revenue collection, the peasants were exempted from revenue payment in case of bad harvests or natural calamities.
- 2. Under the Permanent Settlement in Bengal, if the Zamindar failed to pay his revenues to the state, on or before the fixed date, he would be removed from his Zamindari.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
No official answer (question dropped) & notes
UPSC dropped this question, so no answer was counted. Learn the facts anyway. Statement 1 is wrong in its premise: the Ryotwari system was the work of Thomas Munro and Alexander Read in Madras (and later Bombay), not Cornwallis, and it did not give peasants a fixed remission for bad harvests. Statement 2 is right: under Cornwallis's Permanent Settlement (1793) in Bengal, a zamindar who missed the payment date, under the "sunset law", lost his estate at auction. On the facts, option (b) would fit.
Notice the third system: the Mahalwari settlement, made with whole village communities, by Holt Mackenzie in the North-Western Provinces. The harsh sunset law ruined many old zamindar families within a few decades.
UPSC did not evaluate this question, so no official answer exists. Use it for practice only.
UPSC dropped this question from evaluation; there is no official answer.
Gandhian era to Independence; constitutional development 1
With reference to the Government of India Act, 1935, consider the following statements :
- 1. It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation based on the union of the British Indian Provinces and Princely States.
- 2. Defence and Foreign Affairs were kept under the control of the federal legislature.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 1 is correct (a). Statement 1 is right: the Government of India Act, 1935 planned an All-India Federation of British Indian provinces and princely states that chose to join. It never came into force because too few princes joined. Statement 2 is wrong: the Act brought dyarchy to the Centre. Defence, foreign affairs, ecclesiastical affairs and tribal areas were "reserved" subjects run by the Governor-General, outside the legislature's control.
Notice the parts that did work: provincial autonomy from 1937, when Congress formed ministries in most provinces. The Act also set up a Federal Court (1937) and the RBI framework. Much of our Constitution's structure, such as three lists of subjects, was borrowed from it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Painting, performing arts, crafts, literature, philosophy and festivals 4
Consider the following statements :
- 1. There are no parables in Upanishads.
- 2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 2 is right: the main Upanishads date from about 800–300 BCE, the end of the Vedic corpus, which is why they are called Vedanta. The Puranas took shape later, mostly in the Gupta period and after. Statement 1 is wrong: the Upanishads teach through stories and dialogues. Examples include Nachiketa and Yama (Katha), Satyakama Jabala (Chandogya), and the parable of the two birds on one tree (Mundaka). So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the core ideas: Brahman (the ultimate reality), Atman (the self), and their oneness, captured in "Tat tvam asi". India's motto Satyameva Jayate comes from the Mundaka Upanishad.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following was the latest inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Garba was the latest inclusion among these (c). Garba of Gujarat was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December 2023, as India's 15th element. Option (b) is wrong: Durga Puja in Kolkata was added earlier, in 2021. Option (d) is wrong: Kumbh Mela was added in 2017. Option (a) is wrong: Chhau dance, of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, was added in 2010. So Garba is the most recent of the four.
Notice the later addition: Deepavali, inscribed in December 2025 at the session hosted in New Delhi. Other Indian elements include Yoga, Vedic chanting, Ramlila, Kalbelia and Navroz. Do not confuse this list with the World Heritage list of sites.
The question says "latest", so you have to know the years. Durga Puja is the next most recent and catches people who know only the 2021 entry.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following is a work attributed to playwright Bhasa ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Madhyama-vyayoga is a play attributed to Bhasa (c). Thirteen Sanskrit plays found in Kerala in 1912 by T. Ganapati Sastri are credited to Bhasa. They include Madhyama-vyayoga, Svapnavasavadatta, Pratijna-yaugandharayana and Urubhanga. Option (a) is wrong: Kavyalankara is a work on poetics by Bhamaha. Option (b) is wrong: the Natyashastra, on drama, music and dance, is by Bharata Muni. Option (d) is wrong: the Mahabhashya, a commentary on Panini's grammar, is by Patanjali.
Notice that Kalidasa praised Bhasa as an earlier master. Urubhanga is famous as a rare Sanskrit tragedy, since Sanskrit drama normally avoids sad endings. Kerala's Koodiyattam theatre kept Bhasa's plays alive.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following properties included in the World Heritage List released by UNESCO :
- 1. Shantiniketan
- 2. Rani-ki-Vav
- 3. Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas
- 4. Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodhgaya
How many of the above properties were included in 2023 ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only two were included in 2023 (b). The Riyadh session of the World Heritage Committee in September 2023 added Santiniketan, Tagore's university town in West Bengal, and the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas (Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura) in Karnataka. That made India's count 42. Item 2 is wrong: Rani-ki-Vav, the stepwell at Patan, Gujarat, was listed in 2014. Item 4 is wrong: the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya was listed in 2002.
Notice the later additions: Assam's Moidams of the Ahom kings (2024) and the Maratha Military Landscapes, a group of twelve forts (2025), took India to 44. Do not confuse this list of places with the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
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.