History and Culture: previous-year questions
270 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 76 of them came in the last five papers.
How often UPSC asks this
Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
Subtopics
Architecture and sculpture
32 questions
British expansion, administration and economic impact
16 questions
Buddhism, Jainism and other sects
28 questions
Gandhian era to Independence; constitutional development
91 questions
Mauryas to Guptas: Sangam age and early medieval kingdoms
66 questions
Medieval India: Sultanate, Vijayanagara, Mughals, Marathas; Bhakti and Sufi
78 questions
Painting, performing arts, crafts, literature, philosophy and festivals
63 questions
Prehistory, Harappan and Vedic India
12 questions
Reform movements, 1857, tribal and peasant revolts, early nationalism (to 1919)
80 questions
Attempt the questions
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Among the four main forms of existence of life recognized in Jainism, which one of the following is not included ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Yaksha is not one of the four forms (b). Jainism names four gatis, or states of birth. Option (a) is one: deva, heavenly beings. Option (c) is one: manushya, humans. Option (d) is one: tiryancha, animals, plants and other beings. The fourth is naraki, beings in hell. Option (b) is not a gati: yakshas are a kind of deva in Jain texts, not a separate form.
Notice the goal: only from human birth can a soul reach moksha, freeing itself from all four gatis. Jain temples often show a yaksha and yakshi guarding each Tirthankara, such as Ambika with Neminatha. Jainism also sees life in earth, water, fire and air, so ahimsa is very strict.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following assertion :
The genesis of political alliances based on community lay in the very nature of the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.
Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion ?
- 1. Reforms retained and extended the principle of separate electorates.
- 2. Separate electorates were supposed to counter Indian nationalism, which was growing stronger.
- 3. Deprived classes rallied around the favours inherent in separate electorates.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
All three statements support the assertion (d). Statement 1 is right: the 1919 Act kept separate electorates for Muslims and extended them to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans. Statement 2 is right: the British wanted them to divide the growing national movement. Statement 3 is right: groups that gained from reserved seats organised politically around those favours. So community-based alliances grew from the Act's design, and options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the history: separate electorates began with the Morley-Minto Reforms (1909) for Muslims. The 1919 Act also brought dyarchy to the provinces. The Communal Award (1932) later tried to extend them to depressed classes, leading to the Poona Pact.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India :
- 1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595 — 596).
- 2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
- 3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three statements are correct (d). Statement 1 is right: the Mankani (Sankheda) plates from Gujarat, of AD 595–596, are the earliest dated Indian record that writes numbers by place value. Statement 2 is right: by the 9th century, the method is common in inscriptions all over India. Statement 3 is right: Khmer and Sumatran Sanskrit inscriptions of the 7th century, from AD 683 onward, already use place-value numbers and a zero. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the Gwalior inscription (876 AD), famous for its clear zero, and the Bakhshali manuscript, which uses a dot for zero. Aryabhata and Brahmagupta advanced the system, which Arabs passed to Europe as "Hindu-Arabic" numerals.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, the famous classical singer from Karnataka, represented the :
Answer (d) & explanation
Mallikarjun Mansur represented the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana (d). Mallikarjun Mansur (1910–1992) from Dharwad was a khayal singer of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, founded by Alladiya Khan. He trained with Manji Khan and Bhurji Khan, Alladiya Khan's sons. Options (a), (b) and (c), Agra, Gwalior and Patiala, are wrong. He received the Padma Vibhushan.
Notice Dharwad's musical riches: it also gave Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal, both of the Kirana gharana, and Kumar Gandharva trained nearby. The Jaipur-Atrauli style is known for complex, rare ragas. Kesarbai Kerkar and Kishori Amonkar were other famous singers of this gharana.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about the archaeological findings in Harappan towns :
- I. There is wide occurrence of spindle-whorls in the houses but absence of spinning wheels.
- II. Weights and measurement scales, complete with graduations have been discovered.
- III. There are houses built in large part with baked bricks, around relatively spacious courtyards, with their own wells, bathing platforms, and large rooms.
Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above statements ?
- 1. Statement I suggests that spinning was a laborious activity done at home.
- 2. Statement II suggests the extent of the scientific knowledge that the Harappans possessed.
- 3. Statement III suggests the emergence of a common property system.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Inferences 1 and 2 can be drawn (a). Inference 1 is right: hand spindle-whorls in houses but no spinning wheels mean slow, laborious spinning done at home. Inference 2 is right: graded scales and standard weights show the Harappans' measurement skill and scientific knowledge. Inference 3 is wrong: large private houses with their own wells and courtyards point to private wealth and inequality, the opposite of common property. So options (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the standard weights: mostly cubical chert, following a binary then decimal system (1, 2, 4, 8 … 16, then 32, 64). A graded scale was found at Lothal and a shell scale at Mohenjo-daro. Cotton cloth was a Harappan first.
Read III again: "their own wells" is the clue. Private ownership, not shared property.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In which one among the following texts does the term kshetra-patni (‘mistress of the field’) originate ?
Answer (b) & explanation
The term kshetra-patni comes from the Atharvaveda (b). The Atharvaveda, a book of charms and rites, has many farming prayers. It addresses the earth and the field as female and protective, and names the kshetra-patni, wife or mistress of the field. Option (a) is wrong: the Rigveda has Kshetrapati, the male lord of the field. Option (c) is wrong: the Ashtadhyayi is Panini's grammar. Option (d) is wrong: the Arthashastra is Kautilya's work on statecraft.
Notice the Atharvaveda's wider content: spells against disease, for love and harmony, and the famous Prithvi Sukta (hymn to the Earth), with the line "Earth is my mother, I am her son". It also has early medical ideas linked to Ayurveda.
The Rigveda has the male Kshetrapati, which is why (a) looks right.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following statements about the Eka Movement and Bardoli Satyagraha is correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Option (c) is the correct description (c). Bardoli (1928, Surat district) was Vallabhbhai Patel's no-revenue campaign against a 22% land revenue hike. The Eka (unity) movement of 1921–22 rose against rents charged above the recorded amount. Option (a) is wrong: Congress started Eka, but under Madari Pasi it moved outside Congress control. Option (b) is wrong: Eka was led by peasants against taluqdars, and Bardoli was by landholding peasants. Option (d) is wrong: Eka was in Hardoi, Bahraich and Sitapur, and Bardoli is in Gujarat, not Saurashtra.
Notice that Bardoli's women gave Patel the title "Sardar". The Maxwell-Broomfield inquiry cut the hike to 6.03%, a clear win for the peasants.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following statements with regard to the Moidams, built by the Tai-Ahom kingdom and inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is/are correct ?
- 1. They acted as army fortresses.
- 2. They were recreation centres of the Royals and Nobles.
- 3. They were burial grounds of the Royals and Nobles.
- 4. They were battle drill centres of the Royals and Nobles.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Only statement 3 is correct (c). The Moidams of Charaideo in Assam are earthen burial mounds of Ahom kings, queens and nobles, raised over vaulted chambers from the 13th to the 19th century. Statement 3 is right. Statements 1, 2 and 4 are wrong: they were never army forts, recreation centres or battle drill grounds. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice their status: in 2024 they became the North-East's first cultural World Heritage Site, and India's 43rd. They are often called the "pyramids of Assam". The Ahoms ruled Assam for about 600 years, and their general Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughals at Saraighat (1671). Charaideo was their first capital.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What does an empty seat represent in early Buddhist iconography ?
Answer (a) & explanation
An empty seat represents the Buddha's meditation (a). Early Buddhist art at Bharhut and Sanchi does not show the Buddha in human form. Symbols stand in for him: an empty seat, often under the Bodhi tree, for his meditation and enlightenment. Option (b) is wrong: a wheel stands for the First Sermon at Sarnath. Option (c) is wrong: a stupa stands for the Mahaparinibbana, his death. Option (d) is wrong: a horse stands for the Great Departure (Mahabhinishkramana).
Notice the later change: the Gandhara and Mathura schools, under the Kushanas, first showed the Buddha as a human. Other symbols: a lotus or elephant for his birth, and footprints for his presence. This early stage is called aniconic.
The key follows UPSC's provisional key. The usual symbol table pairs each event with a different sign, so learn all four together.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about the Rigvedic period :
- I. Irrigation from wells allowed agriculture to expand away from flood plains and strips on river margins into the present Punjab and Haryana plains having underground water levels reasonably close to the surface.
- II. Draught-animal power was employed to draw up water out of the wells.
Which of the following information support/supports the above statements ?
- 1. There is evidence in the Rigveda of the use of ashma chakra (stone pulley wheel) and ahava (strapped wooden pails) to draw up water.
- 2. Mention has been made in the Rigveda of the use of implements like parashu/ kulisha (axe) and datra /sreni (sickle).
- 3. There is a history of the use of ox, even before the Rigveda, for ploughing the land and pulling the carts.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Information 1 and 3 support the statements (c). Item 1 is right: the ashma chakra (stone pulley wheel) and ahava (strapped wooden pails) of the Rigveda show water being lifted from wells, which supports Statement I. Item 3 is right: the ox was already used for ploughing and pulling carts before the Rigveda, so animal power was available to lift water, which supports Statement II. Item 2 is wrong: axes and sickles are farm tools, but they say nothing about wells or irrigation.
Notice the method: in such questions, ask whether each fact directly supports the claim, not just whether it is true. The Rigvedic economy was mainly pastoral, with cattle as wealth (gavishti, the search for cows, meant war). Iron and big farming came later.
Statement 2 is true, but it does not support either statement. "Supports" questions test relevance, not truth.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following assertion :
In the Pleistocene period either the Yamuna once flowed into the Indus, or the Sutlej flowed into the Yamuna and one major tributary of either had shifted from the Ganga to the Indus or vice versa.
Which of the following is/are the basis of the above assertion ?
- 1. The Nadi-Sukta of the Rigveda
- 2. The explorations of the Sutlej and the Yamuna by Robert Bruce Foote
- 3. The presence of the same species of dolphins in both the Indus and the Ganga river systems
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
Only the dolphin evidence is a basis (d). Item 3 is right: the Indus and Ganga river dolphins are so close that they were long treated as one species, which only makes sense if the two river systems were once joined. Item 1 is wrong: the Pleistocene ended about 12,000 years ago, long before the Rigveda, so the Nadi-Sukta cannot be evidence for it. Item 2 is wrong: Robert Bruce Foote worked on the stone ages of South India, not these rivers.
Notice the Ganges river dolphin is India's national aquatic animal, and is nearly blind, using echolocation. Project Dolphin (2020) protects it. The Indus dolphin lives mainly in Pakistan, with a small group in the Beas in Punjab.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following pairs of ancient and modern names of rivers is/are correctly matched ?
- 1. Vitasta : Chenab
- 2. Asikni : Jhelum
- 3. Parushni : Ravi
- 4. Yavyavati : Beas
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Only pair 3 is correctly matched (c). In the Rigveda, Parushni = Ravi, so pair 3 is right. Pairs 1 and 2 are swapped: Vitasta = Jhelum, and Asikni = Chenab. Pair 4 is wrong: Yavyavati is usually taken as the Zhob, a western river; the Beas is the Vipas. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the full list: Shutudri = Sutlej, Sindhu = Indus, Kubha = Kabul, Gomati = Gomal, and Sarasvati, often linked to the Ghaggar-Hakra. The Battle of Ten Kings (Dasarajna), won by Sudas of the Bharatas, was fought on the Parushni. These rivers form the "Sapta Sindhu" region.
Pairs 1 and 2 swap the right names, which catches a hurried reader.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following Carnatic music ragas is similar to Raga Bilawal in Hindustani music ?
Answer (d) & explanation
Dheera Shankarabharanam matches Raga Bilawal (d). Bilawal is the Hindustani thaat with all seven notes natural (shuddha), the same scale as the Western major scale. Its Carnatic twin is Dheera Shankarabharanam, the 29th melakarta. Option (a) is wrong: Nat Bhairavi matches Asavari. Option (b) is wrong: Kamavardhini (Pantuvarali) matches Purvi. Option (c) is wrong: Hanumatodi matches the Hindustani Bhairavi.
Notice the two systems: Hindustani music has ten thaats, classified by V.N. Bhatkhande, while Carnatic music has 72 melakartas, organised by Venkatamakhin. Another easy pair: Kalyan (Yaman) matches Mechakalyani (Kalyani). Trick: match the notes, not the names, since some names, like Bhairavi, mean different scales in the two systems.
Hanumatodi sounds like Todi, but the Carnatic Todi scale is the Hindustani Bhairavi thaat, not Bilawal.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following statements on the Amaravati Stupa and its relief sculpture is/are correct ?
- 1. It was located in the lower Krishna valley.
- 2. In India, it was next only to the Sanchi Stupa in size.
- 3. The Amaravati school of sculpture made a lasting impact on the later South Indian sculpture, and its products were carried to Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (b). Statement 1 is right: Amaravati stands on the lower Krishna valley in Andhra Pradesh. Statement 3 is right: its fine limestone reliefs shaped later South Indian art, and pieces in its style reached Sri Lanka and South-east Asia. Statement 2 is wrong: Amaravati was one of the largest stupas in India, bigger than the Great Stupa at Sanchi, not second to it. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the patrons: the Satavahanas and later the Ikshvakus, who built Nagarjunakonda. Many Amaravati panels were taken to the British Museum and Chennai museum. Andhra Pradesh's new capital is named Amaravati after it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The artificially fixed rupee-sterling exchange rate prescribed by the Hilton-Young Commission (1926) was adopted by the British Government for which one of the following reasons ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The rate helped remittances and India's creditworthiness (a). The Hilton-Young Commission (1926) fixed the rupee at 1s 6d, against the 1s 4d Indian business wanted. A dearer rupee made the Home Charges and other remittances to Britain cheaper to pay in rupees and kept India's credit good in London. Option (c) is wrong: Indian exporters, cotton included, lost out, since a dear rupee makes exports costly. Option (b) is wrong: helping Indian importers was not the aim. Option (d) is wrong: the issue was the sterling rate, not gold.
Notice the nationalist anger: Purshotamdas Thakurdas wrote a dissent, and the "ratio controversy" fed economic nationalism. The commission also proposed a central bank, leading to the RBI (1935).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following pairs of the king and his dynasty in early historical Tamilakam is/are not correctly matched ?
- 1. Senguttuvan : Chera
- 2. Udiyanjeral : Chola
- 3. Nedunjeliyan : Pandya
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only pair 2 is not correctly matched (b). The Sangam poems name three crowned houses: Chera, Chola and Pandya. Pair 1 is correct: Senguttuvan, hero of the Kannagi cult, was a Chera. Pair 3 is correct: Nedunjeliyan, the victor of Talaiyalanganam, was a Pandya. Pair 2 is wrong: Udiyanjeral was a Chera, not a Chola; "-jeral" is a Chera ending. So the answer is pair 2 only.
Notice the trap: the question asks which is not correctly matched. Senguttuvan's story is told in Silappadikaram. Karikala is the most famous early Chola, linked to the Kallanai dam. The Pathitrupathu sings of Chera kings, and Madurai was the Pandya seat.
This one asks for "not correctly matched". Mark the wrong pair, not the right ones.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- I. Pali texts contain the first definite references to coins, e.g., kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, and kakanika.
- II. The literary evidence from Pali texts is corroborated by archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins from many sites, most of them made of silver.
The above statements have been associated with which of the following ?
- 1. Emergence of urban life
- 2. Transition to money economy
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Both are linked to urban life and a money economy (c). Statement I: the Pali texts name coins such as kahapana, nikkha, kamsa and kakanika. Statement II: silver punch-marked coins turn up at many sites. Item 1 is right: coins and the cities of the second urbanisation (6th century BCE onward) grew up together. Item 2 is right: both point to trade paid for in money, not barter. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the context: the rise of the mahajanapadas, cities like Rajagriha, Shravasti and Kaushambi, and the Northern Black Polished Ware pottery. Punch-marked coins had symbols stamped on them, with no king's name or writing. Later the Indo-Greeks issued coins with rulers' portraits.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Hallisalasya painting in the Bagh Caves represents :
Answer (a) & explanation
The Hallisalasya painting shows a joyous folk dance (a). The Bagh caves in Madhya Pradesh have murals close in style to Ajanta. The best-known panel shows hallisaka: women dancing in a ring around a male dancer while others play music. Hallisaka is an old folk dance named in Sanskrit texts, and lasya means graceful dance. Option (b) is wrong: it is not the Buddha meditating. Option (c) is wrong: Shiva and Parvati on Kailasha is a theme at Ellora. Option (d) is wrong: it is not Samudramanthan.
Notice Bagh's features: Buddhist caves of the 5th–6th centuries, cut in soft sandstone, near the Bagh river. Many paintings were damaged; some are now kept in the Gwalior museum. The town is also known for Bagh print textiles.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following factors contributed to the formation of the Forward Bloc by Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939 ?
- 1. Bose failed to win the confidence of Mahatma Gandhi.
- 2. The Congress Left was disunited and failed to support Bose.
- 3. The Communists did not support Bose in his endeavours.
- 4. The supporters of M.N. Roy and socialist leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan preferred Congress unity to supporting Bose.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Factors 1, 2 and 4 contributed (b). Bose beat Gandhi's choice, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, at Tripuri (1939). Factor 1 is right: Gandhi then held back, Bose could not form a Working Committee, and he resigned. Factor 2 is right: the Congress Left was split and did not back him. Factor 4 is right: CSP leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan and M.N. Roy's supporters put Congress unity first. Factor 3 is not in UPSC's key. So in May 1939 Bose founded the Forward Bloc inside Congress.
Notice what came next: Rajendra Prasad became Congress president. Bose escaped India in 1941, went to Germany and Japan, and led the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) from 1943.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following temples has/have a Nagara-style shikhara ?
- 1. Malegitti Shivalaya, Badami
- 2. Huchimalligudi Temple, Aihole
- 3. Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh
- 4. Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Huchimalligudi and Deogarh have Nagara-style shikharas (b). Item 3 is right: the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh (Gupta period) had an early northern-style shikhara. Item 2 is right: at Aihole, the Huchimalligudi temple carries a curved Nagara (rekha) tower over its sanctum. Items 1 and 4 are wrong: Malegitti Shivalaya at Badami and the Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal are Dravida temples with stepped vimanas. So options (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice why the Chalukya sites matter: Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal were a laboratory where both styles stood side by side. Pattadakal, a UNESCO site, has Nagara temples like Papanatha next to Dravida ones. Vesara later blended the two.
The Chalukyan sites have both styles side by side. Do not mark a temple Dravida only because it stands in Karnataka.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.