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
Newest papers first. Tap an option; the answer and the reason appear instantly.
With reference to the scientific progress of ancient India, which of the statements given below are correct?
- 1. Different kinds of specialized surgical instruments were in common use by 1st century AD.
- 2. Transplant of internal organs in the human body had begun by the beginning of 3rd century AD.
- 3. The concept of sine of an angle was known in 5th century AD.
- 4. The concept of cyclic quadrilaterals was known in 7th century AD.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct (c). The Sushruta Samhita describes over 100 surgical instruments and operations such as plastic surgery of the nose (rhinoplasty) and cataract couching, showing specialised tools in use by the early centuries AD (1). Aryabhata (5th century) used the sine (jya) in his Aryabhatiya (3). Brahmagupta (7th century) gave his formula for the area of cyclic quadrilaterals (4). Statement 2 is wrong: there is no evidence of internal organ transplants in ancient India. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the others: Charaka (medicine), Varahamihira (Pancha Siddhantika), and Brahmagupta's rules for zero. Sushruta is called the 'father of surgery'. Trap: skin grafts are not organ transplants.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the religious history of medieval India, the Sufi mystics were known to pursue which of the following practices?
- 1. Meditation and control of breath
- 2. Severe ascetic exercises in a lonely place
- 3. Recitation of holy songs to arouse a state of ecstasy in their audience
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are correct (d). Sufi mystics practised zikr, repeating God's name, often with breath control and meditation (1). They undertook chilla, forty days of severe ascetic exercises in seclusion (2). They held sama, gatherings of devotional music such as qawwali, to arouse a state of spiritual ecstasy (3). So options (a), (b) and (c) leave out real practices.
Notice the orders: the Chishti order (Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer, Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi) embraced sama, while the Naqshbandi order frowned on music. The Suhrawardi order was strong in Multan and Sindh. Amir Khusrau, Nizamuddin's disciple, is linked with qawwali. Trap: different orders differed, but all three practices existed.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Nagara, the Dravida and the Vesara are the
Answer (c) & explanation
Three styles of temple architecture is correct (c). Nagara is the north Indian style, with a curved shikhara over the sanctum, as at Khajuraho. Dravida is the south Indian style, with a pyramid-shaped vimana and tall gopurams, as at Thanjavur's Brihadeeswara. Vesara is the mixed Deccan style of the later Chalukyas and Hoysalas, as at Belur and Halebidu. (a), (b) and (d) are wrong: these are not racial, linguistic or musical terms.
Notice the texts and sub-styles: the Shilpa Shastras name these styles; Nagara has Odisha (rekha deul) and Rajasthan sub-styles. The Hoysala temples became a World Heritage Site in 2023. Trap: 'Dravida' also names a language family, but here it is architecture.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Rowlatt Act aimed at
Answer (b) & explanation
Imprisonment without trial is correct (b). The Rowlatt Act (March 1919), based on the Sedition Committee under Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt, let the government jail suspects without trial for up to two years and try cases in special courts with no appeal. Indians summed it up as 'no vakil, no dalil, no appeal'. (a) is wrong: it did not deal with war contributions. (c) is wrong: the Khilafat movement began later, in 1919–20. (d) is wrong: press curbs came under the Press Act, 1910.
Notice what followed: Gandhi's Rowlatt Satyagraha (April 1919), his first all-India campaign, and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar under General Dyer. The Hunter Committee inquired into it. Trap: the Act was nicknamed the 'Black Act'.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with the hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes
Answer (b) & explanation
Calling the Earth to witness his purity is correct (b). In the Bhumisparsha ('earth-touching') mudra, the Buddha's right hand reaches down to touch the ground. Just before his enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, Mara challenged his right to enlightenment; the Buddha called the Earth to witness his merit and resolve, and the Earth goddess affirmed it. (a) is wrong: the Earth was not asked to guard against Mara. (c) is wrong: it is not a lesson about life dissolving into earth. (d) fails because (a) is wrong.
Notice the other mudras: Dharmachakra (turning the wheel, first sermon at Sarnath), Abhaya (fearlessness), Dhyana (meditation) and Varada (giving). The Bodh Gaya Mahabodhi image shows Bhumisparsha. Trap: (a) uses the same characters with a different story.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Congress ministries resigned in the seven provinces in 1939, because
Answer (d) & explanation
None of the statements is correct (d). In October 1939 the Congress ministries resigned in protest because the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, had declared India a party to the Second World War without consulting Indian leaders, and the British would not promise independence after the war. (a) is wrong: the Congress had ministries in 8 of 11 provinces and its resignation was not about the others. (b) is wrong: the left wing did not cause it. (c) is wrong: communal riots were not the reason.
Notice what followed: the Muslim League celebrated 22 December 1939 as 'Day of Deliverance', the August Offer (1940) and Individual Satyagraha (Vinoba Bhave first) came next. Trap: 'seven provinces' in the question is UPSC's wording; the usual count is eight.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress (1929) is very important in history, because
- 1. the Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence
- 2. the rift between the extremists and moderates was resolved in that Session
- 3. a resolution was passed rejecting the two-nation theory in that Session
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statement 1 only is correct (a). At the Lahore session (December 1929), presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress passed the Purna Swaraj (complete independence) resolution (1), hoisted the tricolour on the banks of the Ravi, and fixed 26 January 1930 as Independence Day. Statement 2 is wrong: the moderate–extremist rift was healed at Lucknow in 1916. Statement 3 is wrong: the two-nation theory was not on the agenda in 1929. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the follow-up: the session authorised civil disobedience, which began with the Dandi March (12 March 1930). The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 to honour that date. Trap: 1916 Lucknow is famous for two unities: Congress factions and the Congress–League pact.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following is/are the principal feature(s) of the Government of India Act, 1919?
- 1. Introduction of dyarchy in the executive government of the provinces
- 2. Introduction of separate communal electorates for Muslims
- 3. Devolution of legislative authority by the centre to the provinces
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). The Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu–Chelmsford reforms) introduced dyarchy in the provinces, dividing subjects into transferred (handled by ministers responsible to the legislature) and reserved (kept by the Governor) (1). It also separated central and provincial subjects, devolving legislative authority to the provinces (3). Statement 2 is wrong: separate electorates for Muslims came earlier, with the Morley–Minto reforms of 1909; the 1919 Act extended them to Sikhs, Indian Christians and others. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the other features: a bicameral central legislature, direct elections on a limited franchise, and a provision for a statutory commission after ten years, which became the Simon Commission (1927). Trap: 1919 extended communal electorates but did not introduce them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following :
- 1. Assessment of land revenue on the basis of nature of the soil and the quality of crops
- 2. Use of mobile cannons in warfare
- 3. Cultivation of tobacco and red chillies
Which of the above was/were introduced into India by the English?
Answer (d) & explanation
None was introduced by the English (d). Item 1: assessment of land revenue by soil type and crop quality goes back to Sher Shah Suri and Akbar's minister Todar Mal (zabt system). Item 2: mobile field artillery was used by Babur at the First Battle of Panipat (1526). Item 3: tobacco and red chillies came from the Americas through the Portuguese in the 16th–17th centuries. So (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the other Portuguese introductions: potato, tomato, pineapple, papaya, cashew and maize. Jahangir tried to ban tobacco smoking. Babur's gunners Ustad Ali and Mustafa used the 'Rumi' (Ottoman) method. Trap: things linked with colonial times are not all British.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
During Indian freedom struggle, the National Social Conference was formed. What was the reason for its formation?
Answer (b) & explanation
Option (b) is correct. The early Indian National Congress kept to political questions so as not to divide its members over social customs. So M.G. Ranade and Raghunath Rao set up the Indian National Social Conference in 1887 as a separate forum for social reform, meeting at the same venue as Congress sessions. (a) is wrong: it was an all-India body, not a Bengal union. (c) is partly right on names, since Behramji Malabari campaigned for the Age of Consent Act, but it misses the reason. (d) fails because (b) is correct.
Notice the later clash: in 1895 Tilak's supporters stopped the Social Conference from using the Congress pandal at Poona. Ranade also founded the Prarthana Samaj links and the Deccan Education Society spirit. Trap: (c) names real reformers but not the cause.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the guilds (Shreni) of ancient India that played a very important role in the country’s economy, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the king was the chief administrative authority on them.
- 2. The wages, rules of work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild.
- 3. The guild had judicial powers over its own members.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (c). Shrenis, guilds of artisans and merchants, were self-governing. They fixed wages, work rules, quality standards and prices for their members (2), and had judicial powers to settle disputes and punish members (3). The Dharmashastras told kings to respect guild customs. Statement 1 is wrong: guilds were not registered with a central state authority, nor did the king run them. So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the evidence: inscriptions at Sanchi and Nasik record guild donations; guilds acted as banks, taking deposits and paying interest; the Mandasor inscription (436 CE) records a silk-weavers' guild building a sun temple. The Arthashastra mentions guild-based soldiers. Trap: guilds were autonomous, not state departments.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following parties were established by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar?
- 1. The Peasants and Workers Party of India
- 2. All India Scheduled Castes Federation
- 3. The Independent Labour Party
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). Dr B.R. Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party (1936), which won seats in the 1937 Bombay elections (3), and the All India Scheduled Castes Federation (1942) (2). He also planned the Republican Party of India, founded after his death in 1957. Statement 1 is wrong: the Peasants and Workers Party of India (1947, Maharashtra) was founded by Keshavrao Jedhe, Shankarrao More and others who broke away from the Congress. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice his other work: the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924), the Mahad Satyagraha (1927), the newspaper 'Mooknayak' (1920), and his conversion to Buddhism on 14 October 1956 at Nagpur. Trap: the PWP was a Maharashtra party of the same era.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Mahatma Gandhi undertook fast unto death in 1932, mainly because
Answer (c) & explanation
The Communal Award is correct (c). In August 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award, giving separate electorates to the Depressed Classes. Gandhi saw this as splitting Hindu society and began a fast unto death in Yerwada jail on 20 September 1932. It ended with the Poona Pact (24 September 1932) between Gandhi and Ambedkar: separate electorates were dropped, and reserved seats within joint electorates rose from 71 to 148. (a) and (b) were not the trigger. (d) fails because (c) is correct.
Notice the follow-up: Gandhi founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh (1932) and the weekly 'Harijan' (1933). Trap: the Round Table failure was real but did not cause the fast.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Ryotwari Settlement, consider the following statements :
- 1. The rent was paid directly by the peasants to the Government.
- 2. The Government gave Pattas to the Ryots.
- 3. The lands were surveyed and assessed before being taxed.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
All three are correct (c). Under the Ryotwari system, introduced by Thomas Munro and Alexander Read in Madras and later Bombay, each ryot paid revenue directly to the government, with no zamindar in between (1). The ryot received a patta, a title deed recognising his right to the land (2). Land was surveyed and assessed for quality before revenue was fixed (3). So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the comparison: the Permanent Settlement (1793, Bengal) worked through zamindars, and the Mahalwari system (Holt Mackenzie, 1822; North-West Provinces and Punjab) assessed whole villages. Ryotwari rates were high, often 45–55% of produce at first, and revised every 20–30 years. Trap: 'rent' paid directly fits only Ryotwari among the three systems.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily of
Answer (c) & explanation
Worship of nature and Yajnas is correct (c). Rigvedic gods were forces of nature: Indra (rain and thunder, the most praised), Agni (fire), Varuna (water and cosmic order), Surya, Vayu and others. They were worshipped through yajnas (fire sacrifices) and hymns, mainly for cattle, children and victory. (a) and (d) are wrong: Bhakti, loving devotion to a personal god, came much later. (b) is wrong: there were no temples or images in early Vedic religion.
Notice the later shift: in the later Vedic period, Prajapati, Vishnu and Rudra rose, rituals grew elaborate, and priests gained power, which the Upanishads, Buddhism and Jainism later questioned. Trap: image worship is a much later feature of Hinduism.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
The most effective contribution made by Dadabhai Naoroji to the cause of Indian National Movement was that he
- 1. exposed the economic exploitation of India by the British
- 2. interpreted the ancient Indian texts and restored the self-confidence of Indians
- 3. stressed the need for eradication of all the social evils before anything else
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statement 1 only is correct (a). Dadabhai Naoroji's greatest contribution was the Drain Theory, set out in 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India' (1901), showing how British rule drained India's wealth through Home Charges, salaries and profits (1). This became the core of economic nationalism. Statement 2 is wrong: reinterpreting ancient texts to restore self-confidence was the work of Dayanand Saraswati, Vivekananda and Tilak. Statement 3 is wrong: Naoroji did not put eradicating social evils before everything else. So (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice his other roles: the 'Grand Old Man of India', three-time Congress president (1886, 1893, 1906, when he first used 'Swaraj'), and the first Indian British MP (1892, Finsbury Central). Trap: 'most effective' points to the economic critique.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to Dhrupad, one of the major traditions of India that has been kept alive for centuries, which of the following statements are correct?
- 1. Dhrupad originated and developed in the Rajput kingdoms during the Mughal period.
- 2. Dhrupad is primarily a devotional and spiritual music.
- 3. Dhrupad Alap uses Sanskrit syllables from Mantras.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct per UPSC's key (b). Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form of Hindustani classical music, and it is primarily devotional and spiritual, rooted in temple singing (2). Its alap uses syllables such as a, ta, na, ri, num, believed to come from mantras like 'Om Ananta Narayana' (3). Statement 1 is the doubt: Dhrupad's roots lie in temple music long before the Mughals, though it flourished under Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior and at Akbar's court with Tansen, so some books mark (c). UPSC treated its origin as pre-Mughal.
Notice the living tradition: the Dagar family (Dagarvani) and the Gundecha brothers kept it alive. Khayal later became more popular. Trap: 'developed in Rajput courts' is half-true, but 'originated' is not.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The Jain philosophy holds that the world is created and maintained by
Answer (a) & explanation
Universal Law is correct (a). Jainism denies a creator God. It holds that the universe is eternal, uncreated, and runs by its own universal law: the natural working of its six substances (soul, matter, space, time, motion, rest) and the law of karma. (b) and (c) are vague terms that do not express this idea. (d) is wrong: a single 'Universal Soul' (Brahman) belongs to Upanishadic and Vedantic thought; Jainism instead believes in countless individual souls (jivas).
Notice the related ideas: Jain ethics rest on the three jewels (right faith, right knowledge, right conduct) and the five vows led by ahimsa; knowledge is many-sided (anekantavada). Buddhism, too, avoids a creator God. Trap: 'Universal Soul' sounds Indian but is Vedantic.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Regarding the Indus Valley Civilization, consider the following statements :
- 1. It was predominantly a secular civilization and the religious element, though present, did not dominate the scene.
- 2. During this period, cotton was used for manufacturing textiles in India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct per UPSC's key (c), though statement 1 is an interpretation. Harappan cities have no clear temples or palaces of priest-kings; seals, the 'Proto-Shiva', mother goddess figurines and fire altars show that religion was present but did not dominate public life, so many scholars call it largely secular (1). Harappans were among the first in the world to grow and weave cotton; a cotton fragment was found at Mohenjo-daro, and Greeks later called cotton 'sindon' (2). So (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the caution: the script is undeciphered, so views on religion remain tentative. Other facts: the Great Bath, granaries, and planned drains. Dholavira became a World Heritage Site in 2021. Trap: absence of temples is not absence of religion.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The tendency for increased litigation was visible after the introduction of the land settlement system of Lord Cornwallis in 1793. The reason for this is normally traced to which of the following provisions ?
Answer (d) & explanation
UPSC's key is (d), none of the three, but this key is doubtful. The Permanent Settlement (1793) made zamindars owners of land with revenue fixed forever, yet it left ryots' rights unrecorded and boundaries vague, and estates of defaulters were auctioned under the Sunset Law. Disputes over rights, rents and sales filled the courts. Many books link this to (a): the Settlement strengthened zamindars against ryots, which bred litigation. (b) is wrong: the Company was already the sovereign, not newly an 'overlord'. (c) is wrong: the courts were slow and costly, not efficient.
Notice the related system: Cornwallis also separated revenue and judicial work (the Cornwallis Code). For the exam, follow the official key, but know the argument for (a).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.