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.
Consider the following statements regarding the British policy in Awadh immediately after its annexation in 1856 :
- 1. The taluqdars were dispossessed of their estates but allowed to retain their arms and forts.
- 2. A Summary Revenue Settlement was made in 1856 assuming that the taluqdars were outsiders.
- 3. The British believed in taking revenue directly from the peasants by removing the taluqdars.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (a). Statement 2 is right: the Summary Settlement of 1856 treated taluqdars as middlemen, outsiders with no real claim to the land. Statement 3 is right: the British settled revenue directly with the village holders, removing taluqdars. Statement 1 is wrong: taluqdars were disarmed and their forts pulled down, not allowed to keep them. So options (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the result: many angry taluqdars then led the 1857 revolt in Awadh, where Begum Hazrat Mahal led the fight at Lucknow. Awadh was annexed by Dalhousie in 1856 on the ground of "misgovernment", not the Doctrine of Lapse. After 1857, the British reversed course and restored taluqdars.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
“Sedition has become my religion” was the famous statement given by Gandhiji at the time of
Answer (b) & explanation
Gandhi said it at the time of the Dandi Salt Law breach (b). Gandhi used the line during the Salt Satyagraha of 1930, when he openly broke the salt law and called on Indians to break British laws. Breaking an unjust law was now a duty, so in his words sedition had become his religion. The march left Sabarmati on 12 March and reached Dandi on 6 April 1930. Options (a), (c) and (d), Champaran (1917), the Second Round Table (1931) and Quit India (1942), are wrong.
Notice Quit India's own slogan: "Do or Die". Sedition was Section 124A of the IPC. The new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (2023) dropped the word "sedition" but its Section 152 punishes acts endangering India's sovereignty.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about Raja Ram Mohan Roy :
- I. He possessed great love and respect for the traditional philosophical systems of the East.
- II. He desired his countrymen to accept the rational and scientific approach and the principle of human dignity and social equality of all men and women.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). Statement I is right: Raja Ram Mohan Roy translated the Upanishads into Bengali and English, and defended Vedanta as the pure core of Hinduism, so he loved and respected Eastern philosophy. Statement II is right: he wanted modern, rational learning. His 1823 letter to Lord Amherst asked for science and English education. He fought sati and argued for women's property rights, for the dignity and equality of women. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice his firsts: he founded the Brahmo Sabha (1828), later the Brahmo Samaj, and the papers Sambad Kaumudi and Mirat-ul-Akhbar. Sati was banned in 1829 by Bentinck. He is called the "Father of the Indian Renaissance".
A reformer who attacked idol worship can still revere the Upanishads. Both are true.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The famous female figurine known as ‘Dancing Girl’, found at Mohenjo-daro, is made of
Answer (c) & explanation
The Dancing Girl is made of bronze (c). The Dancing Girl is a small, about 10.5 cm, bronze figure made by the lost-wax (cire perdue) method. Ernest Mackay found it at Mohenjo-daro in 1926. She wears many bangles on her left arm and stands with one hand on her hip. Option (a) is wrong: carnelian was used for beads. Option (b) is wrong: clay was used for terracotta figures and seals. Option (d) is wrong: the figure is not gold.
Notice the other famous finds: the Priest-King bust in steatite, the Pashupati seal, and the Great Bath, all from Mohenjo-daro. The figure is now in the National Museum, New Delhi. Lost-wax casting is still used by Dhokra artisans.
The "Priest-King" from the same site is steatite. Do not swap their materials.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who provided legal defence to the people arrested in the aftermath of Chauri Chaura incident?
Answer (b) & explanation
Madan Mohan Malaviya and Krishna Kant defended them (b). After the Chauri Chaura violence in February 1922, where a mob burnt a police station and 22 policemen died, the sessions court sentenced 172 people to death. Madan Mohan Malaviya argued the appeal in the Allahabad High Court with Krishna Kant Malaviya. The court confirmed only 19 death sentences and set aside most of the rest. Options (a), (c) and (d), C.R. Das, Kitchlew and Nizami, and Jinnah, did not lead this defence.
Notice the main result: Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement, angering many leaders. C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru then formed the Swaraj Party (1923) to contest council elections. Malaviya founded Banaras Hindu University.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following subjects with regard to Non-Cooperation Programme :
- I. Boycott of law-courts and foreign cloth
- II. Observance of strict non-violence
- III. Retention of titles and honours without using them in public
- IV. Establishment of Panchayats for settling disputes
How many of the above were parts of Non-Cooperation Programme?
Answer (c) & explanation
Three of the four were part of the programme (c). The Nagpur Congress (December 1920) approved the Non-Cooperation programme. Item I is right: it asked people to boycott law-courts, schools, councils and foreign cloth. Item II is right: it demanded strict non-violence. Item IV is right: it asked people to set up panchayats to settle disputes outside British courts. Item III is wrong: people were asked to surrender titles and honours, not keep them.
Notice the positive side: national schools such as Jamia Millia Islamia and Kashi Vidyapith, khadi and the Tilak Swaraj Fund. Gandhi called off the movement after the Chauri Chaura violence in February 1922. He also returned his Kaisar-i-Hind medal.
"Retention" is the word to catch. The programme said surrender.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Subsequent to which one of the following events, Gandhiji, who consistently opposed untouchability and appealed for its eradication from all spheres, decided to include the upliftment of ‘Harijans’ in his political and social programme?
Answer (a) & explanation
Gandhi took up Harijan upliftment after the Poona Pact (a). The Poona Pact (September 1932) ended Gandhi's fast in Yerawada jail against separate electorates for the depressed classes, agreed with B.R. Ambedkar. He then gave himself to anti-untouchability work. He founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh (1932) and the weekly Harijan (1933), and toured the country for it in 1933–34. Options (b), (c) and (d) came at other times and did not trigger this.
Notice the deal: instead of separate electorates under the Communal Award (1932), depressed classes got reserved seats within joint electorates, more seats than the Award offered. Ambedkar later criticised Gandhi's approach, writing What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the Untouchables.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Ashokan inscriptions suggest that the ‘Pradeshika’, ‘Rajuka’ and ‘Yukta’ were important officers at the
Answer (b) & explanation
These were district-level officers (b). Rock Edict III asks the yuktas, rajukas and pradeshikas to tour every five years to preach dhamma. Historians read them as district-level officers: the pradeshika a district head, the rajuka a revenue and judicial officer in charge of rural areas, and the yukta a clerk or accounts officer. Options (a), (c) and (d) are wrong: they were not village heads, provincial governors or central ministers.
Notice the other Mauryan officers: Dhamma Mahamattas, created by Ashoka to spread dhamma; kumaras (princes) as provincial governors; and the gramika for villages. The Arthashastra of Kautilya describes a large paid bureaucracy, with officers called adhyakshas heading departments.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The irrigation device called ‘Araghatta’ was
Answer (b) & explanation
Araghatta was a wheel with pots tied to it (b). The araghatta, or rahat, was a large wheel fitted with a chain of earthen pots. As animals turned it, the pots dipped into a well and lifted water up. Early medieval texts and inscriptions mention it. Option (a) is wrong: a leather bag pulled over a pulley is the charas or mot, a different device. Option (c) is wrong: it was not a single large pot. Option (d) is wrong: a bucket pulled by hand is the simplest lift, not the araghatta.
Notice the later Persian wheel, with gears, which spread under the Delhi Sultanate and Babur describes in his memoirs. Water-lifting helped farmers grow crops in dry seasons in north India.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following fruits :
- I. Papaya
- II. Pineapple
- III. Guava
How many of the above were introduced in India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Answer (c) & explanation
All three fruits came with the Portuguese (c). The Portuguese brought many New World crops to India in the 16th and 17th centuries. Item I is right: papaya came from Central America. Item II is right: pineapple came from South America. Item III is right: guava came from tropical America. All three came through the Columbian exchange, the swap of plants and animals after 1492. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the other Portuguese imports: tobacco, chilli, potato, tomato, cashew, maize and groundnut. Today India is the largest producer of papaya and guava. Allahabad (Prayagraj) guava is famous, and Meghalaya and Tripura grow sweet pineapples.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following rulers in ancient India had assumed the titles ‘Mattavilasa’, ‘Vichitrachitta’ and ‘Gunabhara’?
Answer (a) & explanation
Mahendravarman I took these titles (a). The Pallava king Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630) wrote the Sanskrit farce Mattavilasa Prahasana, which mocks monks of various sects. Vichitrachitta ("curious-minded") reflects his new rock-cut temples, such as the one at Mandagapattu, made without brick, timber or metal. Gunabhara was another title. Option (b) is wrong: Simhavishnu was his father. Option (c) is wrong: Narasimhavarman I was called Mamalla. Option (d) is wrong: Simhavarman was an earlier king.
Notice the rivalry: Mahendravarman fought the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, and his son Narasimhavarman I took Vatapi in 642. Mamallapuram is named after him.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following was the founder of the ‘Self-Respect Movement’?
Answer (a) & explanation
Periyar founded the Self-Respect Movement (a). E.V. Ramaswamy, known as Periyar, left the Congress over caste discrimination and started the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu in 1925. It attacked Brahmin dominance, caste and religious ritual, and backed self-respect marriages without priests. Option (b) is wrong: Ambedkar led the Mahad Satyagraha and other movements. Options (c) and (d) are wrong: Bhaskarrao Jadhav and Dinkarrao Javalkar were non-Brahmin leaders in Maharashtra.
Notice what followed: Periyar led the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924) for temple road access, and founded the Dravidar Kazhagam (1944), the parent of Tamil Nadu's Dravidian parties. He also took over the Justice Party.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Fa-hien (Faxian), the Chinese pilgrim, travelled to India during the reign of
Answer (b) & explanation
Fa-hien came during the reign of Chandragupta II (b). Faxian was in India from about 399 to 412, in the reign of Chandragupta II, called Vikramaditya. He came to collect Vinaya texts on monastic rules. He wrote of a mild government, few harsh punishments, and the Chandalas living outside towns, though he never names the king. Option (a) is wrong: Samudragupta ruled before him. Options (c) and (d) are wrong: Kumaragupta I and Skandagupta came after.
Notice the other Chinese visitors: Xuanzang under Harsha (7th century) and I-tsing later, both of whom studied at Nalanda. Chandragupta II's court is linked with the "nine gems", including Kalidasa.
The Gupta pilgrim is Faxian; Xuanzang came under Harsha. Do not swap them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following led a successful military campaign against the kingdom of Srivijaya, the powerful maritime State, which ruled the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and the neighbouring islands?
Answer (c) & explanation
Rajendra I led the campaign against Srivijaya (c). The Chola king Rajendra I sent a naval expedition around 1025 that sacked Kadaram (Kedah) and other ports of the Srivijaya kingdom. The aim was to protect the sea trade to China. He took the title Kadaram-kondan ("conqueror of Kadaram"), after earlier taking Gangaikondachola for his march to the Ganga. Option (a) is wrong: Amoghavarsha was a Rashtrakuta. Option (b) is wrong: Prataparudra was a Kakatiya. Option (d) is wrong: Vishnuvardhana was a Hoysala. None of these three led overseas raids.
Notice his capital, Gangaikondacholapuram. His father Rajaraja I built the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur and conquered northern Sri Lanka.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ancient India (600-322 BC), consider the following pairs :
| Territorial region | River flowing in the region
| I. Asmaka | Godavari
| II. Kamboja | Vipas
| III. Avanti | Mahanadi
| IV. Kosala | Sarayu
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only two pairs are correctly matched (b). Pair I is right: Asmaka was the only southern mahajanapada, on the Godavari. Pair IV is right: Kosala lay on the Sarayu, with Ayodhya on its bank. Pair II is wrong: Kamboja was in the far north-west, around the Kabul valley, not on the Vipas (Beas). Pair III is wrong: Avanti, with capitals Ujjain and Mahishmati, was on the Shipra and Narmada, not the Mahanadi.
Notice the list of sixteen mahajanapadas in the Anguttara Nikaya. Magadha rose to be the strongest, with Rajagriha and later Pataliputra as its capitals. Kosala's later capital was Shravasti, where the Buddha spent many rainy seasons.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music training school, was set up in 1901 by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in
Answer (d) & explanation
The first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya was set up in Lahore (d). Vishnu Digambar Paluskar started it in Lahore in 1901. It was among the first music schools open to the public, run on fees and public money rather than royal patronage. He later moved it to Bombay. Options (a), (b) and (c), Delhi, Gwalior and Ujjain, are wrong. Gwalior was famous for its own gharana of singing, a family tradition, not for this school.
Notice his partner in reviving Hindustani music: V.N. Bhatkhande, who classified ragas into ten thaats. Paluskar set Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram to its popular tune. His pupils included Omkarnath Thakur, and his son D.V. Paluskar.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements in respect of the Non-Cooperation Movement :
- I. The Congress declared the attainment of ‘Swaraj’ by all legitimate and peaceful means to be its objective.
- II. It was to be implemented in stages with civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes for the next stage only if ‘Swaraj’ did not come within a year and the Government resorted to repression.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). Statement I is right: at Nagpur (December 1920), the Congress changed its goal from self-government within the Empire to Swaraj by "all legitimate and peaceful means". Statement II is right: Gandhi's plan went in stages. Boycotts came first, then civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes if Swaraj did not come within a year and the government turned to repression. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the context: anger over the Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh (1919) and the Khilafat issue brought Hindus and Muslims together. The Calcutta special session (September 1920) first approved the programme. The Bardoli no-tax campaign was planned, then dropped after Chauri Chaura.
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 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.
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.