UPSC - General Studies Subject Level Test -1

St. Francis Church in Cochin was built by the Portuguese and not Dutch. It was built in 1503.
Nagapatanam, Tranquebar and Serampore had Dutch influence over the canal systems and architecture and not Portuguese.

Mahatma Gandhi's fast unto death in 1932 was a protest against the provision of separate electorate for depressed classes in Ramsay Macdonald's Communal Award. He disapproved of this provision as it went against his principles of equality and unity among all sections of society. Gandhi believed that such a provision would further divide the country on the basis of caste and hinder the progress towards independence. Therefore, he resorted to a fast unto death to draw attention to this issue and bring about a change in the decision.

Annie Beasant

Prior to the Conference, Gandhiji had initiated the Civil Disobedience Movement. Consequently,

since many of the Congress' leaders were in jail, Congress did not participate in the first

conference, but representatives from all other Indian parties and a number of Princes did.

The government of india act 1919 had introduced dyarchy to govern british provinces in india.

The Kailasnath Temple at Ellora was indeed built by the Rashtrakuta King Krishna-I. Additionally, the temple was designed to resemble Mount Kailash, which is considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva. Therefore, both statements 1 and 2 are correct.

The correct answer is 4 --- 3 --- 2 --- 1. This is because the movements listed in List-I correspond to the causes and consequences listed in List-II in the following order: Titu Mir's Movement was against ignored appeals for remission of land revenue in case of crop failures (Option 4). Champaran Satyagraha was against the raise in revenue demand and reduction of field size (Option 3). Moplah Uprisings were against the Tinkathia system imposed by European Indigo Planters (Option 2). Kheda Satyagraha was against Hindu Landlords who imposed the Beard tax (Option 1).

All of the above. Refer page 167 of Spectrum's - A brief history of Modern India(21st edition)

The first Buddhist Council was held in Sattaparnaguha in Rajgir. Ananda and Upali compiled the Sutta Pitaka and Vinay Pitaka in this council. Therefore, both statements 1 and 2 are correct.

d) Incorrect. The peasant demands were centred around economic issues of high rent and

taxes, and not colonial system or landlordism. It was directed against immediate enemies ie.

Zamindar, moneylender, foreign planters, but did not pose direct challenge to colonial authority

The given answer, "All of the above," is correct because all three statements are true. Statement 1 states that the Harappans had commercial links with Mesopotamia, which is supported by archaeological evidence of trade between the two regions. Statement 2 mentions that evidence of rice cultivation was discovered at the Harappan site of Banawali, indicating that the Harappans practiced agriculture. Statement 3 states that many Harappan seals have been discovered in Mesopotamia, suggesting that there was interaction and trade between the two civilizations. Therefore, all three statements are true.

The novel Anandmath was thus banned by the British. The ban was lifted after India attained

independence.

The correct matches in List - II are as follows:
- Inam Jagir (Option 4) is a type of jagir that involved no obligation of service and was independent of rank.
- Mashrut Jagir (Option 2) is a type of jagir that was given to a person on certain conditions.
- Watan Jagir (Option 3) is a type of jagir that was given in lieu of pay.
- Jagir Tanka (Option 1) is a type of jagir that was assigned to zamindars in their homeland.

Both Sallekhana and Nigrantha is associated with Jainism.

During the early Vedic period, women had the opportunity to participate in tribal assemblies. This suggests that they had some level of involvement in decision-making processes and were not completely secluded from public life. This indicates a relatively higher status for women compared to later periods when purdah and other restrictions on women's participation in public affairs became more prevalent.

The given statements 1 and 2 are correct. The Harappan script indeed uses pictures and linear signs, and it has not yet been deciphered. However, statement 3 is incorrect as the Harappan script is believed to run from right to left, not left to right.

It was introduced by Lord Wellesley (1798­1805)

B) Correct

C) The Indian rulers were forced to pay for upkeep of troops and cede large territories for

D) Correct

a) Rifle cartridges greased with beef and pig fat ­ was the immediate cause of the revolt

b) Annexation of Awadh ­ angered sepoys from Awadh who formed a large section of

company's army. These soldiers still possessed regional and local patriotism

c) Perception of threat to religion ­ greased cartridges, conversions by Christian missionaries,

disallowing wearing of any sectarian marks, taxing lands belonging to temples and mosques,

legislation abolishing sati, child marriage etc.

d) Grievances over emoluments and Foreign Service allowances ­ the discontinuation of batta,

Foreign Service allowance, fanned resentment among sepoys.

e) Destructive economic consequences of British rule on rural population ­the sepoy was, in

fact, a 'peasant in uniform' and was affected when his near and dear ones suffered from

destructive economic consequences of British rule.

Gokhale was made the president in 1905.

Lord Lytton 1876­1880. Refer page 372 of Spectrum’s – A brief history of Modern

India (21st edition)

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These are folk dances of Manipur.

Puli Kali is a major attraction in one of the popular festivals in south India, Onam. It is a form of

folk art, dance, music and drama that depicts the theme of tiger hunting.

The rebels failed because of various reasons, most importantly because it lacked the

geographic expanse. It was not a countrywide revolt. There was a very prominent part of the

country and the society as well who did not participate in the movement at all.

The statement 1 is correct because the town planning of the Indus Valley Civilization followed the grid system. The statement 2 is correct because the Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, after the flood water receded, and harvested their crops of wheat and barley in April. Therefore, the correct answer is 1 and 2.

The seven elements of Saptanga are 1. Swamin 2. Amatya 3. Janapada 4. Durga 5.

Kosha 6. Bala 7. Mitra

During the sultanate period, Ghiyasuddin Tughluq is considered the first ruler to have constructed canals for irrigation, confirming statement 1. The practice of double cropping pattern was followed in the Doab region, supporting statement 2. Apart from cotton cultivation, sericulture was also practiced on a large scale, validating statement 3. Lastly, it is mentioned that during this period, there was still a significant amount of cultivable land that had not been brought under cultivation, confirming statement 4. Therefore, all of the above statements are correct.

Mayura and siddi dance are performed by Kondh tribes and Siddis of Andhra Pradesh.

Shunyata is an important concept in Buddhism. It had a great influence on Advaita Vedanta and

Veershaivism.

None of the Above

The Mahabalipuram cave temples were not constructed during the Gupta period. They were built during the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries, which is after the Gupta period. The Gupta period, on the other hand, was from the 4th to the 6th century. Therefore, the Mahabalipuram cave temples do not belong to the Gupta period.

Mauryan Period

a) The leaders of the revolt were merely joined together by feeling of hatred towards British

rule but nothing else. Modern nationalism was still unknown in India.

b) The dissatisfaction of sepoys had a long history with sepoy mutiny in Bengal in 1764,

Vellore (1806), Barrackpore (1824),etc. 1857 revolt was not sudden, but a culmination of such

dissatisfaction

c) Bahadur Shah Zafar was an unwilling leader of the revolt. There was lack of strong

central leadership with each leader having different grievances and differing conception of

politics of free India

d) is correct statement

1 and 3 only

Kadars are one of the major tribes of Kerala

During the Kushana period, they used gold coins in trading, which is supported by statement 1. They were also in conflict with the contemporary Chinese rulers, as mentioned in statement 2. Additionally, they adopted the Gandhara style of sculpture, as stated in statement 3. Lastly, they established a Devakula in Mathura, as mentioned in statement 4. Therefore, all the statements 1, 2, 3, and 4 are correct.

1 Correct. Prior to INC, all political organization were narrow in their scope and functioning

dealing only with local issues of limited section of people belonging to a single city or province.

2) Incorrect.INC did not emerge suddenly. The social ground was being prepared for

establishment of all India organization through sessions of Indian National Conference which

drew representative from all major towns of India

3) The early nationalist were moderates drawn from educated middle class and landed

aristocracy who believed masses to be illiterate, ignorant, conservative and not ready for a

mass movement.

4) Correct.

The Rig Veda mentions dance and dancers. The discovery of bronze statue of a

dancing girl testifies to the fact that women in Harappan Civilization performed dances.

The question asks to draw an inference from the passage given and hence other

options cannot be the inferences as they involve assumptions which are not given in the

passage.

The devadasi system was very much prevalent in the times of Delhi sultanate. Muslim women

could remarry unlike Hindu women. Sati system was prevalent only among the Hindus. Rulers

like Akbar and Aurangzeb ordered to stop this practice.

Both statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 1 states that the Kailasa temple at Ellora has Dravidian style of architecture, which is true. Statement 2 states that the temples at Dilwara, Mt Abu are crowned by Shikhara as in the Khajuraho temples, which is also true. Therefore, both statements are correct.

Slave system was prevalent in India since ancient times. Kautilya’s Arthashastra gives a

detailed account of slaves. Sultan Alauddin Khilji was the first to appoint Malik Kafur, an Indian

Musalman as his general.

Kudakoothu is a folk dance famous in Tamil Nadu state of India. In this dance, the dancer has to

balance a pot of water on the head while dancing. This traditional form of dance is also known

as Karagam. The Sangam literature also knows Karagam by the name of Kudakoothu. Villagers

used to perform this dance in order to please the Goddess of Rain and the Goddess of River,

known as Mari Amman and Gangai Amman respectively.

Lord Hardinge II 1910­1916. Refer page 374 of Spectrum’s – A brief history of

Modern India (21st edition)

The different land taxes to be paid during Hoysala times were Siddhaya, Dasavanda, niruni-
sunka and melivana.

The Chola justice system was very lenient. A donkey ride was a common form of punishment

for some offences. Kahavanus were the gold and silver coins.

A),b),c),d) – all are correct

In its ritual, Din­i­Ilahi borrowed heavily from Zoroastrianism, making light (Sun and fire) an

object of divine worship and reciting, as in Hinduism, the 1,000 Sanskrit names of the Sun. The

soul was encouraged to purify itself through yearning for God (a tenet of Ṣūfism, Islāmic

mysticism), celibacy was condoned (as in Catholicism), and the slaughter of animals was

forbidden (as in Jainism).

The system of tri­metalism which came to characterize Mughal coinage was introduced by Sher

Shah. During his rule the term rūpiya came to be used as the name for a silver coin. Gold coins

called the Mohur and copper coins called Dam were also minted by his government. He built a

new city Bhera of Pakistan in 1545 and inside the city built historical grand Sher shah suri

Masjid. Sher Shah Suri established the foundations of a mounted post or horse courier system,

wherein conveyance of letters was also extended to traders. This is the first known record of the

Postal system of a kingdom being used for non­State purposes, i.e. for trade and business

communication.

A popular double reed wind instrument used in the South Indian state of Kerala is the Kuzhal.

Maddale is percussion instrument from the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the primary rhythmic

accompaniment in a Yakshagana ensemble along with Chande. Bughchu is a Punjabi folk

instrument. Its shape is much similar to Damru, an Indian musical instrument. Idakka is a

percussion instrument from the state of Kerala.