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(Paper) IAS Mains Previous Year Paper History (1983)
Paper: IAS Mains Previous Year Paper History (1983)
Paper-I- History 1983 (Mains)
Section A
1. Mark any fifteen of the following on the map supplied to you and give short descriptive notes on
them:
(i) Amaravati
(ii) Arikamedu
(iii) Avanti
(iv) Bedsa
(v) Belur
(vi) Bhrigukachha
(vii) Dwarka
(viii) Elephanta
(ix) Halebid
(x) Kanchipuram
(xi) Kaushambi
(xii) Kurukshetra
(xiii) Lothal
(xiv) Madurai
(xv) Mahabalipuram
(xvi) Maski
(xvii) Nagarjunkonda
(xviii) Nalanda
(xix) Nasik
(xx) Patliputra
(xxi) Pratishthana
(xxii) Rajagriha
(xxiii) Rupar
(xxiv) Sanchi
(xxv) Sarnath
(xxvi) Shravasti
(xxvii) Sopar
(xxviii) Tamralipti
(xxix) Varanasi
(xxx) Vatap
2. Examine the contribution of Vedic culture in the sphere of social institutions and religion. Was there any continuity between the Indus and the Vedic cultures in this respect?
3. Analyze Ashoka’s policy of Dhamma and account for its failure.
4. Who were the Pallavas ? Review briefly their contribution to art and administration?
Section B
5. Write short answers of not more than 100 words each on any three of the following:
(a) Why was Firuz Tughluq regarded as an ideal Muslim king of medieval times?
(b) What was the most significant contribution of Kabir and Guru Nanakdev to Bhakti
movement?
(c) Do you think that the reign of Krishnadevaraya inaugurated a new epoch in the history of
Vijayanagar?
(d) What motivated Akbar to enunciate Din-i-Ilahj ? How far did he succeed in spreading it?
6. Critically examine the economic regulations of Ala-ud-din Khalji.
7. Review briefly the methods of land-revenue assessment adopted by the Mughals.
8. How far did Peshwa Bajirao I succeed in establishing Maratha supremacy in the Deccan and political
hagemony in the North?
Paper-II- History 1983 (Mains)
Section A (Modern India)
1. Comment on arty three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) The Treaty of Bassein, 1802 was “a step which changed the footing on which we [the English
stood in western India. It trebled the English responsibilities in an instant.”
(b) The Permanent Settlement of land revenue in Bengal was a “bold, brave and wise measure.”
(c) “The Mutiny was not inevitable in 1857, but it was inherent in the constitution of the
Empire.”
(d) The Cabinet Mission Plan “seemed to open an avenue for the reconciliation of a united India
with Muslim autonomy’.”
2. Review the relations of the Government of India with Indian States in the period 1858-1918 with particular reference to the cases where the doctrine of paramount was asserted by the Government.
3. Explain the main features of Montford Reforms. How far did they implement the policy of administrative devolution?
4. Trace the industrial growth of British India after the First World War. How did the Government’s tariff policy influence the growth?
Section B (Modern World)
5. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) “Mercantilist philosophy was based upon a belief that private & social interests are not
necessarily in harmony.”
(b) “The writings of the philosophers had a tremendous influence on the minds of the people and
created a revolutionary awakening in their minds and formed the intellectual creed of the
French Revolution”
(c) “The bold knight, Lenin, having rescued the fair maiden of the Revolution from the evil
sorcerer, Kerensky, everyone lived happily hereafter.”
(d) “ ..... nascent nationalism in Indo-China developed within both an Asian and a European
context with but scanty reference in either case to traditionalist considerations.”
6. Trace the course of the movement for Italian Unification from 1848 with special reference to the contribution of Mazzini.
7. Identify the main strands in the Egyptian nationalist movement in the first half of the present century and explain the role played in it by Zaghlul Pasha.
8. Review the political circumstances in China in the years 1945-49 leading to the establishment of the Communist rule in the land. How did the United States seek to resolve the conflict between the Nationalists and the communists in the period?