(Paper) IAS Mains Previous Year Paper History (1994)
Paper: IAS Mains Previous Year Paper History (1994)
Paper-I- History-1994 (Mains)
Section A
1. Mark any fifteen of the following places on the map supplied to you and write short notes on the
answer book on the places marked on the map:
(i) Akhnur
(ii) Arikamedu
(iii) Barabar
(iv) Bagh
(v) Bhumra
(vi) Bodh gaya
(vii) Bhagatav
(viii) Chandraketugrah
(ix) Dhamner
(x) Elephanta
(xi) Eran
(xii) Gop
(xiii) Gyarspur
(xiv) Harappa
(xv) Harwan
(xvi) Karle
(xvii) Mohenjo Daro
(xviii) Martand
(xix) Maski
(xx) Mehendragiri
(xxi) Mukhalingam
(xxii) Nachna
(xxiii) Piprahwa
(xxiv) Rajim
(xxv) Sanghol
(xxvi) Sisupalgarh
(xxvii) Sirpur
(xxviii)Sonkh
(xxix) Sutkagen-Dor
(xxx) Tigwa
2. Discuss the pattern of trade during the Indus Valley civilization. How for did it affect the nature of contemporary settlements in the Indian sub-continent?
3. Determine- the veracity of Megasthenes’ descriptions of Indian society and economy with the help of other contemporary evidences.
4. Trace the scientific and technological developments in India up to c. A.D. 750.
Section B
5. Write short essays of not more than 200 words each on any three of the following:
(a) Ziauddin Barani as a historian
(b) Narrative paintings under Jahangir and Akbar
(c) Meaning and features of the Maharshtra Dharma
(d) Mughals and the British East India Company
6. Do you agree with the view that the form and content of temple architecture in South India between c. A.D. 750 and 1200 were products of a specific economic and political milieu?
7. What light do inscriptions and accounts of European travelers throw on the antecedents and legacy of the administrative structure of the Vijayanagar Empire?
8. “Aurangzeb is a much maligned monarch.” Argue the case for and against the proposition.
Paper-II- History-1994 (Mains)
Section A
1. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) “The Widow Remarriage Act was, in many ways, a logical sequel to the abolition of Sati”
(b) “The new attitude of caution and conservatism can detected in almost every sphere of British
activity in India after the Revolt of 1857.”
(c) “The British Raj had a deeply racist aspect and it ultimately existed to protect colonial
exploitation.”
(d) “To glorify the strength of the Congress and deny that of the League is to be blind.” (P.C.
Joshi, 1945)
2. How did the British establish their control over Maharashtra in the first two decades of the 19th century? Why did the Maratha challenge ultimately collapse?
3. How do you account of the rise and growth of the Business enterprise in India during the first half of the 20th century?
4. Gandhi restrained mass-movements yet he retained his popularity among the masses. How do you explain this paradox?
Section B
5. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) “The Renaissance was not a political or religious movement. It was a state of mind’
(b) “Protestantism contributed substantially to the rise of capitalism.”
(c) “Asian Nationalism is just a product of Western impact on the Asian intelligentsia in the last
decades of the nineteenth century.’
(d) “The countries in the Middle East became, after 1919, the scene of constant effervescence
and some striking changes.”
6. To what extent were the advances in scientific knowledge in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a product of the needs of a changing society?
7. “The perpetuation of the economic malaise was the main cause of the political instability of Europe during the next two decades (191939).” Explain.
8. Show how the presence of a weak and helpless China next door brought about the rise of militarism and collapse of democracy in Japan.