Paper: IAS Mains Previous Year Paper History (2001)

Paper-I- History-2001 (Mains)

Section A

1. Mark any fifteen of the following places on the map supplied to you and write short descriptive notes on the places plotted by you on the map:
(i) Ajmer
(ii) Ahmednagar
(iii) Allahabad
(iv) Badami
(v) Bhubaneshwar
(vi) Chitrakuta
(vii) Chittor
(viii) Chandigarh
(ix) Dehradun
(x) Dhara
(xi) Elephanta
(xii) Ellora
(xiii) Guwahati
(xiv) Hyderabad
(xv) Harappa
(xvi) Indraprastha
(xvii) jagannathpuri
(xviii) Kalyan
(xix) Kaveripattanam
(xx) Lothal

2. Analyse the causes of the success of the Magadhan imperialism upto the reign of Ashoka the Great.

3. Did the triangular conflict between the Rashtrakutas, Gujara Pratiharas and Palas create a political vaccum in northern India which facilitated the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni?

4. “The inferior cavalry of the Rajputs was not the only cause of their defeat at the hands of Turko- Afghans and Mughal.” Comment.

Section B

5. Write short essays in not more than 200 words each on any three of the following topics:
(a) The Vedanta of Sankaracharya
(b) Hemu vikramaditya
(c) The zenith of Mughal architecture under Shahjehan
(d) Savai jai Singh, the astronomer

6. Assess the impact of the market reforms of Alauddin Khilji on contemporary economy and society.

7. Evaluate the impact of the Sufi and Bhakti Movements on vernacular languages and life and thought of the common people.

8. Were the Marathas restricted by their geopolitical limitations from becoming the paramount power of India?


Paper-II- History-2001 (Mains)

Section A

1. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) ‘Dalhousie changed the map of India with speed and thoroughness no campaign could equal.’
(b) ‘The tribal and peasant rebellion laid the foundation of the revolt of 1857’.
(c) ‘The British industrial policy in the nineteenth century ruined the Indian handicrafts’.
(d) The Quit India Movement was a spontaneous revolt of the people against British rule.

2. Discuss the main features of the ‘Raiyatwari Settlement’ in South India. Did it satisfy the aspirations of the peasantry?

3. Examine the economic and social factors which led to he rise of Indian nationalism in the second half of the nineteenth century.

4. Jawaharlal Nehru was the architect of India’s policy of non-alignment. In the light of this statement discuss India’s relations with the two ‘Power Blocks’ between 1947-1964.

Section B

5. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) ‘Marxian Communism is primarily the offspring of German Hegelianism and French Socialism.’
(b) “Besmirch created a new Germany with the policy of ‘blood and iron’”.
(c) ‘There was not only a difference of principles at Paris (Peace Conference) but a clash of personalities’.
(d) ‘The decolonization led to the break-up of empires.’

(6) ‘The Napoleonic Empire was doomed because of its inherent and self-defeating contradictions’. Elucidate.

(7) Trace the various stages of European imperialism in Africa in the nineteenth century.

(8) Discuss the aims of the establishment of the Arab League and assess it role in safeguarding the interests of the Arab nations.