(Exam Paper) UPSC IAS Mains 2003: History

NEW! UPSC MAINS G.S. SOLVED PAPERS (LAST 15 Years)

(Exam Paper) UPSC IAS Mains 2003: History

Paper- I

Section A

1. Mark any fifteen of the following places on the /map supplied to you and write short descriptive notes on-places plotted by you on the map:
(i) Kot Digi
(ii) Banamali
(iii) Tiruchirapalli
(iv) Tamralipti
(v) Vaisali
(vi) Kundagrama
(vii) Puri
(viii) Ujjain
(ix) Badami
(x) Guggara
(xi) Sarnath
(xii) Amaravati
(xiii) Janguda
(xiv) Kolhapur
(xv) Nagarjunkonda
(xvi) Calicut
(xvii) Haldighati
(xviii) Golconda
(xix) Somnath
(xx) Mathura.

2. Assess the pattern of settlement, economy, social organisation and religion of India during 2000 to 500 BC from archaeological evidences.

3. “The Sixth century B.C. was a period of religious and economic unrest in India.” Comment.

4. Examine the information of Fahien about the political, religious, social and economic conditions of India. Make a comparative study of his account with that of Yuan Chwang.

Section B

5. Write short essays in not more than 200 words each on any three of the following:
(a) Kalhan as a historian
(b) Experiments of Mohammad Tughluq
(c) Sufi Movements
(d) Chauth and Sardeshmukhi.

6. Attempt a critical essay on the Indian Science and Civilisation in the light of Alberuni’s writings. What merits and drawbacks, do you find in his account ?

7. What impact did Kabir and Nanak leave on Indian Society and Culture ?

8. ‘Akbar built the Moghul Empire by enlisting the support of the Rajputs, Aurangzeb destroyed it by alienating the Rajputs.’ Do you agree ?

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Paper- II

Section A (Modern India)

1. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) ‘Absentee landlordism was a consequential feature of Bengal’s Permanent land settlement.’
(b) ‘India underwent suffering and mortality in the wake of recurring famines’ in the later half of the 19th century.
(c) ‘In the summer of 1942 Gandhi was in a strange and uniquely militant mood.’
(d) ‘Rabindranath Tagore’s nationalism was based on a Catholic internationalism.’

2. What was the impact of early British land policy on the ‘village communities’ of North India ?

3. Trace the factors which led to a split in the Indian National Congress in 1907. What was its impact on the course of the nationalist movement ?

4. Examine the causes of the rise and progress of revolutionary movements in India from 1905 to 1931.

Section B (World History)

5. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each:
(a) ‘The French Revolution attacked privileges and not property.’
(b) ‘The roots of the rise of Fascism lay in Peace Treaties.’
(c) ‘The Security Council is the heart of the United Nations.’
(d) ‘The Brussels Treaty of 17 March, 1948 paved the way for the formation of NATO.’

6. ‘Bismarck united Germany not by majority of votes and speeches but by a policy of “blood and iron”. In the light of this statement assess the contribution of Bismarck to the unification of Germany.

7. Examine the causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and indicate its significance in world history.

8. Analyse the factors leading to the end of the Cold War and account for the U.S. ascendancy in the world.