UPSC 2021: Nexus 41—50

Literature, Nationalist Struggles, Feudal Geographies & Cave Rivers. [Set A]

Question 41

Ancient Literature & Theatre

With reference to the history of ancient India, Bhavabhuti, Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were famous

(a) Jain monks
(b) playwrights
(c) temple architects
(d) philosophers

Official Verdict: (b) playwrights

The Core Concept: All three are celebrated classical dramatists and playwrights (Natakakaras). Bhavabhuti (8th century CE) authored monumental Sanskrit dramas including Malatimadhava, Mahaviracharita, and Uttararamacharita. Hastimalla was an eminent 13th-century Hoysala court dramatist who penned Jain Sanskrit plays like Vikrantakaurava and Subhadraharana. Kshemeshvara (10th century CE) authored celebrated plays such as Chandakaushika and Naishadhananda.

Tethered to: REALM 30: Literature & Education

Question 42

Colonial Constitutional Evolution

Consider the following statements:

The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919 recommended granting voting rights to all the women above the age of 21.
The Government of India Act of 1935 gave women reserved seats in legislature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: Statement 1 is false: The 1919 Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (GOI Act 1919) did not grant adult universal franchise to all women above 21. Franchise remained severely restricted based on property, tax, and educational qualifications, and the Act left the question of women's enfranchisement to the discretion of newly established provincial legislatures. Statement 2 is true: The Government of India Act, 1935 extended communal electorates by allocating explicitly reserved seats for women in both the Federal Assembly and Provincial Legislative Councils.

Tethered to: REALM 41: GOI Act 1935 & Ministries

Question 43

Freedom Struggle

With reference to 8th August, 1942 in Indian history, which one of the following statements is correct?

(a) The Quit India Resolution was adopted by the AICC.
(b) The Viceroy's Executive Council was expanded to include more Indians.
(c) The Congress ministries resigned in seven provinces.
(d) Cripps proposed an Indian Union with full Dominion Status once the Second World War was over.

Official Verdict: (a) The Quit India Resolution was adopted by the AICC.

The Core Concept: On August 8, 1942, at the historic Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) passed the watershed Quit India Resolution, launching a mass non-violent struggle under Mahatma Gandhi's call to "Do or Die" (Karo ya Maro). The Congress ministries resigned much earlier in October-November 1939 over India's forced entry into WWII. The Cripps Mission had already failed and departed by April 1942.

Tethered to: REALM 44: Quit India Movement

Question 44

Nationalist Literature

Who among the following is associated with 'Songs from Prison', a translation of ancient Indian religious lyrics in English?

(a) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(d) Sarojini Naidu

Official Verdict: (c) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

The Core Concept: While incarcerated in Yerwada Central Jail (Pune) in 1930 following the Salt Satyagraha, Mahatma Gandhi spent his days translating traditional Indian devotional poetry into English. These translations—spanning the Upanishads, the Gita, and Bhakti hymns composed by Kabir, Tukaram, Mirabai, and Narsinh Mehta—were compiled and published in London (1934) under the title "Songs from Prison".

Tethered to: REALM 30: Emergence of Gandhi

Question 45

Mughal Administrative Geometry

With reference to medieval India, which one of the following is the correct sequence in ascending order in terms of size?

(a) Paragana-Sarkar-Suba
(b) Sarkar-Paragana-Suba
(c) Suba-Sarkar-Paragana
(d) Paragana-Suba-Sarkar

Official Verdict: (a) Paragana-Sarkar-Suba

The Core Concept: In Mughal and Sur imperial administration, territorial governance was arranged hierarchically: Gram (individual village) formed the base unit. A cluster of villages constituted a Pargana (sub-district, headed by a Shiqdar/Amil). Several Parganas formed a Sarkar (district, headed by a Faujdar/Amalguzar). Several Sarkars formed a Suba (province, headed by a Subahdar). Ascending in territorial size: Pargana < Sarkar < Suba.

Tethered to: REALM 53: Government & Suzerainty

Question 46

Social Reform & Education

Who among the following was associated as Secretary with Hindu Female School which later came to be known as Bethune Female School?

(a) Annie Besant
(b) Debendranath Tagore
(c) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(d) Sarojini Naidu

Official Verdict: (c) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

The Core Concept: Established in Calcutta in May 1849 by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune (Law Member of the Governor-General's Council) and Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, the Hindu Female School was the first modern secular institutional school for girls in India. Great polymath and social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar served as its pioneering Secretary and chief patron, courageously defending female education against orthodox resistance.

Tethered to: REALM 20: Indian Renaissance

Question 47

Nationalist Movement

In the context of Colonial India, Shah Nawaz Khan, Prem Kumar Sehgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are remembered as

(a) leaders of Swadeshi and Boycott Movement
(b) members of the Interim Government in 1946
(c) members of the Drafting Committee in the Constituent Assembly
(d) officers of the Indian National Army

Official Verdict: (d) officers of the Indian National Army

The Core Concept: Major General Shah Nawaz Khan, Colonel Prem Kumar Sehgal, and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon were the heroic military officers of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (INA / Azad Hind Fauj). Their joint court-martial at the Red Fort in November 1945 (the historic "Red Fort Trials") galvanized unprecedented patriotic unity across religious lines throughout India, defended by a legal team led by Bhulabhai Desai, Tej Bahadur Sapru, and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Tethered to: REALM 45: INA & Subhas Chandra Bose

Question 48

18th Century Regional States

With reference to Indian history, which of the following statements is/are correct?

The Nizamat of Arcot emerged out of Hyderabad State.
The Mysore Kingdom emerged out of Vijayanagara Empire.
Rohilkhand Kingdom was formed out of the territories occupied by Ahmad Shah Durrani.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: Statement 2 is historically sound: Following the battle of Talikota (1565), Raja Wodeyar broke away from the crumbling Vijayanagara empire in 1612 to establish the autonomous Mysore Kingdom. Statement 1 is false: The Nizamat of Arcot (Carnatic) was created by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb under Zulfiqar Khan; it was an autonomous Mughal subah and did not derive from Hyderabad. Statement 3 is false: The Rohilkhand state was carved out in the 1720s by Ali Muhammad Khan amidst decaying Mughal authority, decades before Ahmad Shah Durrani's first invasions into India (1748).

Tethered to: REALM 03: Regional Powers

Question 49

Sacred Riverine Topography

Which one of the following statements is correct?

(a) Ajanta Caves lie in the gorge of Waghora river.
(b) Sanchi Stupa lies in the gorge of Chambal river.
(c) Pandu-lena Cave Shrines lie in the gorge of Narmada river.
(d) Amaravati Stupa lies in the gorge of Godavari river.

Official Verdict: (a) Ajanta Caves lie in the gorge of Waghora river.

The Core Concept: The 30 rock-cut Buddhist caves of Ajanta (Aurangabad district, Maharashtra) are carved into the sheer, horseshoe-shaped basaltic cliff overlooking the deep river gorge of the Waghora River (Tiger River). All other options mismatch locations: Sanchi lies near the Betwa River; Pandu-lena (Trirashmi Caves) overlooks Nashik near the Godavari River; and the Amaravati Stupa sits on the right bank of the Krishna River.

Tethered to: REALM 35: Mural Painting Traditions

Question 50

Linguistic Politics

Consider the following statements:

21st February is declared to be the International Mother Language Day by UNICEF.
The demand that Bangla has to be one of the national languages was raised in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Official Verdict: (b) 2 only

The Core Concept: Statement 1 is false: International Mother Language Day (21 February) was proclaimed by UNESCO (not UNICEF) in November 1999, chosen specifically to commemorate the 1952 Dhaka student martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement. Statement 2 is true: On February 23, 1948, Dhirendranath Datta, a member from East Bengal, courageously moved an amendment in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan demanding that Bangla be recognized as an official state language alongside Urdu and English.

Tethered to: REALM 13: Hindi & Language Controversies