IAS Mains History 1998

Paper-I
Time Allowed : Three Hours Maximum Marks : 300
Candidates should attempt Questions 1 and 5 which are compulsory, and any three of the remaining questions selecting at least one question from each Section . All questions carry equal marks.
Section A
1. Mark any fifteen of the following places on the map supplied to you and write brief descriptive notes on the places marked by you on the map:

i. Aihole

ii. Amaravati

iii. Besnagar

iv. Bhagawanpura

v. Bhrigukachchha

vi. Dholavira

vii. Daimabad

viii. Girinagara

ix. Inamgaon

x. Kalinganagar

xi. Kanheri

xii. Karle

xiii. Kausambi

xiv. Kayatha

xv. Kili-Ghul Mohammad

xvi. Kot Diji

xvii. Kushinagar

xviii. Mamallapuram

xix. Maski

xx. Mehargarh

xxi. Prayag

xxii. Pushkalava

xxiii. Sarnath

xxiv. Srughna

xxv. Surapara

xxvi. Tekkalakotta

xxvii. Topra

xxviii. Ujjayini

xxix. Uraiyur

xxx. Valabhi

2. Give a brief account of the social and economic conditions of the Later Vedic Aryans. What role did iron play in changing their political and economic life?

3. Furnish a critical and comparative account of various schools of art in the Post-Mauryan period (c. 200 B.C. – c. 300 A.D.).

4. Highlight the achievements of the Gupta period in the field of literature, science and technology.

Section -B

5. Write short essays of not more than 200 words each on any three of the following topics:

(a) Social structure of the Rajputs

(b) AI- Biruni’s India

(c) Nurjahan

(d) Third Battle of Panipat

6. Critically evaluate the achievements of the Cholas.

7. Throw light on the Land Revenue System of Sultanate period.

8. Trace the development of art architecture under the Mughals and point out mingling of Hindu elements in them.

Paper-II

Time Allowed : Three Hours Maximum Marks : 300
Candidates should attempt Questions 1 and 5 which are compulsory, and any three of the remaining questions selecting at least one question from each Section. All questions carry equal marks.

Section -A (Modern India)

1. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each :

(a) The British “fought the First Maratha War in a period when their fortunes were at the lowest ebb”.

(b) The Arya Samaj “did not; however, succeed in capturing the imagination of modern India as a whole”.

(c) The Montague Declaration (20 August 1917) was observed more closely in the “realm of imperial relations” than anything else.

(d) “Both freedom and partition were the work of Indian middle classes.”

2. How did the British conquer Bengal in the 18th century ? What circumstances helped them?

3. Examine the nature of the Revolt of 1857 and indicate the manifold changes in British civil and military administration of India after 1857.

4. Explain the attitude of the Indian National Congress towards the constitutional changes of 1909, 1919 and 1935.

Section – B (World History)

5. Comment on any three of the following statements in about 200 words each :

(a) One great effect of the geographical discoveries of the 15th century was “the growing belief that America, Asia and Africa were to be used extensively for the benefit of Europeans”.

(b) The American War of Independence “deprived Great Britain of one empire, but it strengthened the foundations of another” .

(c) Lord Beaconsfield after his return from the Congress of Berlin (1878) boasted : “I have brought peace with honor.”

(d) One of the most important impacts of the Second world war was the ” division of Europe”, eastern and western.

6. The Industrial Revolution brought about great changes in the social and economic life of Europe. Explain.

7. The years 1853-1894 witnessed the transformation of Japan. Explain.

8. In Russia, Lenin was “the father of socialism, organizer of the revolution and the founder of the new Russian society.” Examine the statement .