GS Mains History 2014

1. To what extent has the urban planning and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization provided inputs to the present day urbanization? Discuss. 10

2. Gandhara sculpture owed as much to the Romans as to the Greeks. Explain. 10

3. Taxila university was one of the oldest universities of the world with which were associated a number of renowned learned personalities of different disciplines. Its strategic location caused its fame to flourish, but unlike Nalanda, it is not considered as a university in the modern sense. Discuss. 10

4. The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why were so many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat? 10

5. Sufis and medieval mystic saints failed to modify either the religious ideas and practices or the outward structure of Hindu/Muslim societies to any appreciable extent. Comment. 10

6.Examine critically the various facets of economic policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century till independence. 10

7. In what ways did the naval mutiny prove to be the last nail in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India? 10

8. What were the major political, economic and social developments in the world which motivated the anti-colonial struggle in India? 10

9. What were the events that led to the Suez Crisis in 1956? How did it deal a final blow to Britain’s self-image as a world power? 10

10. The New Economic Policy-1921 of Lenin had influenced the policies adopted by India soon after independence. Evaluate. 10