Day: October 30, 2026

Q. Account for the factors that brought about the end of the Cold War. [UPSC- 2008] Ans: The Cold War ended between 1985 and 1991. The key moments were: The INF Treaty (1987). The withdrawal from Afghanistan (1989). The fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). The Malta summit (1989), at which the US and Soviet […]

Q. The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a single revolution which developed two phases. Elucidate. [UPSC- 1992] Ans: The Russian Revolution of 1917 is often described as a single revolutionary process with two phases: February (March by the Western calendar): A spontaneous, broad-based rising overthrew the Tsar. It created a liberal Provisional Government alongside the […]

Q. Account for the overthrow of the Tsarist regime in Russia. [UPSC- 2009] Ans: The Tsarist regime, which had ruled Russia since 1613, fell in the February Revolution of 1917 (March 1917 by the Western calendar). Nicholas II abdicated after bread riots, strikes and a mutiny of the Petrograd garrison. The overthrow had long-term causes: […]

Q. The French Revolution (1789) really achieved far less than what it intended to effect. Do you agree? [UPSC- 1989] Ans: The French Revolution (1789–99) set out to replace absolute monarchy and a society of privilege with a nation built on liberty, equality and fraternity, popular sovereignty and the rights of man. In its own […]

Q. “Curzon’s political obtusely created a breach between government and people which was never wholly closed in the remaining forty-two years of British rule.” Comment. [UPSC- 1984] Ans: Before Curzon (1899–1905), the Moderate leaders of the Congress still believed in British justice and hoped for gradual reform. Curzon’s arrogance, contempt for educated Indians and authoritarian […]

Q. “Curzon’s partition of Bengal gave the unwitting initiative to events of magnitude and returned many years later to port with the cargo of freedom.” Comment. [UPSC- 1987] Ans: The statement uses the image of a ship. The Partition of Bengal (16 October 1905) set out as an administrative measure with a hidden divide-and-rule purpose. […]

Q. “Curzon was an unconscious catalyst who did not understand, let alone desire, what the new century was about to bring forth, but who helped it to be born.” Comment. [UPSC- 1989] Ans: Lord Curzon, Viceroy from 1899 to 1905, was a brilliant but arrogant imperialist. He believed in the permanence of British rule and […]

Q. How would you explain Gandhiji’s ‘rise to power’ or ‘capture’ of national leadership in the course of 1919-20? Was it a very skillful top-level political game? [UPSC- 1987] Ans: Between 1919 and 1920, Gandhi went from being a respected but peripheral figure to the undisputed leader of the Indian National Congress. Congress adopted his […]

Q. “The new attitude of caution and conservatism can be detected in almost every sphere of British activity in India after the Revolt of 1857.” Comment. [UPSC- 1984] Ans: Before 1857, British rule under Bentinck, Macaulay and Dalhousie pursued a reforming and expansionist agenda: Annexation, through the Doctrine of Lapse and conquest. Social reform: abolition […]

Q. Critically examine the political, military and administrative factors that led to the transformation of the Maratha character in the 18th century. How did these changes influence its rise and eventual decline? [UPSC- 2025] Ans: In the 18th century the Maratha state changed character. Under Shivaji, it had been a compact, centralised kingdom (swarajya): A […]