1) What was the difference between Mahatma Gandhi and
Rabindranath Tagore in their approach towards education and nationalism?
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
2) How did the colonial rule affect the tribals in India
and what was the tribal response to the colonial oppression?
(15 Marks, 250 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History- 2022
1) Why did the armies of the British East India Company –
mostly comprising of Indian soldiers – win consistently against the more numerous and better
equipped armies of the Indian rulers? Give reasons.
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
2) Why was there a sudden spurt in famines in colonial
India since the mid-eighteenth century? Give reasons.
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History- 2021
1) Trace the rise and growth of socio-religious reform
movements with special reference to Young Bengal and Brahmo Samaj.
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
2) Assess the main administrative issues and
socio-cultural problems in the integration process of Indian Princely States.
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
3) Bring out the constructive programmes of Mahatma
Gandhi during Non-Cooperation Movement and Civil Disobedience Movement.
(15 Marks, 250 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History- 2020
1) Evaluate the policies of Lord Curzon and their long
term implications on national movement.(10 Marks, 150 Words)
2) Since the decade of the 1920s, the national movement
acquired various ideological strands and thereby expanded its social base. Discuss (15 Marks,
250 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History- 2019
1) Assess the role of British imperial power in
complicating the process of transfer of power during the 1940s(15 Marks, 250 Words)
2) The 1857 Uprising was the culmination of the recurrent
big and small local rebellions that had occurred in the preceding hundred years of British rule.
Elucidate.(10 Marks, 150 Words)
3) Examine the linkages between the nineteenth century's
'Indian Renaissance' and the emergence of national identity (10 Marks, 150 Words)
4) Many voices had strengthened and enriched the
nationalist movement during the Gandhian phase. Elaborate (15 Marks, 250 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History - 2018
1) Why indentured labour was taken by British from India
to other colonies? Have they been able to preserve their cultural identity over
there? (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2) Throw light on the significance of thoughts of Mahatma
Gandhi in the present times.(10 Marks, 150 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History - 2017
1) Highlight the importance of new objective that got
added to the vision of Indian independence since the twenties of the last
century. (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2) The women’s questions arose in modern India as a part
of the 19th century social reform movement. What were the major issues and debates concerning
women in that period?
(15 Marks, 250 Words)
3) Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset
with the spectre of a fragmented polity?(10 Marks, 150 Words)
4) Why did the ‘Moderates’ fail to carry conviction with
the nation about their proclaimed ideology and political goals by the end of the nineteenth
century?(10 Marks, 150 Words)
5) Examine how the decline of traditional artisanal
industry in colonial India crippled the rural economy.(15 Marks, 250 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History - 2016
1) Highlight the difference in the approach of Subhash
Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for freedom (12.5 Marks, 200 Words)
2) Explain how the upraising of 1857 constitutes an
important watershed in the evolution of British policies towards colonial
India. (12.5 Marks, 200 Words)
3) Discuss the role of women in the freedom struggle
especially during the Gandhian phase.(12.5 Marks, 200 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History - 2015
1) It would have been difficult for the Constituent
Assembly to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India in
just three years but for the experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935. Discuss.
(12.5 Marks, 200 Words)
2) How different would have been the achievement of
Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss.
(12.5 Marks, 200 Words)
3) Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, despite having
divergent approaches and strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden.
Elucidate (12.5 Marks, 200 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History - 2014
1) In what ways did the naval mutiny prove to be the last
nail in the coffin of British colonial aspirations in India?
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
2) What were the major political, economic and social
developments in the world which motivated the anti-colonial struggle
in India?(10 Marks, 150 Words)
3) The third battle of Panipat was fought in 1761. Why
were so many empire-shaking battles fought at Panipat?
(10 Marks, 150 Words)
4) Examine critically the various facets of economic
policies of the British in India from mid-eighteenth century
till independence.(10 Marks, 150 Words)
UPSC Mains Modern History - 2013
1) “In many ways, Lord Dalhousie was the founder of
modern India.”
Elaborate (10 Marks, 200 Words)
2) Critically discuss the objectives of Bhoodan and
Gramdan Movements initiated by Acharya Vinoba Bhave and their success
(10 Marks, 200 Words)
3) Defying the barriers of age, gender and religion, the
Indian women became the torch-bearer during the struggle for freedom in India. Discuss (10
Marks, 200 Words)
4) Several foreigners made India their homeland and
participated in various movements. Analyze their role in the Indian struggle for freedom (10
Marks, 200 Words)
