‘The Roots of Ancient India’ was written by

Correct answer: C, W. A. Fairservis. Walter A. Fairservis, an American archaeologist, wrote The Roots of Ancient India (first published in 1971), which treats the Harappan civilisation and the transition to early historic India through the archaeological record rather than through texts alone.

• A (D. K. Chakrabarti): He is a leading Indian archaeologist, known for works such as The Archaeology of India and Indian Archaeology: Retrospect. The option spelling is a misprint of his name.
• B (D. P. Agrawal): His work, such as The Copper Age Cultures of India, is on chalcolithic and copper-age archaeology, not this book.
• D (A. Ghosh): He is associated with the Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, a reference work, not this title.

The core concept is archaeology as a source for early Indian history, which is central to the Prelims Ancient History and Art and Culture sections. For Mains, it links to how the Indus and later cultures are reconstructed from material evidence.

Trap: Aspirants often pick a name they have seen in a reading list for a different subject. Match the author to the exact title, and watch for near-identical names like Chakrabarti and Chakravati.