UPSC Mains 2016 History Optional Paper II questions

28 questions from the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2016. Official UPSC paper (PDF) · All History Optional PYQs

1. Comment on the French ambition of building a territorial empire in India.

2. After the Battle of Plassey, how did India transit from the medieval to the modern age?

3. Do you agree with the view that the growth of vernacular literature in the 9** and the 20 centuries paved the way for social reform and cultural revival in India?

4. "The Mutiny of 857 was much more than a Mutiny of Sepoys and much less than a National Rebellion." Comment.

5. Explain "Constructive Swadeshi" characterised by atmashakti (self-reliance), which propelled the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal.

6. How far is it correct to say that if Clive was the founder of the British Empire in India, Warren Hastings was its administrative organiser?

   20 marks

7. "Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war." Examine this statement with reference to Lord William Bentinck.

   20 marks

8. "India's_need_for_a_federal_system_was—more—an—imperative-than—a political choice." Do you agree?

9. Critically examine the causes responsible for the phenomenon called 'de-industrialisation' in India during the nineteenth century.

   20 marks

10. How far is it correct to say that the ig century tribal uprisings are a part of subaltern nationalism?

    20 marks

11. How did Dr. 8.8. Ambedkar try to seek a political solution to the problem of caste in India?

12. "The need to impose greater parliamentary control over the Company's affairs increased during the decades (773 — 853) after Plassey." Elucidate.

    20 marks

13. What significant role did women play in the Indian National Movement?

14. Critically examine the nature and scope of environmental movements in Independent India.

15. "Karl Marx applied his critical intelligence to Wealth of Nations... Where Smith had seen only the sunlight, Marx saw only the shadows thrown upon the human scene by the unimpeded exercise of individual liberty..." Elucidate.

16. What is Metternich system? Assess its impact on Europe.

17. "League of Nations is a League of Notions." Comment.

18. Explain the main features of the US Federal Constitution.

19. What factors contributed to the emergence of a unipolar world?

20. Critically examine the statement that the French Revolution was not caused by the French philosophers but by the conditions of national life and by the mistakes of the government.

    20 marks

21. "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free." Explain Abraham Lincoln's perspective.

    20 marks

22. Trace the significant role-played-by Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam's struggle for freedom.

23. How did Lenin achieve an abrupt transition from a Monarchical autocratic to a Socialist State?

    20 marks

24. Do you agree with the view that the Treaty of Versailles was a bad compromise between a treaty based upon force and a treaty based on ideas?

    20 marks

25. Trace the growth of British imperialism in South Africa from 800 to

26. Trace the growth of Arab nationalism after the First World War. How far was it a reaction to Oil imperialism?

    20 marks

27. In what way did the political changes in Soviet Union influence the events in Eastern Europe during the closing decades of the 207 century?

    20 marks

28. Outline the circumstances leading to Détente.