UPSC Mains 2022 History Optional Paper II questions

28 questions from the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2022. Official UPSC paper (PDF) · All History Optional PYQs

1. The Battle of Plassey (757) was a skirmish while the Battle of Buxar (764) was a real war'.

2. The Treaty of Amritsar ((809) was significant for its immediate as well as potential effects'.

   10 marks

3. Famines were not just because of foodgrain scarcity, but were a direct result of colonial economic policies'.

4. Penetration of outsiders - called dikus by the Santhals - completely destroyed their familiar world, and forced them into action to take possession of their lost territory'.

   10 marks

5. Within a limited scope the Indian Scientists could pursue original scientific research in colonial India'.

   10 marks

6. Explain how the Permanent Settlement initiated a rule of property in Bengal and what were its consequences?

   20 marks

7. Was the Western education a harbinger of cultural awakening or an instrument of colonial hegemony? Discuss.

   20 marks

8. Can you explain how, after acquiring Diwani, the government of the East India Company functioned like 'an Indian ruler'?

   10 marks

9. Do you think that the Indian National Movement was a 'multi class movement' which represented the anti-imperialist interests of all classes and strata? Give reasons in support of your answer.

   20 marks

10. The British rule had differential impact on the Indian Society. Describe in what ways, the Indians responded to the Revolt of 857.

    20 marks

11. Analyse how the revolutionaries taught people self confidence and widened the social base of the freedom movement.

    10 marks

12. Discuss the policies and programmes of the early nationalists (moderates). To what extent they were able to fulfil the aspirations of the people?

    20 marks

13. In the light of contentions over the McMahon Line, analyse the India-China relations in the 950s and 960s.

    20 marks

14. How did the popular movements help us to understand the nature of environmental crisis in post-colonial India?

15. Rousseau kindled a hope which became the spirit of the Enlightenment'.

    10 marks

16. The codification of French Law was perhaps the most enduring of Napoleon's achievements'.

17. Engels did much more than Marx himself to popularise the ideas of Marxism.

18. Roaring Twenties' in Europe and America had many positive points. It helped women to uplift themselves in the region.

19. The first Reformation Act (832) occupies a significant place in the constitutional development of Britain'.

20. Do you agree that the economic effects of the Industrial Revolution were to add enormously to wealth and capital on the one hand and to degrade the masses to permanent poverty as the other? Elucidate.

    20 marks

21. Discuss how Fascism was a response to the post-war situation arising out of political instability, thwarted nationalist hopes and fears of the spread of communism?

    20 marks

22. Do you feel that the Vietnamese fought the 20th century's longest and bloodiest war for their liberation and integration of their country? Analyse.

    10 marks

23. Do you understand that the lack of statesmanship in London during the 760's and the 770's was, an important contributory factor in precipitating the American Revolution. Analyse.

    20 marks

24. Discuss, how the policies adopted by Mikhail Gorbachev were responsible for the disintegration of the USSR?

    20 marks

25. What happened to Malaya after it was liberated from Japanese occupation in 945? Discuss.

    10 marks

26. Describe the launching of Non-Alignment Movement. Why the small nations wanted to remain aloof from the powerful nations?

    20 marks

27. Why was the apartheid policy introduced in South Africa? What were its main features?

    20 marks

28. How far did Latin American countries overcome centuries of subjugation and foreign intervention?

    10 marks