UPSC Mains 2025 History Optional Paper I questions

37 questions from the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2025. Official UPSC paper (PDF) · All History Optional PYQs

1. Identify the following places marked on the map supplied to you and write a short note of about 30 words on each of them in your Question-cum-Answer Booklet. Locational hints for each of the places marked on the map are given below seriatim

2. Jot, ii ape car Aaa

3. Mesolithic site (ii) eave fore eat Paleolithic site

4. Neolithic site with stone artefacts

5. Site of Indus Valley Civilization

6. Early Harappan site with a fire-pit

7. Mesolithic site

8. Mahajanapada of South India

9. Major Rock Edict of Asoka

10. Asokan Minor Rock Edict (xv) Water oats hex

11. An inscription mentioning Ashvamedha Sacrifice

12. Site of Post-Mauryan period burnt brick house

13. Terracotta craft centre of Post-Mauryan period

14. Important port of the Pallava period

15. "The Chalcolithic people were experts in microliths and were also skilful workers in stone." Elucidate.

    15 marks

16. "The Harappans were not an artistic people." Comment.

    15 marks

17. "The ideological challenge posed by Jainism and Buddhism was deeply rooted in the socio-economic transformations brought about by the expansion of agrarian settlements in eastern India." Explain.

    20 marks

18. "The origin of the territorial republics has been traced to the reaction against the pattern of life that evolved in the later Vedic period."

19. How far did the Mauryans facilitate the diffusion of the material culture of the Gangetic plains? Explain.

    15 marks

20. warfare fear 2 Examine the nature and impact of India's contacts with Central Asia during the 1° to 3 century CE. How did these interactions influence India's political, cultural and economic spheres?

    20 marks

21. "The dynamics of social mobility in early medieval India were shaped by a complex interplay of caste hierarchies, religious legitimation, economic transformation and political patronage." Critically assess how these factors collectively reconfigured the structure of early medieval Indian society.

    15 marks

22. Discuss the circumstances which led to the conflict between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas and mention how this rivalry shaped the power dynamics in South India.

    15 marks

23. Critically evaluate the major stages in the development of art and literature in early medieval India and explain how these stages reflected the broader changes in society and patterns of patronage during the period.

    20 marks

24. "Religious themes inspired a large section of literature in provincial languages in late medieval India." Comment.

    10 marks

25. authority in the Delhi Sultanate." Elucidate.

    10 marks

26. Critically assess the role of imperial Karkhanas in Mughal India. How did they reflect the ideological and functional imperatives of the Mughal State?

    10 marks

27. "The principles of Sikhism represented a harmonious blend of Islamic and Indic religious beliefs and practices." Comment.

    10 marks

28. Gunpowder changed the character of warfare in India during the Mughal era. Elucidate.

29. Discuss the structural features of Todar Mal's revenue system and evaluate its effectiveness in standardized land revenue assessment in India.

    15 marks

30. Sultanate, rather a lament. Elucidate.

    15 marks

31. weer & waited fear 2 Discuss the development of Hindi literature under Mughal patronage. How did the Bhakti and Sufi Movements influence it?

    20 marks

32. Portuguese maritime power disrupted the character of trade in the Indian Ocean in the 16" century. Review.

    15 marks

33. Akbar's Rajput policy was shaped by considerations of factional politics in the Mughal court. Discuss.

    15 marks

34. Evaluate the impact of Mughal revenue administration on the agrarian structure of North India. To what extent did it bring continuity and change in the rural socio-economic fabric?

    20 marks

35. "Aurangzeb's religious policy was a reflection of the changed political realities of the Mughal Empire." Elucidate.

    15 marks

36. Define the rise of distinct provincial architectural styles under the Mughal Empire in light of structural diversity, cultural interaction and the nature of provincial power dynamics.

    15 marks

37. Critically examine the political, military and administrative factors that led to the transformation of the Maratha character in the 18* century. How did these changes influence its rise and eventual decline?

    20 marks