UPSC 2013 History PYQs with Answers

The Ilbert Bill controversy concerned allowing Indian judges/magistrates to try European British subjects in criminal cases. European opposition turned it into a major racial controversy.

Annie Besant helped start the Home Rule Movement and became President of the Indian National Congress in 1917. The Theosophical Society was founded earlier by Blavatsky and Olcott, not by Besant.

Tribhanga literally means three bends: the body bends at the neck, waist and knee, creating an S-shaped posture with one leg bent. This is a classic Indian art and dance pose.

Sankhya accepts the idea of purusha/prakriti and liberation through discriminative self-knowledge. It does not deny rebirth/transmigration in the way statement 1 says.

Ajanta is famous for Buddhist mural paintings, and Lepakshi has notable Vijayanagara mural paintings. Sanchi is mainly known for stupas and sculptural gateways, not murals.

The Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took power in 1526. Guru Nanak lived from 1469 to 1539 and was preaching then; Dadu Dayal and Tyagaraja belong to later periods.

Jain doctrine emphasizes karma as matter binding the soul, to be shed through penance, restraint and right conduct. Jainism also attributes soul/life principle broadly, even to minute entities, so all statements fit.

Indus evidence indicates worship of male and female divine figures or fertility symbols. There is no clear evidence of great palaces/temples like Mesopotamia, nor horse-drawn chariots in warfare.

The Quit India Movement was launched after the failure of the Cripps Mission/Proposals in 1942, when Congress concluded that British promises were inadequate.

The Simon Commission was boycotted because it had no Indian member despite being appointed to review constitutional reforms for India. This exclusion caused widespread protest.

Nirvana literally suggests extinguishing, especially the flame of craving or desire. It is liberation from suffering caused by desire, not annihilation of self in a simple physical sense.

In Buddhist rock-cut architecture, a Chaitya is a prayer/worship hall often containing a stupa, while a Vihara is a monastery or dwelling place for monks.

The Tebhaga movement demanded that sharecroppers keep two-thirds of the produce and landlords' share be reduced from one-half to one-third.

Hiuen Tsang recorded ordeals by fire, water and poison and noted duties at ferries/barriers. Roads and river routes were not completely free from robbery, so statement 1 is incorrect.

Ellora has caves associated with Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Barabar caves were made for Ajivikas by Ashoka, not Chandragupta Maurya, and Badami caves are not the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India.