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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

“Neither Alexander the Great nor Napoleon could have won the empire of India by starting from Pondicherry as a base and contending with a power which held Bengal and the command of the Sea.” Comment.

  • UPSC 2006
  • European Penetration into India

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This assessment, attributed to the historian V.A. Smith, distills the entire Anglo-French contest in India into a single structural fact: geography and resources, not the genius of individual commanders, ultimately decided who would rule India.

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What the full answer covers

  • The Advantage of Bengal
  • The Advantage of Command of the Sea
  • Why Even Genius Could Not Have Overcome This
  • Broader Significance
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