History Optional Question Paper: 2020

The History Optional Question Paper 2020 was set for UPSC Civil Services Mains 2020. Both papers are reproduced below exactly as UPSC asked them, followed by a unit-wise breakdown of what the paper tested, what the 2020 pattern tells you about how the Commission frames History questions, and how to work through these questions instead of only reading them.

Examination	UPSC Civil Services Mains 2020 — History Optional
Papers	Paper I (Ancient and Medieval India) and Paper II (Modern India and World History)
Marks	250 per paper — 500 total
Duration	3 hours per paper
Structure	Section A and Section B, four questions each. Q1 and Q5 are compulsory; one question from the remaining three in each section.
Map question	Paper I Q1 — 20 locations at 2.5 marks each, 50 marks, given as locational hints rather than place names.

Every question on this page, already answered

Reading a past paper tells you what UPSC asked. It does not tell you what a 16-plus answer to it looks like — and in History Optional that gap is the whole difference between knowing the period and scoring on it. The History Optional PYQ Master Pack carries a written model answer for every question the Commission has set since 1985, including every question on this 2020 paper.

PYQs from 1985 to 2025, arranged topic-wise — Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, Post-Independence and World History, every question solved
Model answers with the structure written out — the historians named and cited, the argument sequenced, diagram and timeline suggestions in place
Map section solutions included — the full 50-mark section most aspirants give up on, at no extra cost
PDF download plus online access — both included, on any device, permanently rather than for the length of a subscription

₹1,499 (regular ₹2,500) for all of it. One-time payment, no subscription, instant access.

See the 2020 paper solved

History Optional Question Paper-1 (2020)

Paper I covers Ancient India in Section A and Medieval India in Section B. Q1 and Q5 are compulsory, and Q1 is the map question — 50 marks, a fifth of the paper. The 2020 map leaned unusually hard on temple sites: seven of the twenty points were temples or temple complexes.

Paper I — Section A (Ancient India)

Q1. 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 (2.5 × 20 = 50)

(i) A Palaeolithic site
(ii) A Palaeolithic factory site
(iii) A Neolithic site
(iv) An early and mature Harappan site
(v) A Chalcolithic site
(vi) A site of coin and seal moulds
(vii) An ancient administrative centre
(viii) An ancient political headquarters
(ix) An ancient temple site
(x) Pre- and proto-historic sites
(xi) An ancient capital city
(xii) A place of a Shaiva temple
(xiii) A World Heritage centre of a temple complex
(xiv) An inscriptional site
(xv) A place of a Jain temple
(xvi) The largest Buddhist monastery
(xvii) An ancient temple complex
(xviii) A place of the oldest mosque
(xix) A temple complex dedicated to Shiva
(xx) An ancient education centre

UPSC History Optional 2020 Paper I map question

Q2. (50)

(a) Puranas were the innovative genre of literature to popularise and revive Vedic religion. Elaborate with examples.
(b) Discuss the factors that played an important role in the process of urbanisation after the later Vedic period.
(c) Throw light on the nature of religion and the classification of gods mentioned in the Rigveda.

Q3. (50)

(a) Evaluate the significant political features of post-Mauryan northern India. What are the main sources for it?
(b) A number of scholars considered Alexander as ‘the Great’, although the long-term impacts of Alexander’s invasion on India need to be re-evaluated. Comment.
(c) Discuss the salient features of the cultural traditions of South India as reflected in Sangam literature.

Q4. (50)

(a) Sanskrit literature of the classical Gupta age set standards for early medieval India. Evaluate the statement with representative examples.
(b) Trace and identify the changing pattern of Tantrism in ancient India with examples.
(c) Describe the evolution and development of regional temple architecture of South India with special reference to the Pallavas.

Paper I — Section B (Medieval India)

Q5. Answer the following questions in about 150 words each (10 × 5 = 50)

(a) Critically evaluate the Muslim nobility during the period of the Tughlaq dynasty.
(b) Describe in detail the foreign travellers’ accounts which gave information on the Vijayanagara kingdom.
(c) How did international trade support urbanisation in North India during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries CE?
(d) Evaluate the aim and impact of the translation of Sanskrit scriptures into the Persian language during the Mughal period.
(e) Examine the sources of the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji with special reference to the Shivabharat and the Sabhasad Bakhar.

Q6. (50)

(a) Assess the causes of the defeat of northern Indian states against the Turkish invasion.
(b) The Amuktamalyada dwells much upon the relationship of forts, Brahmanas and dispersed tribal groups. Comment.
(c) Elaborate upon the agrarian reforms of Alauddin Khalji.

Q7. (50)

(a) Describe the village polity and economy of the medieval Deccan.
(b) Some new crafts of production were introduced by the Turks. Comment.
(c) The mission of Kabir was to preach a religion of love which would unite all castes and creeds. Explain.

Q8. (50)

(a) Evaluate the contribution of Sher Shah towards trade and commerce, administration and agricultural reforms.
(b) Make an estimate of the development of paintings under the Mughal rulers with special reference to colours, technique, themes and the influences on them.
(c) Critically evaluate the history of eighteenth century India with reference to culture and economy.

Could you actually write these answers — in 12 minutes each?

That is the honest test of a History past paper. Most aspirants can recognise every question above and still score 10 to 13 on them, because the marks do not sit in knowing what happened. They sit in naming the historian whose reading you are using, sequencing the argument instead of narrating it, and closing with a judgement rather than a summary. The PYQ Master Pack gives you the written form of each of these 2020 answers, so you are studying a structure instead of inventing one under pressure.

Paper II is reproduced below. Before you scroll on, mark the three questions above where you could name the events but not a single historian — those are the answers to read first.

See how a 16-plus answer is written

History Optional Question Paper-2 (2020)

Paper II covers Modern India in Section A and World History in Section B. Q1 and Q5 are compulsory, and both are sets of five statements to examine critically in about 150 words each.

Paper II — Section A (Modern India)

Q1. Critically examine the following statements in about 150 words each (10 × 5 = 50)

(a) “Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839. His death was the signal for an outburst of anarchy all over the Punjab.”
(b) “In the initial stages, when Indian nationalism was immature, just sprouting, it found expression in many liberal religio-reform movements.”
(c) “In the early twentieth century, there came into existence a number of women’s organisations, which operated more actively in the public arena and focused more directly on women’s political and legal rights.”
(d) “The trade union movement in India not only supported the call for national struggle at critical junctures, but also impacted its course and character in several ways.”
(e) “Based on his discussion with Indian leaders, as well as his own perception, Lord Mountbatten soon came to the conclusion that partition was the only practicable and feasible solution.”

Q2. (50)

(a) “It was Dupleix who had first showed the way of intervening in the affairs of the Indian rulers and thereby acquiring political control over vast territories — a technique which was later perfected by the English East India Company.” Elaborate.
(b) For long, the Revolt of 1857 has been mistaken to be a mere mutiny of the Indian sepoys in the Bengal army. However, its causes need to be searched for not only in the dissatisfaction of the army but in a long drawn-out process of fundamental social and economic change that upset the peasant communities. Discuss.
(c) Do you feel that the Santhal hool (rebellion) of 1855–56 was the most effective tribal movement in pre-1857 India?

Q3. (50)

(a) In its political behaviour the Indian National Congress in its early career was never a radical organisation, and besides, the founders of the Congress involved A. O. Hume in their project. Do these facts verify that the Congress was founded as a ‘safety valve’? Explain.
(b) Do you agree that the virtual failure of the Non-Cooperation Movement and the gloom that descended on the nationalist scene created conditions for revolutionary activities? Discuss.
(c) Planning was seen as a powerful instrument that could be used to remove regional inequality. Examine.

Q4. (50)

(a) “In the divided and contestable space of Indian politics, Gandhiji could claim for himself a centrist position because he alienated neither and tactically combined the goal of the Moderates with the means of the Extremists.” Discuss.
(b) “After Indian independence, India-China relations started on a high note, but during the course of the coming years India had to face a bitter experience due to the Chinese aggression.” Elaborate.
(c) “The reorganisation of the states on the basis of language was a major aspect of national consolidation and integration.” Comment.

Paper II — Section B (World History)

Q5. Critically examine the following statements in about 150 words each (10 × 5 = 50)

(a) “The principles of the Enlightenment were in some ways a continuation of the discoveries and theories of the Scientific Revolution.”
(b) “The causes of the French Revolution of 1789 included both long-term and structural factors, as well as more immediate events.”
(c) “The Industrial Revolution had far-reaching social and political consequences with the advent of assembly-line factories, urbanisation and the rise of the urban working class.”
(d) “The multitude of newly independent countries came to be known as the ‘Third World’, belonging neither to the First World of capitalist democracies, nor the Communist Second World.”
(e) “The British were slated to withdraw from Palestine in May 1948, and both sides prepared for that day. Violence between Arabs and Jews, already endemic, escalated.”

Q6. (50)

(a) “Napoleon was not a revolutionary, but he solidified many of the revolutionary changes of 1789–1791 and he himself supported most of the ideas and proposals of Enlightenment philosophers.” Substantiate.
(b) “Lincoln’s main thesis was that the slavery issue had to be decided one way or the other and could no longer be evaded by compromise.” Comment in the light of his role in the American Civil War.
(c) “The 1848 revolutions frightened the crowned heads of Europe and caused several to abdicate. Those who remained were cognisant of the threats posed by liberalism, nationalism and socialism.” Comment.

Q7. (50)

(a) “From Bismarck’s ‘blood and iron’ speech and his forceful actions to achieve German unification, Bismarck came to be known as the Iron Chancellor.” Critically examine.
(b) Do you agree with the statement that the Second World War was history’s most destructive war? Elaborate.
(c) Discuss the circumstances leading to the French exit from Algeria in 1962.

Q8. (50)

(a) How did Stalin build on Lenin’s legacy of the Bolshevik Revolution and introduce new elements of totalitarianism to transform the USSR into a superpower?
(b) A new configuration of power emerged in world politics after the end of the Cold War. Analyse how the USA managed to become the sole superpower.
(c) Critically examine whether it was true that after a century of dependency on Europeans, Africans were ill prepared for the task of nation-building.

What the 2020 History Optional paper actually tested

Mapping the questions onto the syllabus shows the shape of the paper at a glance — and shows which units the Commission chose to spend its marks on.

Paper I — unit-wise spread (2020)

Syllabus unit	Questions
Map (temple-heavy, 50 marks)	Q1
Themes in Early Indian Cultural History (Puranas, Tantrism)	Q2(a), Q4(b)
Period of Mahajanapadas and urbanisation	Q2(b)
Aryans and the Vedic Period	Q2(c)
Post-Mauryan Period	Q3(a), Q3(b)
Early State and Society in South India (Sangam, Pallavas)	Q3(c), Q4(c)
Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas	Q4(a)
The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries	Q5(a), Q5(c), Q6(a), Q6(c), Q7(b)
The Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Century	Q5(b), Q6(b), Q8(a)
Culture in the Mughal Empire	Q5(d), Q8(b)
Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century (Shivaji)	Q5(e)
Society, Culture and Economy (medieval Deccan)	Q7(a)
Cultural Traditions and Bhakti (Kabir)	Q7(c)
The Eighteenth Century	Q8(c)

Paper II — unit-wise spread (2020)

Syllabus unit	Questions
British Expansion in India	Q1(a)
Social and Religious Reform Movements	Q1(b)
Other Strands in the National Movement	Q1(c), Q1(d), Q3(b)
Politics of Separatism	Q1(e)
European Penetration into India	Q2(a)
Indian Response to British Rule	Q2(b), Q2(c)
Early Indian Nationalism	Q3(a)
Economic Development and Political Change	Q3(c)
Rise of Gandhi and the Gandhian Era	Q4(a)
Consolidation as a Nation	Q4(b), Q4(c)
Enlightenment and Modern Ideas	Q5(a)
Revolution and Counter-Revolution	Q5(b), Q6(a), Q6(c), Q8(a)
Industrialization	Q5(c)
Decolonization and Underdevelopment	Q5(d), Q8(c)
The World after World War II	Q5(e)
Nation-State System	Q6(b), Q7(a)
World Wars	Q7(b)
Liberation from Colonial Rule	Q7(c)
Disintegration of the Soviet Union	Q8(b)

Five things the 2020 paper tells you about UPSC’s pattern

The map went to temples. Seven of the twenty points were temple sites, temple complexes, a Shaiva temple, a Jain temple or a World Heritage temple complex, plus the oldest mosque and the largest Buddhist monastery. A map revision built on capitals and ports missed most of it.
Section B leaned on the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Five questions: the Tughlaq nobility, international trade and urbanisation, the defeat of the northern states, Alauddin’s agrarian reforms, and the new crafts introduced by the Turks. The Sultanate is where this paper spent its marks.
The Commission named specific texts as sources. The Shivabharat and the Sabhasad Bakhar for Shivaji, the Amuktamalyada for Vijayanagara. Naming a source in the question means the answer is expected to work from it, not around it.
Paper II Section A gave 20 marks to groups usually treated as marginal. Women’s organisations in the early twentieth century, and the trade union movement. Both are listed in “other strands in the national movement”, and both are among the least-revised parts of that unit.
World History was structured around revolutions and their consolidation. The French Revolution’s causes, Napoleon consolidating rather than making a revolution, 1848, Lincoln, Bismarck, Stalin building on Lenin. The repeated question is what happens after the upheaval, not during it.

How to use this paper (rather than just read it)

Do the map question first, from a blank outline. 2020 is the temple paper: know the major temple sites by dynasty and region, not just the famous four or five.
Prepare the Delhi Sultanate as economy and institutions. Nobility, market and agrarian reform, urbanisation, crafts, trade. Five questions here, and the same pattern recurs in 2017 and 2019.
Learn the named texts. Shivabharat, Sabhasad Bakhar, Amuktamalyada, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Rajatarangini. One line each on what the text is and what it is good for.
Revise the “other strands” unit properly. Women’s organisations, trade unions, the left, revolutionaries. Twenty marks in this paper alone, and consistently under-prepared.
Compare your answer against a model answer, not against the syllabus. The gap you need to close is a writing gap. Reading more sources does not close it; seeing the finished shape of a high-scoring answer does.

Two ways to prepare for the papers above

Past papers are the syllabus UPSC actually examines. What you do next with them decides the marks. Two LotusArise systems are built for the two different gaps History aspirants have at this stage.

	PYQ Master Pack	Mains Master Kit 2027
Best for	You know the content and your gap is answer writing	You are starting History Optional and want one complete system
Core content	Every PYQ from 1985 to 2025, solved and arranged topic-wise across Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Post-Independence and World History	Complete Notes PDF — Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Post-Independence, World History and Mapping, 4,500+ pages
Also inside	Historian citations inside each answer, diagram and timeline suggestions, and the full 50-mark map section solved	Mapping with PYQ-integrated practice; 12 months premium article access, continuously updated
Access	PDF download plus online access, permanently	12 months, all devices, offline
Price	₹1,499 (regular ₹2,500)	₹1,770 (regular ₹5,000)

Both are one-time payments with instant access and no subscription. If you are unsure, start with the PYQ Master Pack — for most aspirants who have already read the syllabus once, answer writing is the constraint, not content.

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History Optional Question Paper 2020 — FAQs

250 marks per paper, 500 marks for the optional as a whole. Each paper runs three hours and has two sections of four questions each. Q1 and Q5 are compulsory; you choose one of the remaining three questions in each section.

It was temple-heavy. Seven of the twenty points were temple sites or temple complexes, including a Shaiva temple, a Jain temple and a World Heritage temple complex, alongside the oldest mosque and the largest Buddhist monastery. Map revision built on capitals, ports and battle sites covered very little of it.

They are two of the principal contemporary sources for Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Shivabharat is a Sanskrit court epic composed in his lifetime; the Sabhasad Bakhar is a Marathi prose chronicle written some decades after his death. The 2020 paper named both, which means the expected answer weighs their reliability rather than simply narrating Shivaji’s career.

The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, with five Section B questions on the Tughlaq nobility, international trade and urbanisation, the Turkish invasions, Alauddin’s agrarian reforms and new crafts. In Section A, cultural history and South India carried most of the weight.

Yes. The 2020 paper uses the current format throughout, and its topics — the Puranas, Tantrism, Pallava temple architecture, Alauddin’s agrarian reforms, the safety-valve thesis, Bismarck, Stalin — remain squarely on the syllabus and recur in reframed form.

The History Optional PYQ Master Pack carries written model answers for every previous-year question from 1985 onwards, arranged topic-wise rather than year-wise, with historians cited inside the answers and the full 50-mark map section solved.